Sen. Dick Durbin will bring the Chicago woman who inspired him to introduce the Dream Act 25 years ago to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address Tuesday, as several Illinois Democrats plan to instead skip it.
They are joining dozens of other Democrats who say they won’t listen to the president offer his account of the state of the nation after a year of forceful deportation campaigns and health care cuts.
Sen. Tammy Duckworth, along with U.S. Reps. Mike Quigley, Sean Casten, Delia Ramirez, Jan Schakowsky and Eric Sorensen, say they won’t attend the annual address, with Duckworth calling it "another campaign rally full of lies."
"Nearly every day, this President and his Administration tells Americans to believe one thing as we see something else with our own eyes," Duckworth said in a statement. "We’d all be better off if we listened to the facts — which are exactly the opposite of what comes out of his mouth."
Schakowsky said constituents have flooded her office with calls asking her to skip this speech.
"I cannot, in good conscience, sit in that House chamber on Tuesday night and pretend everything is normal while families across my district are living in constant fear of this administration and fighting every day just to keep food on the table and a roof over their heads," Schakowsky said in a statement.
Ramirez is joining at least 15 other Democrats in instead attending a protest event at the National Mall called the "People’s State of the Union." Quigley said he will be attending a virtual town hall hosted by Indivisible Barrington instead.
Durbin on Monday said his guest is Tereza Lee, a concert pianist raised on the North Side by Korean immigrants, whose life story inspired Durbin to introduce legislation that would become known as the Dream Act. The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act would allow noncitizens without legal status who were brought to the U.S as children — and meet certain education, military service or work requirements — to earn lawful permanent residence. But the measure remains stalled after being first introduced in 2001. Durbin has introduced the legislation every Congress since, including the Dream Act of 2025 with U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska.
Lee, born in Sao Paulo Brazil, came to the U.S. with her parents at age two legally on visitors’ visas and grew up in Chicago. She was 12 when she learned of her immigration status — and learned her father was afraid to fill out any paperwork that would attract attention to her immigration status. A Lane Tech High School music teacher helped her get accepted into the Merit School of Music — and the school ultimately helped her get through college.
Lee went on to obtain a Doctorate from the Manhattan School of Music and has been a teacher there since 2011. She played her debut at Carnegie Hall in 2009 — and is now a U.S. citizen.
Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi’s guest is a 21-year-old University of Illinois at Chicago student whose father was held in Broadview during the peak of Operation Midway Blitz, and Rep. Robin Kelly will bring Chicago Urban League CEO Karen Freeman-Wilson. Rep. Bill Foster’s guest is Suzanne Hoban, founder and executive director of the Family Health Partnership Clinic, which provides health care to uninsured adults in McHenry County.
Rep. Nikki Budzinski is bringing Laura Petty, a constituent from downstate Alton, whose family has been affected by rising healthcare costs, and Rep. Brad Schneider is bringing Learning Resources CEO Rick Woldenberg, who sued the Trump administration over tariffs. Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Trump’s sweeping tariffs, and Woldenberg’s company was one of the plaintiffs in that suit.
Rep. Jonathan Jackson’s guest is Pastor Sandy Gillespie, an advocate worried about hunger and SNAP benefits. Rep Lauren Underwood’s guest will be Pastor Jennifer Amy-Dressler of Open Table United Church of Christ in Ottawa.
Rep. Jesus "Chuy" Garcia last month announced Marimar Martinez, the Chicago woman who was shot five times by Border Patrol agents in Chicago last fall, would be his guest.
Ino Saves New
via rk2’s favorite articles on Inoreader https://ift.tt/C5N3MT2
February 23, 2026 at 05:28PM
Illinois Delivered 