ICASA is a statewide network of 34 rape crisis centers located in Illinois communities. The centers are the cornerstone for a community`s response to sexual assault survivors and the crime of rape.

Let me give you an update on their supportive and effective work.

In FY2006, 11,444 victims of sexual assault and their significant others received in-person counseling, advocacy or other support from the centers` staff and volunteers. Those services could have begun at a hospital emergency room or with a victim`s call to a 24-hour hotline. Or they might have started when a victim of childhood sexual abuse came to the center for counseling. The services likely continued as a supporting hand through the criminal justice system.

The centers also reached nearly 431,095 youth in our schools and community organizations. This past Spring, ICASA continued to stand on the cutting edge of progressive legislation.