Issue Position: We Need a New Direction!

Issue Position

We are enmeshed in a bloody and endless civil war in Iraq. As a result, our nation is more isolated, more hated and less secure.

Profits are at a forty-year high but wages are stagnant.

Housing costs are consuming an unsustainable share of working family budgets and forclosures are threatening more families than at any time in recent memory.

To our shame, America now ranks last in health among developed nations.

We are facing the very real consequences of global warming while energy costs have escalated out of control.

Our basic constitutional rights are being rolled back.

It's time to set America back on course.

I've voted to protect our national security and against the invasion and occupation of Iraq.

I have been a voice to maintain our hard won constitutional rights.

I have voted consistently for economic and social justice, and to make quality education and health care accessible to all.

I have taken on racial profiling and written legislation to address the problems faced by ex-offenders returning to our communities.

I have championed the reordering our priorities to create jobs at a living wage and to protect the environment.

I have voted for tax fairness.

I have stood firm for a woman's right to choose.

I have pressed for campaign finance and election reform.

I have advocated to protect social security and medicare, and to make prescription drugs affordable for seniors.

I have sponsored legislation to give persons with disabilities options in their everyday living conditions.

Thanks for your generous support over the years.

I urge you to vote on February 2nd - your vote will determine the policies of our nation for years to come.

I'm proud of my fully staffed and accessible constituent services offices.

In addition to more than 40 townhall meetings I hold each year to hear from consitituents, my offices in Chicago and Broadview are available to work with consitituents on any federal issues they may bring.

A proven process for public participation, advisory groups, task forces, town hall meetings.

Regular communication with residents of the district with newsletters, television and radio shows.

Effective legislative initiatives and proposals including:

Access to Jobs Amendment, American Community Renewal Act/New Markets Initiative, Business Link Program, Public Safety Ex-Offender Self Sufficiency Act.

Bold program initiatives including:

Home ownership through the With Ownership Wealth (WOW) program, Curfew Awareness , Health Education and Prevention drives.

Leadership on issues including:

Child welfare, poverty reduction, funding for health care, ex-offender re-entry, criminal justice reform, TANF, affordable housing development, environmental protection, diversity, affirmative action, small business development, civil rights protection, worker rights.

Bringing resources to the district, for the residents of the district, through grants and appropriations including:

Transportation dollars for Wacker Drive, Douglas and Ravenswood Branches of the Blue Line, METRA, CTA bus and bus facilities; Museums including Field Museum, Adler Planetarium, Shedd Aquarium; Institutions of Higher Education including University of Illinois, Chicago Children's Choir, Columbia College, Loyola University, National Teaching Academy and funding for the TRIO program to assist low income Americans attend college; additional funding for the Low Income Energy Assistance Program; funding for health care including Cook County Hospital, AIDS Foundation of Chicago, Loretto Hospital, Access Community Health Center, Prentiss Women's Hospital, Haymarket Health Center, Rush Hospital, Westside Holistic Health Center; and many others including the Safer Foundation, National Welfare to Work Center, Chicago Public Schools Youth Outreach Worker Program.

A record of trust

When I first ran for Congress I made clear what I would stand for. I invite you to examine my record. According to Congressional Quarterly from 1999-2002 I had an average voting participation record of 95%.

The Congressional Quarterly analysis of my record reveals . . .

I voted 100% in favor of legislation supported by the Humane Society of the United States and the Animal Protection Institute on Animal Rights and Wildlife Issues.

I voted 100% in favor of legislation supported by Americans for the Arts.

I voted 93% in favor of legislation supported by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on Civil Liberties issues.

I voted 100% in favor of legislation supported by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, the Human Rights Campaign, and the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (2000) on civil rights issues.

I voted 100% in 2000-2002 and 92% in 2003 in favor of legislation supported by the National Education Association (NEA) on educational issues.

I voted 91% in favor of environmental legislation supported by the League of Conservation Voters, the National Parks Conservation Association and the American Lands Alliance while also receiving the endorsement of the Sierra Club in 2002.

I voted 100% in favor of legislation supported by the American Family Voices and the Children's Defense Fund on family and children issues.

In 2002 I voted 70% in favor of legislation supported by Peace Action; 81% in favor of legislaiton supported by the American Foreign Service Association; 88% in favor of legislation supported by the Campaign for U.N. Reform; and 89% in favor of legislation supported by the Council for a Livable World/Peace PAC on foreign aid and policy issues.

I voted 100% in favor of legislation supported by the American Association of University Women, the Business and Professional Women/USA and the National Organization of Women (NOW).

I voted 100% in favor of legislation supported by the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, and the American Bar Association - Special Committee on Gun Violence.

I voted 100% in favor of legislation supported by the National Breast Cancer Coalition, the American Medical Association, the American College of Obstetricians and Bynecologists, and the American Public Health Association (2000) on health care issues.

I voted 100% in favor of legislation supported by the American Federaton of Government Employees, the AFL-CIO, United Auto Workers, National Association of Social Workers and the American Postal Workers Union on labor issues.

I voted 100% in favor of legislation supported by the National Association of Retired Federal Employees, the Alliance for Retired Americans, and the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare on senior and Social Security issues.

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