Chicago Sun-Times: All posts by U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush2021-07-23T16:04:00-05:00https://chicago.suntimes.com/authors/bobby-rush/rss2021-07-23T16:04:00-05:002021-07-23T14:04:56-05:00Corps value: Program would help national parks, environment
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<div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>A group of Civilian Conservation Corps workers toiling in 1935 at in the Skokie marshes, creating lagoons and canals. An updated version of the CCC, the Civilian Climate Corps, would create jobs and a green infrastructure plan.</p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>Sun-Times Library</p></div></div>
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<p>You can sense the excitement this summer, the collective feeling of relief in America after a long and grueling year. Across the country, people are closing their screens and getting outside. </p><p>And we need it. More than four in 10 American adults — and nearly six in 10 younger adults — <a class="Link" href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.psychiatry.org/newsroom/news-releases/new-apa-poll-shows-sustained-anxiety-among-americans-more-than-half-of-parents-are-concerned-about-the-mental-well-being-of-their-children__;!!Bg5easoyC-OII2vlEqY8mTBrtW-N4OJKAQ!YbY6e7UB-yu1lsdATyxZ1ohLRrOb3VtYLIQzeekYmhvJ4SnbgXu9NSzntWDXWtixNwvNREU$" target="_blank" >reported</a> that the pandemic has had a serious impact on their mental health. </p><div class="RichTextSidebarModule Enhancement" data-module data-align-floatRight><a class="AnchorLink" id="module-a80000" name="module-a80000"></a>
<div class="RichTextSidebarModule-title">Opinion bug</div>
<div class="RichTextModule-items RichTextBody"><h2>Opinion</h2></div>
</div><p>To deal with the stressors of COVID-19, we saw record numbers of people embracing the outdoors. More than 237 million visits were logged at National Parks in 2020, and many parks saw <a class="Link" href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.nps.gov/orgs/1207/02-25-21-national-parks-hosted-237-million-visitors-in-2020.htm__;!!Bg5easoyC-OII2vlEqY8mTBrtW-N4OJKAQ!YbY6e7UB-yu1lsdATyxZ1ohLRrOb3VtYLIQzeekYmhvJ4SnbgXu9NSzntWDXWtixk8DyWXM$" target="_blank" >record</a> crowds. Local parks and natural areas were no different. </p><p>But as people get outside, they also see the unfortunate reality that our national parks are in a state of disrepair. The cost of necessary deferred maintenance projects has grown to nearly $12 billion, and the story is all too familiar for state and local parks. </p><div class="RelatedList Enhancement" data-module data-align-center>
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<a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/2020/9/6/21422994/labor-day-civilian-conservation-corps-national-parks-cook-county-forest-preserves-suntimes-editorial" target="_blank" >On Labor Day, a reimagined Depression-era jobs plan reminds us how and why to value workers</a>
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<a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/2021/3/1/22307953/civilian-climate-corps-environment-jobs-jerry-adelmann" target="_blank" >America needs updated Civilian Conservation Corps</a>
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<p>Last summer, we passed the Great American Outdoors Act, a landmark public lands bill that included $6.5 billion for deferred maintenance projects at our national parks. But to make these improvements a reality, we need to leverage this investment with a robust and diverse trained work force. </p><p>We hope to build on those investments though our RENEW Conservation Corps Act: a new civilian conservation corps for the 21st century creating jobs to improve our parks and public lands</p><p>Our bill would address the growing backlog of conservation projects in our parks and transform communities across the country by providing funding to implement projects from tree planting to habitat restoration, constructing green school yards, cleaning up brownfields, and fortifying our coasts and shorelines.</p><div class="RelatedList Enhancement" data-module data-align-center>
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<a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/2020/6/21/21297317/chicago-trees-urban-forest-environment-neighborhoods-suntimes-editorial-openlands-urbs-in-horto" target="_blank" >Chicago fails to live up to its motto — City in a Garden — with every tree lost</a>
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<p>In addition to putting Americans to work, our legislation is designed to provide skills and training to serve people long after their corps employment. Our bill also invests in the communities it serves, requiring that the demographic makeup of any corps group reflect the demographics of the community in which the project is based. </p><p>A diverse green work force is vital to all communities. Numerous studies have shown that spending as little as ten minutes in nature lowers stress levels. Accessible and well-designed green spaces in neighborhoods can also <a class="Link" href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/agnr.umd.edu/news/collaborative-study-assesses-how-green-space-can-potentially-reduce-gun-violence-and-violent__;!!Bg5easoyC-OII2vlEqY8mTBrtW-N4OJKAQ!YbY6e7UB-yu1lsdATyxZ1ohLRrOb3VtYLIQzeekYmhvJ4SnbgXu9NSzntWDXWtixxoSIsBY$" target="_blank" >reduce</a> gun violence and violent crime. </p><p>This makes it all the more concerning that tree cover in urban areas is <a class="Link" href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.fs.usda.gov/treesearch/pubs/55941__;!!Bg5easoyC-OII2vlEqY8mTBrtW-N4OJKAQ!YbY6e7UB-yu1lsdATyxZ1ohLRrOb3VtYLIQzeekYmhvJ4SnbgXu9NSzntWDXWtixp_ryp40$" target="_blank" >declining</a> at a rate of 36 million trees every year. Worse, a recent <a class="Link" href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371*journal.pone.0249715__;Lw!!Bg5easoyC-OII2vlEqY8mTBrtW-N4OJKAQ!YbY6e7UB-yu1lsdATyxZ1ohLRrOb3VtYLIQzeekYmhvJ4SnbgXu9NSzntWDXWtix97ePQ-4$" target="_blank" >study</a> found that 92 percent of low-income blocks have less tree cover and hotter average temperatures than high-income blocks. </p><p>The RENEW Conservation Corps Act would help correct these and other environmental injustices by planting trees and creating new parks in communities that have historically been underinvested in and left behind.</p><p>In the 1930s and ‘40s, five million Americans were employed in President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s original Civilian Conservation Corps. They planted 3.5 billion trees, built more than 700 state parks, and created 13,000 miles of trails. </p><p>The largest corps project took place right here in Illinois, where the CCC built the Skokie Lagoons on the North Shore; it also built numerous trails, parks, and shelters we still enjoy today, including the Starved Rock State Park Lodge.</p><p>It is more important than ever to acknowledge the extraordinary ability of our national parks and local green spaces to bring us together. Survey after survey shows that Americans want the government to <a class="Link" href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/articles/2019/08/09/americans-want-congress-to-act-to-fix-national-parks__;!!Bg5easoyC-OII2vlEqY8mTBrtW-N4OJKAQ!YbY6e7UB-yu1lsdATyxZ1ohLRrOb3VtYLIQzeekYmhvJ4SnbgXu9NSzntWDXWtixmW2-9_U$" target="_blank" >invest</a> in our parks and preserve them for the next generation at the national, state, and local level. </p><p>There is a unifying, democratic principle at the core of our parks: that we should create and preserve natural spaces that are open to all.</p><p>A Civilian Conservation Corps for the 21st century can bring us together. </p><p>With a president in the White House who has a <a class="Link" href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/01/27/fact-sheet-president-biden-takes-executive-actions-to-tackle-the-climate-crisis-at-home-and-abroad-create-jobs-and-restore-scientific-integrity-across-federal-government/__;!!Bg5easoyC-OII2vlEqY8mTBrtW-N4OJKAQ!YbY6e7UB-yu1lsdATyxZ1ohLRrOb3VtYLIQzeekYmhvJ4SnbgXu9NSzntWDXWtixv93IYRE$" target="_blank" >shared belief</a> in the value of investing in a conservation corps and in our national parks, we have a once-in-a-generation chance to make this vision a reality.</p><p>Let’s get it done.<br></p>
https://chicago.suntimes.com/2021/7/23/22590732/corps-value-program-would-help-national-parks-environmentSen. Dick DurbinU.S. Rep. Bobby Rush2021-04-19T17:26:36.449-05:002021-04-19T17:26:38-05:00Gov. Pritzker, we need our ‘bridge to the future’
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<div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>A transportation hub to be located in Joliet, south of I-80, would be used to relay goods arriving by rail to two intermodal terminals a short distance away.</p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>Sun-Times Media</p></div></div>
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<p>The global pandemic and economic crisis have taken the heaviest toll on communities of color, especially Black Americans and Latinos on Chicago’s South Side and in the southern suburbs. </p><p>Together, the pandemic and economic downturn have widened the inequality gap in Illinois, one that Gov. J.B. Pritzker has vowed time and time again to close.</p><div class="RichTextSidebarModule Enhancement" data-module data-align-floatRight><a class="AnchorLink" id="module-600000" name="module-600000"></a>
<div class="RichTextSidebarModule-title">Opinion bug</div>
<div class="RichTextModule-items RichTextBody"><h2>Opinion</h2></div>
</div><p>But the governor has a great opportunity to do something about that — and to keep those promises. He could get behind a stalled development project in Joliet that would create 10,000 permanent jobs, most of them in my congressional district, providing an average salary of $42,000. That would be a living wage, not just a minimum wage.</p><p>The project is ready to break ground and put Illinois folks to work within a matter of weeks. The governor just has to give the word.</p><p>Compass Global Logistics Hub, to be located in Joliet, just south of I-80 and east of I-55, would be a place to relay goods arriving by rail to two intermodal terminals a short distance away. It would generate nearly $20 million in annual property tax revenue for schools and taxing bodies. Over 10 years, it would create an estimated $32 billion in total economic output.</p><p>That’s not bad for a state in dire financial straits.</p><p>And it would do so without raising your taxes. </p><p>Demand for the project was created by everyone — pretty much all of us — who now orders many more products online. Illinois is uniquely positioned as a transport hub for the Midwest in this industry, with Will County already serving as the world’s largest inland “port.” </p><p>The project has the support of organized labor; and its developer, Northpoint Development, is not asking for government financial incentives.</p><p>Surveys show that south suburban residents strongly favor the project, including those who live close to the site. The project also has the bipartisan backing of Sen. Dick Durbin, Sen. Tammy Duckworth, Rep. Robin Kelly and Rep. Adam Kinzinger, whose district touches the project. The Joliet City Council gave its approval back in December to move ahead with the project. </p><p>So what’s the holdup? And what can Pritzker do to make this happen? </p><p>The State of Illinois needs to approve the transfer of 1.5 miles of roadway from the village of Elwood to the Illinois Department of Transportation, which would allow for the construction of a bridge to connect the new hub directly to the intermodals terminals. This would protect existing highways from increased truck traffic and keep trucks away from the Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery. The developer is to foot that bill. </p><p>I call it the bridge to our future.</p><p>I’m calling on the governor to meet with NorthPoint and get this project underway. </p><p>Too many of my constituents have been pushed out of the workforce by the pandemic and its economic fallout. Illinois leaders should not be turning their backs on a private investment and jobs program that would generate revenue and opportunity, especially to communities of need.</p><p>To make real, lasting and meaningful investments in education, healthcare, social justice, green infrastructure and affordable housing for all, Illinois needs a strong and sustained tax base. To attract investment, we must maintain our state’s competitiveness when other companies come calling.</p><p>It is up to the state to take down the roadblocks and make this happen. </p><p>Gov. Pritzker, it’s your move.</p><p><i>U.S. Rep. Bobby L. Rush, a Democrat, represents Illinois’ 1st Congressional District. </i></p><p><i>Send letters to </i><a class="Link" href="mailto:letters@suntimes.com" target="_blank" ><i>letters@suntimes.com</i></a><i>.</i></p><p></p><p></p>
https://chicago.suntimes.com/2021/4/19/22312059/compass-global-logistics-hub-joliet-intermodal-terminals-elwood-northpoint-development-bobby-rushU.S. Rep. Bobby Rush2020-04-08T12:13:28-05:002020-04-08T12:13:19-05:00When white America catches a cold, black America catches pneumonia
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<img class="Image" alt="A Chicago Transit Authority security guard wears a face mask as she heads into work in the Loop, Tuesday morning, April 7, 2020." srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/fcf483f/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4772x2678+0+251/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2F77tWmaT2tYauw0MLTDhvVglQOek%3D%2F0x0%3A4772x3181%2F4772x3181%2Ffilters%3Afocal%282386x1591%3A2387x1592%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F19884350%2FCV_040820_01.jpg 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/5ac6df3/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4772x2678+0+251/resize/980x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2F77tWmaT2tYauw0MLTDhvVglQOek%3D%2F0x0%3A4772x3181%2F4772x3181%2Ffilters%3Afocal%282386x1591%3A2387x1592%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F19884350%2FCV_040820_01.jpg 2x" width="490" height="275"
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<div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>African Americans are more likely to have jobs that have been deemed “essential” during the pandemic, writes U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush, making it impossible for them to stay home.</p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Sun-Times</p></div></div>
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<p>Every few years, America catches a nasty “cold” that afflicts untold damage on its communities and citizenry. These colds aren’t always pathological, and they manifest in different forms, but the carnage they wreak on our nation’s most vulnerable is always staggering. </p><p>In 2005, this cold took the form of one of the costliest hurricanes on record, slamming into Louisiana and Texas and leaving $125 billion in damage in its wake. A few years later, we suffered as a nation from the Great Recession, which was brought on by the collapse of the housing market and further decimated the already waning middle class. And in the latter part of the 2010s, we have lived through a scourge of mass shootings that have left virtually no part of the country untouched. </p><div class="RichTextSidebarModule Enhancement" data-module data-align-floatRight><a class="AnchorLink" id="module-370000" name="module-370000"></a>
<div class="RichTextSidebarModule-title">Opinion bug</div>
<div class="RichTextModule-items RichTextBody"><h2>Opinion</h2></div>
</div><p>These colds have impacted all Americans, but it is always the most vulnerable who fair the worst by far, particularly when it comes to the black community. Hurricane Katrina devastated a region, but effectively obliterated the black middle class there; the Great Recession damaged the entire economy, but, by all accounts, was particularly disastrous for black Americans and further widened the already vast racial wealth gap; and although America is rightfully fixated by the mass shootings that happen at our schools, churches, and concert venues around the country, there have been 36 mass shootings in my district — which is a majority-minority district — since 2013 alone. </p><p>Over the history of our country, we have weathered a number of these sorts of colds, but in every case, it is clear that when America catches a cold, the black community has caught pneumonia. This time, however, there is an actual virus that is ravaging our nation. Specifically, a severe acute respiratory syndrome brought on by a novel coronavirus, and it has proven to be particularly deadly for the African American community. </p><p>As of April 4, out of the 86 recorded deaths from COVID-19 in Chicago, 61 were black residents. Less than 30 percent of Chicago’s population is black, and yet this population makes up a full <i>70 percent</i> of those who have succumbed to this disease. Looking at Cook County as a whole, we are seeing strikingly similar trends. African Americans, who make up only 23 percent of Cook County’s population, represent 58 percent of the county’s COVID-19 deaths.</p><p>Tragically, these terrible trends are not unique to Chicago. In Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, African Americans make up about half of the county’s 945 confirmed cases but account for 81 percent of the deaths. In Michigan, which is only 14 percent black, African Americans accounted for 35 percent of the cases and 40 percent of the COVID-19 related deaths.</p><p>While these statistics are shocking, they are <i>not</i> a coincidence, and as I have outlined, this situation is, unfortunately, all too predictable. According to an article published in <i>ProPublica</i> last week, “Environmental, economic and political factors have compounded for generations, putting black people at higher risk of chronic conditions that leave lungs weak and immune systems vulnerable: asthma, heart disease, hypertension and diabetes.”<sup> </sup>Furthermore, African Americans are more likely to have jobs that have been deemed “essential” — including those in industries such as health care, transportation, government, and food supply — making it impossible for them to stay home.</p><p>What’s equally alarming is the gross amount of misinformation that very well might have led an already vulnerable population to not take this pandemic as seriously as they should have. In the weeks leading up to these staggering deaths, various social media platforms found themselves overrun with an alarming amount of misinformation related to the coronavirus. These falsehoods ranged from fraudulent vaccines and cures for the virus to more outrageous mistruths that claim African Americans are altogether immune to this pathogen.</p><p>Although this might make for tempting wishful thinking, the numbers coming out of Chicago, Milwaukee and Detroit tell us that this could not be further from the truth. </p><p>In the face of the grim reality that black people <i>will</i> continue to die at disproportionally higher rates than white Americans as a result of COVID-19, combined with the startling amount of misinformation being thrown at us online, it is imperative that black Americans remain hypervigilant as we weather America’s latest cold. We must follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidance as well as the stay-at-home order issued by Gov. J.B. Pritzker. If you must leave your home, take the necessary precautions and practice social distancing. </p><p>On the federal level, I am also calling for the Secretary of Health and Human Services to ensure that the data, clinical trials and access to vaccines and treatments include the communities that are the most likely to catch “pneumonia” when this is all said and done. When vaccines and treatments do become available, the federal government must prioritize hot spots and medically underserved areas when determining distribution, as these areas will need access to tests and treatments as quickly as possible. </p><p>America has weathered some terrible colds in the past, but sadly, it has been, and it will continue to be, the black community that catches the resulting pneumonia. If we are going to break that cycle, we must take this current cold deadly serious, and we must ensure that the needs of the black community as it relates to COVID-19 are taken just as seriously as well. </p><p><i>U.S. Rep. Bobby L. Rush, a Democrat, represents Illinois’ 1st Congressional District. He is a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, chairman of the Committee’s Subcommittee on Energy and sits on the committee’s subcommittee on health. </i></p><p><i>Send letters to </i><a class="Link" href="mailto:letters@suntimes.com" target="_blank" ><i>letters@suntimes.com</i></a><i>.</i></p><p> </p><p> <br></p>
https://chicago.suntimes.com/2020/4/8/21213747/african-americans-coronavirus-racial-inequities-racism-bobby-rushU.S. Rep. Bobby Rush2019-08-08T14:53:59-05:002019-08-08T15:04:07-05:00When it comes to gun violence in Chicago, Ivanka Trump should put up or shut up
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<img class="Image" alt="Police investigate shooting in Douglas park" srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/4ed31f6/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2048x1149+0+193/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2FJXfuTru_CZ1NMgLCDxkgkMZP9GY%3D%2F0x0%3A2048x1536%2F2048x1536%2Ffilters%3Afocal%281024x768%3A1025x769%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F18839508%2FEBG8Xv6XUAAF0ri.jpg 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/c77e3c3/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2048x1149+0+193/resize/980x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2FJXfuTru_CZ1NMgLCDxkgkMZP9GY%3D%2F0x0%3A2048x1536%2F2048x1536%2Ffilters%3Afocal%281024x768%3A1025x769%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F18839508%2FEBG8Xv6XUAAF0ri.jpg 2x" width="490" height="275"
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<div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>Chicago Police investigate a shooting with multiple victims in Douglas Park on Aug. 4, 2019.</p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times</p></div></div>
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<p>I was deeply troubled to see the first daughter and senior advisor to the president, Ivanka Trump, exploit the violence that took place in Chicago this past weekend so as to distract from the mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio.</p><p>Not only were her comments factually inaccurate, <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/city-hall/2019/8/6/20757579/lori-lightfoot-ivanka-trump-chicago-violence" target="_blank" >as Mayor Lightfoot has pointed out</a>, but they did nothing to heal the wounds of our community or nation, or to address the issues associated with gun violence in Chicago and the nation.</p><div class="RichTextSidebarModule Enhancement" data-module data-align-floatRight><a class="AnchorLink" id="module-a90000" name="module-a90000"></a>
<div class="RichTextSidebarModule-title">Opinion bug</div>
<div class="RichTextModule-items RichTextBody"><h2>Opinion</h2></div>
</div><p>Perhaps the president’s daughter would like to distract us from the fact that the shooter in El Paso had an affinity for her father’s divisive policies and rhetoric. </p><p>We will not be distracted by misleading facts and incendiary language, but will instead remain laser-focused on what connects El Paso and Dayton to Chicago — an unfettered access to weapons of war.</p><p>If Ivanka has real solutions she would like to offer to stem the tide of gun violence, I am all ears. Perhaps she could encourage her father’s political allies to support the <a class="Link" href="https://rush.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rush-and-duckworth-reintroduce-bill-to-take-on-firearm-violence-epidemic" target="_blank" >Blair Holt Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act</a> and the <a class="Link" href="https://rush.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rush-highlights-his-legislative-priorities-on-the-opening-of-the-116th" target="_blank" >Gun Trafficking Prohibition Act</a>, bills that I reintroduced earlier this year. </p><p>The Blair Holt Act would prohibit unlicensed firearm ownership and the transfer of firearms without a valid firearms license, as well as direct the president’s attorney general to establish and maintain a federal record of gun sales and conduct fingerprint-based nationwide criminal background checks.</p><p>The Gun Trafficking Prohibition Act would amend the federal criminal code to classify as criminal offenses the trafficking and straw purchasing of firearms. The bill also would prohibit transferring a firearm knowing that it will be used to commit a violent crime or drug trafficking offense.</p><p>Additionally, I would gladly invite the senior advisor to the president to attend a field hearing I am holding in Chicago in October with my colleagues on the Committee on Energy and the Commerce’s Subcommittee on Health to address the issue of gun violence as a public health concern. Although Ms. Trump is likely unqualified to participate in the hearing in a substantive way, she is more than welcome to attend, listen and learn about the issues surrounding gun violence — and the impact of this violence — in Chicago and the nation as a whole.</p><p>The comments offered by the president’s daughter are not what the American people need, and they certainly are not what the people of Chicago deserve.</p><p>Our city needs and deserves solutions. Until Ivanka Trump and her colleagues in the Trump administration are ready to come to the table with sensible solutions on gun violence, she should refrain from commenting on Chicago’s deeply felt pain.</p><p><i>U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush, a Democrat, has represented the First Congressional District of Illinois since 1993.</i></p><p><i>Send letters to: </i><a class="Link" href="mailto:letters@suntimes.com" target="_blank" ><i>letters@suntimes.com</i></a><i>.</i><br></p>
https://chicago.suntimes.com/2019/8/8/20792612/ivanka-trump-bobby-rush-chicago-gun-violence-sun-timesU.S. Rep. Bobby Rush2018-11-16T17:40:00-06:002020-04-08T11:50:00-05:00S. Side Target customers looking for economic justice, respect
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<div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>Target announced its plans to close two South Side stores, including the store at 8560 S. Cottage Grove Ave. in Chatham. | Manny Ramos/Chicago Sun-Times</p></figcaption></div>
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<p>When Target made public its callous decision to close its stores in Chatham and Morgan Park, many residents of Chicago’s South Side were shocked and angered. After all, they were loyal Target customers who spent their hard-earned money in these stores, conveniently located in their communities. Their anger grew into action and as their congressman and resident of the South Side, I joined them as they demanded Target Corp. keep the stores open and work on a turnaround plan.</p><div class="Enhancement" data-align-center>
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<p>Simply put, the residents’ demands of Target are about economic justice and respect. Their position is deeply rooted in the innate self-dignity and self-esteem they have for themselves and their community. The idea that residents are “begging” Target to stay is ill-informed, insulting and rooted in a sense of pride, a sentiment that leads to destruction as is stated in the ancient biblical proverb.</p><p>We have seen the truth of this proverb born out in communities throughout the South Side. Retailers come to these communities and take our money, often against the backdrop of poor customer service. Then, they leave in the cover of night, with little or no warning and with little or no explanation. In the wake of their departure, neighborhoods are left with abandoned, defunct structural eye-sores and fewer and fewer retail and grocery choices. This is why the engaged and focused South Side residents understand their fight is about Target specifically and disinvestment in general.</p><p>We cannot make the critical mistake of confusing pride with dignity. Pride is a function of our lower calling and dignity is a function of our higher calling. Our pride cannot weather the rough waters of injustice but our dignity can and must. It is the residents’ sense of dignity that makes demands of Target, telling the corporate executives they cannot use residents’ dollars and then disappear, disinvest, disrespect, and dehumanize them.</p><p>I have spoken with the dignified senior citizens who demand the convenience of having their drug prescriptions filled in their neighborhood. I have listened to millennials and perspective homeowners who demand the simple amenity of having a Target within walking distance of their home.</p><p>I have heard the demand of current homeowners who increasingly see their property values decline, businesses flee, and overgrown vacant lots multiple. They are witnessing in real time their prized communities suffer from disinvestment, disenfranchisement and total disregard.</p><p>The late, great “Queen of Soul.” Ms. Aretha Franklin said it best in her noted civil rights anthem. It is a clarion call for these South Side residents. It is the opposite of begging. It is a demand. It is R-E-S-P-E-C-T. We will demand our respect on Black Friday, as we publicly demonstrate our boycott of Target stores. Join us in front of the Target in Chatham at 7 a.m.<br></p>
https://chicago.suntimes.com/2018/11/16/18315246/s-side-target-customers-looking-for-economic-justice-respectU.S. Rep. Bobby Rush2018-09-26T20:58:10-05:002019-04-17T19:50:14-05:00Chicago mayoral election a chance to rewrite 'tale of two cities' story: op-ed
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<div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>In Chicago’s tale of two cities, the West Side and South Side struggle while the downtown in the distance thrives. </p></figcaption></div>
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<p>Chicago is one of the greatest cities in the world. Its rich history, world-class cultural establishments, and prestigious educational institutions make the Windy City a destination for visitors from around the world. It is the diverse and hard-working Chicago residents, who are the crown jewel of the city. When Chicagoans unify around an effort, seemingly insurmountable and proverbial mountains are moved.</p><p>Presently, Chicago faces seemingly impossible challenges, such as record-breaking violence, serious flaws in the public education system, strained race relations, and a looming pension crisis.</p><div class="Enhancement" data-align-center>
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<p>However, Chicago is also faced with another opportunity to welcome new leadership, with new ideas and initiatives that address the critical issues shaping the city’s future. In this moment, we can rewrite Chicago’s long-standing “tale of two cities” narrative by expanding our investment beyond the business district and select high-income neighborhoods. With greater purpose, we can invite young people, disillusioned Chicagoans, and those who live on the margins of our communities into the process of creating a new future for the City of Chicago.</p><p>For those who don’t believe this is possible, I encourage you to reflect on the Chicago of the late, great Mayor Harold Washington. Among the many achievements of that time was city leadership’s laser-like focus on inclusion at all levels of government. A true sense of diversity and opportunity existed in the city, and people voted, participated, and were listened to.</p><p>I witnessed the power of this inclusion, as a sense of hope was evident in the hearts and minds of those who previously had been neglected, ignored, and excluded.</p><p>Today, not unlike 35 years ago, our city leadership must be inspirational, always seeking to motivate and raise hope based on a demonstrated commitment and the ability and desire to be inclusive. For those Chicagoans impacted daily by gun violence and economic inequality, it is imperative to have a leader whom they can trust completely.</p><p>Now is a time to unite this city around a vision of change and a principled set of ideas. We can no longer continue down the path of brokenness and division. The factionalism, fracturing, and fragmenting resulting from our disparities must cease.</p><p>Chicago has experienced both triumphs and challenges. But what keeps this city strong is the diversity of its residents, who are committed to the work of making every neighborhood better and continuing to move this city forward.</p><p>In the search for a mayor, we must have an election centered around principles, policy, and programs. We must reject — with absolute vigor — a personality-driven contest. Hope and healing must be our clarion call and purpose.</p><p><i>Bobby Rush is the U.S. Representative for the 1st Congressional District of Illinois.</i></p><p><i>Send letters to </i><a class="Link" href="mailto:letters@suntimes.com" target="_blank" ><i>letters@suntimes.com</i></a><br></p>
https://chicago.suntimes.com/2018/9/26/18435950/mayoral-election-is-a-chance-to-change-chicago-s-tale-of-two-cities-storyU.S. Rep. Bobby Rush2016-12-09T13:33:00-06:002020-04-08T11:51:44-05:00Reps. Bustos, Rush: A fight for safe drinking water in schools
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<div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>Elevated levels of lead were found in a drinking fountain last spring at Chicago’s Brentano Math and Science Academy. | File photo by Lou Foglia/Sun-Times.</p></figcaption></div>
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<p>Whether you live on the South Side of Chicago or in rural Illinois, we all want the very best for our communities. As Illinoisans, we know the success of our state depends on the success of our families and neighbors. And as parents and grandparents, we want our children and our grandchildren to have the best chance possible to live better lives than we have.</p><p>As two members of Congress who respectively serve on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the Energy and Commerce Committee, we’re working together to address a serious problem that affects too many of our homes, schools and cities — lead-contaminated water.</p><div class="Enhancement" data-align-center>
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<p>The facts on this issue are clear:</p><p>♦ Lead exposure is proven to hinder kids’ ability to learn, grow and succeed.</p><p>♦ It can lead to behavioral problems, shorter attention spans, reduced IQ and impaired learning.</p><p>♦ At extremely high levels, it can attack the brain and central nervous system to cause coma, convulsions and even death.</p><p>♦ And the health effects of lead exposure on pregnant women can be especially devastating in the development of a child.</p><p>These are problems in communities both large and small, affluent and poor. Lead-tainted water does not discriminate.</p><p>As a Congresswoman representing central, western and northwestern Illinois, I first took action on this issue after 14 percent of children tested in Knox County had levels of lead in their blood above the point where the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends intervention. Meanwhile, the city of Galesburg — which makes up the majority of Knox County’s population — had been struggling with high levels of lead in some residents’ drinking water. The problem has been occurring off and on for decades, in no small part due to privately owned water pipes that are solid lead. After playing a watchdog role to get federal, state and local officials focused on solving this problem, I helped secure $4 million from the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund to replace half of the 4,000 lead water lines in this community.</p><p>But this issue is much bigger than any one town.</p><p>In Chicago, as one of its Congressmen, I worked to deal with the fact that there are more lead water pipes here than in any other city across the nation. Right now, the city estimates that nearly 80 percent of homes or small apartment buildings are connected to the water supply by lead pipes.</p><p>Locally, more than 100 schools in the city have tested with high levels of lead in at least one sink or water fountain. Because it was legal to use lead solder on pipes before 1986, many water fixtures built prior to that year may contain lead. That’s why I also introduced legislation that would create a grant program for schools to replace old and outdated drinking fountains that may poison our kids.</p><p>Recently, during a joint discussion in Chicago, we, as members of Congress, brought together leaders from Chicago Public Schools and the public health department about the work they’re doing to prevent lead exposure, including testing and identifying pipes and fixtures that need replacing to protect our kids. We should empower our school districts in Illinois and across the nation to tackle these problems head on.</p><p>That’s why we introduced a bill that would establish a $50 million grant program at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to give schools and school districts the resources they need to replace lead pipes and lead solder used in school plumbing.</p><p>Parents should have peace of mind that a drinking fountain at school isn’t poisoning their children — and schools should have the resources to make repairs without taking away from kids’ education.</p><p>There is no safe level of lead exposure for our kids, and this should not be a political or partisan issue. In the coming year, we urge all Illinoisans to join the effort to get lead out of our drinking water supply.</p><p><i>U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos serves the 17th Congressional District and U.S. Rep. Bobby L. Rush the 1st Congressional District of Illinois.</i></p><p><i>Send letters to: letters@suntimes.com</i><br></p>
https://chicago.suntimes.com/2016/12/9/18364646/reps-bustos-rush-a-fight-for-safe-drinking-water-in-schoolsU.S. Rep. Cheri BustosU.S. Rep. Bobby Rush