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Illinois State News

Vol. 2, No. 4--May 11, 2005

Rockford, Illinois:

On April 14, members of the Rockford Progressive Meetup and Seniors for a Progressive Society met with Rich Carter, Director of Communications for Congressman Don Manzullo, 16th District of Illinois, at Manzullo's office in Rockford, Illinois. The meeting was part of a national effort by Democracy for America and Progressive Democrats of America to highlight serious concerns and opposition to President Bush's scheme to 'privatize' Social Security - all in the guise of 'reform.' Rockford Progressive Meetup coordinator Holly Johnson headed the group and presented a letter from the RPM membership stating the group's position on proposals to privatize and ultimately destroy the Social Security program.

While Mr. Carter expressed many of the standard Republican 'talking points', he indicated that Congressman Manzullo has taken no final position on privatization because a detailed plan has not been formulated by the White House or by the House Ways and Means Committee which will ultimately have the task of writing a bill. Group members brought up a number of concerns about the privatization scheme which trouble them. The meeting with Mr. Carter was cordial and the RPM and SPS members thanked him for his time and attention to our concerns.

On Friday, April 29, the day after President Bush's Social Security 'infomercial' on national television, a report on RPM's meeting with Rich Carter appeared in the Rockford Register Star newspaper along with a picture of Holly Johnson. Sadly it was buried in the middle of the Business Section of the paper. Nonetheless we will continue to make our presence in the community known. Our next action is a community project scheduled for May 15 when we will 'clean up' the Sinnissippi Gardens along the bike path that follows the Rock River.

Karen Gutierrez
PDA Chapter - Rockford, Illinois

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