June 16, 2026

One of the greatest hardships that someone can face is a health event that leads to a disabling condition that leads to an inability to work, which, in turn leads to a loss of income. If that disabling condition is long-term, a person should be able to apply for Disability benefits and start receiving monthly income.

But getting approved for Disability benefits in the State of Illinois is notoriously difficult:

• High initial denials: Approximately 65-70% of initial applications in Illinois are denied, requiring applicants to go through the lengthy appeals process;
• Long wait time: Illinois is facing severe backlogs, with some studies ranking Illinois at the bottom of the 8 states with the worst processing times, sometimes exceeding 200 days for initial decisions;
• Long waits for the last level of appeals with an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ): Once a person’s disability application has been denied at the appeals stages, the last appeal is with an ALJ, but people may have to wait for 12-18 months for their ALJ hearing.

These statistics are grim. The people who are waiting for disability benefits – sometimes waiting years for their cases to wind their way through the process – also have no income for their living expenses. Many people end up in dire situations where they are losing their housing, selling off possessions to survive, and becoming homeless. Many of us are only one illness, injury, or accident away from needing disability benefits.

CCHCC is here to help our community members get through the Disability application process as smoothly as possible, and as quickly as possible – and we are good at it! Over the years, we have been able to build a team of Disability Application Specialists who are available to serve anyone in Champaign County. And, as with all of our other services, our Disability Application Services are free!

And, we are very happy to announce that one of our Disability Application Specialists is now an attorney! Babatunde Amao, CCHCC’s Director of Health & Disability Policy, is now a licensed attorney in the State of Illinois. As such, Babatunde is able to represent his disability clients at the ALJ level. In a few short months, Babatunde has already received three approvals from the ALJ level, including one case involving a child!

Now, Babatunde wants to share with you a sequel from a real-life story that CCHCC shared with you last December: When Mr. S was approved for SSI last year, he told his best friend,a man who had also been struggling without income or stability, “They gave me hope again. You’re next.”

He wasn’t just offering comfort. He was making a promise to his best friend. It was a promise I had to fulfill.

A Promise Kept. In May of 2025, Mr. S’s friend walked through our doors. What followed was nearly a year of dedicated, painstaking work—mountains of paperwork, SSA medical appointments scheduled and rescheduled, and more than a few moments where patience was the most important thing I could offer. Through every delay and every setback, I walked alongside him, offering not just expertise, but steady encouragement: hold on, keep going, this is worth it.

And it was. Mr. S’s friend was approved for SSI with a lump-sum back pay award. The relief and gratitude he felt were overwhelming. He wanted to take me out to celebrate, a gesture I had to graciously decline as a matter of professional courtesy. But he was not finished expressing his thanks.

Last week, he came back to our office, this time with his sister by his side. What started as a heartfelt visit to say thank you quickly became something beautifully familiar to anyone who works in this field: an opportunity to help. Within that same visit, I helped his sister set up her SSA online account, one small but meaningful step toward her own future stability. And before he left, he committed to donating to CCHCC. Not because anyone asked. But because he understood, deeply, what this organization had done for him, he wanted to be part of making that possible for someone else.

Perhaps the moment that captures everything most perfectly is this: Mr. S’s friend has told his friends and community members that I am his lawyer, and he says it with pride. He may not know the technical distinction. But in the way that matters most, he is not wrong. I sat with him, understood his circumstances, built his case with care and precision, fought for him through a process designed to be discouraging, and did not stop until he had what he deserved. That is advocacy.

Since his approval, Mr. S’s friend has already referred two more people to our office, both in need of help filing for SSI/SSDI. Two more people who might have given up. Two more people who now have someone in their corner. This is how hope travels. Not in press releases or policy memos, but person to person, in the quiet and powerful act of one human being telling another: “go there, they helped me, you’re next.” I am proud to keep that promise, one client at a time.

CCHCC has grown in our ability and expertise to help community members from diverse backgrounds enroll in a wide variety of health insurance and public programs because we saw the need for these services in our community. CCHCC is the only organization in Champaign County that can help enroll community members in all forms of health insurance – whether that be Medicaid, Marketplace, or Medicare and Medicare-related programs. Beyond health insurance, CCHCC also helps with public benefits such as Medicare Extra Help, Medicare Savings, SNAP, Township General Assistance, LIHEAP, hospital financial assistance, and Disability benefits (SSI and SSDI). And, our services are free!

Please consider making a contribution to help support CCHCC’s ongoing work to enroll as many community members as possible in affordable health insurance and vital public benefits. The work we do can help stabilize community members’ health, and their financial lives.

SUPPORT CCHCC!

Thank you for your support! We appreciate your financial support for our services. Together, we are building a stronger, healthier community – together, we are giving the gift of health and security!

Sincerely,
Claudia Lennhoff
Executive Director
Champaign County Health Care Consumers

“They gave me hope again. You’re next!” – Mr. S

December 10, 2025

2025 has been a brutal year, and more pain is ahead as people face the prospect of losing benefits that are essential to their daily lives and survival. The partisan budget bill (the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”) that was passed and signed into law on July 4, 2025 is already causing harm and chaos nationally, and in our own community, with much worse to come. 

But Champaign County Health Care Consumers (CCHCC) is on the front lines, delivering the services that are essential for the lives and well-being of our community members, and advocating and organizing against harmful federal policies.

Over the years, CCHCC has grown in our ability and expertise to help community members from diverse backgrounds enroll in a wide variety of health insurance and public programs because we saw the need for these services in our community. CCHCC is the only organization in Champaign County that can help enroll community members in all forms of health insurance – whether that be Medicaid, Marketplace, or Medicare and Medicare-related programs. Beyond health insurance, CCHCC also helps with public benefits such as Medicare Extra Help, Medicare Savings, SNAP, Township General Assistance, LIHEAP, hospital financial assistance, and Disability benefits (SSI and SSDI). And, our services are free! 

Among the most vulnerable in our community are people who literally have nothing – no home, no income, no regular healthcare, no food, no support. The lives of people in these circumstances can be improved! But it takes hard work, special skills and knowledge, and the ability to establish trust with people who are disenfranchised. CCHCC does this work every day, in our office and out in the community.

This client story from Babatunde, CCHCC’s Director of Health & Disability Policy, gives a small window into the work that we do: “I began working with Mr. S in April. He had already applied for Social Security Disability benefits five times before, all unsuccessfully. By the time he reached out to our office, he was completely discouraged. He openly expressed that he had zero hope and was already mentally preparing for yet another appeal before we had even submitted anything.

Despite his doubts, we moved forward with his case. I worked closely with him to gather the necessary documentation, build a strong application, and ensure every detail was in place. This month, Mr. S was approved for SSI, and he received a significant backpay award.

When he got the news, he was in disbelief. He kept repeating how he never thought he would be approved, and that this was truly going to be his last attempt. The approval has not only brought him financial relief, but it has also restored his hope.

In fact, he was so moved by the outcome that he immediately referred his best friend, who is also in need of SSI support, to our office. He told his friend, ‘They gave me hope again. You’re next.’

It’s moments like this that remind me of the impact our work has—not just on individual clients, but on the people and communities connected to them. What began as a case filled with discouragement and doubt turned into a powerful reminder of the importance of persistence, compassion, and support.”

Our numbers speak for themselves. This year, CCHCC’s Disability Application Services Team has helped dozens of community members who had no income and no ability to work, secure disability benefits. Our team’s work has resulted in new monthly income totaling almost $49,000. Many of our clients also received “lump sum backpays” of disability income, totaling over $230,223. This is income coming to our community members to help them not only survive, but get housed and get their basic needs met. And this income also benefits our local economy because these moneys are spent locally.

CCHCC is one of the only non-profit community-based organizations in the nation that provides free help with Disability applications. Disability programs such as SSI and SSDI are incredibly difficult to apply for, and the rates of approval are dismal. But once someone qualifies for these benefits, they will have guaranteed monthly income to live on, and greater stability with housing and basic needs. CCHCC is the only organization in Champaign County that provides this free service to the public at large.

Our services meet the needs of our community’s diverse populations, including immigrants, seniors, and individuals with disabilities. In Champaign County, we have growing populations of low-income immigrants, seniors, and individuals living with disabilities who need help with health insurance, health care, and public benefits. Our work helping people apply for public benefits such as Medicaid, SNAP, Medicare Extra Help, Medicare Savings, AABD, disability programs like SSI and SSDI, and so on, is helping to create better financial stability for low-income individuals in these diverse population groups. Several CCHCC staff members are bi-lingual and are able to serve non-English speaking community members. And, as program requirements change, and benefit cuts are enacted, our work to help community members will continue – both in the form of direct services to help people survive, and in the form of advocacy and community organizing efforts as we partner with state and national organizations to prevent harm from deleterious policy changes.

Please consider making a contribution to help support CCHCC’s ongoing work to enroll as many community members as possible in affordable health insurance and vital public benefits. The work we do can help stabilize community members’ health, and their financial lives. And in turn, we need your help! Please consider making a year-end financial contribution to support CCHCC’s work.

Thank you for your support! We appreciate your financial support for our work. Together, we are building a stronger, healthier community – together, we are giving the gift of health, hope, and security!

Support CCHCC!

Sincerely,
Claudia Lennhoff
Executive Director
Champaign County Health Care Consumers