Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich signed on to a first-of-its-kind bill last Friday, August 19th, that launches his state into a massive, government-wide initiative to address the AIDS epidemic among African Americans. AIDS activists say no previous federal or state law has marshaled a similarly wide swath of public resources for work specifically targeting the Black epidemic.

Dubbed the African American HIV/AIDS Response Act, the new law follows a June U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that estimated African Americans account for nearly half of all HIV infections in the country. In Illinois, where African Americans make up only about 15 percent of the population, they account for 51 percent of diagnosed AIDS cases.

The new legislation, which takes effect January 1, 2006, calls on the state to establish point people for the initiative in the Governor’s office, the Department of Human Services, the Department of Health and the Department of Corrections. A panel consisting of representatives from each of these agencies and from three HIV/AIDS service organizations, along with two former prisoners, will develop an annual report for Governor Blagojevich on the state of AIDS among Illinois’ African-American residents.

The bill also mandates that “high-traffic” state agencies, such as the Department of Motor Vehicles and the secretary of state’s office, create space for community-based HIV/AIDS organizations to conduct rapid HIV testing.

But the aspects of the bill that have been called both its most ambitious and its most controversial seek to get a handle on the still-shadowy epidemic behind bars.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the AIDS case rate in the nation’s jails and prisons is three and half times that of the general population. Illinois’ prison epidemic is more intense than any in the Midwest, with 1.3 percent of inmates known to be positive.

Under order of the new law, the Illinois Department of Corrections and county jails will be required to offer free voluntary testing and counseling to all inmates upon and during incarceration, as well as immediately prior to their release. Case managers will be assigned to help positive inmates transitioning out of incarceration and refer them to support services on the outside.

In addition, researchers at the University of Chicago will conduct a study to examine the correlation between incarceration and HIV infection. Prison health advocates nationally have long complained that correctional facilities rarely allow such research.

Initially, the legislation also authorized condom distribution to inmates. But that provision was later removed due to heavy opposition from the Department of Corrections. Only two state prison systems, Vermont and Mississippi, make condoms available to prisoners, though a handful of city jails do so.

The law was originally developed by Illinois State Representative Constance A. Howard and Lloyd Kelly, who directs Howard’s “Let’s Talk, Let’s Test Foundation,” which helps raise money for Black AIDS groups throughout Chicago. Howard’s bill first called for mandatory testing of inmates, a population that some believe are largely responsible for the growing disparity in HIV infection rates among Black and white women. But many community advocates, including members of the Black Health Alert and the AIDS Foundation of Chicago, strongly opposed forced testing.

“When I first looked at this bill, I encouraged my colleagues to strongly reconsider that piece,” says the Reverend Doris Green of the AIDS Foundation of Chicago. “Who are we to force anybody to do anything?” she continued.

“And, more importantly than that, have we considered the effects of enforcing something of this magnitude on the lives of prisoners? Have we really considered that?” she asked.