Vice President Kamala Harris visits Illinois on Friday: stops in Chicago, Plainfield

Vice President Kamala Harris will visit Illinois on Friday, the Chicago Sun-Times has learned, with stops in Plainfield to highlight the administration’s work on maternal health and in Chicago to address the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials conference.

A White House official said in Plainfield Harris will be joined by Reps. Lauren Underwood and Robin Kelly with the two Illinois Democrats having for years made improving Black maternal health a centerpiece of their policy portfolios.

When Harris was a senator from California, she partnered with Underwood on what they called “Momnibus” legislation. Under the map in place for the 2022 elections, all of Plainfield is in the 14th Congressional District where Underwood is running for her third term in Congress.

Black maternal health issues include finding remedies for racial disparities in maternal mortality,

Harris will also be joined by Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill. at the Plainfield stop.

From there, Harris heads to Chicago for the NALEO 39th annual conference, running between June 23-25, usually one of the largest gatherings of Latino elected and appointed officials and other policymakers.

This will be NALEO’s first in-person conference since 2019, with the COVID-19 pandemic forcing the cancellation of the event in 2020 and 2021.

On Thursday, Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona and Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra address the NALEO conference.

Cardona will also participate in a Biden White House Local Regional Economic Summit at Malcolm X College.

Harris was in Chicago in March 2021 to promote COVID-19 vaccinations, made a stop outside of the Brown Sugar Bakery, 328 E. 75th St. on the South Side, and at Midway Airport huddled with local Democratic elected officials. The Brown Sugar stop was part of Harris’ drive to throw a spotlight on Black women-owned small businesses. Business jumped at the bakery after the Harris visit.