2002 Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Jan Costello
Phone: 217-785-9020, TTY: 1-800-252-8966

October 25, 2002

Margo Schreiber Selected as
Gold L.E.A.F. Award Recipient

SPRINGFIELD, IL – Director of the Illinois Department on Aging Margo E. Schreiber, who serves as the Governor’s and the Illinois General Assembly’s ambassador to nearly two million seniors in Illinois, was honored October 24, 2002, as a Gold L.E.A.F. 2002 Award recipient by Metropolitan Family Services for outstanding work on behalf of seniors and their families.

During Metropolitan Family Services’ Annual Meeting in DuPage County, Schreiber was honored as "Illinois’ Advocate for the Elderly" and recognized for strengthening families in DuPage County. She was selected by a panel of community and business leaders.

Schreiber was appointed as Director of the Illinois Department on Aging in 1999. Some of her many accomplishments include publicizing the expansion of the Circuit Breaker/Pharmaceutical Assistance Program and the new Illinois SeniorCare Program to help seniors pay for prescription medications; implementing a Family Caregiver Support Program to reach out to unpaid family caregivers struggling to take care of an elderly parent or spouse; chairing the Governor’s Elder Abuse Task Force and producing recommendations to help protect vulnerable seniors, especially from financial exploitation; and promoting the visibility of the Department to help seniors access needed services.

Director Schreiber created a new slogan for the Department – "In Illinois, Aging is Everybody’s Business," to help educate all age groups about the implications of an aging society. She continues to write a monthly newspaper column, "Seniors Ask," which is distributed statewide to 200 publications and addresses the everyday concerns of seniors.

She has spent over 25 years working in the fields of aging and human services. As Administrator of DuPage County Human Services, she worked to provide housing, mental health services, transportation, energy services and senior services to those in need. She served as founder and Chairman of the DuPage Federation and served on the Illinois Council on Aging for nearly 20 years.

Schreiber is a 1983 graduate of National-Louis University which honored her in 2002 as a Distinguished Alumni. She is also the recipient of the Josephine Oblinger Award in recognition of her advocacy on behalf of seniors.

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Contact

For more information, call the Illinois Department on Aging's Senior HelpLine at 1-800-252-8966 (Voice and TTY).