I want to invite you to join me for my August town hall at Gilberts Village Hall at 87 Galligan Road in Gilberts on Wednesday, August 2nd at 6:00pm. You can RSVP for my town hall here. I look forward to seeing you then.
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Congressman Krishnamoorthi with Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle as he presents a check commemorating the $1 million in federal funding he secured for Cook County Health’s new urgent care center in Arlington. (Click the image above to watch the WGN News segment on the event.)
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Last Thursday, I joined Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, Cook County Health CEO Israel Rocha Jr., and Arlington Heights Mayor Tom Hayes for a ceremony in which I presented a check for the $1 million in federal funding I secured for Cook County Health’s new urgent care center in Arlington Heights. The funding, approved as part of the bipartisan government spending package passed by Congress in December, will go towards purchasing medical equipment for the urgent care center. The urgent care center will also help ease the strain placed on hospital systems from patients with non-emergency cases seeking care at hospital emergency rooms. The average cost of a trip to the ER is more than $1,000, while a trip to an urgent care center is a fraction of that. I’m proud to have been able to secure the funding to help get this project across the finish line.
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Romal, a former interpreter for the U.S military in Afghanistan, sharing a light moment with his wife Samima and daughter Athar in the Seattle area after escaping the Taliban with the help of U.S. Army veteran Chris McClanathan and Congressman Krishnamoorthi. (Click on the image to read the Chicago Tribune article on Romal’s story.)
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In August 2021, shortly after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, I learned of the efforts of U.S. Army veteran Chris McClanathan to help his friend and former interpreter Romal to escape the Taliban as it took control of the country and sought out anyone known to have helped Americans. Like so many of our Afghan allies, Romal, whose surname has been withheld for his family’s safety in Afghanistan, was told that the United States would help protect him and his family if he would assist American forces. After years of serving as an interpreter for American troops and security contractors, as the U.S. prepared to withdraw from the country, Romal learned that his application for a Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) was among tens of thousands of requests still being processed in the summer of 2021. In the face of these challenges and the enormous danger posed to Romal and his family by the Taliban, even as he went into hiding, Chris McClanathan, who had befriended Romal through his service in Afghanistan, continued to help his friend while drawing attention to his plight through a Chicago Tribune article and additional interviews. Upon learning of Romal’s story, my team and I connected with Chris and began working with him to help get Romal and his family to safety.
Over the course of the next 16 months, my team and I continued to work with Romal and Chris to secure Romal’s visa, continually pressing State Department officials on the urgency of his case and imploring them to expedite his family’s visas before it was too late. After over a year in hiding in Afghanistan, last December, Romal and his wife Samima, who was nine months pregnant, evaded the Taliban, navigated security check points manned by armed guards, and escaped to Pakistan under the cover of darkness in an unmarked van. Three weeks later, their daughter Athar was born, and with their visas to immigrate to the United States approved, Romal, Samima and their newborn daughter waited in Islamabad until Athar could receive the vaccinations necessary to safely take the transcontinental flight to the United States. In May, the happy family arrived in their new home in America, greeted at the airport by Romal’s sister who had immigrated years earlier.
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A Chicago Tribune map showing Romal’s journey.
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I was proud to have had the opportunity to work with Chris to help Romal, Samima, and Athar make it to the safety of the United States and to fulfill the promise our nation made to Romal when he risked so much to help our servicemembers in Afghanistan. To reach Romal and his families full story in the Chicago Tribune, click here.
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Congressman Krishnamoorthi was joined by State Rep. Michelle Mussman, Schaumburg Mayor Tom Dailly, and Schaumburg Engineering & Public Works Director Mike Hall as he presents federal funding he secured for Schaumburg’s EV Pilot Program. (Click the image above to watch the CBS News Chicago segment on the event.)
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On Monday, I presented the Village of Schaumburg with a check commemorating the $166,000 in federal funding that I secured for its Electric Vehicle (EV) Pilot Program. The funding will go toward replacing two village vehicles with new electric ones and installing a charging station for them. Electric vehicles are the transportation of the future and embracing the economic potential of clean energy and green technology means incorporating both into our communities. The village’s EV Pilot Program will be fully up and running later this year.
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Congressman Krishnamoorthi discusses issues of discrimination and hate with members of the community.
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Over the weekend, I attended the Interfaith Dialogue and Community Service Project at All Saints Lutheran Church to discuss how our community can address the rise in discrimination and hate crimes we have seen in our country in recent years. This conversation was a continuation of the roundtable I held in May with local faith leaders and officials on the same issues. Last month in Washington, I introduced the Hate Crimes Commission Act, which would create a bipartisan commission to investigate the nature of the surge in hate crimes and study the best strategies to end it.
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On Wednesday, the House Oversight Committee unanimously passed by legislation to rename the St. Charles East Side Station Post Office as the “Veterans of the Vietnam War Memorial Post Office.” Renaming the post office in St. Charles is a way for our community to recognize and honor the men and woman who have served and those who made the ultimate sacrifice in their service to our nation. I was grateful that a range of veterans organization endorsed my legislation when I introduced it on National Vietnam War Veterans Day earlier this year, and with the bipartisan support of my Oversight Committee colleagues, I look forward to seeing my legislation proceeding to votes of the full House and Senate, and ultimately to the President’s desk.
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If you are unable to make it to our district office in Schaumburg, our staff is available at mobile office hours throughout the district. Share your concerns, questions, issues and get help navigating federal agencies at convenient locations across the district.
Our Next Wood Dale Office Hours: Tuesday, July 18th: 10:00am – 1:00pm in the Wood Dale Public Library at 520 N Wood Dale Rd, Wood Dale, IL - RSVP HERE.
We will continue to hold additional office hours in Wood Dale on the third Tuesday of each month: August 15th, September 19th, October 13th, November 21st, and December 19th.
Our Next Pingree Grove Office Hours: Tuesday, August 1st: 12:00pm – 4:00pm at the Pingree Grove Municipal Center at 555 Reinking Rd, Pingree Grove, IL RSVP HERE.
We will continue to hold additional office hours in Pingree Grove on the first Tuesday of each month: September 5th, October 3rd, November 7th, and December 5th.
Our Next Des Plaines Office Hours: Tuesday, August 15th: 9:30am – 11:30am in the Des Plaines Public Library at 1501 Ellinwood St, Des Plaines, IL RSVP HERE.
We will continue to hold additional office hours in Des Plaines on the second Tuesday of every other month: August 15th, October 10th, and December 12th.
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The best way to stay up to date on these issues beyond our newsletter is through my social media accounts, which I update multiple times each day. You can follow my Twitter here, my Facebook page here, and my Instagram here. Thank you for staying engaged in our community.
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P.S. I always enjoy hearing from constituents, so feel free to comment and share my social media posts! Here are the links: Twitter here, Facebook page here, and Instagram here. |
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