A REAL EXERCISE IN TRUE DEMOCRACY
1000+ organized citizens meeting with the candidates for the office of Attorney General of Illinois on four issues of deep concern to our families and institutions
- ENDING THE INCARCERATION OF INNOCENT PEOPLE EXPERIENCING ADDICTION AND/OR MENTAL ILLNESS
- BUILDING AFFORDABLE AND ACCESSIBLE HOUSING FOR INDIVIDUALS, FAMILIES, AND YOUNG ADULTS
- ENSURING HUMANE AND LEGAL TREATMENT OF IMMIGRANTS AND REFUGEES THROUGHOUT ILLINOIS
- DEMANDING ACCOUNTABILITY FROM GUN MANUFACTURERS ON DEVELOPMENT OF “SMART” GUNS AND SALES TO “CRIME-GUN” DEALERS
Sunday March 11: 4:00 P.M. to 5:15 P.M. (sharp)
Location: Maine East High School, 2601 E Dempster St, Park Ridge
Further info: Adrienne McCauley, adrienne@dupageunited.org (512) 560-8838
Talking Points for March 11th Action with Illinois Attorney General Candidates
Strategic Advantage:
• This is the FIRST real contested AG race in 15 years. The Attorney General of Illinois (no matter who it is and what party the new AG belongs to) can be an ALLY for us on a VARIETY OF ISSUE THAT WE ARE ALREADY WORKING ON.
• It is a GREAT OPPORTUNITY to show up to ten candidates (all of whom will remain active in politics after the primary) the power of the four Metro IAF organizations in Illinois (Lake County United, DuPage United, United Power, and the Fox River Valley) and that we are the ONLY organization in the state who can turn out 1000+ INSTITUTIONALLY-BASED leaders and supporters. (For the first time all four of our organizations are actively focused on similar issues).
• We can advance our LOCALLY-ROOTED issues of concern to our members (not stock political speeches). It is a way for our member institutions to ACT IN A LARGER WAY on a larger scale around issues connected to their ministries that serve the community (i.e., incarceration, mental illness, housing, public services, treatment of immigrants and refugees, gun violence, etc.)
• This is one of the few truly NON-PARTISAN ways people can act effectively to build democracy.
Importance of having a public, institutional, mutually-respectful and accountable relationship with the next Attorney General of Illinois:
• The new AG will be one of the few state-side officials who will have the POWER TO INTERVENE IN federal regulations, appropriations, and executive orders.
• The new AG may have access to settlements FUNDS FROM A VARIETY OF CLASS-ACTION LAWSUITS. (For example, the current AG recently invested $3 million from such a fund in United Power’s successful campaign with its member institution the Southwest Organizing Project to reclaim foreclosed homes in SW Chicago.)
• The new AG can help us hold hospitals accountable on CHARITY CARE and the development of CRISIS STABILIZATION UNITS for those suffering from addiction and/or mental illness and prevent ACA subsidies from being withheld from Illinois.
• The new AG can help us use the FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA) to access public information we need on a variety of issues that is often withheld from us.
What Harvard Law School says about this:
The role of state attorneys general has dramatically expanded as these elected officials and their staff have become increasingly important actors in American jurisprudence. In the aftermath of their historic $27 billion settlement against major banks and the litigation against the tobacco industry, attorneys general continue to make their mark in consumer protection, antitrust, civil rights, education, immigration, labor law, political corruption and environmental protection even as they tender daily legal advice that impacts the workings of state government. Working alone or in combination with the federal government, their colleagues in other states or with businesses, unions and interest groups, the attorneys general are now major players in American jurisprudence. (Harvard Law School)