Improving Our Laws

Cook County Board President and Chair of the County Democratic Party Toni Preckwinkle joins Tom Suffredin and Dan Johnson on the pod to discuss some of her innovative policies with a focus on stimulating economic development and wealth creation by using the public budget to buy and forgive residents' medical debt. Medical debt can be purchased for pennies on the dollar in the secondary market. Using public budgets to relieve residents of this debt has a greater than 60 to 1 return on investment -- unheard of in similar economic development budgets like subsidizing real estate developers or businesses to relocate.

Our guest is Representative Ann Williams who discusses her leadership in environmental policy.

Our guest is Illinois Representative Lindsey LaPointe who discusses her social work background and the nitty gritty of mental health policy.

Our guest is Illinois Representative Kam Buckner. He discusses his efforts to improve and expand public transportation and the essential role transit plays in economic growth and mobility.

Our guest is Illinois Representative Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz. She discusses her efforts to reduce gun violence by imposing civil liability under consumer fraud laws to gun manufacturers for their sales and marketing practices.

Our guest is Illinois Representative Bob Morgan who discusses health insurance rate review and how empowering the state Department of Insurance to approve or reject health insurance carriers' proposed rates leads to more affordable coverage.

Our guest is Illinois Representative Kelly Cassidy who discusses her leadership in crafting innovating policies to protect reproductive freedom especially in light of other state governments severely restricting those freedoms.

Our guest is Illinois State Representative LaShawn K Ford, a leader in changing drug policy to treat addiction as a public health problem not a crime.

How do laws actually get better? Learn with two lobbyists as they go deep with a legislator on each issue on a particular policy they have changed. Dan Johnson and Tom Suffredin have both been elected politicians and work as lobbyists, drafting bills, negotiating with opponents and finding a path to make things better. Each guest shares how they got started and one policy they are proud of changing, offering an example for listeners to improve the laws in a similar way in their government.