CHICAGO, IL — March for Medicare for All (M4A) is the culmination of people who were frustrated that legislators did not support Medicare for All. They decided to take it upon themselves to organize a march for M4A in Washington, DC. Talking to various people about joining this ambitious quest, it was decided that more than just a few congress people needed pressuring.
We moved forward on the idea of building a large coalition of people who wanted M4A with boots on the ground in a visual support of M4A. In discussions regarding contacts in Chicago, my name came up and I got on the M4A train before it left the station. I felt that it could be a great opportunity to get people engaged and make our voices heard about a policy that, if implemented, could save lives and prevent people from going bankrupt due to a catastrophic illness, especially during a pandemic.
I have been passionate about M4A for years, but grew more cynical about it coming to fruition in my lifetime. President Truman first proposed a national health insurance program back in 1945. That was 76 years ago! And in the 1990s, President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton promoted it, although that’s no longer the case. My, how times have changed.
Neither of my US Illinois senators, Whip Dick Durbin nor Tammy Duckworth, support M4A, not even during this pandemic. I decided I would do what I could to make people in my state aware that a policy most of us want won’t get an Aye vote from either of them. I want a great turnout that will make them change their minds. Come join me and Illinois Single Payer Coalition, Illinois Nurses Association, PNHP Illinois, Access Living, PDA Illinois, Illinois Green Party, Illinois People’s Party, The People’s Response Network to COVID-19, BWOP Chicago (Black Women Organizing for Power), STOP Chicago, United Northwestside, Far South Chicago Coalition, 25th Ward IPO, 40th United, Chicago AfroSocialists and Socialists of Color Caucus and more to make it happen! New groups endorse the march everyday.
Sign up here: https://linktr.ee/marchformedicareforall. The website is https://m4m4all.org. The Facebook Calendar event for Chicago: https://fb.me/e/2d1KoMeBG. You can join our public Facebook group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/m4m4all/?ref=share.
If you are interested in signing up to volunteer, please follow the link on the website and you’ll be invited to join our Slack courtesy of By The People.
Looking forward to getting all of Chicago out on the streets to support this important effort. See you on July 24! It’s time for Medicare for ALL.
