"Senior Day" at the Illinois State Fair set for Monday, August 14

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois - The Illinois Department on Aging (IDoA) will host "Senior Day" at the Illinois Building at the State Fair in Springfield on Monday, August 14.  The air-conditioned building, which is near the main gate on the state fairgrounds, is open daily from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Admission on "Senior Day" for people 60 years of age and older is free. 
Each and every day of the Fair, which runs August 11-20, there will be entertainment and bingo. Officials with IDoA will also be on hand to provide information to seniors and their families regarding the recent changes to the federal Medicare drug benefit and Governor Rod R. Blagojevich's newest prescription drug program, Illinois Cares Rx.  Seniors and their families may sign up for same-day, individual, private counseling sessions about pharmaceutical benefits with professional counselors from the Aging Department.
"We'll have people on-site to help seniors, their families and their caregivers get a better understanding about the changes to the Medicare program.  It's very important that everyone understand the complex issues involved," explained IDoA Director Charles D. Johnson.
On "Senior Day," special portraits of Illinois' fallen soldiers from the War on Terror in Iraq and Afghanistan will be on public display in the Illinois Building.  The sketches, which can also be viewed on Sunday, August 13, were created by 22-year-old Eastern Illinois University student Cameron Schilling to memorialize the men and women who gave the ultimate sacrifice while defending our country.

Also on "Senior Day," Jim Karras, a nationally known fitness and weight loss expert, will speak at 11:00 a.m. in the auditorium.  The special seminar is sponsored by Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Illinois.

St. John's Hospital, Illinois Pharmacists Association, the Lions Club and the Illinois Optometric Association will provide free health screenings each day, including those for:
• Cholesterol  •   Mental Health  •??Rheumatoid Arthritis
• Blood Pressure •   Osteoporosis  •??Skin Cancer
• Blood Sugar  •   Pulmonary Function •??Stroke
• Body Composition •   Height/Weight  •??Overactive Bladder
• Diabetic Eye Testing
Representatives from various state agencies and private companies will also be on hand during the entire fair to provide information about services they provide to older people.  Those agencies include:
• Illinois Lt. Governor Pat Quinn's Office •   U.S. Social Security
• Attorney General Lisa Madigan's Office? •?? Scooter Bug
• Blue Cross & Blue Shield?of Illinois  •   Secretary of State Jesse White's Office
• Illinois Department of Human Services? •   Illinois Pharmacists Association
• State Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka's Office  •???Watkins Home Products
• Illinois Bee Keepers?    •   Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs
• Prairie Heart Institute    •???Illinois Department of Human Services
• Illinois Optometric Association  
•    Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation
• Illinois Department of Public Health (Each day from 1:30-2:30 p.m., IDPH will host a special seminar to educate seniors on healthy aging.)
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