Health & Medicine has released our 2026 Policy Priorities—advancing health equity and human rights across Illinois.

In a moment of real threats to public health and democracy, we remain clear, committed, and action-oriented.

🔗 www.hmprg.org/health...

#HealthEquity #PublicHealth #PolicyAdvocacy

Health & Medicine Policy Research Group is searching for its next Executive Director—an experienced public health leader ready to guide a mission-driven organization advancing health equity across Illinois.
Search led by Morten Group.
Apply here: www.mortengroup.com/...

A milestone for aging equity in Illinois. 🌱

The state has announced EngAging Illinois, a new Multisector Plan for Aging. Proud that work through Illinois Aging Together at Health & Medicine helped lay the groundwork.💙

ilaging.illinois.gov...

Thank you to everyone who supported Health & Medicine in 2025. 💜 As we step into our 45th year, we carry forward a legacy of courage, compassion, and justice—because of you. ✨

There’s still time to make a year-end gift:
🔗 www.hmprg.org/donate/

#HealthJustice #HealthEquity #IllinoisHealth

As the year ends, our work has never been more urgent. ⚠️

Your support helps
✨ push for equitable public health funding
✨ advance reproductive justice
✨ build a diverse, prepared health workforce

Join us in this work.
www.hmprg.org/donate/

#HealthEquity #IllinoisHealth

City Council Votes 30-19 to Approve Final Part of 2026 Budget. Will Mayor Veto It? “We may not have the majority of the City Council but we do have the people,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said just before the the Chicago City Council voted to approve a budget he fiercely opposed.

FULL STORY: Mayor Johnson now faces what could be the biggest decision of his time in office: whether to veto the spending plan approved by the City Council over his objections.
34 votes are need to override a veto; his critics appear 3 votes short. @wttw.bsky.social

Healthcare workers: Learn how HB1312 protects patients + providers from ICE in hospitals. Join the training on Dec 14 at CTU HQ, 11am. Details + registration: https://bit.ly/hcwnoice
#Chicago #HealthJustice #ImmigrantRights

Maternity Care Is Lacking On The South Side. Kennedy-King's Midwife Program Aims To Change That Students in the program will train in a state-of-the-art simulation classroom and earn national certification and state licensure.

Access to quality maternity care shouldn’t depend on your ZIP code. Kennedy-King’s new midwife program is a powerful step toward closing long-standing gaps on Chicago’s South Side.

Critique of Chicago alders’ alternative budget proposals “People need to decide whether to tax corporations and pay for youth jobs, violence prevention… or tax Chicagoans and cut vital services,” says Julie Dworkin, co-executive director of the Institute for the Public Good.

Chicago’s budget = Chicago’s health. 🏙️❤️‍🩹

On In the Loop, experts break down what alternative budget proposals could mean for equity, community wellbeing, and the services people rely on.

Listen:

Illinois is facing uncertainty—and public health is under pressure. But we’re not stepping back. ✊🔥

Health & Medicine is advancing aging equity, public health funding, reproductive justice, workforce support, and trauma-informed care statewide. 💜🏥

www.hmprg.org/donate/

#StrongerTogether

Health & Medicine is nearing 45 years of advancing health justice in Illinois. 💜 Your year-end gift strengthens advocacy, leadership development, and community partnerships statewide. 🌱🏥

Consider $50 monthly or a $150 one-time gift.
www.hmprg.org/donate/

After the Raids - Chicago Health Chicago families grapple with trauma following federal agents' immigration sweeps.

Chicago families are still feeling the trauma of recent immigration raids — from daycare centers to schools to neighborhoods across the city. Chicago Health’s new reporting captures the impact and what communities are doing to heal. 💜

Read here:
chicagohealthonline....

#HealthJustice #Chicago

Learn more about Nicole’s work and the impact on Chicago’s street medicine community ⬇️
https://bit.ly/4pxOMSG

#StreetMedicine #WoundCare #HealthEquity #HomelessnessResponse #SchweitzerFellows #CommunityHealth #ChicagoHealth #HMPRG

Breaking barriers to reentry: Jenna Pasanen began by creating reentry workshops for women at Cook County Jail and then helped build a university–jail learning partnership. Her Schweitzer Fellowship sparked work that’s become a model for trauma-informed support.

Read more: https://bit.ly/48jjIPm

“I was born a sickle cell patient, but I chose to become a researcher.” ❤️

Dr. Ronisha Edwards-Elliott, Director of Chicago AHEC & Workforce Programs, recently defended her PhD—turning lived experience into leadership in health equity.

Read her story: ow.ly/zBg750XtPWj

💚 Impact Report
What does health equity look like in practice? Schweitzer Fellows partner with communities across Chicago to expand access to care, challenge inequities, and build lasting change.

Explore their stories in the Impact Report: https://bit.ly/48lDmeO

#SchweitzerFellows

. @hmprg.bsky.social partnered with us to guide the strategic planning process and summit design, ensuring that community voices remained at the center of every conversation.

🎉 Fellows Fest 2025–2026 is here!

Support Chicago’s Schweitzer Fellows as they advance health equity and justice across our city - cbo.io/app/public/bi... 💚

#FellowsFest #HealthEquity #SchweitzerFellows

💜 The Cook County Board honored Margie Schaps for a lifetime of leadership in health equity and justice.

Her impact continues to shape Health & Medicine’s voice for justice in health care.

#HealthEquity #PublicHealth

📢 Health & Medicine urges greater public health investment and immigrant protections in Cook County.

Read Policy Director Wesley Epplin’s full FY2026 budget testimony and recommendations: tr.ee/hdNNO-I1-1

#HealthEquity #FundPublicHealth #CookCounty

BlueSky:
🚀 Launch your career in health policy with Health & Medicine!

Applications are open for our 2026 Graduate Paid Internship Program (Feb 2–Apr 20). Join us in advancing health equity.

Apply by Nov 28 → tr.ee/jfFCf8VnHn
#PublicHealth #Internship

📣 Schweitzer Fellowship Applications Are Open

Graduate students across disciplines can design and lead projects that advance health equity and address unmet health needs in Chicago communities.

Apply by February 1, 2026 → www.hmprg.org/chicag...
#SchweitzerFellowship #HealthEquity

Health & Medicine is entering a new chapter. A. Gita Krishnaswamy, M.Ed., MPH has been named Interim Executive Director as Margie Schaps prepares to retire after decades of visionary leadership.

🔗 www.hmprg.org/a-new-...

#HealthEquity #LeadershipTransition #PublicHealth #HMPRG

🌿 #BirthCenterWeek wrap-up: Over 400+ birth centers nationwide & growing!

Illinois has 5 accredited centers + 2 more coming soon. Each one expands access to midwife-led, family-centered care. 👶

🌿 Celebrating #BirthCenterWeek with the new Quincy Medical Group Birth Center in Quincy, IL!

Opening soon, QMG’s birth center will offer midwife-led care. 👶

Another step forward as Illinois expands access to safe, empowering birth options. ✨

#BelovedBirth #BCW2025 #BirthCenterEquity

🌿 Celebrating #BirthCenterWeek with the new Quincy Medical Group Birth Center in Quincy, IL!

Opening soon, QMG’s birth center will offer midwife-led care. 👶

Another step forward as Illinois expands access to safe, empowering birth options. ✨

#BelovedBirth #BCW2025 #BirthCenterEquity

🌿 Celebrating #BirthCenterWeek with the upcoming Chicago South Side Birth Center!

As the city’s first freestanding birth center, it’s building a safe, affirming, community-rooted space for Black birthing families on the South Side. 🤎

#BelovedBirth #BCW2025 #BirthCenterEquity

🤝 Birth Center of Chicago has supported nearly 450 births since 2021. This fall, they’ll welcome Certified Professional Midwives for even more personalized care. 🌿👶 #BelovedBirth #BirthCenterWeek

🤝 Birth is a partnership of care, respect & love. 🌿

Since 2021, the Birth Center of Chicago has supported nearly 450 births—and this fall, they’ll welcome Certified Professional Midwives for even more personalized care. 👶

#BelovedBirth #BirthCenterWeek

🏥 Meeting families where they are.

PCC South in Berwyn—Illinois’ first licensed birth center—has long modeled affordable, community-rooted, midwifery-led care. 👶

#BelovedBirth #BCW2025 #BirthCenterWeek