Midwestern Region
Midwestern
Representatives:
Bonnie Davis,
Barbara Slaven,
2007 Midwestern VOP News
Belleville Council Vincentians Speak Out Along with Parishes (April 2007)
When utility fees spiked 40% in Illinois Vincentians moved into action. A sample letter was drafted and sent to parishes to encourage others to speak out about the situation. The result: 70% of Churches wrote a letter to their legislators. According to Vincentian Joe Hubbard, this was the biggest cause legislators heard from in 10 years. The cry was heard for the need to help families with electricity. By furnishing letters for insertion in bulletins and also for distribution in Churches got attention. Vincentians in Illinois also rallied for budget increases for TANF and reauthorization of the State Childrens Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). Pat Hogrebe shares sample letters. Following is from a letter to Governor Blagojevich addressing the utility situation.
As a concerned voter in the State of Illinois, I am writing with great urgency to express my serious concern about Ameren’s recent 40% utility increase. This energy hike is being felt by everyone but is causing extreme hardship for the low-income, disabled, and elderly. It is causing a very negative ripple effect; the poor who are struggling now with utility payments are being pushed into deeper poverty, those who have been barely able to pay their bills are finding themselves in a position of not having enough money to meet all their expenses, and those who have been able to share discretionary income with the poor are having to use it to cover their own utility bills.
The poor and low-income are struggling and suffering in Illinois and across the nation. I feel very strongly that this extreme increase in utility charges is having a dramatic impact for countless families, especially in our own region of St. Clair County. At a time when utility profits and executive salaries are at an all time high, we have a moral obligation to examine the social impact of such action by Ameren and the issue of social justice in our society.