Illinois Policy

Governor JB Pritzker killed Brandon for Chicago's migrant tent camp plan.

Chicagoans were overwhelmingly against it anyway. ⬇️

Will Brandon for Chicago be able to save the Chicago O'Hare International Airport expansion?

Some disgraced leaders resign. Others continue disgracing themselves.

“I grew up in Gage Park, which borders Englewood. A lot of my childhood was spent in Auburn Gresham and Englewood because of basketball, which led to many friendships being created.”

“In the space where I currently operate, I have children who have experienced many obstacles. Throughout the years, I’ve had student-athletes who have been stabbed, shot and have experienced the death of a parent or family member due to gun violence. Our youth need role models and they need adults who will start being the example instead of talking about an example.”

“Years ago, I always knew I would transition into helping the next generation of basketball players. As I got into it, I realized this has nothing to do with basketball. I don’t want to just build basketball players: I want to build people.”

“You can’t play basketball forever. We sometimes chase the sport component too long while not growing in other facets of our lives, which makes the transition into adulthood even more difficult. What are you doing today to prepare yourself for your future life to experience better life outcomes?”

“You’re more than just a basketball player so use your work ethic in everything, not just sport. Grow and develop your mind, read more, ask questions, gain wisdom and use it all to better your life, which in turn will change your family dynamic and extend to your community.”

“We have a program that we call Series BLUE (Better Living Utilizing Education) where we’ll have professionals from different industries come in to share their stories and allow the audience to ask questions and learn.”

“We want to bring in people in architecture, real estate, different kinds of engineers, and law enforcement as well. We need to build good relationships amongst our communities and the police department.”

“I tell people, ‘Don’t shy away from a big dream like [basketball] but understand the work and commitment that’s involved.’ And you can’t say you’re serious about basketball and not be serious about your academics, too. That’s part of the process. If the school doesn’t do academic probation for sports, the parents should be doing it. Because what’s the point of you being in the gym if you’re not getting good grades in school? What’s the point of being a good athlete if you can’t read at grade level?”

“With all the student-athletes I work with, my goal is to get them to understand the importance of using that work ethic in everything; not just basketball. The big gain is to understand you’re more than just a basketball player in this situation. You will be a husband or wife one day, a parent and a professional in something else that may have nothing to do with basketball.”

Blue Pacheco-Cornejo
Basketball instructor, mentor
Chicago, Illinois

Governor JB Pritzker and Brandon for Chicago are blaming each other for the migrant tent camp disaster.

Chicago's policy failures keep black and brown neighborhoods poorer than others ➡️ illin.is/neighborhoodpoverty

🚨 BREAKING: Stacy Davis Gates owes Chicago $5,600 in unpaid utilities despite her $289,600 income ➡️ illin.is/SDGutilities

More government ➡️ less liberty

😳 Illinois makes it more expensive to get a job as a gaming supervisor than any neighboring state.

Friendly reminder: Over-regulation keeps people in poverty. 🚩

Governor JB Pritzker just killed Brandon for Chicago's migrant tent camp plan.

📈 Poverty is 4 times higher in Chicago for high school dropouts than college graduates ➡️ illin.is/dropouts

Only 30% of Chicago Public Schools students graduate from college within four years.

They're mean ones.

🚨 BREAKING: Carjacking in Chicago reached an 11-year high in 2023 ➡️ illin.is/11year

Which Illinois small businesses do you plan to support this holiday season? 🎄

👀 Illinois' licensing regulations on these 5 jobs are the strictest in the country ➡️ illin.is/5jobs

This episode again?

😳 Carjackings in Chicago have more than doubled from five years ago ➡️ illin.is/carjack

🚩 Brandon for Chicago's genius plan to make Chicago safe: fewer cops ➡️ illin.is/fewercops

via Paul Vallas

Name one thing Governor JB Pritzker could do to improve Illinois' tax climate.

🚨 Illinois' over-the-top job licensing keeps too many aspiring workers in poverty ➡️ illin.is/joblicense

What's that saying about doing the same thing and expecting different results? 🤔

💸 Stacy Davis Gates lost a property tax break she illegally took out on an Indiana home she doesn't live in ➡️ illin.is/SDGcaught

🙌 The Illinois village of Oak Lawn just waived its local business fees for the 2nd year in a row ➡️ illin.is/oaklawn

Did your family see a property tax increase this year?

The best and the brightest. 🤦‍♂️

💰 Nearly everyone moving out of Illinois is relocating to a low-tax state ➡️ illin.is/lowtaxwin

✅ Pro tip: Job opportunities solve poverty faster than government spending.

Pass it on. 🗣️

Never forget what Governor JB Pritzker let happen to low-income Illinois families.

Hardly any Illinoisans think it's a good idea for Governor JB Pritzker to run for president.

Small businesses create most new jobs in Illinois.

Springfield repays them for it with higher taxes.

👀 A new report confirms that Chicago is still the most corrupt city in the U.S. ➡️ illin.is/mostcorrupt

One way Illinois keeps people poor? 🤔

Creating costly barriers between aspiring workers and low-income jobs. 🚩

Six Midwestern states do a better job.

🗣️ Let people work.

Cut the red tape. ✂️

There are 4 big reasons why Brandon for Chicago's "mansion tax" will crush businesses.

👀 See them in the comments. ⬇️

“As a clinical psychologist, I provide psychological therapy and neuropsychological testing in an effort to determine the source of the person’s inattention, academic concerns or relational struggles. Oftentimes, people assume that if they can’t focus, it must be because of ADHD; or if they prefer to be alone, it must be because of autism. But it could be any number of reasons, such as trauma, anxiety, learning differences or a sensory processing issue.”

“Also, with psychological therapy, clients often struggle with unresolved trauma or grief and loss that presents as depression, negatively impacting relational, emotional, physical and financial health.”

“If we address mental illness, which people typically view as bipolar disorder or schizophrenia as opposed to depression, anxiety and substance abuse, we can positively impact human behavior and decision making.”

“Our desire is to also change the culture. Nowadays, every child seemingly wants to be a reality star or athlete – famous. It begs the question: are they desperate to feel seen because they aren’t seen at home, or is this a consequence of media messaging? In the end, people want to feel valuable, but what they don’t know is that the chance of actually being a professional athlete is very slim.”

“We want to expose them to more of their strengths and interests through our Series B.L.U.E. It stands for Better Living Utilizing Education. The program connects kids to the different fields of study by bringing in professionals from the community. This way, they may consider architecture, engineering, teaching, math, psychology, business and more. Those dreams are more attainable and more in line with their areas of natural interest and their gifts.”

“Not pursuing one’s purpose in life comes with grave consequences, including poor emotional, relational and financial health. With what we are bringing, we expect to reduce violence, too, as people will be happier and respectful of their fellow man.”

“Systemic barriers have had an impact on Black marriages. We went from having 70% of intact Black families – the most across any group in America – to now, it’s like 20%. When a child is raised by a single parent, oftentimes the streets end up teaching the child. If the streets are raising you, you obviously would not be taught properly which is why many of the youth that are raised by the streets do not consider life past 25 years of age. But the streets and even the media glamorize street life.”

“In the end, it has to start at home. Somebody’s got to get in and teach. That’s what our intention is. To fill in the gap as much as possible, with the hopes of reaching not just the youth but their parents, uncles and grandparents through mental health, exposure to different opportunities and occupations, and through fitness.”

“Our whole family is a part of what we want to offer at this community center. Our children are with us when we’re in the community; and they are always giving hugs, asking people how they are. When we have the new building, we’re going to call it ‘Blue Azul’ after them. Our son’s middle name is Blue and our daughter’s middle name is Azul, which means ‘blue’ in Spanish.”

“We want to be a role model. We hope that others will do the same through development to uplift and restore our communities to what they were.”

“In our current roles, we’re often inquiring about our athletes’ and students’ grades. You can’t even curse in our gym. We try to hold people accountable and operate with an appropriate standard so that our clients will be set apart. Oftentimes, parents and programs use our gym as an incentive for their child. And, if you think about it, it’s a true blessing to be the incentive.”

Valentina Marieyah Pacheco-Cornejo, Psy.D.
Clinical psychologist, owner of Dr. Valentina LLC.
Chicago, IL

👀 The Chicago Teachers Union is reporting a deficit for the first time under Stacy Davis Gates' leadership.

Brandon for Chicago wants to create a government-run grocery store.

“They claimed that they were going to come out and dialog with us about what they were going to do. But what happened is that they actually came out to tell us what they were going to do, rather than dialog to get our input. We were informed that they were going to take our park and make it a migrant shelter.”

“If they turn it into a shelter, we’re not allowed to come use the park. They began to give us other places that we could go. We have youth programming and senior programming that are being displaced. Our seniors walk to the park. It’s too far for them to go somewhere else.”

“Austin has one of the highest rates of violence in the city, and we have youth programming in this park. If you’re really concerned about violence, show it by not taking away parks that keep kids off the streets.”

“We are not anti-anything. One lady from the city made the comment to me that they are human, as if I didn’t know they are human beings. That was really an insult and insensitive to me because I feel it’s not us against them. It’s us against the way you try to do things in our community.”

“These shelters are not an adequate plan for anyone. I asked them how they were going to track the people here. If you put people all over the city, how are you going to follow up with them? How are you going to know their needs? And why would you put people where there’s so much potential for conflict?”

“The city needs to listen to the residents. They felt like they could just take the park and go about their business when the park is fully utilized.”

“We pushed the button to get you into office. We do matter. Our concerns are valid. The aldermen need to talk to the community and then take what we share with them back to the mayor.”

“You represent us. You just can’t go down there and make a decision. Then you become like a dictator. And I’ve got an issue with that.”

“We pay our taxes, and we have a right to have a park in our community. One that’s open to us.”

Linda Johnson
Retired health center case worker
Chicago, Illinois

Name one thing that would help stop Illinois' population decline.

👀 Illinois' licensing regulations make it harder to escape poverty than other Midwestern states ➡️ illin.is/licensure