PRESS RELEASE: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Carolyn Bird Salazar, Chair, kcdw@kcdwomen.com
Kane County Democratic Women: Annual Meeting and Election of Officers
ST. CHARLES, Jan. 23, 2024 – On Jan. 20, 2024, the Kane County Democratic Women (KCDW) held its annual meeting and installation of officers. The 2024-2026 officers are Carolyn Bird Salazar, Chair; Cherryl Strathmann, Vice Chair; Lois Swatscheno, Treasurer; and Kim Young, Secretary. Following the meeting, Madam Chair Salazar summarized the activities and accomplishments during the past year and motivated our members to achieve more this year.
Madam Chair Salazar then introduced the featured speaker, Congresswoman Lauren Underwood, Representative for the IL 14th District, and a member of KCDW. Since being sworn into office on January 3, 2019, Congresswoman Underwood has had 14 pieces of legislation signed into law. Her accomplishments include several important healthcare bills, which have helped families. These are the Health Care Affordability Act, which was signed into law as part of the American Rescue Plan and has been extended as part of the Inflation Reduction Act. This act limits healthcare costs to 8 1/2% of income of families, so more families can afford to sign up.
Additional healthcare bills focused on maternal health and mental health of school students. Congresswoman Underwood co-founded the Black Maternal Health Caucus to address and reduce the high mortality rate of Black mothers and also wrote the Protecting Moms Who Served Act to address maternal mortality of service members. To combat the mental health crisis in schools, she obtained over $1 million for colleges in the 14th District to set up mental health counseling programs for school counselors.
The 14th District includes rural areas with large family farms. In 2023, Congresswoman Underwood visited local farms in her district to learn the needs and concerns of farmers and ensure that the programs at the federal level are meeting those needs. Congresswoman Underwood concluded by emphasizing the accomplishments of the Democratic Party over the last three years. President Biden signed into law the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill and created millions of jobs. Twenty million people signed up for affordable insurance at healthcare.gov at the beginning of this year. The economy is doing well, and inflation is coming down. It is up to each of us to vote and make sure America continues to be the leader of the free world.
ABOUT THE KANE COUNTY DEMOCRATIC WOMEN: The mission of the KCDW is to harness the political power of Democratic women to create positive social change through engagement, education, and empowerment. Meetings are open to the public and held on the first Wednesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. They alternate between Oak Street Restaurant in North Aurora and Carmina’s Restaurant in Elgin.
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