Child Care Providers Protest Billionaire Ken Griffin’s Attempts to Block Child Care Funding
Workers joined by parents & allies called on Ken Griffin to stop attacks on the Fair Tax and the Child Care is Essential Act during press conference and car caravan.
CHICAGO – Dozens of child care providers, members of SEIU Healthcare Illinois and allies joined together this morning outside of Citadel headquarters to conduct a speakout and car caravan against billionaire and Citadel CEO Ken Griffin’s attempt to block critical funding for child care and relief for working families.
Rather than pay his fair share in taxes, Ken Griffin has spent millions to block child care funding and relief for working families. Griffin has spent over $20M on congressional Republicans and Donald Trump, who have blocked the Child Care is Essential Act, which would provide emergency funding for child care providers, for over 60 days in the U.S. Senate. He has also spent another $20M to fund efforts to block the Fair Tax in Illinois, which would provide tax relief for working families and the funding needed for child care.
During the press conference, Tahiti Hamer, Teacher at Metro YMCA of Chicago, said, “Even before COVID, child care was in a crisis, it was unaffordable for parents, and workers were overworked and underpaid. We have been working to find revenue to fund critical services like child care for at least 8 years, so why is Ken Griffin fighting the Fair Tax? Especially during the pandemic when communities need more resources, not less.”
Home Child Care Provider and SEIU Child Care Member Joslyn Ewing added, “I look at the sign on his building where he [Ken Griffin] is giving props to essential workers and thanking them, however, it seems like behind closed doors, he is blocking vital resources that we all need to keep Illinois strong and pick up from this pandemic.”
Dr. Janette Wilson, Senior Advisor to Rev. Jesse Jackson, also added, “We know that the rich are allowing those who have the least to pay the most in taxes. The Fair Tax in Illinois will allow us to level the playing field where everyone pays their fair share so that those at the bottom can take care of their children and families. We stand with SEIU Healthcare and child care workers.”
Maggie Laslo, Secretary-Treasurer of SEIU Healthcare Illinois, continued, “It is a shame that we have to be here to call out the hurtful, racist greed of Ken Griffin and others like him. It is a shame that Griffin is using his money to fund candidates for Congress that want to cut child care and give more tax breaks to the rich, and at the same time is using his money to try to protect millionaires by trying to defeat the Fair Tax in Illinois.”
As early voting is set to begin in Chicago on October 1st, and has already begun in some parts of the state, child care providers pledged to vote YES for a Fair Tax and for candidates who support child care funding.
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