WEST DES MOINES, IOWA - April 19, 2012 - The generosity of Iowa Hawkeye fans and Iowa farmers helped bring in 5,040 pounds of food  and $1,575 in cash for local and statewide food banks.  The America Needs Farmers (ANF) program launched the 2012 season with the annual ANF Food Bank Drive at the April 14^th Hawkeye Spring scrimmage.

"We're proud that Iowans opened their hearts to bring thousands of pounds of food and critical cash donations to the ANF event," said farmer and Iowa Farm Bureau Federation (IFBF) President Craig Hill.  "It shows the incredible generosity of Iowans who believe in caring for their neighbors and friends who may have fallen on hard times."

Food pantries across the state report a 30 percent increase in the number of families who have requested assistance in recent months.  The Johnson County Crisis Center alone distributes 60,000 pounds of food every month and prior to the ANF April 14^th food bank drive, they faced a critical shortage in both food and donations.

The Iowa Food Bank Association, which is a collaboration of eight food banks that collect and distribute food and essential supplies across the state, sees a statewide shortage.  "About 43 percent of those Iowans who need food assistance don't qualify for government assistance because they are working; it's just that they're not able to cover increased fuel costs, medical bills and meet all the nutritional needs for their families," said Jordan Vernoy, director of the Food Bank Association of Iowa.  "But, donations gathered April 14th by Hawkeye fans will go a long way.  Every one dollar donated this past weekend will be used to help us gather $15 of food donations."

To encourage Food Bank donations, the first 1,000 Iowa Hawkeye fans who brought donations, received ANF items.

ANF was first launched in 1985 during the height of the Farm Crisis by legendary Hawkeye coach Hayden Fry, who wanted to show an increasingly urban nation why agriculture matters. Fry notes that ANF may be more important today with fewer farmers and a growing population.  For more information about why America Needs Farmers, visit www.americaneedsfarmers.org.

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Two-Day Event Features HUD Secretary Donovan, Assistant Treasury Secretary Eberly and Housing Industry Leaders from Across Illinois

CHICAGO - April 17, 2012. Governor Pat Quinn sent a message of welcome to Illinois to federal housing leaders to Illinois as they addressed the 500 attendees at the Illinois Governor's Conference on Affordable Housing at Chicago's Navy Pier. Governor Quinn commends the state's housing industry leaders for their dedication to ensure working families, seniors and people with disabilities access to have safe, affordable housing.

"We are focused on creating and stabilizing affordable housing in Illinois communities to build momentum for our state's economic recovery," Governor Quinn said. "Housing is key to job growth and strengthening communities, and we are committed to continuing our progress in boosting affordable housing opportunities throughout our state."

U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan delivered the keynote address, and U.S. Department of the Treasury's Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy Janice Eberly also addressed Illinois' housing leaders.

"I want to thank Governor Quinn for his leadership on housing issues and for providing a collaborative forum to address the most critical housing issues impacting Illinois communities," HUD Secretary Donovan said. "We are impressed by the innovative approaches to housing we are seeing here in Illinois. The Obama Administration is committed to encouraging local solutions and to ensuring that Illinois' successes can be a model for community transformation across the country."

"I applaud Governor Quinn's commitment to helping people stay in their homes - tens of thousands of struggling Illinois homeowners have already received help through the administration's programs, including the Illinois Hardest Hit Program," Assistant Secretary Eberly said. "This is a good start, and we will continue to do more to address the economic challenges we face here in the state of Illinois and throughout the country."

The conference's two days of sessions also featured state housing leaders discussing supportive housing, rental housing development, community stabilization, financing and affordable homeownership. Representatives of the Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA), Illinois Department of Human Services (DHS), Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO), Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS), and the Illinois Department on Aging participated in the event.

Governor Quinn's administration has created new programs to make homeownership more affordable and create solutions for families and communities hurt by the foreclosure crisis.

·         Last year, Governor Quinn launched the Illinois Hardest Hit program (www.illinoishardesthit.org) to offer up to $25,000 in temporary financial assistance to help homeowners who have experienced a job loss or pay cut continue to make their mortgage payments. The program uses $445 million in federal Treasury funds. To date, nearly 1,800 Illinois homeowners are approved to receive assistance that will help them stay in their homes.

·         In December, Governor Quinn introduced the Welcome Home Heroes program to help Veterans secure a home. The program offers secure, fixed-rate loans and up to $10,000 in down payment assistance to thousands of military families, creating more than 400 jobs throughout Illinois. To date, $14 million in Welcome Home Heroes financing has enabled 130 military families to buy a home. Under Governor Quinn, IHDA has helped over 6,000 Illinois families buy homes and stabilize communities with $342 million in loans, grants and down payment assistance.

·         In February, Governor Quinn announced the Illinois Foreclosure Prevention Network (IFPN). The IFPN is a one-stop-shop linking homeowners with available foreclosure prevention assistance. The collaboration between IHDA, the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) and Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) provides access to counseling services, legal advice, mortgage payment assistance programs, foreclosure prevention events and tips on how to avoid mortgage fraud. Network resources are available at www.KeepYourHomeIllinois.org, and via a free hotline 1-855-KEEP-411 (1-855-533-7411) from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays.

·         The Illinois Building Blocks Pilot Program, a joint program of the state and Cook County launched in February, is rehabilitating vacant properties and increasing affordable housing in the communities of Berwyn, Chicago Heights, Maywood, Park Forest, Riverdale and South Holland. The $55 million pilot phase of the program targets the six communities to stabilize neighborhoods, protect property values, preserve the existing local tax base and increase affordable housing. Foreclosures have devastated both families and communities. Studies have shown a foreclosed property can decrease property values located in the same block by as much as $10,000.

"Governor Quinn has long worked as a strong advocate for affordable housing, and his administration has supported important legislation and housing initiatives," IHDA Executive Director Mary R. Kenney said. "The Illinois Governor's Conference on Affordable Housing provides an opportunity for our state's housing partners to share best practices and forge new partnerships to continue positioning Illinois as a national leader."

About IHDA

The Illinois Housing Development Authority (www.ihda.org) is an independent, self-supporting bonding authority that finances the creation and preservation of affordable housing throughout Illinois. Since 1967, IHDA has allocated more than $11.1 billion to finance more than 221,000 affordable housing units for the residents of Illinois.

Advocates, I finally have some good news to report!

The Senate passed its Health & Human Services appropriations bill yesterday, which includes $5.3 million for tobacco prevention and cessation programs compared to $0 in the House bill and $2.8 million this year.  It also includes $350,000 for additional funds for Quitline for this year to address an anticipated shortfall of $450,000 due to increased call volume.

We are thrilled with this development. The Senate took to heart the mountains of scientific data that showed these services are effective. If Iowa plans to be the healthiest state in the nation, these services will be a key component of achieving that goal.

The bill now goes to the House, and it is expected that it will end up in conference committee to work out the many differences between the chambers. We will continue to work with legislative leaders and the Governor to ensure the tobacco prevention and cessation programs are funded and effective.

Also, our K-12 tobacco-nicotine-free schools bill has been incorporated into the Senate education reform bill, which also passed this week. The bill now goes to the House, and is also expected to end up in a conference committee to work out the many differences between the Senate and the House.

Stay tuned for future action alerts on these issues and others as the Legislature wraps up the 2012 session in the next few weeks, and as always, feel free to contact me directly with any questions or concerns - peggy.huppert@cancer.org.