E-Newsletters

I encourage everyone who chooses to use their voice this weekend to do so safely and peacefully. I also hope to see you frequenting businesses in the Little Village and Pilsen areas, lending your support to the communities that need it the most right now.

Chicagoland has been reeling from the influx of ICE agents and their escalatory actions in our communities. Instead of helping lower the temperature, this week, Trump inflamed tensions by deploying the Texas National Guard into Illinois. The deployment of hundreds of ICE agents and National Guard troops is not only unnecessary, it’s costing us millions of tax dollars. None of it is making us safer.

Republicans had two choices: come to the table with Democrats or shut down the government. They chose to shut it down. Democrats passed the ACA's "premium tax credits" in 2021, and as a result, 11 million Americans have signed up for health insurance. Now, Republicans want to let those tax credits expire, which would mean price increases of 114% for 22 million Americans. I'm ready to negotiate a deal at any time, but Republicans need to come to the table.

My office is here to help during the current dramatic increase in ICE action in and around Chicago, and this administration's attacks on immigrant communities. As part of my commitment to aiding and protecting immigrants, I have launched an Immigration Protection Toolkit on my website. This page is intended to provide information and resources for anyone concerned about their safety or the safety of their loved ones. It also makes it easier for anyone who needs help to contact my office.

Political violence has no place in our nation. I have said this before, and I will continue to say it until this scourge has been eliminated from our politics. This week, Republicans introduced a resolution that required two things. First, that I condemn political violence. And second, that I honor the legacy of Charlie Kirk. I have done the first. But I cannot do the second.

While Donald Trump hid behind a screen, we in Chicagoland have joined our neighbors in action. I was proud to celebrate Mexican Independence Day in Pilsen and participate in a Know Your Rights discussion about responding to ICE with Rep. Chuy Garcia, Senator Dick Durbin, and more this weekend. We will get through this—together.

Trump's use of the National Guard is the work of an authoritarian regime, but it's also an expensive PR stunt. It's just not a smart approach to crime. I was proud to secure $2.5 million for bulletproof vests and squad car technology for our Chicago Police, and I'm going to continue to push for commonsense solutions to crime that work.

The city of Chicago does not want or need the military deployed to our streets. Donald Trump's threat to send the National Guard to Chicago is a gross overreach by a President who wants to cosplay as tough by bullying his own citizens. His talk about ‘law and order’ is a smokescreen for yet another power grab on his quest to become a dictator.