Say no to Medicaid work requirements

Illinois residents rely on Medicaid to access quality, affordable healthcare. One provision under discussion would add barriers to healthcare called “work requirements.”

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, 91% of individuals in the Medicaid expansion group are either workers, caregivers, students or people unable to work due to illness. These requirements aren’t about work. They are about adding unnecessary, burdensome paperwork that results in people losing their coverage due to red tape.

Other provisions under discussion as part of debt ceiling talks would repeal tax incentives for clean energy or open the door for building more sources of polluting energy, like coal and gas, while weakening the public’s right to engage in those permitting decisions. Already, more than 1 in 3 Americans live with unhealthy air. Adding more pollution will make health problems worse.

As the public policy chair with the Midwest American Lung Association, I know first-hand the importance of health care and clean air for people living with chronic diseases like asthma and COPD. If these provisions go into effect, many more people could face poor air quality or loss of health care coverage, leaving them unable to manage their chronic lung disease, which results in more dire, costlier care down the road.

These provisions would especially harm people with disabilities, children, individuals who are pregnant and seniors in nursing homes. I ask that U.S. Sens. Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin reject the Medicaid work proposal and the build-out of additional polluting energy, to better protect the health of all Illinois residents.

John Maples, American Lung Association in Greater Chicago

Use vacant schools to house immigrants

I am not a proponent of the thousands of immigrants pouring over the border. However, the fact is, our administration is letting it happen. Having some bused to sanctuary cities, among them Chicago and New York, has made Texas Gov. Greg Abbott into some kind of monster. He’s just giving these cities what they want. Or do they want this? Now they’re saying no, we can’t handle this.

We have nowhere to put them. Where do they think the border towns of Texas are going to put them? Here’s an idea for Chicago: Get them out of our police stations and schools and put them in the 50 schools that were closed 10 years ago; 26 of those schools are still vacant.

John LaBrant, Norwood Park

GOP should stop being puppets to NRA

This year alone, there has been more than 200 mass shootings in America. And despite the thousands of senseless killings and maimings from these never-ending massacres, the vast majority of Republican elected officials, in every level of government, continue to refuse to do anything about it.

Instead. they do all within their power to prevent meaningful legislation on gun control and mental health initiatives from ever being passed. They do so to protect those they have pledged to serve, that being the National Rifle Association.

So my question is: When another mass shooting occurs, what is the first thing that crosses the minds of the NRA and its puppet Republicans?

1. What a great country this is! Someone else just exercised their 2nd Amendment rights!

2. Wonderful! More shootings mean more gun sales, both to those who are pissed off at the world and those who want to defend themselves against those who are pissed off at the world!

3. This time, should we blame it on unarmed teachers, door lock manufacturers, abortions, single moms, wokeness or Hunter Biden?

Jeffrey Meyer, Chicago