Justice Advocacy Corner
Welcome to the Justice Advocacy Corner! Here is a central hub for information sent to the UUCB Office about what steps can be taken to stand up for justice - on both local and federal levels.
Local Actions
Big New Jail...Really?
Sunday, October 26, from 3-4:30 p.m.
Unitarian Universalist Church of Bloomington - Meeting Room.
You are invited to a panel hosted by Care Not Cages about the proposed new Monroe County Jail. Join us for a discussion featuring Charlotte Zietlow, former City Council and County Commissioner president, Philip A. Amerson, former president of Garret-Evangelical and Claremont School of Theology, and John Hamilton, former two-term mayor of Bloomington, and others as we examine what it would mean to invest over $300 million in increased incarceration and what we can do to work toward real justice in our community. A Q&A will follow the presentation and panel.
Virtual Town Hall, "Polarization: What Should We Do About It"
Sunday, October 26, from 4 - 6 p.m.
Sibling Cities USA – an organization that focuses on civil discourse and connects the Bloomington community to its partner community in Palo Alto, CA – is planning a town hall this month. We would love to have you participate in the conversation! The online gathering with a topic, “Polarization: What Should We Do About It”, will bring together individuals from our two communities, including representatives from a range of groups such as Rotary, city council, student organizations, the faith community, and others.
Your voice is important to us and we would be grateful for your participation! If you’re available to do so, please be sure to sign up soon.
Here’s a letter from Sibling Cities USA director, Vicki Veenker, with more details about the event.
Redistricting - Contact Governor Braun
Governor Braun is being pressured to call a special session to redistrict Indiana's congressional districts, which would normally wait till 2030. Nine of the 11 districts are already gerrymandered GOP. The aim is to gerrymander the map further to flip one or both Democratic districts to the GOP. This is not politics as usual; it's election rigging to grab power and is a danger to democracy. We encourage people to contact the governor and their assembly members to oppose this blatant cheating. More info is available here: https://tinyurl.com/3vefayur
Elected Official Phone Numbers
Gov. Braun: 317-232-4567
State Rep: 317-232-9600
State Senator: 317-232-9400
The clean energy tax credit clock is ticking. Act Now!
With HR1 (One Big “Budget” Bill) now law, 2026 marks the end of thousands in savings for home electrification upgrades.
The average American home has room for improvement when it comes to energy efficiency. From leaky windows that let conditioned air escape to aging HVAC systems that work overtime to maintain comfortable temperatures, most homes have real opportunities for improvement.
Through 2025 you can save up to $2,000 with tax credits on heat pump systems, $1200 in building envelope improvements (insulation, windows, etc.), and 30% tax credits for clean energy systems (think solar).
For more information visit energysage.com.
Indiana also offers an income based program that can help qualifying homeowners add to their savings with rebates on home efficiency improvements and appliance upgrades. For more information on that visit the Indiana Office of Energy Development.
Find Your Legislators!
Use the link below to find your legislators.
https://iga.in.gov/information/find-legislators
- Also, consider using the "5-calls" app - Susan Swaney, our Director of Music, recently recommended this. It is an easy way to make 5-calls a day to your representatives and legislators covering the topics you would like to express. The team behind the app does research on policies and even writes scripts that are helpful to use when calling your legislators. Click this link to find out more: https://5calls.org/
- Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray recently mentioned a very helpful tool for getting in contact with her representatives - her phone! She saves all of their numbers in her phone with their names, affiliations, and job title. That way, when you have an issue you would like to discuss with their offices, their phone numbers are already saved to your phone. Taking the time to do this once makes the effort much easier later!
Resources
From Side with Love
"Grounded, Resilient, & Responsible. Responding and Organizing In Authoritarian Times" Webinar Slides (PDF)
"Grounded, Resilient, & Responsible. Responding and Organizing In Authoritarian Times" Toolkit (PDF)
Information about Bills and Policies
This is a good overview of how federal cuts in workforce personnel harms our local communities: https://mailchi.mp/monroedems/action-alert-71022-call-houchin-no-doge?e=f94d1e7939
