#Illinois politics
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Where Illinois politicians stand on Palestine
I sent a letter to Senator Tammy Duckworth today. Illinois is a solidly blue state, and I've dutifully voted blue no matter who since I started voting. Droves of people here have been writing to her and our Congressional Representatives, begging them to support a ceasefire, and all we will get back is a canned party-line response about Israel's right to "self defense" and the need to eradicate Hamas.
They are able to do this, to disregard the outrage of their constituency, because they feel certain that no matter how many letters we send, we will show up and vote for them when the time comes. They are certain their actions have no consequences, and even if they did, they would tell us that it's all our fault for failing in our democratic duty to vote.
Senator Dick Durban received about $154.5k from Israeli lobby groups. He has publicly called for ceasefire anyway. Their money was not worth a genocide.
Senator Tammy Duckworth received over $212k from Israeli lobby groups. She refuses to call for ceasefire. This was her going rate to enable genocide.
In my letter, I told her that I could not see pictures of dead Palestinian babies and turn around and vote for someone, like her, who had their blood on her hands. I told her that "vote blue" cannot extend to genocide. My ethics do not stretch this far.
14/17 representatives for the state of Illinois are Democrats. Of these, only 5 have called for ceasefire.
Jonathan Jackson: $3k from Israeli lobby groups. He has publicly called for ceasefire anyway. Their money was not worth a genocide.
Robin Kelly: $21.5k from Israeli lobby groups. She refuses to call for ceasefire. This was her going rate to enable genocide.
Delia Ramirez: $0 from Israeli lobby groups. She has publicly called for ceasefire. They knew she could not be bought.
Jesus "Chuy" Garcia: $0 from Israeli lobby groups. He has publicly called for ceasefire. They knew he could not be bought.
Mike Quigley: $43.5k from Israeli lobby groups. He refuses to call for ceasefire. This was his going rate to enable genocide.
Sean Casten: $61.5k from Israeli lobby groups. He refuses to call for ceasefire. This was his going rate to enable genocide.
Danny Davis: $0 from Israeli lobby groups. Yet he refuses to call for ceasefire. You can have his cowardice for free.
Raja Krishnamoorthi: $61.5k from Israeli lobby groups. He refuses to call for ceasefire. This was his going rate to enable genocide.
Jan Schakowsky: $58.5k from Israeli lobby groups. She has publicly called for ceasefire anyway. Their money was not worth a genocide.
Brad Schneider: $54k from Israeli lobby groups. He refuses to call for ceasefire. This was his going rate to enable genocide.
Bill Foster: $65.5k from Israeli lobby groups. He refuses to call for ceasefire. This was his going rate to enable genocide.
Mike Bost is a Republican. $14.5k and obviously no ceasefire talk. He will not be moved.
Nikki Budzinski: $25.5k from Israeli lobby groups. She refuses to call for ceasefire. This was her going rate to enable genocide.
Lauren Underwood: $0 from Israeli lobby groups. She has publicly called for ceasefire. They knew she could not be bought.
Mary Miller is a Republican. $0 - they don't even have to pay her to toe the party line. She will not be moved.
Darin LaHood is a Republican. $27.5k and obviously no ceasefire talk. He will not be moved.
Eric Sorenson: $0 from Israeli lobby groups. Yet he refuses to call for ceasefire. You can have his cowardice for free.
The Republicans will be trash regardless, but we cannot let our Democrats skate by thinking there are no consequences for supporting a genocide. They are slaughtering people with your tax dollars, Americans. It's time to get serious. It's time to tell these people that they cannot have our votes for free. It's time to start talking about primary opposition and third party voting. It's time to start exercising our power as voting citizens.
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An elected Chicago school board is bad. It's not any more democratic than having the Mayor appoint a board, and is arguably less democratic because you're adding half a dozen new likely-low turnout local elections.
Let the Mayor govern. Don't divide power between dozens of people.
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Scott Cousins at The (Alton) Telegraph:
EDWARDSVILLE – The Madison County Board took the step Wednesday night to pass a resolution that places a nonbinding advisory referendum regarding separating Chicago and Cook County from the rest of the state of Illinois. The referendum will be on the ballot for Madison County voters on Nov. 5.
The board passed the resolution by a 15-7 vote with little explanation from board members for supporting it.
Voting in favor were Fred Michael, Stacey Pace, Frank Dickerson, Valerie Doucleff, Michael Turner, Robert Pollard, Mike Babcock, Terry Eaker, Mob Meyer, Denise Wiehardt, John Janek, Ryan Kneedler, Paul Nicolussi and Chris Guy.
Of the 15 votes to pass the resolution, 14 came from Republicans. Pollard was the only Democrat to vote in favor of the resolution.
Most of the people voting in favor of the resolution gave no reason Wednesday night for their support of the resolution. Dickerson, R-Worden, and Eaker, R-Bethalto, both said voters in their districts were “overwhelmingly” in support of the referendum.
Voting no were Michael “Doc” Holliday, Bill Stoutenborough, Shawndell Wilson, Matt King, Victor Valentine, Alison Lamothe, and Nick Petrillo. Bobby Ross, Mick Madison, and Charles “Skip” Schmidt were absent.
“I’m amazed this issue has come as far as it has,” Stoutenborough said.
Stoutenborough said the idea of splitting the state was unpatriotic, a theme of several people during public speaking, and he stood to recite the Pledge of Allegiance, with some others on the board joining him.
Stoutenborough tried to table the issue, but that motion failed by a vote of 12-10.
The referendum will read “Shall the board of Madison County correspond with the boards of other counties of Illinois, outside of Cook County, about the possibility of separating from Cook County to form a new state and to seek admission to the Union as such, subject to the approval of the people?”
Last night, the GOP majority on the Madison County Board voted 15-7 on a nearly party-line vote to put the unpatriotic and economically ruinous separation referendum on the ballot in the November election. Robert Pollard was the lone Dem to vote in favor of putting it on the ballot.
The referendum is a symbolic vote, and I hope people vote against it come November.
Now-former Madco Dems chair Randy Harris said it best: "This is not a serious proposal."
#Madison County Board#Madison County Illinois#Madison County#Illinois#Illinois Politics#Secession#Illinois Separation
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Hey, in case any of my followers are also in Illinois--
There’s a constitutional amendment on the Illinois ballot in November to put the right to collective bargaining into the constitution.
This is a big deal: it prevents union-busing by future legislatures. (For those unfamiliar with Illinois politics, whenever the Chicago Teachers Union goes on strike, a bunch of union-busters get elected in the next election. And then get voted out at the following election, because everyone remembers why they suck, but CTU strikes get people real mad because they’re real effective.)
Sharing this because it’s not super obvious from the title (”workers’ rights amendment”) that this is a pro-union amendment, not a “right-to-work” amendment.
Here’s the wording (quoted from the linked page, with my emphasis added):
The WRA would prohibit Illinois from passing any state law (and any municipality from passing a local ordinance) “that interferes with, negates, or diminishes the right of employees to organize and bargain collectively over their wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment and workplace safety.”
That last part is real important. In Wisconsin, Scott Walker’s union busting started out by preventing educators’ unions from bargaining for anything except for wages and hours. That means, among other things, that they were unable to keep schools closed in fall of 2020 the way the Chicago Teachers’ Union did. Unions that can only bargain for wages and hours aren’t effective unions.
Anyway, if any of my followers are in Illinois, please vote this November (or, better yet, vote early--if you’re in Cook County you can set up mail-in voting so that ballots get sent to you automatically).
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Yesterday was a good day for IL democrats likability rating
#illinois politics#governor pritzker#secretary giannoulias#pride parade#chicago pride#quote me on that#pritzker has a jello shot for context
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It was a really, really good political news day today in the US (4/4/23)
For anyone who hasn't heard, not only did Trump get arrested, but also:
-We found out that the legal case against him in this prosecution (stormy daniels hush money case) is SIGNIFICANTLY stronger than people had speculated. Like, wow do they have receipts.
-In fact, the evidence was so entirely there that the new question on prime time news (well, at least on msnbc lol) is "Hey, why didn't the federal courts prosecute him for this already???)
-Trump FAILED UTTERLY in his attempts to rally mass protests and demands for "death and destruction" if he was arrested. There was no violence at the arrest at all, and as for Trump supporters? They failed to show up in any kind of numbers--reportedly only about a hundred people were protesting the arrest
-We (aka Judge Janet Protasiewicz) WON what is widely considered to be the most consequential election of 2023, a Wisconsin state supreme court election that handed control of the state supreme court to the left
-Because of that election win, it is now extremely likely that abortion will be legal in Wisconsin, and that Wisconsin won't be able to throw out electors in the 2024 presidential election
-ALSO bc of this, Wisconsin, the most gerrymandered state in the country, will probably get nonpartisan, accurate maps, which COULD FLIP THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES in 2024
-In Chicago, Brandon Johnson, union organizer and former teacher, won the election for mayor, in a decisive win progressives, esp for meaningful criminal justice reform and investment in mental health (whereas the other guy was campaigning on hiring hundreds of new cops and being super tough on crime)
#united states#us politics#wisconsin#supreme court#criminal justice reform#progressive politics#democrats#VOTING MATTERS#brandon johnson#janet protasiewicz#state supreme court#elections#gerrymandering#chicago#illinois#mayor#donald trump#trump indictment#trump arrest#alvin bragg#grand jury#manhattan#stormy daniels#good news#hope
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Judge sides with young activists in climate change trial NBC Chicago [Video]
#IllinoisGovernmentNews#PoliticsIL#IllinoisGovernmentPolicy#IllinoisPolitics#ILPublicServices#Illinois Government News#Politics IL#Illinois Government Policy#Illinois Politics#IL Public Services
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"TOUHY'S ESCAPE MADE AN ISSUE BY DEMOCRATS," Chicago Tribune. October 15, 1942. Page 4.
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Springfield, Ill., Oct. 14 [Special].- Democratic candidates Raymond S. McKeough for United States senator and Benjamin S. Adamowski for congressman at large served notice tonight the recent escapes of Roger Touhy and Basil Banghart from Stateville penitentiary will be a campaign issue. Before fewer than one thousand people at a rally here the leaders of the Democratic caravan declared Gov. Dwight Green's administration "must be held accountable" for the jail break.
#springfield illinois#democratic party of illinois#illinois politics#illinois history#partisan politics#stateville penitentiary#1942 stateville escape#prison break#escape from prison#history of crime and punishment#world war ii
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Antisemitic and sexist, nice.
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Sad death of gun-control teen
Sad death of gun-control teen
Gwen Casten
CONGRESSMAN’S DAUGHTER DIES AT 17
Gwen Casten was co-director of the Illinois chapter of March For Our Lives, an organization founded by student survivors of the mass shooting at a Parkland Florida high school.
Seventeen students and teachers were murdered on February 14, 2018, at the Marjory Stoneman Douglass High School by 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz.
Cruz, a former student at the…
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#Gun control#Gwen Casten#Illinois politics#March For Our Lives#Nikolas Cruz#Parkland school mass shooting#Sean Casten
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Aaaaaaand we’ve got our first ad in Illinois about gun control. Two days after the Uvalde Massacre.
I really hate election years
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Cowardly punting of responsibility. Unanimous decision here is shameful, though I recognize it's basically meaningless for the election
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This makes me so happy!
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Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has signed a bill that is aimed at fighting homelessness.
Called “Home IL,” it will bring state agencies, nonprofit organizations and other advocates together. The bill focuses on an equity-based approach, which includes the voices and contributions of those who have experience homelessness.
It codifies the collaboration to move Illinois to “functional zero” homelessness by bolstering the safety net, targeting high-risk populations, expanding affordable housing, securing financial stability for unhoused individuals and closing the mortality gap.
“Every person deserves access to safe shelter and the dignity that comes with housing,” Pritzker said. “This is a first-of-its-kind multi-agency cooperative effort — bringing together state agencies, nonprofit organizations, advocates, and people with lived experience to prevent and end homelessness. I’m grateful for their dedication and believe that together, we can prevent and end homelessness once and for all.”
Rockford has already taken strides in this aspect. In 2017, it became the first community to reach “functional zero” levels among veterans and the chronically homeless.
Illinois’ Interagency Task Force and Community Advisory Council works across 17 state departments and agencies, as well as over 100 processes, programs and policies, to develop a comprehensive plan to combat homelessness.
The goal of the plan is to prevent shelter entry or ensure that shelter stays are limited and lead to quick transitions into stable living situations.
Pritzker has also committed about $360 million for the initiative in his FY24 budget. These investments include:
• $118 million to support unhoused populations seeking shelter and services, including $40.7 million in the Emergency and Transitional Housing Program.
• $50 million in Rapid ReHousing services for 2,000 households, including short-term rental assistance and targeted support for up to two years.
• $40 million in Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) Capital funds to develop 90+ new PSH units providing long term rental assistance and case management.
• $37 million in Emergency Shelter capital funds to create more than 460 non-congregate shelter units.
• $35 million for supportive housing services, homeless youth services, street outreach, medical respite, re-entry services, access to counsel, and other shelter diversion supports.
• $21.8 million to provide homelessness prevention services to approximately 6,000 more families.
• $30 million for court-based rental assistance.
• $15 million to fund Home Illinois Innovations Pilots.
• $12.5 million to create 500 new scattered site PSH units.
“People experiencing the trauma of housing instability are our neighbors and community members who deserve to be treated with humanity and dignity. With this cooperative effort, Illinois is ensuring our state agencies can continue to collaborate, and that stakeholders are at the table with us, to support our most vulnerable in living healthy, well, and with dignity.” Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton said. “Our state is making it clear that we will continue to work together so we can all move forward, and we will focus on holistic strategies that bring us closer to ending homelessness in our state.”
#us politics#news#my state line#Illinois#gov. j.b. pritzker#2023#homeless#homelessness#house the homeless#houselessness#Home IL#end homelessness#expand affordable housing#mortality gap#Illinois’ Interagency Task Force and Community Advisory Council#Emergency and Transitional Housing Program#Permanent Supportive Housing#Emergency Shelter#supportive housing services#homeless youth services#street outreach#medical respite#access to counsel#homelessness prevention services#court-based rental assistance#Home Illinois Innovations Pilots#Juliana Stratton#progressivism#progressives#Democrats
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2024 US Election Information
We have roughly 1 year until the 2024 US election. I've put in some research, and here are my conclusions.
TLDR for those of you who don't have time or focus: Cornel West (Democratic Socialist running as People's Party -> Green Party) is the ideal candidate to vote for - normally I wouldn't advocate voting third party, but we may actually have a shot for once, and he has excellent policies. Jill Stein (Green Party) is a potential backup, though if West drops out, our best option for Democratic party is Marianne Williamson.
Please spread this information, especially to residents of Texas, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arizona, Wisconsin, and Nevada. Detailed information under the cut.
Current Fascist and Republican Candidates
Donald Trump, Nikki Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy, Asa Hutchinson, Tim Scott, Ron DeSantis, Chris Christie, Ryan Binkley, and Doug Burgum.
I'm not going to entertain their details, but I will note that the information I picked up while being exposed to alt-right communities from the inside via my fascist parents earlier this year shows strong evidence that Republicans are likely going to split between Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis (viewed as a betrayal by Trump supporters), and openly fascist Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. (I'll cover him later).
My guess is a 6/3/1 Republican vote split between Trump/DeSantis/Kennedy, Jr..
Current Democratic Candidates
Joe Biden, Marianne Williamson, and Dean Philips.
Biden has overall failed to complete the majority of his campaign promises, and has been directly supporting Israel during the genocide of Palestine, as well as deferring to Republicans to be "bipartisan" (I don't think I have to stress enough that a bipartisan democrat is not a democrat) - do not vote for him.
Williamson is a high-school educated 71-year-old author from Los Angeles, California. She is known for being Oprah Winfrey's, "spiritual advisor," (double red flag), and dropped out during the 2020 election (another red flag).
While she supports the reinstatement of Roe v. Wade, the decriminalization of cannabis and psychedelic drugs, the reduction of CO2, and moving to 100% renewable energy by 2035, her advocacy for the outright banning of assault and semi-assault weapons for civilians without military reform of the same is a slight red flag when combined with her relationship with Oprah Winfrey (an Obama supporter, the president who authorized quite a lot of drone strikes in West Asia) and drop-out makes her not a great candidate.
Philips is a Bachelor's (Brown University) and Master's Business (University of Minnesota) educated 54-year-old three-term congressman who is noted for criticizing Biden running for a second term on account of both political moderacy and medical concerns.
Philips unfortunately wants to increase police funding for some reason, but advocated for better training, including mental health training. He also advocates for what he calls, "comprehensive immigration reform," in the form of increased border security and streamlining legal entry (this ignores the problem outlined by the UN that people seeking asylum are likely to have to enter a country illegally before they can seek support), and the only real good stance he has is giving reproductive rights to patients, rather than politicians.
Philips is essentially a moderate Republican, and is a bad candidate. Do not vote for him.
Current Independent Candidates
Fascist (not his stated political stance, but it's what he is)
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is a fascist that has openly quoted Nazi propaganda in his political campaigns, is an anti-vaccine activist, and has spread anti-science conspiracy theories such as vaccines causing autism and the non-existence of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. I cannot stress this enough, do not fucking vote for Kennedy, Jr.
Democratic Socialist
Cornel West is a Bachelor's (Harvard University), Master's, and Ph.D. (both Princeton University) educated 70-year-old progressive activist that switched his running party from the People's Party to the Green Party, despite being a both public- and self-described democratic socialist.
When asked why he wasn't running as a Democrat against Biden, he stated that, "Neither party is speaking to the pressing needs of poor and working people."
His party plans are a wealth tax on the rich, a national $27 minimum wage, a federal Universal Basic Income, 6 months of paid family leave, a 4-day work week, national free Pre-K childcare, "Immediate cessation of all oil and gas leasing projects on federal lands and waters," "Federal moratorium on fracking, carbon capture, and direct air capture technologies, geoengineering, and other false climate solutions," putting abortion rights in the Constitution, and nationalized healthcare.
Here's where I want to lay out something important. I normally wouldn't advocate for voting for a third party candidate due to the Spoiler Effect, but
Considering the United States' Democratic majority, popular vote records showing a common Republican minority, the absolutely incredible policies West stands for,
The growing support for third parties in the United States, and his policies aligning with public opinion,
Cornel West is the ideal candidate to vote for. Spread this information like wildfire - we may have one shot at the first third party win in US history in the upcoming 2024 election, and
If successful the dominant parties will be Fascist vs. Socialist, denying most, if not all, future Republican wins.
Our target toss-up states are Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arizona, Wisconsin, and Nevada.
Converting Texas to third party, or even just Democrat, will throw the Republican vote entirely and all but guarantee a Democrat, or hopefully third party, 2024 election win,
Which is absolutely possible, as Texas is majority Democrat and wins Republican votes via gerrymandering despite public opinion, which is why it swings occasionally.
Democrat states also need to be switched to majority third party votes, with particular emphasis on California, New York, and Illinois.
GET PEOPLE TO VOTE FOR CORNEL WEST!
Reference map of polling for the future 2024 election:
Libertarian (slightly Conservative to alt-right, really depends on the person)
Chase Oliver is a surprisingly progressive high school educated 38-year-old anti-war Libertarian that left the Democratic party after witnessing Obama's aggressive anti-West Asian war policies who has expressed desires for criminal justice reform and ending wars abroad, though hasn't elaborated on either.
Green Party
Jill Stein is a Bachelor's (Harvard University) and Medical (Harvard Medical University) 73-year-old Jewish doctor who previously ran for and represented the Green-Rainbow Party as the governor of Massachusetts.
Stein is notable for being an activist and protestor who has both protested outside buildings and testified before legislative and other government bodies against coal plants, mercury leaks, and unclean and unsafe groundwater.
Presumably, her stances will focus on environmental protections, trans rights, and Jewish protections, making her a potential alternative should West drop out.
Conclusions:
Again, don't fucking vote for Trump, Haley, Ramaswamy, Hutchinson, Scott, DeSantis, Christie, Binkley, Burgum, Biden, Philips, or Kennedy, Jr..
Our potential backup Democratic candidate is Williamson.
The ideal candidate is West, with Stein as a viable backup.
As absurd as it sounds, I want you to vote third party for Cornel West.
If you want a wealth tax on the rich, a national $27 minimum wage, a federal Universal Basic Income,
6 months of paid family leave, a 4-day work week, national free Pre-K childcare,
"Immediate cessation of all oil and gas leasing projects on federal lands and waters," "Federal moratorium on fracking, carbon capture, and direct air capture technologies, geoengineering, and other false climate solutions,"
putting abortion rights in the Constitution, and nationalized healthcare,
VOTE FOR CORNEL WEST AND GET OTHER PEOPLE TO DO THE SAME.
WE HAVE A CHANCE AT THE FIRST THIRD PARTY WIN IN THE UNITED STATES AND THE DENIAL OF FUTURE REPUBLICAN WINS.
#2024 elections#democrats#democracy#president biden#cornel west#jill stein#marianne williamson#politics#pennsylvania#georgia#arizona#wisconsin#nevada#texas#california#new york#illinois#democratic socialism#socialism#socialist#communism#communist#lgbt#lgbtq#trans#transfem
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#destiel meme#destiel meme news#united states#us news#news#fuck yeah Illinois!!!!#gun control#firearms#gun tw#illinois#illinois government#us law#us lawmakers#us politics#please understand that this isn't anti gun policy or even directly gun control#it just aims to prevent guns from being obtainable or WANTING to be obtained by people who shouldn't have them#like children or radicalized individuals or domestic terrorists#it's just controlling ads people jesus christ#if your hot take is that keeping guns from kids violates YOUR second amendment rights kindly fuck off
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