Joan Esposito is joined by Rep. Jonathan Jackson (D-IL), on the first day of the government shutdown, which began October 1 after congressional Republicans refused to negotiate with Democrats to fund the federal government. Democrats are trying to stem some of the damage from the Republican tax and spending bill that was signed into law on July.  "We're already seeing five hospitals in the state of Illinois having to get ready to close," Jackson told WCPT. "I mean, you can actually count the amount of people that are going to die. At the same time, the country is raking in money on tariffs. There's money going to the Treasury. They passed another trillion dollars off in capital gains taxes to the wealthiest people, so they're simply looking past the people on the ground they're going to be most hurt. That's why we're standing firm."  Jackson also spoke about aggressive immigration enforcement actions taken in recent weeks by federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in the Chicago area. "Seeing groups of men swarming around ladies and putting them in unmarked vehicles and having on masks, just really turns my stomach," Jackson said. "I think of the militarization of our cities now. We've got a trillion dollars that goes into the military budget. Now, ICE has 150 billion, which is the 10th largest military force on earth. We've got ($)113 billion that goes into Homeland Security. We've got $50,000 ICE signing bonuses, and we're telling teachers in schools that they don't have enough money. The fact is, there is enough money. We can afford these things, but you just cannot give away unlimited wealth at the top." Catch "Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive" weekdays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/live-local-progressive).See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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