"We can clean house in Illinois"--Jeremy at TOPS

Good evening. My name is Jeremy Karpen and I am the Green Party candidate for State Representative in the 39th District. A district that I am proud to call my home both for its rich diversity, economically and culturally, and the high level of civic engagement in politics and community initiatives. This forum certainly exemplifies the idea of citizen democracy and I am incredibly grateful to Dan Herold and to this organization for inviting me back this evening. In 2008, this forum was the only opportunity for voters to vet myself and my opponent, Rep Toni Berrios.

Last time I was here, it was August of an electric election year. I addressed this crowd and decried the culture of corruption and nepotism in the state and the lack of independent leaders who were willing to act as public servants. I also addressed the difficulty of running as a Green in a city where people are so focused on the Democratic primary and where no political alternative has proved viable in the recent past.

We worked diligently, canvassing every corner of this district that our small but efficient team could cover. At every door, we encountered voters who complained of:
Corruption
Job Loss
Irresponsible Development
Constant threat of CTA cuts and layoffs

However, it quickly became clear that I could not simply run on issues as we were met at every door with the same question: Are you Democrat or Republican?

The campaign took on the responsibility of educating voters about the Green party and the need for a party capable of advancing a progressive agenda and holding the democrats accountable. We argued that democracy is better served by bringing more voices, more parties to the table to help break the gridlock and move Illinois forward.

The Green party is built on principles rather than on money and influence.

We hammered that message home throughout the campaign and on election night amidst historic democratic voter turnout, nearly a quarter of the voters in this district voted for local change, voted Green, voted for me.

I don’t come from a politically connected family. I don’t come from money. Nobody sent me.

I come from the working poor and now I serve the working poor. As a counselor and a domestic violence activist, I work every day with children and their families helping them overcome the burden of growing up on dangerous streets and in impoverished neighborhoods. For many of them, access to quality healthcare, access to quality education, and access to safe and affordable housing are aspirational goals.

I believe that access to each of these is a human right that we as a community and state have a duty to provide, regardless of the political climate in which we find ourselves.

So, it was with a heavy heart that I watched as our representatives failed yet again to pass a just and balanced budget last year. In the middle of a recession, they threw our most vulnerable populations and those that directly serve them under the bus when they refused to come together and authorize sustainable revenue streams to fund our state and care for our people. You simply cannot balance the budget by cutting out its heart.

In the face of rising job loss, foreclosures, and bankruptcies they cut the strings of our social safety net. Further, they rubbed salt in the wound by passing a capital bill that was short-sighted and relied on a massive expansion of gambling machines in our communities for 1/3 of its funding.

It is shameful, in a time of recession, or otherwise to directly tie the funding of our social values to the proliferation of social vices. And it is simply not good fiscal policy to rely on the false hope and desperation of families in crisis to fund jobs and infrastructure. We cannot smoke, drink, or gamble our way to a balanced budget.

If we are serious about moving this state forward and out the long shadow of corruption, then we need to elect new, principled, and independent voices that are willing to make the bold choices necessary to change our broken system, and bring real economic and social justice to the people in this community.

If I am elected, I will work to:
1. Reform and Modernize our Tax System—There have been solid reforms on the table for at least 5 years now but we simply have not had the political leadership to guide them through. We need a comprehensive package of reforms to eliminate our structural deficit, restore essential social services, break the unjust tie between education funding and property values, and most importantly—invest in job growth. We can do this while spreading the burden equitably across income levels.
2. I will fight to pass HB311 to establish a Universal Single-Payer Healthcare system in Illinois—We need to remove the profit-motive and ensure that everyone can access quality healthcare when they need it. Illinois can lead the nation in establishing a true model of Health Care rather than Health Insurance.
3. Reform the TIFs— Tax Increment Finance Districts (TIFs) are divert necessary tax revenue from our schools and local government services. We need to amend the state TIF statute to increase legislative and local government control over the establishment and management of TIFs. I will work to require specific goals and budgets as well as local oversight and authorization of new and existing TIF districts. We need to embrace the economic and cultural diversity of our community by ensuring that development invests in the people in our community rather than pricing them out.
4. Create Jobs through Responsible Public Investment in Transportation and Clean Energy and through investing in the long-term health and education of our workforce— With every $1 billion we spend on rail rather than roads, we create an additional 7000 permanent jobs. I will work to innovate and fully fund our mass transit system while investing in clean energy technology that will allow Illinois to be more self-sufficient and sustainable.
5. Finally, I will work to clean up Illinois politics and to confront the ubiquitous and defeatist viewpoint that, in Chicago, corruption is a quaint part of our culture. We need to ban corporate campaign contributions, cap individual contributions, and institute a system of public campaign financing.
The current system permits and encourages elected officials to use the power of their job to keep their job or transfer it to family members or friends. The only way to ensure that politicians work for the people rather than for themselves is to reform the way we finance our elections.

I was out at a CTA rally this last weekend outside the Thompson Center. A wide coaltion of citizen and activist groups were present. Most notable, however, were the CTA workers who were facing potential layoffs and folks from low-income neighborhoods from across this city who face disproportionate impact from the cuts.

A man took the mic and said, “I know this isn’t a political event. But at some point, after we have organized, unionized, marched, rallied, and demanded that our voices be heard….and we find that no one is listening…we need to ask ourselves, ‘Who is it that has stopped listening?”

He said, “We need to look at those in power at every level of government…from the highest level of the Federal government to the lowest level of city government here in Chicago.”

He engaged the audience in a call and answer, “What party controls the White House? What party controls the Congress? What party sits in the Governor’s mansion? What party controls our State Senate and State Assembly? What party controls Cook County? What party controls Chicago?”

The answer at every level is Democrats.

More important than simply naming the problem, was the reaction among people in the crowd. Although they were all calling back, ‘Democrats,’ there was a noticeable hesitancy and reluctance in their voices. Reluctance to admit that the party that many of us have historically placed our trust in to strengthen our communities and fight for working families was no longer listening. No longer acting in the spirit of public service but rather self service. They’ve forgotten the idea that when we elect them, we don’t simply give them our power, but we entrust it to them to act as public servants.

If you believe that healthcare, education, and housing are human rights,
If you believe that it is possible to promote development in a community that respects and invests in its people and culture,
If you still believe that we can have a functional and healthy democracy in this state that promotes civic engagement beyond the level of spectators,
Then please offer me your support and your vote.
We can Clean House in Illinois
But we need to do it together.