Top 90 Mike Quigley Quotes

One of the things we have to understand is that federal transportation dollars require a local match. If that money isn’t there, that money goes to another state.

I am committed to working towards a more transparent, accountable, and ethical federal government worthy of the public’s trust.

What I would like to do… once I take care of all my kids’ student loans, is buy a red 1965 Mustang and fully restore it.

I get lobbied by governments, schools, nurses, charities. It’s not all a bad thing.

Passionately defending one’s principles is crucial. Representing your district is fundamental. But refusing to entertain the common ground – with no other cost but giving the other guy a political ‘win’ – is a disservice.

I think it can be very safe to go to O’Hare and Wrigley and Sox park and Soldier Field, but you have to deal with some reality. Just because a threat is not specific and verifiable doesn’t mean nearly what it used to mean, in terms of you being able to sleep well at night.

In many cases, here we are, putting out reports that we’re spending $100 million a year on, and we’re telling the public, ‘Oh, you don’t have access to them.’

I introduced the Transparency in Government Act, a multi-faceted transparency bill that would bring unprecedented access and accountability to the federal government.

Despite its challenges, globalization has led to one of the most peaceful and productive times in world history.

I learned that Chicago lunches are terrible. If I was a Chicago student, I would ask my mom to pack a lunch.

We must not let politicians who believe they are above the Constitution interfere with the personal health decisions of women. It is the job of a woman, not a politician, to make informed decisions about her own pregnancy.

There are more kids playing hockey, and the game has become more diverse from a cultural, ethnic and geographic point of view, but we still don’t have a lot of congressmen.

I think what we’re learning with the Trump Jr. meeting is when you meet with any Russians, you’re meeting with Russian intelligence. And, therefore, President Putin.

Ever since I arrived in Washington in April 2009, I have been fighting for more transparency and accountability in government.

The policies we debate and enact in Congress have a real impact on people across the country. Climate change, immigration, economic inequality – each of these issues have become hot button, partisan topics, but support or opposition on these pressing issues shouldn’t come down to party.

Without the U.S. leading the way in trade negotiations, we likely will see irreversible damage to our environment and widespread abuse of labor and human rights, all while we lose out on the opportunity to expand our economy and create jobs.

Whether I’m reading a national publication or one of my local Chicago newspapers, I don’t need to turn too many pages before I stumble upon another scandal. Not only do ethics violations deteriorate the public trust, but they also disrupt and undermine legitimate debate and policy.

It should not take award-winning investigators to find out how this government operates.

A lot of the O’Hare Modernization Plan may have been a mistake.

By working together to keep health at the center of our focus, as well as the national conversation, we can create the safe communities we all want and deserve.

In Chicago in 2000, the Cure Violence health approach saw a 67 percent decline in shootings and killings, which soon replicated to 70 communities nationwide with multiple independent evaluations from world-renowned institutions, such as the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Without Social Security benefits, more than 40 percent of Americans 65 years and older would live below the federal poverty line. Even more striking is that Social Security is the only source of retirement income for almost a quarter of elderly beneficiaries.

The people of Chicago have made it very clear that they favor sensible restrictions on gun ownership.

Climate change is not just about carbon dioxide levels and melting polar ice caps. It is about our public health and protecting our Earth for future generations.

The real cost of corruption in government, whether it is local, state, or federal, is a loss of the public trust.

Congress must take some thoughtful and targeted steps towards long-term solvency in the Social Security program. One such step is to eliminate the cap on income that is taxed for Social Security.

Let’s face it: when it comes to denying access to abortion care and reproductive rights, especially for low-income women with limited resources, there’s no limit to how far some are willing to go.

Violence of all forms is wreaking havoc in communities across the country, disproportionately impacting communities of color and shaving half a million years of life off our collective lifespan. But it doesn’t have to be this way.

Everyone without extraordinary research skills ought to be able to know what is happening inside the government, how it operates, where their tax dollars are going. Then they can make better decisions in the electoral process.

Before being elected to Congress, I oversaw the Cook County Hospital System as a Cook County Commissioner for 10 years.

I’m thinking of trying to talk Jonathan Toews into running for Congress. We could use him.

I don’t buy that there’s nothing we can do to stop criminals and the mentally ill from killing if they want to.

I’m a longtime believer in the old adage that sunlight is the best disinfectant, particularly in politics.

Because of restrictions on abortion access in their own state, many women in neighboring states are forced to travel hundreds of miles and cross state lines to seek an abortion. However, their rights should not have to depend on their zip code.

The Russians hacked into the Illinois State Board of Elections. They got into the database.

Technology has aided in serious advancements so that HIV detection tests now have near-perfect results. And those tests can detect HIV in the blood an average of nine to 11 days post-infection.

Too often, advances in civil rights or women’s rights are undermined by wrong-headed legislation or weak-kneed political leadership.

Anytime a member of Congress wants to travel abroad – which we do from time to time as part of our official duties – we are required to check with the House Committee on Ethics as to whether the trip follows the ethics rules by which federally elected officials are bound. Not so with Supreme Court justices.

Government influences your life every day. If there’s a war, they’re not drafting guys my age.

I do believe that the majority of elected officials worked very hard and their heart is in the right place.

Just the circumstances of being in D.C., people give you books, and there are issues you want to learn more about, so you are tearing into as many as you can.

Immigration is not about visa numbers or building a fence. It is about reclaiming our roots as a nation of immigrants and a refuge for those who have been cast aside.

In order to maintain public trust in government, elected officials must answer for what they do and say; this includes 140-character tweets.

I’ve seen it with my own eyes: When government takes money from the poor and the middle class, everyone suffers.

Only in Chicago do they care more about who the mayor is than who’s president.

Forty-two thousand people is an attractive target for people who want to hurt us. And a ballpark that’s about 6 feet, at one point, from the street is as big a target as any we can imagine.

The modern labor movement that began around the mid-19th century has given us many of the basic working rights that we now take for granted.

It’s time to elevate the debate in this country and allow the public to access the same neutral, unbiased, nonpartisan information that we in Congress rely on every day.

Just as we can no longer pretend that ducking under wooden desks will keep us safe from a nuclear bomb, we must no longer pretend that a large nuclear stockpile will protect us from the most immediate security threats the United States faces.

A Supreme Court ruling is supposed to provide clarity to contentious legal issues, but in the case of reproductive rights, it was just the beginning of a long, heated, and grueling debate.

Once you’ve stared death in the face, every day is a good day.

The problem in D.C. is that everything is on paper, and it’s theoretical.

Illinois and Chicago have shown they can compete on the world stage, and we will continue to answer the challenge.

It is the duty of Congress to ensure our lead regulations are up to date and consistent with modern detection methods so that we can better protect children from the harmful consequences of exposure.

While everyone is entitled to a little vacation now and then, America’s top legal officers should adhere to basic measures to increase accountability and restore the public’s trust in government.

When you have a high-volume magazine or an assault weapon, you’re not hunting deer or protecting your home; you’re out to hunt people.

In Chicago, we have a century-old transit system that desperately needs updates to keep up with increased capacity.