Reproductive Rights Are Under Attack in Illinois!

This information comes to us from Brigid Leahy, Senior Director of Public Policy, Planned Parenthood of Illinois. Here's what she has to say, and an invitation to learn more.

"Opponents of safe, legal abortion are doing everything they can to stop the Reproductive Health Act and the repeal of Parental Notice of Abortion Act, including spreading false information about the bills and medical care in general.

 
We want you to have the facts. Please join an Emergency Telephone Town Hall on Monday, April 1^st at 7:00 PM to hear from bill sponsors and advocates fighting to pass these bills.
 

Speakers include: Representative Emanuel "Chris" Welch; Representative Sara Feigenholtz; Jennifer Welch, President and CEO, Planned Parenthood of Illinois; an Illinois Caucus of Adolescent Health Youth Advocate, and more.

Legislation establishing reproductive rights in Illinois law was introduced in the Illinois House over six weeks ago, but THERE HAS BEEN NO ACTION. These bills are in real danger of not moving forward unless we demand our state legislators act now and protect our rights. 

More than a dozen lawsuits attacking Roe v. Wade are making their way through the lower courts.  One of these cases could be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court this year!  If Roe v. Wade is overturned, or undermined by the Supreme Court, harmful portions of the current Illinois law that are blocked by the courts could be re litigated. We don’t have time to waste.

It is clear that anti-abortion politicians, emboldened by the Trump administration and Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court, will say and do anything to put safe, legal abortion out of reach for people nationwide. Don’t be fooled, get the facts at the Emergency Telephone Town Hall on Monday, April 1 at 7:00 p.m. to learn how you can help defend reproductive rights and eliminate barriers to reproductive health care."

So, can you make it to this important phone meeting?

What If Tens of Millions Americans Had NO Health Insurance?

Are you one of the 21 million Americans who may loose their health care if the court case in Texas to eliminate the Affordable Healthcare Act (ObamaCare) goes through?  Or are you one of the 135 million Americans who has a pre-existing condition, and who may be denied healthcare if this court case is successful? Or are you among millions over 65 who are on Medicare who may suddenly have to pay for preventative healthcare that previously was without charge?

Are you? Or is someone close to you in one of those categories?

President Obama signs ACA on March 23, 2010

If you can say yes, then you should be concerned, VERY CONCERNED, about the Administration's attempt to use the courts to eliminate the ACA, since they have failed at eliminating it through the Congress. (Thanks to the late John McCain and other Senators who realized this wasn't a partisan issue.)

"Last night, the Department of Justice declared the entire law and all of its vital health care protections must go," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, said in remarks on the Senate floor Tuesday. "Make no mistake about it, this is an escalation of the Trump administration and Republicans' attacks on protections for people with pre-existing conditions."

You can read more about it here. 

But what else should you do? There are two things.

First, call the Department of Justice at 202-353-1555 and tell them that we see this decision as reckless and insensitive to the health care needs of millions of Americans who depend on the ACA. 

Next, call your Members of Congress. You have their phone numbers on your list of favorites, right? If not, go here to get the number for your two Senators and one Representative.
Call today and tell them that we want them to do everything they can to assure that every American has health care, which includes considering how to implement Medicare for all.

And take heart, just as Trump was instructing the DOJ to go after healthcare, the Democrats in the House of Republicans introduced the Medicare Buy-In and Health Care Stabilization Act of 2019 to shore up the ACA and reduce costs. H.R. 1346

Healthcare is not a partisan issue. The 2018 election made that clear when Americans declared that healthcare was their number one issue. And the results in the House evidenced that. Illinois Representative Lauren Underwood is a great example of an underdog who ran and won of a campaign focused on healthcare. (See her on the March 26th Rachel Maddow Show.)

As the next election gets closer, more and more Republicans are going to respond to what the people want, and will be running with a commitment to providing healthcare to all Americans.

What are you going to do? Nothing, or make some phone calls today and start thinking about how you can make a change in Washington by working to get responsible legislators seated in the Congress.


posted by Etta Worthington

If It Plucked Rachel Out of Her Waders in a River, Then It’s Important!

This is how the world ends

Not with a bang but a whimper.*

Well, the world isn’t ending, but the Mueller investigation has.   As you may have heard, the office of the Attorney General received the Mueller report Friday evening and issued a letter to the Judiciary Committees of both the House and the Senate declaring that the report has been received.

So what exactly does this mean.  First, a look at the letter.

  

What does the letter seems to say?

Well, it indicates that the report has been received, that Barr will decide if and what will be released to the public. There seems to be an indication that Barr did not impede the investigation. And Barr promises to inform the Judiciary Committees leadership of the key conclusions of the investigation. But no promise that either Congress or we the people will see the whole report.
 
This is what Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer have to say about that:
“Now that Special Counsel Mueller has submitted his report to the Attorney General, it is imperative for Mr. Barr to make the full report public and provide its underlying documentation and findings to Congress.  Attorney General Barr must not give President Trump, his lawyers or his staff any ‘sneak preview’ of Special Counsel Mueller’s findings or evidence, and the White House must not be allowed to interfere in decisions about what parts of those findings or evidence are made public.”

What is in the report? Will we ever know?  Based on what Democratic leaders have said, there may be a major challenge ahead. 

According to the New York Times, “That could lead to a between executive and legislative branches if Mr. Barr weeks to withhold parts of the report, one that could be eventually resolved by the third branch, the judiciary, in a constitutional showdown.”

We will soon find out what the Attorney General plans to do.  And how the Democratic leadership responds.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

First off, stay informed of what is happening. Here are suggestions from Indivisible. Sign up at muellertime.org to get the latest updates. You can also text RED LINE to 977-79 for the latest text message updates.

Second, get on the phone Monday and call your Members of Congress. Ask, no, DEMAND that they make the Mueller investigation findings public. And that they continue to make Trump accountable.  Go here for more background and talking points.

Don’t just stop there! Urge others to do the same. Indivisible is providing a link where you can record a short video telling family and friends about why they should contact their representative. Make your video here.

Finally, stay tuned for possible protests. If the report is not made public, there will be demonstrations, all over the country. Sign up here for information about protests  in downtown Chicago or other cities in the Chicago area.

“This is an historic, landmark moment in the Mueller investigation. At this point, what now will happen is a whole new fight and a whole new waiting game, in terms of figuring out what Mueller determined . . . Now puts us on a totally different front in terms of what we are as citizens able to know about what we’ve been through as a democracy,”  proclaimed Rachel Maddow at the end of her show Friday night.

So, pay attention to what is happening even this weekend.  Be prepared to act. This is our democracy. Let’s protect it!  And remember, we’re all in this together!

*From “The Hollow Men” by T.S. Eliot

Better for You, Better for the Planet

There’s no shortage of evidence that producing meat for human consumption is more damaging to the environment than other food sources. It’s also not particularly good for your health. For example, this recent study from the journal Science puts the two together, stating that “the consumption of different types of meat and meat products has substantial effects on people’s health, and livestock production can have major negative effects on the environment.” Specifically, the researchers note, “Meat production is the single most important source of methane” (a potent greenhouse gas, worse than carbon dioxide) and a third of the water used for agriculture is required for livestock.

If that’s enough to spoil your appetite, here’s the good news: It’s never been easier to find satisfying meals that don’t include meat, even if you are a meat-and-potatoes eater! Whether your environmental concerns cause you to want to cut back on meat or cut it out altogether, here are some ways to get started:

1.     Check out the new breed of plant-based meat substitutes that might actually fool your taste buds. 

The Beyond Burger is now available at the Sugar Beet Co-op and several local grocery stores as well as some restaurants, including Epic Burger. The Impossible Burger can be enjoyed at Bar Louie and White Castle locations as well as Lavergne’s Tavern in Berwyn. 

2.     Explore ethnic cuisines that minimize meat. Indian and Ethiopian restaurants offer a plethora of delicious, nutritious and satisfying vegetarian dishes. Try South Indian restaurants like Mysore Woodlands, or the phenomenal Ethiopian Diamond. 

Injera is the Ethiopian flatbread that serves as both plate and fork

3.     Try using meat as a condiment and not the main course. Fajitas, stir-fries and other dishes that call for less meat can help you cut back on your meat consumption, whether you’re eating out or cooking at home.

4.     If you’re comfortable in the kitchen, try cooking more vegetarian meals. Several cookbooks and loads of websites aim to help you do just that. For inspiration check out Kristie Middleton’s Meatless: Transform the Way you Eat and Live, One Meal at a Time, and Brian Kateman’s The Reducetarian Solution: How the Surprisingly Simple Act of Reducing the Amount of Meat in Your Diet Can Transform Your Health and the Planet. You can find recipes just about everywhere, but I’m a fan of every cookbook ever written by Isa Chandra Moskowitz. She posts a lot of them online for free, too!

Western Front Indivisible would love to hear what you think, and your recommendations for others seeking to cut back on their meat consumption. Post those in the comments, and thanks!

Posted by Sharon Bloyd-Peshkin

Still Dreaming!

Yes, we still have incredible problems with our immigration system and practices. We still have people who have grown up here and are at the risk of being deported. We still have children who have been been separated from their family at the border.

 

We still don’t know the true extent of Trump’s Family Separation Policy. We know that several thousand children were separated from their parents through Trump’s family separation policy. But we still don’t know just how many were separated, or whether all will be reunited. Outside partners, led by the ACLU, are fighting Trump in the courts to make sure that every child separated is reunited with their parents. While litigation makes its way through courts, Democrats in the House are doing their jobs scheduling investigations into one of the Trump Administration’s most horrific policies.

Family separations don’t just happen at the border. It’s important to remember that family separations happen every day in the U.S. as a result of raids and detention at the hands of ICE. It also happens through Trump’s unconstitutional Muslim and asylum bans that are preventing families from entering the U.S., and in many cases reuniting with loved ones who are already living in the U.S. Additionally, Dreamers and TPS holders remain at risk of deportation due to Trump’ elimination of protections for these groups. Below is more information on a few of the immigrant communities currently at risk under Trump.

• Dreamers. Trump eliminated the DACA program in 2017, putting nearly a million DACA recipients at risk of deportation. The courts have allowed DACA renewals to continue, but not new applications. That means that many more young immigrants who would otherwise be able to seek relief from deportation are stuck in the shadows—or worse, getting deported.
• TPS holders. Individuals with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) are those who have been allowed to say in the U.S. because it is too dangerous for them to return home. Many have been here with TPS for decades, under both Republican and Democratic presidents. However, Trump has ended TPS for about 300,000 immigrants (from Sudan, Haiti, Nepal, Nicaragua, Honduras, and El Salvador), meaning they may have to leave their families in the U.S. and return to their native countries, where they risk death or persecution.
• DED holders. Individuals with Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) have gotten less attention than those with DACA or TPS, but they are also at risk of being forced to return to their native country even though many have lived in the U.S. for decades. DED is a form of protection from deportation and has been used by both Democratic and Republican presidents to provide relief to Liberians.
• Muslims and asylum seekers. One of Trump’s first acts when he took office was to issue a Muslim Ban preventing individuals from 7 predominantly Muslim countries. In response to court challenges, the ban has gone through several iterations, and the latest version was allowed to stay in place by the Supreme Court (though no decision on its merits has been made). Trump has since imposed a separate “asylum ban” that would prevent asylum seekers from claiming their legal right at the U.S. border.

 

New bills in Congress would provide permanent relief to those affected by Trump’s policies

Trump will continue to attack immigrants. And the biggest fights we’ll see over the next two years will likely be over the funding levels for those agencies implementing Trump’s out-of-control deportation machine. However, House Democrats will soon introduce a series of bills that would undo some of the damage to immigrant, refugee, and Muslim communities and provide relief for those at risk of deportation.

Whether the following bills have been introduced or not, tell your MoC to cosponsor them and demand that the House pass them.

• The Dream and Promise Act (H.R. 6). This bill would provide permanently relief to Dreamers, TPS holders, and DED holders. The lead sponsors of this effort are Reps. Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-40), Nydia Velázquez (NY-07), and Yvette Clarke (NY-09). Tell your representative to co-sponsor the Dream and Promise Act.

• Muslim Ban and Asylum Ban Repeal (S. / H.R. # TBD). This bill would fully repeal Trump’s Muslim and Asylum Bans, ensuring that families from affected countries and asylum seekers from Central America won’t continue to face unconstitutional discrimination. It would allow people from affected communities to reunite with their families in the U.S. The lead sponsors are Rep. Judy Chu (CA-27) in the House and Sen. Chris Coons (DE) in the Senate. Tell your MoC to co-sponsor the No Ban Act. 

 

Content in this post is from Indivisible

 

EnviroTip #1: Achoooo!!!

We're starting something new here.  An tip every week or so on how to become more environmentally friendly. To become a better citizen of the earth, so to speak.

Don't you just hate it when people are so self-satisfied and self-righteous about how ecologically sound they are?  Yeah, me too. And then I start feeling like a failure because I'm not quite that advanced.

Well, don't worry. We're not going to try and make you feel like a failure.  Rather the opposite--we want you to feel inspired to do better.  (We can all do better, right?)

So, here's a practice I have adopted and it has saved some trees along the way. Now I'm talking about tissues.  It's still that time of the year for colds. And soon it will be the start of allergy system.  And that could be a lot of sneezes.

I've gone old fashioned. Back to handkerchiefs. Remember those big old handkerchiefs your father or grandfather had? Yep, that's what I have.

Then there are the smaller and fancier ones (on the left). The lady's handkerchief. (That's what my daughter has.)

Think about it! How many boxes of tissues do you buy a year?  What if you suddenly didn't have to do that anymore? 

And, I'm so lucky--a friend made and gave me a holder for a small plastic tissue pack, and I was able to adapt it as a holder for a handkerchief. Something I can toss in a backpack or a purse. How cool is that!

But where do you possibly find these handkerchiefs?  I know I have gone online and found them. May have been Kohl's or Penney's.  As for the ladies hankies, I know Ashley has found them at resale shops.

So the next time you have to sneeze, and grab for your box of tissues, think about it.  You can make a change and cut down on the amount of paper you use and then put in the landfill.

Stay tuned! There will be more EnviroTips coming your way.  And contact us, if you have one you'd like to share,

Posted by Etta Worthington

Poll Watchers Needed

Clean Count Cook County is a good government, not-for-profit organization, advocating in Chicago and Sub.Cook County for fair, transparent and accurate elections. Needed are a few registered IL voters, (at least 13 volunteers from Chicagoland, who do not necessarily have to live in Oak Park or River Forest), who will undergo a short poll watching training, and be assigned to a multiple precinct polling places on Election Day in Oak Park and River Forest to observe the implementation of new election machines.

 

The Sub. Cook County Election Division is rolling out brand new election machinery, (Dominion Democracy Suite), for the April 2nd Elections in 3 places: Oak Park, River Forest, and in Proviso Township. 

On Election Day, voters will be able to choose to vote on a regular paper ballot or use a new electronic ballot marking device, (the large "tablet" looking touch screen, that you will see on Election Day, provides the voter interface, and is an off the shelf customized component that Dominion added to their Democracy Suite specifically for the Sub. Cook County Election Division). 
 

Voters will make their choices on this touch screen, then a machine will produce a paper record of their votes cast that the voter can review, (an 8 1/2 by 11 piece of paper with the voters choices on it, but where the votes will actually be counted from a bar code printed on the ballot).  Both the regular paper ballots and the produced pieces of paper marked with the voter's "cast votes" and bar code will be fed through a new digital scanner. 

We have very little experience with these new election machines, but we know from past experience that when new election machinery is rolled out there can be problems.  We are very curious about these new machines, and have a list of concerns as well. 

Each volunteer poll watcher will be assigned to a multiple precinct polling place that will have 2 - 3 precincts so that the poll watcher can observe the maximum number of interactions between the voters and these new machines.  This is going to be a relatively low turnout Election Day on April 2nd so this is the best way to maximize our observations. 

Volunteer poll watchers will be trained in the usual election law and poll watching rules, given an assigned polling place and credentials from Illinois Ballot Integrity Project, and a list of questions and concerns to focus on, (listed at the bottom of this email).  

Are you a registered IL voter and interested in helping? 
Please send a note to drlora22@gmail.com with your name, email, phone with which one of the poll watching training times and locations works best for you:

1) Wed, March 27, 7 pm. the Falcon Room, 3rd floor Evanston Public Library at 1703 Orrington Ave, near Church and Chicago Ave, in Evanston.  Paid parking is under the library or on the streets.

2) Sun, March 31, 2-4 pm at the L!ve Cafe, 163 S. Oak Park Ave, in Oak Park
L!VE Café - Oak Park, IL

Parking is on the street and free on Sunday, but please check the signs to make sure.

 

Here is a list of questions that  poll watchers will be asked to make observations about on Election Day: 

• How easy was it to set up the new machines (both the ballot marking device and the ballot scanner)--were there any glitches? 
• If there were problems, what did the Election Judges (EJs) and Equipment Managers (EMs) have to do?
• Did the vendor or the Election Division have to send in technicians to get the machines up and running?  
• Did the machines stay in good operating mode throughout the entire day? If not, how long were the machines shut down?  
• Did the voters appear to find the new machines easy to use or were they asking for help? 
• Approximately how long were voters standing at the machines casting their votes?
• Did long lines (4+voters) occur with voters waiting to use the new machines? 
• Could the observers determine if the voters were verifying their votes?  
• Did many of the voters have to relinquish their ballots because of errors and start over?
• Did the EJs have to put ballots in the auxiliary ballot box in the blue carts because of scanner shut down?
• Did the scanner produce a poll tape at the end of the evening?   (poll watchers typically obtain copies of these tapes)
• How difficult was the closing of the polls as it relates to the new ballot marking devices and the new scanner?

Do you have the time?  This is a great way to work on reclaiming our democracy, on the local level.

Thanks to Lora Chamberlain for this information.

Wow! Illinois Is Ahead of the Game

Here’s some information about an exciting new Act that is being considered in Illinois—the Clean Energy Jobs Act.

THE OPPORTUNITY

Because of the Future Energy Jobs Act of 2016 (FEJA), the clean energy industry is booming in Illinois. We have an opportunity to act to immediately ramp up renewable energy development in Illinois to put Illinois on a path to 100% renewable energy by 2050, cut carbon from the power sector by 2030, reduce gas and diesel vehicles from the transportation sector, and create jobs and economic opportunity.

Gov. Pritzker and dozens of legislators have committed to that goal because they understand that doing so will spur additional economic growth and reduce energy bills for Illinois consumers.

 Throughout 2018, the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition (ICJC) conducted its “Listen. Lead. Share.” campaign—a series of more than 60 conversations on energy policy held across the state. The new Clean Energy Jobs Act was developed with the input of everyday Illinoisans who participated in those conversations.

This is  organized around four pillars:

Promoting Jobs and Economic Opportunity

• Creates the Clean Jobs Workforce Hubs, a network of frontline organizations that provide direct and sustained support for minority and disadvantaged communities.

• Creates preferences for companies that implement equity actions to ensure equitable representation in Illinois’ clean energy workforce.

• Creates a Contractor Incubator program that focuses on the development of

underserved businesses in the clean energy sector.

Putting Illinois on a path to 100% renewable energy by 2050

• Builds more than 40 million solar panels and 2,500 wind turbines across Illinois by 2030, generating more than $30 billion in new infrastructure in the state.

Taps into the falling cost of wind and solar, lowering costs for consumers.

• Expands Solar for All, and ensures people have access to solar in their community.

• Expands goals for Energy Efficiency, on the electric and gas side, to lower costs.

• Directs utilities to evaluate lower-cost alternatives to infrastructure modernization.

Reducing the equivalent of 1 million gasoline and diesel-powered vehicles from the road

• Empowers local communities to develop Community Energy and Climate Plans, to drive comprehensive local investment in energy, transportation, workforce, and environmental projects.

• Creates a new Beneficial Electrification initiative to incentivize electric vehicle charging, focused on medium- and heavy-duty vehicles that create local health impacts.

• Creates the EV Access for All program, to ensure all Illinois residents can benefit from electric vehicles, and supports the creation of low-income electric vehicle car-sharing and “last-mile” electric shuttles to serve transit deserts.

Achieving a carbon-free power-sector by 2030

• Directs the Illinois EPA to begin a comprehensive stakeholder process that prioritizes carbon reductions in impacted communities and reduces harmful pollution from power plants to zero by 2030.

• Creates Clean Energy Empowerment Zones to support communities and workers who are economically impacted by the decline of fossil-fuel generation.

• Directs the IPA to procure clean energy and capacity resources to achieve customer savings and expand renewables investment.

 Call your State Representative and State Senator and ask them to support the Clean Energy Jobs Act!  Locate your Rep or Senator's phone numbers here.

This comes from the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition.