Springfield is over 200 miles away from Chicago, but it’s not too far for our members. Last Wednesday, we all packed into vans and rode all the way to the Illinois State Capitol. It’s a long way to go, but showing up on their home turf shows lawmakers that our stories matter and that we have the power to motivate even more members to take action.
There, we split into teams based on what districts we lived in. Armed with issue briefings, pamphlets, and our personal stories, we fanned out across the Capitol building to talk to legislators about these bills going before the legislative assembly in the upcoming year, like the:
- Funded Advocacy and Independent Representation [FAIR] Act (HB 5842), which will create a statewide office of public defense and ensure that all Illinoisians have access to quality legal representation.
- Metropolitan Mobility Authority Act (SB 3936), which will merge northeastern Illinois’ long-siloed public transportation systems and help secure an extra $1.5 billion in funding to expand service.
- Strengthening Mental Health and Substance Use Parity Act (HB4475), which will require private insurance corporations to provide access to behavioral health treatment on par with primary (physical) health care. Right now, many people are forced to pay more, experience delays, or are unable to get behavioral care altogether.
We also talked about what steps lawmakers can take toward protecting rideshare workers at the state level, who currently lack fair wages and workplace safety protections and are routinely banned from the platforms without cause.
In Illinois, lawmakers convene in Springfield for two different legislative sessions: Regular Session in the Spring and Veto Session, which usually happens for two weeks in October and November, so legislators can reconsider legislation that got vetoed by the governor or didn’t make it into the Regular Session.
That means all Illinois lawmakers are in the same place at the same time, making it easy for us to reconnect with legislators on board with our agenda and motivate others to learn about these issues.
Traveling to Springfield gives us a chance not just to deepen relationships with the allied legislators but also to push more elected officials forward on advancing our progressive agenda. Stay tuned for next steps on how we hold them accountable.
