Dear Editor,
I’m writing to tell your readers why I’m voting for Patrick Keenan-Devlin in the 18th district House race.
I first met Patrick in 2008 while volunteering for the Barack Obama campaign at the Democratic Party of Evanston. Patrick worked tirelessly, making calls in the DPOE phone banks, to bring change to the White House.
I really respect Patrick’s work as a health policy advocate at the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law in Chicago. He also served as legislative director at Citizen Action/Illinois, the state’s largest public interest organization. Citizen Action has lobbied for improved access to health care, campaign finance reform and financial industry regulation.
Patrick’s issues are people’s issues. He cares about ending the fiscal crisis in Springfield by passing true tax reform. He will fight for campaign finance reform, bringing an end to pay-to-play politics in Illinois. Patrick wants to halt predatory lending by pay-day loan companies that rob low-income people of their wages. He will fight for statewide standards to guarantee that health insurance companies spend more premium dollars on medical care rather than administrative costs and high executive salaries.
He will fight for a law that guarantees same-sex couples the same rights and protections granted to heterosexual couples. Patrick is a firm believer in a woman’s reproductive freedom. He opposes any law that would require a teenager to inform her parents before obtaining an abortion. He calls for a new way to fund education, ensuring that every child in Illinois can attend schools that are properly equipped, well staffed and safe. Patrick supports alternative energy programs that will reduce greenhouse gases and create jobs in Illinois.
Patrick has experience advocating for legislation in Springfield. He will work hard for programs that help people. I hope you will join me by voting in the Democratic primary Feb. 2 for Patrick Keenan-Devlin.
Thank you,
Nancy Traver