Horizon House of Illinois Valley

11/04/2025

We hope you are having a wonderful birthday, Priscilla! 🎂🎉🥳

11/01/2025

Today was Julie's birthday. She had a party with her mom, step dad, and friends. Happy birthday Julie!🥳🎉🎂

11/01/2025

Amy made a new recipe she saw on TikTok -- Oreo covered pretzels! 😋

10/31/2025

These two decided to celebrate their birthdays with lunch at Applebee’s & bowling. 🎳 Melissa even brought cupcakes she baked and decorated to share with her friends and they were yummy. 😋 Happy Birthday Melissa & Dalton!! 🥳🎂🎈

10/31/2025

Halloween is for everyone! Bring on the Trick or Treaters!👻🎃🧙‍♀️

10/31/2025

Yesterday, DSP, Genie and Linda were both feeling spooky with matching shirts. Today, Lester was twinning with DSPs Genie and Sarah. 👻🎃💀☠️

10/29/2025

Lester was recently able to reconnect with an old friend, Thomas. They were very happy to see each other! 😊

10/29/2025

Billy, Jim, Alex and Jeff spend a lot of their days exploring the community. There are some community members who have become friends and have been very supportive, and welcoming. They decided to show their appreciation by surprising Kathy from the YMCA and Diane from the Oglesby McDonald's with flowers and thank you notes. They had fun delivering the gifts and seeing the reaction of their friends. 💐😊

10/29/2025

Thank you Senators Arellano and Balkema for joining us!

This morning I joined my colleague State Senator Chris Balkema to visit Horizon House of Illinois Valley, which has the mission of providing support and services for people with developmental disabilities. They serve several counties, including three I also serve: LaSalle County, Bureau County, and Marshall County.

For this meeting I was focused on listening learning as they discussed potential federal and state impacts they are concerned about. Given that they receive 90% of their funding from the State of Illinois, they have to pay close attention to our state budget!

We also heard stories from the people they serve, as well as learned a bit about their operations in general. Thank you to CEO Michelle Rich and her team for this legislative update!

10/28/2025

Ryan and Jonathan love finding a good book or magazine at LaSalle Library on a chilly day. 📚

10/28/2025

Horizon House held a Legislative Summit last week to address issues that will impact the agency. Topics discussed included a proposed cut to funded DSP hours, the interruptions and cuts to SNAP benefits, proposed cuts to Medicaid, and the ACA subsidies. We welcomed State Senators Balkema and Arellano, State Representative Briel, and Staff from the offices of Senators Anderson and Fritts. We shared statements from families whose loved ones would be affected, and Bishop S. and his mom, Tina, shared how vital the services are to them and to other families.

10/27/2025

Jim, Alex, Jeff, And Billy helped Julie, a Park Ranger at the IL Waterway, spread some seeds in a prairie to help with pollinating. 😃