IDCCA President’s Message
by Kristina Zahorik, IDCCA President
@ILDCCA @McHenryDems
We are beginning to see signs of Spring; it brings us hope as we near an end to the pandemic. Nearly 3,300,000 Illinoisans have been vaccinated. Get up-to-date information about Illinois’ response and how to find vaccinations HERE. Like you, I remain thankful and grateful Illinois has a strong Democratic Governor who immediately organized and fought to keep Illinois safe. Thank you, Governor Pritzker.
This month we celebrate Women’s History. Illinois is making history in the number of women serving in partisan political positions. I am proud that over a quarter of our County Chairs are now women, as is half of the IDCCA’s Vice President’s / At Large Members of our Executive Board. Congratulations to the Dr. Robin Kelly, the first woman elected Chair of the Democratic Party of Illinois. I was honored to second her nomination. The IDCCA looks forward to working with her and the State Central Committee.
I am also thinking this month about how women have been disparately impacted by the pandemic. Of course, this means women and families are also negatively impacted. Whether it’s the over burden of care – highlighted by this Brookings’ essay, or the adverse economics of women leaving the workforce or being pushed out. We will need policies to address this because as reported in American Progress, “without a significant public response, these consequences will have additional ripple effects that will continue to hurt communities and stifle the economic recovery.”
The IDCCA has expanded our Virtual Training Series (VTS) to include issues like the impact of the pandemic on women. Keep up to date with us for an upcoming panel discussion on this important topic. If you missed our VTS on the Criminal Justice Reform Bill, you can find that discussion HERE.
Democrats continue to lead on finding fact based, sensible solutions to problems. Therefore, it is important we persist on electing Democrats to every office. One of the steps towards electing good government candidates is ensuring maps are drawn at the county and municipal levels that follow demographics and voting rights. The IDCCA is committed to working on this with our County Parties. I hope you will join us in supporting this urgent effort by donating.
While things seem to be winding towards a new normal and we work to build back better, the threat to our democracy from the Trump GOP continues. The IDCCA will continue to call out and fight back against those who wish to dismantle our democracy and our American values. We have asked that Republican Illinois State Representative Chris Miller be investigated for his role in the January 6, insurrection. Hate has no home here.
Finally, the end of this month brings the 2021 Party Builder Awards. The IDCCA will honor the new leadership in the Illinois General Assembly, Speaker Chris Welch and President Don Harmon. I hope you can join us on March 29, for a fun virtual event. Details can be found HERE.
Keep staying safe.
Best wishes,
Kristina
