CHICAGO, Ill. - Tonight, at the first televised forum hosted by NBC 5 Chicago and Telemundo Chicago, in partnership with the Chicago Urban League and the Union League Club of Chicago, Daniel Biss made his case as the only candidate to represent the interests of the middle class by sharing his vision for a state that works for working families, not just the wealthy and well-connected.
Biss’ support for single-payer healthcare, progressive revenue, free in-state tuition to all public colleges and universities, direct investment to communities that have been victims of disinvestment for generations, and full legalization of recreational marijuana, provided stark contrast to JB Pritzker and Chris Kennedy. Pritzker and Kennedy agreed with one another more than they diverged, unanimous in their belief that healthcare should be an option rather than a right, in their resistance to progressive revenues like closing the carried interest loophole and enacting a financial transaction tax, in their belief that experience isn’t important when seeking a job as the head of the executive branch, and that their famous names and big bank accounts should qualify them for high office.
“Democrats have a choice,” said Biss following the debate. “We can either be another party of millionaires and billionaires, or we can be the party of progress and equity. We can choose to accept it when the wealthy tell us that fairness is impossible, or we can choose to change what’s possible. We can choose leaders who profit off of a broken system, or we can choose leaders who represent us because they are us. We can stick with the status quo, or we can say that we deserve better, and that we can do better.”
