Friend,

As the only meteorologist in Congress, weather and climate issues are personal for me. I feel an obligation to speak up when science is being ignored. And that’s why the details in the radical right-wing Project 2025 around weather and climate have ticked me off.

If implemented, their outrageous ideas would put folks in IL-17, and around the country, in real danger. Here are some of the lowlights:

They want to get rid of national hurricane and flood warnings. Seriously. They would all but dissolve the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which houses the invaluable National Weather Service (NWS). Just because NOAA has rightly raised the alarm about climate change, the far right wants to get rid of it altogether, making all Americans less safe from weather disasters.
They want to make it harder for communities to rebuild. We face real threats from weather disasters—to homes, businesses, and lives—and federal aid is critical to help get communities back on their feet after a flood or a tornado. Project 2025 would leave communities with fewer resources to rebuild after these disasters. That’s just plain wrong.
They want to reverse our progress on climate change. Their plan would get rid of restrictions on oil and gas drilling on public lands AND federal investments in renewable energy technologies. Here’s a fact: Illinois’ 17th District is one of the biofuel leaders in America. It is a bedrock of the economy here. But just as our country is finally taking real, substantive action on the energy transition, they want to tear it all down. We can’t let them.

It’s simple, friend: keeping people safe is the government’s most important job. We need champions for science in Congress, making informed decisions for our constituents. That’s what I’ll do as long as I represent IL-17.

But our race is going to be close in November, with national Republicans and far-right super PACs behind my opponent, Joe McGraw. (He’s also taken thousands in donations from the oil and gas industry.) McGraw would go along with Project 2025, enabling its absurd and dangerous proposals to become reality.

Let’s make sure Project 2025’s plans can never be implemented by winning back the House, starting right here in Illinois’ 17th District. We have to defend this swing seat to have any chance of retaking the majority. If you can, chip in $10 today to help make that happen.

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Thanks for hearing me out,

-Eric