Legislative Alert:  July 2007

Governor hesitating on mental health bill

By Hugh Brady

There is some good news from Springfield:  the Illinois state legislature has just passed a bill (Senate Bill 234) which will be of great assistance in getting treatment for persons suffering from mental illness. There's a problem, however, in that our governor is hesitating to sign it into law.

As you probably know, one of the difficulties in getting treatment is that people with mental illness often refuse treatment because they do not recognize they have a problem. Many of us have experienced the heartbreak of seeing a family member deteriorate to the point that they are a danger to themselves or others and have had to stand helplessly by, unable to get them into a treatment program.

The new bill makes it somewhat easier to require individuals with mental illness to get treatment. It proposes that people who cannot understand the need for treatment and are at risk of becoming a danger to themselves or others without that treatment should be helped. That is similar to the standard for treatment interventions in many other states.

According to NAMI Illinois’ statement on this bill, the goal of the legislation is to establish “a process that allows people with serious mental illness to receive treatment when they have no insight into their need for treatment, are likely to suffer further deterioration and are likely to engage in dangerous conduct in the near future. This legislation modestly broadens the criteria for placing a person in treatment due to a severe mental illness crisis.”

Now that the legislation has passed both Houses of the state legislature, it needs the Governor’s signature to become law. NAMI-IL is urging everyone to write a short note or send an e-mail to Governor Blagojevich, urging him to sign this bill.

It’s quite easy to send an e-mail – just go to this link:

http://www.illinois.gov/gov/contactthegovernor.cfm

Once you’re there, just fill in the form. Include a short note urging the Governor to sign SB234.

Or, if you prefer, send a print letter to

Honorable Rod Blagojevich
Governor
State Capitol 207
Statehouse Springfield, IL 62706

Or you could call the Governor’s office at (217) 782-6830 and leave a short message to the same effect. Even better, you could write and call!

Your letter (and your phone call) could make the difference! NAMI Illinois is urging everyone to take time to urge the Governor to sign this bill into law.

If you'd like to learn more about the bill, here's an article from the Chicago Tribune and here's a link where you can read the bill in its entirety along with reports on its progress.