Two of these wins are from Republicans, what is happening?

Three Wins Today, Aug 8, 2025

Honestly, I am too excited for the first win to give you an intro.

So let’s just get into it!

1. Fri, Aug 1 - The woman above is Republican Illinois State Senator Sally Turner, and she has changed my life. Well, not mine specifically, cause I don’t live in Illinois, but, the lives of people like me who do are forever changed.

   I have Celiac Disease. It’s an autoimmune disease where my body cannot use nutrients when gluten is ingested. As of right now, 20 parts per million of gluten is considered gluten free. We’re not talking about a crumb we’re talking about a molecule. So if a food handler doesn’t understand the strictness of Celiac or even know what it is, we can get very very sick. For an extended period of time. I wasn’t diagnosed till I was three and among other things, I will have brain fog for life.

   Senator Turner introduced a bill to amend the “Food Handling Regulation Enforcement Act” back in January and Gov JB Pritzker just signed it into law.

   It requires anyone who handles food in Illinois to be trained in Celiac Disease and food safety requirements for Celiacs. This training must include:

   (1) the nature and symptoms of celiac disease; (2) the importance of gluten-free food handling for individuals with celiac disease; (3) methods to prevent cross-contamination with gluten-containing foods; (4) the proper cleaning and sanitizing procedures to remove gluten residues from food preparation surfaces and equipment; and (5) the labeling and identification of gluten-free products.

   Look, I know this is getting very long, but this is very personal. And it makes me think it’s possible in other states. Every state. This was a REPUBLICAN who introduced it, the first cosponsor was also a Republican woman. It doesn’t matter where you live, if you have celiac disease, call your State Rep or Senator and set up a meeting! Show them what Illinois is doing and make it a reality in your state too.

2. Tues, Aug 5 - Destination Tomorrow and the New York City Department of Social Services have announced Ace’s Place. It is the first-in-the-nation city funded Trans/ gender-non-conforming (TGNC) transitional housing facility. In the press release they describe it as:

   Ace’s Place will provide high-quality transitional housing and specialized support for TGNC New Yorkers experiencing homelessness. Through this first-of-its-kind program, the city stands as a beacon of safety, dignity, and empowerment for TGNC community members navigating housing insecurity. This program will employ innovative approaches to support shelter residents, including a culinary arts program, taking advantage of Destination Tomorrow’s two state-of-the-art commercial kitchens. At this site, Destination Tomorrow will provide comprehensive wraparound services in a trauma-informed setting while facilitating vital connections to community-based resources.

   I don’t know about you, but I am incredibly excited, and I think this will be the first of many city funded TGNC transitional housing programs around the country. Everything feels like it’s moving backwards, but that’s not entirely the case, and this is a really good reminder of that.

3. Mon, Aug 4 - Binghamton, New York has a Republican Mayor. His name is Jared Kraham, and he did a good thing. In an interview with PBS/NPR affiliate, WSKG, he said that the city’s police department will not be partnering with ICE on his watch:

   I do not want Binghamton police officers moonlighting as ICE agents, period,. And that will not happen as long as I'm mayor. I think it could potentially put our officers or the department at risk when raids are conducted that are not lawful, and it's not something that I want our resources to be used for.

   With just this quote my reaction was going to be “no he’s not doing it for the right reasons, but a win is a win,” but then I kept reading.

   The reason why, under my administration, Binghamton police will not engage in one of these 287(g) programs is because it does nothing to advance that community policing and really public safety and trust within the community,

   I mean, I’m positive I still don’t agree with him on ICE anything, but, it’s not just about the safety of his officers or the department. It’s about community trust. And that’s also a really hopeful sign for other Republican-run cities. Police can’t do their jobs at all if the community is too scared to report anything ever. And that’s something we can all agree on. Finding common ground is hard, but it gives me hope that, at least with Mayor Kraham, we’ve found it on one issue.

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It’s not an exaggeration when I say this might be my favorite Three Wins post I’ve done.

Remember, all of these wins were possible because people who cared got loud.

Our voices are our superpower, but only when we use them!

Update: Previous version said Binghamton was in Alabama, it’s actually in NY. I really don’t know how I did that.