Wesley Epplin, Policy Director at Health & Medicine Policy Research Group

Good afternoon. I’m Wesley Epplin. I serve as Policy Director at Health & Medicine Policy Research Group. I direct our Aging Equity Center which has worked for 25 years to create policies and systems that support all Illinoisans as we age.  

On behalf of Health & Medicine, I want to thank Governor Pritzker, Lieutenant Governor Stratton, Deputy Governor Hou, and IDoA Director Killough for moving Illinois toward a multi-sector plan for aging. We are thrilled to be joining you today to celebrate this momentous occasion.  

I also want to thank the RRF Foundation for Aging for their dedication and support over the years, both as a thought partner and funder of our work to develop the Illinois Aging Together campaign. We also thank the Chicago Community Trust for supporting this effort.  

In 2021, Health & Medicine launched Illinois Aging Together after learning about the effort in California to develop a multi-sector plan for aging. We knew immediately that what was launched there fit squarely with what we had been hoping for in Illinois. We learned from them and began this campaign.   

Since launching Illinois Aging Together, Health & Medicine has rallied hundreds of organizations and individuals to support the movement by joining our Advisory Committee, signing witness slips, and helping guide the campaign. Our supporters include Area Agencies on Aging, partners from the Aging Network, and about half of our supporting organizations are from other sectors. This demonstrates the appetite to work across sectors for aging equity.  

I also want to thank Ali Medina for her dedicated work as the Health and Aging Policy Organizer at Health & Medicine. Two former team members, Sandy Pastore and Brigitte Dietz both contributed to this campaign. Our board committee, including chair Michael Gelder and Robyn Golden, has always supported and guided this effort, as has Margie Schaps, our Executive Director. So, this has been a team effort, one that could not have been achieved without each of you. For that, we thank you.  

The aging of our population is one of the most prominent demographic trends in Illinois, just as it is in the US and many countries. This is no surprise. So, an Illinois multi-sector plan for aging is critical and today, we thank our Illinois officials for taking this step.  

It is worth noting that for a long time, our Illinois Department on Aging, our 13 Area Agencies on Aging, and members of the Aging Network have been conducting assessments, planning, and implementation to support older persons and caregivers. These folks have dedicated their organizations and their careers to this cause—and we owe them great thanks.   

The benefit of a multi-sector plan for aging is that it asks every agency involved to collectively plan to support older persons, caregivers, and all of us as we age—exploring what aging equity looks like in housing, transportation, financial protection, and workforce development, advancing aging equity across all of government.  

I hope to one day be an older person and furthermore, like any of us, I hope I’m able to enjoy it. The reality is that due to health inequities and a host of oppressions, some among us will reach older adulthood with preventable health problems and without the resources to enjoy those years. Others will die young and not make it to older adulthood at all. A multi-sector plan for aging should lead us toward all of us being able to age well in our homes and communities.   

In the end, a multi-sector plan for aging will only be successful if it leads to material improvements in all of our lives as we ourselves both age and provide care. We hope that all of you—and many who aren’t in this room today—will both celebrate this milestone and then roll up our sleeves and get involved with the planning process.   

To ensure success, we need to continue to grow the aging equity movement in Illinois. Health & Medicine will continue to be a leader and a partner in this hard work. Thank you!