Right to Recovery Organizational Sign-On Letter

Governor Pritzker, Mayor Lightfoot, President Preckwinkle, and the Illinois Congressional Delegation

The spread of the novel coronavirus has laid bare the gaping holes in our public health and social safety net infrastructure, as well as the brutal inequality built into our economy. Relief efforts cannot follow the usual pattern of trickle down aid for the wealthy. We need a new approach and call on our elected officials to take immediate action to protect and expand our Right to Recovery at the city, county, and state, including:

  • THE RIGHT TO SAFE WORKING CONDITIONS: 15 days of paid emergency leave, guaranteed by city, county, and state governments and available immediately to all who need it.
  • THE RIGHT TO HOUSING: Local officials can and should enact an immediate moratorium on evictions, utility shut-offs, and housing court hearings. No one should have to go to work sick for fear of being put out onto the street. Local officials must find immediate housing for all those who are houseless and unable to self-quarantine.
  • THE RIGHT TO HEALTHCARE: All tests, treatments, and vaccines for COVID-19 must be provided free of charge. Medical debt forgiveness and Medicaid expansion should be enacted immediately to begin putting us on a path to Medicare for All.
  • THE RIGHT TO PUBLIC EDUCATION: Schools and colleges should be closed for the safety of students, workers, and their families, with provisions made for free internet and distance learning to ensure as little disruption as possible.
  • THE RIGHT TO INCOME SECURITY: All families with school-aged children and all workers facing furloughs, layoffs, and reductions in hours should receive $750 weekly payments during this time to cover the cost of childcare, meals, and/or lost wages.
  • THE RIGHT TO FAMILY & COMMUNITY: Immediate halt to ICE check-ins and call on the federal government to release those detained in detention centers and permanently close these concentration camps. No one should be denied health care services due to ICE intervention.

Sincerely,

United Working Families

Albany Park Defense Network

Autonomous Tenants Union

Chicago Democratic Socialist of America

Chicago Teachers Union

Cook County College Teachers Union, Local 1600

Grassroots Illinois Action

Illinois Nurses Association

Jane Addams Senior Caucus

Lift the Ban Coalition

Organized Communities Against Deportation

Nikkei Uprising

Northside Action for Justice

United Neighbors of the 35th Ward

33rd Ward Working Families

25th Ward IPO




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United Working Families
Chicago, IL

To: Governor Pritzker, Mayor Lightfoot, President Preckwinkle, and the Illinois Congressional Delegation
From: [Your Name]

We call on you to take immediately action and pass a Recovery Package that insures all people have the resources they need to care for themselves and their families during the crisis and begins to fill the the holes in our our gutting public health and social safety net infrastructure. This includes:

THE RIGHT TO SAFE WORKING CONDITIONS: 15 days of paid emergency leave, guaranteed by city, county, and state governments and available immediately to all who need it.

THE RIGHT TO HOUSING: Local officials can and should enact an immediate moratorium on evictions, utility shut-offs, and housing court hearings. No one should have to go to work sick for fear of being put out onto the street. Local officials must find immediate housing for all those who are houseless and unable to self-quarantine.

THE RIGHT TO HEALTHCARE: All tests, treatments, and vaccines for COVID-19 must be provided free of charge. Medical debt forgiveness and Medicaid expansion should be enacted immediately to begin putting us on a path to Medicare for All.

THE RIGHT TO PUBLIC EDUCATION: Schools and colleges should be closed for the safety of students, workers, and their families, with provisions made for free internet and distance learning to ensure as little disruption as possible.

THE RIGHT TO INCOME SECURITY: All families with school-aged children and all workers facing furloughs, layoffs, and reductions in hours should receive $750 weekly payments during this time to cover the cost of childcare, meals, and/or lost wages.

THE RIGHT TO FAMILY & COMMUNITY: Immediate halt to ICE check-ins and call on the federal government to release those detained in detention centers and permanently close these concentration camps. No one should be denied health care services due to ICE intervention.