Following are some upcoming advocacy actions and resources from the UUANI (UU Action Network of Illinois)  Democracy in Action team. For more info about UUANI, go to: UUANI

LEGISLATIVE ADVOCACY

• UUANI will offer a Legislative Advocacy training from 7:00 to 8:15pm on Wednesday Feb 19. Please organize a team of at least 3 people to attend this training together to learn how the process works and how to work the process. Register here to get the Zoom link.
• UUANI promotes our partners’ calls for legislative advocacy in three ways:
  1. Actions of the Week – sign up here if you haven’t already, and encourage your congregation to participate by setting up a table with a laptop on Sunday mornings and/or putting them in your congregation’s weekly emails.
  2. Meetings with Legislators – gather a team to attend the training above to meet with your elected officials as called upon by our community partners. Go ahead and set up a meeting with them anytime in March if you already know how, have a team and know what you want to advocate for.
  3. Springfield Advocacy Days – get ready to recruit people from your congregation to join any of our partner organizations’ lobby days at the Capitol.
• Current partner campaigns – watch for upcoming calls to action:
  • Equality Illinois: Keeping Sex Workers Safe Act to decriminalize and codify consensual sex work.
  • IL Coalition for Immigration and Refugee Rights (ICIRR): 2025 Platform to Block things like barring children without documents from public education, to Bridge current needs for immigrant services, and to Build for the future by promoting alternative work opportunities and securing progressive revenue sources. Springfield Advocacy Days: Feb 26, Mar 20, April 10, May 22.
  • IL Clean Jobs Coalition: 2025 Platform especially the Clean & Reliable Grid Act to remove obstacles and accelerate our path to 100% renewable energy and the Clean & Equitable Transportation Act to reduce greenhouse gases through a range of transportation choices.
  • With the UU Prison Ministry of IL:
    • IL Network for Pretrial Justice: FAIR Act to establish a fully funded and independent public defense system across the state. (Note: the bill number will change this session.)
    • Elder Parole to give incarcerated seniors a chance to apply for early release.
    • LiveFree and others: Clean Slate legislation to automatically expunge and seal records.

VOTELOVE

The Carbondale Unitarian Fellowship is experimenting with an innovative model to interact with local candidates through a series of conversations with individual candidates, hosted by the congregation. Contact Bill Sasso bsasso62901@gmail.com for more info.

We’ve been asked by the Wisconsin Unitarian Universalist State Action Network to write postcards and/or text voters for a key Wisconsin Supreme Court contest April 1. Click on this button

ORDER Postcards & Sign up for TEXTBANKING

or just email rev.mark@wuusan.org with the number of postcards you want, your congregation name, your name and mailing address and whether you are interested in the late March text banking event.

This is not a time for solo activism. Please join or form a team to work together during this time of profound threat to our democracy – let me know if you’re having trouble finding others to work with as we engage in Democracy in Action together.

Love with Power,

Scott

Rev. Scott Aaseng (he/him)

Executive Director

Unitarian Universalist Advocacy Network of Illinois (UUANI)

(773) 726-9082