Showing posts with label Illinois. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Illinois. Show all posts

Thursday, February 17, 2022

Chicago mother speaks out after African American hair discrimination bill named after son passes

In 2021 4-year-old Jett Hawkins was sent home from preschool for having braids.

His mom, Ida Nelson promised her son that she would make it better.

Jan. 1, 2022 The Jett Hawkins Act banning discrimination in Illinois schools for hair styles like braids, locs and twists went into effect.

Monday, January 03, 2022

Rep. Bobby Rush to retire after 30 years in Congress

Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.) said Monday he will not seek reelection after 15 terms in Congress.

Rush told the Chicago Sun-Times he made the decision in the past several weeks and that it was a result of a conversation he had with his grandson.

“I don’t want my grandchildren . . . to know me from a television news clip or something they read in a newspaper,” Rush told the Sun-Times.

“I want them to know me on an intimate level, know something about me and I want to know something about them. I don’t want to be a historical figure to my grandchildren.”

Rush co-founded the Illinois chapter of the Black Panthers, becoming acting chairman following the killings of Fred Hampton and Mark Clark in a police raid in December 1969.

Rush, 75, was first elected to Congress in 1992, said in an interview he intends to stay active in his ministry and find ways to use his remarkable life story — a trajectory from a 1960s radical to House member — to inspire younger generations.

He notably defeated then-Illinois Sen. Barack Obama in a 2000 Democratic primary for the the state's 1st Congressional District. He served previously as a Chicago alderman.

[SOURCE: THE HILL]

Sunday, October 03, 2021

Illinois State Trooper Gerald Mason dies after shooting on Chicago expressway

UPDATE 10/03/2021:

death of an Illinois State Police trooper on a Chicago expressway has been ruled a suicide, the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office said Saturday. An autopsy found District Chicago Trooper Gerald Mason, 35, died of a gunshot wound to the head, the medical examiner's office said. His age was initially reported as 36 on Friday by state police. The 11-year state police veteran died Friday shortly after the shooting around 2 p.m. on the inbound lanes of the Dan Ryan Expressway on the city’s South Side, authorities said.

An Illinois State Police trooper died Friday after being shot on the Dan Ryan Expressway in Chicago, authorities said, on the same day the state started stepping up patrols in response to a surge in shootings involving motorists in the city.

The trooper was pronounced dead at 2:16 p.m. Friday at the University of Chicago Medical Center, said Natalia Derevyanny, a spokeswoman for the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office. An autopsy will be conducted, she said.

Illinois State Police Director Brendan Kelly identified the dead officer as 36-year-old District Chicago Trooper Gerald Mason.

“He was an amazing District Chicago trooper,” Kelly said during a brief news conference Friday evening.

Monday, April 06, 2020

African Americans more likely to die from coronavirus illness

Early data from U.S. states shows African Americans are more likely to die from COVID-19, highlighting longstanding disparities in health and inequalities in access to medical care, experts said.

In Illinois, black people make up about 30% of the state's cases and about 40% of its coronavirus-related deaths, according to statistics provided by the state's public health agency. However, African Americans make up just 14.6% of the state's population.

In Michigan, black people account for 40% of the state's reported deaths, according to data released by the state, but its population is only 14% African American.

The World Health Organization has said people with pre-existing conditions like asthma and other chronic lung disorders, diabetes and heart disease appear to develop serious illness more often than others.

That makes the virus particularly dangerous for African Americans, who because of environmental and economic factors have higher rates of those illnesses, said Dr. Summer Johnson McGee, dean of the School of Health Sciences at the University of New Haven.

McGee said she was not surprised the U.S. black population is experiencing a worse outcome during the pandemic. Racism has led to a lack of investment in African American communities and worse health care for the population in general, McGee said.

"A pandemic just magnifies the disparities in healthcare that many communities of color face," she said.

[SOURCE: MSN]

Wednesday, March 18, 2020

Cook County State Attorney Kim Fox wins democratic primary

ILLINOIS-Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx survived a well-financed challenge from newcomer Bill Conway in the Democratic primary Tuesday.

Foxx was surrounded by her husband and four daughters as she took the stage to the sounds of their cheers in a downtown hotel conference room. The space was kept largely empty as a precaution due to concerns over the coronavirus pandemic.

“I want to help make Cook County a more inclusive and thriving community, where everyone is welcome,” she said. “I pledge to keep pushing for that change, that is fair, that is just, that is equitable, that will keep our communities safe,” she said.

With about 85% of precincts reporting at 10:30 p.m., Foxx had 48% of the vote and Conway had 33%. Two other challengers were polling a distant third and fourth.

Foxx is set to face the winner of a Republican primary between former prosecutors Christopher Pfannkuche and Pat O’Brien. O’Brien had a substantial lead as of late Tuesday, winning 73% of the vote with 85% of precincts reporting.

[SOURCE: CHICAGO TRIBUNE]

Sunday, November 11, 2018

Kwame Raoul elected Illinois attorney general

Obliterating concerns from some Democrats that the race had tightened in the final days, Kwame Raoul cruised to an easy victory Tuesday over Republican Erika Harold to become Illinois’ first new attorney general in 16 years.

Raoul romped to a double-digit win over Harold, a result that tracked closely with major wins piled up by Pritzker and the rest of the party’s statewide candidates.

“All the way to the end, people were saying this was a nail-biter,” Raoul said with a laugh during his victory speech at a downtown hotel. “But numbers don’t lie.”

With 86 percent of the state’s precincts reporting, Raoul had won 54 percent of the vote to Harold’s 43 percent and 2 percent for Libertarian Bubba Harsy of Du Quoin, according to unofficial results.

Raoul’s sizable win left an enthusiastic crowd to greet him at the Fairmont Chicago Millennium Park hotel when he stepped on stage to accept a win that was boosted by a late infusion of campaign cash from Madigan, the state party and major unions.

“This campaign was the audition for the work that is yet to come,” Raoul said before repeating a familiar line from his TV ads. “It’s the work of my life, but I’m just getting started.”

[SOURCE: CHICAGO TRIBUNE]

Saturday, August 04, 2018

Illinois celebrates first annual Barack Obama Day




Illinoisans honored former President Obama on Saturday with the first annual “Barack Obama Day.”

The Illinois legislature last year unanimously passed a measure establishing Aug. 4, the former president’s birthday, as a state holiday.

Gov. Bruce Rauner (R) signed the bill into law on Aug. 6, 2017, making this year the first that the holiday is celebrated.

Obama began his political career as a community organizer in Chicago before becoming a state senator and then a U.S. senator from Illinois.

An early version of the bill had pushed for the day to be a legal holiday with paid time off and closed government offices, but the final version made it a commemorative holiday.

[SOURCE: THE HILL]


Wednesday, July 11, 2018

Chicago lawmaker picked to run Democratic Party of Illinois

State Rep. Christian Mitchell of Chicago Tuesday was named interim executive director of the Democratic Party of Illinois, replacing Timothy Mapes after his ouster in a harassment scandal.

Mitchell has a background in campaigns and community organizing, and he becomes the first African-American to hold the post of running the state party’s day-to-day operations. He has been a member of the legislature since 2013 and lives in Bronzeville.

He fills the vacancy created when House Speaker Michael Madigan in early June dropped Mapes, who served as his chief of staff since 1992 and executive director of the state Democratic Party since 1998. Mapes’ departure came after House staffer Sherri Garrett accused him of harassment and bullying.

Mitchell was selected by a panel made up of the party’s 18 state committeewomen and chaired by state Rep. Juliana Stratton, the party’s nominee for lieutenant governor on the ticket with governor candidate J.B. Pritzker.

Mitchell previously served as Midwest director of paid media and polling for President Barack Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign, a senior adviser for Tammy Duckworth’s U.S. Senate campaign, former campaign aide to Attorney General Lisa Madigan and former Ald. Will Burns, director of external affairs for Cook County government under Board President Toni Preckwinkle and a community organizer on the South Side of Chicago.

“I look forward to doing the work necessary to assure Democratic victories up and down the ticket and charting a new and inclusive path forward for our party,” Mitchell said in a statement. “Together, I know we can build a party that represents the diversity of our state, listens to our young people and relentlessly fights for the values that make Illinois strong.”

[SOURCE: CHICAGO TRIBUNE]

Sunday, May 06, 2018

Democrat Lauren Underwood Is Running For Congress

This is the first of a series that will focus on African Americans running for office in the U.S. Senate or The House of Representatives on November 6, 2018. A post about any candidate on African American Reports is not an endorsement of anyone unless otherwise stated. George L. Cook III African American Reports.

Former Obama administration staffer, Lauren Underwood a Congressional candidate in the Illinois 14th, won a Democratic primary against six challengers.

She now faces off against Republican incumbent Randy Hultgren in the November midterms in this traditonally Republican, overwhelmingly white majority district.

She is committed to fighting for families and believes that strong jobs, smart investments, and access to affordable health care will put our region back on track.

Lauren Underwood grew up in Naperville, Illinois where she earned her first Girl Scout badge and attended Neuqua Valley High School. On her first day in Girl Scouts, Lauren made the pledge “to help people at all times.” Those early lessons in leadership formed a foundation of service that continues to guide her now as she looks to serve in a different way, representing Illinois’ 14th District in Congress.

Today, Lauren Underwood is a registered nurse, with hands-on experience in America’s healthcare industry. Lauren was appointed by President Obama to serve as a Senior Advisor at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). During her time in the administration, Lauren helped communities across the country prevent, prepare for, and respond to disasters, bioterror threats and public health emergencies. As a career public servant at HHS, Lauren helped implement the Affordable Care Act — broadening access for those on Medicare, improving healthcare quality and reforming private insurance.

During a swimming lesson when she was 8 years old, Lauren discovered that she had a heart condition, supraventricular tachycardia, which occasionally prevents her heart from maintaining a normal rhythm. The providers that helped Lauren through her initial treatment made a lasting impression and inspired her career in nursing. As an American with a pre-existing condition, Lauren also understands the real-life importance of quality, affordable health care for working families and their children.

Lauren will bring her firsthand knowledge to Washington and work to propose measures that will preserve and expand access to healthcare for Illinois families. Most recently, Lauren worked with a Medicaid plan in Chicago to ensure that it provided high-quality, cost-efficient care. Lauren also is a teacher, preparing future nurse practitioners through Georgetown University’s online master’s program.

Lauren is a graduate of the University of Michigan and Johns Hopkins University.

Learn more about Lauren Underwood here: https://www.underwoodforcongress.com/

Part 2 Black Democrats running for congress: Democrat Adrienne Bell is running for Congress

Wednesday, November 01, 2017

Dominique Brooks is missing!

Dominique Brooks of Joliet, Illinois is missing.

She is about 5-foot-6 and was wearing a blue-and-white coat with long sleeves that had a skull on it, maroon skinny jeans and red-and-white Nike shoes.

The Joliet Police Department Investigations unit said there were no leads on the case as of Monday afternoon.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Joliet Police Department Investigations at 815-724-3020.