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What the heck is #50501 and where was Jen last Saturday?!




Transcript -


Hello, friends, and welcome back to Sunshine Strategies Radio. My name is Jen McMillin, and I am the founder of Sunshine Strategies and your host for the podcast. I apologize. It's been a little bit since I last recorded. The world's been crazy.


I have been very, very busy, and we're all seeming to fight a stomach bug at the McMillin household. So I do apologize that it's been a little bit since I last checked in with everyone. As you know, one of the core components of what I do is getting local communities engaged. That's the focus of our mission here at Sunshine Strategies is to make community work for Illinois families in rural areas. And I wanted this episode to focus a little bit on civic engagement today because as we move forward in the Trump administration, I see us going out and participating at record levels to go out and show our politicians what we need and want from our government.


And the way to do that is through civic engagement. So, today, I'm going to talk a little bit about ways that families and kids can be involved in civic engagement activities in a fun and safe manner. And I'm gonna share with you the speech that I gave last week at the fifty fifty one protest in Springfield, Illinois. I was so happy to be a part of that huge movement. The last report that I saw, and please know that these are all estimates.


But the last report that I saw from Alt National Parks was that over 5,000,000 people nationwide protested the Trump administration's policies and Elon Musk's involvement in the US government. So I was very proud to be a part of that protest, and I'd like to share it with you. I promise it's a very short speech, the words that I shared last Saturday. So, let's jump into the news. Well, actually, no. Let's jump into what civic engagement is and why it matters.

So civic engagement is all about getting involved in your community to make it a better place. It can mean voting or volunteering. It could be helping out your neighbors or even just staying informed by listening to podcasts, news reports or reading the newspaper. So why does that matter? In Illinois, like every state, we thrive when people get involved, whether it's helping out at your local food pantry or running for your school board. Speaking out about your local issues makes sure that your voice and your family's voice can make a difference in the world.


And I would just like to point out that if things are happening in your world today that you don't agree with, figure out how you can best work to solve that and get to work. And how can you do that? And how can you keep your kids involved? So a lot of times, you can go and find a local event that you can show up at. As I said, I was at a 5051 protest in Springfield this past weekend.


We did have some kids there. The average age of the kids there were, you know, middle schoolers to high schoolers. At earlier protests for the fifty fifty one movement, I've seen kids as young as mine, as, three at the protest. So, I would say just be mindful of the locations, and as always, safety is a priority. But there are easy ways that you can go out and not have to go to a protest.


Some communities host events like movie nights, or they will have candidate information centers, or they will do, postcard events. Just figure out ways that you guys can get involved locally. You can, of course, look those up on social media or your newspaper or just ask your other, friends that are like minded. Another way that families can get involved is to write a letter. You can pick out somebody that you admire or somebody that you have a question for and write that public official a letter.


One of my favorite people to write to is Governor Pritzker. I ended up back during COVID, and I was so thankful for him and all of the hard work that he was doing, quarantining from his family, that I ended up writing him a letter just saying thank you for being such a great leader during that time. And every once in a while, those public officials will write you back. I still have the response that Governor Pritzker sent me. So, another easy way, and you're doing it right now, is to stay informed.


You can listen to the news and talk at your dinner table, your lunch table, or even at bedtime about what's going on in the world with your kids. They have lots and lots of questions, as I'm sure you do too. If ever those questions get to be too hard to answer, please email me, shoot me a question on social media, and I would be happy to cover it in the next podcast episode. And, so this week, I want you to find one thing that you guys and your household can do that is civic engagement. And let me know how that goes, whether that is going out and supporting a local candidate, door-knocking, or even just reading the newspaper together.


Just let me know how it goes. As a part of my civic engagement, I didn't bring my kids to the rally last weekend. It was coordinated with a lot of other organizations. Indivisible, Move On, the women's march, all these groups gathered to tell the Trump administration, hands off of my government. One of my skill sets is talking to people, so I brought that to the rally instead of my kids.


And today, I want to share that speech with you too because, you know, I do think that it is very important for everyone to hear, and it really ties in with, what we just talked about with civic engagement. So when I showed up on Saturday, there were so many people. Estimated in Springfield in Springfield, Illinois, there were about 1,500 to 2,000 people in attendance for the rally. Thank you to everyone who showed up. We appreciate seeing everybody come out and support, you know, standing up to Elon Musk and Donald Trump.


Now, the speech that I give is very personal, and I hope that if it strikes a chord with you, you will get up and get involved. If you don't know how, reach out and let me know, and I would be happy to help you get involved too. So, normally, I love speaking in front of people. But last Saturday, it took a lot more courage than normal for me to get up and speak because last Saturday, I took a step back into the arena. I had stepped away from politics.


It was too broken. It, in fact, almost broke me. But last November, when Donald Trump was reelected, I knew no one was coming to save us. I watched as my worst fears became our reality, and I chose to fight again. I thought of my friends Bill and Joe, now resting in Old Union Cemetery in Logan County.


I thought of Lincoln, Illinois, the only place in my career where I truly belonged. A place that taught me what business should be: rooted in people, not profit. Where I learned that philanthropy is not justice, and hope alone won't rebuild a town. I've watched the slow theft of rural America, our crops, our youth, our future, shipped out, sold off, and forgotten. And the wealth?


It didn't stay either. It built rockets for billionaires and silence for the rest of us. So I got to work preserving cemeteries, reviving Lincoln College, and building middle-income housing. No office, no title. Just grit, purpose, and a love for home and community.


Now I ask you, are you ready to join me in the fight? Because this country doesn't just belong to the powerful. It belongs to us. To the people in pews and union halls, to caretakers, teachers, and middle-aged moms with no time to waste. So go home.


Make your stand there. Find your people. Fix what's broken where you live. As Lincoln said, the dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. We must rise to the occasion.


They will not hand this country back to us. We have to rise and take it. Now, together, let's go save this republic. So, if you are ready to get involved and join in this fight, please reach out to an organization that matches your values and passion. If you aren't sure what organization that might be or you'd like to get involved more locally, please reach out to me or you can reach out to your local Indivisible group.


I know that your local Democratic County parties are looking for more volunteers as well. So I'd be happy to connect you if you're not sure where to start. My email is Jen, j e n, at Jen McMillan, m c m I l l I n, dot com. Alright. Now, to wrap up today's episode, I am going to do a quick drive-by of the news, and I hope in the next couple of days to come back with an update on what the heck's going on with the stock market in the next couple of days.


But I don't do finance, so I might have to run that past somebody who does before I bring that episode to you. So, April kicks off Child Abuse Prevention Month here in Illinois and across the nation. It is a campaign that emphasizes the crucial role that caring adults can play in preventing child abuse. If you are driving by your local courthouse, sometimes a hospital, you might see the blue pinwheels. That is what that is for is child abuse prevention month.

So, I hope that no one ever needs it. But if you do, please reach out to your local crisis nursery. There are several throughout the States. Or reach out to someone in your community if you are in hell or need help. I do have exciting news.


We always get a lot of bad news out of the Chicago area. But last week, I, was happy to see that they reported that Chicago leads the nation in nine one one assisted bystander CPR. So that means that when people call in and report an emergency, that dispatcher can help the person, perform CPR in the moment and help save lives. So, there was a 14% increase between 2021 and 2023 in Chicago. So great job, guys.


If you don't know how to do CPR, your local Red Cross has great programs that you can do and get certified. As of January 1, there are some new protections for family caregivers and employment. Anyone who provides personal care to family members is protected from employment discrimination based on family responsibilities. This was an amendment to the Illinois Human Rights Act, and it shows the vital contributions that people provide within their homes as family caregivers. If you have any questions about that one, I will put a link to the article in the description below.


Exciting news as the Southern Illinois baseball team splits a doubleheader with Missouri State. I don't follow a lot of baseball. Politics is my sport, Bbutthey, went extra innings in the opener, and the Salukis secured an eight-to-seven walk-off win in the nightcap. So great job, guys. Then, on April 4, a US district court judge struck down a provision of the Illinois Health Care Right of Conscientious Act that compelled pro-life physicians in pregnancy centers to promote pro abortion messaging.


The court upheld the abortion referral mandate, prompting the Thomas More Society to plan an appeal to the seventh circuit. So that one is gonna be another contentious battle, but I don't know how I feel about that one. That one just says that if a physician doesn't believe that abortion is acceptable, they won't have to give that as an option to their patients, which I don't support. But if you'd like more information about that, again, the article will be in the description below. And let's see.


And to wrap up today's episode about civic engagement, the ACLU of Illinois, put out an article emphasizing the significance of participating in your local elections. Decisions made at the local level always impact the local communities first, underscoring the importance of staying informed by listening to the news and reading your newspaper, and talking to your community members. And I think that's gonna wrap it up today for this episode of Sunshine Strategies Radio. I hope that this was helpful, that you enjoyed it, and I hope to come back soon with an update on the stock market craziness. I'm still trying to figure it out myself.

So when I know it well enough to explain it to Charlie, I'll be back with an episode. Alright. Have a good one, and I'll talk soon. Bye.


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