Citizen Bulletin for the Week of May 21–27    

Subscribe here.

Our highlights from this week include: Alderman Leslie Hairston skipped the City Council meeting at which the final plans for Obama Presidential Center were approved by a vote of 47–1; Illinois governor Bruce Rauner sent a letter to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers expressing willingness to work with other Great Lakes states to restrict Asian carp, an invasive species that threatens to disrupt the Great Lakes ecosystem; President Donald Trump made contradictory statements about whether or not a summit with Kim Jong Un had been cancelled.

CHICAGO CITY GOVERNMENT

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

• May 23—Skipped the City Council meeting at which the final plans for Obama Presidential Center were approved by a vote of 47–1

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

• [No News]*

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

• May 20—Announced that 600 high definition cameras will be installed at CTA train stations in order to increase security

• May 21—Met with 100 new police recruits as a part of a larger plan to add 1,000 new officers to the Chicago Police Department ranks

COOK COUNTY BOARD

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

• May 22—Called on transit governance boards to more accurately reflect the demographics of their riders; today the boards are disproportionately white and male

• May 25—Announced that the project to turn the old Cook County Hospital building into two hotels and several restaurants will begin as soon as adequate financing is secured

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

• May 26—Argued that a 2015 law he helped pass that shields juvenile criminal records should not be used to prevent inquiries into police misconduct

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

• May 21—Faced criticism from an independent watchdog organization for hiring practices that may violate anti-patronage rules

• May 23—Sent a letter to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers expressing willingness to work with other Great Lakes states to restrict Asian carp, an invasive species that threatens to disrupt the Great Lakes ecosystem

• May 24—Offered, according to an aide, to sign hypothetical legislation standardizing firearm waiting periods to 72 hours or allowing school facility funds to be used for resource officers and mental health professionals; Rauner vetoed a gun control package two weeks ago

U.S. FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

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

• May 22—Voted against the First Step Act, a prison reform bill that would include using an algorithm to determine which prisoners would be eligible to cash in “good behavior” credits; the bill, which is backed by the president, passed the House and awaits Senate approval

• May 23—Joined renewed efforts to pass an update to the “Do Not Track Kids Act,” which would raise the minimum age at which a user’s information can be collected by internet companies without consent (from 13 to 16)

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

• May 21—Sent a letter, cosigned by 17 other senators, to Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, asking her to use the recent increase in Department of Education funding to help student parents access affordable child care.

• May 24—Criticized President Trump, partly blaming his “erratic behavior” and “strategic naiveté” for the cancellation of his meeting with Kim Jong Un in Singapore.

• May 24—Co-sponsored legislation to declare the month of June “National Gun Violence Awareness Month”

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

• May 23—Criticized Trump administration for detaining children at southwest border who are seeking refugee protection in the U.S.

• May 24—Condemned Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro for expelling U.S. diplomats

• May 24—Voted yes on bill in Judiciary Committee that would limit the flow of opioids by adjusting quotas for DEA

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

• May 24—Made contradictory statements about whether or not a summit with Kim Jong Un had been cancelled

• May 25—Signed three executive orders that make it easier to fire federal workers; criticized as an attack on public-sector unions and workplace rights

• May 25—Briefed Congress on a tentative agreement that would exempt ZTE, amid concerns about potential presidential conflicts of interest, from penalties for violating U.S. sanctions; the administration’s plans received bipartisan criticism, and the Senate is considering legislation to counter the President’s move