Take Action !!!
Join the Campaign for Paid Sick Leave in Illinois
The coronavirus crisis, which is killing millions of people worldwide and has thrown so many of us into economic desperation, highlights the need for paid sick leave. In any kind of sane society, people MUST have the ability to take off from work when they or their family members get sick. A broad coalition of organizations, led by Women Employed, has come together to demand the passage of a strong paid sick leave bill in Illinois, right here and right now. Join in, please — it’s time to get this done.
Please visit the Women Employed website to sign on to the campaign, and visit SickTime.org to learn more. Here’s a link to the campaign flyer and to a graphic for your Facebook cover page.
Support SB 3788: The Healthy Youth Act
Sponsored by legislators Villanueva, Sims, Martinez, Feigenholtz, Fine, Harris and Castro, the Healthy Youth Act (SB 3788) guarantees our youth inclusive, affirming, and comprehensive sexual health education — the full toolbox of knowledge and skills necessary to support responsible and informed decisions about their health to reduce harm and support overall well-being throughout their entire lives.
We in Illinois are fortunate to have one of the best sex ed laws out there. The Healthy Youth Act makes it better, by removing outdated, stigmatizing language and builds on current standards for health and sex ed courses. Get full details here.
Illinois has one of the best reproductive rights laws around … but there’s one critical way in which we must improve them, and that it is to repeal that requires a teenage girl to seek the approval of a judge to get an abortion if she can’t notify her parents.
The vast majority of teenage girls who can tell their parent(s) about their pregnancy, will … but sadly it is all too common in our society that they simply can’t. They may be in an abusive family situation. It may be a relative who has gotten them pregnant. They may get beaten up, or thrown out of the house. We need to spare our teenage girls that trauma and allow them to get the abortion they need, when they need it. Get full details at the ACLU of Illinois and get the full printable fact sheet.
Support SB 1966: Block Illegal Ownership Bill
With a long list of sponsors and support from over 170 organizations in the Illinois Gun Violence Prevention Coalition, this bill will go far to help reduce the carnage from firearms that currently afflicts our society. Most importantly, it closes the gun-show loophole, requiring a point-of-sale background check for all gun sales, including those by an unlicensed dealer. It modernizes the FOID act, requiring applicants for a gun license to submit fingerprints with their application, and requires the Illinois State Police to remove guns once a FOID card is revoked. Get full details here.
Here’s what to do:
- Look up your nine-digit ZIP code at the United States Postal Service.
- Use your nine-digit zipcode to look up your state and federal legislators and your district numbers.
- Get a complete list of Illinois House members and their contact information here.
- Get a complete list of Illinois Senate members and their contact information here.
- Here’s phone #’s and other contact info for our US senators: Senator Tammy Duckworth—202-224-2854 or 312-886-3506; and Senator Dick Durbin—202-224-2152 or 312-353-4952
- Let your legislators know your positions on the bills described below. Demand action, courteously and forcefully.
- Tell the whole world too. Send letters to the editor, spread the word on social media, tell all your friends and relatives.
- Vote, vote, vote !!!! Now is the time to jump in to support candidates who support the issues you care about.