Richard Boykin for Congress, a proven fighter for the people of the 7th District

The 7th Congressional District deserves a leader who not only understands the challenges our families face but who has a proven record of turning compassion into action. That leader, in my opinion, is attorney Richard Boykin.

From his distinguished service as Cook County Commissioner to his leadership on the board of the UI Health Mile Square Health Center, Boykin has spent his career fighting for fairness, safety and opportunity for everyone. He has always put people before politics, standing up for working families, confronting gun violence and boldly advocating for affordable, comprehensive healthcare.

For Boykin, healthcare is not a privilege, it’s a moral right. He understands that the most pressing issue in the 7th District is ensuring every resident, regardless of income or zip code, has access to affordable, high-quality care. The uncertainty surrounding Affordable Care Act subsidies and the steady rise in premiums has left too many families delaying care or going without it entirely. Boykin knows the consequences are devastating, particularly in neighborhoods like West Garfield Park, where residents experience a life expectancy gap of nearly 20 years compared to wealthier communities just miles away. “This should shock our consciences,” Boykin has said, and he’s right.

As a board member of UI Health Mile Square Health Center, a federally qualified community health center, Boykin helped expand crucial access points for care, including new community clinics in Auburn Gresham and Rockford, ensuring that families in vulnerable areas could see doctors, mental health specialists and preventive care providers closer to home. He understands that mental health is a critical part of overall health, and he has made it a top policy priority.

The healthcare crisis facing the 7th District is complex, a collection of interconnected failures that demand urgent, comprehensive solutions:

• Gun violence, which continues to devastate communities of color, is a public health emergency that leaves deep psychological and physical wounds. Boykin recognizes that addressing it requires behavioral health support and trauma-informed care, not just policing.
• Behavioral care and mental health services are dangerously inadequate for those suffering from PTSD, addiction and serious psychiatric challenges. Boykin is committed to expanding community-based mental health infrastructure so that help is always accessible.
• Environmental and occupational hazards, from high lead levels in the water to rampant air pollution and asthma, are robbing residents in economically challenged neighborhoods of years of healthy life. Boykin has vowed to treat clean air and clean water as fundamental public health priorities.
• Food deserts persist across the district, leaving too many families without access to nutritious food. Boykin proposes public-private partnerships and targeted investments that bring fresh, affordable food into every neighborhood — because preventing diabetes, heart disease, and hypertension begins at the dinner table.

For Boykin, these issues are inseparable. You cannot talk about jobs, education, or public safety without addressing the health disparities that underlie them. His plan calls for protecting and strengthening the Affordable Care Act, expanding community-based health and behavioral health services, and treating violence prevention, environmental justice and food security as essential components of public health.

Through The People’s Playbook, Boykin has mapped out a bold and detailed agenda for equity, one that centers the needs of everyday people while holding systems accountable. His vision recognizes that health, safety and prosperity are intertwined and that our government must work for everyone, not just the powerful few.

Richard Boykin brings the experience, integrity and empathy needed to translate these values into real policy. With his background in federal service as Chief of Staff to Congressman Danny K. Davis, Boykin has the know-how to deliver tangible change in Washington. His voice will amplify the needs of Chicago’s West Side, the western suburbs, and every community in between.

At a critical moment for our district and our country, Richard Boykin stands ready to lead, ready to restore trust, expand opportunity and ensure that every person in the 7th District can live a healthy, dignified life. He won’t need to ask for directions in Congress because HE HAS BEEN THERE BEFORE.

Boykin has been endorsed by Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas, Dr. Willie Wilson, the Italian American Police Association., the Arab American Chamber of Commerce, 15^th Ward Alderman Raymond Lopez and many others. “Richard is the best and only candidate I can firmly endorse in this race," Lopez said. "I know his experience in Washington, his commonsense solutions and his ‘people first’ attitude are just what we need to move the 7th District forward. And he doesn't need training wheels!" 

Vote Richard Boykin for Congress, PUNCH 39 on March 17 — because the 7th District deserves a leader who puts people’s health, safety and future first.

(By Candace Jordan – who endorses Richard Boykin for Congress.)