By Matt Simonette

Staff writer

State officials and community activists gathered at the James R. Thompson Center downtown Feb. 11 for the official unveiling of the Quality of Life scratch-off Illinois Lottery ticket.

All of the proceeds from the ticket are to go towards community organizations providing services for persons with HIV/AIDS. The legislation creating the ticket was introduced early last year by state Rep. Karen Yarbrough (D-Broadview) in the House and state Sen. Jacqueline Collins (D-Chicago) in the Senate.

At Monday’s press conference, Collins praised community activists Ben Montgomery, Michael O’Connor and Marc Loveless, who made numerous trips to Springfield to lobby for the Quality of Life legislation last year.

Rep. Greg Harris (D-Chicago) said the legislation was imperative in that it will get money to smaller community organizations. The monies from the Quality of Life game is being split between small, mid-sized and large organizations.

“We have a first-class public health system in Illinois. But those of us who’ve been working in the trenches on this disease for (years) know that the real impact on prevention and treatment is not necessarily in the big institutions. …The real impact is in the small community organizations, serving their neighborhood,” Harris said.

Recipients are to be determined by an 11-member advisory board, which is to review grant proposals and make recommendations to the Illinois Department of Public Health. The board would be made up of two members appointed by the speaker of the House; two appointed by the president of the Senate; two appointed by the governor, one of whom will serve as chair; and three members appointed by the director of IDPH.

The scratch-off tickets are expected to be in stores beginning Feb. 15, according to Jodie Winnett of Illinois Lottery, and should be widely available across the state the following week. The game expires at the end of 2012.