Tuesday, May 21 - Witness Slips for Birth Equity / Hold the Corrupt Supreme Court Accountable
Actions You Can Take
Action 1: URGENT - Fill out a witness slip for HB5142 to support birth equity - DUE AT 4:30 p.m.
Action 2: Tell Your Representative to Hold the Corrupt Supreme Court Accountable
Action 1: Birth Equity Witness Slip Due TODAY
There is a critical birth equity bill in the Illinois Senate, and we need your help to get it passed! HB5142 would mandate that all insurance companies in Illinois cover all services for pregnancy, postpartum, and newborn care with no copays or deductibles – including abortion care. This bill will support people & families all across Illinois by eliminating the financial burden placed on those with private insurance plans as they access essential reproductive healthcare. Thanks to tireless advocacy from our communities, the bill is up for a committee hearing on TODAY and we need to demonstrate widespread support for this initiative.
Take a moment to fill out a witness slip by 4:30PM TODAY to show broad support for HB5142, including the provisions that include abortion access as part of birth equity!
Fill out the form with your information. Note that most fields are mandatory. If you do not officially represent an organization, write “SELF.”
Click the "proponent" button & "record of appearance only" box.
Click the "I Agree to the ILGA Terms of Agreement" box.
Click the "Create Slip" button.
Action via Chicago Abortion Fund
Action 2: Hold the Corrupt Supreme Court Accountable
The Supreme Court is facing a massive legitimacy crisis, not just because of their devastating rulings rolling back our fundamental rights, but for their highly questionable behavior off the bench as well. Recent reporting has indicated that Justice Clarence Thomas accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in lavish gifts from a billionaire MAGA donor, including private jet flights and luxury trips on yachts, as well as school tuition and rent payments for members of his family. And the corruption doesn’t stop there– his colleague, Samuel Alito was caught displaying a symbol in support of Donald Trump and the “Stop the Steal” movement to overturn the 2020 presidential election that led to the January 6 insurrection. Despite the fact that he has shown clear bias, he continues to sit on the bench while the Court decides if Trump has immunity over his role in inciting the attempted coup.
All of this has the effect of throwing the Court’s impartiality and fairness into question. How can we trust that their decisions were made fairly when they’re clearly in the pockets of the parties involved? The Supreme Court is supposed to be a fair arbiter of the law and the constitution, not a vending machine that grants favors to billionaires and Donald Trump.
That’s why Congress must pass the Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency Act (SCERT). This bill would impose ethical rules on all Supreme Court justices to ensure that the highest court in the land is not held to the lowest ethical standards. In particular, SCERT would:
Create meaningful and enforceable ethics guidelines for the Supreme Court by establishing a binding code of conduct for all of the justices and clarifying and strengthening the justices’ duty to recuse themselves from cases in which they have conflicts of interest and requiring public disclosure of those conflicts.
Mandate that, at a minimum, the justices adhere to the same gift, travel, and income disclosure standards as Members of Congress.
Impose a duty on justices to know their own and their family’s financial and other interests that could be substantially affected by cases before them.
Check to see if your representative is a co-sponsor of SCERT. If they’re not a co-sponsor yet, call and tell them and urge them to sign on. While SCERT won’t solve all of the problems brewing at the Supreme Court, it’s a critical step in the right direction.
Action via Indivisible
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.