Background

The University of Illinois System is one of the largest public-sector employers in Illinois, with upwards of 40,000 employees across the state and an operating budget of $7.7 billion – almost half the budget of the City of Chicago. The University's three campuses serve nearly 100,000 students, its hospitals see 787,000 patient visits annually, and UI's decisions shape its surrounding communities. This is a vital public institution that has the power to transform the lives of students, patients, and workers across Illinois.

As we explore policy initiatives to tackle housing affordability challenges, a crucial question arises: "how will we fund it?" The Chicagoland Apartment Association (CAA) remains committed to collaborating with policymakers at all levels to address affordable housing solutions. However, we strongly oppose the proposal to increase the real estate transfer tax, as it poses negative economic consequences for both residential and non-residential segments of our communities.

Last week, I was proud to convene a hearing of the Cook County Board’s Health and Hospitals Committee to discuss the maternal mortality crisis, an issue that is too often overlooked across the country.

The urgency of holding this hearing cannot be overstated. We recently heard the news of the tragic death of Tori Bowie, 2016 Olympian and track athlete, who died in her eighth month of pregnancy, likely due to respiratory distress and eclampsia. An astounding 75% of the gold medal-winning team that Bowie was on has either died from or experienced these complications during pregnancy.

If the City of Chicago is going to replace the 400,000 lead pipes that bring water to our homes during our lifetime, it has to make drastic improvements.

The process of getting the lead service line replaced at my mother’s house was arduous to say the least. After applying for the city’s Equity Lead Service Line Replacement Program, she dealt with over a year of waiting, submitting documents, going downtown, and resending documents. Finally this June, after months of waiting for crews to show up with little notice, my mom was able to have her lead service line replaced.

While the union plumbers were truly kind and professional, our city officials who oversee this process need to make it much more efficient and equitable. Our communities deserve a solution to this health crisis.

Public transit plays an invaluable role in the lives of millions of riders across the Chicago region and has the potential to reach even more people — but the system has been drastically underfunded for decades. The pandemic exposed what we already knew:

our system relies too heavily on fare revenue, limiting our ability to focus on delivering reliable service to the people who need it the most.

As a proud resident of the City of Harvey, I strive to advocate for my community, especially when it comes to healthcare access and affordability. Which is why I know that our elected leaders in Washington are committed to improving the health and wellness of their constituents, particularly in underserved communities. However, recent proposals being considered by Congress could have devastating impacts on patients’ access to care.

I am a CPS mother and third-generation CPS graduate. I am a former teacher, former school and district leader, current advocate for educational justice in my role at Kids First Chicago, and a Latine woman from Humboldt Park.

As the Springfield legislative session draws to a close, the clock is ticking on the delivery of district maps for the CPS School Board elections that will begin next year. Since 2021, Kids First Chicago has been working with our Elected School Board Task Force (ESBTF), composed of CPS parents, to determine parents’ priorities for the new school board. After three years and conversations with hundreds of parents, it is clear what they want: fair racial representation so that the elected board looks like and understands the student body they serve.

As Chicago transitions to a new mayoral administration that promises to shake things up, life-long advocates wonder how Chicago can address the giant chasm of accountability that has persisted for years.

For the past eight years and two mayors, environmental justice activists have been more focused on greenwashing efforts to cover up policies and actions that have deeply hurt our communities.

The weakness of the arguments made by those benefiting from the tax credit scheme called “Invest in Kids” can be assessed by their reliance on half-truths, misstatements of facts, and false assumptions.