UCDI's Citizen Bulletin for February 12 – 18

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Good morning. Our highlights from this week include: Trump proposed his presidential budget, which includes provisions for tax cuts, increased defense spending, funding for a border wall, funds for fighting the opioid epidemic, overhauls the federal student loan program, again suggests the repeal of Obamacare, and suggests a work requirement for collecting food stamps, and make cuts to a series of domestic discretionary programs; Governor Rauner released a controversial budget proposal, which calls for changes in the pension system and state-worker health insurance in order to cut taxes; Senator Richard Durbin claimed that Congress is not “doing enough” to protect American schools from gun violence, in the wake of a deadly shooting at a Florida school.

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 13—Announced a proposal to demolish the Crawford Coal power plant in the Little Village and replace it with a diesel-intensive logistics center, leading to mixed reactions from residents
• Feb 16—Announced that Google will expand in Chicago, but did not provide any more details
• Feb 17—Spoke at the funeral of slain police commander Paul Bauer, praising him as a man who “embodied the best of Chicago”

COOK COUNTY BOARD

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

• Feb 13—Attended Black Creativity Gala at the Museum of Science and Industry to fundraise for programs that support young people in STEM and arts fields

ILLINOIS STATE GOVERNMENT

Representative Barbara Flynn Currie (D–District 25) ~ call your state rep! (773)-667-0550

•  Feb 16—Defended State House Speaker Mike Madigan’s decision to fire a longtime aide over alleged sexual harassment

Senator Kwame Raoul (D–District 13) ~ call your state senator! (773) 363-1996

• [No News]*

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

• Feb 14—Introduced a controversial budget proposal which calls for changes in the pension system and state-worker health insurance in order to cut taxes
• Feb 17—Granted 6 petitions for clemency, but denied 14 others
• Feb 17—Spoke at the funeral of slain police commander Paul Bauer

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 12—Criticized Trump’s infrastructure plan for its emphasis on private sector partnerships instead of public funds, claiming that the plan would lead to undue financial burdens on states and localities
• Feb 13— Criticized the Governor’s inaction in regards to the Legionnaire's Disease outbreak at veterans homes, despite his statement last month that his goal was “zero instances” of the disease.
• Feb 15—Opposed a House measure that would alter the enforcement of the Americans with Disabilities act.

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

• Feb 12—Condemned the Senate for not passing the latest in six bipartisan bills to protect Dreamers, since the deadline for DACA participants set by the Trump administration is in early March
• Feb 15—Claimed that Congress is not “doing enough” to protect American schools from gun violence, in the wake of a deadly shooting at a Florida school

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

• Feb 12—Rescinded, through an action of Betsy DeVos, the Department of Education’s policy of investigating civil rights complaints made by transgender students
• Feb 12—Proposed his presidential budget, which includes provisions for tax cuts, increased defense spending, funding for a border wall, funds for fighting the opioid epidemic, overhauls the federal student loan program, again suggests the repeal of Obamacare, and suggests a work requirement for collecting food stamps, and make cuts to a series of domestic discretionary programs
• Feb 18—Asserted, in response to Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s indictment of 13 Russian nationals with election meddling, that he “never said Russia did not meddle in the election”
• Feb 12—Released his much-vaunted infrastructure plan, which expects that 70 percent of the $1.5 trillion funding will materialize from non-federal sources, giving the private sector an enlarged role and diminishing federal role in the prioritization of infrastructure projects, and potentially disadvantaging poor communities while saving federal funds

*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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