Deputy Governor Louanner Peters and Members of the Blagojevich Administration Honored with Awards from Illinois Action for Children

CHICAGO - Deputy Governor Louanner Peters was honored today at the annual reception for the advocate group Illinois Action for Children and presented with the group's 2008 award for advancing high quality and accessible programs that foster the development, health and well-being of all Illinois children. Also accepting awards for the Blagojevich administration were Grace Hou, Assistant Secretary of the Illinois Department of Human Services and Ginger Ostro, Director of the Governor's Office of Management and Budget.

Illinois Action for Children, formerly the Day Care Action Council of Illinois, has championed the cause of quality child care and early education for families and children throughout Illinois for 35 years. 

"I am extremely thankful for this unique recognition from this special group of advocates and for the opportunity to highlight the important progress we've made in Illinois when it comes to taking care of our children," said Deputy Governor Peters. "Governor Blagojevich has been and continues to be a leader in fighting to get healthcare access for all the uninsured and the forgotten communities in our state. In our time in office we have created the All Kids program, which provides health insurance coverage for all Illinois children and Family Care for the uninsured parents of those children. I am proud of the progress we have made and we will keep fighting for the citizens of Illinois."

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Throughout her time in the Blagojevich administration, Deputy Governor Peters has been a tenacious advocate on issues that focus on families and children, economic inequities and civil rights injustices. As the first African-American Deputy Governor of Illinois, Ms. Peters has been the Governor's point person for access to care issues in underserved communities.