The AIDS Foundation of Chicago ( AFC ) hosted "Pizza and Policy" Jan. 23 at its downtown Chicago office, 200 W. Jackson Blvd.
As community members and healthcare employees sat down to a complimentary pizza dinner, AFC Director of Government Relations Ramon Gardenhire walked the audience through the latest in HIV/AIDS policy news.
In 2011, the AFC focused its attention on a handful of key legislative efforts in Springfield, Ill.
— The first, a bill that allows for opt-out HIV testing in prisons, was signed into law Aug. 12, 2011. HIV rates are about 2-3 times higher among inmates than in the general population; the new law moves HIV testing toward becoming the norm.
— A second piece of legislation, signed by Gov. Pat Quinn Aug. 25, 2011, makes it mandatory to report all CD4 and viral load testing results to local health department officials.
"This can help us with prevention strategies," Gardenhire said. "So if we're seeing that the viral load is really high in one particular community, that community and public health officials can wrap their minds around: Is there not enough medication? Is there a lack of access to care?"
— Comprehensive sex education was high on AFC's list. A bill co-sponsored by state Sen. Heather Steans and state Rep. Camille Lilly would have required schools that provide abstinence-only education to also offer medically accurate, developmentally appropriate contraception information.
"There are many school districts across the state that teach abstinence-only, or they teach misinformation about the effectiveness of sexual preventative measures," Gardenhire said. "For instance, school districts may say that condoms are only 20 percent effective, which we know is completely not true."
The Illinois Board of Education would determine curricula, and parents could opt of sex education entirely. The bill passed the Senate, and will be brought to a vote in the state House during the upcoming session.
"It's one of our key legislative priorities because unfortunately the only uptick in new HIV infections that we've seen has been in youth," Gardenhire said.
— Both houses of the Illinois General Assembly passed the EMS Access Act, which is awaiting a signature from Gov. Quinn. The bill allows for people who call 911 in potential overdose situations to receive partial immunity for any drugs found in their systems.
"We're seeing a spike in overdoses across the state," Gardenhire said. "Many times people freak out and leave the scene, and unfortunately, people die. … In drug overdoses, time is critical."
The legislation should ease fears related to reporting overdoses. Similar bills have been successful in Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, New Mexico, Utah and Washington—not to mention on more than 100 college campuses.
— A bill that would focus on harm reduction in correctional settings was never brought to a vote. The legislation would give inmates access to condoms, a move some prison officials claim could lead to drug trafficking concerns.
After the 2011 roundup, Gardenhire shared with the audience AFC's plans for 2012. The nonprofit will implement at a local level President Obama's National HIV/AIDS Strategy, which AFC President/CEO David Ernesto Munar helped draft.
Obama's strategy calls for three points: to reduce new infections, to increase access to care and to reduce HIV-related health disparities.
Gardenhire expressed concern over the Illinois budget crisis. Gov. Quinn recently proposed a 9 percent across-the-board budget cut that would exclude education and healthcare funding. Many AIDS organizations worry whether they'll be filed under "healthcare," which would be exempt, or "human services," which will suffer funding losses.
Financial and structural changes to the AIDS Drug Assistance Program ( ADAP ) were also a concern. Eligibility for ADAP will be cut from 500 to 300 percent of the federal poverty level, and clients must reapply for assistance every six months or face getting cut off from the program.
In 2012, the AFC will push for anti-bullying policies, as well as partner notification for inmates who test HIV-positive. It also plans to focus on a law that requires health departments to notify principals when a student tests positive for HIV.
"It is a holdover from the 1980s," Gardenhire said. "We've had some opposition from the Principal's Association, who feel that they need to know [ a student's status ] even though there's no medical research reason why they should. There's already universal precautions, where if a child falls and scrapes his knee, they're required to use gloves."
The law has already been amended to limit testing notification for students who are in elementary school.
"The beauty of this is that there's not very many K to 5th graders who are being tested for HIV," Gardenhire said. "It's somewhat of a de facto repeal."
A final legislative priority will be to extend the Quality of Life lottery; all proceeds from the successful scratch-off ticket program go toward HIV prevention efforts across the state. The program has raised more than $3 million to date, but is set to end in December 2012.
"When we have independent lines of revenue during a budget crisis," Gardenhire said, "it's even more important to protect them."
This story is part of the Local Reporting Initiative, supported in part by The Chicago Community Trust.
