Close to 300 social workers attended the NASW IL Older Adults SIG workshop at the 2010 Annual Conference of the American Society on Aging (ASA) that took place in Chicago last week. The ASA conference, held in conjunction with the National Council on Aging Conference (NCOA) brings together social work leaders as well as other leadership in the field of aging from Illinois and around the country. Our SIG’s workshop featured a keynote presentation by Pat Volland, senior vice president of Strategy and Business Development at the New York Academy of Medicine (NYAM) and director of NYAM’s Social Work Leadership Institute. Responding to Pat’s address were Phyllis Mitzen, co-director of the Center for Long Term Care Reform at the Health and Medicine Resource Group, and Dan Kuhn, director of the Professional Training Institute for the Greater Illinois Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association, based in Chicago. Dan ably filled in for Marcia Spira, associate professor at Loyola University Chicago and the director of Loyola’s Institute on Aging and Intergenerational Study and Practice and chair of the NASW IL Older Adults SIG. Marcia had to have emergency surgery shortly before the ASA conference. She is doing fine. The workshop included a panel moderated by Dan Kuhn that featured Robyn Golden, LCSW, director of Older Adult Programs, Rush University Medical University, W. June Simmons, MSW, the CEO and president of Partners in Care Foundation, Elaine Jurkowski, MSW, PhD, associate professor, Graduate Program Director, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, School of Social Work, Jeannine Melly, MPH, deputy director, Social Work Leadership Institute, New York Academy of Medicine. I want to thank the NASW IL Older Adults SIG for putting together this informative workshop and “getting the word out” about the group’s work here in Illinois. Detailed information about the Older Adults SIG is available on its blog at, as well all the presenters’ bios and pictures that presented at the ASA workshop.
Dennis Crowell and I hit the road again, first on Wednesday evening at Augustana College in Rock Island, IL, for an event sponsored by the NASW IL Mississippi District. Longtime NASW IL member Vicki Sommer, PhD, ACSW, professor of Sociology, Anthropology, & Social Welfare, and department chair of the Women's & Gender Studies Program at the college, pulled the event together that featured a CEU presentation on Development Assets. Several NASW Iowa members from the western side of the Mississippi River attended the event, including former longtime social worker and senator from Iowa, Maggie Tinsman.
From Rock Island, Dennis and I traveled back to the Chicago area to attend the Northeastern District’s CEU and Awards Event held in Northbrook. Kathy Marshall Emerson, executive director of the National Resilience Resource Center presented, “Tapping Natural Resilience.” It was very interactive and experiential presentation. Ruth Lipschultz received the district’s Social Work of the Year Award. Ruth is currently the chair of the National NASW Committee on Ethics and has served on the Illinois Chapter’s Committee on Ethics and is one of the chapter’s more frequent ethics trainers.
You may recall the elected Democratic candidate for Illinois Lieutenant Governor (a post Governor Pat Quinn held for six years until he was appointed Governor in February 2009) Scott Lee Cohen resigned under pressure after issues in his past regarding domestic violence surfaced. As a result, the Democratic State Party’s Central Committee conducted a statewide call for candidates for the position. Over 270 aspiring candidates responded and this past weekend, Democratic Party officials picked seventeen finalists to be interviewed in Springfield next Saturday. One of those 270 candidates was Kyle Hillman, CMP, NASW IL Chapter’s Manager of Financial Services and Conference-Special Events and a resident of Rogers Park’s 49th ward. Kyle came just a vote short of being one of the seventeen finalists to present in Springfield this Saturday. He noted that the process was very open and transparent and appreciated the seriousness in which the committeemen and women took their responsibilities. State Democratic Party Chairman and Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives was one of the panelists. A complete list of finalists can be found here.
Starting on Monday, March 29, 2010, the Illinois General Assembly will be on spring recess. We need social workers to contact their House members to encourage them to raise revenue to at least the levels proposed in HB174. Only through comprehensive tax reform, will we be able to raise the necessary revenue required to ensure a future healthy Illinois economy. Budget cuts and governmental reform will not allow us to provide vital services for our most vulnerable Illinois residents. More information will be forthcoming in a Capwiz alert to membership at the end of this week.
