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Second half of August updates

Dear Neighbor,

I hope you and your loved ones are staying well. Recently, new relief opportunities have been announced that will benefit households across the 7th District. See further down under "Community Resources" for details related to back to school tax benefits, federal student loan payment relief, and a new program that will benefit seniors.

General Updates from Senator Mike Simmons

The last two weeks have been productive. I had an opportunity to take a tour of Swedish Covenant Hospital and met with CEO Anthony Guaccio and several ER and clinical staff. We discussed numerous systemic challenges facing healthcare facilities including finding and retaining healthcare workers, the barebones support system in place for our neighbors who struggle with addition and other issues. We also discussed progress made since the rollout last summer of the Northside Collaborative, a partnership between Swedish Hospital and five nearby federally qualified health clinics that aims to mitigate barriers to specialty care and increase health equity. I am especially passionate about seeing health disparities for those living with chronic mental health conditions, black women, immigrants, and LGBTQIA populations reduced over time in our district and surrounding areas. This collaborative is a step in the right direction. We also toured the emergency room and the new Women's Health Suite. Lastly, I met with the staff of Project Impact, a behavioral health crisis program that seeks to assist adults and children experiencing health or addiction crises.

I also recently had the pleasure of meeting with Dan Arnett, General Manager of the Uptown-based Chicago Market, which will be a new food cooperative located on Broadway and Wilson. We brainstormed potential partnerships with community based organizations that will help ensure this co-op space meets the needs of our richly diverse populations.

Additionally, I've been in touch with the staff at Howard Brown Health Center and we are working together with the Illinois Department of Public Health Director to ensure there is an equitable response across Illinois for MPV (monkeypox) vaccine distribution for the LGBTQIA community. As our state's first openly gay state Senator, I know all too well how poorly our community has been served historically by the system and will continue to advocate and push for equitable vaccine distribution and education around MPV.

I met with Shawn Jackson, President of Truman College and staff to discuss ongoing capital needs at their Uptown facility. They are beginning renovations of a decades old biology lab that will serve a broad and diverse population of students from across our district.

On another note, last weekend I visited the Edgewater Historical Society to tour the new Indigenous Edgewater exhibit. I participated in a tour with Les Begay, Founder of the Illinois Indigenous People's Day Coalition, Marjorie Fritz-Birch, and volunteers with the historical society. I enjoyed seeing a well-done map that shows a village site inhabited by multiple ethnic groups that existed just a couple hundred years ago on almost the exact location of the apartment building where I grew up in Lincoln Square. It is really important for our community to know and understand this history that often is not taught or talked about and really should be. I encourage you to visit the exhibit and learn about the indigenous communities who lived and continue to live in the areas we now know as Edgewater and Lincoln Square.

I also visited 19 block parties in every section and neighborhood of our district over the last three weekends! I always enjoy visiting constituents in the community and giving everyone a chance to get to know their state Senator and ask questions about legislation or community issues. It was extra special to visit with neighbors of the 2400 block of W. Berwyn who threw their very first block party. I grew up just a block and a half away! And it was fun visiting the Dover Street Neighbors Association block party last weekend as I lived on Dover not too long ago. Thank you to all of you who organize block parties and take the time to get to know your neighbors. It makes our community stronger.

Below there is information on how parents and teachers can receive tax deductions for the cost of school supplies, and student loan borrowers will see up to $20,000 in forgiveness and reduced monthly payments. Read on to learn more about these exciting opportunities and how your family can benefit.

As always, please do not hesitate to contact my office at 773-769-1717 if we can help you with anything.

Sincerely,

Mike Simmons
State Senator | 7th Senate District

Read more …

National Black Business Month & summer updates!

Dear Neighbor,

I hope you and your family are having a wonderful summer. August is National Black Business Month! Please take time out this month and every month to patronize our wonderful local Black-owned businesses. I also wanted to take this opportunity to reflect on the events I had the pleasure of attending the past couple of weeks. Aside from attending community events this month, I received the honor of being inducted into the 10th class of Edgar Fellows. 

There is also information below regarding the monkeypox virus (MPV), eligibility requirements for a vaccine, and where to receive a vaccine this weekend.

Please continue to have a wonderful and safe summer. As always, please do not hesitate to contact my office at 773-769-1717 if we can help you with anything.

Sincerely,

Mike Simmons

State Senator | 7th District

Read more …

Simmons: Our LGBTQ+ community is finding joy in the fight, and is ready to continue the fight in the wake of Roe v. Wade’s overturning

CHICAGO –State Senator Mike Simmons (D-Chicago) along with other elected officials, community activists, business leaders and nonprofit executives held a press conference today in Rogers Park to reflect on the value of Pride Month and offer their thoughts on the state of LGBTQ+ progress in the wake of the Supreme Court case overturning Roe v. Wade. 

“The LGBTQ community is resplendent and beautiful in its diversity. As the first openly LGBTQ person to serve in the Illinois Senate, I took great pride in convening so many people from across our large community to reflect on Pride and offer their own unique thoughts on the moment we’re living in,” Simmons said. “It was a healing space for so many. It was humbling for me to be in community with so many leaders I respect deeply.” 

"This Pride Month has been a veritable roller coaster of emotions. The highs of parades and parties and reconnecting with friends were often overwhelmed by the lows of historic attacks on our rights,” State Rep. Kelly Cassidy said. “Coming together in community yesterday was a lovely way to acknowledge the complexities of our present and a reminder that there is joy in fighting for liberation."

“It is incredibly important for the community to gather and reflect on why we celebrate pride. Sharing stories and experiences only promotes understanding and compassion,” Paul Ruffino of Rattleback Records in Andersonville said. “It was an honor to participate in Senator Simmons Pride Month Reflection today and I thank him for organizing it.”

Held at Gerber/Hart Library & Archives in Rogers Park, the press conference featured over a dozen LGBTQ+ leaders, activists, and artists as they shared their thoughts, highlights and concerns about the road ahead in the LGBTQ+ community. Coming together in this space alongside Senator Simmons, community figures reflected on the necessity for joy and happiness in political action even in the face of major grief and opposition. 

“Pride Month invites us to celebrate our unique culture, assess our progress toward LGBTQ+ liberation, and recommit ourselves to a just, peaceful, and inclusive world,” David Ernesto Munar, president and CEO of Howard Brown Health said. “We won't get there without a fight -- one as inspirational and determined as the Stonewall riots of 1969 that mobilized the movement." 

“Protest must be rooted in joy. Social movements are always driven by the people and rooted in joy and struggle. The LGBTQ community has given the world so much in the way of joyful protest,” Simmons said. “As we continue to fight for the rights of the LGBTQ community, I will be thinking of the LGBTQ teenagers out there who deserve a better, more affirming society and I will do this work with joy.” 

While many speakers talked about celebration as a part of Pride, several speakers also reflected on the recent Supreme Court case which overturned Roe v. Wade and the subsequent opinion from Justice Clarence Thomas, which signaled the court’s intention to review and possibly roll back critical LGBTQ rights. Everyone spoke to the necessity of fighting proactively to keep hard won rights. 

“With the Supreme Court planning to roll back LGBTQ rights and state legislatures across our country taking aim at Trans students, it’s never been more important for allies to show up,” 47th Ward Alderman Matt Martin said. “That means listening to the lived experiences of our LGBTQ siblings, acknowledging that our country is falling backwards in multiple ways, and fighting alongside queer organizers. I’m committed to doing just that in the 47th Ward and beyond.”

"LGBTQ people, especially trans people, are under more focused and vicious attack right now than any time in recent memory," says Stephanie Skora, COO of Brave Space Alliance, the South Side LGBTQ Center. "But that doesn't mean that we're giving up, or running from the fight. As a Jewish woman, from a family that came to Chicago in the 1880s fleeing pogroms in the Pale of Settlement, I know that in the struggle for human rights, dignity, and liberation, we often find roots to our history, paths to our future, and connections to our community. And community is what makes us strong."