The Republicans just shut down the federal government to support Trump's reckless and racist agenda. This is the first time in history there's been a government shutdown when one party has controlled both houses of Congress and the White House—and the result will hurt tens of millions of Americans, from furloughed federal employees to all of us who use federal services and programs. This is the result of Trump insisting on his unpopular and wasteful border wall and Republican leadership's refusal to vote on the bipartisan and popular Dream Act. Senator Chuck Schumer told reporters that "Negotiating with this White House is like negotiating with Jell-O. It's next to impossible." Republicans have been funding the government a month at a time rather than coming up with real solutions to children's health, protections for Dreamers, relief for Puerto Rico, funding for community health centers, and more. Republicans in Congress say they don't want to send Trump a bill he won't sign. But back in 2011 Trump said "if there is a shutdown I think it would be a tremendously negative mark on the president of the United States. He's the one that has to get people together." When will Trump and his Republican cheerleaders stop with the political obstruction and do their job of serving the public? There is no question: Trump and the Republicans caused this shutdown and Republicans can, and must, end it. Republicans must act to end the Trump Shutdown, and Democrats must stand strong against the bully in the White House. Get back to work—pass the Dream Act, fund children's health, provide disaster relief, and reopen the government. We're paying your salaries—do your job!

It's time for Republicans in Congress to stop playing political games with millions of children's lives. They refused to fully fund the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) or protect Dreamers after Trump announced an end to DACA. They refuse to provide the necessary disaster relief California, Florida, Puerto Rico, Texas, and the U.S. Virgin Islands still need after deadly hurricanes, fires, mudslides, and other disasters. And now the Republicans—who control both chambers of Congress and the White House—have shut the government, without addressing these issues, and throwing millions more Americans into uncertainty. Trump and the Republicans have played games with our government and our lives long enough. They must listen to Americans who demand funding for children's health, the Dream Act, disaster relief, and a functioning government.

Our communities are facing life and death issues on a daily basis and the dysfunction in the Republican controlled Federal Government is only making these situations worse. The Federal Government's fiscal year started over a hundred days ago but we still don't have a budget from the Republican controlled Congress. This means our communities are running out of funding for critical programs to fight the opioid epidemic, fund healthcare for children (CHIP) and fix DACA for Dreamers. Drug overdose is the leading cause of accidental death in the US and opioid addiction is driving this epidemic. Every year, 20,000 people die from overdose related to prescription pain relievers. Donald Trump declared the opioid epidemic a national emergency late last year but aside from a press conference his actions have had almost no impact to help real people. The small amount of money he set aside to combat the crisis is set to expire on January 23. If that’s not bad enough, nine million children and 370,000 pregnant women receive health care because of CHIP, a healthcare program for families who make too much money to qualify for Medicaid but not enough to afford private insurance. But funding for CHIP expired in September and yet Congress hasn’t acted to permanently fund the program despite the fact that money for CHIP is starting to run out. And in September, Donald Trump ended the DACA program putting the lives of 800,000 young people at risk. These are young Americans who grew up in America. They put their faith in our government, came forward, passed background checks, and were given a shot at the American dream. Nearly 15,000 of these young people have already lost their status and can no longer legally work or drive in the United States. Every single day, another 122 young Americans lose their DACA status. And unless Congress acts soon, the number of people losing their DACA will increase to over 1,000 a day. That’s absolutely unthinkable. Enough is enough. We need a budget to fund the Government. Please join with us and demand that Congress must pass a budget that fights opioids, permanently funds children's healthcare (CHIP), and fixes DACA for Dreamers!

President Donald Trump is a bigoted climate denier. So is Congressman Jim Bridenstine (R-OK), Trump's embattled nominee for NASA Administrator. So why is Bill Nye "very pleased" to be Bridenstine's guest at Trump's first State of the Union address? These are Bridenstine's own words on climate: "Mr. Speaker, global temperatures stopped rising 10 years ago. Global temperature changes, when they exist, correlate with Sun output and ocean cycles. During the Medieval Warm Period from 800 to 1300 A.D.—long before cars, power plants, or the Industrial Revolution—temperatures were warmer than today. During the Little Ice Age from 1300 to 1900 A.D., temperatures were cooler. Neither of these periods were caused by any human activity." Here's Donald Trump: "In the East, it could be the COLDEST New Year’s Eve on record. Perhaps we could use a little bit of that good old Global Warming that our Country, but not other countries, was going to pay TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS to protect against. Bundle up!" (Also: "Global warming is based on faulty science and manipulated data which is proven by the emails that were leaked" and "The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive" and dozens more.) Jim Bridenstine's vision for NASA—articulated in his own legislation—is one of militarization, privatization, and killing off science research. NASA’s 19,000 employees and the many thousands of additional contracted workforce come in all creeds, colors, ages, sizes, genders, sexual orientations, religious belief systems, and political parties. But Bridenstine has said that same-sex marriage is "contrary to millennia of human experience" and that bathroom protections for transgender people are "lawless federal bullying." Like Trump, Bridenstine is a misogynist. He voted against the Violence Against Women Act, saying it "misallocates scarce federal resources," and dismissed Trump's braggadocio about sexual assault as "locker room talk." Like Trump, Bridenstine is an Islamophobe, championing Trump's Muslim travel ban and regularly working with anti-Muslim hate groups such as Frank Gaffney's Center for Security Policy and the David Horowitz Freedom Center. Jim Bridenstine is an extremist partisan who has taken $173,350 in campaign contributions from the oil and gas industry and $89,000 from the military aerospace industry, but has no STEM-related education or experience. He has no experience leading an agency or organization of this size or caliber. And then there's Trump, who Nye will be implicitly endorsing with his presence, even while Trump increases his attacks on scientists, the media, immigrants, women, the American people. Bill Nye is planning to be Bridenstine's guest in his role as the president of the Planetary Society, founded in 1980 by esteemed scientist and humanist Carl Sagan to "introduce people to the wonders of the cosmos, bridging the gap between the scientific community and the general public to inspire and educate people from all walks of life." Now, as Sagan's successor, Bill Nye plans to embrace those whose clear mission is to suppress scientists, demean knowledge, and foment bigotry, hatred, and oppression. The Planetary Society says Bill isn't "endorsing" Bridenstine's nomination by going as his guest, and his appearance will "educate and inform members of Congress and the Administration, including the President’s Cabinet." The Bridenstine team has already used Bill Nye's embrace to promote the nomination. It's hard to expect that a handshake from Bill Nye will be more convincing than the Koch brothers's billions. Bill, please be the Science Guy, not the Bigoted Climate Denial Guy. Cancel your plans to attend Trump's State of the Union as Rep. Bridenstine's guest.

The Marijuana Justice Act is a bill, that if passed, will legalize marijuana at the federal level and go even further in an effort to remedy many of the failures of the War on Drugs.

This law will diminish the ability for health care providers to receive education about various topics, and WILL NOT be effective to limit the opiate epidemic in NJ or any other state. Limiting access to and education by Key Opinion Leaders on various topics will be associated with a diminished ability to effectively deliver healthcare to the citizens of NJ.

People should have the right to smoke in the privacy of their own home

Everyone has some sort of issue or problem. No matter what it may be, marijuana has NEVER hurt a soul. This is a way better alternative to go to rather than alcohol and major drugs that affect you severely. There are rapists who have less of a sentence in prison than people who were charged with possession of marijuana. This world is ridiculous and every bit of this should stop! Many beneficial things come from this amazing plant. Why are cigarettes legal? Why can you get painkillers? Why is alcohol legal? You ask these questions to yourself. But the only beneficial"drug" that's ILLEGAL is kept away. For what reason?

This is for everyone who is forced to live mostly or entirely on their Social Security.

The Rent Control Preemption Act of 1997 has been a disastrous mistake for Illinois. This legislation was pushed by real estate lobbyists at a time when no rent control measures existed to prevent them from ever taking hold. Since that time we have seen gentrification and disinvestment from neighborhoods that continues to push more and more working families out of our state and forces too many Illinois residents to live in rent distress. These problems have been particularly acute for poor people and people of color -- we need to change this. That is why I am proud to support the efforts of the Lift the Ban Coalition and sponsor Rep. Will Guzzardi's bill in the State Senate that would repeal the ban on rent control in Illinois. It is time we take bold steps to make housing more affordable throughout Illinois and stop the displacement of people across the state. It is time we return rent control authority to the people of Illinois. Please join Rep. Litesa Wallace, Rep. Will Guzzardi and myself in building an Illinois for the rest of us by signing this petition that calls on Gov. Rauner and Illinois State Legislators to lift the rent control ban.

Jorge Garcia—a Michigan man who had lived in the U.S. for 30 years since he was 10 years old—has a story like so many immigrant stories: one filled with hard work, strong ties to his community, and love for his family. He has cooperated with the government, paid taxes, and has no criminal record. Yet, another tragic story is unfolding. On Martin Luther King Day, ICE agents escorted Jorge onto a plane bound for a country he barely knows, away from his wife and two children—who are all U.S. citizens. We have been hearing stories like Jorge's over and over again. This must stop. When immigrants arrive as children, attend our schools, and grow up as an American, they should be allowed, when adults, to make the decision to stay or return. It should be their choice! This is a humanitarian issue. Last week, congressional leaders reached a bipartisan deal to pass the Dream Act, which may have protected Jorge from deportation. But Donald Trump rejected that deal, pushing our government closer to a shutdown as our members of Congress are forced to decide if they will fall in line with Trump's racist policies or support for immigrant youth.

Animal advocates have seen too many dogs suffer in extreme weather. Yet, there aren't enough of us, despite how much time, money and effort we devote, to rescue all of the dogs, sentient beings, who are exposed and endangered day after day. As long as these long-suffering and innocent animals are considered property, many misguided or abusive owners will continue to force them to live in harsh and inhumane conditions.. Make this a felony and we can all save so many dogs.