Jan. 25, 2023
In this Issue: Letter to the People of Lake County ● Illinois Members of the U.S. House Call on Sheriff Mendrick to Rescind Statement on H.B. 5471 ● A Tale of Two Parties ● Tickets Still Available!! January 29th DC’s Reflecting Fools (Formerly Capitol Steps) Comedy Troupe Event ● New Feature: Know Your Elected Officials – This Week Featuring State Rep Rita Mayfield ● State Rep. Nabeela Syed Holds Open House at Her New District Office ● Volunteer Spotlight ● ICYMI (In Case You Missed It) ● Upcoming Events Below
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Letter to the People of Lake County
We’re so proud that our own State Representative Bob Morgan led the charge to pass an assault weapons ban bill in Illinois. Rep. Morgan led the House debate and State Senator Julie Morrison led the Senate debate. As Representative Morgan tweeted earlier this week, “Illinois banned the sale of assault weapons and high capacity magazines – and we are grateful to our local Lake County elected officials who have strongly supported keeping our community safe with the Protect Illinois Communities Act.” A letter “To the People of Lake County” from our Lake County Senators and Representatives follows:
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Illinois Members of the U.S. House Call on Sheriff Mendrick to Rescind Statement on H.B. 5471
At an event to demand that DuPage County Sheriff Mendrick enforce the Illinois assault weapons ban, Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-8th) speaks, flanked by Congressman Bill Foster (D-11th, left), Congressman Sean Casten (D-6th, right) and other supporters of the law.
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On January 13th, members of the U.S. House held a press conference calling on DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick to retract his statement that he won’t enforce the recently enacted statewide assault weapons ban law.
On January 19th, six members of Congress, including Lake County’s Mike Quigley D-5th) and Bill Foster (D-11th), sent a letter to Sheriff Mendrick expressing concern over his statement. The Protect Illinois Communities Act bans the sale and distribution of assault-style weapons, high-capacity magazines, and switches that convert weapons to fully automatic in Illinois.
In an excerpt from the letter, the Congressmen remind Sheriff Mendrick that, “As Sheriff, you do not have the authority to set enforcement priorities based on your personal views of a law’s constitutionality. Moreover, by choosing not to enforce the law, you will put the safety of DuPage residents and law enforcement officers at risk. To that end, we request that you immediately rescind your January 13, 2023, statement and clarify that you will uphold your office’s mission statement, including your duty to “enforce the laws of the State of Illinois and the county of DuPage in a fair and impartial manner.”
Read the full letter by clicking here.
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A Tale of Two Parties
By Laurie Schiller
It’s a new year, and with a new Congress split between the two parties there is a clear difference between Democrats and Republicans, both in who we are, and in what we stand for. Ordinarily, you could just compare the platforms of the two parties which list the policies that each thinks are important. But these are not ordinary times.
While the Democratic platform states positions on specific issues, the Republicans literally have no platform. The Democratic platform states the party’s position on such important issues as protecting reproductive rights, fixing a broken immigration system, building a fairer economy that works for every American, supporting health care as a right, combating climate change, and protecting our democracy and voting rights.
Searching the web really carefully, there is a GOP document that claims that the Republican party stands for a bunch of undefined, and therefore meaningless, platitudes, such as “liberty, economic prosperity, preserving American values and traditions, and restoring the American dream for every citizen.” Very nice, but Republicans have shown by their actions over the past six years that they care little about any of those things for the majority of Americans. Instead, their actions demonstrate that they really support suppressing the vote, election stealing, book banning, prohibiting a woman’s right to choose, attacking Americans whose sexual or gender orientation they don’t like, giving tax breaks for big corporations and the very rich, and trying to reduce or completely take away Social Security and Medicare benefits from Americans. And of course, the most serious action of all, even after a violent attempt to overthrow the government of the United States, the bulk of their caucus still voted against the certification of the presidential election.
The next two years will be difficult as House Republicans will not even try to govern, but will stage bogus show investigations and introduce bills to ban abortion, repeal gun regulations, continue to suppress and attack the Constitutional rights of Americans, and try to impose their particular religious views on every American citizen. Democrats will continue to work to improve the lives of all Americans while the GOP will be exposed for the authoritarian, vindictive, and dysfunctional party that they are. The contrast will be stark.
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Tickets Still Available!!
January 29th DC’s Reflecting Fools (Formerly Capitol Steps) Comedy Troupe Event
Get your tickets now before we sell out! (Purchased tickets can be picked up at our Lake Dems Will Call table in the lobby on the day of the show.) Click here to join us for the show, for dinner, or for both.
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New Feature!
Know Your Elected Officials
This week we feature State Representative Rita Mayfield who is serving District 60 which includes Waukegan, North Chicago, and parts of Gurnee.
Serving as State Representative is a true honor. Fighting in Springfield for issues such as taking dangerous guns off the streets, standing up for women’s rights, supporting veterans and bringing resources back to our community motivates me every day. I know how much it matters to every person and our great state of Illinois.
At the end of the 102nd General Assembly, the Assault Weapons Ban passed. This change was badly needed. I sponsored a bill in this legislative session to limit ammunition purchases. Along with our environmental community, we are continuing to battle NRG, (the parent company of Midwest Generation, Waukegan’s coal-fired power plant operator), to make sure the coal ash ponds are cleaned up PROPERLY. There are many other exciting changes coming!
Since being elected, I have formed strong partnerships with colleagues, community activists and people in my district and throughout Lake County. I am very proud of all of our Democratic candidates. Every bit as much, I am very thankful for all of our excellent volunteers who knock on doors, make phone calls, march in parades and take countless other actions to keep us on the winning track. You are truly appreciated and we have come very far together.
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State Rep. Nabeela Syed Holds Open House at Her New District Office
State Representative Nabeela Syed (51st District) hosted an Open House at her new district office in Palatine. Lake County Democrats Chair Lauren Beth Gash and Lake County Democrats Vice Chair Nancy Shepherdson attended the event.
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Volunteer Spotlight
Lake Dems is grateful for our many active volunteers.
Kenneth Balmes, Wauconda Township Democrats member and newly appointed Vice Chair, has long been a champion of Democratic causes in our county, our state, and across the country. This election cycle he wrote and mailed 1500 post cards for campaigns in IL, WI, PA, GA, AZ, and of course right here in Lake County. He worked tirelessly for Anthony Vega and Maria Peterson and, as an election judge, has served at various polling places throughout the years. Fun Fact: Ken is also a poet and recites his work at open mic sessions!
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ICYMI (In Case You Missed It)
Illinois Democratic County Chairs’ Association 2022 Annual Report Released January 24, 2023
Washington Post: House GOP Eyes Social Security, Medicare Amid Spending Battle
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Upcoming Events
FRIDAY, JAN. 27
Home Buying Bootcamp with Holly Kim. 11am, online via Zoom. More
SUNDAY, JAN. 29
DC’s Reflecting Fools (Formerly Capitol Steps) and Dinner with Lake Dems. 2pm, Skokie. More.
For the complete list of Upcoming Events, go to lakedems.org/events.
Click here to submit your event for consideration.
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How Do I Join Lake County Democrats?
Lake County Democrats is made up of people like you, people who are passionate about building better communities and a better world. We’re a grassroots political organization, working with Democrats in all parts of Lake County – from Antioch to Highland Park, Libertyville to Waukegan, Barrington to Zion. Become a member online now or send a check payable to Lake County Democrats to P.O. Box 671, Lake Zurich, IL 60047. Questions? Contact info@lakedems.org.
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