WHEATON, IL, June 22, 2017 A mobile billboard truck that holds our representatives accountable and spreads awareness about the harm of the American Health Care Act makes its final stops Thursday at rallies in the Chicago suburbs and the city.
After debuting in Springfield earlier this week and making its way through the state, the tour arrives in Rep. Peter Roskam's district for a rally at 11 a.m. in Wheaton's Central Park, 600 S Main Street. From there, it will go on to Rep. Roskam's Barrington District office. The final stop on the tour's 1,100-mile trek is at a rally in Chicago's Federal Plaza at 2:30 p.m ( speakers start at 3 p.m. ).
As the Senate vote looms, a coalition of local Indivisible groups are protesting local representatives' support for an unpopular bill that would raise health care costs for some of the state's most vulnerable residents. Residents are asking their senators to filibuster-by-amendment and do everything they can to stop TrumpCare. We are also asking Gov. Rauner to speak out strongly against the bill.
Quote from Jax West, a leader of Friends Who March:
"Congressman Roskam has forgotten that he works for us. Cutting 23 million people off from healthcare is not working in the best interest of his constituents. He claims that the ACA needs to be replaced, but why would you rush something this important without getting the CBO score? Congressman Roskam is out of touch with the wants and needs of his district."
Quote from Clare Duggan, organizer at Indivisible 123GO:
"We want to hold Illinois Republicans accountable: the congressmen for their AHCA votes and Governor Rauner for his silence. As a small family business owner who can only afford coverage thanks to the ACA, I've been working tireless to stop TrumpCare from devastating families like ours across Illinois. Before the ACA, my sister fell and broke several bones. We couldn't afford the emergency care she needed. We don't want to go back to the days before the ACA. Congress needs to heal, not repeal our healthcare system. Unless Governor Rauner speaks out and TrumpCare is stopped in Washington, our state budget crisis will get much worse, Illinois families will lose healthcare and jobs, and rich people like Bruce Rauner will get huge tax cuts."
Indivisible Illinois has crowdfunded nearly $19,000 for billboards that call out our representatives and encourage Gov. Rauner to speak out as part of the fight to protect our healthcare. The billboard truck has made stops at rallies in Springfield, DeKalb, Peoria, Campton Hills and Rockford this week. Key facts listed on the billboards include:
Under TrumpCare, parents of children born with conditions such as asthma could pay twice as much as those with children born without pre-existing conditions.
More than half of births in Illinois are covered by Medicaid, and TrumpCare would cut Medicaid by $834 billion.
Under TrumpCare, companies would not be required to cover their employees' prenatal care.
About Indivisible Illinois:
Our mission is to fuel a progressive grassroots movement to defeat the Trump agenda. Across the nation, over 5,800 local groups ( at least 2 in every congressional district ) are using the Indivisible Guide to hold their members of Congress accountable.