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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) — Leaders from the Illinois Department of Public Health testified before a Senate appropriations committee Wednesday to discuss their budget goals for the next fiscal year.
Dr. Sameer Vohra said IDPH and Gov. JB Pritzker plan to respond to lessons learned during the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic. The agency is proposing a $45 million investment to modernize the state’s public health data systems.
Director Vohra explained this funding can help the state better prevent disease outbreaks and protect the most vulnerable residents. IDPH is also asking for $8.5 million to help identify and quickly prevent the spread of new illnesses.
“Especially as most of our money is tied to specific diseases, and we’re all focusing and making sure that we’re targeting whatever the new potential disease outbreak could be,” Vohra said.
IDPH is requesting $7 million to enhance public health communication as well. Vohra stressed that this funding will help IDPH build trust in communities and combat misinformation about diseases.
The agency has also earmarked $3 million to create a loan repayment and scholarship program to grow a diverse health care workforce.
Meanwhile, eight Senate Democrats are sponsoring a bill to provide more state funding to help end the HIV epidemic in Illinois by 2030. Senator Mike Simmons (D-Chicago) said access to health care, housing, sufficient income, mental health services, and HIV treatment remain barriers to lowering the rates of cases in the state.
His proposal would allocate significant funding for IDPH to develop and support programs in health care, housing, education, and awareness. Vohra said the agency recently used some funds from the American Rescue Plan to invest in Black-led HIV prevention groups.
“Regardless if it’s a Black-led organization or not, we’re putting in a lot of effort to make sure that we’re funding tests and treatment sort of centered around the Black African American community because we know the disparities exist there,” Vohra said.
Senate Bill 209 would appropriate $27.5 million for the IDPH AIDS and HIV division to offer education, drugs, services, counseling, and testing. The proposal also includes $1.2 million for grants to create an HIV service delivery system to reduce the disparity of infection and AIDS cases for Black Illinoisans. Vohra noted that Black-led HIV treatment organizations received 17% of the state’s funding for AIDS prevention over the last year.
“I want to encourage you to continue to prioritize this work,” Simmons said. “Director, we met earlier this year and I had spoken to you about how I had heard from a number of community-based organizations that are in the African American community that felt like they’ve not been able to participate in this work. All I can do is to encourage you to continue moving in the direction that you’re moving in because I really am personally-invested in getting to zero new HIV diagnoses in 2030. And we know that a hell of a lot of that is happening in Black communities in this state.”
Members of the Senate Appropriations – Health and Human Services Committee also heard from the Illinois chapter of the American Lung Association during Wednesday’s hearing. Officials said tobacco use is still the leading cause of preventable death in the United States, and lawmakers hope to use more state funding to support people trying to quit smoking. The American Lung Association is supporting proposed funding for the state’s tobacco quit line and asthma prevention.
Advocacy Director Kristina Hamilton said the tobacco quit line received nearly 77,000 calls from more than 12,000 people interested in quitting during Fiscal Year 2022. Hamilton said lung cancer takes the lives of more than 356 each day.
“While the disease remains the leading cause of cancer deaths among both women and men, the survival rate has improved by 11% in Illinois to 26%,” Hamilton said. “Yet, screening rates are extremely low at just 7%.”
Hamilton is proposing $1 million for asthma and tobacco prevention and $5 million for anti-smoking programs run by local health departments. The American Lung Association also hopes to see $2 million allocated for lung and colon cancer screenings.
Lawmakers will start their budget negotiations when they return to Springfield later this month.
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