History Timeline

50 Years of Championing Better Health for Illinois Children & Families

Since our founding in 1975, ICAAP has been a driving force for children's health across Illinois, from lobbying for the state's first car seat law to launching COVID-19 vaccination initiatives reaching communities statewide. Explore the milestones, the advocates, and the wins that have shaped five decades of pediatric care in our state below.

1975

Richard Dukes, MD, FAAP incorporated ICAAP with Thomas P. Driscoll, MD, Oliver W. Crawford, MD and Albert L. Pisani, MD

1983

Illinois requires car seats

1984

Agnes D. Lattimer, MD was named ICAAP president, the first AfricanAmerican woman in that role, and served from 1984 to 1986. In 1986, she was appointed medical director of Cook County Hospital, the first female African-American medical director of a major hospital.

1988

Dr. Gary Gardner served as president of the AAP Illinois Chapter and chair of its Accident and Injury Prevention Committee after being named Pediatrician of the Year in 1986. Since 2013, the H. Garry Gardner Keynote is a staple at our Annual Education Conference.

1990

Illinois established two-shot requirement for Measles, Mumps and Rubella

1991

Reach Out and Read Illinois launched

1994

Bright Futures introduced

1995

First adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) study conducted, study released in 1998

1997

Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) launched, providing states with enhanced federal financing and greater flexibility in program design compared to Medicaid.

2000

Scott Allen hired as executive director of ICAAP, a post he held until 2015

2001

First Annual ICAAP Conference

2002

Illinois first added varicella vaccine to its school/childcare immunization requirements effective July 1, 2002

2004

ICAAP took a lead role in Memisovski v. Maram – a landmark federal class-action lawsuit in Illinois to improve Medicaid services for ~600,000 children. ICAAP then-president Mark Rosenberg, MD, FAAP took the witness stand, and Illinois had to increase payment rates.

2004/05

Tobacco settlement grant from the state of Illinois used for antismoking education for parents

2006

HPV vaccine approved

2010

Senate Bill 101 passed the Illinois Assembly and signed by Governor Pat Quinn, ensuring insurance equity

2012

ICAAP won AAP Very Large Chapter Award

2019

Illinois required children under age 2 to be properly secured in a rear-facing child restraint system unless they weigh more than 40 pounds or are more than 40 inches tall. Children must remain rear-facing until age 2.

2020

Amidst the outbreak of COVID-19, ICAAP provided information to pediatricians and conducted its first annual immunization conference

2020

ICAAP leaders gave testimony to state Senate Human Services and Public Health Committee on Housing Insecurity

2021

ICAAP launched Illinois Vaccinates Against COVID-19 (1-VAC) with a $5 million grant, in partnership wi1h Extension for Community Health Outcomes-Chicago at the University of Chicago and the Illinois Academy of Family Physicians, to support the expansion of COVID-19 vaccine administration into routine clinical workflows.

2022

ICAAP partnered with the Illinois Department of Public Health, state human services agencies, and the Illinois DocAssist program, in a new statewide Children’s Behavioral Health Transformation Initiative to strengthen mental health services in emergency departments and schools.

2024

New ICAAP logo launched

2024

On October 24, Governor JB Pritzker recognized ICAAP by saying, “I want to also shout out to the Illinois Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics for their partnership. None of this happens without leadership. And they are, at least from my perspective, the folks who are ultimately working with you to make this happen here and across the state.”

2025

ICAAP celebrated its 50th Anniversary with a number of key wins in Illinois