On March 18, a Saturday afternoon filled with sun and snow, Tenth Dems hosted Let’s Talk Politics at the Fox Lake District Library, in partnership with Lake Dems and Grant Township Democrats.
Democrats from the area and across the county brought new perspectives and ideas about the issues facing their communities, our state, and our nation to this well-attended event. The wide-ranging discussion branched from ways to engage more Democrats and new voters, to how we can maintain our Democracy for the next generation.
The conversation included establishing a committee focused on veterans and organizing events specifically designed to engage young people. A Labor event is already being planned for the near future and many people signed up to help plan events and organize volunteers.
There was also discussion of practical ways to increase voter turn out. To that end, in the fall Lake Dems will be repeating our Connection Canvassing initiative that made such a difference in 2022. (We did it in the summer and fall of 2021.) And in the summer and fall of 2023, months before the 2024 election gets underway, Lake Dems volunteers will knock doors to listen to what’s on voters’ minds. We will be letting voters know that Democrats care about them, even when there’s not an election coming up, and without reference to any particular candidates.
The lively dialogue energized many of those attending to volunteer to organize and lead some of these projects. If you are interested in planning or hosting a TDU event please reply to this email. There are so many ways to get involved with Lake Dems. Click here to volunteer and let us know what areas you are interested in.
Here is a message from Tenth Dems Founder and current Lake Dems Chair, Lauren Beth Gash, that we thought you’d be interested in:
As Black History Month comes to an end, we celebrate the 153rd anniversary of the ratification of the 15th Amendment, which barred federal and state governments from denying or abridging the right to vote “on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” The month comes to an end, but the fight for equality goes on.
Our country still strives to fulfill Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King’s dream of a “nation [that] will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.” But we still have a long way to go. In states across the country, radical MAGA Republicans are passing laws that make it harder for Black Americans and others to vote, or that dilute their electoral power.
Lake County Democrats will continue to fight for every citizen’s right to vote. We’ll continue to organize, to campaign, and to protest against attempts to limit rights. We’ll keep working to help ensure that everyone who is entitled to vote is allowed to vote and we’ll keep fighting to fulfill Dr. King’s dream. We hope you’re with us in this fight. Democrats know that our diversity is our strength. When we’re united, the politics of division will always fail.
As Dr. King said, “The arc of history is long, but it bends toward justice.” Yes, history bends toward justice. But each one of us should do what we can to help that arc bend faster. There’s a lot more to be done as we work to make the world a better place.
Sincerely,
Lauren Beth Gash, Chair
Lake County Democrats
In the last year, Black Americans made a number of “firsts” in our country. Georgia elected its first Black Senator, Raphael Warnock. Amanda Gorman, a Black poet and our nation’s first youth poet laureate, became the youngest poet ever to read at a presidential inauguration. Lloyd Austin became our first Black Pentagon Chief. And let’s not forget that our country elected our first Black Vice President, Kamala Harris.
And as we look across our nation’s history, there are so many people with incredible stories and remarkable contributions. From Crispus Attucks, the first American to fall in the fight for independence, to Abolitionists such as Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass, scientists like George Washington Carver and Mae Jamison, and my friend, colleague and hero John Lewis, black history is American history.
While we celebrate the achievements of Black Americans and honor Black heroes, we must also remember that we still have much work ahead of us to truly achieve the ideals of our founding. We commemorate this year’s Black History Month against the backdrop of persistent systemic racism, the COVID-19 pandemic ravaging communities of color, and many barriers still between the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act in Congress and its signature on the President’s desk.
Please keep reading for more on the response to COVID in the district, work on the next COVID relief package, and details on legislation I introduced last week to repeal the SALT cap and protect seniors with preexisting conditions.
On a sunny Saturday afternoon, February 11th, State Senator Julie Morrison and State Representative Bob Morgan shared the inside story about the Protect Illinois Communities Act, commonly referred to as the Illinois Assault Weapons Ban, with an engaged audience of more than 60 Democrats. The speakers, both of whose districts include Lake County, talked about what this significant legislation does and how it got passed. The event was part of Tenth Dems University’s Let’s Talk Politics series and was held at Max & Benny’s Restaurant and Delicatessen in Northbrook.
Both speakers explained how the Protect Illinois Communities Act not only bans assault weapons in Illinois, but also limits purchases of high-capacity magazines and bump stocks, which are devices that turn an ordinary handgun into an automatic weapon that discharges scores of bullets with a single trigger pull. They shared the story of their success in passing this impactful law.
Representative Morgan shared that Governor Pritzker signed the bill into law the day it passed, effective immediately. The legislature and the governor took this unusual step to preempt a likely wave of assault weapons purchases during any interim between the bill’s passage and the law’s effective date.
A lively Q & A session closed out the event. Attendees were interested in additional gun violence prevention measures, like legislation requiring safe storage of guns by owners and vendors; improved red flag laws and increased mental health funding; mandating liability insurance for gun owners; taxing bullets; and funding more public service announcements about gun violence and ways to reduce it.
Following the program, many of the attendees stayed at Max & Benny’s to continue the conversation over dinner.
