Tuesday was my 45th birthday, and if my eighth-grader informing me I’m “middle-aged” and “halfway to 90″ didn’t make me feel old enough, along came Gov. JB Pritzker with Executive Order 2024-02: “To Establish Multi-Sector Plan For Aging.”
Capitol News Illinois’ report says Census estimates have 25% of the state’s population to be 60 or older by 2030. While I’ve got another 15 years before entering that demographic, Pritzker’s plan also stretches about that far. The executive order calls for the Department on Aging to hire a chief planning officer, and that person will create a 10-year strategy.
The order sets a December 2025 deadline for the new employee to present plans to the General Assembly. Even if that timeline is met – plenty of comparable efforts have comfortably moved the goalposts – the earliest lawmakers could turn suggestions into policy is the regular session in 2026 with measures taking effect July 1 that year or Jan. 1 the next. And that’s presuming very little legislative pushback (which itself presumes a bunch of money to expand government operations).
So what’s on the table?
“This plan will examine every aspect of the aging and caretaking experience and work on comprehensive, holistic solutions to gaps in care or barriers to access,” Pritzker said in a statement. “We know that it’s not just about supporting aging adults, but also being mindful of caretaker needs and the complex needs of individuals with disabilities, and this plan will ensure no one is left behind.”
The likeliest path would include overhauling the Caregiver Support Program, which also incorporates grandparents raising grandchildren, along with elements of five consecutive different two-year aging plans. Be vigilant for opportunities to provide input.
The best phrase in the entire release is a commitment to setting “clear, measurable objectives for evaluating public and private sector progress toward” the goal of supporting an aging population. That clarity is essential for generating public and political support.
WHITHER PEOTONE? Last Saturday’s column about plans for a cargo-only airfield in Chicago’s south suburbs left some readers wondering about the long-discussed Peotone passenger airport. I should’ve made it more clear that the new vision (get used to officials referencing a south suburban airport, or SSA) supplants the old. The CNI story I referenced included a useful paragraph:
“The plan for an airport in the south suburbs has been proposed and discussed in various forms for decades, with the earliest proposals coming in the 1960s. The state has commissioned several studies on the plan’s viability since the early 1990s. Although previous proposals included passenger travel, the current plan is for a cargo-only airport between Beecher and Peotone. The state currently owns 89% of the land needed to build such an airport.”
• Scott T. Holland writes about state government issues for Shaw Local News Network. Follow him on X, @sth749. He can be reached at sholland@shawmedia.com.
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