Monday, January 9 - Call Virginia Voters TODAY / Plow Chicago’s Sidewalks
Actions You Can Take Today
Action 1: TODAY & TOMORROW - Call on Virginia voters to keep abortion legal
Action 1: URGENT - Tell Virginia Voters to Protect Abortion
Tuesday’s special election in Virginia will determine whether the legislature can make abortion illegal. Anti-abortion Republicans control the Governorship and the state house. In the Senate, it’s currently 20-20 on making abortion illegal. If pro-choice Democrat Aaron Rouse wins Tuesday’s special election for an open Senate seat, Virginians can protect abortion rights in their state.
Special elections like this can be won or lost by just a few votes. You can sign up with our partner Swing Left to call Virginia voters TODAY & TOMORROW to encourage them to get to the polls on Tuesday.
Action via Swing Left
Action 2: Plow Chicago’s Sidewalks
As Chicagoans, we pride ourselves in being hardy during the winter months, carrying on no matter the weather. But the reality of how we clear snow in our city tells a different story: while the City has taken on the responsibility of clearing streets of snow and debris for drivers, it leaves clearing sidewalks of snow and ice up to adjacent property owners.
The job just doesn’t get done. One block might be clear, but the next covered in snow and ice. Mounds of snow get piled up at bus stops. Crosswalks get plowed in by the City – and City departments just point fingers.
Failure to clear sidewalks of snow and ice means the City fails its residents who rely on them to get around – often some of our most vulnerable neighbors. It traps people who use wheelchairs, walkers or canes. It impedes parents with strollers. It makes accessing public transit difficult to impossible. And it leaves everyone at risk of slipping and falling.
This is a problem of priorities and policy, not snowfall levels or funding. The City has found a way to clear roadways for car users, and it can find a way for pedestrian infrastructure too. And by embracing responsibility for clearing the sidewalks, the City can coordinate its existing plans for bike lanes and streets, ensuring that all residents – regardless of their mobility needs or choices – can get around safely.
We can do better. The City of Chicago must take on responsibility for clearing sidewalks of snow and ice to enable unfettered mobility for all.
In order to accomplish this, we’re asking alderpeople to:
Support a citywide municipal sidewalk snow and ice removal program
Push for a $750,000 pilot program to be included in the upcoming city budget
Press the Chicago Department of Transportation on the current policy’s failures
It’s time for the City of Chicago to stop shirking its responsibility and begin clearing public sidewalks. Whether you walk, bike, take transit, or drive – clear sidewalks keep you moving safely. Tell your alderperson to support sidewalk clearing as a municipal service in Chicago.
Action via Better Streets Chicago
While some of these Daily Actions come from our own work as Indivisible Chicago Alliance, others are from our many partners working to advance the progressive agenda. We invite you to join us in supporting their work. Postings from partners do not imply Indivisible Chicago Alliance endorsement of specific policies and positions.