Springfield - what happened and what's next!

Thank you to everyone who has tirelessly called, written and visited their legislators. Thanks especially to those who made the trip to Springfield. All efforts have really been paying off. So much has happened this week.

First, we made a big impression in Springfield Wednesday! Mothers, babies and "Got Midwife" T-shirts and stickers were everywhere. We spent the early morning visiting reps and responding to their concerns about the Home Birth Safety Act. Then, late in the morning, the bill was called. Before a debate could begin, west suburban legislator Patty Bellock requested a fiscal note. This is a procedure where the department of professional regulation (IDFPR) must estimate how much money our bill will cost the state before the bill can move forward.

The fiscal note was filed today, Thursday According to the note there will be a total fiscal impact to IDFPR of $115,896.00 Also today, Representative Bellock withdrew her request.
Our status now? The bill is not dead. Now that the fiscal note stalling tactic has ended, we will be asking for a floor vote when our legislators come back the week after Thanksgiving. We are not yet sure if it will be Tuesday November 30th or Wednesday, December 1st. Please hold both dates if you can, for now.
Between now and then we must gain as many new yes votes as possible in order to be certain of victory.

Here is what we have to do:

1 - Please call the Governor's office today and
Thank him for his support of the Home Birth Safety Act and
Ask him to PLEASE help us get it passed. The Governor's # is 217-782-0244

2 - We need to keep pushing.

Dan gave an inspiring speech in the Capitol yesterday. He mentioned that we have gotten farther than anyone thought we could. (When the secretaries were telling us the bill was dead, everyone really thought the bill was dead.) Dan reinforced that our progress is all due to our grassroots organization. When the legislators see our faces... when the legislators know we are following their votes on a bill; they respond. We saw that Wednesday. We saw legislators come out and talk to us for the first time ever. (And some of these guys have been hearing from us for years).

So.... We need to get our faces in front of these people. District office visits. Try to get an appointment with your rep for early next week. If you can't get an appointment, drop in. If your legislator is already a yes voter, stop in anyway and ask if they have any suggestions for convincing other legislators. Maybe your legislator could even talk to another legislator about the bill? If your legislator is not a yes, please try to find out what their objection is.

Please report back to the coalition for feedback and suggestions.


3 - It is URGENT that we increase the number of individuals calling their legislators.

PLEASE find a way to contact friends or family members today or tomorrow asking them to do ONE of the following things:

a) Call their Representative asking how they will vote on SB 3712. Let the Rep. know they support this bill and if the Rep. doesn't have a position on it, the friend would like a call back to know when the Rep. has decided.

b) Go see their Representative (either by making an appt. or just dropping in). Bring a handwritten note and maybe even a plate of m&m cookies (or just a bag of m&m's) and ask for the Reps. support. If you can get a group of friends to go in to the Reps. office together to do this, even better!

c) Have your friends write notes to their Reps. asking their support for SB 3712, the Homebirth Safety Act.

ALL forms of communication should be followed up by another phone call asking how the Rep will vote - unless you already got a firm yes or no on the phone previously. If your Rep. already supports, still have people call. Ask them just to thank their Rep. for his/her support. All Reps. need to hear from constituents because they are all being pressured by the ISMS to vote against our bill.

If you can help your friend by looking up their Rep for them, giving them the phone number and writing out a "script" for them, all the better. They need to know how easy is to make the call or write the letter.

Please report back any and all contact to the Reps to Jamie at charis490@gmail.coom

4 - Finally, please join in our fundraising efforts! Those of you who heard Dan speak at the capitol will know why we value his help so much. Fundraising helps pay his salary. The Upstate / Downstate challenge is still in place. Downstate families are ahead, having raised over $1000 with the help of matching donor funds. The Chicago women have sold over $500 in tickets to Saturday night's wine tasting and they have a wonderful night planned. Please join us if you can, or find a way to donate to either team - upstate or down.

Thanks so much and KEEP PUSHING!! The end is in sight. LET'S MAKE IT A VERY HAPPY ENDING!!

more to come soon


The Coalition Board -
Rachel, Toney, Vicki, Michelle, Jamie, Jennifer, Hilary, Audrey



PS - we made the news in Decatur Check it out!!

http://illinoishomepage.net/fulltext/?nxd_id=194017&shr=addthis



Rachel Dolan Wickersham, CD(DONA), LCCE
president, Coalition for Illinois Midwifery
vice president, Illinois Council of Certified Professional Midwives
Jiandra@aol.com
630-750-9444

BIG MEDICINE IS TRYING TO KILL THE HOME BIRTH SAFETY ACT!!

BIG MEDICINE IS TRYING TO KILL THE HOME BIRTH SAFETY ACT!!

We will be calling the bill for a vote tomorrow,

Wednesday, November 17th. We need everyone to be in the capitol. Please try to get there around 9:00 am or 9:30 so you can visit your rep before the 11:00 am House Session. If you can't come to Springfield, please call your rep and ask them to vote YES no matter what you think their vote currently is. We need to FLOOD the capitol with calls between 9am and 11am.

thank you!!! LET'S MAKE HISTORY TOMORROW!!!

SPRINGFIELD WEDNESDAY!!

It is VERY likely that our bill will be called on Wednesday - BE THERE to see history made!

When: Wednesday, November 17th

Where: Springfield - the Capitol Building

Where to find us: On the main floor in the north hall, we will have a table set up. You can also text or call Rachel on her cell phone at: 630-750-9444. (texting preferred)

What to bring: Three plates of cookies and three notes for your Representative, your Senator and the Governor. However, if you can not bring them, please come anyway!!! Baggies of M&M's are just fine too. Do not let not having cookies or M&M's keep you from coming though - we want everyone there! However for those who have the time and ability, please consider bringing extra cookies because there are a LOT of unknown reps and we will be sending willing individuals around to make sure all Reps get cookies and hear our message.

Bring lots of quarters for parking. Some meters are only good for a few hours. Some several blocks away last longer.

Bring business cards or index cards with your name so that you can leave them with secretaries or use them to call your Rep. out of the session.

Be sure to wear comfortable shoes and if you have a Got Midwife or Home Birth T-shirt or Button, please wear it. We will also be selling Got Midwife T-shirts for $10 each.

Please note: Amtrak trains are filling up - reserve now, however be aware the Bloomington to Springfield leg of the trip is by bus.

If we can help you in anyway, send us an email ahead of time and we'll get back to you asap. Email Jamie at Charis490@gmail.com

Thank you for all you do and keep up the hard work!

Rachel, Toney, Vicki, Michelle, Jamie, Jennifer, Hilary, Audrey
The Coalition Board



PS - if you can't come Wednesday, we'll be there Tuesday and maybe Thursday too. If you wish to either of these days, please call Rachel at the number above.





Rachel Dolan Wickersham, CD(DONA), LCCE
president, Coalition for Illinois Midwifery
vice president, Illinois Council of Certified Professional Midwives
Jiandra@aol.com
630-750-9444

DOWNSTATE / UPSTATE CHALLENGE!!

DOWNSTATE / UPSTATE CHALLENGE!!

Want to support your favorite midwife but don't want to drive to Chicago for a wine tasting?

We have just the thing for you!


DONATE TO CFIM NOW AND YOUR DONATION WILL BE DOUBLED

Yes, doubled - and you'll have the chance to show everyone who rules - Illinois upstaters (Chicago) or Illinois downstaters (everyone else).

On November 20th, Chicago area midwifery supporters will attend an Elegant Evening of wine tasting, appetizers and desserts hosted by the Illinois Council of Certified Professional Midwives. There will be a silent auction as well. The evening will be hosted by the Illinois Council of Certified Professional Midwives and proceeds will go toward lobbying expenses for SB3712 - the Home Birth Safety Act. The last time this group did fundraising they brought in several thousand dollars.

Knowing that downstate supporters cannot easily attend the event, an anonymous donor has offered a challenge grant. If downstate supporters can collectively raise $500, the donor will match it. This will be just the beginning because rumor has it we will have another matching donor later this month! The last time the Coalition had a matching donor drive like this several thousand dollars were brought in!

With thousands coming in from each group last time, this looks like an excellent opportunity for a little bit of friendly intrastate competition! We are inviting downstate Illinoisans to try to beat the Chicago women in their fundraising game. Between now and November 20th, all donations to the Coalition from anywhere outside Chicago proper will be tallied as downstate donations.

After the November 20th Chicago event is over and the proceeds are tallied, we will see which group Chicago or Downstate will be featured as the RULING FUNDRAISING GROUP on the Coalition website.

So join us please - a little friendly competition never hurt anyone. And it could help home birth mothers, babies and midwives have safer and healthier home births in Illinois. Any sized donation, big or small, counts. Remember, whatever you give will be doubled.

Let the race begin! You can donate by paypal at www.illinoismidwifery.org or you can mail a check to CFIM c/o Vicki Johnson, 6092 Torchlite Trail, Loves Park, IL 61111.

If you are mailing a donation, in order to be sure you'll be counted in the challenge, you must postmark your donation by by November 19th. If you mail it after that date, please send Vicki an email letting her know what's coming in the mail. Vicki is at Babylady55@aol.com

BUT WAIT! THERE’S MORE!! As extra incentive, donors who give $100 or more will not only see their donation matched, they will also receive a free copy of the Ten Year Anniversary Edition of the Illinois Midwives Calendar produced by the Illinois Council of Certified Professional Midwives. This beautiful Black and White calendar juxtaposes photographs showing the beauty of homebirth with words describing the hard realities of being a home birth attendant in Illinois. Calendars are in production and will be released in December, though an advance batch will be sold at the wine tasting. Additional calendars may be purchased for $20 each plus $2 postage. All proceeds from sales will go to ICCPM for expenses related to the Home Birth Safety Act. Calendar Purchase requests for other than $100 donors (who will automatically receive them) should be directed to ICCPM CALENDAR c/o Vicki Johnson, 6092 Torchlite Trail, Loves Park, IL 61111.

ONLY FOUR WEEKS LEFT!!

Dear Midwifery and Home Birth Supporters,

We are moving into the home stretch. We have only four weeks left to gain enough votes to call SB 3712 for a House floor vote in the November veto session. We’ve gained a few yes votes. We’ve even gained a new co-sponsor, Eddie Lee Jackson, Jr. from East St. Louis. But we need more declared yes votes before we can call the bill for a vote on the House floor.

NOW is the time to call your legislator and ask for a clear yes or no vote on this bill. If you run into any road block (calls not returned, legislative aides telling you the bill is dead, legislators giving neither a yes nor a no vote) please mark your calendar for November 4th or 5th so you can try calling again at that time. We anticipate that after the election, those who won will feel freer to commit to controversial bills, like our own, and those who did not win (who are lame ducks) will also feel more free to cast a yes vote for our bill on their way out. It could be a very nice win-win situation for us after November 2nd.

But we need to keep midwifery and home birth in front of them until then. So please, keep calling your state rep for answers and keep forwarding our messages to your friends and neighbors – to anyone who might be willing to write a letter or who might live in some of our unknown districts. If you gave birth at home this year, send both your Rep and your Senator a copy of your birth announcement with a note on it – “another constituent born at home – vote YES, Home Birth Safety Act – SB3712.” If you see a good article about home birth, print and mail it to your legislator. If it’s on facebook, put it in your status line and be sure that you’ve ‘friended’ your state Rep and Senator. LETS KEEP MIDWIFERY FRONT AND CENTER FOR THE NEXT FOUR WEEKS!!

This week please also try to help us turn 10 LIKELY YES VOTES into 10 YES VOTES. Please forward this email to anyone you know, homebirth family or not, who lives in the following Rep’s districts: Edward Acevedo – (D) Chicago Suzanne Bassi – (R) Palatine Marlow Colvin – (D) Chicago Sarah Feigenholtz – (D) Chicago Careen Gordon - (D) Serona, LaSalle County Lou Lang – (D) Niles Joseph Lyons – (D) Norwood Jack McGuire – (D) Troy, Will County Dan Reitz – (D) Centreville, St. Clair County Chapin Rose – (R) Blue Ridge, Champaign County Carole Sente – (D) Warren, Lake County Ronald Wait – (R) Belvedere, Winnebago County These reps are very close to a yes vote as far as we can tell. Please help us be sure they receive a printed copy of the New York Times article http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/24/us/24cncmidwives.html

Please also watch for our upcoming fundraising events. Each will offer you a great opportunity to help shape the future of homebirth in Illinois. In the mean time you may always donate through paypal via our website, www.illinoismidwifery.org or you may mail checks to CFIM, c/o Vicki Johnson, 6092 Torchlite Trail, Loves Park, IL 61111.

There is only one way to get this done and that is to go through it. We’re hoping everyone will step up and help us with this last big push. We thank you on behalf of the home born babies of Illinois!!

The Coalition for Illinois Midwifery Board

We made the New York Times!!!

We made the New York Times!!!

Please see this amazing article about home birth in Illinois at www.nytimes.com/2010/09/24/us/24cncmidwives.html

It is urgent that we get this article into the hands of as many Illinois legislators as possible. Please help us by printing two copies of this article and mail one each to your State Representative and your State Senator. Include a note with each asking your legislators to vote YES to SB 3712 when they see it during the November veto session.

To find your State Rep and State Senator, go to http://www.elections.il.gov/DistrictLocator/DistrictOfficialSearchByAddress.aspx

Mail the article to their LOCAL office - not Springfield.

Please forward this email along to anyone, anywhere in Illinois, who you know would be willing to print and mail a copy along with a one or two line note. Let's SWAMP their desks with copies of this article! It's time for our legislators to finally see that this issue is not going away and it's getting more and more attention.

thank you in advance for your help.


The Coalition Board



Rachel Dolan Wickersham, CD(DONA), LCCE
president, Coalition for Illinois Midwifery
vice president, Illinois Council of Certified Professional Midwives
Jiandra@aol.com
630-750-9444

Eight Weeks Left - SB3712

Dear Home Birth and Midwifery Supporters,

We are getting down to the wire. Over the next 8 weeks we still need to gain more than 20 additional YES votes for SB3712, the Home Birth Safety Act.

There are 45 Representatives whose votes are unknown. In order to have hope of passing the bill, we must reach these legislators and find out their intentions. This may be difficult because it is the election season, but we must try. We believe we should be able to gain enough votes, but without contact in these districts, we will never know. PLEASE HELP US REACH THESE REPS!

If you knows ANYONE who lives in the districts listed below (with township and county names), please pass this message along. We need anyone in these districts to call their representative or send email (we’ve provided email addresses and phone numbers where available).

Because districts overlap into certain areas, to help people verify their rep, have them go to http://www.elections.il.gov/DistrictLocator/DistrictOfficialSearchByAddress.aspx


When they contact their legislators via email or phone, we need them to simply say:

“I live in your district. I believe that regulation of home birth midwives will make home birth safer for mothers and babies. Can you please tell me how you will vote for the Home Birth Safety Act, SB3712, when it is called for a vote during the veto session?”

If they get a secretary or aide who is discouraging about the possibility of the bill being called, they should just say “yes, I understand, but IF the bill gets called, what will the Representative’s vote be?”

Whatever the response, we need the information to come back to us. Please post to the Illinois Families for Midwifery email list or send directly to Jamie at Charis490@gmail.com


WE CANNOT DO THIS WITHOUT YOUR HELP!! Thank you, as always!

The Coalition for Illinois Midwifery Board



UNKNOWN
7 - Yarbrough (D) - River Forest, Oak Park, Proviso, Chicago Townships (Cook)
kyarbrough@ilga.gov (708) 615-1747

13 - Harris (D) - Chicago Township (Cook) (773) 348-3434

15 - D'Amico (D) - Northfield, Niles, Maine, Chicago Townships (Cook) johnd@ilga.gov (773) 736-0218
20 - McAuliffe (R) - Maine, Norwood Park, Chicago, Niles Townships (Cook) (773) 792-0749
22 - Madigan (D) - Lyons, Stickney, Chicago Townships (Cook) (773) 581-8000
28 - Rita (D) - Lyons, Stickney, Chicago Townships (Cook) (708) 396-2822
36 - Carberry - Palos, Worth, Chicago Townships (Cook) (708) 907-5157
37 - McCarthy (D) - Orland, Bremen, Rich, Frankfort Townships (Cook, Will) (708) 226-1999
38 - Riley (D) - Bremen, Thornton, Rich Townships (Cook) rep.riley38@sbcglobal.net (708) 799-4364
41 - Biggins (R) - York, Proviso, Riverside Townships (Cook, DuPage) (630) 941-1278
44 - Crespo (D) - Schaumburg, Hanover Townships (Cook) (630) 372-3340
45 - Coladipietro (R) - Bloomingdale, Milton Townships (DuPage) (630) 582-0045
47 - Bellock (R) - Downers Grove, Lisle Townships (DuPage) (630) 852-8633
49 - Schmitz (R) - (Kane) info@timschmitz.org (630) 845-9590
50 - Hatcher (R) - Virgil Township (Kane) (630) 553-3223
53 - Mathias (R) - Wheeling (Cook) repmathias@hotmail.com (847) 222-0061
55 - Ramey (R) - Elgin (Cook) staterepramey55@aol.com (630) 876-0703
57 - Nekritz (D) - Wheeling (Cook) enekritz@repnekritz.org (847) 257-0450
60 – Rita Mayfield (D) - Waukegan (Lake) (847) 599-2800
61 - Osmond (R) - Antioch (Lake) (847) 838-6200
68 - Winters (R) - Shirland, Rockford, Roscoe, Rockton, S. Beloit (Winnebago) (815) 282-0083
72 - Verschoore (D) - Drury (Rock Island) (309) 558-3612
73 - Leitch (R) - Wyanet (Bureau) davidleitch@ameritech.net (309) 690-7373
76 - Mautino (D) - Mendota (LaSalle) patti76th@ivnet.com (815) 664-2717
78 - Lilly - Chicago (Cook) statereplilly@yahoo.com (773) 473-7300
80 - DeLuca (D) - Bloom (Cook) repdeluca@scb.global.net (708) 672-0200
82 - Durkin (R) - Lyons (Cook) jimd@ilga.gov (708) 352-7700
84 - Cross (R) - Owsego (Kendall) (815) 254-0000
87 - Mitchell (R) - Sand Prairie (Tazewell) repmitchell@earthlink.net (217) 876-1968
88 - Brady (R) - Normal (McLean) dan@rep-danbrady.com (309) 662-1100
89 - Sacia (R) - Dunleith (JoDaviess) JimSacia@aeroinc.net (815) 232-0774
91 - Smith (D) - Fairview (Fulton) repmikesmith@gmail.com (309) 353-6276
93 - Tracy (R) - Lima (Adams) (217) 223-0833
94 - Myers (R) - Abingdon (Mercer) (309) 836-2707
95 - Fortner (R) - Geneva (Kane) (630) 293-9344
96 - Senger (R) - Naperville (DuPage) sengerstaterep@gmail.com (630) 219-3090
97 - Watson (R) - Levee (Pike) (217) 243-6221
99 - Poe (R) - Gardner (Sangamon) poe@ilga.gov (217) 782-0044
100 - Brauer (R) - Corwin (Mernard) Brauerr@housegopmail.state.il.us (217) 782-0053
107 - Cavaletto - Seminary (Fayette) (618) 548-9080
109 - Eddy (R) - Ros, Prairie (Clark, Edgar) (618) 563-4128
112 - Hoffman (D) - Granite City, Nameoki, Collinsville, Edwardsville (Madison) (618) 345-2176
113 - Holbrook (D) - Granite City, Venice, Nameoki (Madison) (618) 394-2211
114 - Jackson (D) - Venice, Stites, E. St. Louis (Madison) (618) 875-9950
117 - Bradley (D) - McLeansboro, Crook (Franklin, Hamilton)
repjohnbradley@mychoice.net (618) 997-9697
118 - Phelps (D) - (Hamilton, White) bphelps@yourclearwave.com (618) 253-4189




Rachel Dolan Wickersham, CD(DONA), LCCE
president, Coalition for Illinois Midwifery
vice president, Illinois Council of Certified Professional Midwives
Jiandra@aol.com
630-750-9444

Home Birth Safety Act Update - summer 2010

Dear Home Birth and Midwifery Supporters

Summer is well underway as we continue working toward CPM licensure in Illinois through passage of the Home Birth Safety Act. This letter will update you on the current status of the bill as well as tell you what you can do to help us push the bill the rest of the way through our state legislature so it can finally become law.

First and foremost, to all of you who called your legislators and went to Springfield this year and also those who participated in the Walk for Midwives and other fundraising efforts this spring, Thank You! We are now in the best position we’ve ever been. Not only has the Home Birth Safety Act passed a House committee for the first time in 30 years of trying, but our Coalition has earned a new level of respect in Springfield. What legislators once saw as a little group of mothers and others for midwives has evolved into an active and dynamic entity that is turning the tide against one of the state’s most powerful lobbies – the State Medical Society. This is largely due to your participation in this effort. Again, thank you.

To remind you of recent changes, the Home Birth Safety Act which has been HB 226 since January of 2009, is now SB 3712. This change occurred in April 2010 when the language from HB226 was amended to an existing bill that was no longer needed. That bill still carries its original name, Veterinary Records, but the language has been gutted and replaced with ours. For anyone wishing to look the bill up, go to www.ilga.gov and look up SB3712. Then click on full text, then click on House Amendment 001.

Here is the bill’s current status. SB 3712 passed out of the House Health Disparities Committee on
May 6, 2010. The next stop is the House chamber for a full floor vote. As of right now, if we can count upon our yes votes to stay yeses, we have 36 of the needed 60 votes to pass the House. We also have a number of “Likely Yeses” If they vote with us, that leaves about 10 more YES votes needed.

You may notice the numbers have changed a bit since our last writing. This is because of the Medical Society’s strong lobbying after our bill passed in committee, as well as because of the sad loss of one Representative, Eddie Washington, who passed away unexpectedly last month.

We have from now until the last few days of the 96th General Assembly – the first few days of January – before the next General Assembly is sworn in, to earn a total of 60 votes and pass SB 3712. If the bill passes the House, it will go to the Senate for concurrence (since the original bill already passed the Senate). But to get there, we need your help.

Here’s how you can work with the Coalition to help make the dream of licensed home birth Certified Professional Midwives in Illinois, a reality:

• FIRST CONTACT AND WORK WITH YOUR OWN STATE REPRESENTATIVE AND HELP OTHERS CONTACT THEIRS.

o Check the list at the end of this email to find out if your rep is listed as a YES vote.
(go to www.ilga.gov then click on legislator lookup to find out who your rep).

o If your rep is listed as a YES vote, please contact their office by phone and let them know you wanted to verify that they will be supporting the Home Birth Safety Act when it comes up for a vote sometime during veto session, and of course thank them for that yes vote. If you hear anything other than yes, ask if you might have an appointment to come talk to them about it. Let us know what they say. If you get an appointment we may be able to come to that appointment with you or coach you over the phone if needed. Contact us by sending email to Jamie at Charis490@gmail.com.

o If your representative is not listed as a YES, please contact their office and ask for an appointment to come speak to them about SB 3712 – the Home Birth Safety Act. Contact us at Jamie’s address above and hopefully we can come with you or send someone knowledgeable.

o IF YOU HEAR FROM YOUR REPRESENTATIVE THAT THEY HAVE JUST HEARD THAT A NEW STUDY SHOWS THAT HOMEBIRTH IS NOT SAFE, PLEASE MENTION THAT THIS STUDY HAS COME UNDER FIRE FOR BEING EXTREMELY FLAWED AND POLITICALLY MOTIVATED, THEN GO TO THE FOLLOWING LINK TO PRINT AND BRING WITH YOU OR SEND TO YOUR REP. http://www.thebigpushformidwives.org/_ccLib/downloads/7-7-2010_PushNews_RELEASE_OB-GYN_Journal_Fast_Tracks_Publicity_on_Deeply_Flawed_Study.pdf


o If you are just not able to make a visit, please send a letter to your legislator (contact Jiandra@aol.com for a sample letter). Then follow up with a phone call a week later asking the secretary if your rep received the letter and can you count on their yes vote when the bill comes up? If you hear the bill is dead, please don’t believe it – remember we’ve already proved that wrong this year. Let them know you realize it’s late but “IF”
the bill comes up how will they vote? Let them know you’d like them to make a public show of support for this piece of legislation that will improve the health and safety of home born babies.

o BECOME A MENTOR. If you are someone who has visited your rep before and are comfortable going along to help someone else who has never visited their rep before, please consider becoming a legislative visit mentor. With your coaching, someone who might not otherwise have gone, might bring in the final needed vote!

o Finally, we strongly encourage you to find out THIS WEEK if your rep is running for re-election. If you are comfortable supporting them, ask their secretary to put you in touch with their campaign volunteer office. If you feel more comfortable supporting another candidate of the same or opposite party, do that instead, but please do consider volunteering. Even two simple hours of stuffing envelopes or checking signatures will go a LONG way toward supporting the Home Birth Safety Act. Working campaigns is one of the keys to getting support. We’ve seen proof of this in other states that have successfully passed midwifery legislation. If you do not have a local campaign you can support, let us know. We can direct you toward other possibilities.

o If you do plan to volunteer, let us know with email to Jiandra@aol.com so we can send you list of hints and suggestions that will optimize your presence.


• SECOND, HELP US REACH THE MORE THAN 50 REPS WHO ARE COMPLETE UNKNOWNS IN TERMS OF THEIR VOTE FOR THIS BILL.

o Please forward this email around to everyone you know who believes that women who have a home birth should have nationally certified professional midwives available to attend their birth legally, as opposed to underground, in the state of Illinois. Send to people outside of your local community – acquaintances across the state, your aunts and cousins, old schoolmates, anyone. We must reach as many state legislators as possible.

o Encourage anyone you reach to visit their legislators also. If they are not comfortable doing so, encourage them to download the attached letter, print, sign and send to their legislator. You can make this easy for them by looking up their legislator’s local address for them.

o Watch for our messages on Facebook, Meetup.com and various blogs. Watch also for a message through change.org. Please pass these messages along using your social media connections. This will increase the number of constituents, and therefore legislators, that we reach. We are looking for a conservative website similar to change.org to pass our message along. If anyone knows of a site, please let us know by contacting Rachel at Jiandra@aol.com

o Finally, help us find groups or create groups – anywhere that five or more people can come together – where the Coalition can come speak about the licensure bill and answer questions. We’d like to reach all kinds of groups, alternative and main stream – anyone who might think birthing mothers should have control over where and with whom they have their babies. If you find a group willing to invite us, please contact Rachel at Jiandra@aol.com.

• THIRD AND FINALLY - HELP US RAISE FUNDS

o Right now, thanks to everyone’s generosity, we have our lobbyist paid in full, but we still must spend the summer meeting with state agencies and other professional groups in preparation for our upcoming attempt at a floor vote. To accomplish this, we will be engaging our lobbyist as needed throughout the rest of the year. This means a continued need for funds. Please contact us if you can put together a “Labor Day” picnic in your area or hostess an autumn open house, a pancake breakfast, a garage sale, a film showing (we have a number of film we could lend) or other. Let us know if you can help by contacting Rachel at Jiandra@aol.com.

o If you have crafts or other items you are willing to donate for sale or for raffle, the Illinois Council of Certified Professional Midwives will be attending the regional conference for the Midwives Alliance of North America on the weekend of July 16th – 18th. The Council is part of the Coalition and donates most of its proceeds to lobbying. Please contact Vicki Johnson at Babylady55@aol.com with any donations. You must be able to get them to Evanston or Rockford by July 14th.

o Make a personal donation. If everyone reading this donated $10 today we would have the rest of this year covered. Please donate $10, or more if you can. Ask friends and family members to as well. Let them know it will help make home birth safer for mothers and babies. Go to www.illinoismidwifery.org and click on the paypal link to make a donation or mail a check to CFIM, c/o Vicki Johnson 6092 Torchlite Trail, Loves Park, IL 61111

o Or if you are a midwife, doula, massage therapist or other provider, please consider donating a small portion of each client fee. Check out Community Counts – Better Birth Initiative at http://communitycountsbetterbirth.wordpress.com/2010/01/

We look forward to hearing from you this summer. Watch for more communication from us as the bill continues to move forward. And finally, thank you. We are full of gratitude for your support of the thousands of Illinois mothers, babies, families and midwives that the Home Birth Safety Act will help over the coming years.


Best Wishes,

Rachel Dolan Wickersham
president, Coalition for Illinois Midwifery


LIST OF STATE REPRESENTATIVES WHO ARE CURRENTLY EXPECTED TO BE “YES” VOTES FOR SB 3712, THE HOME BIRTH SAFETY ACT:

Arroyo, Berrios, Beaubein, Black, Boland, Burke, Chapa LaVia, Collins, Coulson, Cultra, Currie, Davis, Davis, Dunkin, Flider, Flowers, Ford, Froehlich, Gabel, Hannig, Hernandez, Howard, Jakobsson, Jefferson, Joyce, Mell, Mendoza, Osterman, Rita, Sommer, Stephens, Tryon, Turner, Walker, Winters, Zalewski







Rachel Dolan Wickersham, CD(DONA), LCCE
president, Coalition for Illinois Midwifery
vice president, Illinois Council of Certified Professional Midwives
Jiandra@aol.com
630-750-9444

THE MIDWIVES' BILL IS MOVING!!!

Dear EVERYONE

THE MIDWIVES BILL IS MOVING! TODAY IS THE DAY TO CALL YOUR LEGISLATOR!!

EVEN IF YOU'VE CALLED BEFORE PLEASE CALL AGAIN BECAUSE THERE IS A NEW BILL NUMBER.

Here's the scoop. The language from HB 226, the Home Birth Safety Act has been amended to another bill. This bill has already passed the Senate and is on the House floor. (it’s a bill that is no longer needed by its sponsor, so he turned it over to us. We’ve removed the current language and amend it with our own)

THE NEW BILL IS SENATE BILL 3712

EVERYONE PLEASE CALL YOUR STATE REPRESENTATIVE TODAY! Ask them to “vote YES for SB3712 which will be amended with the Home Birth Safety Act (HB226) language.”

THERE COULD BE A FLOOR VOTE AS EARLY AS TOMORROW MORNING so please call right now.

WE NEED 60 FLOOR VOTES. PLEASE PASS THIS ALONG TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW!! - please literally send to everyone in your address book. It is vital that we get our known YES votes switched over to the new bill number. It's also vital that we gain at least 10 more YES votes from the many reps who have never had constituent contact.

These unknown reps reside in Alton, Antioch, Arlington Heights, Belleville, Bloomingdale, Bloomington, Broadview, Carbondale, Chicago, Collinsville, Countryside, Crete, Decatur, Des Plaines, Dolton, East St. Louis, Elmhurst, Elmwood Park, Freeport, Harrisburg, Hazel Crest, Hutsonville, Jacksonville, Macomb, Marion, Mokena, Olney, Orland Park, Pekin, Plainfield, Quincy, Rock Falls, Rock Island, Salem, Springfield, Spring Valley, Streamwood, Sycamore, West Chicago, Westmont, Yorkville

To find out who your rep is if you've never called, go to www.ilga.gov and click on "Legislator Lookup" on the lower right side of the screen.

PLEASE BE SURE TO CALL TODAY. If the switchboard tells you they have left for the day, ask to leave a message. Then call back tomorrow to make sure they got your message.

Thank you for all you do!!


Rachel


ps - If you called Rep Dave Winters this morning, send him a quick THANK YOU note via email repwinters@aol.com He turned the bill over to us today





Rachel Dolan Wickersham, CD(DONA), LCCE
president, Coalition for Illinois Midwifery
vice president, Illinois Council of Certified Professional Midwives
Jiandra@aol.com
630-750-9444

MIDWIFERY BILL UPDATE!! April 30th 2010

Dear Homebirth and Midwifery Supporters,

We've just learned that the Illinois House has cancelled it's Saturday workday. Unfortunately, this is just how things go near the end of the session. Thank you to all of you who had planned to come.

Next week the House will be in session Monday through Friday. This will be the week we hope to reach the 60 votes we need to pass the floor. Please come if you can.

We have 40 solid YES votes and more than 10 likely yes votes that we need to get committed.

THAT LEAVES LESS THAN 10 MORE YES VOTES TO GO!

Time is running out for getting those yes votes but we are not giving up hope. Only a few weeks ago, we had only 30 total. In the past several weeks we've gained a new chief sponsor and TWELVE new co-sponsors including Barbara Flynn Currie, second only to the Speaker of the House, Michael Madigan. This is progress, but we still need those last few committed votes. We need them THIS COMING WEEK.

Please plan to come to Springfield this coming week to help us with this. Earlier in the week would be most helpful but anytime is good. Also please watch for one more action alert (later tonight or tomorrow) that will identify approximately 30 legislators who haven't had any constituent contact at all.

Help us find people in their districts and you may help us get that final YES that we need!


Finally, please remember we have a lobbyist working for us. He has opened doors for us we never would have reached and is continuing to do so. Please donate one of the following if you can:


$100 to commemorate the 100 years that midwives have been fighting a system that turned against them in the early 20th century.

$60 to reflect the number of votes we hope to have by the end of this week

$30 to recognize how many votes we had just a few weeks ago. - WE'VE COME SO FAR!!

$10 to thank the current and recent Coalition board who have been working hard on your behalf, for 10 years.

or any amount you can. We are grateful for all donations, no matter how small.

Please visit http://illinoismidwifery.org and click on paypal or mail a check made out to CFIM (or Coalition for Illinois Midwifery) to:

CFIM c/o Vicki Johnson
6092 Torchlite Trail
Loves, Park, IL 61111

Or if you are a midwife, doula, massage therapist or other provider, please consider donating a small portion of each client fee. Check out Community Counts – Better Birth Initiative at http://communitycountsbetterbirth.wordpress.com/2010/01/


Illinois Mothers, Babies and Midwives benefit from all you do to help pass HB 226, the Home Birth Safety Act.

Thank you for all you do!



Rachel






Rachel Dolan Wickersham, CD(DONA), LCCE
president, Coalition for Illinois Midwifery
vice president, Illinois Council of Certified Professional Midwives
Jiandra@aol.com
630-750-9444

EVERY DAY IS LOBBY DAY!!

Be Part of the Buzz for Midwives in Springfield



We are making history! For the first time in 30 years, Midwives have enough votes to get out of a House Committee. If we can get ourselves assigned to that committee, we will be able to pass!!!



After the committee comes the House floor. We need 60 votes there to pass. In just three days we’ve gotten 30. With your help we can get earn the rest!



We need everyone to come to visit their legislators in Springfield. It's the only way we will pass this bill. Come be a part of history!



Find time in April – any day that works for you - to come to Springfield and show your support for the Home Birth Safety Act (HB226). The Coalition for Illinois Midwifery will make sure someone is there to meet you and show you what to do.



Click the link below to view the legislative calendar. Make sure that your travel date is a day the representatives are in Springfield. http://ilga.gov/house/schedules/calendars/2010_April_Schedule.pdf



Go to www.ilga.gov then click on Legislator Lookup in the lower right quarter of the page, to look up your state Representative and State Senator.



Then contact Jamie charis490@gmail.com to let CFIM know who your rep is and when you are coming. If you are a student midwife, contact Nancy Cowans at ncowans@hotmail.com





WHEN YOU COME:



If you are a CNM or CPM dress professionally (business or business casual). Otherwise, if you have a “Got Midwife” T-shirt or similar, please wear it. Please bring 3 saran-wrapped plates of M&M cookies if you can for your legislators and the governor. If you can’t that’s ok, we may have extras plates for you.



Once you’ve visited your legislators, please stay and help. We will need someone to man our table in the rotunda while others are up at the rail talking to legislators. (we’ll coach you on this)



Bring a friend (even if they are not part of the home birth community) and make a day of it. There are many things to do in Springfield. See ideas below.



DIRECTIONS:



If you drive, use this link to map your drive: http://maps.google.com/maps?oe=UTF-8&ie=UTF8&q=map+illinois+state+capitol&fb=1&gl=us&ei=vCPDS9uBFpakM5iUoIoM&ved=0CBYQpQY&hl=en&view=map&geocode=FQ1HXwIdp_mn-g&split=0&iwloc=A&sa=X



Bring plenty of quarters for hours of metered parking.



If you wish to take Amtrak, trains leave from Chicago Union Station at 7:00 am and 9:25 am. You must have an ID to travel and tickets must be purchased before boarding, so leave plenty of time. There can be a line. Tickets can also be purchased online but you must print out the email confirmation and bring it with you. There are quick track machines that will scan the confirmation bar code and print your ticket. This is a bit quicker. Sometimes these trains sell out so it is best to purchase or reserve ahead of time.

Go to www.amtrak.com for information.



When you leave the train, walk south along the direction the train is traveling in, then turn right and cross the tracks at either Washington or Adams. Walk two blocks west and you will see the capitol building on your left, two or three blocks away.





WHILE IN THE CAPITOL:



If you or your family need sustenance, there is a cafeteria beneath the basement floor of the complex. Ask for directions at the information desk. If you would like breakfast or lunch at excellent coffee house run by a former Illinois home birth attendant, check out the Trout Lily Café at 218 S. Sixth Street. Ask for Kate and say hello from the home birth midwives.



If you are looking for additional Springfield fun, check out the Lincoln Museum – described as a “major experience museum” “visitors are offered an engaging, emotional and educational experience through immersive, "you-are-there" exhibits.” (from www.lincolnlibraryandmuseum.com) Check out their official website at www.alplm.org for more details. You can also tour the Lincoln home, see Lincoln's tomb and check out many other historical sites. See www.visit-springfieldillinois.com for more details.


Finally, please also donate. Lobby Month could be the thing that puts us over the top, but it there will be expenses. Can you donate any amount today to help make passage of the Home Birth Safety Act a reality?

Please visit http://illinoismidwifery.org and click on paypal or mail a check made out to CFIM (or Coalition for Illinois Midwifery) to:

CFIM c/o Vicki Johnson
6092 Torchlite Trail
Loves, Park, IL 61111

Or if you are a midwife, doula, massage therapist or other provider, please consider donating a small portion of each client fee. Check out Community Counts – Better Birth Initiative at http://communitycountsbetterbirth.wordpress.com/2010/01/




See you there!











Rachel Dolan Wickersham, CD(DONA), LCCE
president, Coalition for Illinois Midwifery
vice president, Illinois Council of Certified Professional Midwives
Jiandra@aol.com
630-750-9444

LOBBY DAY - WED April 14

Lobby Together with the Coalition for Illinois Midwifery



WHAT: Ask your State Representative to vote “yes” on the Home Birth Safety Act (HB226)

Ask for a public position of support by Co-Sponsoring HB226



WHEN: Wednesday, April 14, 11:00 am*



WHERE: Springfield Capitol Complex Rotunda

301 South 2nd Street, Springfield, IL

Look for our table in the Rotunda or in one of the side hallways.



BRING: 3 plates of M&M cookies (for your Senator, your Representative and Governor Quinn);

Pictures of your children born at home (if this applies); notes with your personal stories

of support for the bill. Mention the bill by number in your note and ask them to co-sponsor

in order to help make home birth safer than it is now.





Please look-up the name of your state representative and state senator before you leave. Go to ILGA.GOV and search the legislative look-up.



*Arrival before or after meeting time is OK. Someone will be at the table starting at 9am.

If you need to speak with one of us, call Jamie at 217-521-6731. Cell phones do not always work well in the capitol, however. So keep trying.



DIRECTIONS:



If you drive, use this link to map your drive: http://maps.google.com/maps?oe=UTF-8&ie=UTF8&q=map+illinois+state+capitol&fb=1&gl=us&ei=vCPDS9uBFpakM5iUoIoM&ved=0CBYQpQY&hl=en&view=map&geocode=FQ1HXwIdp_mn-g&split=0&iwloc=A&sa=X



Bring plenty of quarters for hours of metered parking.



If you wish to take Amtrak, trains leave from Chicago Union Station at 7:00 am and 9:25 am. You must have an ID to travel and tickets must be purchased before boarding, so leave plenty of time. There can be a line. Tickets can also be purchased online but you must print out the email confirmation and bring it with you. There are quick track machines that will scan the confirmation bar code and print your ticket. This is a bit quicker. Sometimes these trains sell out so it is best to purchase or reserve ahead of time.

Go to www.amtrak.com for information.



When you leave the train, walk south along the direction the train is traveling in, then turn right and cross the tracks at either Washington or Adams. Walk two blocks west and you will see the capitol building on your left, two or three blocks away.



WHILE IN THE CAPITOL:



If you or your family need sustenance, there is a cafeteria beneath the basement floor of the complex. Ask for directions at the information desk. If you would like breakfast or lunch at excellent coffee house run by a former Illinois home birth attendant, check out the Trout Lily Café at 218 S. Sixth Street. Ask for Kate and say hello from the home birth midwives.



If you are looking for additional Springfield fun, check out the Lincoln Museum – described as a “major experience museum” “visitors are offered an engaging, emotional and educational experience through immersive, "you-are-there" exhibits.” (from www.lincolnlibraryandmuseum.com) Check out their official website at www.alplm.org for more details.





For more information about Lobby Day contact Rachel Wickersham 630-750-9444



If you cannot travel, PLEASE CALL YOUR STATE REPRESENTATIVE IN THEIR SPRINGFIELD OFFICE on Lobby Day and ask them to co-sponsor HB226.





WE HOPE TO SEE YOU IN SPRINGFIELD!!









Rachel Dolan Wickersham, CD(DONA), LCCE
president, Coalition for Illinois Midwifery
vice president, Illinois Council of Certified Professional Midwives
Jiandra@aol.com
630-750-9444

HB 226 Community Update

House Bill 226 – Home Birth Safety Act – April 7th 2010 Update

PROGRESS – WOW!!!

How’s that for the title to our update? At this point the Coalition for Illinois Midwifery is closer than it’s ever been to passage of its midwifery licensure bill, despite being past the usual deadline for doing such things. Over the past two weeks, with a lot of help from all of you, we’ve managed to revive our bill and add FOUR NEW CO-SPONSORS!!

We’ve also managed to identify a committee that may be most favorable and count 6 of the 7 needed “yes” votes to get through that committee. In addition, since we are past the usual deadlines, we’ve needed to count the floor votes ahead of time too. And guess what? Between our “yes” votes and our “likely yeses” we have 47 of the 60 we will need to get passage in the Illinois House of Representatives!! And there are many legislators we still haven’t asked yet. We are confident that with your continued help, we can find the remaining votes.

WE ARE CLOSE – close to finally having the support in the House that we need to get through. Every year we’ve gotten stronger. This year we are on the brink.

Our next plan is a lobby day. Watch for an email in the few days with an invitation to join us in Springfield with M&M cookies (stands for mothers and midwives) in hand. The most likely date for this will be Wednesday, April 14th. Please save the date in your calendar.

In the mean time please keep forwarding our latest action alert to anyone you know who may help.
I’m attaching it to this email. We still do need to reach many legislators – especially those outside of the Chicago metropolitan area.

IF YOU HAVEN’T CALLED YET, PLEASE CALL YOUR REP AND ASK HIM/HER TO CO-SPONSOR THE HOME BIRTH SAFETY ACT – HB226. SEE OUR ACTION ALERT ON www.illinoismidwifery.org FOR MORE INFO.

Please also donate. Lobby Day could be the thing that puts us over the top, but it there will be expenses. Can you donate just $10 dollars today to help make passage of the Home Birth Safety Act a reality?
Please visit http://illinoismidwifery.org and click on paypal or mail a check made out to CFIM (or Coalition for Illinois Midwifery) to:

CFIM c/o Vicki Johnson
6092 Torchlite Trail
Loves, Park, IL 61111

Or if you are a midwife, doula, massage therapist or other provider, please consider donating a small portion of each client fee. Check out Community Counts – Better Birth Initiative at http://communitycountsbetterbirth.wordpress.com/2010/01/


Thank you to all of you who have helped and will help in the future. YOU are the reason we are doing this and YOU are the reason we are succeeding.

Best wishes,
Rachel





Rachel Dolan Wickersham, CD(DONA), LCCE
president, Coalition for Illinois Midwifery
vice president, Illinois Council of Certified Professional Midwives
Jiandra@aol.com
630-750-9444

ROLL CALL - PLEASE CALL YOUR REP TODAY!

DEAR HOME BIRTH AND MIDWIFERY SUPPORTERS

Last week we asked you to send a letter. Now it's time to follow up with a call. Can you help us by calling your state Rep? We are continuing to work to get a full House role call (head count to see if we have enough votes) for the Home Birth Safety Act, HB 226.

Our momentum is building! If we get just 30 more votes on the floor and 1 more in committee, we will have what it takes for us to get the bill through the House this year. There are 75 reps who not yet been counted, so there are many opportunities to get the votes we need. BUT WE CAN'T DO IT ALONE. WE NEED YOUR HELP!!

Here's what you can do:

Forward this email to everyone you know. We need to reach as many people as possible or we won't get a full roll call.

Then, if you haven't done it already, look up your legislator. Go to www.ilga.gov, click on Legislator Lookup and then put in your address to find your state Rep's information.

Next, call your Rep's local office and ask him/her to co-sponsor HB226, the Homebirth Safety Act. Please do this even if you've called / asked before. Let them know that Rep Beth Coulson, a long time opponent, has changed her mind and supports the bill. She changed her mind after reviewing the new educational requirements inserted by the Advance Practice Nurses.

If they says no, ask if they will please vote yes for it. Say that the midwives are trying to get a roll call.

If they says no to that too, ask for an appointment to come hear about their concerns and to possibly bring someone from the midwives to try to address some of their concerns.

If you do not reach anyone, please keep trying.

If you hear "that bill is dead" please point out that there were 3 new co-sponsors added last week and say that the midwives are confident they can get a committee assignment if they can get a good floor count, so could s/he please co-sponsor or vote yes?

If they want any details about the issue over the phone, the following are some good details.

There are not enough legal providers to serve the approximately 800 - 1000 babies born at home in Illinois every year. Unlicense midwives fill in the gaps in the underserved areas - "delivering" babies for many families, But without regulation there is no assurance that a particular midwife is skilled. There is no smooth mechanism for transport and transfer of care if the woman needs to go to the hospital for a C-section. There is no easy way to get a birth certificate that is filled out properly. And there is no easy way to do the baby's blood test that screens for metabolic or genetically inherited disorders (such as cystic fibrosis). Failing to screen and treat certain disorders early on, can be devastating for baby’s health.The Homebirth Safety Act, HB226 can remedy these issues in a way that our current system does not.



Please contact us to let us know of any response you get from your rep. If you get a meeting, we'll try to send someone with you or coach you ahead of time. Let us know by sending email to Jamie at Charis490@gmail.com


Home Birth mothers and babies in Illinois are counting upon you to make this phone call.
Remember your Reps work for YOU. THANK YOU!

Rachel

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rachel Dolan Wickersham, CD(DONA), LCCE
president, Coalition for Illinois Midwifery
vice president, Illinois Council of Certified Professional Midwives
Jiandra@aol.com
630-750-9444

Update - more great news!!

We've got more great news! Our momentum is building. The Homebirth Safety Act now has two more co-sponsors - one from each side of the aisle - Representatives Mike Tryon (R) and Mike Boland (D). If they are your reps, please send them a thank you! If they are NOT your reps, please keep helping us build momentum by contacting your rep TODAY! Be absolutely sure to tell them about HB226's new co-sponsors. Then ask them to co-sponsor too!



While you're waiting for their return call, enjoy this fantastic article by Illinois Times journalist Amanda Robert. She follows the life of one Illinois midwife of 30 years ago and reports on the state of midwifery in Illinois over a 30 year span. The article can be found at this link:



http://www.illinoistimes.com/Springfield/article-7111-home-delivery.html



Once your rep does return your call, if they say anything but YES to co-sponsoring, send them a copy of this article.





Thanks for all you do!!!



Rachel





~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Rachel Dolan Wickersham, CD(DONA), LCCE
president, Coalition for Illinois Midwifery
vice president, Illinois Council of Certified Professional Midwives
Jiandra@aol.com
630-750-9444

UPDATE - WE NEED A ROLL CALL!! HB226

UPDATE – WE NEED A ROLL CALL!!
HOMEBIRTH SAFETY ACT – HB226

Dear Home Birth and Midwifery Supporters,

It's time. We are pressing the entire House Floor for support. If you've been disappointed that your legislator has not been listed on previous action alerts, NOW is your time. We need a FULL ROLL CALL of the Illinois House of Representatives. We are asking each and every legislator to COSPONSOR HB226, the Homebirth Safety Act.

When you call, you may hear "the bill is dead". NOT TRUE. We’ve learned that no bill is ever truly dead until the general assembly actually adjourns and goes home for the summer. Because of your support and dedication thus far, our bill has life! Your work, targeting specific legislators, has created a "midwife" buzz in Springfield!! Now we need to keep it alive with strong, continuous ACTION.

But, because the “official” deadline for getting bills through committee has passed we have to be absolutely sure we have the votes necessary to pass the bill before putting everyone
(you, ourselves, our chief sponsor) through the process required to get a bill assigned to committee at this point in the session. Basically we have the next three weeks to work it all out.

This will require everyone’s help. We need constituents in each and every legislative district to write their legislator this week asking their legislator to co-sponsor the Homebirth Safety Act, HB226. This means not only must you write a letter but to truly help us get the head count, you must ask everyone you know who might be remotely supportive to write a letter too. We are going to make this as easy as possible by supplying the text of the letter (see below) but we need you to pass it along and follow up with your friends, family and anyone else who believes that women who choose homebirth, should have access to safe, nationally certified providers. Here is the letter:


Dear Representative

I’m writing today to ask you to co-sponsor HB226, the Homebirth Safety Act. Recent developments have given this bill new momentum. State Representative Beth Coulson, a legislator known for her expertise in healthcare issues and a long time opponent of the Homebirth Safety Act, has reviewed the latest changes in the bill - educational requirements added last year by the (now supportive) Illinois Society of Advance Practice Nurses - and has shifted her position. Representative Coulson now supports HB226.

The supporters of this issue are fairly confident that if we are able to count 60 votes on the House floor, we will be able to get the bill assigned to committee. So I am asking you to please co-sponsor the bill.

With the number of homebirths rising nationally (the CDC reports a 5% increase recently) and the number of Illinois counties with licensed providers remaining the same – still only 5 out of 102 counties covered - and with recent news that yet another home birth practice will soon no longer be attending home births, we are creating a recipe for disaster.

Every year in our state homebirth families have their babies without medical assistance, hire midwives from out of state, cross the border to give birth out-of-state, or hire underground midwives in their own communities. Having part of our maternity care system remain underground makes it much less safe and secure. Without regulation there is no assurance that a particular midwife is skilled. There is no smooth mechanism for transport and transfer of care if the woman needs to go to the hospital for a C-section. There is no easy way to get a birth certificate that is filled out properly. And there is no easy way to do the baby's blood test that screens for metabolic or genetically inherited disorders (such as cystic fibrosis). Failing to screen and treat certain disorders early on, can be devastating for baby’s health.

The Homebirth Safety Act, HB226 can remedy these issues in a way that our current system does not. Please support it by adding your name as a cosponsor. I await your reply and can be reached at _________________.

Sincerely….”


1) When sending this letter, you may add more text if you wish but please keep all of the text above if at all possible. Please send your rep a copy of this letter to both their Springfield and local addresses. You can find your rep’s name, address, fax number and sometimes email address by going to www.ilga.gov Click on legislator lookup and use your address to find your state Representative.

2) After sending the letter, please call your legislator’s secretary on Monday or Tuesday March29th or 30th. Say you are following up on your letter and wanted to know whether your rep will co-sponsor the bill or not. If the answer is no, ask if your rep will commit to voting yes for the bill if it makes it to the floor. If still no, ask for an appointment in the local office during the two weeks of legislative spring break, so that you can learn about their concerns and bring someone along who can possibly address their concerns.

If your rep says the bill is dead, politely let him/her know “The supporters of this issue are fairly confident that if we are able to count 60 votes on the House floor, we will be able to get the bill assigned to committee. So I am asking you to please co-sponsor the bill.”

3) Whatever your outcome, yes, no or meeting, please let us know via email to Jamie at charis490@gmail.com If you have a meeting we’ll try to send someone with you if at all possible.


4) REMEMBER YOUR REPRESENTATIVE WORKS FOR YOU! You pay his/her salary with your taxes. Do not be afraid to talk to them or ask for a meeting.

5) Forward this email to everyone you know who may be interested in helping homebirth mothers, babies and midwives. Follow up with your friends. See if they need help contacting their legislator. Also ask if they’ll allow us to add their email to our action alert list. If yes, please send their names, legislator names, and email addresses to Jamie at charis490@gmail.com

6) LAST BUT NOT LEAST – NOTHING SHOWS YOUR LEGISLATOR YOU CARE AS MUCH AS A TRIP TO SPRINGFIELD TO VISIT THEM THERE. IF ANYONE IS INTERESTED IN MAKING A DAY TRIP TO SPRINGFIELD TO VISIT THEIR LEGISLATORS THIS WEEK, PLEASE CONTACT OUR BOARD MEMBER TONEY CROSS. She will be in Springfield this Wednesday and Thursday and can help you navigate when you get there.

Please let Jamie know at the email address above if you intend to go to Springfield this week. She will connect you with Toney’s cell.

7) Finally, please consider donating. If we DO get our bill out of committee this year, we will desperately need our lobbyist. Right now we are working without him in order to continue working off last year’s fees. BUT WE MAY NEED HIM NEXT MONTH. Please donate. Give $5 if that’s all you can do. Please give more if you can. Plan to donate $5 next month and every month thereafter until the Homebirth Safety Act has passed.

Please visit http://illinoismidwifery.org and click on paypal or mail a check made out to CFIM (or Coalition for Illinois Midwifery) to:
CFIM c/o Vicki Johnson
6092 Torchlite Trail
Loves, Park, IL 61111

Or if you are a midwife, doula, massage therapist or other provider, please consider donating a small portion of each client fee. Check out Community Counts – Better Birth Initiative at http://communitycountsbetterbirth.wordpress.com/2010/01/


THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU DO! HOMEBIRTH MOTHERS, BABIES AND MIDWIVES IN ILLINIOS WILL BE SAFER BECAUSE OF YOU .

BEST WISHES,

THE COALITION FOR ILLINOIS MIDWIFERY

Great News!!!

NEWS and ACTION ALERT!!! HOMEBIRTH SAFETY ACT House Bill 226 (HB226)

Dear Homebirth and Midwifery Supporters:

Great News!!! State Representative Beth Coulson, a long time opponent of the Homebirth Safety Act, has reviewed the latest changes in the bill (educational requirements added last year by the Illinois Society of Advance Practice Nurses) and has shifted her position. She now supports HB226.

Representative Coulson is known as a legislative expert on health care licensing. She was a lead sponsor on the Birth Center Bill. Her support for the Homebirth Safety Act may make a big difference in the outcome for this bill.

The bill remains in Rules for the moment but with this new level of support and with your help, we may be able to get a positive committee assignment. If we do, we could be as close as needing only one or two more votes to pass!

Here’s what you can do to help:

1) Find out who your legislator is. If you don’t know, go to www.ilga.gov Click on legislator lookup and use your address to find your state Representative. Find your rep and take note of their two phone numbers and their email address if they display one.

2) If your representative is on the list below, PLEASE CALL THEM in their Springfield office TODAY.
Ask them if they will support HB226 the Homebirth Safety Act if it should appear before them. If they say the bill is dead, let them know that we are yet hoping to have it assigned to one of the Healthcare committees and if (for argument’s sake) it DOES appear, how will they vote? (the truth is, nothing is ever absolutely impossible until the session is over)

3) If you’ve called before or if on your first call you manage to engage in discussion with your rep or their secretary, mention Rep Coulson’s change of heart. Mention the new CDC report that shows homebirth is increasing (you’ll find it attached to this alert). Mention also Amnesty International’s new campaign against maternal mortality specifically in the US where we fall behind 40 other countries, and that access to safe, nationally certified, REGULATED midwives is part of the key to reducing such shameful outcomes. Let your rep know Amnesty International has found that the excessive number of unnecessary cesareans in our country contributes to our maternal mortality rate. Certified Professional Midwives have only a 3% rate of c-section while the national rate is almost 33%. THE HEALTHCARE COST REDUCTION IN MATERNITY CARE WOULD BE PHENOMENAL AND OUR MOTHERS AND BABIES COULD BE HEALTHIER IF OUR STATE EMBRACED CERTIFIED PROFESSIONAL MIDWIVES.

4) Report back to us. Please either hit reply to this email if you’re on a email distribution list, or better yet, send mail to Jamie at charis490@gmail.com letting us know what your rep said in the end. Hopefully you will be able to get him/her to give a clear yes or no on the bill. When you report back, we may give you information to call your rep back with or a few handouts to email to your rep along with your thank you for their time. Please help us with that follow up as it is usually very important.

5) Forward this email to everyone you know who may be interested in helping homebirth mothers, babies and midwives - especially those in the districts we are listing below. Follow up with your friends. See if they need help contacting their legislator. Also ask if they’ll allow us to add their email to our action alert list. If yes, please send their names, legislator names, and email addresses to Jamie at charis490@gmail.com

6) Once again, please consider donating. If we DO get our bill out of committee this year, we will desperately need our lobbyist. Right now we are working without him in order to continue working off last year’s fees. BUT WE MAY NEED HIM NEXT MONTH. Please donate. Give $5 if that’s all you can do. Please give more if you can. Plan to donate $5 next month and every month thereafter until the Homebirth Safety Act is through.

Please visit http://illinoismidwifery.org and click on paypal or mail a check made out to CFIM (or Coalition for Illinois Midwifery) to:
CFIM c/o Vicki Johnson
6092 Torchlite Trail
Loves, Park, IL 61111

Or if you are a midwife, doula, massage therapist or other provider, please consider donating a small portion of each client fee. Check out Community Counts – Better Birth Initiative at http://communitycountsbetterbirth.wordpress.com/2010/01/


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HERE IS THE LIST OF REPRESENTATIVES WHO NEED THE ATTENTION MENTIONED IN THIS EMAIL. If your rep is not one this list, sit tight! If we get out of committee, there will be a lot you can do next week.

• Representative William Davis(D) (Riverdale, Dolton, Harvey, East Hazel Crest, Homewood, Robbins and Posen)


• Representative Robert Rita(D) (Calumet Park, Blue Island, Crestwood, Midlothian, and Oak Forest)


• Representative Jehan A. Gordon(D) (Peoria Area, Peoria Heights, West Peoria, Bartonville, Edwards, Norwood, Kickapoo, and Bellevue)


• Representative Elizabeth Hernandez(D) (Berwyn, Cicero)


• Representative David R. Leitch(R) (Peoria Area of Indiantown, Evans, Greene, Kickapoo, Trivoti, and Millbrook)


• Representative Randy Ramey,Jr.(R) (Bartlett, Carol Stream, and Hanover Park)

• Representative Angelo Saviano(R) (Bensenville, Elmwood Park, Franklin Park, North Lake, River Grove, Rosemont, and Schiller Park)

• Representative William Burns(D) (Bronzeville/Grand,Hyde Park,Kenwood,South Shore,Woodlawn, and the Loop)


• Representative Lisa Dugan (Kankakee, Monee, Peotone, Manteno, Pembroke, Beaver)

• Representative William Burns (Bronzeville/Grand, Hyde Park, Kenwood, South Shore, Woodlawn, Loop)

• Representative Greg Harris (Uptown, Ravenswood, Lincoln Square, North Center, Andersonville, Bowmanville)

• Representative Karen May (Bannockburn, Deerfield, Glencoe, Highland Park, Highwood, Lake Bluff, Lake Forest, Northbrook, Riverwoods)

• Esther Golar (Englewood, Back of the Yards, Bridgeport, Chicago Lawn, New City, Canaryville, Fuller Park)


• FOR Representatives Mary Flowers, Elizabeth Coulson, Ron Stephens and Matthew Boland – SEE BELOW



If your representative is Mary Flowers, please call her to thank her for her years of unwavering support of midwives. Let her know you hope to see the bill in committee this year and hope you can count upon her continued support.

If your rep is Elizabeth Coulson, please call her to thank her for her new support for the Homebirth Safety Act.

If your representative is Matt Boland or Ron Stephens, call to thank them for their prior sponsorship. Let them know you hope to see the bill in committee this year and you hope you can count upon their continued support.


If you’ve read this far THANK YOU!!! Thank you ALL for caring about this cause. Believe that whatever you are doing, even if you’ve done it before, really matters – and you are making a difference for someone in the future who wants to have her babies safely at home.

Thank you and please keep your ears out for our next action alert.

Best wishes,


Rachel Dolan Wickersham
The Coalition for Illinois Midwifery