CORE ISSUES
I’m focused on protecting and strengthening our hard-won rights, especially in the face of growing threats from the Republicans in the federal government. At the same time, we must also work to make our district and state more affordable, accessible, and safe for all.
Protecting Our Rights
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We need to defend and strengthen protections for immigrants. This means holding firm on sanctuary policies and improving daily life for immigrants through policies like language access.
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We need to defend and strengthen queer and trans rights, especially as Illinois continues to be a safe haven for queer and trans communities facing threats elsewhere. Every human being has a right to bodily autonomy and freedom from violence. We must continue to ensure that gender affirming care remains available and accessible despite attempts by the MAGA federal government to restrict it.
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We need to defend reproductive freedom. Every human being has a right to bodily autonomy and the right to decide when and whether or not to have children. Abortion must be available on demand, without apology.
We also have to ensure that reproductive healthcare is accessible, affordable, and safe for all. This means addressing Illinois’ sharp racial and economic inequalities in maternal healthcare. It also means ensuring access for the LGBTQ community—something that is personal to me, as my partner and I have been denied insurance coverage for reproductive care.
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The Israeli government is committing genocide - supported and enabled by the United States government. Billions of our taxpayer dollars have gone to providing the Israeli military with bombs and other weapons. Rather than using the resources of the wealthiest country on Earth to house our neighbors, fund our schools, and build a climate-resilient future, our government has spent our money to bomb hospitals, starve children, and force millions of people out of their homes.
I and many other people of conscience in this country have spent the last two years protesting and advocating for an end to US support for this genocide. We stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people, who deserve the right to live in peace on their ancestral land as full and equal citizens.
As your State Representative, I will:
Support and prioritize the passage of The Illinois Human Rights Advocacy Protection Act (HB2723/SB2462), sponsored by Rep. Abdelnasser Rashid, to repeal a state law that punishes companies for protesting Israel’s human rights violations
Oppose the use of state pension funds to purchase Israel Bonds, which are funding the genocide in Gaza
Fight to perserve the right to protest and defend against efforts to criminalize pro-Palestinian liberation activism
Building an Affordable and Abundant Future
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Public transit is essential for our district and city to thrive. We need a transit system that is reliable, safe, and accessible to all. This requires robust funding, collaborative governance, and rider-centered policies. My goal is for our service to be so good that Chicagoans who own cars still prefer to take public transit because it is more convenient and cost-effective.
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We face a growing affordability crisis, and housing costs are a major reason why. We need aggressive state action to ensure that housing is both affordable and abundant. This means policies that make it easier to build more housing, such as ending parking minimums, easing development of affordable housing, and legalizing accessory dwelling units such as coach houses. These should be paired with policies that keep rents down, such as greater support for affordable and social housing and lifting the ban on rent control.
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Every child deserves access to quality public education. The state must fully fund school districts across the state. The state took an important step toward this goal by adopting an Evidence-Based Funding (EBF) formula, but our work is not complete until the EBF is fully funded.
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All Illinoisans deserve to live free of violence. Public safety for all requires addressing the root causes of crime. I support evidence-based strategies that address those root causes, including investing in youth jobs, community violence intervention, and mental health care for all who need it.
Public safety for all also includes an end to traffic fatalities and severe injuries. Every traffic death is a policy failure. Our transportation system— including everything from road design to transit infrastructure to vehicle registration—must be improved with safety as the top priority.
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We can make these investments in our state’s affordability, accessibility, and safety by pursuing progressive revenue solutions that ask the wealthiest to pay their fair share. While our state has made great progress in passing more responsible and fair budgets in recent years, our tax system remains one of the most unequal in the country. We can take immediate action to address this inequality and invest in our communities by adopting revenue proposals on the table right now, such as closing corporate tax loopholes and increasing the top capital gains tax rate.
These tax reforms are all the more crucial in this moment, as MAGA Republican policies are giving the wealthiest Illinoisans massive federal tax cuts while decimating critical federal programs. In the long term, adopting a graduated income tax would enable stable funding for critical programs without overburdening middle- and working-class families. These progressive revenue solutions can also help us shift away from property taxes, which Illinois relies on much more than other peer states.
