Working for Illinois Caucus

State and local leaders are making decisions every day about the COVID-19 pandemic that are met with both praise and criticism.  This is WNIJ’s fourth part of our series "The Hot Seat" talking to leaders about the process behind these big decisions. 

Democratic state representative Barbara Hernandez of Illinois’ 83rd district started the year off full speed ahead.

“I was campaigning nonstop knocking on doors for eight hours, even weekends,” she said.

Then March came. And things came to a screeching halt.

“And then I knew on the 18th I was supposed to go back to Springfield that day,” she said. “So, I was ready to go back. And I realized that everything changed.”

Tom Demmer is a Republican state representative for District 90. He’s also in his party’s leadership in the Illinois House. He said the biggest change for him was that he doesn’t travel as much.

“I have a district that’s 65 miles wide and about 50 miles north to south. And so to cover that amount of territory, typically you spend a huge amount of time in the car,” he said.  “Also, typically during this time of the year we’d be driving back and forth to Springfield every week.”

Hernandez said at first she didn’t realize a tidal wave was coming.  

“In a way I knew what was going on with the coronavirus in China and different parts of the countries. But because I was so focused on the campaign, I really didn’t acknowledge the big impact,” she shared.

The door-to-door visits for her turned to phone calls and digital interactions. She said calling nurses was the most difficult.

“It’s their job to make sure they protect everybody. So to be able to just call the nurse and hear her and just vent by crying together really showed what this community and what this world is going through,” she said.

She said after that it became harder for her to make those phone calls but she will continue.

Demmer’s wife is a nurse. He said she had to take extra precautions when she came home from work.

“We had a little decontamination station set up at the door. She would change clothes at the hospital before she came home,” he said. “You know, try to isolate as much of that, you know, the shoes and the clothing and everything.”   

Hernandez said, even in normal circumstances, making decisions is not easy.

“And it’s hard because I know as soon as I’m labeled a state representative that automatically is my label. So, ‘Barbara the human’ is no longer there to their eyes,” she explained.

She said the pandemic has added an extra layer to the process. Hernandez said she always thinks about her constituents when considering things that go into a decision.

“How big of an impact will it be towards that community? I want to make sure that the impact is positive for families and students,” she shared. "And for those I will be always able to acknowledge and be able to defend.”

She said her priority is to ensure that the families are being supported financially, mentally and emotionally.  

Demmer suggested that every decision will come with those who are for it and those who are against it. He said dealing with that is a part of being an elected official. 

"When we look at things like a reopening plan, the principle of having local involvement and input into a plan is one that a wide variety of people agree with," he said.

And, he said, if people understand the principle, the details of the plan don’t have to be explained as much.

Hernandez said right now, during the pandemic, decisions have to balance safety and the economy.

“Those are two sides that I see. And it is a little bit difficult. I think one of the bills that they wanted to propose this week or two — the governor was wanting to propose was to fine small businesses,” she said.

She voted against this plan and said that small businesses have endured enough. She said she trusts that small businesses in Aurora would follow the guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention once they reopen.

Hernandez said things are tough during this time but she still has to continue working. With emotion, she shared what keeps her going.

“The families, the families are the ones that need it the most. And I know that all the stories that I hear constantly, and emails that I read, they, they’re frustrated, some of them yell at me and that is fine.”

And Hernandez reflects on the times when her office is able to help someone, and she finds gratitude.

“I know there are some good stories that we’re able to share that possibly tried to get unemployment for weeks, and then they reached out to my office and we were able to get that done,” she said.

Demmer said the pandemic has promoted a regional approach to solving problems. Local officials had good relationships in the past, he said, but the crisis really forced them to work together more closely, and he’s seeing great collaboration.

“People trying to understand, ‘What’s the mayor in the next town doing? How are they dealing with some of these unexpected circumstances?’ Or ‘What’s the health department next door doing?’ And those things are really positive,” he shared.

Last week Hernandez and Demmer traveled to Springfield for a state house session. They both said that it was quite a change from past ones.

Hernandez said she loves the capitol building, but this time, the meetings were held at a convention center. And everyone took precautions.

“That was completely new because sometimes we were there for eight or nine hours and that was the longest time I had a mask on for all my life,” she explained.

She said everyone stayed six feet apart and it felt like she had to yell just to say hello.

Demmer said the experience was surreal.

“Of course, everybody was wearing masks; we got tested before we went down there,” he said. "But really just that physical setting, you know, not being in a situation where we were, you know, in close proximity in the capitol.”

He said this made for a very unique and different session.

Demmer said now is a good time for people to relax and enjoy those around them.

“I think a lot of people are finding that if you can have a little bit of a getaway, you know, spending time with your family that can do quite a bit to fill your tank back up,” he said.

Hernandez said she wants people to know that despite the current crisis, they are still working.

“Even going to Springfield for four or five days and getting tested for COVID. That is part of the job right now,” she said. “And I hope in the future to continue going to session and continue working on bills that could benefit the families.”

In the end, although one is a Democrat and the other a Republican, both representatives have the same goal. And that’s working — pandemic or not — on behalf of their constituents.

State Sen. Sue Rezin, R-Morris, was one of the Republicans who said she couldn’t support the budget that the Democrat majority “pushed through” the General Assembly.

“The budget spends nearly $43 billion and relies heavily on massive borrowing and hope that the federal government will bail the state out with another stimulus package, which is no guarantee,” Rezin said in a statement.

Republicans also wanted the General Assembly to take more of an active role in managing the state’s reopening and have argued Gov. JB Pritzker has taken too much unilateral action. State Rep. Margo McDermed, R-Mokena, had already said she didn’t expect Democrats to challenge the governor’s authority.

“The people of Illinois deserve better,” McDermed said in a statement. “They deserve a reopening plan they have a voice in crafting. And if the Legislature couldn’t bring themselves to do that then they at the very least deserved to know where their legislators stand on the governor’s unilateral plan on record.”

State Rep. John Connor, D-Lockport,
acknowledged in a Facebook post that the budget relies on $6 billion in federal funding.
He called on the federal government to help Illinois, arguing the state is a “donor state,” meaning it sends more in tax money than it receives in aid.

“As Illinoisans and Americans, we are glad to support our federal government and we know how important our state is to the rest of the country,” Connor wrote.

State Sen. Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant, D-Shorewood, said that even though the state’s budget priorities were altered due to the pandemic, she favored funding for public schools remaining stable for the next year.

Connor and other Democrats also touted other pieces of legislation passed, including expanding mail-in voting and allowing county governments to give residents “breathing room” on paying their property taxes.

Pritzker said in a statement the budget recognizes the “massive economic disruption” the state faces.

“This budget begins to address the financial upheaval we are facing, but more hard choices about how to spend and save these dollars wisely remain to be made,” he said.

EDWARDSVILEE — State Rep. Katie Stuart, D-Edwardsville, has pledged to donate the annual cost of living adjustment (COLA) lawmakers will receive for the next fiscal year to the Cougar Cupboard food pantry and I Support the Girls – Edwardsville to show support for community organizations that help residents in need.

“It is unconscionable that politicians could consider accepting a pay raise while so many Illinoisans are struggling to make ends meet due to the COVID-19 crisis,” said Stuart. “I have continually fought against gold-plated perks for politicians and fought for legislation to block lawmaker pay if a balanced state budget was not passed.”

During the last General Assembly, with overwhelming bipartisan support, Stuart passed legislation to freeze lawmaker reimbursement rates and block an automatic cost of living adjustment from going into effect in the upcoming fiscal year. In 2017, Stuart passed similar legislation, which was signed into law.

“While a cost of living adjustment was included in the budget plan recently passed by lawmakers, I am continuing my commitment to promote fiscal responsibility and stand up for our families,” Stuart said. “So I will be donating these funds to two great organizations here in the Metro East that support residents in need — the Cougar Cupboard and I Support the Girls.”

Stuart recently co-hosted a virtual food drive for the Cougar Cupboard, which is fully supported by donations and has continually prepared emergency boxes for students, staff and faculty facing hardship during the COVID-19 health crisis. Stuart will be donating a portion of her COLA to the Cougar Cupboard to help alleviate the burden they’ve felt due to a spike in demand.

“Many students of SIUe are experiencing food insecurity because of uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to this we have been faced with an increase in need that heavily overloaded our pantry supply,” said Carolyn Compton, Assistant Director for Community Engagement, who oversees the Cougar Cupboard, SIUE’s on-campus food pantry. “The Cougar Cupboard thanks Rep. Stuart for her continued support of our campus and food pantry, and her work for families in the Metro East, many of whom are tied to SIUe.”

Stuart has also been an outspoken advocate for organizations like I Support the Girls – Edwardsville, which works to increase access to period products for women in need. Stuart recently introduced House Bill 3991, which would require public universities and community colleges throughout the state to provide free feminine hygiene products in the bathrooms of their public buildings, and passed bipartisan legislation to require homeless shelters to provide period products free of charge.

“Our organization would like to thank Rep. Stuart for her continued advocacy and support of I Support the Girls, and her work to pass commonsense legislation to address period poverty in Illinois,” said Dr. Alicia Alexander, Affiliate Director of I Support the Girls – Edwardsville. “Her donation is just one more way that she is showing her dedication to our efforts and support for women and girls in need throughout our region.”

In these times of the COVID-19 pandemic, I am glad to have a leader like State Rep. Carol Ammons. She understands that criminal justice reform is linked to public health and safety.

We have seen outbreaks of COVID-19 in Illinois jails and prisons. The Cook County jail and Stateville Correctional Center are two current hot spots of the coronavirus. They have effectively become petri dishes that breed the disease until it spills out into our own communities.

Local officials have been considering the fate of our own Champaign County jail. Some have supported spending tens of millions of dollars on renovation. As former County Board member, Ammons spearheaded the campaign to stop jail spending. As state representative, she has backed legislation bringing bond reform that has led to Illinois lowering its incarceration rate for the first time in decades.

With more than 130 people still in our jail, there is still a need to further decarcerate Champaign County. There is no social distancing in jail. A COVID-19 outbreak in our jail would threaten the safety of us all.

As newly-elected chair of the Champaign County Democratic Party, winning the position with a 70 percent vote, Ammons has shown local voters support her advocacy around these issues. Ammons continues to stand against the local jail development, an issue Sheriff Dustin Heuerman recently admitted is “dead in the water.”

Ammons is the perfect leader in a time of crisis, an elected official who truly acts in the best interests of the public she serves.

BRIAN DOLINAR

Urbana