Recent Heat Wave Demands Immediate Action to Restore LIHEAP & CEDA Funding
CHICAGO-
State Rep. La Shawn K. Ford, D-Chicago, is working with Community &
Economic Development Association of Cook County (CEDA) President Harold
Rice and Speaker of the House Michael J. Madigan to prepare and pass an
appropriations bill to restore funding for the Low Income Home Energy
Assistance Program (LIHEAP) program. Due to the Illinois budget veto by
Governor Rauner, many federally funded programs, including LIHEAP,
cannot continue those services to communities in need. This comes at a
time when Chicago is going through a heat wave, and many will see their
upcoming energy bills go beyond their ability to pay.
The federally funded LIHEAP
program helps keep families safe and healthy through initiatives that
assist families with energy costs in winter or in summer, including home
energy bills, energy crises and weatherization and energy-related minor
home repairs. LIHEAP is one of many programs CEDA offers to assist
low-income residents of Cook County. According to CEDA's website, "As
of COB Thursday, July 2, 2015 CEDA will be shutting down the majority of
its programs and services. This shutdown is a direct result of the
Illinois State budget not being approved. The following programs will
not be available until further notice: Energy Services, which includes
LIHEAP, Percentage of Income Payment Plan (PIPP), and ComEd Special
Residential Hardship; Weatherization; and Community Services Block
Grants (CSBG), which will include Skills Training, Dental, Vision, Auto
and Water Bill Assistance."
"20 years ago, a deadly
heat wave gripped Chicago, killing more than 730 people," said Ford. "It
was one of the deadliest natural disasters in the history of Chicago
and the nation. We cannot allow a tragedy such as what occurred in 1995
to happen again, if we can prevent it. I urge the General Assembly and
Governor Rauner to take action to restore funds for LIHEAP and related
programs so CEDA can do its job, before we are faced with this type of
situation again. I hope the governor can find a way to use an executive
order to fund the programs."
The 1995 Chicago heat wave
led to around 730 heat-related deaths in Chicago over a period of five
days. Most of the victims of the heat wave were elderly poor residents
of the city, who could not afford air conditioning and did not open
windows or sleep outside out of fear of crime.
"We need action on this
matter, while the state budget is being debated," said Rice. "These
federal funds have nothing to do with balancing the state budget, nor
can the state of Illinois use these funds for any other purpose, which
is why I don't understand why the federally funded programs cannot be
allowed to continue receiving these funds. I am deeply concerned that
our families who are in need of these services will fall deeper into
poverty because of the interruption in services. I am asking for swift
action to restore the flow of these funds, so that we can provide some
of the much needed services required by our low income residents
state-wide."
According to CEDA, they
provide services to over 500,000 clients throughout all of Cook County.
Collectively, community action agencies such as CEDA serve more than one
million individuals statewide every year. Additionally, community
action agencies in the state of Illinois have had to lay off more than
2,500 staff due to this blockage of funding.
Additional negative impacts
of suspended State and Federal funds include: over 43,000 households in
Cook County will not be served if state funds are suspended; over
28,000 households that were enrolled in the Percentage of Income Payment
Plan (PIPP) program will lose their benefits; clients on the PIPP
program will have utility arrearages placed back on their utility bills;
another 20,000 households will not be serviced by the interruption of
Federal funds for WIC, weatherization and CSBG programs.
Supporters of a petition to support restoration of funding may use this link:
For
more information, contact one of Ford's constituent service offices:
816 S. Oak Park Avenue in Oak Park at 708-445-3673, 4800 W. Chicago
Avenue in Chicago at 773-378-5902 or in the Stratton Office Building in
Springfield at 217-782-5962, or visit www.lashawnford.com.
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