The AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC) is spearheading an effort to increase the city's contributions to the fight against AIDS by $1 million.
The city's corporate funding of AIDS has declined about eight percent since 1997, said Brent Adams, appointed recently to the new AFC position of lobbyist in charge of city and county affairs.
Adams, along with other AFC representatives and someone from the Alliance for Community Empowerment, a South Side agency, lobbied City Council members last week to gather signatures in support of the effort. More than 15, including new Ald. Tom Tunney, have signed on so far.
AFC also is encouraging alderpersons and others to send letters to the mayor in support of the increase, which would be for the fiscal year 2004 budget. Negotiations for that budget begin during the summer, with Mayor Daley's proposed budget usually out by October.
'We want to make sure this issue is at the forefront when budget negotiations start in the summer,' Adams said.
AFC is also asking Chicagoans to write a personal, short, hand-written letter to the mayor, thanking him for his past support and asking for the $1 million increase.
'The $1 million figure makes up both for the eight percent decrease since 1997 and accounts for inflationary and cost-of-living increases, and also for the increased spread of the epidemic,' Adams said. 'While this is not by any means entirely sufficient to provide for all the HIV needs in the city, it does make up for lost time.'
City 'corporate funding' refers to city revenue from taxes and fees as distinguished from funds received by the city from the state or federal government. City funding for HIV prevention programs has not kept pace with the growth in the epidemic, AFC said. The number of cases of HIV and AIDS in Chicago have increased every year since the epidemic began, and since 1997, reported AIDS cases in Chicago have increased by 21 percent. In that same time period, however, Chicago's funding for HIV prevention programs has decreased eight percent.
Currently, there are an estimated 22,000 Chicagoans living with HIV, many of whom do not know that they are infected, and the epidemic continues to exact a heavy toll on African-Americans and Latinos, AFC said. Nationally and in Chicago, male-to-male sexual contact remains the leading mode of transmission. African-Americans, who account for approximately 36% of the city's population, account for 66% of recently diagnosed adult AIDS cases and 64% of recently diagnosed HIV cases. The AIDS rate in Chicago among Puerto Ricans (26 per 100,000 residents) is second only to the AIDS rate among African-Americans (41 per 100,000 residents). And 48% of recently diagnosed adult male AIDS cases are among men who have sex with men.
'Given the scope of the city's budget, our request for $1 million is small. In fact, it represents less than .1% of the city's $2.5 billion corporate budget and is only about 1% of the City's projected revenue increase in 2003,' Adams said. 'Mayor Daley has provided outstanding leadership to the City of Chicago, and we applaud his dedication to helping tens of thousands of Chicagoans infected by HIV. The AIDS Foundation of Chicago and our partners call on the Mayor to help our community during these trying times and to provide for an increase of $1 million in city corporate funding for HIV prevention services in the 2004 fiscal year budget.'
See www.AIDSChicago.org .