Citizen Bulletin for Week: February 19–25
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Good morning. Our highlights from this week include: Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle sent a letter to the Department of Justice stating that the county is already in compliance with federal immigration regulations; the county is facing a federal investigation over its “sanctuary city” immigration policies and enforcement; Governor Bruce Rauner announced that his administration will re-evaluate the option to move patients out of a Quincy Veterans Home following controversy over the Legionnaires outbreak; Illinois’s senators issued statements calling for Congress to adopt stronger gun control measures.
CHICAGO CITY GOVERNMENT
Alderman Leslie Hairston (5th Ward) ~ call your alderman! (773) 324-5555
- [No News]*
Alderman Willie Cochran (20th Ward) ~ call your alderman! (773) 955-5610
- [No News]*
Mayor Rahm Emanuel (D) ~ call your mayor! (312) 744-3300
- Feb 18—Stated his support for a 15-cent tax on ride-hailing services
- Feb 22—Expressed pride in the Chicago Public Schools being named top in the country for improving access to Advanced Placement exams
- Feb 22—Criticized Trump’s suggestion to arm teachers in order to reduce mass shootings, dismissing this idea as “absurd."
COOK COUNTY BOARD
President Toni Preckwinkle ~ call your Cook County board president! (312) 603-6400
- Feb 23—Sent a letter to the Department of Justice stating that the county is already in compliance with federal immigration regulations; the county is facing a federal investigation over its “sanctuary city” immigration policies and enforcement
ILLINOIS STATE GOVERNMENT
Representative Barbara Flynn Currie (D–District 25) ~ call your state rep! (773)-667-0550
- [No News]*
Senator Kwame Raoul (D–District 13) ~ call your state senator! (773) 363-1996
- Feb 22—Co-sponsored a gun violence bill that will create a way for families to report high-risk individuals
Governor Bruce Rauner (R–IL) ~ call your governor! (312)-814-2121
- Feb 21—Announced his administration will re-evaluate the option to move patients out of a Quincy Veterans Home following controversy over the Legionnaires outbreak
- Feb 23—Issued disaster proclamation after floods bedeviled three counties
U.S. FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
Representative Bobby Rush (D–IL1) ~ call your representative! (773) 779-2400
- [No News]*
Senator Tammy Duckworth (D–IL) ~ call your senator! (312) 886-3506
- Feb 21—Declared that she will work on securing federal aid for the Quincy Veterans Home, site of various recent Legionnaires disease outbreaks
- Feb 23—Released a statement urging congress to act to regulate guns
Senator Richard Durbin (D–IL) ~ call your senator! (312) 353-4952
- Feb 21—Called on Congress to enact common sense gun reform to prevent future mass shootings
- Feb 23—Urged Trump to pressure Russia and Syria to end bombing in Eastern Ghouta, describing the situation as a humanitarian crisis
President Donald Trump (R) ~ call your president! (202) 456-1414
- Feb 23—Placed new sanctions on North Korea targeted at shipping companies and businesses
- Feb 23—Extends Federal disaster assistance to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
*Our research process involves searching for press releases from the elected representatives, Google News stories, and any Twitter and Facebook posts. If no information is displayed in the Citizen Bulletin, then our research process turned up nothing new from this past week.
The Citizen Bulletin is a product of the University of Chicago Democracy Initiative (UCDI). UCDI is proudly supported by Andrew Goodman Foundation’s nonpartisan Vote Everywhere project. In addition to the UCDI website, you can find past versions of the bulletin here. For news closer to campus, subscribe to the twice weekly newsletter produced by our partners at the Chicago Maroon.
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