The Good E-Mail Series: Robert Emmons, Jr.

Robert Emmons is running for the South Side Chicago seat (IL-01) occupied by entrenched, corrupt careerist Bobby Rush. A grassroots activist without a rolodex that rains money, Emmons is doing his best to raise campaign cash the old-fashioned way, explaining why he has something to offer to the voters in his district. He sent this one out yesterday, under the subject line The price of your zip code? 30 years of your life:

A recent Economist article revealed that a ride on the 23-mile, north-to-south “L” train Red Line in Chicago corresponds with a staggering statistic: life expectancy varies by 30 years depending on what end of Red Line you’re on. That’s how disparate our income levels are in Chicago-- a disparity that literally deprives people in the poorer areas of Chicago of 30 years compared to people in the more prosperous neighborhoods.

The statistics are no surprise to me. Our campaign focuses heavily on the disparities and injustices responsible for the struggles in our community. When Blue America, a progressive organization that’s endorsed us, asked me to weigh in on The Economist piece, I mentioned the loss of my best friend, who died of gun violence near the lower half of that Red Line route.

Don’t let any more people become a statistic.

As I told Blue America, his death was preventable: “It was preventable with a living wage, Universal pre-k, Medicare-for-All, and a Green New Deal. We must approach the epidemic that is gun violence as a public health crisis, and then eradicate the disease once and for all.”

Blue America sees what I see here in IL-01 and across the country: not only do we need to oust Republican lawmakers, we also need to oust apathetic Democrats who’ve let our communities suffer on their watch. That’s why Blue America has endorsed our campaign and three other Chicago-area progressives. And all of us are running against Democrat incumbents who aren’t getting the job done.

Folks, getting the job done is literally a matter of life and death. Help me dismantle the system that is literally responsible for the early deaths of people in our most vulnerable communities.

In solidarity,

—REJr

Short and to the point-- just the way a fundraising letter should be. Please consider contributing to Robert's campaign by clocking on the Chicagoland thermometer just above on the right.