Brad's Newsletter
Last week was rather quiet with the holidays. I hope that you had nice Passover and Easter, and were able to spend time with loved ones—either in person or virtually. Personally, one of the silver linings of the new virtual platforms was being able to be together with 16 members of my family, including my sons and parents, for a Passover Seder literally reaching from California to Maryland.
This newsletter arrives in the middle Holy Week and Passover. Both holidays herald the coming of spring and the renewal it brings. This year especially, as we finally seem to be making progress against the pandemic, may the spirit of the season lift up and inspire each of us, our families, our community and our nation.
Let me start this week with an invitation. Tonight at 6:00 PM I am hosting my second Fireside Chat, this one honoring Women's History Month. I will be joined by four remarkable women, who also happen to be local Mayor's and Village Presidents concluding a collective 96 years of public service. Details are below.
Last week's big news was President Biden signing the American Rescue Plan into law! (I am hosting a telephone town hall tonight to discuss the plan—see below for details.)
Job One for this Congress and the new Administration was always beat back this virus and lift up our nation. The American Rescue Plan will help us do just that. It's the bold response we need to get people back to work, help parents safely send their children back to school, and help small businesses build back their future.
The big news of the week is that the Senate passed President Biden's American Rescue Plan. Once signed into law, the American Rescue Plan will accelerate and expand the distribution of vaccines, will send direct payments to struggling American families, will extend unemployment insurance through the summer for those without jobs, give help to small businesses, provide resources for school to open and operate safely, and deliver resources to local governments and communities.
The sun is shining and the temperature is rising…it almost feels like spring. I hope you are able to get outside and enjoy a breath of fresh air.
While I don't have anything to do with the good weather, I do bring good news from Washington: President Biden's American Rescue Plan is moving through Congress. The $1.9 relief bill passed the House last Saturday at 2:05 AM. Assuming the Senate concludes its work this week, the bill should make it to the President's desk before unemployment benefits expire on March 14th.
I suspect you are as happy as I am that it's starting to warm up a bit. I've seen two early signs of Spring: training camp has started for both the Cubs and the White Sox, and the robins have returned to my backyard bird feeder. Even better, we are seeing increasing supplies of vaccines, though we continue to need to accelerate getting shots in people's arms.
It's been another bitterly cold week in Illinois, and I hope you are staying warm and safe. Across our country, it's heart wrenching seeing so many people facing the cold without power and heat. Once more, we are facing unprecedented weather extremes making it even more abundantly clear that we need to urgently address climate change and invest in making our national infrastructure more resilient. Most press, however, is getting federal emergency assistance to those most severely affected the storms and their immediate impact.
First, I hope you and your loved ones continue to be safe and well and that you are managing the arctic blast this week.
February is Black History Month so I want to take a moment to reflect on some of the contributions that Black Americans have made to our democracy, culture and society.