Blog

• Presidents Report – Winter 2022

  December 30, 2021:   Fellow retiree leaders, 2021 was an exciting & challenging year of growth for the Illinois Alliance for Retired Americans. Our nimble & careful approach enabled us to remain effective in building our power while keeping safe amidst ...Read more >

• Update: 2021 IARA Biennial Convention

  December 30, 2021: This year IARA held our Biennial Convention virtually, electing our board of directors, & featuring movement leaders on the challenges & opportunities for the labor movement & retirees. Speakers included Illinois AFL-CIO’s political dir...Read more >

• Watch: 2021 Senior Power Celebration

  December 27, 2021:   We are proud to have honored Speaker Emanuel "Chris" Welch with the 2021 Jerry Prete Award at this year's IARA 2021 Senior Power Celebration for his accomplished leadership and steadfast commitment to seniors, workers, and a bold progressiv...Read more >

• KHN: Over Half of States Have Rolled Back Public Health Powers in Pandemic

  September 17, 2021: Republican legislators in more than half of U.S. states, spurred on by voters angry about lockdowns and mask mandates, are taking away the powers state and local officials use to protect the public against infectious diseases. People celebrate...Read more >

• Apple, Bose and Others Pump Up the Volume on Hearing Aid Options, Filling Void Left by FDA

  August 31, 2021: Spurred by decades of complaints about the high cost of hearing aids, Congress passed a law in 2017 to allow over-the-counter sales, with hopes it would boost competition and lower prices. Four years later, federal regulators have yet to issue...Read more >

• Retirees Welcome Senate Budget Resolution

  August 10, 2021:   Medicare Drug Price Negotiation and New Benefits Means a More Secure Retirement for All Americans Statement by Richard Fiesta, Executive Director of the Alliance for Retired Americans regarding the Budget Resolution released today: �...Read more >

• A Word from our New Executive Director

  August 05, 2021: Friends and retiree leaders, This year, our friend Jeanne Cameron moved on from being IARA Executive Director to take on a new post in the movement as a part of the AFSCME Council 31 team. Having served as an organizer with the IARA since 2017, I...Read more >

• Summer 2021: IARA President’s Report

  August 05, 2021: 8/1/2021 Fellow IARA retiree leaders, I hope you’re in good health & enjoying the summer. As the widespread distribution of vaccinations enables us to carefully emerge from the isolation of the pandemic, we do so in the midst of a new pol...Read more >

• Calming Computer Jitters: Help for Seniors Who Aren’t Tech-Savvy

  July 01, 2021: Six months ago, Cindy Sanders, 68, bought a computer so she could learn how to email and have Zoom chats with her great-grandchildren. It’s still sitting in a box, unopened. “I didn’t know how to set it up or how to get help,” said ...Read more >

• Members of Congress Suggest Expanding Medicare Telehealth Options

  May 24, 2021: Early on in the pandemic, the federal government expanded telehealth services covered under traditional Medicare on a temporary, emergency basis. Before, only patients who lived in rural areas could access telehealth options from certain providers an...Read more >