TIME TO TAKE ACTION!

Yes! There ARE things you can do to voice your horror at the fascist turn our government is taking. This weekend, let’s focus on the rights of immigrants.

Bundle up and join like-minded friends in DeKalb as we march for immigrants. Get all the info from the DeKalb County Democratic Party.

Can’t attend the march? You can still support our immigrant friends by making sure they’re fully aware of their rights. THESE RIGHTS STILL APPLY despite all the recent government machinations. Download this handy flyer in Spanish or in English and distribute it wherever you think someone might need it. You can also learn more from the ACLU.

Oh BTW, it's still Black History Month (as far as we know)

Yes, friends, in the midst of the anti-diversity agenda being pushed onto our country by our new broligarchs, February remains Black History Month. And the garbage-spewing MAGA crowd is celebrating like it’s 1949. Case in point: performances at the Super Bowl this past Sunday.

For starters, there was Ledici performing “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” also known as the Black national anthem, as part of the pre-game ceremony. Keep in mind the song has been performed at every Super Bowl since 2021. But this year, MAGA mouthpieces went nuts, calling the song a “racist relic” and claiming that it promotes divisions between Americans. Read more at HuffPost and Newsweek.

Then of course there was Kendrick Lamar’s halftime performance. MAGA goons claimed not to know who Lamar is, despite his (count them) 22 Grammys, an Oscar nomination and a Pulitzer Prize. Highlights of their racist rants include calling it a “DEI show,” an example of “fading white culture” and impossible to understand. (We’re looking at YOU, Lauren Boebert!) Read more at Rolling Stone and HuffPost.

Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down (last week in Illinois)

It’s no surprise that we just went through another hellacious week at the hands of the new broligarchy. Are our Illinois elected officials doing anything to support us, or at the very least, registering some protest on our behalf? Let’s take a look:

THUMBS DOWN

Senator Dick Durbin
At best, our longtime senator seems to be operating under the misconception that bipartisan cooperation is possible. At worst, Durbin appears to value the “old boys network” of the Senate more than he values taking a stand against the miserably unqualified and MAGA affiliated vultures nominated as various department heads. In a remarkable display of passivity, Durbin joined 22 other Democrats (and inexplicably, Bernie Sanders) and voted to confirm the nomination of Doug Collins as Secretary of the Department of Veterans’ Affairs. So who, you ask, is this guy? Doug Collins is:

• a former legislator who supported and sponsored anti-abortion and anti-same sex marriage initiatves;

• a member of Trump’s defense team during the first impeachment effort; and

• a strong supporter of efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

Honestly, Senator Durbin — what were you thinking? Give the senator’s DC office a call and let him know you expect better. His number is (202) 224-2152.

Read more at THE GLOBAL PROJECT AGAINST HATE & EXTREMISM and MSN.

THUMBS UP

Governor JB Pritzker
Oh my goodness, our Governor is crushing it! Using his words, his actions and especially his sense of humor, Pritzker continues to poke at the Trump administration every way he can.

• He spent last week working to combat effects of trade tariffs on Illinois businesses.

• He barred all January 6 insurrectionists from holding any state jobs. Read his powerful statement HERE.

• And finally, there’s his hilarious video announcement posted on Friday. CHECK IT OUT!

Give Gov. Pritzker a call at 217-782-0244 and tell him to keep up the great work.

"This is a monster that eats your fear"

Fear. Paralysis. Nihilism. It’s understandable if you’re feeling all of these — in fact, creating these feelings in us is a tactic being deliberately used in the assault on our government. So what can we do? Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has put together a (very long but very necessary) discussion of this issue.

Sit back, take a deep breath, lock in and focus:

Rural Voters: you asked for it, you got it.

It’s been a week under Trump 2.0 and we’re already remembering that terrible feeling that characterized life under the first Trump administration – the feeling of being perpetually under siege. We stand to lose even more this time around, given the strengthened support of the Republican party and the rich men salivating at the prospect of gutting our government and its services for their own profits.

The writing is on the wall and it looks like nothing but pain for the foreseeable future. Will our neighbors who voted in this group of profit-hungry pirates realize that they’ve unleashed this beast on themselves? Maybe. Here’s how we can remind them:

• When your neighbor loses the Medicaid that’s been keeping their family healthy, speak up.

• When a local hospital loses Medicaid and Medicare funds and is forced to close, speak up.

• When your neighbor is forced to deliver her baby many miles away from home, speak up.

• When opioid addiction rises again because funds for drug treatment programs are slashed, speak up.

• When local farms go under without the support of government programs like disaster aid, crop insurance and farm subsidies, speak up.

• When the price of household goods skyrockets, speak up.

• When rural public schools lose funding and are forced to close and consolidate, speak up.

• When your rural neighbors can’t get mail delivered to their home because a privatized postal service can’t profit from serving rural locations, speak up.

Rural voters who support Trump don’t know they’re being targeted. As their lives begin to deteriorate, speak up! Remind them – this is what they voted for. This is what they wanted. And we will all suffer because of the choice they made.

For more detailed information about how rural citizens are under the gun, read DNC Chair Jaime Harrison’s memo. You can find it here.

In Other News...

As we stand together looking over the edge of a four-year precipice, it’s important to remember that good things still happen in life and even in government — especially here in Illinois. Read on for a small pick-me-up.

John Deere lawsuit
The state of Illinois, along with the state of Minnesota and the Federal Trade Commission, has filed a lawsuit against the John Deere company. The suit charges that John Deere’s practices force farmers to make equipment repairs only via Deere, thus costing them far more money and denying them the right to repair their equipment in any other way. Read Illinois AG Kwame Raoul’s statement here and the FTC’s statement here.

Medical debt relief
Illinois Director of the Department of Healthcare and Family Services Lizzy Whitehorn is advocating for continuation of last year’s partnership with the non-profit group Undue Medical Debt. Read about the program’s success so far here and Governor Pritzker’s statement here.

Other states follow our lead
In Democratic-leaning states across the country lawmakers are gearing up to provide stronger worker protections — as our state legislators have been doing for the past few years. Read a nice timeline piece about recent Illinois labor law here (thanks, Duane Morris, whoever you are) and about other states’ efforts here.

For a small chuckle
It looks like the secession movement in Illinois isn’t going anywhere — despite the open invitation from the state of Indiana. Read what Gov. Pritzker had to say here.