Mah Fights For Progressive Reforms During Legislative Session

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – During her first term in the General Assembly, State Rep. Theresa Mah, D-Chicago, worked to create protections for immigrant families, pass progressive revenue reforms, ensure that all residents of Illinois have access to quality healthcare, and to pass a balanced budget that protects critical services.

“When I decided to run for state representative two years ago, residents told me that they were tired of the “business-as-usual” politics that were holding the state back from the progressive reforms that we so badly need,” Mah said. “While we did not solve every issue facing the state, we made significant progress to protect immigrant families from Donald Trump’s unprecedented attacks, to increase access to affordable and quality healthcare, and to adopt progressive revenues reforms that require the ultra-wealthy to pay their fair share.”

Mah supported the Anti-Registry Program Act, Senate Bill 3488, which bans state agents and agencies from keeping or requiring any forms of registration on immigrants and their families. As well as the Immigration Safe Zones Act, Senate Bill 35, which would ban public institutions like schools and libraries from being compelled to cooperate with the federal government in an effort to deport immigrants.

Additionally, Rep. Mah spearheaded efforts passing legislation to protect immigrant families from the unprecedented attacks and racist rhetoric coming from the Trump administration. Mah was the chief-sponsor of the Immigrant Tenant Protection Act, Senate Bill 3103, which implemented guidelines that prohibit landlords from discriminating against a tenant based on their immigration status.

“Immigrant communities are under attack like they have never been before,” Mah said. “Residents of my district are living in fear because of the xenophobic and racist policies of Donald Trump. They need to know that they have allies who will stand with them and fight tooth-and-nail against the divisive, racist policies of the Trump administration. While these measures that we passed we a good first step. We must remain vigilant in our resistance against the Trump administration.”

Mah also supported multiple measures that created statewide protections to ensure that Illinois residents continue to have access to quality healthcare, regardless of what Donald Trump and his allies in Washington do. Mah cosponsored and helped help pass House Bill 2959 which creates state-level protections to prohibit insurance companies from denying care to people with pre-existing conditions, as well as House Bill 2624, which blocks health insurance companies from making double-digit premium increases. Additionally, Mah joined efforts to pass House Bill 4900, which creates tough new penalties for big pharmaceutical companies that make lifesaving medications unaffordable and gouge families and seniors.

“Access to quality healthcare should not be reserved for the most affluent, it should be treated as a basic human right,” Mah said. “Due to the uncertainty surrounding the healthcare system being caused by the Trump administration, it’s vital that we create state-level protections that ensure all Illinois residents will have access to quality healthcare and that they won’t be forced into bankruptcy due to rising healthcare costs.”

Fighting to provide tax fairness for the middle class, Mah supported legislation that would offer relief to working families that would see their tax-burden raise drastically due to Donald Trump’s tax plan, that amounts to a handout for the ultra-wealthy. Trump’s plan created a cap on the popular deduction known as the State and Local Tax Deduction (SALT).  The Mah-backed House Bill 4237 would have created an educational tax credit for taxpayers to help deduct their SALT while donating to public education. Additionally, Mah cosponsored and supported House Resolution 1025 which urges for the adoption of a “FAIR tax” or graduated income tax, requiring the ultra-wealthy to pay at a higher rate than middle-class families.

“We need to adopt progressive revenue reforms that will make the ultra-wealthy pay their fair share while providing tax relief for middle-class families,” Mah said. “Passing House Bill 4237 was a vital step in stemming Trump’s regressive tax-handout for the wealthy and I will continue to work tirelessly toward adopting a Fair Tax in Illinois that would finally require billionaires like Donald Trump and Bruce Rauner to pay their fair share.

This week, Mah helped pass a bipartisan, balanced budget that protects vital services like the Childcare Assistance Program and the Community Care Program. Additionally, the budget includes pay raises for healthcare providers who care for the elderly and children with developmental disabilities, increases funding for local schools by $350 million, and puts the state on stronger fiscal ground by continuing to pay down the state’s backlog of bills.

“This truly bipartisan proposal protects critical services that working families depend on and gives local schools the resources they need, while also paying down our backlog of bills that grew exponentially during Governor Rauner’s impasse,” Mah said. “This budget continues to get our state back on the right path, and highlights what can be accomplished by Democrats and Republicans in the legislature when Bruce Rauner and his extreme demands are sidelined.”