ICS Announces Speak Up! for Members
Over the past several months, the ICS staff has been developing a new publication for our members called Speak Up! This publication is a how-to guide on meeting and speaking with legislators. Speak Up! covers how to contact your elected official, basic meeting tips, and an outline of eight key issues facing chiropractic today. The guide is accompanied by a series of videos that outline our key issue areas.
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This tool was designed for ICS members to meet with their legislators in the legislator’s district office, as we want you to begin to develop and further relationships with your elected officials. The goal is for legislators to think of you, their constituent when they hear about issues facing chiropractic. This tool will help equip you with the resources necessary to meet with your local legislator.
A New Way to Meet with Legislators
It is very difficult for doctors to meet with legislators in Springfield, so we are suggesting a different way for you to meet with them. We are now asking that you meet with them in their district offices. This approach makes it easier for you in two ways:
First, it reduces the amount of time you need to be away from your practice and allows more time for you to provide care to your patients. You will have some flexibility to schedule the meetings when it works for you and the legislator, and you will not have to spend a whole day away from your practice to have the meeting.
Secondly, you will have more one-on-one time with your legislator. In Springfield, legislators are very busy going to committee meetings and with session. It is very rare that a scheduled meeting happens on time in Springfield. However, by meeting in a district office, you are more likely to have your meeting scheduled on time and not rushed.
It is critical for legislators to hear from their constituents. They want to know how issues are going to impact the people that live in their communities. Therefore, it is imperative for you to meet with your legislators, so they know how issues are impacting the chiropractic physicians in their district. While they do hear from the ICS on chiropractic issues, they also want to hear from our members that live in their districts.
Here are the simple steps to get started:
- Read over Speak Up! and view the videos relevant to the issue you would like to discuss with your legislator,
- Contact your local legislator about having a meeting with them and inform them as to which of the one or two key issue areas you want to discuss,
- Begin and further your relationship, and
- Complete the follow-up survey to inform the ICS of your meeting results.
We want all of our doctors to feel comfortable having these meetings, and we have designed Speak Up! to prepare you for all facets of the process. Therefore, Speak Up! will equip you with the following:
- What to say,
- How to make contact,
- How to approach the legislators,
- How to write a letter,
- Eight different important issues,
- 2017 Proclamation, and
- How a bill becomes law in Illinois.
To contact your legislator, use the American Chiropractic Society’s Legislative Action Center to find your State Senator’s contact information.
Enter your entire address in the “Find Your Elected Officials” field on the right and click Go.
Your State Senator will be towards the bottom of the resulting page. Click on his or her picture to find their district office number.
If you have any questions regarding the Speak Up! publication or meeting with your legislator, do not hesitate to contact the ICS at (217)-525-1200.
