Chicago Cannabis Dispensary License Owner, Former Candidate for United States Congress
Chicago Cannabis Dispensary License Owner, Former Candidate for United States Congress
The power of the dollar over our elected officials has poisoned American democracy. One day, the full potential of our democracy will be realized with a system of publicly funded elections. Until then, it is crucial to fundraise against candidates who are controlled by corporations, special interests, and MSOs.
SAVE CHICAGO was founded by former U.S. Congressional candidate & Registered Nurse Juan Aguirre to financially support a slate of candidates in Chicago's 2023 municipal elections.
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Voting serves all of us. Thank you for your commitment to SAVE CHICAGO!
Chairman Aguirre envisions a more equitable city realized by legislation introduced into the Chicago City Council to establish a “Legacy to Legal” Cannabis Municipal Licensing program. Candidates endorsed by Save Chicago have pledged to support the reallocation of at least $100 Million annually from Chicago’s $16.7 Billion budget to fund a forgivable loan program for low-income Legacy to Legal Cannabis License awardees.
Chicago’s Legacy to Legal Cannabis Licensing Program will succeed in economically uplifting disenfranchised neighborhoods where the State of Illinois’ Social Equity Licensing program failed. Every dollar raised will be utilized in our efforts to SAVE CHICAGO!
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Approximately 1,000 people gathered in the Loop to rally against gun violence, joining hundreds of other March for Our Lives demonstrations across the country to protest the nation’s gun laws after the recent flurry of mass shootings.
12,000 nurses converged on the nation’s capital to demand safe nurse to patient ratios, an end to workplace violence, & fair wages. The March coincided with many other Nurses Marches at State Capitals all across the country!
When a mom has to make the impossible decision between buying a gallon of gas or a gallon of milk, but a billionaire rakes in record profits, there is no arguing that there is something deeply flawed with our economic system. Soaring rates of inflation are economically suffocating blue collar, working class Americans, but the rich continue to get richer. Now is the time to unite generations, political parties, and socioeconomic classes to fight for legislation that works for the everyday American, instead of the everyday American corporation. Apart from legislation that raises the federal minimum wage to $20/hour, we must fight for revolutionary legislation that will end poverty as we know it in America. From Universal Basic Income to a 4-day-work-week, there is so much we can change to make life more fulfilling for working class people.
Since 2020, Juan has served as a board member at the National Diversity and Inclusion Cannabis Alliance (NDICA), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides expungement services, workforce development, job fairs, and a youth STEAM program in underserved communities nationwide. NDICA's Illinois programming and services are supported by the Restore, Reinvestment, and Renew (R3) grant awarded through the Lieutenant Governor's office.
In 2023, NDICA will roll out a new JOBS FOR PEACE program in Chicago's Little Village and Pilsen neighborhoods. The JOBS FOR PEACE program is funded through the Cook County Justice Advisory Council (JAC) Violence Prevention Grant.
More often than not, it is not the most talented candidate who wins the election, but rather the candidate with the most money. The inappropriate influence of money in our elections is a breeding ground for corruption. One of Aguirre’s top legislative priorities is to overhaul America's pay-to-play political system with a system that publicly funds elections at the local, state, and federal level.
Nurses fought valiantly on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic in a war against an invisible enemy: a deadly virus. Our communities praised us, but our employers underpaid, under appreciated, and understaffed us. Despite the hardships we endured the day before, America expected us to wake up, thrown on our scrubs, don our PPE, and do it all over again. We were forced to take on unsafe nurse-to-patient ratios with no increase in pay, while healthcare executives rewarded themselves with bonuses made possible by record profit margins. In Washington, Aguirre will introduce legislation that will put an end to the exploitation of the nursing profession.
Many low-income folks have spent years in prison for violating cannabis prohibition laws, and upon their release, they are shut out of the legal cannabis industry. Black, brown, indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) are disproportionately arrested for cannabis possession and sale, while over 95% of cannabis company owners are rich and politically connected white males. Federal legislation is necessary to address this injustice.
Aguirre served as the Director of COVID-19 Operations at Alivio Medical Center, a federally qualified health center (FQHC), from 2020-2022. The COVID-19 department employed over 50 staff members funded through multiple multi-million dollar grants, which Aguirre personally managed. The grants gave Aguirre the opportunity to manage and oversee free public health services in Berwyn, Illinois and in Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood: two COVID-19 drive-thru testing sites, a COVID-19 contact tracing team, a homebound vaccination program, and The City of Chicago's #1 performing mobile/pop-up vaccination program. Aguirre's team administered over 100,000 vaccinations in 2021.
Aguirre's team, assigned to the city's southwest region, is famous for vaccinating over 10,000 people at the Swap-O-Rama flea market in the Back of The Yards neighborhood. Aguirre proposed this unconventional location to the City of Chicago as a site for his team to service due to the heavy foot traffic by a population with low vaccination levels: Hispanics/Latinos. The City did not initially approve the site, but Aguirre persisted in his advocacy, citing the confidence he had in his team's ability to establish trust with the target population. 10,000 vaccinations later, it is clear that Aguirre has the creativity and charisma to lead efficient, high quality, and free public healthcare services wherever the people may be.
Aguirre's ability to revolutionize public health by meeting communities where they are uniquely qualifies him to lead the effort to revolutionize the country’s porous public health infrastructure. Aguirre will fight for legislation to ensure America is prepared for the next pandemic.
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