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Hello ONE Northside community -
Illinois legislators finished their regular session this week, and together we had some big victories.
After a decade of fighting to close tax loopholes that benefit large corporations and Illinois’ wealthiest residents, we are celebrating: Springfield passed a budget that closes $655 million in corporate tax loopholes to fund vital services in our communities!
It’s been a long road to get here. In 2012, with our comrades at Fair Economy Illinois, we started a conversation in Springfield about corporations paying their fair share, and two years later, we introduced a bill to close $2.2B in corporate tax loopholes and won $500 million in loophole closure. When the Rauner budget impasse hit in 2015 and 2016, we launched the Moral Mondays campaign that mobilized over 1,000 people to take action and generated dozens of media articles about the continued need for the wealthy and big corporations to pay their fair share in Illinois.
But that wasn’t enough - in 2017, we marched 200 miles to Springfield demanding that Illinois close corporate loopholes and stop Rauner’s cuts to human services. Hundreds of people took action, building solidarity and connection across the state. In 2019, we fought hard to include two corporate loopholes in the budget - including offshore tax havens, which just passed! - but they were axed at the last moment. And last year, we organized hundreds of volunteers to make thousands of calls across the state to amplify our message - Fair Tax now! Tax the rich, fund our communities!
 
Together, this year, we won a $350 million increase for K-12 Education, a $44 million investment in immigrant communities, and a $300 million increase in affordable housing funds. The Parent Mentors program, Grow Your Own Teachers, and Communities Partnering for Peace also received level or increased funding - meaning we have more violence prevention workers, more teachers of color and more parent involvement at our public schools. By taxing those who have made billions of dollars in profits during the pandemic, we can pay for the things our communities need and deserve. When we fight, we win!
And still, we have more work to do to #RaiseUpIL. There are many more loopholes to be closed, and we still need bigger and bolder investments, especially in childcare, senior care, and tax relief for working families.
We will never stop fighting for the investments our communities need and deserve. Here’s how you can support this work:
1. Share our victory on Facebook and Twitter so people know about this huge win for Illinois!
2. Join us - come learn what the Economic Justice team is all about at our upcoming summer barbecue, date TBA. Register here.
3. Invest in our work with a contribution of $250, $100, $50, $25 -- whatever is significant to you is significant to us.
For a recovery and the world we deserve,
Anna, Hannah, Jennifer & the Economic Justice Team
P.S. Shout out to the other organizations who made this victory possible: Grassroots Collaborative, Chicago Teachers Union, SEIU Healthcare, The People’s Lobby, Workers’ Center for Racial Justice, Jane Addams Senior Caucus, Brighton Park Neighborhood Council, Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR), Jewish Council on Urban Affairs (JCUA), and Chicago Coalition for the Homeless.
Questions? Respond to this email or contact Anna Gaebler at (708) 638-0589.
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