Citizen Bulletin for the Week of May 7 – 13    

Our highlights from this week include: Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner proposed legislation that would harshen penalties imposed on public officials for engaging in corrupt practices; Governor Rauner also obtained federal approval for a state Medicaid waiver that unlocks federal funding for community mental health programs; U.S. President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. is exiting the Iran nuclear deal.

CHICAGO CITY GOVERNMENT

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

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

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

• May 7—Attended the construction of the next segment of the lakefront trail separation project, which strives to relieve congestion on city roads by providing a new path for pedestrians and bikers

• May 11—Opened, along with American Airlines CEO Doug Parker, five new gates for the airline at O’Hare International Airport

COOK COUNTY BOARD

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

• May 10—Spoke at the Construction Workforce Fair at Malcolm X College; the fair aimed to employ local construction employees in the renovation of the Old Cook County Hospital

ILLINOIS STATE GOVERNMENT

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

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

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

• May 7—Obtained federal approval for a state Medicaid waiver that unlocks federal funding for community mental health programs

• May 11—Proposed legislation that would harshen penalties imposed on public officials for engaging in corrupt practices

U.S. FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

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

• May 7—Joined Reverend Jesse Jackson’s renewed call to make lynching a federal crime; attempts to pass federal anti-lynching bills have failed nearly 200 times since 1918

• May 8—Criticized President Trump’s decision to pull the U.S. out of the Iran nuclear deal

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

• May 7—Announced, along with Dick Durbin (D–IL) and Cheri Bustos (D–IL17), that a $2 million grant by the U.S. Department of Transportation will be given to Channel Cat, water taxis that operate in the Quad Cities

• May 8—Criticized President Trump’s decision to exit the Iran nuclear deal, calling his actions “reckless” and “alarming”

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

• May 8—Condemned President Trump for pulling the U.S. out of the Iran nuclear deal

• May 10—Introduced, along with Pat Roberts (R–KS), legislation to provide rural emergency medical services with increased support for training and equipment

• May 11—Reintroduced legislation to curb over-production and over-prescribing of opioids

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

• May 8—Announced that the U.S. is exiting the Iran nuclear deal

• May 11—Rewrote Obama-era prison rules in order to instruct the Bureau of Prisons to use an inmate’s biological sex to determine the facilities to which they will be assigned

• May 12—Called on the Senate to pass a spending package that includes funds for a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border

• May 12—Issued a formal statement declaring the Hawaii volcanic eruptions a “major disaster” after volcanic eruptions, opening availability to additional federal funding for disaster relief.