Illinois Democratic Women

While debt ceiling negotiations continue to dominate our national dialogue and the August 2^nd deadline becomes imminent, what will this mean for the average American?

A failure to increase the government’s borrowing capacity by next week will be detrimental to the already weak U.S. economy and put the country’s AAA credit rating in jeopardy.

A coalition of Illinois mayors including Chicago mayor, Rahm Emanuel, penned a letter to Washington lawmakers yesterday stating, “Failure to successfully moderate the discussion and bring both parties to resolve this crisis is unacceptable. It will cause grave damage for our cities and we simply cannot handle another recession. Instability in the municipal bond markets impedes our ability to build infrastructure and create jobs. Job creation, the top priority of Illinois mayors and Illinois businesses, cannot happen with such uncertainty surrounding the national debt. We cannot emphasize more how great the impact is for our cities and our State if you cannot come up with a solution.”

Mellody Hobson, president of Ariel Investments, a Chicago investment firm, outlined five points, highlighting how Illinois residents could be affected if the debt ceiling is not raised:

• Interest rates on your credit card will rise, so having an unpaid balance will end up costing you more. To avoid the hit, pay down your credit card debt as much as possible.

• Mortgage rates will increase. Faced with the possibility of higher monthly mortgage payments, home buyers will put pressure on sellers to reduce home prices further.

• Overall borrowing costs will increase, whether you are seeking a home equity line of credit or a car loan.

• The value of the dollar will drop, making it more expensive to buy imported goods. This includes gasoline and many household goods we routinely purchase at Walmart or Target.

• If you are invested in the stock market, either directly or through mutual funds that invest in stocks, you could experience a decline in the value of your investments because the uncertainty about the government’s ability to pay debt and all of its bills will cause the stock market to drop in the short term.

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The communications intern assists in all aspects of communications for Illinois Democratic Women, including organizing and distributing campaign news and clips; compiling and maintaining press lists; and assisting with drafting of press & online materials, and performing communications research.

The communications intern works closely with board members. Illinois Democratic Women is a statewide grassroots organization working for more equitable representation and participation of Democrat women in all levels of the Democratic Party and government. Our organization is comprised of mothers, wives, sisters, nurses, teachers, students, firefighters, environmentalists, activists, police officers, and retired women. IDW works to unite this wonderful diversity of devoted women behind one common goal–the support of our Party and the involvement of women in the political process.

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On Saturday morning of the IDW Convention, we were lucky to have Chris Lackner from Lackner/Andrews lead a training on communications and new media for a packed room. It was a big hit! In case you missed it, he was kind enough to give us an electronic copy of his presentation for the training. You can find it at the link below and on our trainings page.  Thanks Chris for the great information!

Presentation.

Did you forget your camera but still want to document the convention? Did you get your picture taken with Donna?  Below is the link for pictures from Friday night with Donna Brazile.

View and Download Friday night pictures.

To download a picture, click on the picture that you want.  Then, right above the picture is a download button and it automatically starts downloading.  If you have any questions or problems, please email us at info@illinoisdemocratwomen.org.

Saturday pictures will be up soon!

Visit our campaign site at: www.10in2010.com

Paid for by Illinois Democratic Women. Contributions are not tax deductible. A copy of our report is (or will be) available at the State Board of Elections, Springfield Illinois. Illinois law permits contributions from individuals and corporations. Illinois law requires that all individual donations over $500.00 must include donor’s occupation and name of employer.

Anti-FMLA, Anti-Equal Pay for Equal Work, Anti-Woman, Anti-Working Family Candidate Looking to Take His Extremist Positions Statewide if Elected Governor

Champaign, IL— Illinois Democratic Women (IDW) denounced Bill Brady’s candidacy for Governor Thursday as Sheila Simon, Democratic Candidate for Lt. Governor, was in Champaign for the statewide organization’s Women’s Issues Fall Forum to discuss what’s at stake for women and families in November.

“A vote for Bill Brady is a vote against women—against you, against me, against your sisters, daughters and granddaughters,” Pam Monetti, Co-President of Illinois Democratic Women said.  “He is incredibly anti-woman and anti-working families.  After seeing that he does not support women from his role in the legislature, I fear how much he would damage the equality of women from the Governor’s mansion.  He is not, nor will he ever be, on the side of women and children.  We cannot allow this man to be elected our Governor and reverse all of the progress we’ve made in the last 100 years.”

State Senator Bill Brady has a long history of votes and statements against women, children and working families.  Here are just a few of his radical positions.

Bill Brady:
•    voted against a bill requiring insurance to fund mammograms and pap tests (SB 144, 6/6/07)
•    voted against a measure to increase penalties for repeat domestic batterers  (HB 2356, 4/21/93)
•    does not believe that the state has an interest in ensuring equal pay for equal work. Speaking recently about the issue, Brady said, “I’m against government intrusion that is not productive.” (Chicago Tonight, 5/10/10)
•    voted against the Family and Medical Leave Act (HB 2, 3/24/99)
•    pledged to end Illinois’ All Kids program if elected governor (State Journal-Register, 12/13/05)
•    voted consistently against raising the minimum wage, and even proposed lowering the minimum wage as recently as June 2010 (Chicago Tribune, 6/25/10, Pantagraph, 2/22/07; HB 1954, 3/18/99)

“State Senator Brady has said he is against equal pay for equal work,” Sheila Simon said. “I just cannot fathom the reason why Senator Brady believes that I, as a woman, should get paid less than a man for the same job. This is someone who is conservative amongst the conservatives.”

Illinois Democratic Women is hosting a series of fall women’s issues forums featuring Sheila Simon, Democratic candidate for Lt. Governor, to discuss what’s at stake for women and families on November 2nd.  The series will cross several communities throughout the state to discuss women’s issues ranging from choice and health care to education, domestic violence and equality.  The first forum of the series was held in Champaign on Thursday, September 23rd.

“Every time I pick up a newspaper or hear Bill Brady talk, I find more extreme positions on issues that matter for the average family,” stated Monetti.  “How do you vote against children? Or vote against supporting their education? Or protecting victims of domestic violence? The questions continue-and the answers don’t add up.  I, along with the women across Illinois, deserve an explanation of how Bill Brady can continuously vote against us and then ask us to trust him with our lives and our future.”

IDW is a statewide grassroots organization working for more equitable representation and participation of Democrat women in all levels of the Democratic Party and government.  It is comprised of mothers, wives, sisters, nurses, teachers, students, firefighters, environmentalists, activists, police officers, and retired women. IDW works to unite this wonderful diversity of devoted women behind one common goal– the involvement of women in the political process.

For more information, please visit www.illinoisdemocratwomen.org or call 312-945-8572.

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