Advocacy Blogs

October 24, 2025 Written by Joe O’Sullivan, Director of Public Policy and Advocacy At midnight on October 1, the start of its new fiscal year, the federal government entered a partial shutdown as the previous fiscal year’s funding expired. As the shutdown lingers on, only essential federal employees remain on…

October 3, 2025 Written by Joe O’Sullivan, Director of Public Policy and Advocacy In January of 2026, the state of Illinois will eliminate approximately 600,000 Direct Support Professional (DSP) service hours. This means that 300 full time equivalent (FTE) DSP positions will be eliminated, Illinois providers will experience a significant…

August 28, 2025 Written by Joe O’Sullivan, Director of Public Policy and Advocacy The FY26 budget for the state of Illinois includes steep cuts to Direct Support Professional (DSP) service hours for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD). Beginning January 2026, individuals will lose hundreds of thousands of service…

July 17, 2025 Written by Joe O’Sullivan, Director of Public Policy and Advocacy The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) was signed into law by President Trump on July 4th and could jeopardize access to home and community based services (HCBS) for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD). While…

June 25, 2025 Written by Joe O’Sullivan, Director of Public Policy & Advocacy The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) includes massive proposed cuts to Medicaid — threatening essential supports for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD). We’re calling on advocates, families, and supporters to help protect these critical…

May 29, 2025 Written by Joe O’Sullivan, Director of Public Policy and Advocacy The FY26 budget for the state of Illinois threatens to cut services to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD). We are fighting back against these proposed cuts, and need your voice to stand up for individuals…

October 10, 2023 Written by Joe O’Sullivan, Director of Public Policy and Advocacy For far too long in Illinois, individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities have been undervalued and de-prioritized. They have struggled to receive crucial services and supports that empower them to live independently and help integrate them into…

September 26, 2023 Written by Joe O’Sullivan, Director of Public Policy and Advocacy Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities deserve to have their voices heard, but making your voice heard is not always as easy as it sounds. That is why Clearbrook’s Self-Advocacy program works to empower individuals with disabilities…

September 5, 2023 Written by Joe O’Sullivan, Director of Public Policy and Advocacy Do you want to know how you can make your voice heard by the people elected to represent your community? Clearbrook Advocacy empowers you to use your voice and influence change for those who need it most…