Dr. Thomas Fisher is a first-time candidate and lifelong South Side Chicagoan who recently entered the open race for Illinois’ 7th Congressional District — a rare open contest following Rep. Danny Davis’ retirement after nearly three decades in Congress.
Dr. Fisher spoke with
The Black Wall Street Times
about his career and his newfound role as a candidate.
“I’ve been taking care of sick people on the south side of Chicago for more than 20 years,” says Dr. Fisher. “Most of the things that bring people to me have nothing to do with healthcare. It has to do with the way people live, learn, work and play.”
Dr. Fisher is a Harvard-trained ER doctor who’s spent decades serving Black communities in Chicago, a national voice on health equity, and a former Obama administration health official.
“Early in my career, I had the naive perspective that this was some big misunderstanding, and if we only got on the same page about getting guns off the street and making sure people had the kinds of jobs that gave them health insurance that allowed them to work out many of these issues, which we knew well, would simply go away.” He continued, “And over time, I realized they’re not going away, and that they aren’t misunderstandings, they are policy challenges.”
“If I’m willing to point out the injustice and the inadequacy of our policies and the way that we’re treating one another, I have to be willing to fight for it, and now is the time to enter that fight.”
A fight worth having
Asked if the race has been what he expected so far, Dr. Fisher remarked in part, “a lot of it is talking to people, understanding issues, learning. It is engaging in neighborhoods and communities and churches and unions. I think [it is] encouraging.”
“Chicago is my home.” Dr. Fisher continued, “I grew up here on the south side, and I’ve invested my professional career trying to take care of people on their worst day so I have an understanding of how these policies affect our lives.”
“My mom worked for Chicago Public Schools for 30+ years, and it was because of that job, and thanks to the Chicago Teachers Union that we had good health insurance and that she retired comfortably.”
He elaborated, “I want to bring that perspective to [this role] as well. And my father came here from Kansas, neither of his parents were able to go to school, but he was able to go to school, and he became a physician.”
“I want to honor my parents and my ancestors in my work”
Dr. Fisher continued, “And I think a lot of other candidates might feel that as well, but those lived experiences matter to me. And I want to make sure that when we create policy it reflects these truths.”
With health care, public safety, and racial justice top of mind for voters in IL-07, Dr. Fisher brings deep lived experience and policy fluency to the conversation — and he’s already drawing early attention as a potential frontrunner.
Dr. Thomas Fisher stands with his Governor in opposing the National Guard policing Chicago streets
Asked about the latest national headlines pertaining to
Chicago and federal agents and National Guard potentially ordered by President Trump
, Dr. Fisher said, “to corrupt their mission in order to score political points and police streets, taking away the rights of our governor who is their rightful commander and to police the streets that are already being policed by the mayor and his charges, is a power grab that is dangerous and risky in a
city where the crime rate is already declining
.”
He continued, “Chicagoans don’t want it. I stand with the elected leaders who have been vocal in describing the risk ahead and the damage that that would do, not just to the community, but let’s keep in mind, our National Guard is regular people who generally are working to serve at the governor’s pleasure to protect the population. The governor has been taking a strong lead and I stand with him.”
Universal health care is a top priority for the campaign
Asked what policy he is most passionate about and looks forward to challenging, Dr. Fisher unflinchingly responded, “universal health care.”
He explained, “a lot of people do not have insurance, and Trump’s policies are taking away insurance from 17 million more people. That means when you get sick, even if you have insurance, the place you go for health care might not be there when you need it, because so many people will no longer be able to pay for their health care.”
Dr. Thomas Fisher furthered, “When you look at the
labor statistics
that came out last month, the majority of job growth that happened was in health care. If you take away all of those people who are unable to pay for health care, that means fewer jobs. That means nurses, that means X-ray technologists. That means all of the people who need stable employment are now in jeopardy because of these issues.”
“It is not that hospitals are saying, ‘well, we don’t want to serve these communities.’ It’s that they don’t have the resources to serve those communities because of all these upstream decisions that have been made, some of them were made even before we were alive. But they are not being undone, and therefore they reverberate into the lives and communities of today.”
The campaign is off to a hot start
Dr. Fisher launched his campaign in late August and raised six figures in the first 24 hours — signaling real grassroots and institutional energy behind him.
Dr. Fisher acknowledged the momentum, “I’m proud of that. I think that it is a reflection of people’s respect for my track record and the message around centering our humanity and our policies moving forward.”
“We are listening and understanding and proceeding with integrity and courage in order to ensure that we have a society that elevate all of us.”
Learn more about Dr. Thomas Fisher at
his campaign website
.
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The post
Dr. Thomas Fisher is running for Illinois’ 7th Congressional District
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