UCDI’s Citizen Bulletin for April 16–22                   

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Our highlights from this week include: Mayor Rahm Emanuel passed an ordinance requiring vendors of non-cigarette tobacco products to display warning signs about their use; State Senator Kwame Raoul passed his bill in the State Senate to impose more disclosure and accountability regulations on changes to workers’ compensation plans; the Trump Administration stated that Native Americans might not be exempt from new Medicaid work requirements, potentially violating legal protections enshrined in centuries-old land cession treaties between the U.S. and tribal governments.

CHICAGO CITY GOVERNMENT

Alderman Leslie Hairston (5th Ward) ~ call your alderman! (773) 324-5555

• Apr 19—Urged fellow City Council members to vote in favor of an amendment strengthening the Chicago Human Rights Ordinance on the issue of sexual harassment

Alderman Willie Cochran (20th Ward) ~ call your alderman! (773) 955-5610    

• [No News]*

Mayor Rahm Emanuel (D) ~ call your mayor! (312) 744-3300

• Apr 16—Awarded a five-year, $17.5 million contract to Advanced Data Processing to collect ambulance service fees

• Apr 16—Passed an ordinance requiring vendors of non-cigarette tobacco products (such as electronic cigarettes) to display warning signs about their use

• Apr 20—Attended a memorial service for Police Commander Paul Bauer and four other slain police officers

COOK COUNTY BOARD

President Toni Preckwinkle ~ call your Cook County board president! (312) 603-6400

• Apr 19—Elected chairman of the Cook County Democratic Party; she is the first woman and first African American to hold the position

• Apr 20—Defended her revenue-raising soda tax in a meeting with the Cook County Board of Review, stating she had warned that the repeal of the tax would lead to layoffs

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

• Apr 17—Passed his bill in the State Senate to impose more disclosure and accountability regulations on changes to workers’ compensation plans; an identical proposal was vetoed by Governor Rauner in 2017

Governor Bruce Rauner (R–IL) ~ call your governor! (312)-814-2121

• Apr 20—Signed a bill to standardize the regulation of wireless cell service facilities; there was significant pushback from the Elmhurst City Council against the bill’s limits on local control

U.S. FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

Representative Bobby Rush (D–IL1) ~ call your representative! (773) 779-2400

• Apr 19—Honored by the American Academy of Ophthalmology for his efforts on behalf of patient safety

• Apr 19—Agreed to support the Local Radio Freedom Act, which opposes “any new performance fee, tax, royalty, or other charge” on local radio stations

• Apr 20—Co-sponsored the “Marijuana Justice Act,” a bill that would legalize marijuana at the federal level, expunge prior convictions for marijuana possession, and withhold funding from states whose rates for drug-related arrests are racially disproportionate beyond a certain threshold; the bill has been inactive since August

Senator Tammy Duckworth (D–IL) ~ call your senator! (312) 886-3506

• Apr 17—Called on EPA administrator Scott Pruitt to resign or be fired, claiming he had spent government funds on personal luxuries

• Apr 19—Placed a hold on any new nominations for appointments in the Department of Housing and Urban Development after its failure to explain the shutdown of two affordable housing facilities in Thebes, Illinois

• Apr 19—Voted against confirming Jim Bridenstine to lead NASA while holding her newborn daughter, marking a historic first; Bridenstine was ultimately confirmed

Senator Richard Durbin (D–IL) ~ call your senator! (312) 353-4952

• Apr 18—Criticized nicotine vaporizer products in letter to JUUL Labs and the FDA, calling for “kid-friendly” vaporizers and flavors to be removed from the market

• Apr 18—Led bipartisan efforts to introduce legislation increasing efforts to map high-risk flooding areas, allowing FEMA to more accurately analyze risks in urban centers

• Apr 20—Introduced, along with other Democratic senators, a bill to limit the use of solitary confinement in federal prisons

President Donald Trump (R) ~ call your president! (202) 456-1414

• Apr 16—Declined to initiate new sanctions against Russia, contradicting the administration’s ambassador to the United Nations

• Apr 21—Considered reversing Obama-era rules that prohibit doctors, hospitals, and health insurers from discriminating against transgender people

• Apr 22—Stated, through the Department of Health and Human Services, that Native Americans might not be exempt from new Medicaid work requirements, potentially violating legal protections enshrined in centuries-old land cession treaties between the U.S. and tribal governments

*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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