Stop discriminating against Deaf and hard of hearing students and grant live captioning technology (C-Print, Typewell or CART) and Closed Captioning to Ben C. and other students requesting similar services.

In response to a popular email circulating the internet nick-named the Buffet Rule; I've decided to start a petition to force congress to vote on the provisions outline in the proposal. Its time for our government to listen to common sense reforms that liberals, conservatives and independents alike agree with, and I believe this is that starting point.

Please Support SB 610 and AB 1141. Small Business Investment Protection ACT 2013

Create an Illinois Educational Facilities Planning Board to regulate the development and expansion of schools in the State of Illinois. School districts should be able to demonstrate 1) financial ability to complete the proposed construction or expansion project; 2) the capacity to operate the school and make contributions to teacher pension funds or other retirement plans; 3) market demand, as evidenced by demographic trends, number and types of schools, available seats and educational goals and objectives of the district.

Skutt Catholic High School has decided to fire Matthew Eledge, an English teacher and Speech coach, after he and his partner got engaged late last year. Mr. Eledge is an exceptional teacher with impeccable performance evaluations, four state speech championships, and is beloved by parents, students, and peers. We are calling on Skutt Catholic to end this employment discrimination against Mr. Eledge and all future faculty immediately.

We applaud our government's provision of $2,000,000 of critical humanitarian aid to Cubans whose communities were devastated by Hurricane Ian. We urge equal generosity to the aftermath of deadly oil fires in Matanzas, Cuba, and to rehabilitation of the national electrical system. In the same spirit, the Biden Administration should also suspend all sanctions or regulations that inhibit private and governmental aid. Allowing Western Union to resume transfer of remittances to family and friends will provide roughly five million dollars a day in people to people assistance. Secretary Blinken should also remove without further delay impediments created by Cuba's unmerited listing as a State Sponsor of Terrorism by the Trump Administration. We share your warmly received words as Ambassador to the United Nations in 2016, "the United States and Cuba must continue to find ways to engage, even as our differences persist ".

The continued violence against Black, brown, and Native communities at the hands of ‘law enforcement’ is disgraceful. Police unions are in the business of defending the most consistent murderers and abusers and creating obstructions to justice. We are urging you to stand on the right side of history: refuse to take any political donations from police unions or sheriff associations and donate any contributions you have taken in the last year to Black-led community-strengthening initiatives.

Stop the cutbacks to Washington state public education. Find another way to make up for the shortfall in the state budget.

Workers in Amazon’s Bessemer, AL warehouse—where 85% of workers are Black—fought hard to organize and form the first union at an Amazon warehouse in the U.S, but their efforts were thwarted by Jeff Bezos’ anti-union scare tactics, intimidation, and bullying. This union-busting by Amazon is just one example of why we must pass the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, which will reverse the trend of billionaires and bosses successfully stopping workers from organizing and collectively bargaining. Under current law, there are no penalties for companies who violate workers’ right to organize. The PRO Act will ensure that every worker has a free and fair chance to join a union by adopting real penalties for employers like Amazon who intentionally sabotage union organizing efforts, and protecting workers’ right to strike and engage in other forms of collective action. Senators, please pass the PRO Act.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has done crucial work to safeguard Americans against the deceptive and abusive practices of big banks, student loan servicers, credit card companies, and predatory lenders. Congress must protect this important work, not seek to grind it to a halt by gutting its funding or hamstringing its independence. We urge Congress to oppose any efforts to weaken the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and its critically important role. All Americans, including more than 43 million with student loans, must be able to count on a strong, independent Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.