GLEN CARBON – State Rep. Dwight Kay (R-Glen Carbon) is facing stiff opposition in November from Democrat challenger Katie Stuart, who was backed Tuesday by the Illinois Alliance of Retired Americans – a group made up of retired members of labor unions such as AFSCME, the UAW, SEIU, AFL-CIO and teachers.
Among the issues the IARA is interested in is expanding Medicare and Medicaid, lifting any caps on Social Security and "Fair Trade," according to its website.
Rep. Kay has faced stiff opposition by Democrats in the past, and was able to ward off the challenges.
The senior group, which is staunchly opposed to Governor Rauner as well, has endorsed Hillary Clinton in the upcoming presidential election.
“Hillary Clinton has been a champion for retirees throughout her distinguished career. Her life’s work exemplifies the Alliance’s mission to enhance the quality of life for all Americans,” said Robert Roach, Jr., President of the Alliance. “She has pledged to strengthen and expand Social Security, and she will oppose efforts to cut, privatize or shift Medicare costs to retirees. We are confident she will work to rein in the uncontrolled prices of prescription drugs which are far outpacing the rate of inflation and forcing too many retirees to choose between food and medicine.”
“Secretary Clinton has our full support as the candidate who will protect the rights and interests of older Americans,” said Joseph Peters, Jr., Secretary-Treasurer of the Alliance. “She has an unmatched record of public service and earned a lifetime score of 100% from the Alliance for her pro-retiree votes as a U.S. Senator. We can count on her to protect our retirement security and she can count on us to educate, mobilize and turn out older voters for this critical and historic election. We encourage all of our members to vote for her and to bring at least two other voters to the polls with them.”
“No one has ever been more ready to provide seniors with what they need on Day One,” added Roach. “She will protect our traditional pension plans from attack. She will stop the proposed TPP trade agreement before it locks in patent protections and makes it more difficult for the U.S. government to reduce prescription costs in public programs like Medicare.”
