2024-03-19 08:59:37 2024-03-19 03:59:37

Community Organizations Mount Unprecedented Voter Outreach Campaign to Elect Kim Foxx

For Immediate Release – March 15, 2016

Cook County Contact: Kristi Sanford, 773-456-4020 or thepeopleslobbyusa@gmail.com

National Contact: Jacob Swenson-Lengyel, 312-316-3973 or jacob@peoplesaction.org

Community Organizations Mount Unprecedented Voter Outreach Campaign to Elect Kim Foxx

Chicago, IL – Community organizations and a nurses union have waged an unprecedented field campaign in the Illinois Democratic Primary to elect Kim Foxx to be the next Cook County State’s Attorney.  Two grassroots organizations, The People’s Lobby and National People’s Action Campaign, knocked on doors and made phone calls to 110,000 voters in Chicago’s key south suburban region. In a separate partnership called Reclaim Chicago, The People’s Lobby and National People’s Action Campaign joined forces with National Nurses United to knock the doors and call the phones of an additional 90,000 voters from Arlington Heights to Chicago’s far south side to organize support for Foxx.

All three organizations support Foxx because she has pledged to end the local war on drugs that fuels the mass incarceration of people of color in the Cook County Jail. Instead, Foxx has pledged to treat drug use as a public health problem. She has also pledged to end police impunity for crimes against Cook County residents.

“For the last two years, we’ve publicly urged Anita Alvarez to use her power to reduce the mass incarceration of people of color in the Cook County Jail, including reforming the cash bail system that incarcerates people for being poor.” said Tanya Watkins, a leader with SOUL and The People’s Lobby. “Alvarez has refused to make any substantial changes, and her failure to charge Jason Van Dyke for the murder of Laquan McDonald for more than 400 days was the last straw.”

“People are angry about Alvarez’s failure to hold police accountable for abusing and murdering people in our communities,” said Pam Blalock, an experienced canvasser with The People’s Lobby. “Once they hear about Kim Foxx’s vision for transforming our criminal justice system, they are excited to vote for her.”

“Time and time again, Anita Alvarez has protected bad cops and a broken criminal justice system, instead of everyday people. That’s why community groups have led an unprecedented effort to unseat her. We need a prosecutor for the people,” said Daniel Espinosa, who lead work on this race for National People’s Action Campaign. “Win or lose, this race tonight’s results will send shock waves across the nation. There are roughly 3,000 prosecutors in America and most of them are elected officials. If they don’t stand up for their constituents, they should expect to be held accountable at the ballot box.”

Altogether, community organizing and progressive groups have reached out to roughly 253,000 voters in this election. A larger coalition of groups included the Center for Racial & Gender Equity, Action Now, Chicago Votes Action Fund and United Working Families. National online organizations also reached out to their members, including BYP100, ColorofChange.org, MoveOn and Democracy for America.

Leaders from The People’s Lobby, National People’s Action Campaign, and National Nurses United are available to speak to the press about tonight’s election results. To book or interview a leader, Cook County press should contact Kristi Sanford, 773-456-4024 or thepeopleslobbyusa@gmail.com. National press can contact Jacob Swenson-Lengyel, 312-316-3973 or jacob@peoplesaction.org.

The People’s Lobby is a membership organization devoted to fighting for a fair economy and a just society. The People’s Lobby combines the traditional tools of community organizing with direct lobbying and electoral politics in order to shape legislation, elect progressive candidates, and remove elected officials who serve the interests of the 1%.

National People’s Action Campaign is network of independent political organizations across the country working to promote an agenda that puts people and the planet above profits.

National Nurses United, with 6,000 Registered Nurses in Illinois and close to 185,000 members across the country, is the largest union and professional association of RNs in U.S. history.

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