On April 3, 2015, Good Friday, Governor Rauner cut $26 million dollars from more than twenty programs within the IL Dept of Human Services and Public Health. Dove Inc. received a suspension notice for our Community Services Grant.

Dove’s Community Services / Decatur Area Project (DAP) helps neighborhoods organize to advocate for services and address issues happening within their boundaries. CS/DAP works with the city of Decatur to organize neighborhood walks and the Annual National Night Out.

The leadership team at Dove in consultation with the Dove Board of Directors Executive Committee made the painful decision to close the program and lay off staff. Our Program Director's last day will be April 30th.

During the decision making process, Dove’s Executive Director, James Walters, personally made contact with both Senators Rose and Manar. Chapin Rose visited our facility and spoke about shared sacrifice. Andy Manar warned that more cuts to existing programs may be coming. We agree that the state’s financial position is poor and accept the idea of shared sacrifices. Before Good Friday, all human services programs received a 2.25% reduction in this year current contracts. Please, contact the Governor’s office and other elected officials and tell them human services has sacrificed their share and to find other methods to fix our budget problems.