FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 23, 2010

CONTACT: Rich Morthland
P: (309) 654-2229

MORTHLAND ATTENDS DISABILITY FORUM

Moline, IL – Rich Morthland, Republican candidate for State Representative in the 71st House District, attended the LifeMyWay Legislative Developmental Disability Forum on Monday evening.

“The developmental disability forum was an important event for me,” Morthland said. “As the parent of a daughter with epilepsy, I am deeply concerned about the role of state government in assisting and protecting individuals with disabilities.”

At the forum, Morthland emphasized his opposition to cuts to services for the developmentally disabled. He also encouraged a forensic audit of the Illinois budget to identify waste and corruption to make changes needed to continue to provide services for
those who need the assistance the most.

“Let me be perfectly clear about this: I will never use the developmentally disabled as pawns like Governor Quinn has done these past two years,” Morthland said. “I do not believe in balancing the budget on the backs of those who need help the most. I think we need to streamline our current system and stop wasting money. For example, the state spent $55 million on planes and other vehicles for officials in Illinois last year. Can you imagine what kind of impact $55 million could have on the lives of developmentally disabled individuals?”

“I believe we need to take two steps. First, we need to perform a forensic audit of the Department of Human Services to find ways to cut that will not negatively affect services; and second, we need to eliminate wasteful spending like the state planes and use those savings to properly fund human services and education.”

For questions or more information, please contact the Committee to Elect Rich Morthland at (309) 654-2229 or via e-mail at electmorthland@gmail.com.