Should the voting community be concerned about a candidate’s voting record and their true intent to seek office? C.H.E.F.S. Community Plan is a coalition of community members focused on education, civic engagement, and advocacy. C.H.E.F.S. (Courts. Housing. Education/Environment. Finance. Safety.), embraces the shepherd spirit and heartfelt practices of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., as he and national civil rights leaders gathered on the Lincoln Memorial steps:
Give us the ballot and we will transform the salient misdeeds… into the calculated good deeds of orderly citizens. Give us the ballot and we will fill our legislative halls with leaders of goodwill and send to the sacred halls of Congress leaders who are devoted to the manifesto of justice… In this juncture of our nation’s history, there is an urgent need for dedicated and courageous leadership. First, there is need for strong, aggressive leadership from the federal government.
“We cannot afford to entertain novices currently seeking our vote” exclaimed Dr. Phalese Binion, Chairwoman of the West Side Ministers Coalition. There are trailblazing women throughout history who fought for future generations, ensuring all women could legally vote by 1920. Passage of the landmark Voting Rights Act in 1965 ensured the prohibition of discriminatory voting practices based on race. Voters in the Illinois seventh congressional district have a right to make an intelligent decision about who they are voting for, void of political rhetoric.
Facing off on the facts, Kina Collins habitually disregarded her civic duty to vote. According to the Illinois State Board of Elections, voter history revealed that Collins, a candidate for Congress chose not to register to vote until 2015 — six years after being eligible to vote in 2009. Collins has no record of voting in the 2012 historical Presidential Election either, ultimately not supporting the nation’s first Black President, Barack Obama. Her experience in government prior to 2019 spans an internship with a local Chicago alderman.
Collins suddenly appeared on the Chicago activism scene and launched her platform amid a child’s murder. Blood-stained the ground on 41st Street and Pulaski Road, Chicago, resulting from the fatal shooting of a 17-year-old. LaQuan McDonald suffered from mental illness and was shot sixteen times on October 20th, 2014, by former a Chicago Police officer. Jason VanDyke was convicted on second-degree murder charges, yet only served three years in prison. Not long after the murder of McDonald, Collins registered to vote in Illinois for the first time and voted in a suburban consolidated primary / general elections in 2015 / 2019.
Voting rights preservation is essential to freedom in democracy. Our community recognizes strong hold candidates who are transplants for hidden political agendas that ultimately have a negative ripple effect on access to resources and transparency. Freedom fighters put their lives on the forefront for collective voting rights. Candidate absenteeism at the polls for a decade is a red flag and questions true authenticity.
