Experts Discuss the ACA, Executive Orders, Immigration Policy, & More

On Wednesday, February 22nd at Columbia College in Chicago, The Illinois Campaign for Political Reform hosted a panel discussion on the potential impacts of the Trump Administration’s policies on Illinois at the state and local level. The panel explored many of the Administration’s actions, including President Trump’s recent executive order on immigration, his statements on cutting federal funding for sanctuary cities, and efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

The forum’s featured speakers were Jaime Dominguez (PhD), politics professor at Northwestern University, Suzanne McBride, Associate Journalism Professor and Chair of Communication & Media Innovation at Columbia College, Sylvia Puente, Executive Director of the Latino Policy Forum, Hon. Dick Simpson, Professor at the University of Illinois Chicago, and Jak Tichenor, Interim Director of the Paul Simon Pubic Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale. The discussion was co-moderated by ICPR Executive Director Sarah Brune and WVON 1690AM News Director & Morning Anchor Dometi Pongo. 

The discussion began with panelists exploring the effects of President Trump’s recent executive orders on immigration. Jaime Dominguez noted that currently, “racialization is driving the conversation around immigration policy,”even though immigrants come to the U.S. from many countries around the world. Sylvia Puente predicted that Chicago will be “front and center” in the ongoing national conversation about immigration. Puente also explained that there is federal funding at stake on the topic of immigration policy, noting, “no one knows what the impact of Chicago’s status as a sanctuary city will be” on the city’s budget.

The discussion then shifted towards President Trump’s proposal to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA). An estimated 850,000 residents in Illinois gained health insurance coverage from the ACA between 2010 and 2015. Dick Simpson noted that a full repeal of the ACA could cost Cook County over 300 million, and could result in “a loss of hospitals, hospital staff, and preventative care,” which could be devastating to certain areas in Chicago, where resources are already low.

Jak Tichenor noted that “because of Medicaid expansion [through the ACA], many people are covered in Illinois, and there is a lot of concern about potential cuts to the program.” Tichenor noted that these cuts would especially be felt in Southern Illinois. Jaime Dominguez noted that the cuts would also be widely felt by the Latino community in Illinois. He explained that prior to the ACA, Latinos made up the largest uninsured group in the U.S., and many now rely on services provided by ACA-funded community health centers as a main source of health care.  

Finally, panelists discussed the role of the media and non-partisan organizations in an increasingly polarized political environment. Sylvia Puente said, “there is a lot that can be done to fight for justice in a non-partisan way.” Suzanne McBride noted that journalists “need to be very careful about which words we choose” when writing about political topics. She explained the importance of continuing to report the facts, saying, “Those of us practicing journalism need to buck up, not take anything personally, and keep a straight face,” particularly during a time when many journalists feel pushback from the administration.

ICPR would like to thank Columbia College for hosting the event, Dometi Pongo for co-moderating, and all of the panelists for participating.