Cochran Caps First Week in Springfield with Consequential Votes on Resolutions Addressing Trump Administration Cuts, Abuses

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — State Rep. Justin Cochran, D-Des Plaines, arrived in Springfield this week to begin discharging his duties as a member of the Illinois House, and capped the week by helping to pass five major resolutions taking aim at the Trump administration amid a nationwide furor over policies that have resulted in deadly authoritarian crackdowns, loss of critical benefits for vulnerable people and the unprecedented abduction of a foreign head of state and unilateral occupation.

“What I’d like to be saying this week is how honored I am to have the privilege of representing the people of my community on the floor of the House, but this isn’t just another week,” Cochran said. “While I am honored, more than I know how to say, what’s clear to me is that the usual remarks are not constructive in the situation we find ourselves in. What’s important now is for the people’s representatives to get straight to work calling out the lawlessness and chaotic blundering of the administration in Washington and, more than that, its illegal and authoritarian tactics. This critical moment calls for action, and that’s what I’ve tried to contribute this week.”

Cochran was appointed to his seat in December after longtime state Rep. Marty Moylan, D- Des Plaines retired for health reasons. He previously served the community as Moylan’s chief of staff.

Cochran voted Wednesday to:

• Urge Congress to reinstate the healthcare subsidies within the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 to keep healthcare affordable and accessible for over 500,000 Illinoisans who depend on the ACA marketplace.
• Call for the immediate release of the $10 billion in child care funds frozen across democratic-majority states, including over $1 billion to Illinois families and children facing poverty, chronic illness or disability.
• Prompt the United States Treasury to issue $2,000 payments to every American household with an annual income below $250,000 to account for the lost wages and savings undone by Donald Trump’s tariff scheme that raised prices for every U.S. family.
• Call on Congress to hold Donald Trump accountable for his illegal use of military action and American dollars to fund illegitimate operations, including in Venezuela, unprovoked attacks toward Cuba and Iran, and threats of forcefully pursuing Greenland’s autonomous territory.
• Condemn the excessive and deadly force deployed by civil immigration agents under the direction of Trump’s Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, by calling for her immediate resignation and an independent investigation into committed, directed or covered up acts of violence, killings and deaths in immigration custody.

“The actions we’ve seen coming out of Washington over the last year do not reflect who we are as Americans and are completely out of step with our core values and the rule of law,” Cochran said. “Taking office in times like these will be a challenge, but it’s one I’m prepared for. I won’t stop working and supporting my new colleagues until our communities are safe and secure against authoritarian abuses once again.”