Lauren Underwood

Lauren Underwood (born October 4, 1986) is an American nurse and politician who serves as the U.S. Representative for Illinois's 14th congressional district as a member of the Democratic Party. The district, which was once represented by former Speaker Dennis Hastert, is anchored in the outer western suburbs of Chicago, such as Crystal Lake, Geneva, Oswego, Woodstock, and Yorkville.

After growing up in Naperville, Illinois, Underwood received a degree in nursing from the University of Michigan and two master's degrees from Johns Hopkins University. She started her career as a policy professional in the Obama Administration in 2014 and later worked as a Senior Advisor at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

In 2018 Underwood was elected to the United States House of Representatives, defeating Republican incumbent Randy Hultgren.

"China Initiative" letter

On January 22, 2024, Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY), U.S. Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI) and U.S. Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA) led an effort to stop House GOP members from reinstating the China Initiative, a Trump-era program created in 2018 that purported to combat espionage but in effect targeted and profiled those of Chinese descent.

The Department of Justice ended the program in 2022, after several of the alleged espionage and national security cases ended in acquittal, dismissal or were dropped altogether. But Republicans in Congress are now attempting to restart the program using a provision in a key House spending bill—at the same time that they are reviving racially motivated rhetoric against Chinese Americans.

“Republicans are essentially pushing the Chinese Exclusion Act 2.0,” said Rep. Meng, First Vice Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus.

“The Trump-era China Initiative fostered bigotry and discrimination against Asian Americans, particularly those with connections to China, while doing little to actually advance national security interests,” said Senator Hirono, Executive Board Member of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus.

“The Trump-era China Initiative undermined our nation’s scientific innovation and global partnerships while perpetuating the ‘forever foreigner’ stereotype and ruining the careers and lives of the innocent scholars targeted for investigations solely because of their Chinese ancestry,” said Rep. Chu, Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus.

Other signatories included Senators Tammy Duckworth, Peter Welch, and Congressmembers Jake Auchincloss, Ami Bera, Andre Carson, Greg Casar, Kathy Castor, Jasmine Crockett, Lloyd Doggett, Adriano Espaillat, Bill Foster, Valerie Foushee, Chuy Garcia, Robert Garcia, Dan Goldman, Jimmy Gomez, Pramila Jayapal, Andy Kim, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Barbara Lee, Ted Lieu, Jim McGovern, Seth Moulton, Kevin Mullin, Jerry Nadler, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley, Andrea Salinas, Linda Sanchez, Adam Schiff, Tom Suozzi, Mark Takano, Jill Tokuda, Lauren Underwood.

No to China committee

Sixty-five Democrats in the House of Representatives voted on Tuesday January 10, 2022, against creating a committee to investigate China and find ways to counter the communist country’s growing international influence.

The House overwhelmingly voted to create the Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party on a 365 to 65 margin, in one of the first votes since the Republicans took control of the chamber.

However, even though some members did not vote, all 65 lawmakers who voted against the committee’s creation were Democrats, including Lauren Underwood.

Support from Onward Together

Onward Together supported Lauren Underwood as a candidate for the 2018 midterm elections.

Endorsements

From ActBlue:

Lauren Underwood is a registered nurse who served as Senior advisor at the Department of Health and Human Services under President Barack Obama. There, she helped broaden access to Medicare under Obamacare. She is running to flip the tossup district of IL-14 red to blue, on a platform of affordable healthcare, jobs, the environment, and helping Dreamers.

Lauren is endorsed by President Barack Obama, Senator Elizabeth Warren, Planned Parenthood, NARAL, AFL-CIO, League of Conservation Voters, MoveOn, Feminist Majority, Moms Demand Action, the Illinois Federation of Teachers, and many more. She is also endorsed by End Citizens United, because she's committed to getting corporate money out of politics.

Natural Resources Defense Council

In 2020 the Natural Resources Defense Council endorsed Lauren Underwood.

In 2022 the Natural Resources Defense Council endorsed Lauren Underwood.

Environmental Town Hall

Sierra Club Illinois · Follow September 12, 2021

🚨 All Hands on Deck for a #ClimateRecovery!🚨

Join us, The Illinois Environmental Council, The Environmental Defenders of McHenry County, the League of Conservation Voters, the BlueGreen Alliance, and Natural Resources Defense Council for an Environmental Town Hall TOMORROW, September 13 at 6 PM! We'll be joined by Rep. Lauren Underwood to discuss how Congress can tackle the climate crisis and secure the clean energy future all Illinoisans deserve.

Climate and Health Protection Act

February 3, 2021, today, Congresswoman Lauren Underwood (IL-14) introduced the Climate and Health Protection Act to strengthen the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Climate and Health Program. This program was established to help state and local governments prepare for the public health consequences of climate change by translating climate science for health professionals, developing decision support tools for local leaders, and providing grants and technical assistance for projects to improve preparation and resilience.

"Climate change threatens food security, worsens air pollution, and intensifies natural disasters—it's a public health crisis. That's why the CDC's leadership, exemplified by the Climate and Health Program, is an essential part of America's climate strategy," said Underwood. "I'm leading the Climate and Health Protection Act to make sure local public health leaders have access to the data, expertise, and resources they need to protect their communities from the health impacts of climate change."

The Climate and Health Protection Act would:

• Amend the Public Health Service Act to explicitly authorize the Climate and Health Program;
• Preserve the Program's integrity for years to come by codifying its core functions in law;
• And authorize $15 million in annual appropriations and prohibit the transfer of funds or reprogramming.

In Congress, Underwood has worked to increase access to actionable information on climate change. In June 2020, Underwood's Climate and Health Protection Act was included in the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis's comprehensive congressional climate action framework. The framework highlighted Underwood's proposal to strengthen national public health planning by reinstating the CDC's Climate and Health Program, an important tool in communities' response to the climate crisis.

The Climate and Health Protection Act is supported by the Union of Concerned Scientists, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Council of Public Health Nursing Organizations, the Environmental Defense Fund, and the League of Conservation Voters.

Black Lives Matter supporter

Radical organizer

Dina Abdalla is GOTV strategist for the Illinois Muslim Civic Coalition, where she organizes and supports American-Muslim candidates who are running for public office. She is a former field organizer for the Lauren Underwood for Congress campaign, a position that led her to focus on promoting voter education amongst the Muslim community in the 14th district. A graduate of DePaul University with a B.A. in International Studies, Dina is passionate about issues surrounding national security and the nexus of immigration and conflict. She plans on attending law school next year.

Collective PAC

The Collective PAC supported Lauren Underwood in 2021.

Launched in August of 2016, the Collective PAC is backing several candidates in 2018, including Lauren Underwood IL (14)

Lauren Underwood at a Collective PAC event at Busboys & Poets, September 2017.

Jessica Byrd connection

Jessica Byrd March 21, 2018:

Remembering talking to Lauren in a coffeeshop about running. Her heart and grind is other level. Bursting with pride for you, Lauren Underwood.

DSA connections

Leaders We Deserve

In August 2023, two prominent youth activists — gun safety advocate David Hogg and Kevin Lata, Democratic Rep. Maxwell Frost's 2022 campaign manager — are launching a new organization seeking to put more young people in elected office.

"A big part of this ... is electing young people that have the values of our generation, that understand the anxiety of not knowing if you’re going to be able to survive math class," Lata told NBC News.

That's why he and Hogg are partnering to launch a group, Leaders We Deserve, that will support young candidates for congressional and state legislative office.

The group will feature a PAC arm that can coordinate with campaigns as well as a super PAC that can raise and spend unlimited amounts supporting candidates.

"Running for office is so hard," Lata told NBC News, "I mean, it's it's gotta be one of the hardest things there is to do and for a young person it's even harder."

Lata added that "young people just don't necessarily have the political connections or fundraising connections. So the idea is ... we'll help raise money for them. We will work to try to help get them, get connected with reporters to write stories about their races ... just like work really closely to help them build out the mechanics of the campaign."

The pair plans to hire a staff to support their work and will select 15 to 30 candidates to back at the state legislative level. They haven't ruled out working with a limited number of congressional campaigns, too.

They're being advised by a diverse group of young, progressive elected officials, including Reps. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., Lauren Underwood, D-Ill., Maxwell Frost and Tennessee state Rep. Justin Jones, who was briefly expelled from the legislature for leading a protest in favor of gun control onto the state House floor earlier this year.

DSA support

"Eradicate Anti-Muslim Content On Your Platform"

December 15, 2020;

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (D-MI) today urged immediate action from Facebook to eradicate anti-Muslim bigotry from the platform and demanded Mark Zuckerberg implement six measures to combat bigoted content. In a letter signed by 29 colleagues, Dingell cited instances of anti-Muslim content on Facebook and recent reports showing the role of the platform in inciting violence against the Muslim community.

“Facebook cannot celebrate the success of its platform, while ignoring its role in elevating the dangerous, deadly content targeting Muslim people,” said Congresswoman Dingell. “In Christchurch, New Zealand, a terrorist attack that stole the lives of fifty-one Muslims worshipping in their mosque was streamed live on Facebook around the world. But in the ensuing weeks and months, Facebook failed to offer a single policy intentionally designed to eradicate hateful, anti-Muslim content. Nearly two years later, it’s time for Facebook to demonstrate that this company recognizes the life and death consequences of their lack of action.”

Dingell’s letter was signed by Debbie Dingell, Rashida Tlaib, André Carson, Carolyn Maloney, Ilhan Omar, Jahana Hayes, Max Rose, Barbara Lee, Eddie Bernice Johnson, Bobby Rush, Dan Kildee, Jared Huffman, Kathy Castor, Gwen Moore, Lauren Underwood, Jan Schakowsky, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Mark Pocan, Grace Meng, Bonnie Watson Coleman, Darren Soto, Don Beyer, Jim McGovern, Peter Welch, Jamie Raskin, Pramila Jayapal, Yvette Clarke, Raul Grijalva, Earl Blumenauer, and Nydia Velazquez. Additionally, her letter has received the support of the following organizations: CODEPINK, Common Defense, Council on American-Islamic Relations, Islamic Networks Group, Jetpac, Jewish Voice for Peace Action, Justice for Muslims Collective, MomsRising, National Iranian American Council, Peace Action, Progressive Democrats of America, Project South, ReThinking Foreign Policy, and National Network for Arab American Communities.

McHenry County Progressives

Lauren Underwood, candidate for Congress from the 14th District; Andrew Georgi, candidate for McHenry County Clerk; Suzanne Ness, District 2 County Board candidate; and Larry Spaeth, District 6 County Board candidate, have been added to the lineup of speakers at the fourth annual Labor Day Celebration on Woodstock Square , Sept. 3 2018 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The traditional rally with speakers and music will highlight about the origins and traditions of Labor Day, Woodstock's own connection through Eugene V. Debs and the aftermath of the Pullman Strike of 1894, and the continued relevance of the labor movement and democratic values today.

Hosts Robert Rosenberg of McHenry County Progressives and Kathryn Potter of the Democratic Party of McHenry County will be joined previously announced speakers.

Kathleen Spaltro of Woodstock Celebrates and the upcoming Debs/Pullman program this fall, story teller Jim May, and labor historian and activist Patrick Murfin will discuss the history of Labor Day and its Woodstock connections.

Speakers on today's labor issues and mobilizing for change include Brian Dupois of the Northeastern Federation of Labor AFL/CIO, Aaron Goldberg of Lake-McHenry Democratic Socialist of America (DSA) Chapter; Carlos Acosta of ASME and a County Board District 5 Candidate, and Kristina Zahorik, Chair of the Democratic Party of McHenry County.

Music will be provided by Keith Johnson and Off Square Music.

The program is co-sponsored by McHenry County Progressives and Democratic Party of McHenry County.

Communist connections

Common Defense endorsement

Common Defense endorsed Lauren Underwood in 2018.

CONGRATULATIONS to Lauren Underwood for Congress, Common Defense-endorsed progressive champion and registered nurse!

Lauren brings to Congress her extensive experience in America's healthcare industry, having served as a Senior Advisor at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, where she helped implement the Affordable Care Act. We are very excited to begin working with her as we build on the progress made by the ACA to provide healthcare to all Americans and guarantee full reproductive rights.

Bachtell connection

Commies fighting for Democrats

In 2018, Communist Party USA leader John Bachtell worked on Lauren Underwood's campaign for the 14th District, as discussed with Communist Party USA comrades Joe Sims and Scott Hiley.

In an article posted at CPUSA.org on November 26 2018, John Bachtell wrote: "In Illinois, voters in both suburban Chicago districts elected Democrats in 2018, including Lauren Underwood, an African American nurse elected in a majority white district. Indivisible chapters in Chicago provided 200 canvassers during GOTV and did half the canvassing in one county."

Albano connection

Lauren Underwood with Terrie Albano, July 2019.

Kamala Harris endorsement

Lauren Underwood for Congress June 29 ·

Humbled and honored to have the support of Kamala Harris in this race—I'm inspired by her strong and principled voice and can't wait to fight beside her in Congress. Help me do it by making sure my team hits our second-quarter fundraising goal by tomorrow night: http://bit.ly/2yUHTX7