Rep. Nikki Budzinski - Champaign Town Hall

Added: 2026-06-01

[00:21:19]Thank you everyone for coming tonight.

[00:21:21]My name is Dr. Marsh Jones and I'm a professor here at Parkland College and I will be the moderator tonight. We're grateful that so many of you took the time out of your day to come here and we want this to be a productive and engaging evening for everyone. The congresswoman will say a few words and then we will call on raffle numbers for the Q&A portion of this event. With that in mind, we ask that all attendees maintain a respectful environment.

[00:21:55]Disruptions, interruptions, or conduct that prevents others from participating may result in removal from the event.

[00:22:06]Thank you again for joining us and I will get started by sharing a bit of background about the congresswoman.

[00:22:14]Congresswoman Bazinski is a native of downstate Illinois and a graduate from the University of Illinois Urbana Champagne. After college, Nikki joined the labor movement where she fought to get firefighters, grocery workers, and meat packers better wages, benefits, and workplace safety protections. She then worked for the governor of Illinois where she led negotiations to raise Illinois's minimum wage to $15 an hour.

[00:22:44]and she worked at the White House's Office of Management and Budget, where she helped implement the American Rescue Plan and establish the Made in America Office to bring jobs home and to strengthen our economy.

[00:22:59]In 2023, Nikki was elected to Congress.

[00:23:03]She serves on the House Committee on Agriculture and the House Committee on Veterans Affairs. She founded the Congressional Postal Service Caucus and is vice chair of the Labor Caucus. She's also a member of the Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition and is vice chair of policy for the new Democrat coalition, a group of 100 lawmakers focused on bridging the partisan divide with solutions to the most pressing issues facing our country and our communities. With that, I would like to welcome Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski to say a few words.

[00:23:47]>> Thank you. Thank you.

[00:23:51]>> Thank you everyone. Um I want to first start out by saying a huge thank you to Dr. Jones who actually on Sunday is retiring after 29 years of teaching. Um and so I'm really honored that he's here with me on his last Friday before he reaches retirement. I also want to say a thank you to Parkland Community College.

[00:24:11]I know um President or Dr. Laauo is here as well. So I want to thank them for their hospitality and giving us this venue this evening. And I want to thank all of you for being here tonight uh to be a part of this important conversation. I want to start out by saying I am so proud to represent Champagne Urbana and the communities all across Illinois's 13th Congressional District. I believe one of the most important responsibilities of representation is showing up, listening, and staying connected to the people we serve. My team and I have worked hard to be accessible, responsive, and focused on delivering real results for constituents throughout the district and even in increasingly divisive political environment that we find ourselves in in Washington DC. Like many of you, I am deeply troubled by what is happening with both our country here at home but also abroad. So tonight, I appreciate the chance to share with you some of the issues that are top of mind for me and I have a number of them. So bear with me as I get through this, but I want to share them with you and to highlight the work that our office has done on behalf of the district. This is an opportunity also for me to hear from you and I will do my best to address your questions.

[00:25:36]And I will say at the outset, we might not agree on everything tonight, but my job is to listen and to learn from all of you. I'm committing this to you in my effort to be a strong leader and representative, something that I strive for every single day. First, I want to share a little bit about the ways I've been working to deliver for our district and in particular Champagne Urbana. This year alone, I've secured more than 34 million in funding for direct community projects. I'll also talk about grants in a minute, but community projects across our district. Investments that are creating opportunity, improving infrastructure, and making a real difference in people's everyday lives.

[00:26:20]Right here in Champagne, Orurbana, we secured 22.6 6 million for grade separation project on the Curtis Road in Seavoi as well as $850,000 for the Illinois terminal expansion project which will be used to purchase two parcels of land from the city of Champagne to expand the Illinois terminal. I've also secured 1.2 million for the integrated biorocessing research laboratory expansion at the University of Illinois. And in DC, I often like to talk about how I'm proud to represent Silicorn Valley, which is a part of that effort. The lab is on the cutting edge of advancements in bioeny, bioprocessing, and food science. We also brought home $250,000 for the Urbana Park District to rehabilitate Prairie and Weaver parks, improving re restrooms, utilities, drainage, landscaping, parking, and lighting so that families can enjoy safer and more accessible public spaces.

[00:27:25]We secured another $850,000 for the Champagne Park District's Parkland Way reconstruction project, which will transform the roadway into a complete street with multimodal transportation access and create a stronger connection to the underserved Garden Hills neighborhood. And we've been relentless about working with community organizations here in Champagne Orurbana to deliver grant funding for all areas of government.

[00:27:56]Last year alone, I helped secure $141 million in grants across the district.

[00:28:02]That includes nearly $10 million awarded to the city of Urbana to rehabilitate Florida Avenue, a critical corridor connecting Urbana and the University of Illinois campus, helping improve transportation safety and mobility in one of the area's busiest corridors. I also secured $240,000 for the Bradley Avenue grade separation project, which will help reduce the risk of collisions between trains and drivers while easing traffic delays at the crossing. So far in 2026, we've brought home over $26 million in grant funding, and the work is far from over. I'm very proud to deliver these results despite the dysfunction and gridlock we continue to see in Washington and despite a Republican majority that has been openly hostile to many of these investments in our communities that we need to grow, compete, and thrive. And they need them more now than ever. We have a president in the White House who campaigned on a promise of lowering costs. In reality, everything from gas to beef is much more expensive today. And that includes the cost of health care. Let's remember why health care is so expensive. Republicans at the direction of the president prioritized massive tax breaks for billionaires over lowering costs for families trying to see a doctor, fill a prescription, or keep their children insured. I believe in universal health care. When you're sick, seeing a doctor should be a right and not a privilege reserved for those who can afford it.

[00:29:51]Instead, Republicans in Congress passed a bill that cuts Medicaid by $800 billion, the largest cut to this program in this program's history, and specifically 137 billion of cuts for rural health care providers. It's estimated that 23,943 people in our district will lose access to health care coverage because of just these Medicaid cuts. And I fought tooth and nail against the cuts and to bring awareness to the devastation it's causing. Since the cuts were finalized, I've worked to convene a group of health care leaders across our district to game plan how we can still help folks locally. And it's not just Medicaid, as you know, that is under attack.

[00:30:42]Republicans allow the affordable care tax credits to expire. This means 6,000 people in our district will likely lose their healthc care coverage. And I know these are more than just numbers. These are very real people. Take Laura, who was my State of the Union guest. She lives in Alton on the western side of the district. Her family utilized those tax credits to afford health insurance.

[00:31:09]Without them, their premiums have increased by more than $600 a month.

[00:31:15]$600 every single month just to keep their healthc care coverage that they already had. My office has worked closely with rural hospitals and healthc care providers throughout the district because we know these institutions are lifelines for our communities. I also led the Illinois delegation in a letter to Secretary Oz asking that our state's request for the rural health transformation funding be given fair consideration and our efforts did pay off. Illinois will receive the full funding that it requested. But this is just a band-aid.

[00:31:56]It is though something. And while I wasn't going to let our communities be left behind, I fought for every single dollar to be included and brought back home. That's why Democrats must not only reverse the cuts to Medicaid, but also restore and extend those ACA tax credits. We cannot stop there. And I want to take a moment to talk a little bit more about health care. Those these are some immediate steps that are necessary. The Medicaid cuts reversal and reinstating the ACA tax credits, but we also need long-term reforms that finally bring down health care costs in a meaningful and lasting way for working people. We need to rein in predatory pharmacy benefit managers that inflate prescription drug prices, hold pharmaceutical and insurance companies accountable, and increase competition and transparency all across our health care system. We need meaningful prior authorization reform so patients and doctors, not insurance companies, are making health care decisions. And we should continue working toward public option proposals that bring down costs by giving families more options. And it's not just health care, as we know, that is under assault. It's SNAP. And I often say that in the richest country in the world, it is outrageous that any child would go to bed hungry. This bill that was implemented will be the largest cut to SNAP in our country's history.

[00:33:30]$187 billion.

[00:33:32]In our district, nearly 17% of households utilize SNAP to put food on the table. That means 53,000 households are at risk of losing their SNAP benefits. And let me be clear, what Republicans have put in place and what they like to refer to as work requirements are really quite simply paperwork requirements, making it more difficult for families to access that assistance.

[00:34:01]These cuts to SNAP are also going to impact our agricultural community. This administration has cancelled programs like the local food purchasing assistance program we often refer to here in Illinois as the Illinois Eats program, local food for schools contract and cut support for the emergency food assistance program all in the name of rooting out waste. I have convened a roundt with my friends here at Solo Gradia who are on the front lines of delivering food to our most vulnerable and to better understand how these programmatic cuts are going to hurt. As many of you know, I also serve and it was mentioned on the House Agriculture Committee where Republicans advance these cuts. I voted against the farm bill because it failed to make any attempt any attempt to reverse these cuts or erase a massive cost burden that is going to be passed down to the state of Illinois. On top of that, the bill stripped more than $1 billion in conservation funding from our farmers.

[00:35:11]It failed to address and invest in agricultural research and it did absolutely nothing to support our young and beginning farmers trying to get in to agriculture. It fell short quite frankly. Our farmers and our local communities deserve so much better. It's been an incredibly difficult year and a half and no community has felt that more than our immigrant community. I am horrified by our im by how our immigrant communities, our friends and our neighbors are being ripped apart and are living in terror because of ICE. Almost a month ago, we sprung into action after information spread quickly about ICE agents descending on Urbana. The community rallied, shared information, and coordinated to ensure that immigrant families were protected. Luckily, this was a false alarm. However, it does make clear the fear that families are living with every single day. My team and I have worked with our immigration rights nonprofits throughout the district to be a resource and provide assistance.

[00:36:20]Just this month, we hosted our fourth roundt and this was in Champagne with immigrant rights groups throughout the district. And just this week, I visited St. Genevieve, a detention center, a facility near St. Louis to meet with those in detention and serve as a critical check on the conditions of this facility. I've recently added my name to legislation that would institute mandatory in-person medical evaluations, guarantee access to safe drinking water, sanitary restrooms, hygiene products, and more. This year, my office, and this is just this year, my office has worked on 84 different immigration cases, including constituents who have been detained by ICE agents on the western side of the district and are being sent or held in St. Genevieve. Since Trump took office, ICE has been out of control, operating as if it is above the law, violating constitutional rights and terrorizing communities across the country. And this is why I was one of the very first members to call on Christy Gnome to be impeached. Like many of you, I was horrified by the killing of Renee Good and Alex Prey. Across this country, we have witnessed deeply disturbing incidents of agents acting with impunity, showing total disregard for human dignity, and behaving as though they are untouchable.

[00:37:55]They are not above the law. and I will continue doing everything in my power to reign them in. That is why I've consistently voted against additional funding for ICE and CBP. We need real meaningful reforms and acted within both of these agencies. Those reforms for me include banning masks, requiring visible identification on uniforms, mandating body cameras, and requiring warrants before entering a person's home. These are common sense standards that our local law enforcement officers follow every single day.

[00:38:34]And while I believe this country needs common sense immigration enforcement, no leader or agency is above the law and there must be accountability.

[00:38:43]My concerns with how this administration is acting extends beyond our borders. I am heartbroken by what is continuing to happen in the Middle East. The Trump administration promised no more endless wars, but he has clearly also forgotten this commitment to the American people as his war drags on now for 90 days. The American people did not approve this war and nor did Congress.

[00:39:12]That is why I voted to oppose President Trump's war in Iran every time it has come to the House floor. It was heartbreaking to learn of the bombing of the girls school in Manab where 165 girls and teachers were killed. And my heart goes out to those soldiers abroad and so many of their family members who must also be asking why. The president has refused to answer this question and the American people deserve better.

[00:39:41]President Trump has alienated our allies, spent billions of tax dollars on war of choice, abandoned diplomacy, and I would argue made us less safe in the world. I am equally outraged by Israel's military campaigns in the Middle East under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in Gaza, in the West Bank, and in Lebanon. I believe in Israel's right to exist and to defend itself. But what we have seen goes far beyond self-defense.

[00:40:13]What has happened and continues to happen in Gaza and the West Bank is a profound humanitarian crisis that demands global attention. Tens of thousands of innocent Palestinians and Gazin Gaza have been killed. Families have been buried underneath rubble.

[00:40:32]Entire neighborhoods have been destroyed. and civilians have faced relentless displacement, hunger, and fear. And today, Palestinians in the West Bank continue to face fear and instability in their daily lives.

[00:40:46]Children struggle to get to school safely. Families live under the constant threat of raids or settler violence, and homes are demolished. I've assigned my name to two separate efforts from congressional Democrats condemning these settlements and pushing Netanyahu directly to stop this violence.

[00:41:07]Additionally, I have strongly supported humanitarian aid in Gaza along with the medical relief for children that need treatment in the United States. I continue to believe that the path to peace lies with both Israelis and Palestinians having their own safe place to call home. Two states that they each govern independently and free from conflict. I fear that the way in which Israel has conducted this war not only takes us further away from this north star but also makes the future for Israel much much less safe. At the same time, near here at home, we have seen our own democratic institutions face profound challenges, including the Supreme Court's decision to effectively gut the key provisions and protections of the Voting Rights Act. The Voting Rights Act was one of is was one of the most important laws this country ever passed. That progress helped make our democracy stronger and more representative for everyone. Now, this decision could make it harder for those communities to elect leaders who understand their experience and will fight for their needs. Let me be clear that House Democrats will continue fighting for free and fair elections in the courts, in Congress, and alongside you in communities across this country.

[00:42:29]I see Republicans push to overturn the VRA as a part of a larger effort to cheat the system and rig it in their favor. It's no surprising that more and more Americans are becoming increasingly distrustful of politicians and public institutions.

[00:42:47]And quite frankly, why wouldn't they?

[00:42:49]When we have a president using the highest office for personal gain right before our very eyes. President Trump just created a $1.8 billion IRS slush fund, which I was relieved to see a federal court judge decided to freeze today. It's a taxpayerf funded um taxpayer dollars he wants to use to reward though his most loyal supporters, including those that were there on January 6. It's blatant corruption and he's seeking another $1 billion in taxpayer money to build his ballroom.

[00:43:24]It's grift of the heart of the hard-earned money that you've made, and I will never support that. These are just a few of the concerning efforts that we've seen that we've seen to use public service for personal profit. Democrats need to be strong in calling it out. And that's why I've rolled out my own anti-corruption agenda, a slate of bills aimed at cracking down on self-deing dark money and restoring accountability to government. To raise awareness around the agenda, I held an event at the University of Illinois with Tiffany Mohler, the president of N Citizens United. Overturning Citizens United is one of the many important initiatives that is a part of my agenda. I've also introduced legislation to crack down on insider trading on these new prediction markets. My bill, the Predict Act, says that if you're the president, vice president, a member of Congress, a senior official, or even a senior staff member, you are banned from betting on political events or policy outcomes. And there are real penalties in this bill. I hope we can get this bill passed and work to restore a small amount of trust in government that we have lost over the years. And I hope that you trust that I am fighting for you each and every day, taking on Trump and defending our communities 247. And I'm not giving up or slowing down. I want to thank you again for coming this evening. And I do look forward to answering your questions. Thank you. Thank you.

[00:45:06]Thank you. All right. So, before we get into questions, just a reminder, please remember to be respectful of everyone's time. If you're called on for a question, we ask that you keep it to 30 seconds or less so we can hear from as many people as possible. Congresswoman wants to cover a broad range of issues in tonight's Q&A. To help make this possible, we're going to limit discussion to two questions per topic before moving on to another subject. All right. So, we are going to pull uh numbers and then we'll announce those numbers and you will go to the microphones under the exit signs on either side, whichever one is closest to you. All right.

[00:46:00]020, please go to a microphone.

[00:46:05]And 002, please go to a microphone.

[00:46:09]Oh, and 000, please go to a microphone.

[00:46:32]Go ahead.

[00:46:36]>> No.

[00:46:38]>> Okay. Um, last year I went to the West Bank in Palestine. We visited with many Palestinians who are victims of Israeli violence. One man's home had been demolished and his land stolen by the Israelis.

[00:46:54]Yet he knew of the millions of homeless and uninsured people in the US. He asked, "What kind of country are you?"

[00:47:03]I'm asking, "Why don't you support an end to the billions in military weapons for Israel?"

[00:47:11]>> Thank you for that question. Um, first of all, I want to say what is happening in the West Bank is horrific and I tried to address that in my opening remarks and seeing the settler violence and I've spoken out against that. I do believe and I will say I have um, you know, I have voted previously once to provide military aid to Israel. That was during a time that was months just months after the October 7th um, terrorist attack that happened. Um, I think since then the world has really changed. The way Israel has conducted this war, I have consistently been speaking out against it, not just on the West Bank, but in Gaza and also in Lebanon as well. So, I think that there are very real questions that we do not have a upcoming vote on the House floor yet on potential aid, military aid again to Israel. But it is going to I'm going to be looking at this very um deeply as to if this hasn't changed our relationship and what I'll be able to do in supporting. I think it is important that Israel be able to defend itself. But as I said earlier, this is not defending themselves and I see that and I hear that and I think that in I would have very serious questions around how I can move forward with additional weapons.

[00:48:36]I did not say that. I said that I just want to be upfront. I what I said is that I have very deep concerns around what this looks like. We have since October 7th, the world has changed and how Israel has conducted this war, we've seen. And so in order to provide any additional military weapons, I will have to take a very hard look at what that vote is and whether those are for defensive weapons, offensive, what that is because I don't want to see what is happening in the West Bank continue.

[00:49:10]>> Okay, we'll take a question from this side.

[00:49:16]>> Hello. Um, so this session, the Saving Our Veterans Lives Act, HR1987 was introduced. This legislation implements a program to provide a firearm lockbox to eligible veterans and also have the VA promote the benefits of and options for secure firearm storage.

[00:49:37]The 2024 National Veteran Suicide Annual Report showed that veterans suffer a higher overall suicide rate compared to non veterans. Thank you for co-sponsoring this legislation.

[00:49:50]What are additional actions your office can take to promote the secure storage of firearms, an issue that impacts our rural and urban communities across?

[00:50:01]Yeah, that is a very good question and this issue actually I serve on the House Veterans Affairs Committee. This comes up a lot um second amendment rights for our veterans but one of the concerns and this has been a vote that has come up a number of times not just on safe storage but for veterans that might um have challenges as it relates to their financial health and well-being, their you know mental health and well-being.

[00:50:27]um you know whether weapons are something that they need to they call it a NYX list um and if a veteran ends up on that list then they are unable to then have a weapon um it's because um there's been a review process by the VA and they're concerned for their welfare.

[00:50:45]So beyond safe storage I think there are things that we should be speaking out on and making sure that we're investing in.

[00:50:51]Obviously, mental health is a crisis in this country, but I think protecting and continuing to move forward safe storage, common sense gun measures that are going to protect um protect people at home, protect people from um you know, harming themselves. And I think the veterans in particular, as I've have done a lot of work in the mental health space, that's a particularly vulnerable group of people that we want to make sure there are protections for. So, I will continue to try to lead on those issues. Um, but um it's very difficult with the House um majority that the Republicans have right now and how these issues continue to come up. So, >> thank you.

[00:51:35]>> Our third question from this set of three.

[00:51:43]>> No.

[00:51:45]Okay. We will draw three more.

[00:51:55]008 004 and 003. Please take a microphone on either side.

[00:52:14]that was 008, 004, and 003.

[00:52:21]All right.

[00:52:24]Uh, hello. My name is Matthew Murray. I live in Urbana, Illinois. Um, I was I'm struck by several I was struck in your comments um that you talked about being available in the district and meeting with constituents. I I frankly have found that to be the opposite of my experience in trying to communicate with you. Um, and I found this whole setup actually it feels like an insult to me as a Democrat voter that I had to like pre-register, wait until the last minute to know where it was, go through intense tight screening. What is the I I want to ask you, will you do something more to be more informal and to discuss issues beyond a 30 second clipped question.

[00:53:12]That's something we got from a conservative representative Tim Johnson in the past and that changed when Rodney Davis came who was an extremist and then I feel like you've carried on that tradition of being very distant and keeping a guard away from people who want to discuss issues like what are you actually going to do to put pressure on Netanyahu? I haven't seen it any. So what what will you do to be more in touch with people and to have it more informal and not so restrictive?

[00:53:49]>> So we so we very much I I take what you're saying very seriously. We really want to be and try to be and I believe are accessible. I have four different offices across the district. We do case work meeting with folks all the time. I have roundts throughout the diff district on different topics. Um so I I guess I would disagree with you that I am um inaccessible. Um I try to travel the district and be everywhere that I possibly can. I think some of the challenges that I have to be between DC and here, but I have an excellent staff that is here and they do so much of the great case work. So, um, great casework and I also highlighted a lot of the grant money that we've really tried to prioritize as something that is important for the communities that I represent. So, um, the votes are important, the casework is important, advocating for grants, and it's why I took so much time in my opening to try to highlight for you the work that we are really trying to do. So, I'm sorry if you feel that way, but I do think that town halls like this and continuing to do them are very important and I'm committed to doing that. So, um on your kind of second question, I have done everything. I am trying to speak out and have spoken out very clearly as it relates to Netanyahu. Um, I have met with um the council general in Chicago and expressed my concerns around all aspects of what I've discussed, whether it's Lebanon, whether it's the West Bank, whether it's what's happening with the war in Iran, all of it. And I've also added my name to a lot of different advocacy efforts to stand up and be very clear. My social media is very clear about where I stand. So, I I disagree with you that I have not been trying to be forthcoming about where I am and speaking out. I do not agree with the way Benjamin Netanyahu is conducting this war, but I also think that Israel has been an ally of ours for a long time. And so, it's balancing that relationship. And I I think right now it goes far beyond self-defense. I've said that and I've shared how I feel about weapons in the future and what I'm weighing there. So, um I mean that's that's kind of what I can share with you tonight.

[00:56:12]>> Yeah, I I appreciate your answer. Um but Okay.

[00:56:38]>> So, what I will say is this isn't the only in the last town hall we will do in Champagne. I don't know the logistics of why, you know, some folks couldn't come, but we tried to publicize this well over a week ago. So, we'll continue to have these conversations, though.

[00:56:53]>> All right. We're ready for our next question.

[00:56:59]>> Hi Nikki, my name is Andrew. I'm constituent of champagne and I voted for Dylan Baja this primary season because I think he took a stronger STANCE on issues that matter to me like defunding Israel, abolishing ICE but ultimately securing our democracy and I give his talk about that last one. Um, our current electoral model results in usually two candidates chos primaries um that that make it to the final election but ultimately disengage voters like myself by telling us to vote no matter who or vote for the lesser of two evils.

[00:57:28]I don't think that simply reinstating the voting rights act is enough. I think we need to do more. Rank choice voting is something that gets rid of our broken primary system. multi-winner proportional representation closes the door on fairanding entirely by getting rid of single winner districts entirely.

[00:57:45]Um do you support additional steps like this? Uh will you co-sign the existing fair representation act that was introduced once 10 years ago and again this past summer session? Um and will you work with other members in coalition?

[00:58:02]>> Um I think I got your question. So, what I would say, I don't know that that fair representation legislation has been introduced this Congress, but I'm happy to look into it. I do think we need to completely reform the system. Um, I've signed on to a number of different things, whether it's reforming the Supreme Court. I think we need to be looking at all things. Our two-party system is definitely under strain. And I think that um one of the big things as a part of that is we do need to get money out of politics. And when I talked about the corruption agenda, the anti-corruption agenda that I am trying to push forward, it's about doing things that would fundamentally change the way elections happen, which is overturning Citizens United. When you see dark money groups that are spending now tens of millions of dollars in races um to skew um the race one way or another, we have to get that type of money out of politics. And that's why I've I've said that that's something that I would support as a constitutional amendment. I also think another constitutional amendment is that the president of the United States and vice president should not be immune from prosecution. Right now the Supreme Court has said that they are. I think that's wrong.

[00:59:16]So, I hear you on reform and I believe we do. This the system needs deep reform and it isn't just to say signing on to the Voting Rights Act or protecting and reinstating it. It goes much deeper than that. Um, and so I'll continue to look for opportunities to weigh in on those changes.

[00:59:40]>> Okay.

[00:59:46]Okay, we'll look into that. Sounds good.

[00:59:49]>> All right, our third question from this set of three.

[00:59:56]>> Hi. Um, thank you. We understand this is a very difficult time when you have around gun violence legislation when you have an administration who has dismantled the previous administration office on gun violence prevention that was making a major difference and also bringing forth very unsafe.

[01:00:16]So this particular past session, HR38, a mandatory concealed carry property bill was introduced into the house under so under current Illinois state law, Illinois does not recognize concealed permits for certain nearby states such as Missouri. Now if passed, HR38 would override Illinois law and allow people from nearby states to carry hidden loaded guns in Illinois despite not meeting basic requirements of Illinois law. Could you please shore up your position around HR38, the concealed mandate, and also share what you will do to protect our communities from?

[01:00:55]>> Um, that's a really great question. So, I guess what I would say is, um, you know, I think we should not have federal laws that override our conceal and carry um, laws that we have here. I wouldn't support that. Um, I have signed on to ban military-style weapons um, as something that I think we don't need in our communities. But I think that when you ask a question about gun violence, it is yes, getting guns off the streets, illegal guns, ghost guns. Um, I have signed on and been a partner in in looking at those types of gun safety measures to keep guns out of the hands of the wrong people. But I also think that um you know gun violence is also um an epidemic that is more systemic than just the weapon, right? It's also about um and not just paying lip service to mental health, but really trying to get mental health in the places that we need it. We talked a little bit about veterans. Um they're obviously one of the more vulnerable groups that we need to be able to protect. Um, but I think we just very much need to be able to invest more. Reinstating that, um, gun violence prevention office in the White House is something that I would hope the next president would be able to do while doubling down on investments in mental health and good jobs and getting people into the community where they can thrive. And I think away from weapons, um, I think that I think that's an important step in that direction. But obviously first and foremost is dealing with the proliferation of weapons and um that federal piece of legislation I don't believe has come to the House floor yet, but I will be keeping an eye on that if it does. Yeah.

[01:02:43]>> All right, we're ready to draw three more.

[01:02:53]021, 024, and 0006.

[01:03:02]Please take the microphone.

[01:03:24]All right, >> Linda. Thanks.

[01:03:25]>> Our first question.

[01:03:27]>> Yeah. Hi. Um, I want to first of all, thank you for what you've said that you've done. We appreciate that. Um, but being that the president seems to do whatever he wants and it seems as though no one is really able to stop this insanity and it seems like the Democrats are only putting out fires after they've started because how do you keep up with them? Is there concrete plan going forward.

[01:03:50]>> Yeah. Yeah. Yes. Well, I would just say that it is it is incredibly frustrating to be in the minority and be able to we lend our voice against these things. We stand up. I've been to protests. We show up. But he ultimately isn't looking to Congress for approval um in what he's doing. And I will say to you, one of the challenges has been that most of my Republican colleagues will go along with what he was what he would like. So it's very hard to find folks that are willing to stand with us. And when we're in the minority, it's been incredibly frustrating. And I can just promise you that it is incredibly frustrating every single day. I do think and one of the things I am working on is in a post November world which I hope looks different that we are ready to lead and I think that by that I mean there needs to be accountability to this White House right I think that's very important but I also very much believe that that alone is not enough for the people that we serve we need a vision and I think that right now we talk a lot about the word affordability as something that's the buzzword of this year, but it's really about people hurting and struggling to pay their bills. I call them the issues that, you know, wake someone up in the middle of the night. How are you going to pay for filling up your gas tank now versus filling up your grocery cart? And I know constituents that are making those very difficult decisions right now. We need to be able to demonstrate that we can lead and bring down costs immediately.

[01:05:32]Um, and you know, for me, I think that's tackling health care first and foremost.

[01:05:36]I believe in the ACA, but the ACA has proven that it is just not enough. We need more in order to get to universal health care. And so, I think it's working on those types of issues on day one. Something else that I think, you know, we talk a lot about child care. We have a broken child care system in this country. I will tell you, I meet with a lot of constituents that call themselves parts of the a sandwich generation where they have kids at home and then older aging parents and they can't keep their head above water. We need to focus on those issues and deliver on those. And those are the things from a policy perspective I've been trying to work on as we get closer to November. But lending our voice to speaking out against this administration is something I've been prioritizing since the man took office. So yeah, thank you.

[01:06:30]>> Hi. Actually, that question kind of dubtales into the question that I have and thank you for having this by the way. Given that Congress, Congress has seated it power the Republican Congress has seated its power to the person in the White House. If the Democrats over the house or even better if both houses will be taken over. What will you all do to bring back the article one powers to congress as opposed to that one person in the white house um having having all the same?

[01:07:01]>> Yeah, that's yes.

[01:07:05]the fact that this president does not abide by the Constitution or respect equal branches of government, he will have to when we're in the majority because he won't have a speaker like we have right now and Speaker Johnson who rubber stamps everything that this man does. Um, you know, I would tell you, you know, they play all kinds of games on the House floor. They control the House floor while they're in the majority. So just last week again we had another war powers resolution on the House floor that Democrats were again ready to vote in favor of to oppose the war in Iran and they didn't have enough votes so they pulled it. So now we're voting on it next week when they get their ducks in a row and they play these games all the time. I think it's just critically important that when we get past November again, we're ready to lead. We hold this administration accountable. we focus on the issues that help people in their daily lives and we stand up to this administration and demand that he respect article one and I think we can really do that when we have our gables back but right now it it has been incredibly frustrating so thank you for the question >> there's not a is that it on the three Okay. Okay.

[01:08:30]All right. 015 and 0001 Hi. Um, I live in Champagne and my name is Karen. Um, wars are extremely expensive.

[01:09:10]Congress holds the purse.

[01:09:16]Um, and not only wars but also for all the other spending which I consider military spending like on ICE. Um so I think that your views have changed since January 2026 which is only four months ago months ago. Um I congratulate you on some of the stances that you say you have now.

[01:09:50]I think you're a little bit late coming to be against ICE and being against what Netanyahu and the Israeli government are doing and against the wars against Iran, Cuba, and Venezuela, which you haven't mentioned. So, how do you um I'm not going to ask who the allies that you're working with are. Like, how do you how do you make connections to do the things that you say you want to do?

[01:10:30]How do you do that in Congress? How are you making the connections that will make you that will hold the purse strings tighter than before and faster?

[01:10:41]Because I think you were super super super late. Thank you.

[01:10:49]Um, so I would just say there's going to be another upcoming there. The president has put forward um 1.5 trillion dollars um for defense spending. That is something that is outrageous and I can't be that's going to be very difficult to support that. I think I have consistently spoken out against additional CBP and ICE funding. voted consistently against that and I do think that budgets are um a moral document. I think they do say kind of what is important to you and why I've spent a lot of time talking about health care is what I want to see is that funding move to shoring back up the $800 billion dollar of cuts they did to Medicaid or the $187 billion of cuts they made to SNAP. That's where my priorities are and that's where I've been spending most of my time focus on telling the stories of constituents that are going to be negatively impacted by um by those cuts and those cuts haven't even really come home yet. They are still going to be phased in over the next few years. So, I have been very vocally against those pro those program cuts because I know how painful they are and then speaking out on accountability and not giving another dime to this administration that has been unaccountable. I don't agree with what he did um in Venezuela. I think that the concern that I have is that we are completely breaking down any of our allies and international relationships.

[01:12:31]We don't lead with diplomacy anymore. We think that it's okay to send a strike force in and take someone out of their country and hold them in a jail in our country. And I just I have I do not agree with this administration's foreign policy objectives. So I I don't know how else to kind of say, but I do agree that a budget and where you put your money is where your priorities are. And I think that a budget is a moral document. And I'd see us like to get back on track to focusing on our people and what they need.

[01:13:05]Yeah.

[01:13:13]>> Well, I Well, okay.

[01:13:26]Yeah.

[01:13:44]Okay, I hear you. So, let me just respond. It's why I spent so much time in the beginning talking about the community project funding I've brought back to the district or the grant funding that my team has worked so hard to bring back. Those are priorities that our communities have told us they would like our help with. In order to get any of that funding, that is not me just placing a phone call and it happens. We have to actually work the legislative process, the appropriations process to make those things go through. we get more on some projects and sometimes we don't get as much as we've asked for.

[01:14:19]But that's a really key important part of the work that I do in DC. And I would tell you we have the largest um community project fund that we found out our office got this year. 251 250 million that we got for locks and dams on the Mississippi. That might not sound important, but it is critically important for our region. When you talk about agriculture and moving things, that's a huge economic asset for us. So, I am focused on the issues and I am delivering. So, I understand it's much more than a letter. Letters are important to get on the record to be clear with where I stand on these issues, but I am delivering for this district.

[01:15:05]>> All right. and our next question.

[01:15:14]Okay, now that we've uh reached the end of the night, I'd like to thank everyone for their questions and we're going to kick it back to the congresswoman for some final words.

[01:15:26]>> Thank you very much. I just wanted to say thank you for coming tonight. Thank you for sharing your questions. Thank you for giving me an opportunity to at least share with you some of the things that I've been working on in Washington.

[01:15:39]I do want to say that this is not the last time we will be getting together. I do look forward to having more conversations, but I do appreciate you making time tonight to give me this chance to be heard and give a chance to me to hear from you. So, thank you.

[01:15:54]Thank you very much. I look forward to the next combo. Thanks.