Category: A Message To Our Membership - PACG - Progressive Action for the Common Good

A tribute to Cath Bolkcom

11/21/2023

A tribute to PACG co-founder Cath Bolkcom

A Message from the Board

by Alison McGaughey

In my latest column, read about a woman whose grassroots work had a hand in helping a certain former Illinois senator make his way to the White House.

And if you’re on the right side of the book banning debate, I promise her story will downright give you the goosebumps.

If you already know Cath Bolkcom, I hope this interview and OFFICIAL QUAD CITIZEN QUIZ will teach you something new. As she bids farewell to the QC, (trading the Quads for the Twins, if you will), I hope you enjoy learning about Cath's life and appreciating all she has contributed to the QC. Read the article here.

More changes to our PAU - A Message to Our Members

2/21/2023

Changes to our Progressive Action Update

A Message to Our Members

In the spring of 2022, PACG made significant changes to our weekly email. We renamed it the Progressive Action Update (PAU), changed the formatting, added new sections, and tried to streamline it for easier reading. We try to have less information inside the email by including links to our actions, events and information. Most of those links go to our website.

We have been carrying this information at the bottom of our PAU and have now decided that our readership knows this information. Even though we continue to use this heading coding, you will no longer see this explanation at the bottom of the email. Instead, the email will link to this blog post.

Progressive Action Update (PAU) Headings Legend:
New This Week
Older Post
Updated Post (with new information in green)
After Action Report

Although we schedule the our weekly Progressive Action Update (PAU) email for Tuesday morning delivery, submissions to the it are due by noon on the Sunday before publication.

We are always interested in your suggestions or ideas regarding our communications with you. Please do not hesitate to contact us.

PACG Webmaster

New bill would lower drug prices - A Message to Our Membership

7/30/2022

New Bill Would Lower Drug Prices
Letter to the Editor

Health Care Reform Forum

The Health Care Reform Forum continues to encourage our community members to contact their legislators through the use of Letters to the Editor. This one was published in the Quad-City Times on July 24th. Read the published letter at the link below.

Letter to the Editor - New Bill Would Lower Drug Prices

New Bill Would Help Lower Drug Prices

Democrats in the US Senate announced an agreement to take a first step toward negotiating the prices of prescription drugs for Medicare recipients. More than 80% of Americans support such a price negotiation, which has been persistently opposed by the pharmaceutical industry.

This new proposal would allow the Department of Health and Human Services to begin price negotiations on up to ten drugs to begin in 2025 and up to ten more by 2026. Although this is a modest first step, it would save millions of dollars for consumers and for the Medicare insurance system. Lobbyists for Big Pharma are already criticizing the plan.

Since Democrats, from previous experience, expect Republicans to unite in opposition to the bill, they have secured unanimous support from their senators and hope to pass the measure through the “reconciliation” process. This would be a small but significant step toward the long-term goal of lowering the costs of many life-saving prescription drugs.

Experts believe that this bill will not only encourage innovation by drug companies, but also reduce prices. Please contact your senators (Democrats and Republicans) and urge them to support this long overdue legislation.

Frank Samuelson
Health Care Reform Forum
Progressive Action for the Common Good

Read the published letter here.

Frank Samuelson

Introducing our new Office Manager - Maggie Davis - A Message to Our Members

7/18/2022

Introducing the new PACG Office Manager - Maggie Davis

A Message to Our Members

The PACG Hiring Committee is happy to announce that we have hired a new part-time Office Manager, Maggie Davis! We had many responses to our advertisement and Maggie was one of three finalists interviewed this week. It was a tough decision but we believe that we have selected the best candidate for this job.

Maggie is originally from the Quad Cities, having graduated from St. Ambrose University with a BA in Public Relations and Marketing Communications. She worked on the south and west sides of Chicago in leadership roles with KIPP (Knowledge is Power Program), where she received accolades for her accomplishments. Her most recent job was in human resources. She comes to us with a powerful resume, terrific references and a lot of skills that will help us continue to do our progressive work for the common good. Welcome, Maggie!

the PACG Hiring Committee

Vote in the June 7th Iowa Primary today! - Action Alert

6/7/2022

Iowa's June 7th Primary - Vote Today! - Action Alert
Tuesday, June 7th from 7:00 am to 8:00 pm

A Message to Our Members

Have you voted by early by mail or in person? If not, go to your polling place today!

We are all aware of the numerous challenges facing our democracy. Your vote matters more than it ever has and is the path forward for change.

Here are a few sources of information if you need more information today:

Find your precinct: https://www.scottcountyiowa.gov/auditor/precinct-finder
Find your polling place: https://www.scottcountyiowa.gov/auditor/polling-places
Election day questions? Find answers: https://www.scottcountyiowa.gov/auditor/election-day/election-day-faq

Photo ID is required to vote.

If you still have your absentee ballot but haven't turned it in, DO NOT MAIL IT! Bring it to the Auditor's Office (600 W 4th ST, Davenport - map) before it closes at 8:00 pm today. You can fill it out and drop it there, or turn it in to vote in-person.

For our Illinois members, check the important dates in the post below for information about your June 28th primary.

Glenda Guster

Voting Primary Dates - A Message to Our Membership

5/17/2022

Iowa and Illinois Primary Voting Information
Various Dates

A Message to Our Membership

Know the dates for voting in the upcoming primary elections!

Iowa Primary Voting

May 18: First Day of Absentee Voting
May 23: Deadline to Request Absentee Ballots to be mailed
June 7: Primary Election Day

Your ballot must be received at your Iowa County Auditor's office on June 7th. Ballots will not be counted if they are received later, regardless of postmark date. This is a new voter restriction that the Iowa legislature has instituted.Learn more about voting in Scott County here: https://www.scottcountyiowa.gov/auditor

Illinois Primary Voting

May 19: Early in-person voting begins at your county clerk's office
June 12: Last day to register online to vote in Illinois. You can still register to vote in-person, up until and on election day (June 28).
June 7: Primary Election Day
June 23: Last day for election officials to receive your mail-in ballot (so make sure your mail-in ballot is postmarked before this date)
June 28: Illinois statewide primary election. Polls open at 6:00 am and close at 7:00 pm. Learn more about voting in Rock Island here: http://rockislandcountyil.gov/Elections/Home/

Lori McCollum

In with the new! - A Message to Our Members

5/9/2022

In with the new!

From the Progressive Action Update Editors

You may have noticed some changes in the Weekly Email Update (WEU) in the past month. It's not your imagination!

One of the most recent decisions made by our Communications Committee is a name change for our weekly email. it is now the Progressive Action Update! Our website and this email campaign will be incorporating the new name as quickly as possible.

We will be rolling out more changes in the future. We welcome your comments and suggestions. Thanks!

The PACG Webmaster

Earth Month Proclamations for the Quad Cities - A Message to Our Membership

5/3/2022

Earth Month Proclamations for the Quad Cities

Environmental Forum

This year the cities of Davenport, Bettendorf, Rock Island, Moline and East Moline issued proclamations regarding Earth Day. Each of these is attached below as a pdf.

The cities in Illinois all agreed to declare April of 2022 "Earth Month." Davenport declared April 18th to the 24th "Earth Week." And Bettendorf gave us "Earth Day" on April 22nd.

You can learn a lot about your home town from these.

Susan Leuthauser

east_moline_proclamation_2022.pdf
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moline_proclamation_2022.pdf
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rock_island_proclamation_2022.pdf
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davenport_proclamation_2022.pdf
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bettendorf_proclamation_2022.pdf
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PACG Member J Gardner Passes - A Message from the Board

10/24/2021

PACG Member J Gardner Passes

A Message from the Board

It is with great sadness that we acknowledge the passing of long-time PACG member Dr. J Gardner, MD.

Dr J H Gardner was a great friend and supporter of PACG. As a physician he was especially interested in health care reform, but his vast and varied life experiences made him supportive of many different progressive causes. He believed in our work at PACG, and was a generous donor.

As he aged it became more difficult for him to attend our meetings, many of which are in the evenings. The pandemic was especially isolating for him because he couldn’t go out with his friends or get to the Y to work out. But, ironically, it did lead to him becoming a regular attendee at the PACG Book Club!

Early in the pandemic PACG Board member Alta Price reached out to some of our older and less tech-savvy members to get them connected via Zoom. She says that, “No one had as little trouble getting on Zoom as Dr. Gardner, who was 91 at the time!”

“J was a loyal member of Book Club during the pandemic. We will miss his insight and the wisdom gained from a long life filled with incredible experiences. J suggested many great books for us to read and discuss. I know our Book Club enriched his life as well. When he joined us in reading Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi it was the first fantasy novel J had ever read - at age 91! He shared that it was strange, but he enjoyed it. All of our regular Book Club members will really miss him,” reports Alta.

Once on Zoom, J also served on our Finance Committee, which benefited greatly from his suggestions and guidance.

PACG Board member, Treasurer and Fundraising Chair Ann McCluskey had the following remembrance to share: "I met Dr. J H Gardner long ago over lunch. He was interested in a wide range of issues but we mostly we talked about our love of books and shared authors and book titles.

"Over the past year, Dr. Gardner was an active member of the PACG Fundraising Committee. He was responsible for introducing the concept of QCD to us, the way of giving to PACG via a Qualified Charitable Distribution. He explained that a QCD allows traditional IRA owners over 70 ½ years old to deduct from their required minimum distribution if they donate money directly from their traditional IRA to a qualified charity, explaining that the donor can give up to $100,000 to a qualified charity of their choice, lower their adjusted gross income (AGI) and effectively reduce their income taxes. Dr. Gardner was looking for a way to do more with his charitable donations and for all of us to be ongoing stewards of Progressive Action for the Common Good. We quickly adopted the QCD concept into our 2021 Fundraising Campaign. And we will use it in future campaigns.

"Dr. Gardner was interested in making sure that PACG would continue its work on progressive issues for generations to come."

PACG Book Club members Laura and Sharon shared this: "We were always glad to see Dr. Garner's smiling face on the Zoom Book Club meetings. His comments were always insightful. We will miss him."

This wonderful obituary in the Quad City Times, details some of his incredible life story. Dr. Gardner will be missed by all of us at PACG.

Donations can be made in J's honor to Planned Parenthood, the YMCA of Davenport and the Kay Gardner Memorial Foundation Fund at the Quad Cities Community Foundation.

We will let our community know when information becomes available about a memorial service.

Alta Price

ACA Wins in the Supreme Court - Again!

6/29/2021

Health Care Reform Forum
A Message to Our Membership

ACA Wins!!

On Thursday, June 17, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Affordable Care Act for the third time, leaving in place the broad provisions of the law enacted by Congress in 2010. The vote was 7 to 2. The decision threw out the challenge that Texas, and other objecting states, were not harmed in any way. "To have standing, a plaintiff must 'allege personal injury fairly traceable to the defendant's allegedly unlawful conduct and likely to be redressed by the requested relief,' " the majority wrote. "No plaintiff has shown such an injury 'fairly traceable' to the 'allegedly unlawful conduct' challenged here.”

The Biden administration has increased subsidies for lower income families and both ACA marketplace insurance and Medicaid coverage have reached record levels. We advocate that providing a “public option” would further strengthen the Affordable Care Act.

Julie Ross