Chicago City Council Begins New Term With Call For Increased AIDS Funding

A majority of the Chicago City Council kicked off its new term today by calling for a $1 million increase in city funding for HIV prevention services.

In a letter to Mayor Daley, 26 aldermen said that the amount of city funds devoted to HIV prevention has decreased 8% from nearly $4 million in 1997 to $3.6 million today, despite the fact that an ever-growing number of Chicagoans are becoming infected with HIV and are developing AIDS. The number of Chicagoans with AIDS has increased 21% since 1997. Since 1981, over 11,000 people in Chicago have died of AIDS.

Citing "the health of our wards and the health of our city," the group asks the Mayor to include the $1 million increase in his proposed 2004 budget.

The 26 aldermen note that there are now an estimated 22,000 Chicagoans living with HIV, many of whom do not know they are infected.

The letter's signatories also express particular concern about the impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic on communities of color: African-Americans, who account for approximately 36% of the City's total population, account for 66% of recently diagnosed adult AIDS cases and 64% of recently diagnosed adult HIV cases, and 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).

Similar statistics prompted Baltimore's mayor to recently declare a "state of emergency" in the fight against AIDS. "In Chicago, we should do no less," state the aldermen who favor the $1 million increase.

"The City's HIV/AIDS crisis will not wait until economic conditions improve," the aldermen say. Research shows that $1 million spent on HIV prevention has the potential to save $2.7 million in healthcare costs.

The aldermen who signed the letter are Madeline Haithcock (2nd), Toni Preckwinkle (4th), Leslie Hairston (5th), Todd Stroger (8th), Ed Burke (14th), Theodore Thomas (15th), Tom Murphy (18th), Michael Chandler (24th), Billy Ocasio (26th), Walter Burnett, Jr. (27th), Ed Smith (28th), Isaac Carothers (29th), Carrie Austin (34th), William Banks (36th), Emma Mitts (37th), Thomas Allen (38th), Margaret Laurino (39th), Pat O'Connor (40th), Burt Natarus (42nd), Vi Daley (43rd), Tom Tunney (44th), Pat Levar (45th), Helen Shiller (46th), Gene Schulter (47th), Mary Ann Smith (48th), and Joe Moore (49th).

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The AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC) is Illinois' principal advocate for people living with and at risk for HIV disease. Established in 1985 to provide central leadership in the fight against the epidemic, AFC promotes sound HIV/AIDS public policy, funds HIV/AIDS care and prevention projects, and through its Service Providers Council, helps to coordinate the delivery of essential HIV/AIDS services.

View aldermanic letter

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