Sara Horan and Bill Davis – NWSOFA Chapter Co-Leads
To our amazing NWSOFA Members on this 4th of July,
Happy Independence Day! The 4th is a time to relax, chill, be with family and friends, enjoy barbecuing, marching in or just watching your hometown parades, watching the Cubs WIN, and enjoying the sights and sounds of fireworks.
At NWSOFA, this holiday means more than baseball, fireworks, hot dogs, and apple pie. Not only is this a celebration of our nation’s independence but also the recognition of our rights as citizens to enjoy Freedom of expression and Freedom of Press .. this great American experiment gives us the right to fight for our children’s and grandchildren’s future .. a future of equality and respect for our women, immigrants, and minorities, a renewed planet, free from gun violence, a welcoming country that has health care as right, and education for all and all the boundless possibilities that lie ahead for America………………
Dr. Khalid Sami has been reaching out to increase understanding of Islam in American communities since his late twenties. After receiving his medical training in India, he became first an instructor and later Clinical Director of the Department of Anesthiology at the University of Minnesota. He became a U.S. citizen and settled in the Chicago area, where he is a member of the Islamic Society of the Northwest Suburbs. He is a frequent speaker at area churches, schools, and civic organizations, in pursuit of peace and understanding across faiths and cultures. The POP Workshop (People Over Party) is delighted to offer this event to the community at large. All are welcome.
Hey Illinois, we need a commitment to show up at this event and you bring family and a friend. The senate vote is fast approaching and word is the repeal of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act could happen now according to news reports with no replacement offered. This cannot stand! We must tell our members of Congress, they must #ProtectOurCare!
Help us hold Gov Rauner accountable urging him to publicly join a bipartisan group of Governors nationwide and protect Medicaid expansion saving Illinois families. If Gov Rauner chooses not to act, we will hold him responsible for his silence and complicity in these catastrophic cuts to healthcare in our state.
This is game time Illinois. We need your support and one hour of your time. Help us form a human chain representing the circle of life.
Join us for a discussion on our ERA Action as we work towards the ratification of the ERA in Illinois. We remain 2 states short of the ERA passage for women to be recognized as citizens that can NOT be discriminated against within our Constitution. We will also discuss our actions for the next few months- showing of the “Equal Means Equal” film, phone banks to ensure IL legislatures vote yes, partnering with Virginia OFA teams to get their state passage of ERA, supporting efforts of ERA Action to remove the defined time limit at the Federal level!
Regular Features of the Fiscal & Economic Issue team will Include:
Come get the facts about the economic recovery and the status of ongoing appropriations challenges at both the state and national level.
To help us better understand what is happening in Illinois Budget Issues.
Illinois’s current fiscal year (FY) ends June 30th and the FY 2018 budget is basically due May 31st. We will have an update on the budget at our June 12th meeting, either what is in the budget or the status of efforts to enact a budget before the June 30 end of the fiscal year.
Illinois is now operating without appropriations since December 2016. The revised jobs report for Illinois shows job gains for 2015 of 81,000. Job gains in 2016 were reported at 18,900. Through April 2017 Illinois has added 8.000 jobs (24,000 annual rate). It appears the lack of a balanced budget is having a negative effect on job growth in Illinois.
Nationally we have added about 2.2 million jobs in the last 12 months (through April). April reported 211,000 jobs added. In April the (U-3) unemployment rate was at 4.4%, while the U-6 rate was 8.6%. While down from a high of 17.1% during the downturn, this U-6 rate is still higher than the 8.4% in the fall of 2007 before the Great Recession of December 2007 to June 2009.
The May jobs report comes out Friday, June 2nd, so we will have that data to discuss at our meeting. 1st quarter real GDP growth was reported at +1,2% (first revision).
Then come join us for pizza, adult beverages and continued discussions at a local constabulatary after after the meeting. (While OFA may not be political, we can discuss the politics of what is happening there!)
If you are interested in great coffee and lively conversation and want to learn how you can take action now – to honor all victims of gun violence and make our communities safer – then come to our monthly Gun Violence Prevention Planning Meeting.
Our Agenda:
Current News related to gun violence prevention
Summary of GVP Legislation being introduced in the Illinois Legislature
Planning for GVP Actions and Events
The GVP Issues Team has been working for the past two years to keep conversation going about gun violence prevention and to take action to change our laws with the goal of creating safer communities for everyone in our state and our nation. We hold 90 minute planning meetings typically (with some exceptions) on the 3rd Thursday of each month at 6:30 pm. If you are interested in working to reduce gun violence in America, we invite you to join us at our next meeting. SINCE SEATING IS LIMITED, REGISTRATION IN ADVANCE IN REQUESTED. Come and join us in building safe communities here in the northwest suburbs and all across America!
“Hope is not blind optimism. Hope is that thing inside us that insists, despite all evidence to the contrary, that something better awaits us if we have the courage to reach for it, and to work for it, and to fight for it.” President Barack Obama
Thank You to our NWSOFA Issue Leads in 2015
Click on the above Image to see each lead and the issues they work on .._
