Illinois: Chicago City Budget Panel Adds $500,000 to Fight HIV

Efforts to secure greater funding for Chicago HIV/AIDS programs proved successful when the City Council Budget Committee voted Monday to add an additional $500,000 to the $3.7 million that Mayor Richard Daley had included in next year's budget.

Daley's budget had increased funding for the programs by $100,000 over the current year, but the new money still falls short of the $1 million extra that many alderpersons wanted and that activists said was necessary to adequately fight HIV/AIDS.

Budget Director William Abolt said the additional funding became available through Community Development Block Grant funds.

The mayor said he ultimately supported the increase, particularly if the end result is greater education about the disease and a decrease in new infections, especially in hard-hit minority communities. "Education and prevention. That is what you need," said Daley.

Ald. Tom Tunney (44th), the council's only openly gay member, and groups like AIDS Foundation of Chicago said in budget hearings that the amount of funding for citywide AIDS outreach programs has been on a slight but steady decline for the last five years from a high of $3.9 million in 1997. They also pointed out that during that time the number of new infections among African Americans and Latinos had risen. "There is a compelling case for putting more money into prevention funding," said David Munar, AFC's spokesperson.

The full council is expected to vote on the proposed city budget Wednesday.

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