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City of Chicago Residents:

Support HIV Prevention!

October 10, 2003

Dear ACLU of Illinois Action Alert Member in Chicago,

Our friends and allies at the AIDS Foundation of Chicago have asked members of the ACLU of Illinois to assist them in their efforts to help prevent the spread of HIV in the City of Chicago. A number of groups in Chicago are working to convince City Hall to increase funding for HIV prevention by $1 million. This effort is now at a critical juncture. Mayor Daley will release his proposed budget on October 15, 2003.

As of this writing, there is no assurance that the budget will increase funding for HIV prevention. We do know, however, that the mayor plans on cutting the health department budget by nearly $6 million. Your call is needed today.

ACTION NEEDED: Call Mayor Daley at 312-744-3300 TODAY and no later than Tuesday, October 14, 2003. The AIDS Foundation of Chicago has suggested this message: "I am a constituent calling to urge the mayor to provide for a $1 million increase in city corporate funding for HIV prevention in the 2004 budget."

Background

Since 1997, the City's funding for HIV prevention has decreased 8%--from nearly $4 million to $3.6 million--while the City's reported number of AIDS cases has increased 32%--from 15,441 to 20,480. Chicago broke the 20,000 cases mark this year. Of the more than 20,000 Chicagoans who have been reported with AIDS, only 8,930 of them are still alive. 11,550 people in Chicago are reported to have died of AIDS.

This epidemic has impacted all the diverse communities of Chicago. People of color account for approximately 69% of the City's total population, but they account for 81% of recently diagnosed adult AIDS cases and 77% of recently diagnosed HIV cases. African-Americans alone account for 65% of recently diagnosed adult AIDS cases and 61% of recently diagnosed adult HIV cases. And gay men continue to be hard hit; male-to-male sexual contact remains the number one mode of transmission.

Without increased prevention services, more people at risk for HIV will become infected; many will get sick, and some will die. Research indicates that $1 million spent on HIV prevention can save $2.7 million in averted healthcare costs.

For more information about this issue, go to http://www.aidschicago.org/advocacy/city_funding.php.

Thank you –
You action can make a difference