IL Council on Developmental Disabilities

01/09/2026

Illinois Life Span & Family-to-Family Health Information Center Webinar

"Voting for People with Disabilities"

January 13, 2026
12:00 - 1:00 PM

2026 is an election year in Illinois.
This webinar is the first in a mini-series of voting and election preparation.

Presenters:

Rio Goodwin Perez, Director of Going Home Coalition
Jennifer Thibodeaux Sands, Senior Community Mobilization Manager of the Going Home Coalition, The Arc of Illinois

Questions:
rocio@thearcofil.org
susan@thearcofil.org

There will be electronic captioning in Spanish Available.

Register at this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_EmvqyLJdR4edcMoeSBhDMw #/registration

01/08/2026

This content developed from the NACDD page:

Community Webinar Alert!

Topic: An Advocate's Toolkit for Broad Medicaid Exemption Implementation

Date: Wednesday, January 14th
Time: 4:00pm - 5:00pm ET

Free to attend; registration is required

New Medicaid community engagement rules in federal law could seriously harm people who are medically fragile, even though the law says they should be exempt.

Experts from Justice In Aging will share a new toolkit to help advocates speak up now and throughout the rollout of these rules. The goal is to make sure states put safeguards in place to prevent people from losing coverage.

Zoom captioning is available for this event. If you require other accommodations to participate, please detail them in your registration. We will have the most success fulfilling your accommodation requests if they are submitted by January 7th.

Register at this Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/NxB3C0y4Q32p-AmPr9oDIw?fbclid=IwY2xjawPM2l1icmlkETF3VzBNWmQ0bmU2SXdNN0xyc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHkSL973QaBXo14xmbjBi0q3y9Anw6I1LLfkBNCsL7_wyXjufZNH3PbvvB7nm&brid=cDcBKH97Fv9fUOoYW73JFw #/registration

01/07/2026

Here is a story from WTTW Public Television from late November of 2025. The story is about changes to the Supplement Nutrition Assistance Program. The changes include stricter work requirements. The changes go into effect on February 1, 2026. https://news.wttw.com/2025/11/26/work-requirements-snap-are-changing-here-s-what-know-illinois Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services

Many Chicagoans impacted by the new rules live in divested neighborhoods already suffering from a lack of access to nutritious food.

01/06/2026

Listening Sessions

The Arc of Illinois is hosting a series of listening sessions in locations around Illinois. Below is information about a session scheduled for Thursday, January 15 in Springfield Illinois.

Here is the information from The Arc of Illinois:

Please join us for a listening session to help shape the future of the IDD system. The session will include an opportunity to fill out an official survey designed to collect your experiences with the IDD system in Illinois and to share your stories with your community.

Arc of Illinois System Redesign Listening Session
Date: Thursday, January 15, 2026
Time: 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM

Address: Illinois Assistive Technology Program
701 N. Walnut St.
Springfield, IL 62702

Register for the January 15 Listening Session at this link:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf9PYMHywtB8MJJQ7Wx2Mg-OG2RW3H4CQGS0WrHDKJo6ixfvg/viewform

01/05/2026

Virtual Town Hall Meeting

Join Rev Up Illinois for a Virtual Town Hall Meeting on Wednesday, January 7, 2026 from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. REV UP works to Build the Power of the Disability Vote, increasing civic engagement in the disability community and improving the accessibility of elections

Here is a note from Rev Up Illinois:

“Share your priorities. Learn our work. Build the movement.”

“Join REV UP Illinois to help shape advocacy efforts and empower voters with disabilities across Illinois. New and prospective members are welcome to join!”

Register Today: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/eBix7fy5SVi2TOgpTxTXYQ #/registration

12/31/2025

Happy Year New from the Illinois Council on Developmental Disabilities. We wish everyone a safe and prosperous New Year and we look forward to working with the community in 2026!

12/24/2025

Happy Holidays from the Illinois Council on Developmental Disabilities. We wish you a joyous and safe holiday season and New Year.

Image Description: Black-and-white winter scene showing a snowy village, evergreen trees, a stone bridge, and a lantern under a full moon.

12/23/2025

The IDD System Redesign Coalition, Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services, and the Medicaid Technical Assistance Center present a Behavioral Health Clinics Training. In this training, organizations will learn about the BHC model of service for people with dual diagnosis of intellectual and developmental disability and mental health conditions.

This flexible and community-integrated service model can be used for case management, community support (including employment support), therapy, crisis management, and more leveraging billable Medicaid funding.

The steps to become a Behavioral Health Clinic will be reviewed and a panel of current BHC implementers will be present to share their experience and answer questions.

The first Training is the Central Illinois Session. The training will be:

February 24, 2026
10am-2pm.

The training will be Hosted by

Lifelong Access
2000 Jacobssen Drive
Normal, IL 61761

Register at this link:

12/22/2025

The IDD System Redesign Coalition: A Disability Partners Project, is hosting feedback sessions on Dignity in Pay. The sessions will be hosted by The Institute on Public Policy for People with Disabilities, a Disabilities Partner Project Leader. Organizers of the session will ask for input on how Dignity in Pay affects families and how to best support people seeking community employment.

There will be three feedback sessions:

Wednesday, January 14, 2026, from 4:00 – 5:00 pm
Tuesday, January 20, 2026, from 12:00 noon – 1:00 pm
Tuesday, January 27, 2026, from 9:00 – 10:00 am

Register at this link:
https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=n0JV-R8v3EKm3BZC23VE2D6iH1J1CQxBgqvG_BcanwRUMlFJSTZJN0dCRDJYSjM0TzRJNlhXSlIxQi4u

For questions, please email Rebecca Clark at rebecca@instituteonline.org.

12/19/2025

Family Caregiver Exemption for SNAP Federal Work Requirements

This Illinois Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD) Communication from December 19, 2025 includes information about a Family Caregiver Exemption for SNAP Federal Work Requirements, which go into effect February 1, 2026.

The communication says “Caregivers are required to contact the IDHS (the Illinois Department of Human Services) via the local Family and Community Resource Center to report their status.”

Here is a link to the DDD Communication: https://www.dhs.state.il.us/page.aspx?item=176387

Scroll down to find the information about the Family Caregiver Exemption.

When policy is being written, prior to being published, the Draft Information Bulletin (Draft IB) is shared for public comments and feedback. Review the current Draft IBs by visiting DDD Draft Information Bulletins and submit comments on open drafts to DHS.DDDComments@illinois.gov.

12/18/2025

SNAP Rules are changing on February 1.

The new rules include Work Requirements. SNAP recipients need to meet the requirements or apply for an exemption by February 1.

A number of organizations and agencies are lining up resources and programs to help people make this transition. This includes the Greater Chicago Food Depository.

Learn more: chicagosfoodbank.org/snap
Greater Chicago Food Depository

See what SNAP has to offer and get answers to your questions on food stamps, eligibility and case management.

12/17/2025

Starting in late 2021, ICDD has worked on a Supportive Housing Navigator Project. Through this project, Housing Navigators at seven Independent Service Coordination Agencies in Illinois assist people with DD with finding and moving into supportive housing. Hundreds of self-advocates with DD are connected to the Housing Navigator Program, and the program has helped dozens move into homes of their own. In 2024, the Illinois Division of Developmental Disabilities transitioned Housing Navigation from a Pilot Program to a regular part of their work. This is a photo that includes ICDD Director Kimberly Mercer-Schleider, and former ICDD staff person Dennis Deany with Housing Navigators Janelle Napalit and Karen Edgar of Service Inc. Illinois.