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During the COVID-19 pandemic, as America was seeing a rise in anti-Asian violence, Democratic incumbent Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz of Glenview stewarded legislation that made Illinois the first state to require Asian American history to be taught in public schools. “Empathy comes from understanding,” Gong-Gershowitz told us. Her grandparents emigrated from China in the 1920s and feared deportation under the Chinese Exclusion Acts. “A lack of […]

Mary Manching felt a disconnect between her Asian American heritage and what she was learning at Northside College Prep. “I never saw myself represented in the history curriculum,” said Manching, a graduating senior at the selective enrollment high school in the North Park neighborhood. “I knew what it was like to not have a lot of people that looked like me, that I could […]

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — When the Asian American Student Union at a Connecticut high school organized a Zoom call following the killing of six Asian women in Atlanta, senior Lily Feng thought maybe 10 or 15 classmates would attend. When she logged on, more than 50 people from her school were online. By the call’s end, nearly 100 people had joined. Seeing her peers […]

As hate incidents against Asian Americans continue to rise nationwide, Representative Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz of Illinois said that a new bill, which would be the first in the nation to require Asian American history to be taught in public schools, will help to address “harmful stereotypes” and “defeat ignorance.” “As a student of the Illinois public schools, I knew nothing about the Chinese Exclusion Acts […]

The Illinois lower house passed a bill on Wednesday requiring public schools to teach Asian-American history, setting the stage for possible adoption of milestone legislation amid rising incidents of violence against people of Asian descent. The bill, which would mandate the teaching of a unit of Asian-American history in public elementary and high schools starting in the 2022-2023 school year, passed the Democratic-controlled House […]

Advocates for suburban schools are recognizing state Rep. Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz, a Glenview Democrat, with the ED-RED Legislator of the Year award for her work promoting high-quality education in local public schools. “I am truly honored to receive this award from ED-RED,” Gong-Gershowitz said. “We share a commitment to the inherent worth of every child and to building an innovative education system that prepares every […]

If voters want to decrease the domination of Democrats in the Illinois House led by Speaker Michael Madigan, they’ll get their opportunity on the November ballot when 66 of the chamber’s 118 districts will feature a contested race. Currently the House has 74 Democrats and 44 Republicans. The candidates we like best — Democrats as well as Republicans — are independent-minded, fiscally prudent and […]

The district is in the fine hands of an immigration lawyer who looks out for children and calls out House Speaker Michael Madigan. Soon after being elected to her first term two years ago, Democratic state Rep. Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz, an immigration lawyer, went to work on legislation to help protect children when they must contend with our nation’s antiquated immigration system. One bill, co-sponsored […]

The freshman North Shore legislator has received nearly $247,000 from Madigan. She said she called the speaker to let him know she’d be calling for him to step down, but didn’t offer more details about their call. A north suburban legislator who has benefited from nearly $247,000 in contributions from House Speaker Michael Madigan is now calling for the beleaguered political powerhouse to step […]

GLENVIEW — State Rep. Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz (D-Glenview) kicked off her campaign for the 2020 election Thursday with a formal gathering of supporters. Gong-Gershowitz and her team hosted the celebration at the Ten Ninety Brewing Co. in Glenview. She and state Sen. Laura Fine (D-Evanston) both delivered speeches after they gathered signatures to petition for Gong-Gershowitz’s official nomination. “Tonight was a night to be surrounded […]

Today, IL-17 Democratic nominee Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz and former opponent Candance Chow released the following statements: Candance Chow: “Over the past few months, I have had a series of discussions with Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz and shared my concerns for the changes we need in Springfield to better serve our communities and face our challenges as a state. Jennifer’s recent statements on the need for continued pressure […]

What began as a march has evolved into a movement where women from around the country and across the political spectrum have come together to say #MeToo and #TimesUp. I marched too in the hope that our voices would be heard and our stories validated by action. Since then, there have been positive steps in the right direction—but not enough. On May 30, 2018, […]

At our best, America stands for more than nationhood; it is a promise. What binds us together is not necessarily a shared ancestry but a shared set of core values and ideals. While we may not always agree on how best to achieve those ideals, America believes in liberty, equality, democracy, individualism, unity and diversity. The foundation of American democracy is that we each […]

GLENVIEW, Ill. – Why would Governor Rauner support Trump’s policies that jail immigrant families despite more humane, cost-effective alternatives that ensure due process? Tragically, the answer is profit. ICE detention is a billion-dollar business, and Rauner is personally profiting from it. This is a clear conflict of interest given policy decisions he has the power to make regarding immigration and prison privatization in Illinois. […]

GLENVIEW, Ill. – The recent harassment allegations against leaders in Springfield have made one thing abundantly clear – we need change. Harassment, abuse and retaliation of any kind have no place in our political system. We must demand better. As a human rights attorney who has defended victims of sex trafficking, forced marriage and domestic violence for over 20 years, I will not tolerate […]