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| 1 | HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, The Illinois ABLE program is a transformative tool | ||||||
| 3 | for Illinoisians with disabilities and their families who want | ||||||
| 4 | to save for additional expenses that come with living with a | ||||||
| 5 | disability; and
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| 6 | WHEREAS, Before ABLE, people with disabilities lived with | ||||||
| 7 | chronic financial insecurity, and only those with means had a | ||||||
| 8 | real pathway to financial independence and to achieve the | ||||||
| 9 | promise of the Americans with Disabilities Act to assure | ||||||
| 10 | equality of opportunity, full participation, independent | ||||||
| 11 | living, and economic self-sufficiency; and
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| 12 | WHEREAS, In 2014, a great bi-partisan victory was achieved | ||||||
| 13 | when members of Congress joined together to pass the Stephen | ||||||
| 14 | Beck Jr. Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act, making | ||||||
| 15 | it possible for people with disabilities to save for disability | ||||||
| 16 | expenses without losing federal means-tested benefits, and | ||||||
| 17 | more than 42 states plus the District of Columbia have launched | ||||||
| 18 | ABLE programs since then; and
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| 19 | WHEREAS, The Illinois General Assembly passed ABLE | ||||||
| 20 | legislation in 2015, and Illinois now leads a 17-state National | ||||||
| 21 | ABLE Alliance, representing approximately one-quarter of the | ||||||
| 22 | ABLE eligible population nationwide; and
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| 1 | WHEREAS, Illinois ABLE was launched by the State | ||||||
| 2 | Treasurer's Office in January 2017, and three years later, as | ||||||
| 3 | of January 1, 2020, more than 1,200 Illinois ABLE accounts have | ||||||
| 4 | been opened; approximately $10 million has been contributed to | ||||||
| 5 | save for a wide range of qualified disability expenses, such as | ||||||
| 6 | therapy, adaptive equipment, training, transportation, job | ||||||
| 7 | coaching, housing, and more; and
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| 8 | WHEREAS, Illinois ABLE has created a pathway to greater | ||||||
| 9 | financial independence for Illinoisians with disabilities and | ||||||
| 10 | their families, incentivizes employment of people with | ||||||
| 11 | disabilities, and increases economic self-reliance and | ||||||
| 12 | person-centered independence for many individuals with | ||||||
| 13 | disabilities; and
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| 14 | WHEREAS, The State Treasurer offers his thanks and | ||||||
| 15 | heartfelt appreciation for the path that Illinois lawmakers | ||||||
| 16 | blazed four years ago and acknowledges that we must build upon | ||||||
| 17 | our progress to keep Illinois ABLE on the path to advancement | ||||||
| 18 | through cooperation and collaboration with Illinois human | ||||||
| 19 | services agencies and departments to accomplish the long term | ||||||
| 20 | goals of the ABLE ACT; and | ||||||
| 21 | WHEREAS, Illinois human services agencies and departments, | ||||||
| 22 | including the Illinois Department of Human Services, the | ||||||
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| 1 | Division of Family and Community Services, the Division of | ||||||
| 2 | Rehabilitation Services, the Division of Mental Health, the | ||||||
| 3 | Division of Developmental Disabilities, the Division of | ||||||
| 4 | Substance Use Prevention and Recovery, the Department of | ||||||
| 5 | Children and Family Services, the Department of Healthcare and | ||||||
| 6 | Family Services, the Department on Aging, and the Illinois | ||||||
| 7 | State Board of Education can aid in the identification of | ||||||
| 8 | ABLE-eligible persons and direct the dissemination of | ||||||
| 9 | information about ABLE through a direct connection to | ||||||
| 10 | approximately 300,000 people in the State of Illinois who are | ||||||
| 11 | ABLE-eligible; and | ||||||
| 12 | WHEREAS, The State Treasurer recognizes these state | ||||||
| 13 | agencies and departments for their excellent service to people | ||||||
| 14 | with disabilities across the state and looks to achieve support | ||||||
| 15 | from these agencies and departments in helping Illinoisians | ||||||
| 16 | with disabilities achieve a better life experience through ABLE | ||||||
| 17 | savings plans as they are essential to the continued success of | ||||||
| 18 | Illinois ABLE; therefore, be it | ||||||
| 19 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
| 20 | HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE | ||||||
| 21 | SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we encourage these state | ||||||
| 22 | agencies and departments to continue their efforts to train | ||||||
| 23 | staff and share information about Illinois ABLE to the | ||||||
| 24 | beneficiaries they serve; and be it further
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| 1 | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | ||||||
| 2 | delivered to the Illinois Department of Human Services, the | ||||||
| 3 | Division of Family and Community Services, the Division of | ||||||
| 4 | Rehabilitation Services, the Division of Mental Health, the | ||||||
| 5 | Division of Developmental Disabilities, the Division of | ||||||
| 6 | Substance Use Prevention and Recovery, the Department of | ||||||
| 7 | Children and Family Services, the Department of Healthcare and | ||||||
| 8 | Family Services, the Department on Aging, the Illinois State | ||||||
| 9 | Board of Education, and the Treasurer's Office.
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