The Last Year

I wanted to take a moment to reflect on the long last year and the work Congress has done in that time to serve the Tenth District.

I am proud to report that my team has helped countless constituents navigate federal agencies and resources:

• Returning $3,483,129 to constituents through our casework team
• Awarding 89 local organizations $188,312,745 in grants
• Assisting more than 2000 constituents struggling with federal agencies

From Congress, our key achievements last year included:

• Passing the American Rescue Plan (ARP) in March and jumpstarting the strongest economic recovery in history. ARP put money in the pockets of working families, and helped struggling small businesses keep their doors open. The economy is now growing at its fastest rate in 40 years. We added 6 million jobs this year, wages are up, and unemployment claims are at their lowest level since 1969. With the rapid growth, and the challenges of the pandemic, we are also working to reign in inflation and beginning to see positive effects of our efforts. For example, gasoline prices are down 18 cents from November's peak.
• Passing the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the largest national investment in infrastructure ever. This bipartisan achievement will rebuild our local roads and bridges, replace lead pipes in millions of homes, and create millions of good-paying jobs. Illinois has already received significant money from this historic piece of legislation.
• Vaccinating more than 200 million Americans against the ravages of COVID. ARP funded vaccination programs in Lake and Cook counties and across the state. At this time last year, less than 1% of Americans were fully vaccinated. Today, 61% of all Americans are fully vaccinated, which is especially important as we navigate the new Omicron variant.
• Cutting taxes for families, and cutting child poverty in half. Thanks to the Child Tax Credit expansion in the American Rescue Plan, we put more money every month in parents pockets and cut child poverty in half nationwide. In the Tenth District alone, more than 124,000 children and their families benefitted from these monthly payments.
• Build Back Better Agenda: The House-Passed Build Back Better Act contains many bold, transformative initiatives, including the largest ever investment in taking on climate change, providing preschool for all American children, expanding access to health care for millions of Americans and lowering the cost of prescription drugs. And all of this is responsibly paid for. There remains much work to get the bill through the Senate, and much is also likely to therefore change. But I remain committed to pursuing every possible option for delivering these needed investments to our communities.

In addition to these major nationwide accomplishments, I've assembled a list of many of the items I and my team have worked on this year here.

I remain focused and addressing the priorities and needs of the Tenth District, while continuing to seek opportunities to reach across the aisle and build bipartisan consensus. In fact, nearly two-thirds of the bills I introduced this year had Republican support. And it's why I was excited to help create the bipartisan SALT Caucus committed to bringing relief to the working families adversely affected by the cap on the deductibility of state and local taxes.

I am enormously proud of what we have achieved so far. But I also know we still have much more work ahead, including bolstering our already strained health care system to beat back the latest COVID wave, accelerating our national and global response to a rapidly warming climate, and investing in our children's future to ensure the United States is always prepared to lead on the global stage. We also have to finally act on immigration reform and strengthen both Social Security and Medicare. And of course, we need to protect and preserve the very foundation upon which our democracy stands—ensuring every citizen can confidently and safely cast their vote and know that their vote is accurately counted.

On these matters, and so many more, I'm looking forward to rolling up my sleeves and continuing the work in the new year.

What's Happening in Washington

Remembering January 6th

January 6th, 2021 is a day seared into my memory. From escaping the House Gallery as a violent crowd tried to break through the chamber doors to defiantly returning later that evening to fulfill our job and certify the count of electoral ballots, the day for me represented the steely resilience of our democratic institutions. Despite the siege of the Capitol, the insurrection, orchestrated by some at our government's highest levels, failed at the end of the day, Congress completed its constitutional duties and two weeks later we witnessed a peaceful transition of power to a new administration.

We rightly celebrate the victory of democracy over violence last year. But we must also recognize that, one year later, many of the underlying causes of the tragedy of January 6th remain – including continued disinformation campaigns, hyperpartisanship, and emboldened extremists willing to circumvent our electoral system.

There are no guarantees that our nation will persist as the kind of representative democracy our founders envisioned 250 years ago. If we want to continue pursuing the American experiment, fundamentally, every American today should be working to ensure that every ballot can be cast safely, that it will be counted fairly, and that the outcome of our elections will reflect the true will of the people. To secure faith in our elections, I urge the Senate to pass the Freedom to Vote Act. To combat rising extremism, I urge my colleagues to pass the bipartisan Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act introduced last year with my Senate colleague Dick Durbin.

Let us also always remember that our survival last January 6th did not come without costs. The U.S. Capitol Police and D.C. Metro Police suffered a terrible burden in defending the Capitol: more than 140 officers were injured, Officer Brian Sicknick died following the violence, and Officers Howard Liebengood, Jeffrey Smith, Kyle DeFreytag, and Gunther Hashida were all lost to suicide. Each of them bravely defended the Capitol. Their absence is keenly felt by their family and friends; their memories will forever be a blessing for our nation.

Responsibility for the blood shed and lives lost on January 6th lies firmly in the hands of the rally's organizers. The deaths of Kevin Greeson, Benjamin Phillips, Rosanne Boyland, and Ashli Babbitt were all tragic, and wholly avoidable. The fact that so much remains unknown about those responsible for the day's carnage only underscores the importance of the work of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol.

Read more about my memories from Jan. 6th in the Daily Herald, the Lake County News Sun, ABC 7, and NBC Chicago.

Resources

Unincorporated Residents Eligible for Flood Insurance Premium Discounts

If you live in unincorporated Lake County, you may be eligible for up to $297 in savings per year on flood insurance policies. Through the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Community Rating System (CRS) program, residents within unincorporated Lake County – who meet certain requirements – are eligible for up to 20 percent savings on flood insurance premiums

Contact your insurance agent for coverage information, pricing and CRS flood insurance discount information. You can also visit Lake County's flood coverage website for more information.

Long Waits For Passports: Look Before You Book

As more and more people get vaccinated, travel is starting to pick back up again. My office has received a major uptick in calls asking to expedite passport renewals lately. If you plan to travel internationally, remember to check the expiration date on your passport before you book your trip. It is taking much longer than normal to renew a passport, so make sure to plan ahead.

Check the passport website to get an idea of processing time -- expedited processing is now taking 5-7 weeks from submission to receipt, with regular processing taking 8-11 weeks.

At this point, expedited exceptions are only being made in case of emergency travel. In other words, apply now for that passport you will need for the trip you might take over Winter Break. Passports last for 5 or 10 years depending on what age you were issued your first passport.

Lake County: COVID Rental Assistance Programs Open Now

Lake County is offering rental assistance programs for those who face financial hardships related to COVID-19 and are struggling to pay rent. The deadline to apply for rental assistance in Cook County has passed.

Learn more and apply here for the Lake County Federal Emergency Rental Assistance Program.

Wishing you a healthy and happy 2022,