Category: Action Alert - PACG - Progressive Action for the Common Good

Take Action for Clean Water - Action Alert

9/17/2025

Take Action for Clean Water

Environmental Forum

Last November, USEPA added 7 segments of Iowa rivers to the impaired river list due to high nitrate levels. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) pushed back on the decision. The EPA rescinded their November decision. Coincidentally, IDNR is having their triennial virtual public hearings on water quality standards on September 18 at 9:30 am and September 23 at 2:30 pm. Here's our opportunity to express our opinion on this issue.

Follow this link for more background information on this issue.

Click here for details of the hearing and Zoom link.

Susan Leuthauser (she/her)

Comment on repeal of Roadless Rule

9/17/2025

A Vision for the Planet

Environmental Forum

The Roadless Rule

Are you aware that the current administration is attempting to revoke the Roadless Rule? This law was established in 2001 during the Bush administration by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to protect National Forest System lands. (It has an interesting and political history that is explained here.) It bans road construction and timber harvesting in roadless areas to preserve them from development.

Per Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics (FSEEE):
Rescinding the Roadless Rule would not only increase road construction, but would also support clear-cutting old-growth forests and increase pollution from mineral extraction. According to the Outdoor Recreation Roundtable, national forests and other public lands provide the foundation for a $1.2 trillion per year industry that would be harmed by the these industrial activities.

There is currently a period of public comment. Go to Regulations.gov and enter FS-2025-0001 (or click here) and voice your opinion.

This comment period closes on 9/19 but there will be another opportunity in March, assuming this draft passes. You can describe how these roadless areas have benefited you in terms of recreation and hunting, how they reduce the potential for wildfires and help keep our water clean, and how they provide a contiguous area for animal habitat.

Lori McCollum

Hands Off rally has huge turnout - After Action Report

4/5/2025

Hands Off! An estimated 2000 Quad Cities activists fight back

Mass Mobilization on Saturday, April 5th

PACG joined thousands of protesters at the "Hands Off!" Rally at Friends of MLK Park and Interpretive Center in Davenport, IA, on Saturday April 5th from 11 am to 1:00 pm. This is one of many such events held across the country opposing the actions taken by the president and his staff on human rights, employment, civil rights, immigration, education, the environment, and many other issues that affect the daily lives of all Americans. On this chilly morning, concerned citizens with signs and voices filled the park to listen to speakers and to rally the traffic on both sides of Brady Street from the bottom of the hill to the top. Cars driving by honked their support of the event. We are making an impact!

Twelve hundred rallies were organized by Indivisible and other groups, and every state in the union had at least one rally. We published this post about the plans for the Davenport rally earlier this week.

Here's the first bit of press about our rally: Hands Off rally draws big crowd in Davenport by Ed Tibbetts.

We are also using two videos by Stella Roeser. Here is the crowd driving up Brady. Here is a walking view of some of the crowd.

The images below were from Stella and Kyle Roeser and Ann McCluskey. Thank you!

Hands Off Mobilization - Action Alert

4/1/2025

Hands Off! Quad Cities Fights Back Action Alert!
Saturday, April 5th at 11:00 am

MLK Interpretive Center
501 Brady St
Davenport, IA (map)

Indivisible QC POP People Over Politics (East Moline)

PACG encourages everyone to participate in this nation-wide April 5th Hands Off! protest. The East Moline Indivisible chapter, QC POP People Over Politics, is organizing the Quad Cities peaceful protest rally. You can find them at the Indivisible home page by scrolling down to Find A Group and searching for Indivisible QC POP People over Politics.

Make a Hands Off sign and come to the rally!

Donald Trump and Elon Musk think this country belongs to them. Quad Cities is fighting back!

They're taking everything they can get their hands on - our health care, our data, our jobs, our services - and daring the world to stop them. This is a crisis, and the time to act is now.

🚨 On Saturday, April 5th, we're taking to the streets to fight back with a clear message: Hands off! 🚨

Where: Friends of MLK Park and Interpretive Center, 501 Brady St, Davenport, IA

When: 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. April 5, 2025

This mass mobilization day is our message to the world that we do not consent to the destruction of our government and our economy for the benefit of Trump and his billionaire allies. Alongside Americans across the country, we are marching, rallying, and protesting to demand a stop the chaos and build an opposition movement against the looting of our country.

A core principle behind all Hands Off! events is a commitment to nonviolent action. We expect all participants to seek to de-escalate any potential confrontation with those who disagree with our values.

This is the link for downloadable signs: handsoff2025.com There are signs in both English and Spanish. We encourage you to bring a sign but you do not have to.

This rally is for both Congressional District #17 for Illinois and District #1 for Iowa.

Alta Price (she/her)

Save the Milan Bottoms - Action Alert!

3/31/2025

Save the Milan Bottoms! Action Alert!
Monday, April 14th at 5:30 pm

Rock Island City Hall
1528 3rd Ave
Rock Island, IL (map)

Save Milan Bottoms and PACG Environmental Forum

Despite large public outcry, Rock Island City Council is moving forward with plans to develop a truck stop and marijuana dispensary near the Milan Bottoms. The wetlands at Milan Bottoms is the largest bald eagle roost in the lower 48 states and is also home to other various endangered species. Building close to this natural environment will be ecologically devastating.

Please come to the Rock Island City Council meeting on April 14th to show opposition to the proposed development. Bringing signs and making a public comment to the council are encouraged!

If you have not already signed the Protect Milan Bottoms - The Quad Cities' Largest Intact Natural Area petition, please do so now. We have over 3000 signatures but would like the City Council to know that Quad Citians care about this issue! We cannot take our eagles for granted!

Thank you for caring about wildlife.

Tabitha

Progressive calendars of events and actions in the QCA - What You Can Do Now

3/26/2025

Progressive calendars in the QCA

PACG Forums

Want to explore more ways you can get involved in progressive actions and events in the QCA? We are collecting calendars for our Community Events page! They are posted at the top of the website page, so if you are looking for information about a particular event, you will have to do some scrolling.

Here's the link for the PACG events calendar.

Our friends at One Human Family-QCA started the QC Activism calendar in 2024 and we have put it on our Community Events page. You may add events to this calendar here.

Activist Leslie DuPree, President of Quad Cities National Organization for Women (QC NOW), is single-handedly managing the QC Action Calendar as a Google Document. Her contact information is at the top of it.

Clock, Inc is dedicated to creating a safe and supportive community center, offering vital resources, mental health programs, empowerment, and advocacy for the LGBT+ community to thrive without fear of discrimination. The Clock, Inc Events calendar is here.

MainStream, formerly known as The Real Mainstream, is a progressive, intersectional, LGBTQ+ affirming publication serving Illinois and Iowa, and available online and in print. They have a number of calendars for eastern Iowa and northwest Illinois, including a filter for adults-only and spiritual Sunday gatherings. The MainStream calendar for Quad Cities Events is here.

If you know of other groups in our area who are compiling calendar events and actions, please contact us at [email protected].

DOGE Privacy Act request - What You Can Do Now

3/23/2025

DOGE Privacy Act requests

Civil Rights Forum
U.S. Representative Jamie Raskin has suggested that citizens file formal demands for access to the data that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and Elon Musk have obtained on us.

The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has issued an injunction commanding DOGE to comply with citizen requests under the Freedom of Information Act. This law encompasses the Federal Privacy Act of 1974, which entitles any citizen to access personal information held in any U.S. government records system.

This newly recognized federal agency, which has been systematically accessing government computer data systems, now has an obligation to respond to specific information demands from any of the 340 million U.S. citizens who exercise their legal right to defend their privacy and establish the security of their private information.

Citizens need only download, print and fill out the form, sign it and mail it to DOGE (the address on the pdf). (Note: a Wet Signature means using pen on paper.)

Alta Price (she/her)

doge_privacy_request.pdf
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No lead in our water - Action Alert

3/4/2025

Ask Congress to keep lead out of our water Action Alert

Environmental Forum

Please contact your US House Representative (Mariannette Miller-Meeks in Iowa and Eric Sorenson in Illinois) to voice your opinion on this issue.

Resolution H.J. Res. 44 was introduced in Congress on Feb 12th to repeal the “National
Primary Drinking Water Regulations for Lead and Copper: Improvements (LCRI)." The
EPA adopted this rule in October, 2024 that requires the replacement of all lead-containing
water service lines over the next decade. Contact your representative and ask him/her to
keep lead out of our water by voting "NO" on H.J.Res. 44 and any other similar resolution.

Mariannette Miller-Meeks can be reached at 202-225-6576
Eric Sorenson can be reached at 202-225-5905

Susan Leuthauser (she/her)

5 Calls Action Alert! What You Can Do Now

2/25/2025

Remember 5 Calls? It's more important than ever. Action Alert

Board of Directors

In 2017 PACG introduced our community to 5Calls.org as an ongoing way that we can push back when our progressive values are at risk. We really need it now! You can download the app right to your phone or use the online version (https://5calls.org) on your computer.

From 5Calls.org: Calling your representative is the best way to make your voice heard.

Once your congressperson forms a public stance on an issue, it’s hard for them to walk it back. The earlier they hear your opinion, the more likely it is you’ll make an impact. Calling is by far the most effective way to ensure that your representative hears you before they take a public stance.

They even have a page called "Getting Started." By typing your Zip Code into the phone app you can be connected directly to your US legislators' offices. Choose one of the (presently) 29 topics and get a script to help you make an informed statement to those offices. The topics change as issues of concern change but as of today they include Protect your IRS data from DOGE, Protect medical funding, Protect the Mission of the EPA and many many more. Check it out!

David Anderson (he/him)

Nonviolent Resistance training - What You Can Do Now

2/19/2025

Nonviolent Resistance and Civil Disobedience Training
Wednesday, February 26th at 8:00 am via Zoom

One Human Family

PACG encourages any of its activists interested in protest during the upcoming year to take this training from Rev. Rich Hendricks, hosted by One Human Family QC. PACG members at our events need to commit to nonviolence. Learn how to keep yourself safe while participating in the resistance.

This successful training will be repeated as often as possible. The information is the same in each class so if you have taken it one time you will know how to protest with nonviolence.

Please join on this link or from this website.

Alta Price (she/her)