Category Archives: Take Action

URGENT – Tell Congress: No Medicaid Cuts for Billionaire Tax Breaks!

May 15, 2025

This is an urgent call to action.
 
House Republicans have released the text of their budget reconciliation bill and, as expected, it calls for the largest cut to Medicaid in history.
 
According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the bill would result in 13.7 million Americans losing their healthcare coverage. The sole purpose of this drastic cut is to permanently fund tax cuts for the ultra-rich.
 
These GOP-proposed cuts will have massive repercussions for our healthcare system. People will still need healthcare, but state and local governments will have far less money to help meet those needs. Emergency rooms will see more uninsured individuals. Some hospitals and clinics may not be able to survive these cuts.
 
Republicans who promised not to cut Medicaid benefits should vote NO. And the President must uphold his promise not to cut Medicaid.
 
We need to take action to tell Congress to stop taking healthcare coverage and healthcare away from millions of Americans just to further enrich the wealthiest few in our nation!
 
Please see below to learn how you can take action NOW. We are also providing important resources and information on Medicaid for those of you who would like to learn more.
 
Take Action NOW!
 
Making phone calls is the most important way that you can take action NOW! Legislators do track the calls that they receive, and note the number of opponents and supporters who are making those calls.
 
We are urging three actions: a) a call to the chair of the House Energy & Commerce Committee; b) call to Illinois Congressional Representatives; and c) adding your name to a petition to protect Medicaid.

READ ON AND TAKE ACTION!

Hands Off! Rally – THIS Saturday, April 5 at noon – West Side Park

April 03, 2025

Champaign County Health Care Consumers is inviting you to attend a rally this Saturday at West Side Park at noon.
 
This event is being organized as part of a national day of rallies around the country to fight back against the Trump Administration’s plans and ongoing efforts to dismantle vital national programs. People around the country are fighting against the Administration’s efforts to take away healthcare programs, data that drives policies, jobs, and services. This is a crisis, and the time to act is now.
 
We hope you will join us for this important event.
 
Here are the details:
 
WHAT: Hands Off! Rally – Champaign County, IL Fights Back
 
WHEN: Saturday, April 5, 2025
 
TIME: 12 noon – 2 p.m. Central Time
 
WHERE:  West Side Park – 400 W. University Ave., Champaign, IL 61820
 
RSVP (Please): https://www.mobilize.us/handsoff/event/768779/

READ MORE!

CCHCC Guest Commentary on Tax Referendum in The News-Gazette

March 27, 2025

CCHCC is urging Champaign residents to vote YES for the City of Champaign Township Tax Referendum. The following Guest Commentary by CCHCC’s Executive Director, Claudia Lennhoff, ran in The News-Gazette on Tuesday, March 25, 2025. Please also see the WCIA TV interview on the same topic. 

For a relative small amount of money – about $5 more per month on a $100,000 home – Champaign residents can support the City of Champaign Township, which provides General Assistance and Rental Assistance to Champaign residents, and also operates the Strides Shelter. The City of Champaign Township also includes the Township Assessor’s office, which is currently understaffed.

Please vote YES on the property tax referendum on the ballot for residents of the City of Champaign.

The City of Champaign Township’s current tax levy is extremely low at 0.0296%. By comparison, the levy for Cunningham Township (in the city of Urbana) is about ten times greater at 0.3015%, and Decatur Township’s levy is even higher at 0.3527%.

The City of Champaign Township property tax levy will help fund vital services provided to Champaign residents, including rental assistance to prevent evictions, and General Assistance to provide financial support to residents with disabilities while they are applying for Disability income from SSI and/or SSDI – a grueling process that can take a very long time. The Township property tax will also help fund additional personnel for the Township Assessor’s Office, which will help support timely and fair property tax assessments for Champaign residents. Lastly, but not least, the property tax levy will help support the Strides Shelter, which is currently understaffed and at risk of closing due to lack of adequate funding.

Strides Shelter opened in 2023, thanks to a $750,000 ARPA grant provided by the City of Urbana. Other local governmental bodies, including the Champaign County Mental Health Board, also contribute to services provided at Strides by funding various nonprofit organizations that deliver services there. While Strides Shelter is located in Champaign, a tremendous amount of financial support for the services provided there come from other funding streams. Many non-profits collaborate to try to help Strides clients get back on their feet, while Strides provides the shelter they need.

READ ON!

Information Session on City of Champaign Township Tax Levy – Wednesday, March 19

March 18, 2025

If you live in the city of Champaign, you have an opportunity to cast a vote on the April 1st ballot to support funding for the STRIDES Homeless Shelter and homelessness-prevention efforts provided by the City of Champaign Township. The ballot initiative involves a slight property tax increase within the City of Champaign.
 
Champaign County Health Care Consumers (CCHCC) is urging Champaign residents to vote YES to this ballot initiative.
 
Vote YES Champaign Information Session
Please join us for an informative panel discussion with local experts who will discuss the upcoming April 1 ballot measure to fund the City of Champaign Township and its Rental Assistance Program and the Strides Shelter.
 
WHEN:          Wednesday, March 19, 2025
TIME:            6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.
WHERE:        Champaign Public Library, Robeson Pavilion C (first floor); 200 W. Green St., Champaign
 
About the Property Tax Levy
Voters in the City of Champaign will see the proposed property tax levy on their ballots. The measure reads as follows:
 
“CITY OF CHAMPAIGN TOWNSHIP
 
PROPOSITION TO INCREASE THE LIMITING RATE

READ ON!

URGENT – Take Action TODAY to save Medicaid!

February 25, 2025

I won’t sugarcoat this – we need your help immediately in order to try to save the Medicaid program. If you can, please make these phone calls TODAY, before 5 p.m.
 
The House is set to vote on their budget resolution today, which includes massive cuts to Medicaid. Hundreds of thousands of Illinoisans will lose their access to healthcare if this budget resolution passes. Help us flood Rep. Bost, LaHood, and Miller’s phones TODAY to say NO to this budget resolution, and NO to Medicaid cuts! Use the phone numbers and sample language below to get started.
 
Please call as many of these Representatives as possible! Also, please share this message with other people so that they can help make calls as well. CCHCC will provide updates on an ongoing basis.

READ ON!