With 14 people running for the 7th congressional district in the March primary, candidates are starting to pick up endorsements. These votes of confidence are that much more important as Danny Davis isn’t running for reelection for the first time in nearly 30 years.
One key endorsement came on Jan. 8 from Rep. Lauren Underwood — who represents Illinois’ 14th district that covers an area southwest of Chicago, including DeKalb and Joliet — when she declared her approval of Dr. Thomas Fisher in the race for the 7th district’s Democratic primary. She cited his credibility on health care policy and eagerness to address national threats to democracy and public health.
Fisher has been an emergency medicine physician for nearly 25 years, currently at the University of Chicago Medicine. Fisher previously told Austin Weekly News that he’s seen the stakes of every facet of health when caring for victims of gun violence, housing insecurity, mental health crises and insurance denials. He’s running on “moral leadership and public service to try to solve the things that bring waves of my neighbors to me, sick and injured.”
“As an emergency medicine doctor, he has practiced the policy change he wants to see by providing healthcare to every patient who desperately needs care,” Underwood told Growing Community Media, the parent company of Austin Weekly News, Forest Park Review and Wednesday Journal. She added that he’s worked to eliminate racial disparities through healthcare policy reform.
“We need more healthcare professionals in Congress because we know that health care is a human right,” Underwood said. “All Americans should have access to quality, affordable healthcare, and as health care providers, we are uniquely qualified to fix our broken healthcare system.”
Underwood is a registered nurse and the first woman, person of color and millennial U.S. representative of the 14th district. She first ran for Congress in 2018 because, she said, the district’s congressman lied about his vote to repeal the Affordable Care Act.
“I came to Congress to protect and expand access to affordable health care,” Underwood told Growing Community Media.
Now in her fourth congressional term, Underwood has had 19 pieces of legislation signed into law. She cofounded and co-chairs the Black Maternal Health Caucus, which advances policy solutions in Congress that address the maternal health crisis among Black Americans.
“My nursing background informs how I craft legislation — I am a data driven, evidence-based policy maker,” Underwood said.
Before running for Congress, Underwood was a senior advisor in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. There, she helped implement the Affordable Care Act, working on private insurance reform, health care quality in Medicare and preventive services.
In Congress, she introduced the Health Care Affordability Act in 2019, which was signed into law in 2021. The tax credits it provided “were so popular we dropped the uninsured rate to the lowest levels recorded in our nation’s history,” Underwood said.
The week of her endorsement, Underwood was in Washington D.C. for a House vote on extending expired tax credits for three more years.
“Without an extension, health care costs will skyrocket for American families, and millions of them may be priced out of their health care entirely,” said Underwood, who introduced the legislation based on her Health Care Affordability Act, in a statement. “The incredibly popular tax credits from my legislation have put affordable health care within reach for a record-breaking number of families.”
“Congresswoman Underwood has been one of the most effective voices in Washington fighting for patients, science and equity, and I’m deeply honored to earn her support,” Fisher said in a statement.
Underwood met Fisher about 15 years ago, while both were working for HHS. Fisher was a White House Fellow in 2010 while the Affordable Care Act was rolling out. During that time, he helped implement the Medicare Shared Savings Program and the Pioneer Accountable Care Organization model — both reforms that aim to lower Medicare costs and amend how health care organizations coordinate patient care.
After working for HHS, Fisher led West Side-based NextLevel Health, where he helped launch a Medicaid plan in Chicago for about 80,000 members that aligned incentives to address health inequities. Underwood served as NextLevel Health’s senior director of policy and regulatory affairs.
“Working together at NextLevel Health is where I really got to know his work ethic and commitment to the community,” Underwood said of Fisher.
Fisher has also been endorsed by the 314 Action Fund, the only national organization that helps recruit, train and elect doctors and scientists. He’s also been backed by several groups of healthcare workers, including the American College of Physicians and American Academy of Emergency Medicine.
Other candidates who are running for Davis’ seat include Richard Boykin, Jerico J. Brown, Kina Collins, Melissa Conyears-Ervin, Jason Friedman, La Shawn Ford, Rory Hoskins, Danica Leigh, Tekita Martinez, John McCombs, Anabel Mendoza, Emelia Rosie and Reed Showalter.
