Lisa Arvanites – Activist | Precinct Committeeperson Bringing Democracy to Your Door
Voting is Radical Activism
My cats have analyzed and mathed it out! The science is sound! TRUST CATS!
If James Talarico can beat Jasmine Crockett in TX
Then Kevin Ryan can beat Kelly, Stratton and Krishnamoorthi in Illinois.
https://www.runwithkev.com/
Why NOT Laura Fine or Daniel Biss?
I have experienced 2 MAJOR congressional elections since 2017.
One was as PC in Huntley in 2018 and that was District 14.
Now in 2026 it is as PC in Cary for District 9.
Here is a story…
Lauren Underwood IL Congressional D14 – Elect
Crystal Lake, Huntley, McHenry, Wauconda, Woodstock
On March 20, 2018, I stood in a room that was super charged with both history and hope. When Lauren Underwood announced that she had won the Democratic primary for Illinois’ 14th Congressional District, the celebration cracked wide open. Screams of joy filled the room. People embraced. Tears fell freely. We witnessed history unfolding in real time.
Underwood a self-professed public servant and registered nurse with a pre-existing heart condition (supraventricular tachycardia), was directly affected by her Republican opponent, Representative Randy Hultgren, voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and remove protections for pre-existing conditions despite previously promising not to. This motivated Underwood to shift from policy advisor to candidate.
She was the youngest Black woman ever to run in the district, and she had just prevailed in a crowded field she shared with six men. In a district that, since 1873, had overwhelmingly elected Republican leadership – 17 Republicans to just 5 Democrats – her victory carried profound weight. Democratic representation had been rare and distant history; brief windows in 1890, 1912 – 1914, and 1932 – 1936.
For generations, change had seemed unlikely. That night, it wasn’t. Barriers were cracked. Expectations shifted. What filled the room wasn’t just celebration – it was pride, relief, and the unmistakable sense that something new was possible. This was 2 years before the BLM movement of 2020.
Her victory was part of a broader Democratic wave that year, but in D14 it was also deeply local — powered by grassroots energy in places like Huntley and across McHenry County. Redistricting may draw lines on a map, but community energy — door knocking, meet-and-greets, local organizing — is what turns those lines into representation. Lauren was absolutely adored.
Lauren Underwood’s national profile around health care and maternal health issues her communication style, empathy, calm presence and strong constituent outreach locally is why D14 has held her near and dear.
Meet Senator Mike Simmons Congressional D9 – Candidate
Maybe you met him when he walked ALG35 with me!
Algonquin, Barrington Hills, Fox River grove, Lakewood, LITH, Crystal Lake, Cary, Wauconda
https://www.mikesimmons.org
In 2021 Mike Simmons was appointed to the Illinois Senate by elected PC’s of the Cook County Democratic Party. Not my senate district but he caught my interest! His hair style was fabulous and broadcasted confidence. An openly gay black man too; this in and of it itself is not a qualifier, it is a layer of lived experience. I watched his campaign that led to his election in 2022 and I cheered him on! His energy, empathy and measured presence was unmistakable and I was reminded of Lauren Underwood.
The Simmons’ family was one of the first Black families to integrate Lincoln Square after the U.S. Supreme Court mandated that public housing be built on Chicago’s Northside. The son of a single Black mother and an Ethiopian refugee father. His mother, Ramona, who opened her small business, Salon Pastiche, in Rogers Park at 31 years old and ran it for 25 years, raised him and his sister. His father, Mulugetta, was also a small business owner and ran a bar, the Wild Hare, in Lakeview for 25 years.
Growing up in a multi-racial, multi-generational household, shaped his lived experience with issues like housing access, economic insecurity, and belonging. Prior to the Senate, he worked in policy and civic engagement roles, including on Capitol Hill and with the Obama Foundation’s My Brother’s Keeper Alliance building a track record of meaningful impact. He is also a former board member for the LGBTQ+ advocacy group Equality Illinois.
A crowed race in a very historically unique district reshaped by census redistricting. D9, since 1853, has had more elected Democratic leadership – 14 Democrats to 11 Republicans that last in 1946. D9 held Jan Schakowsky near and dear for 28 years. The 2020 Census resulted in Algonquin Township, McHenry County becoming part of Congressional D9.
We now have the rare opportunity to welcome new leadership.
Like Underwood, Simmons combines empathy, energy, and a measured presence that resonates far beyond policy positions.
What truly sets Mike Simmons apart in the IL legislature is how quickly he turns vision into action.
Shortly after being sworn in on February 6, 2021, Mike encountered the story of Jett Hawkins, a young preschooler in Chicago who was forced to remove his braids at school due to discriminatory dress codes. Mike immediately understood the fear and frustration Jett and his mother were facing—because he had lived it himself.
Within 19 days, he introduced Senate Bill 817, and by August 13, 2021, the Jett Hawkins Act became law, protecting Black students from hair discrimination in K‑12 schools. This was not just legislation; it was life-changing policy.
Mike Simmons is exactly the kind of public servant this district—and this moment—needs: authentic, empathetic, and capable of transforming personal insight into concrete laws that protect and uplift communities.
Key Legislative Priorities & Accomplishments
Supporting Families & Economic Security
Housing & Community Stability
Healthcare & Mental Health
Transportation & Environment
Human Rights & Inclusion
Voting Access & Worker Rights
Roles in the Senate
Mike Simmons blends personal experience with policy focus: Economic justice and stability.
Mike Simmons’ energy and vision translates:
Concrete law and policy.
Q: Why not elect IL Senator Laura Fine for Congressional D9?
(FYI – Fine is also running for State Central Committee person which is leadership position within the Illinois Democratic Party)
A: Moral Compass Sold Separately.
Legislative output:
The number of bills a lawmaker “develops” can vary widely depending on seniority, committee assignments, leadership roles, and whether they serve in the majority/minority party. Bill counts alone don’t always reflect influence or effectiveness. Her output is on par with Mike Simmons and they are on some of the same committees.
AIPAC:
Fine has taken thousands of dollars from Israel special interest organizations such as AIPAC’s Pac. For months she has denied this. Only recently admitting it. The truth is she is for sale and has no problem aligning with an organization that is not shy about its efforts to undermine our elections for the benefit of the government of Israel (Netanyahu’s Likud party is strong opposed to two state solution) How can she rally against ICE but take money from an organization that supports a leader who unleashed a genocide?
Mike Simmons refuses special interest money and understands AIPAC’s intentions. He is not a traitor to We the People or Jews or Palestine’s who are seeking to end the conflict, unite for HUMANITARIAN ACTION, and a two state solution.
https://evanstonnow.com/fine-denies-aipac-support-despite-planned-fundraiser-with-groups-president/
https://dailynorthwestern.com/2026/02/22/city/super-pac-reportedly-backed-by-aipac-airs-first-attack-ad-in-congressional-race/
Q: Why not elect Evanston Mayor and previous IL Senator Daniel Biss for Congressional D9?
(FYI – Biss is also running for State Central Committee person which is leadership position within the Illinois Democratic Party)
A: Moral Compass Lacking Required Direction
October 4, 2017: I attended the Gubernatorial Candidate Forum at NIU. Daniel Biss was serving as and IL State Senator and running for governor of Illinois. Illinois had recently enacted the Illinois Trust Act, which Biss had co-sponsored. The Trust Act was intended to limit local law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, particularly U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
On September 8, 2017 The McHenry County sheriff was sued for refusal to release an inmate who, his lawyers at KRV said , should have been freed on bail under the Trust Act.
Lawyers representing the Crystal Lake man, Niceforo Macedo-Hernandez, say McHenry County authorities are not complying with the Trust Act, which Gov. Bruce Rauner signed into law last week and which says that, without a judge’s warrant, state and local authorities can’t arrest or detain people based on their immigration status alone.
After the forum I approached then IL Senator Daniel Biss and I explained to him the complete predicament Niceforo Macedo-Hernandez was facing and how KRV Law and activists in our community were trying to stop the abuse of the system that Sheriff Prim was inflicting . I asked for his help. I said we needed his voice. I wrote down the sheriff’s name the state’s attorney’s name also the phone number for KRV law and handed them to Biss. He asked me for my contact information and I gave it to him.
Daniel Biss never showed up in McHenry County. Niceforo Macedo-Hernandez did not register in his heart. He never called KRV, the attorney that was working on the case.
https://krvlegal.com/ridings-northwest-herald-misses-mark-trust-act/2017/09/
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2017/09/09/mchenry-co-sheriff-sued-for-not-releasing-immigrant-detainee-under-new-law/
https://www.wcia.com/news/capitol-news/family-suing-sheriff-over-trust-act
In October 2025 I went to the Congressional D9 candidate forum at Oakton Community College. I handed Biss a printed PDF that recapped our meeting at NIU in 2017 when he was a senator seeking a role as governor. I watched him read it. Then he looked at me. I asked him why never followed through. He said that the only thing he could think of was that his campaign got really busy and he could not be everywhere at once. He apologized. I made sure he knew that Niceforo Macedo-Hernandez had disappeared.
Mike Simmons, currently a senator seeking a congressional seat, would never have turned away. He would have reached out to KRV Law immediately. He would have engaged and brought his voice to our community. His moral compass has never needed adjustment.
Mike recently joined me as I went to doors in ALG35. I never in a billion years thought that the IL Senator I had admired for SO LONG would be walking my precinct with me! I could not stop smiling as I introduced him to voters.
Elect Mike Simmons to Congress for IL D9 and hold him near and dear! Trust me you will be very happy that you did! Mike plans to have a constituent office in Algonquin Township. He wants to connect!
My post from September 3, 2017
So, interesting story today. A man in jail. Immigrant of a particular status. Been in McHenry County for 20 years.
Charged with Domestic Battery. His second misdemeanor. Was convicted on his first. Paid a fine and met the terms of his sentence. This time it is asserted that he just grabbed a wrist. I am NOT going to gloss over that.
**Man keep your f**king hands off.**
Still, innocent til proven guilty.
Still, we have sentencing laws and etc …
We are all due FAIR treatment in the eyes of the law.
We are very flawed in our human form.
Statutory law is pretty fair in these matters.
Also an immigration hold is in play. There is no warrant. He cannot post bond DESPITE newly enacted state legislation called the Trust Act, which Daniel Biss (current challenger for Governor) co-sponsored.
It is short and sweetly 2-pages-to-the-point.
Judge defers to…
Assistant State’s Attorney who reps…
Sheriff that is seeking input from state and fed officials…
Which ones? I’d like to know.
A dude is in jail. While this gets sorted. His immigration status is unknown – this is why, says the SA, that he is being detained. (He was in the mix in with his first misdemeanor in 2014, didn’t they notice it then?) Hmm….
Feds and state and county, attorneys all in the mix. Oh an elected official is accused of icky poo motives, but that is just an accusation at this point.
This little issue will be a MAJOR talking point in McHenry County’s Circuit Judge election me thinks. Any election in McHenry county. Get ready for this to wiggle its way into campaigns for the next 4 years.
Neighboring counties do not have an issue with being “mixed up” with the Feds in a rent-a-bed program where the county is paid a per diem to house ICE detainees or Federal Marshall detainees. Why does McHenry County have a need to do so to offset their budget? Why is it so expensive in McHenry County? Could be said they keep immigrants incarcerated for federal $$, I mean if you were cynical.
Lake county for example, has over 2 dozen people eligible for bond via the newly dropped Trust Act. Lake County already had a policy to do (to a degree) what the Trust Act outlines.
My post from October 4, 2017
I attended the Gubernatorial Candidate Forum at NIU They did not get to the question I penned, no biggie, I think there were 70+ questions. Really good ones too. There were some good laughs too.
At the end of the night I approached Biss. I shook his hand and I unfolded the story for him about Niceforo Macedo-Hernandez. I told him that our state’s attorney said that the Trust Act was unconstitutional. His eyebrows raised.
I said hey I don’t know that you can make the sheriff comply, but our community needs your voice. You put a pen to that legislation you put your name on that legislation and we need you to step it up. I wrote down the sheriff’s name the state’s attorney’s name also the phone number for KRV law and handed them to Biss. He asked me for my contact information and I gave it to him.
BISS NEVER REACHED OUT. NEVER SHOWED UP.
My post on October 22, 2025
At the Citizens Action Illinois Congressional D9 forum tonight I reminded Daniel Biss that the last time I was face-to-face with him at a forum was when he was running for governor. I handed him an outline of the history, printed on a piece of paper. I watched him read it.
“The forum was at NIU. 10/3/2017. I shook his hand and I told him the story of Niceforo Macedo Hernandez, a 20-year resident of McHenry County. He was in custody for a misdemeanor battery charge and was put into the county jail. The judge set bond but Niceforo could not exercise his right to post bail and be released because every time he tried the sheriff’s employees said they could not accept bail payment because there was an immigration detainer.
Our states attorney Prim said that the Trust Act was unconstitutional. Niceforo’s immigration status was unknown and this is why the state’s attorney said that he was being detained. But in 2014 Niceforo was charged with his first misdemeanor and they didn’t know his immigration status then either. So…?
I told Biss that I knew he could not make the sheriff comply but our community needed his voice. He co-sponsored the legislation and in McHenry County we needed support. Activists were working like crazy to get this man out of ICE custody. Niceforo was transferred to ice by Prim. He was facing deportation despite the Trust Act”
This was a test of the Trust Act. You would think because of the way he was pushing the Trust Act that he would zero in on this especially during his campaign cycle for governor. Especially considering that the trust act was meant to protect people like Nisforo in this exact situation. I mean he co-sponsored a piece of legislation that so many people were working so hard on for such a long time. I mean it was part of his every day probably for a long time.
I asked him tonight why that was. I told him it was shocking to see him here now. Knowing what happened to Niceforo Macedo Hernandez. All that is happening with ICE in 2025 and watching him take a stand. It brought back this memory to me. He said that the only thing he could think of was that there was so much going on that he couldn’t be every place. He apologized
I asked him if he knew where Niceforo is now. He said no and asked me if I knew. I said no. Maybe we would, had he as a State Senator, taken interest.
Finally I asked him if he were elected would he take money from AIPAC? He quickly said NO!
I think one in his role must put the brakes on and follow through. Do the thing that is right. There was a man who was being denied freedom. ICE was out of bounds. Biss was knee deep in the original legislation, and couldn’t make the connection? There was too much going on? He couldn’t be every place? I have a difficult time thinking about something that could have possibly been more important at that time.
LWV IS A NON PARTISAN ORGANIZATION AND DOES NOT SUPPORT OR OPPOSE CANDIDATES OR POLITICAL PARTIES. Every candidate who gained ballot access was invited to this event. The videos are of only those that attended.
Video from the January 24th Meet and Greet for Candidate from IL Congressional District 9. Video from the January 24th Meet and Greet for Candidate for IL Congressional District 9
DEMOCRATS
REPUBLICAN
Mark Su was the ONLY Republican that showed up. He was a pleasure to talk to. Def NOT MAGA. I’d call him moderate.
McHENRY COUNTY VOTE NO ON YOUR PRIMARY BALLOT!
January 27, 2026
Today a coalition of organizations delivered a letter to Governor Pritzker calling on him to act on his values and commit to opting Illinois out of a new federal school voucher program championed by the Trump administration. Full press release below.
MEDIA RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 27, 2026
CONTACT
Cassie Creswell
Illinois Families for Public Schools
773-916-7794
COALITION URGES GOVERNOR PRITZKER TO SAY NO TO FEDERAL SCHOOL VOUCHERS
MORE THAN 40 ORGS TELL GOVERNOR: “ACT ON YOUR VALUES AND PROTECT PUBLIC SCHOOLS FOR ALL ILLINOIS KIDS!”
CHICAGO — Today a coalition of organizations delivered a letter (read letter here) to Governor Pritzker calling on him to act on his values and commit to opting Illinois out of a new federal school voucher program championed by the Trump administration.
The letter is signed by 46 community, civil rights, good government, labor and faith-based organizations, including Access Living, Citizen Action/ Illinois, Illinois Education Association, Illinois Families for Public Schools, Illinois Federation of Teachers, Illinois NOW, Illinois PTA, Indivisible Chicago Alliance, the League of Women Voters of Illinois, National Association of Social Workers – Illinois Chapter and Trans Up Front Illinois.
“Governor Pritzker has said his goal is to make Illinois the best state in the country to raise a family: that requires well-resourced public schools that welcome all families, and educate all kids. This federal voucher program entirely undermines that goal”, said Huu Nguyen, public school parent and board member of Illinois Families for Public Schools.
The new, unprecedented multi-billion dollar federal voucher program, created by Congress in July 2025, is set to begin in January 2027. Each state’s governor will decide whether a state participates. The US Treasury Department is in the process of writing regulations for the program, with all indications that states will have little or no ability to oversee the program.
Becky Simon, president of the League of Women Voters of Illinois, warned, “School vouchers will spend our public dollars in ways that are not transparent, and voucher programs lack the accountability and oversight provided by public school systems. As bad as Illinois’ now defunct state voucher program was, this federal program will likely be far worse.”
Private schools, even those accepting publicly-funded vouchers, are not subject to the civil rights laws that public schools in Illinois must follow. “School vouchers perpetuate and expand harm against trans and disabled students, staff, and communities by redirecting funding from the public schools that require LGBTQ+ inclusive practices and curriculum into private, religious schools that openly discriminate against LGBTQ+ young people and refuse to adopt inclusive practices for special education students every day.” Dr. Corey Lascano, director of education for Trans Up Front Illinois.
“The federal government has been waging a de facto war on schools, cutting and withholding funds for education research, afterschool programs; removing schools from the list of sensitive sites for immigration enforcement; ending investigations of civil rights violations. The idea that a program created with the intent to dismantle the public school system might be good for Illinois’ children is not plausible. It is beyond past time to give the feds the benefit of the doubt here. This is an opportunity for Governor Pritzker to show leadership and commit publicly to refusing this harmful Trump-administration initiative, and instead finally fulfill the State’s promise to fully fund our public schools,” added Huu Nguyen.
Nine out of ten Illinois kids attend public schools, but the majority of Illinois’ public schools are still not fully funded, according to the State’s education funding formula. The deadline set by the General Assembly to fully fund the formula is June 2027.
The federal voucher program is structured as a so-called tax credit scholarship program, where taxpayers contribute funds to scholarship granting organizations (SGOs) that distribute vouchers to private schools. Although the legislation mentions that public school students could receive scholarships for tutoring or other educational expenses, comments from US Education Secretary Linda McMahon’s America First Policy Institute call for vouchers to only be used to supplement, not supplant programs provided by public schools. If even 5% of Illinois students left public schools for private schools, public school budgets would be burdened by $1 billion in irreducible fixed costs—on top of the loss of any per-pupil funding, according to calculations by the Economic Policy Institute.
Illinois’ primary election is March 17th, and about 10% of Illinois voters will have a misleadingly worded advisory question on their ballot asking if Illinois should participate in the voucher program.
“It is especially important that the public and policymakers understand the truth about this program: it is funded by public tax dollars, not charitable private donations,” said Cassie Creswell, executive director of Illinois Families for Public Schools. “And, just like we saw with Illinois’ state voucher program, these public funds will primarily be used with no oversight or civil rights protections at religious institutions, funding discrimination—against students with disabilities, LGBTQ+ students, English-language learners and others—and hurting education equity.”
Illinois’s state voucher program (“Invest in Kids”), ran from 2018 to 2024 and diverted more than $315 million to private schools from the General Revenue Fund with weak state oversight. The Illinois General Assembly chose to allow the program to sunset, largely due to its lack of benefits for low-income students and students of color. Based on the Illinois Department of Revenue’s reports, only 1 in 4 voucher dollars in the program went to low-income students; about half of schools provided no vouchers to Black students and about 1 in 3 provided no vouchers to Latine students. According to the Illinois State Board of Education’s data on private schools, only about 15% of schools receiving vouchers served any special education students.
This broad coalition, representing families, educators, voters and advocates from across Illinois, is in agreement that it is time for our Governor to firmly refuse this toxic school privatization scheme for our State. Having seen vouchers before here in Illinois, we know they are simply bad education policy: hurting equity and funding discrimination without improving academic outcomes.
The coalition calls on all public school supporters to join our efforts by calling Governor Pritzker today to ask him to make a public commitment that Illinois will NOT participate in the federal voucher program because of the grave harm the program would bring to Illinois’ public schools.
About Illinois Families for Public Schools
Illinois Families for Public Schools (IL-FPS) is a statewide, grassroots, non-profit 501c4 advocacy group founded in 2016. IL-FPS is the voice of public school families in Springfield and across the state, advocating to defend and improve Illinois public schools. More at ilfps.org.
https://www.ilfps.org/coalition_urges_pritzker_say_no_to_federal_school_vouchers