IDHS and AFSCME Encourage Murray Developmental Center Staff to Get Vaccinated in Time for Drawings

CENTRALIA - Today, AFSCME Council 31 Director Roberta Lynch joined State of Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) Secretary Grace B. Hou to urge employees of the Murray Developmental Center (DC)  to get vaccinated before July 13, in time for prize drawings just for IDHS employees.

All Murray DC staff are automatically eligible to win a variety of recently announced IDHS employee incentives if they receive at least one dose of the vaccine before midnight on Monday, July 12, 2021. Winners for the following prizes will be announced on July 19:

• 1 drawing for $10,000 
• 2 drawings for $5,000 
• 1 drawing for a pair of round-trip American Airlines tickets to anywhere in the world AA flies
• 3 drawings for a pair of Chicago Bears Tickets 
• 3 drawings for a pair of Chicago Fire Tickets 
• 1 drawing for a Chicago Cubs Experience
• 2 drawings for a pair of Chicago Cubs Tickets
• 3 drawings for a pair of St. Louis Cardinals Tickets
• 3 drawings for a Winner's choice prize:

Choice of a lifetime fishing license from IDNR, or a lifetime hunting license from IDNR, or ten Lincoln Museum passes (including a $100 gift shop voucher), or an Illinois State Fair gift pack, or a DuQuoin  State Fair gift pack.

"Our union welcomes this incentive to encourage everyone to protect themselves, their families and their communities by getting vaccinated," said AFSCME Council 31 Executive Director Roberta Lynch. "Safe and highly effective, the vaccines are the road back to normalcy, especially for employees of congregate facilities where the risk of viral spread is great."

"Increasing vaccination rates is the best way we can return to a sense of normalcy," said IDHS Secretary Grace B. Hou. "Every IDHS employee who wants a vaccine can easily get one, and I hope these prize drawings inspire an even greater level of participation from our heroic staff."

All eligible IDHS 24/7 facility staff will be automatically entered into 19 drawings, and those who have received vaccination elsewhere, or who have a medical or religious exemption, can opt in.

From the onset of the pandemic, frontline State employees have protected Illinois' most vulnerable residents and patients in State run developmental centers and mental health centers. To recognize their ongoing service to the State, employees who have taken at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose by July 12, 2021, will be entered into the free drawing. IDHS operates seven Developmental Centers and seven Psychiatric Hospitals across Illinois. Employees of the Illinois Departments of Corrections (IDOC), Veterans' Affairs (IDVA) and Juvenile Justice (IDJJ) will be entered into separate, similar drawings within their agencies. Drawings will be administered by the Illinois Lottery.

Vaccines are widely available at no cost to all Illinois residents and State employees - including onsite, every day, at the State Developmental Centers and Psychiatric Hospitals. To find the nearest vaccine provider, all residents can visit vaccines.gov, text their zip code to 438829 or call 1-800-232-0233. More details on IDHS' drawings are available at www.DHS.illinois.gov/vaxdrawing.