E-Newsletters
Juneteenth celebrates the date that the last enslaved people were freed in the United States, finally ending one of the original sins of our democracy. On June 19, 1865, federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, and shared news of President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, more than two years after the proclamation was signed.
Since January, I have heard from close to 1,000 of my constituents who have been receiving mail only a few times per week. Often, households are going a week or more without any mail delivery at all. Although there has been sporadic mail delivery in our communities before, this is the worst it has been in years.
As the global pandemic continues, millions of Americans are facing new health concerns and also remain underinsured or uninsured and still need affordable health coverage. Thats why President Joe Biden signed an executive order calling for a Special Enrollment Period so you and your families can apply and enroll in the coverage you need.
First and foremost, I want to thank each and every one of you who have reached out in recent days to offer your support and check on the well-being of my staff and I. While I am fortunate enough to have come through last Wednesday's events unscathed, I remain shocked and appalled by what took place.
As Thanksgiving approaches, I am writing to you about the difficult decisions we all find ourselves facing.
Each year, on the eleventh day of the eleventh month of the year, we pause as a nation to honor all those who have served in our armed forces.
As you know, this year tax-filing deadlines were postponed across the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The new federal and Illinois July 15 deadline – postponed from April 15 – is just a few days away. I wanted to reach out to make sure you have all the information necessary to file your tax return on time, pay the taxes you owe from 2019, or file for an extension.
America is experiencing a moment of national anguish, as we grieve for those killed by police brutality and racial injustice. George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery should all still be alive today. Black Americans have spent decades demanding change and despite this, we continue to see unarmed African Americans killed time and time again.
The past few weeks have shown that civic engagement is more important than ever. A small but meaningful action that you can take right now is completing the 2020 Census yourself or encouraging others to do so if you already have.
As of this week, over 1.5 million Americans have contracted coronavirus and over 90,000 have died – including more than 4,100 here in Illinois. And last month, nearly 22 million Americans filed for unemployment. I know that essential workers can't wait for support and families can't wait to pay rent or to keep food on their tables.