SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS (February 14, 2019) — Strengthened by unprecedented political support, Illinois House legislators are uniting in a new Progressive Caucus to provide a better direction for the state. Leaders and members of the new Progressive Caucus in the House today used a Statehouse news conference to discuss its platform of principles and legislative agenda for the 2019 session:
- Minimum wage: Working families shouldn’t have to work hard and live in poverty. Increasing the minimum wage from $8.25 to $15 an hour around Illinois, phased in over several years with tax credits and with other protections for small businesses, will help lift up Illinois families and improve our economy. This legislation already has cleared the Senate and will get a vote in the Illinois House today.
- Adult use of cannabis: Legalizing marijuana use by adults, with tight regulations and sensible taxation, will reverse a trend of senseless incarceration for minor drug users and create economic benefits for Illinois.
- Small donor match: The influence of big-dollar donors and candidates in Illinois politics must be curbed. Creating a donor-matching system where tax dollars can help support political candidates who raise campaign funds in small amounts and level the playing field.
Progressive Caucus members also plan to lead and weigh in on a number of other initiatives, including the push for a constitutional amendment to create a progressive income tax where wealthier Illinoisans pay their fair share to fund critical state programs and services, such as education, health care and social services. Rep Will Guzzardi, D-Chicago, a co-chair of the Progressive Caucus, outlined the caucus’ statement of principles and vision for going forward. “It’s a new day in Illinois, and we’re excited to lead on this bold agenda,” Guzzardi said. “By enacting these policies, and by organizing around our shared vision, we’ll be able to move our state forward and pass legislation that will transform the lives of the people of this state. I’m excited to be a part of this Caucus, and to stand together with so many of my colleagues in this work.” The Progressive Caucus members are: Co-Chairs Reps Guzzardi, Theresa Mah, and Carol Ammons; Treasurer Rep Celina Villanueva; Secretary Rep Delia Ramirez; and member Reps Kelly Cassidy, Sara Feigenholtz, Robyn Gabel, Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz, Greg Harris, Rob Martwick, Joyce Mason, Aaron Ortiz, Lamont Robinson, Anne Stava-Murray, and Maurice West.
Illinois House Progressive Caucus
STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLES
Our state is suffering from profound inequality. The few at the very top gain ever more wealth, power, and opportunity, while far too many people are left behind.
This inequality is no accident. It's the result of laws and rules and ways of doing business that are designed to produce this outcome. These structures often divide us on lines of race, ethnicity, geography, or gender to prevent us from standing together and demanding fairness.
As progressives, we believe that government must dismantle these structures of inequity and replace them with a framework that promotes justice and guarantees basic decency for all Illinoisans.
● We believe in fairness for all. Our budget must only ask those who can afford it to pay more in taxes, must pay its obligations honestly, and must make meaningful investments in programs and services to ensure a decent life for everyone.
● We believe in good jobs for all. Everyone who seeks a job should have one, and no job should leave a worker in poverty. Government must mandate a living wage of at least $15/hr and basic workplace benefits like paid family leave. It should create jobs for the unemployed through infrastructure investment, job training, and hiring people to provide direct services. And government must protect the right of every worker to bargain collectively for wages and benefits.
● We believe in healthcare for all. The state must guarantee universal healthcare to every Illinoisan regardless of income or status. That healthcare must respect every patient’s bodily autonomy, respecting their choices about reproductive care, setting of care, and palliative care. As we work toward universal coverage, we will fight to make care more accessible and medicines and treatments more affordable. We will focus especially on care for seniors, people with disabilities, and people with mental health needs.
● We believe in education for all. This must begin from birth with high-quality, affordable child care and universal pre-K for every child. We believe in prioritizing traditional K-12 public schools ahead of charter schools, and we believe in making those public schools into hubs of resources for students, families, and communities. We also believe that our public universities and community colleges should be free for all who qualify and wish to attend. In the interim, tuition must decrease, especially for low-income students, and we must tackle the crisis of student debt.
● We believe in housing for all. A stable place to live is the foundational right on which so many others are built — without stable housing, education, health care, access to work, and so much more is disrupted. We believe government must play a proactive role in providing housing for those who lack it, feeding those who are hungry, and ensuring that no one becomes housing or food insecure because of displacement or financial distress.
● We believe in justice for all. We know that over-policing, especially of people of color and immigrants, has made our communities less safe, not more. We must reverse racist laws and policing practices. State policies must focus on restorative rather than punitive justice. We must seek to make whole the individuals and communities that have been harmed by addiction, violence, and disinvestment. And we must model policies that welcome all immigrants and refugees, that are respectful of their human rights and of our collective dignity.
● We believe in liberty for all. We reject the distorted notions of liberty as the freedom of corporations from public regulation, the freedom of individuals from their responsibilities to society, or the freedom of hateful people to terrorize and intimidate. Instead, we stand for constitutionally guaranteed liberties: freedom of the press, freedom of speech, freedom of association. And we believe that privacy should be a fundamental right of all Illinoisans, and neither government nor corporate interests should infringe upon it unduly.
● We believe in democracy for all. Free and fair elections are required for government to meaningfully represent the people. Through campaign finance and electoral reforms, we must reduce the outsize influence of big money and corporate interests and magnify the voices of everyday people in our elections.
● We believe in equal rights for all. Our basic human, civil, social, and economic rights must be guaranteed to everyone. Regardless of immigration status. Regardless of race or ethnicity. Regardless of ability. Regardless of gender or sexuality. Regardless of religion. We will always reject discrimination, segregation, and bigotry. And we know that an equitable society remembers its history and provides targeted supports for historically marginalized groups.
● We believe in a planet for all. Our planet is in jeopardy of environmental collapse. That catastrophe will harm the most vulnerable in our society first. To avert it, we must move our state (and our nation, and our world) to 100% clean energy as soon as possible. Everyone must have access to safe air and water. And we must reimagine our agriculture to keep our farms productive and viable while reducing the environmental harms from concentrated monoculture production.
