Having our Voices Heard

We're taking action to protect democratic values, promote progressive policy and influence upcoming elections.

[huddleinil8-blog]

Use Ballot Box as Health Care Reminder

By Emily Campbell, Member, Huddle in IL-8

There are several things that we know about the Trumpcare proposal currently hidden away by GOP Senators. We know 24 million people will lose their coverage and their costs will go up 15 percent to 20 percent. We know that 7 million people who get their insurance through work will lose it. We know that 3 million children will lose coverage. We know that the Medicaid budget will be cut by 25 percent and then capped, which will impact the approximately 50 percent of all nursing home care and labor and delivery coverage which comes from Medicaid.

We know that protections against charging more for people with pre-existing conditions will be removed. We know that women can be charged more if states opt out of services like maternity care.

We know that in return for the above losses to the American people, the top 1 percent of earners will receive a tax credit. We know that in Illinois, U.S. Reps Peter Roskam, Randy Hultgren, Mike Bost, Adam Kinzinger, Darin LaHood, John Shimkus and Rodney Davis voted in favor of the 1 percent and their wealthy donors over the American people they were elected to serve.

These representatives have made it crystal clear they have little or no interest in helping anyone except their wealthy campaign donors. They might be pros at lip service and well-timed photo ops, but they fall short when it is time to construct and enact policy that betters the lives of the rest of us. Our politicians have forgotten that they work for us, all of us, and not just their biggest campaign donors and special interests. Let's remind them of this the next time they come up for re-election.

[huddleinil8-blog]

Governor Should Sign Abortion Rights Bill

By Ann Greenstein, Member, Huddle in IL-8

I am writing to express my hope that Gov. Rauner reconsiders his position and signs Illinois HB 40 into law. Now more than ever, women's reproductive health is under attack.

HB40 repeals a trigger provision in the 1975 Illinois abortion law that states if Roe v. Wade is ever overturned or modified by the Supreme Court of the United States, Illinois will revert back to its pre-Roe law that made abortion an illegal criminal act. The removal of this trigger ensures that women's healthcare decisions will be protected in Illinois regardless of the U.S. Supreme Court decision. Additionally this bill allows women covered by Medicaid and the State Employees Health Insurance plan to have coverage for abortion care.

Gov. Rauner, you are on record as saying in an answer submitted to Personal PAC: "I dislike the Illinois law that restricts abortion coverage under the state Medicaid plan and state employees' health insurance because I believe it unfairly restricts access based on income." What happened?

It is frustrating to me that access to health care and a woman's right to choose is treated cavalierly by our politicians for their own political gain. I encourage you to sign this bill and perhaps work together with all stakeholders to find ways to make preventive health, access to birth control and health education affordable and accessible so that in the future, all woman have access to safe abortion procedures but that they become exceedingly rare.

[huddleinil8-blog]

We Need Answers to Questions About Russia

By Vicki Martin, Member, Huddle in IL-8

Recent events in Washington, leading up to the firing of James Comey, seem to be pointing to a serious need for investigation into the Russian interference in the presidential campaign and the Trump family's financial involvement with Russian oligarchs and corporations.

Are they in violation of the Emoluments Clause?

Is our president beholden to Russia?

Are the Trumps making money off the presidency?

Would releasing his tax records help clarify this complex situation? Or, is this a witch hunt perpetrated by disgruntled Hillary voters and the liberal media?

Regardless of party affiliation, we need to get to the bottom of this. It may be that there is nothing there, and that this is a bunch of media hype. If so, we need to know, so that the Trump administration can get on with the business of governing.

If there is fuel to this fire, we need to know that as well and take steps to safeguard our democracy. Either way, we need to call and write to our representatives and demand an independent investigation.

To fail to do so could, at worst, severely damage our country, and at best leave the Trump administration under a cloud it will never emerge from.

[huddleinil8-blog]

Qualifications, Not Wallets, are Important

By Katherine Burton, Member, Huddle in IL-8

I recently attended a forum of the Democratic gubernatorial candidates.

I took the opportunity at this forum to ask candidate J.B. Pritzker a question about the large amount of money he is using to self-fund his campaign, which far eclipses the financial means of any of the other candidates.

His response supported an end to Citizen's United and support for campaign finance reform but his lavish spending on his campaign belies his talking points.

As I talk to voters, I am disturbed by the presumption among many that Mr. Pritzker has already won the Democratic nomination, either because they are unaware of the other candidates or the presumption that because he is the only Democrat who can match Bruce Rauner's spending, which he cited as the reason for his spending, that he is the single person who can win in a head-to-head race with the current governor.

It seems to me that the question should be whether Mr. Pritzker is the most qualified, most experienced, and best-suited candidate to lead the state out of its current financial and legislative woes. In fact, with no previous political or government experience, I would suggest that he is the least-qualified candidate for governor.

I find it disturbing that so many Illinoisans have bought into "Big Money Politics," where important political offices can simply be sold to the highest bidder, and I would like to remind Mr. Pritzker that he has not yet won the Democratic nomination and that standing on his credentials and not his wallet would set an outstanding example that Illinois is not a state that is any longer for sale.