On Sunday, Secret Service agents foiled an apparent assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump at his golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida, the second such attempt against the former president in roughly two months. As I have said repeatedly, political violence has no place in our country, and Americans of all political leanings should all condemn speech and actions encouraging violence. Following the attack against former President Trump in July, I joined with my colleague, Congressman Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio), to introduce a resolution condemning political violence in all its forms. I am calling upon my colleagues from both parties to join us in supporting this resolution to reaffirm our shared belief as Americans that political violence is unacceptable and cannot be tolerated.

Earlier this month, I was proud to join local leaders, teachers, and students at South Elgin High School to celebrate an $8 million federal grant I helped secure for the Youth Workforce Development Foundation. The grant, which comes through the Apprenticeships Build America program, will help students in Elgin and across the state expand their skills and better prepare them for the future. With more than 40,000 job vacancies projected to hit the heavy equipment supply chain in the coming years, programs like the automotive shop classroom at South Elgin High School will be critical to making sure those jobs are filled, keeping our economy strong, and providing a pathway to middle-class careers for students.

During my time in Congress, I have been a vocal leader on the importance of expanding career and technical education (CTE) programs, including authoring the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21^st Century Act, the law that modernized CTE for the first time in more than a dozen years and increased federal funding for CTE programs. A ticket to the middle class should not require a four-year college degree, and CTE programs like these will open career pathways for those who go through apprenticeships and other CTE training. You can read more about the grants and my visit to South Elgin High School in the Chicago Tribune here and the Daily Herald here.

On September 3^rd, I held a virtual town hall on food insecurity featuring three experts who answered questions on everything ranging from SNAP benefits to grocery store prices. With food insecurity impacting so many of our neighbors across our district, I want to make sure that resources discussed during the town hall are available for everyone and now you can find them on my website by clicking here. You can also watch the town hall by clicking here.

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 (X) here, my Facebook page here, my Instagram here, and my Threads here. Thank you for staying engaged in our community.