By CARL GREEN
Illinois Correspondent
Gets re-acquainted with Madison County Fed.
East Alton, IL – Betsy Dirksen Londrigan’s second bid for Congress in Illinois’ 13th District will be a top priority for the national Democratic Party, she has been told.
Last year, she came within 2,000 votes – less than one percent – of defeating long-time incumbent Rodney Davis (R-Taylorville).
Londrigan, of Springfield, told the Greater Madison County Federation of Labor on May 23 that her newly announced bid to challenge Davis again is already catching fire.
Davis, she said, only pretends to be a Labor supporter.
“I understand that Rodney Davis gives Davis-Bacon a vote, but that’s it. If you elect me, you’re going to get somebody who gets an A-plus rating from the AFL-CIO, not an F,” she said. “Not only do I want people to get paid, I want to them to get home safely after the work day.”
EMPLOYERS WON’T SELF-REPORT
The recent trend toward rolling back safety regulations can only harm workers, she added. “All these rollbacks of regulations are helping the employers, but they are hurting the workers,” she said. “I want to make sure we have fair pay, that we have safe workplaces, and that workers are getting what they need so they can take care of their families and pay their bills. I don’t think that’s asking for too much.
“We do need regulations on these companies,” she added. “They’re not going to self-report. If they’re having problems and it’s unsafe, they’re not going to unless we tell them they have to.”
The community organizer and fundraiser, a protégé of Sen. Dick Durbin, is also supported by U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-East Moline), who currently chairs the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Bustos has called the 13th District her top priority to pick up a seat from Republicans.
“We’ve gotten great support from the national party,” Londrigan said. “They looked at what we did in 2018 and they said, ‘We see what you did – we’re going to get in with you, we’re going to be by your side, we’re going to give you the resources to help lick this.”
She gave a preview of her campaign topics. “In the last cycle, we talked a lot about health care. We’re still going to talk about health care,” she added. “We’re going to talk about working families, because that’s what I’m hearing on the trail from people.”
FUNDRAISER AT BIG DADDY’S
The 13th District ranges across central and southern Illinois from Champaign-Urbana westward to Bloomington-Normal and Springfield and dips southward to take in much of the Edwardsville area.
Londrigan has scheduled a fund-raising reception from 4:30 to 7 p.m. on Monday, June 24 at Big Daddy’s, 132 N. Main St., Edwardsville. Suggested contributions are $25 for a ticket, $50 for a friend, $100 for a supporter and $250 for a sponsor. Send checks to Betsy Dirksen Londrigan for Congress, P.O. Box 275, Springfield IL 62705. For more information, contact Jacob Plotnick at 309-232-8037 or Jacob@betsydirksenlondrigan.com.
“I would very much appreciate your support,” she told the Federation. “This is going to be a long haul, and it’s going to be a lot of fun.”
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