By Timothy Jackson, Director of Government Relations
With the reckoning of historic racial injustices and the devastating effects of a global pandemic gripping the state and the nation as a backdrop, the Illinois General Assembly gaveled into a lame duck session beginning Friday, January 8, 2021 and ending minutes before the members of the 102nd Illinois General Assembly took their oath...
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By Bailey Williams
Tim Jackson vividly remembers the first political campaign he worked on at age 12 in Jackson, Mississippi.
Tim was at home with his mother when they both heard a knock on their door. His mother went to answer it, and Tim observed nearby, listening to the conversation taking place. Their alderman was running for re-election and wanted their...
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By Mike Ziri, (he/him), Director of Public Policy at Equality Illinois
“2020 is the most important election of our lifetime.”
You’ve probably heard that a lot this year, and it’s true. And not just because of the presidential election.
The 2020 election should matter to LGBTQ+ Illinoisans for 3 big reasons that you may not realize:...
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In the coming weeks, Illinois residents will vote on an amendment to the state Constitution that seeks to transform for the better how the state taxes each resident's income.
Currently, all residents are taxed on a non-graduated or flat rate of 4.95%. For example, a person making $35,000 per year is taxed the same percentage of their income—4.95%—as a person making $35 million. ...
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Proceeds Benefit Illinois Agencies Providing HIV/AIDS Prevention, Education, and Care Services
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 9, 2020
Media Contacts: Amelia Dellos, (312) 898-8792
CHICAGO – The Illinois Lottery is bringing back its annual Red Ribbon Cash instant ticket, which has raised more than $8.6 million for HIV/AIDS prevention, education, and treatment in Illinois since...
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Early on Sunday, May 24, the Illinois General Assembly concluded its 2020 Spring Legislative Session — a session unlike any other.
Beginning January 28, legislators in both chambers convened for 14 days before being indefinitely paused on March 16 due to the new coronavirus (COVID-19) Shelter-In-Place Executive Order (EO). The state legislature convened a special...
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AIDS Foundation Chicago (AFC) commends Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s decision this morning to protect the privacy of people who have been diagnosed with the new coronavirus (COVID-19). President Preckwinkle vetoed the SAFE with First Responders resolution, which if enacted, would have permitted the Cook County Department of Public Health (CCDPH) to share the addresses of...
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Even before the new coronavirus (COVID-19) changed our way of life and the course of our future, AIDS Foundation Chicago (AFC) already knew that members of the Latino/Latina/Latinx community in the U.S. were not treated equitably when compared to their white counterparts in many facets of life. Decades of discrimination , state-sanctioned violence , targeted and cruel immigration policies ,...
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Photo by Tobias Rehbein
By Aisha N. Davis, Esq.
On Wednesday, April 15, Illinois State Representative John M. Cabello (Machesney Park) released the names of formerly incarcerated people whose sentences were commuted in the past month by Governor JB Pritzker. Rep. Cabello defended publicizing the names of these individuals by...
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By Aisha N. Davis, Esq.
In the past month, the COVID-19 pandemic has led us into a new reality that we have never experienced, both here in Chicago and across the United States. However, one emerging trend is not novel – Black people and communities across the nation are being disproportionately impacted by pandemic hot spots and COVID-19 related deaths.
Systemic racism has...
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