The Progressive Midwesterner

According to the National Partnership for Women and Families , only four U.S. states (California, New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island), as well the District of Columbia, currently have paid family leave programs, with two other states, Massachusetts and the State of Washington, set to implement paid family leave programs in the near future. Now, legislation has been proposed in two states, Illinois and North Dakota, to create paid family leave programs in those states. There are some differences between the Illinois proposal and the North Dakota proposal, but both proposals would require private-sector employers with at least 50 employees to provide paid leave for employees who take leave because of the birth of the employee's child and to allow the employee to care for a family member who is seriously ill. In Illinois, Illinois State Representative Mary Flowers (D-Chicago) has proposed a paid family leave act here in Illinois (Illinois HB0009). Here is the synopsis of the p...

As I am writing this blog post, Minnesota State Representative Erin Maye Quade (DFL-Apple Valley) is leading a sit in on the Minnesota House of Representatives floor in an effort to convince the Republican-controlled state house to bring up proposed gun control legislation for votes: 18 hours later, @ErinMayeQuade is still on the House floor #mnleg #SitInSpeakOut #wcco @WCCO pic.twitter.com/hFZEO0esOq — Mary McGuire (@mcguirereports) April 25, 2018 Like Americans all across the country, Minnesotans are demanding common-sense gun control and gun safety measures. I applaud Maye Quade for her courageous act of leadership , although I can't really write a blog post about the sit-in without mentioning how Maye Quade has done a fantastic job using social media to promote her cause. Maye Quade posted several gun violence stories on Twitter, and here's a few of them: Stephen A. Starr Killed 12/30/1994 His daughters abuser/stalker/rapist broke into the house when she was...