Blagojevich, Governor of the State of Illinois passes Proclamation

WHEREAS, according to the Illinois Department on Aging, between four and five percent of persons in the United States, aged sixty and older are subject to some form of mistreatment or abuse, including physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, as well as financial exploitation and neglect of basic care needs; and

WHEREAS, Illinois has approximately two million citizens over the age of sixty, meaning that as many as 90,000 Illinois seniors could currently be suffering from some form of abuse; and

WHEREAS, it is the mission of the Illinois Department on Aging and its network of service providers to increase public awareness of this plight against our most vulnerable elderly; and to promote increased reporting of elder abuse; and

WHEREAS, it is essential that the citizens of Illinois recognize the signs of abuse, neglect and exploitation and report suspicions of abuse; and

WHEREAS, it is imperative that each community in Illinois refuses to tolerate this offense against our older citizens by creating greater awareness of the prevalence and severity of elder abuse in hopes of eradicating it from society:

THEREFORE, I, Rod R. Blagojevich, Governor of the State of Illinois, do hereby proclaim July 2007 as ELDER ABSUE AWARENESS MONTH in Illinois, and encourage all citizens to recognize this crisis and join in working toward its prevention.