To the Illinois Veteran Community:

 

This spring, we at IDVA used this newsletter to highlight how the state's pension crisis is so dire that is has become a veterans issue. That is even more the case today, as we approach the end of the 2012 legislative session and the best window in which to fix Illinois' pension crisis. So this month's newsletter is a call to veterans and veteran advocates to learn the issue and join the public movement to ensure that everyone in Springfield is committed to fixing the problem.

 

Despite tremendous support for veterans from the highest levels of Illinois government, no state agency is safe from the "squeeze" on budgets caused by ballooning pension costs. It is not just current veterans programs that are on the line - it is our ability to support veterans, educate our children, and provide for basic governance well into the future.

 

To learn more, check out the "This is My Illinois: Thanks in Advance" website at www.ThisIsMyIllinois.com. The site explains the pension squeeze in clear, simple language and calls on all Illinois citizens to understand and weigh in on the issue. Over the next several weeks, IDVA will continue to bring you and the public related updates through our Facebook and Twitter accounts. We encourage you to join us in these efforts to keep ourselves better informed and assist us in sharing information, facts, and important news.
 

The pension crisis affects all of us, now and into the future - and the issue is finally taking center stage in Springfield at the conclusion of this legislative session. Help us write the script by joining the grassroots movement at www.ThisIsMyIllinois.com.

 

As always, thanks to all of you--for your service, and for serving those who served.

 

Sincerely,

Erica J. Borggren

Director

Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs