Who’s going to the State of the Union and who’s boycotting it? Illinois lawmakers are split

A Dreamer who inspired legislation, the founder of a health care clinic that helps uninsured patients, and a suburban executive who successfully sued the Trump administration over tariffs are among the guests Democratic Illinois lawmakers will bring to the State of the Union address.

Meanwhile, several legislators are boycotting the Tuesday speech, including U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, who said her office “has been flooded with calls asking me to skip this speech and take a stand.”

U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider of Highland Park will host educational toy company CEO Rick Woldenberg, the named plaintiff in the lawsuit against import taxes imposed by President Donald Trump. The U.S. Supreme Court struck down the global tariffs Friday.

The ruling “was a vindication of the principles of rule of law that make our country an economic marvel and underpins the American way of life,” said Woldenberg, who heads up Vernon Hills-based Learning Resources.

“I'm proud to have fought back — and won — on behalf of all Americans and will continue to stand up for the policies that help businesses like ours grow and thrive.”

Schneider said the “capricious tariff taxes have seriously threatened the survival of businesses like Rick’s, and in doing so threatened the livelihood of the millions of Americans employed by small and mid-sized businesses across the country.”

It will be U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin’s final State of the Union. The retiring legislator is bringing concert pianist and teacher Tereza Lee, who caught his attention in 2001 after learning she couldn’t accept scholarships to music schools because of her undocumented status.

Lee’s plight led Durbin to introduce the DREAM Act to provide a path to citizenship for individuals brought to the U.S. as children and lobby for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. DACA offers Dreamers protection from deportation and the ability to work.

“Passage of the DREAM Act is a matter of simple American fairness and justice,” Durbin said in a statement.

U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth’s guest is forester Jeremy Schumacher of Carbondale.

Schumacher’s health insurance spiked by 288% after Affordable Care Act tax credits weren’t extended by Congress. He’s forgoing his own coverage to ensure his family gets the treatments and medications they need, Duckworth said in a statement.

The Hoffman Estates Democrat hopes Schumacher’s presence will draw attention to the issue but she is boycotting the speech.

“I’m not interested in hearing another campaign rally full of lies,” Duckworth said.

U.S. Rep. Bill Foster of Naperville invited Suzanne Hoban, executive director of the Family Health Partnership Clinic in Crystal Lake.

“We must lift up leaders like Suzanne who ensure our communities have access to the affordable, high-quality health care they deserve when Washington falls short,” Foster said in a statement.

Woodstock resident Hoban commented that “recent cuts to health care have already had a devastating impact on our community, and we will continue working every day to provide our uninsured neighbors with the health services they need.”

‘I refuse to legitimize it’

Schakowsky said families in the largely suburban 9th District are living in constant fear of immigration agents and struggling to get by financially because of Trump's policies.

“I stand with the people who sent me to Congress,” the Evanston Democrat said through a spokesperson.

Other Democrats eschewing the address are U.S. Reps. Sean Casten, Mike Quigley and Delia Ramirez.

Casten said in a statement that he could not “abide the disrespect” Trump shows to the office of president.

“I am not interested in being used as a prop for his theatrics,” the Downers Grove resident noted.

Ramirez, of Chicago, plans to join fellow Democrats in a counter “People’s State of the Union” event.

Trump will use the address “as a platform to gaslight the American people and normalize and justify their terror, abuse, and violations of our rights,” Ramirez said. “I refuse to legitimize it.”

“The State of the Union is unstable,” Chicagoan Quigley said in a statement. “Instead of listening to Trump drone on about how ‘great’ he is, I’m going to join Indivisible Barrington for a virtual town hall. I’m proud to spend this time with my constituents, talking with them about how to restore the American dream and save our democracy.”

Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood of Naperville plans to attend the event with an Ottawa pastor as her guest.

· Daily Herald staff writers Russell Lissau, Eric Peterson, Katlyn Smith and Steve Zalusky contributed to this report.