Over the past week, I joined Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, health care leaders, and Illinois families at Cook County Health and the Bronzeville Community Health Center to underscore the immediate consequences of Congress allowing enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) health insurance credits to expire. Letting these credits lapse was a choice, and families are already paying the price. Premiums spiked overnight, coverage disappeared, and safety-net providers were left to absorb the fallout.

More than 550,000 Illinois residents rely on ACA marketplace coverage, including over 360,000 in Cook County. Nearly 90 percent depend on ACA health insurance credits to afford care. With those credits gone, average monthly premiums in Cook County are projected to rise by about 95 percent, pricing many families out of coverage.

The timing could not be worse. The ACA coverage cliff comes as President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” cut Medicaid by more than $1 trillion nationwide and imposed new work requirements. One in four Illinoisans depends on Medicaid, which accounts for roughly 56 percent of Cook County Health’s patient revenue, and the system estimates it could lose $88 million annually as patients lose coverage.

I heard directly from patients and providers about what these cuts mean in real life: families doing everything right and still being forced to choose between care and cost, and clinics facing rising demand with fewer resources. I will keep fighting to restore ACA health insurance credits, protect Medicaid, and preserve affordable health care for Illinois families.

I am deeply concerned by the Administration’s unilateral actions in Venezuela and public statements suggesting the United States could “run” the country. While Nicolás Maduro is an illegitimate dictator who has inflicted immense suffering on the Venezuelan people, that reality does not give any president the authority to occupy, govern, or administer another sovereign nation without Congressional authorization.

Congress was not briefed before these actions or in the critical hours that followed. When U.S. forces are placed in harm’s way, the Constitution and the War Powers Act are clear: Congress must be involved. Any effort to occupy, govern, or internally administer Venezuela, whether through military force or civilian agencies, requires explicit congressional authorization.

That is why I will be introducing the No Occupation of Venezuela (NOVA) Act to block any federal funds from being used to occupy or internally administer Venezuela. This approach draws a clear constitutional line: the Executive Branch cannot shift from military action to civilian control, economic management, or sector-by-sector administration without Congress’s approval, while still allowing humanitarian assistance to reach the Venezuelan people.

At a time when families here at home are facing rising health care costs and threats to Medicaid, the American people do not want their tax dollars spent on another open-ended foreign occupation. I will continue working to restore congressional authority, enforce the rule of law, and ensure U.S. foreign policy is guided by constitutional limits, not unilateral decision-making. You can watch my interview with CNN here, and my interview with MS Now here.

I am demanding answers from the Trump Administration about immigration enforcement actions that have put lives at risk and undermined public safety. In January, I sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security regarding Operation Midway Blitz in Illinois, which appears to have swept up thousands of people with no criminal convictions. While DHS claimed the operation targeted dangerous criminals, public reporting shows that only about 15 percent of those detained had prior criminal convictions. During my oversight visit, I also learned that many individuals were detained based on past charges rather than convictions.

The human cost is clear. My letter highlights the death of Nenko Gantchev, a long-time Chicago resident who died in DHS custody in Michigan after voluntarily appearing for a scheduled immigration interview in Illinois. He was not detained because he posed a public safety threat, but because enforcement practices prioritized boosting detention numbers over targeting individuals with serious criminal convictions.

I am also demanding answers about the Administration’s decision to divert FBI counterterrorism and counterintelligence agents away from their core missions to support mass immigration raids. In December, I warned the Department of Justice that pulling FBI personnel from terrorism, espionage, and cyber investigations weakens our national security. Reporting cited in my letter indicates that nearly a quarter of FBI agents nationwide, and up to 40 percent in the largest field offices, have been reassigned.

This approach does not make us safer. It weakens our defenses against genuine national security threats while subjecting immigrant communities to aggressive and indiscriminate enforcement. I will continue demanding transparency and accountability to ensure immigration enforcement is lawful, targeted, and does not come at the expense of public safety or national security.

Last week, I wrote Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Doug Collins to express my concern following a Chicago Sun-Times report that 600 unfilled VA hospital positions would be eliminated at Jesse Brown VA and Lovell Federal Health Care Center. Veterans have long reported staffing shortages at VA facilities, and I believe blanket cuts to positions will lock these shortages in place, increasing wait times. These unfilled positions do not demonstrate a lack of need, and every unfilled job represents care that has not been delivered for a veteran in need.

Earlier this year, the Trump Administration and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) slashed more than 30,000 VA employees. The proposal from Secretary Collins would further decimate VA facilities, including at Lovell, where staff is stretched to a breaking point. Our veterans deserve nothing but the best, and I will continue to hold the Trump administration accountable for these shortsighted cuts. You can read my letter to Secretary Collins here, and in the Chicago Sun-Times 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, my Threads here, and my Bluesky here. Thank you for staying engaged in our community.