State Voices

So I think that what the party is learning is that the idea of who can win is changing. It doesn’t have to be what it was at one time. And I think that when you talk about, for instance, Representative Summer Lee potentially making history not as a nominee but as the first Black woman to go to Congress [from Pennsylvania] in November, she is an epitome of party leadership learning…that anyone can win in any district if they [do] the hard work. …I think party leadership has always had this idea of who can win and many times that person was not a Black woman for certain communities. So we are learning, we are seeing, we are getting educated, and we’re seeing through the wins and losses how this is evolving. And it’s a great time to be involved and engaged in politics because it’s almost like a real evolution in terms of who traditionally could win versus who’s been successful electorally these last few elections. [Interview conducted in August 2022.]"

Because of my union, I have been empowered to stand up and speak up and challenge people and I think that if we don’t…if we’re in the rooms and we don’t do that, then who will? So that kind of falls on us. Women of color, we still have to take on that emotional labor and it can be really exhausting and come with some personal risk…[because] you’re putting your reputation on the line. You challenge authority. There [are] a lot of things to navigate when you think about intersectionalities. …Because of my union — we do have more ownership, more power, more authority, and are seen as experts. And so we take the responsibility seriously."

I think for me, coming out of organizing and activism spaces, the current two-party system wasn’t necessarily fitting into my ideology around education, criminal justice reform, gun violence, all the issues. And I think that was the driving force around me deciding to run for office. I feel that when I was approached by the WFP, Working Families Party, to run, [like] most women, [I thought], ‘I’m not a politician.’ …The reason I fight for these things is because I’m an impacted person coming from impacted communities, raising children that will also be impacted young adults, right? And first, I thought [of] the reasons why I thought I shouldn’t run. But then I thought, if not me, then who?"

I think being unapologetic about needing that level of support is something that we need to do. …We need a space just to talk because men will be men. Men take up a lot of air no matter Black, white, green, whatever. [We need a space] where can we come together and work through the realization of what it means to be in politics, number one, being a woman in politics, and then adding being a Black woman in politics and what does that mean? And the hurdles and the stress and consequences that come with that."

I think that [what] comes with being a woman in leadership is this responsibility of how do we pay it forward for the next generation? I know that I certainly have that sense of ‘What can I do to support other women? How can I uplift women in leadership roles?’ I did it when I was in my previous role and I do it now — that continual work of supporting one another so that we can continue to have women in leadership. [Interview conducted in August 2022 before Burkhead left office.]"

The way in which we do the [political] work is centered around humans that aren’t responsible for other humans. Meaning I’m a mother, I have three children. I have a 13, 11, and eight year-old. And I was a mother of two when I started this work…and then I had my third child on the job. …If I didn’t have my family and the women in my family, there’s no way in the world that I would be here because it would have been impossible. I couldn’t have afforded childcare because it would have been cost prohibitive even for me. I wouldn’t have been able to travel. I wouldn’t have been able to concentrate on learning the job. …My aunt didn’t just take care of my children. She made sure that my family was intact, and that’s an important component that’s never really explored which is why you don’t always see us in these spaces [of political leadership] because why would you? There’s nothing to support us being in these spaces as people who have more accountability and responsibility."

So just checking the box of female, is it enough? It’s also females who are tethered to values that promote our power and our self determination. It’s got to start being more intentional. …The definitions are going to have to become more specific."

One thing we started doing at our office is we have a kid’s room. And so employees can bring their kids to the office if they need to. And [there are] lots of toys there. There’s TV, Disney Plus, books and that, right? But I’ve been working in this [advocacy] space for quite some time and never did have a manager sit here and say, ‘Well, okay you have kids. How can I, as your manager, help you be the best version of yourself professionally but also personally?’ And I think being a woman and being a mom has made me think about that a lot."

I think that [the support infrastructure for women in politics] also needs to be beyond just women who are running for office or who are in office because being in politics is multifaceted. I often feel like the women who are the campaign managers or the finance directors or the communications staff are often not…looked at when we’re having these types of conversations. But these are the women that are helping people win or that are maintaining the agenda, right? Or the backbone of whoever it is, right, you know? …I’m thinking of so many city council representatives that have key women who are really shaping either their campaigns or their day-to-day, right? And so how are those women part of the overall conversation as well?"

I think the Me Too movement helped us kind of lay down the laws on [sexual harassment in the state legislature] and say, ‘You know what? No more. It’s not going to happen, and if it does you are going to be held accountable.’ …I think it’s made [the state legislature] a better place and I think that…the more women that you have there, the less the chances are going to be that there’s going to be sexual harassment from men to women. But I also think that those things aren’t going to change as much as they should change until women are not just respected as equal partners, but [also valued] for their leadership abilities and when they are in real leadership positions."

I’m seeing over time though…we’ve had representatives of our party attend our meetings [of Lake County Democratic Women] which is great but again it felt like they really didn’t want us to exist. They felt there was some kind of competition there instead of seeing that this is a benefit to them. …When I talk to party leadership [about our organization’s work] they will say, ‘But we already do this, right, within the party.’ Not with intentionality. ….The competition really lifts everybody because you have to do better if they are doing better. So we’ve actually seen…our local party working much harder than they did [to support women]."

[Political insiders] are pointing to grassroots power [as where power lies now] because the [Illinois] Democratic machine has been crumbling, right? [Former Speaker] Madigan has been indicted [and he] was the…embodiment of power in the Democratic Party, the person that would give away the money to the rest of the candidates. Big Mell, you know, the Mells were super important in Illinois Democratic politics. They’re out. So in the absence of that machine, [which] was a very oiled machine that depended on all of these families that were given jobs and then knock on doors – a lot of those people live in the suburbs now, what’s left? Grassroots is what is left. And so you had us all – all of our IPOs [independent political organizations] were going to knock doors for Delia [Ramirez] for Congress and Delia won in a landslide."