The first issue that I would like to discuss is is the fact that on July 1 of 2011 Illinois will have a new Illinois statutory short form power of attorney for property and also a new Illinois statutory short form power of attorney for healthcare. These changes brought about by changes to the Illinois power of attorney act in 2010 are welcome and will help provide clarity for our clients. Second , as we have discussed in prior announcements, Illinois is about to undergo changes to its Medicaid laws related to the payment of long-term care. These changes are being made by the state of Illinois in order to come into compliance with the federal Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA). Thus far the state has provided proposed rules in August of 2010 and has issued a second notice revising the originally proposed rules during February of 2011. State officials have met and conferred with interested groups and the legislative committee authorized to review rules for the state of Illinois (known in Illinois as “JCAR”). However as of this writing there has been no adoption of the final version of the rules. Once those final rules are known we will make entries describing the impact of these rules on our clients, colleagues and readership. Stay tuned.