Dominick Ruggerio's political evolution was personal

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But there has been a noticeable change in Ruggerio in recent years. He became more comfortable in his highly visible role as the president of the Rhode Island Senate. Maybe it was being a grandfather? Maybe he was adjusting to leading a chamber that was far more liberal than him?
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So after Rhode Island lawmakers overwhelmingly approved a sweeping environmental bill called the
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'I've been called a lot worse,' he chuckled, showcasing a slight hint of vulnerability: he knew people still gossiped about a shoplifting incident he was involved in more than three decades ago.
Ruggerio
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It was not the most graceful end, in part because he chose to pursue another term as president of the Senate at a time when he knew he was unwell. As he was fighting for his life, his family saw weekly headlines about whether he was going to be in
But that shouldn't overshadow or tarnish the legacy of a man who served more than 40 years in the Rhode Island General Assembly, first as a state representative, and since 1985, as a senator.
Ruggerio was an influential leader within the laborers' union as he gained political power, and it was generally true that he was going to support legislation that created construction jobs at almost every step. He wanted to build a minor league baseball stadium in Providence. He supported the redevelopment of the 'Superman' building, no matter the cost. He thought the land opened up in Providence by moving Interstate 195 would be an economic catalyst for the state.
So he allowed the Act on Climate to pass even as many of his friends in the business community had deep concerns. When few other politicians were willing to make it a front-and-center issue, he fought to ensure that employees at Our Lady of Fatima Hospital would have a secure retirement as the hospital's pension fund collapsed. He even showed an
Sure, some of that was pragmatic politics.
But it also marked the evolution of a man who enjoyed nothing more than watching his granddaughter go horseback riding and perform in dance recitals. He wanted a safer, fairer, cleaner future for all four of his grandchildren. And because of him, they'll have it.
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A few years ago, his political team and the Providence firefighters organized a winter coat giveaway at Veazie Street Elementary School in the city. He spent the day helping poor kids pick out their favorite colors and styles as they tried on different jackets. At the end, he turned to his team and told them it was the best thing he'd done in his political career.
I mostly stopped covering Ruggerio for a little while because my partner, Nora, went to work for him as his policy director for two years. She didn't know Ruggerio before she took the job – for a little while there he called her 'Norma' – but she viewed him as a compassionate leader who cared more about policy than many people thought. Most importantly, she found him to be a gentleman.
In late 2023, I started covering him again because Nora had left his office, and I asked about his top priorities for the upcoming legislative session. He floated an idea that he hadn't mentioned to anyone before: building a
Plenty of people scoffed at the idea. One lobbyist even asked if I put the idea in his head.
Nope.
As has been the case a lot in recent years, Ruggerio was ahead of his time. He knew there was a
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We're still a long way from URI getting a medical school. There's a long-term study commission underway. But if it happens, URI should name the school after Ruggerio, or at least award him a posthumous doctorate.
Dr. Green New Donny has a nice ring to it.
Dan McGowan can be reached at

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The Hill

42 minutes ago

• The Hill

GOP leaders face internal pushback, doubts on ‘big beautiful bill' vote

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) is moving full speed ahead toward a planned vote this week on his chamber's version of President Trump's 'big, beautiful bill,' despite pushback from GOP colleagues and serious doubts about his prospects. Republicans say Thune and other Senate GOP leaders have told them the bill is on track for a vote before the July 4 recess in the face of misgivings from colleagues about the impact on Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and renewable energy projects across the country. Thune is also coming under strong pressure from a trio of conservatives led by Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) to cut significantly more from the budget. Fiscal hawks including Sens. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) want to slash the federal share of Medicaid spending in states that expanded the program under the Affordable Care Act and to speed up the phaseout of renewable energy tax breaks. The cross-cutting criticisms from different parts of Thune's conference, combined with the tight timetable, has many observers doubting the Senate will get to the promised vote this week. 'I think it's highly unlikely at this point that we vote on this thing by July 4. I think there is too much work to do. Too many people have to many ideas to come to the finish line to this process. I don't see a way to hold a vote that gets 51 before the Fourth of July,' a Senate GOP aide told The Hill. Senate Republicans crossed an important hurdle Saturday when they received a report from Joint Committee on Taxation scoring the extension of 26 provisions of the expiring 2017 Trump tax cuts as a continuation of 'current policy' that should not be counting as adding to future deficits. If the score survives review by the Senate parliamentarian, it would allow Republicans to make Trump's 2017 marginal tax cuts permanent. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), the ranking member of the Budget Committee, accused Republicans of using a 'budget gimmick' and 'smoke and mirrors' to obscure what he said would be $4 trillion in new debt created by extending the 2017 tax provisions. Senate Republicans and Democratic aides were scheduled to present arguments to the parliamentarian over the weekend on the portion of the bill that covers the extension of the 2017 tax cuts, new tax relief, renewable energy tax credits and Medicaid cuts. Democrats scored a victory Sunday when Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough ruled against a provision tucked into the bill by House Republicans that would severely limit the ability of courts to find Trump administration officials in contempt for failing to comply with injunctions or other court orders. The language would have required a plaintiff seeking an emergency court order or preliminary injunction against the administration to pay a costly bond up front, limiting the scope of legal action against Trump's executive actions. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) hailed the ruling Sunday, asserting the language would have let Trump 'ignore court orders with impunity' if it became law. Democrats have had success knocking several other key provisions out of the bill, such as a proposal to cut funding for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which would have eliminated the agency Democrats set up in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. Democrats also got the parliamentarian to rule against language cutting pay and benefits at the Federal Reserve and eliminating the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board. Over the weekend, changes to the SNAP program designed to make states pay for more costs were also ruled out, a decision that could actually help the bill with centrist GOP senators like Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine. Another wildcard is opposition from House Republicans from New York, New Jersey and California over language in the Senate bill to permanently set the cap at state and local tax (SALT) deductions at $10,000. House GOP lawmakers in the SALT caucus say the Senate's disdain for a deal they struck with Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) to raise the cap to $40,000 is a deal-breaker. Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) told reporters last week that many items in the bill remain under discussion. He said that Senate Republican leaders want to negotiate a deal on the SALT cap with House Republicans before the legislation comes to the floor so they can be assured that whatever passes the Senate could also pass the House. Sen. Jon Husted (R-Ohio) said Friday that the bill appears on track to 'get accomplished next week.' 'Everybody should become prepared to get the job done,' he said. He said that Senate GOP negotiators 'are working through the rural hospital issues' and have a 'goal to make sure that those issues are addressed.' But a Senate GOP source familiar with the talks to resolve the Medicaid issue said they're making slow progress. 'They know that this is a problem and it's a live wire,' the source said of the impasse over Medicaid funding cuts. Collins says she wants to make 'many changes' to the bill and has floated the idea of creating a health-care-provider relief fund to help rural hospitals, nursing homes and community health centers that would be affected by funding cuts. Even so, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) has raised concern about requiring lower-income Americans to pay higher copays for medical treatments and Murkowski has warned that stricter work and eligibility requirements will be difficult to implement in Alaska. Republican senators and aides are expressing strong skepticism that Thune will be able to round up the 50 votes he needs to pass the bill by the end of this week. Senate Republicans control a 53-seat majority and can afford only three defections and still pass the bill as Vice President JD Vance would cast a tie-breaking vote. Johnson, the Wisconsin fiscal hawk, told reporters this week there's 'no way' the Senate bill gets done by July 4. He said that he, Scott and Lee are willing to hold up the bill into they get concessions on bigger spending cuts. Johnson wants Thune to commit to moving a second package of spending cuts using the budget reconciliation process before the 2026 midterm elections. And he is demanding a 'forcing mechanism' to force such a bill to the floor. One proposal would be to split up the $5 trillion debt-limit increase into two smaller expansions of borrowing authority to force GOP lawmakers to debate another round of spending cuts next year. 'What's going to force us to come back and do this again?' Johnson said. 'They're starting to talk about it,' referring to the latest talks with Thune about additional deficit reduction. Johnson said Thune 'at this point' needs his vote because he hasn't locked down the votes of senators concerned about Medicaid cuts, such as Collins, Hawley and Murkowski. 'This is too soon,' he said of a vote on the bill next week. 'The ball's been in the Senate's court for two weeks… . We need time to look at this.'

Los Angeles Times

43 minutes ago

• Los Angeles Times

The GOP wants to turn asylum into a pay-to-play system

The 'One Big Beautiful Bill Act' now before the Senate takes the current preoccupation with making every governmental relationship transactional to an immoral extreme. It puts a $1,000 price tag on the right to seek asylum — the first time the United States would require someone to pay for this human right. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights holds that 'everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.' U.S. law incorporates that right, stating that 'any alien … irrespective of such alien's status, may apply for asylum.' Neither makes this right contingent on being able to pay. Bear in mind that asylum seekers in the United States do not have the right to court-appointed attorneys. That means the system already profoundly disadvantages indigent asylum seekers — they can't afford a lawyer, often don't speak English and have no road map for navigating arcane immigration law. The new law would make asylum even more inaccessible for a poor person, in effect, creating two classes of those seeking refuge here. Those wealthy enough to pay $1,000 up front would have their protection claims heard; those unable to pay would be shunted back to face persecution and the problems that drove them from their home countries to begin with. If this part of the bill isn't modified before its final passage, Congress will have piled on to the obstacles the Trump administration has already put in place to block the right to seek asylum. On Inauguration Day, President Trump proclaimed an invasion of the United States by 'millions of aliens' and 'suspend[ed] the physical entry of any alien engaged in the invasion across the southern border.' Until the president decides the 'invasion' is over, the order explicitly denies the right of any person to seek asylum if it would permit their continued presence in the United States. Since Jan. 20, asylum seekers trying to enter the United States at the southwestern border have been turned away and, in some cases, loaded onto military planes and flown to third countries — Panama, for example — without any opportunity to make asylum claims. 'I asked for asylum repeatedly. I really tried,' Artemis Ghasemzadeh, a 27-year-old Christian convert from Iran, told Human Rights Watch after being sent to Panama. 'Nobody listened to me …. Then an immigration officer told me President Trump had ended asylum, so they were going to deport us.' On top of the basic fee for asylum seekers, the 'One Big Beautiful Bill Act' would also require an asylum seeker to pay a fee of 'not less than $550' every six months to be permitted to work in the U.S. while their claim is pending. The bill would also impose an additional $100 fee for every year an asylum application remains pending in the heavily backlogged system, punishing the person fleeing persecution for the government's failure to provide sufficient immigration judges. Children are not spared. For the privilege of sponsoring an unaccompanied migrant child, the bill would require the sponsor, often a relative who steps forward to care for the child, to pay a $3,500 fee. Congressional priorities for spending on unaccompanied children who arrive at our borders show a distinct lack of compassion: The bill directs that a $20-million appropriation for U.S. Customs and Border Protection 'shall only be used to conduct an examination of such unaccompanied alien child for gang-related tattoos and other gang-related markings.' Add to these barriers the complete shutdown of the U.S. refugee resettlement program, except for white South Africans; the termination of 'humanitarian parole' for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans; the end of temporary protected status programs that have provided protection to people coming from countries of widespread conflict, and the travel ban that bars entry from some of the world's top refugee-producing countries, including Afghanistan, Myanmar, Iran and Sudan. In the meantime, Trump hypes the idea of selling $5-million 'gold cards' for super rich foreigners who want to buy U.S. permanent residence. When asked who might be interested, Trump replied, 'I know some Russian oligarchs that are very nice people.' The 'One Big Beautiful Bill Act' includes $45 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement's detention capacity (by my calculations, that would more than triple capacity). It also specifies $14.4 billion for ICE transportation and removal operations, $46.5 billion for the border wall and $858 million to pay bonuses to ICE officials. With all the money Congress is prepared to spend, it's a wonder the bill didn't add a few dollars for sanding down the inscription at the base of the Statue of Liberty and re-chiseling it to say, 'Give me your rich and well-rested … yearning to breathe free.' Bill Frelick is refugee rights director at Human Rights Watch and the author of the report ''Nobody Cared, Nobody Listened': The US Expulsion of Third-Country Nationals to Panama.'

Chicago Tribune

44 minutes ago

• Chicago Tribune

Clean energy job training offers hope to hundreds: ‘It's changed my life'

Jordan Foley ticks off what he didn't have when he started an intensive 13-week solar job training program on the West Side: money, a bed, clothes, food. The fear that the program wouldn't be able to help him was intense, but Foley, 31, pressed on, learning the math, science and construction skills needed to wire and install rooftop solar panels. He took tests, drew up blueprints and did daily physical training: pushups, jumping jacks and solar-panel carrying exercises. And in April, his hard work paid off. He landed a job as a project administrator for a clean energy company. 'It's changed my life,' Foley said of the training program. 'It's definitely changed my life for the better.' Foley is part of the first big wave of state residents to benefit from a long-awaited network of clean energy job training hubs established under Illinois' ambitious 2021 climate law, the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act. The inclusion of job training was a major demand of environmentalists and their allies, who were determined to see Black and Latino communities share in the benefits of the clean energy economy. Eleven of 16 major training hubs statewide are now up and running, training hundreds of people. 'This moment is massive,' said Juliana Pino, interim co-executive director at the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization. 'It's really significant because before the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, communities had to fight very hard to even have (access to job training) be respected and understood.' There were 541 students enrolled in the workforce hub training classes in mid-May, and 94 who had already graduated, according to the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. The program is state-funded, so it's not directly affected by President Donald Trump's attacks on renewable energy, but if opportunities in the field diminish, that could hurt graduates' job prospects, advocates said. Republicans in the U.S. Senate are currently working on a tax bill that would slash clean energy tax credits for businesses, homeowners and consumers. The House passed a similar measure last month. Among those eligible for the free training, which comes with a stipend and support services, are energy workers who have lost their jobs, people who have been in the foster care system, people who live in communities disproportionately burdened by pollution, and those who live in communities with high crime and incarceration rates. 'You're bringing in hundreds — and thousands — of people into the middle class,' said A.J. Patton Sr., CEO and managing partner of 548 Enterprise, the parent group to the nonprofit 548 Foundation, which runs the workforce hub where Foley trained. 'This is not just a workforce program. This is a public safety program. If I can take somebody off the corner and hand them a solar panel, I've changed their life,' Patton said. Under a sky hazy with Canadian wildfire smoke, 30 men and women in hard hats and neon construction vests pored over solar panels mounted on mock roofs they had built themselves. The students were considering wiring configurations, screwing in cables and responding to questions from solar master trainer Sam Garrard. In about a week, when the course at the 548 Foundation's West Side workforce hub at St. Agatha Catholic Church will conclude, the students will be able to install a solar array for a house, a car or a shop, Garrard said. 'Now they're just (taking) all their book knowledge and their hands-on knowledge that they've acquired and using it,' he said. The atmosphere was intense but supportive, with trainees calling craft-instructor manager Keith Lightfoot 'coach' and responding instantly on the one occasion when he sternly uttered a single word — 'Language!' — in response to an expletive. Among the challenges: Students have to do the math for solar arrays and learn the details of electrical wiring, according to graduate Cortez Heard, now a solar installer for a local clean energy company. 'It definitely did get challenging, but as a young man, you've got to understand it's going to be tough, and if you are ready for what you want to do, it's game on,' said Heard, 27, of Chicago. Such job training opportunities are the product of a long, hard fight in Illinois — one that can be traced back to the state's previous climate law, the Future Energy Jobs Act of 2016. The 2016 law was, in many ways ahead of its time, but it delivered some tough lessons to community organizers trying to make sure that Black and brown residents got their fair share of new jobs. 'We got our tails kicked by labor,' with many jobs and opportunities going to the relatively white construction trades, said Tony Pierce, co-pastor of Heaven's View Christian Fellowship church in Peoria and board president of Illinois People's Action, a multi-issue faith and community organization in Bloomington. The next climate bill, environmentalists and organizers vowed, would be different. They partnered with churches and social service organizations to hold community meetings across the state and hammer out a vision for what the clean energy economy should look like. Again and again, organizers heard the same thing from communities, Pino said: 'We don't want (clean energy) to be just a replica of other new industries that show up in our neighborhoods, don't give us meaningful access, and we ultimately don't see the benefits.' There was even a rallying cry: 'No climate, no equity, no deal.' In the end, Gov. JB Pritzker, a strong supporter of climate action, stepped in to help get the bill across the finish line, and the environmentalist coalition won big. The new law not only set a goal of 100% clean energy by 2050 but invested heavily in job training for people and communities that might otherwise be left behind. There are multiple workforce training programs under the Illinois climate law, including ones for people seeking union apprenticeships and for people in prison, but the workforce hubs program is the largest, and its progress has been closely watched. More than $30 million in climate-law funding has already been awarded to the workforce hubs, according to the state. Foley was basically homeless when a friend who works at the 548 Foundation told him about the solar job training program. He received a stipend for attending, and within a few weeks his caseworker was able to find him a small room to rent and even a brand-new bed to sleep in. 'That was a blessing,' he said. 'From there, I took full advantage of the program.' There were challenges: A relative died; not long after, another relative also died suddenly and prematurely. And then there was his fear of simply finishing the program. 'I didn't understand what could come from it,' Foley said. 'I was more afraid of, 'What happens when you have to go back to being hungry? What happens when you put in all of this energy, all of these days, and there is no (one) that wants to hire you?' I was very terrified of that.' Foley said he almost didn't take the final certification test, relenting only when Felicia Nixon-Gregory, the director of training and workforce development, sat down and talked with him. And then, when he graduated, it was into a dark December for clean energy. Winter, in general, isn't a good time to get hired for solar installer jobs in Illinois, and after President Donald Trump was elected in November, some clean energy employers took a wait-and-see approach to hiring. The 548 Foundation workforce hub solar training program initially had a job placement rate of 85%, which then dropped to about 50% and was inching back to 80% by mid-May, according to Patton. After he graduated, Foley found himself struggling to get paid what he was owed for short-term jobs. Still, he continued to work on issues he cared about, starting a youth ministry and volunteering at Prairie Guardians, an environmental nonprofit in Bloomington. And then, when he'd almost given up on a career in solar, he got a text from a case manager at his training program about a job at Atlanta's Dimension Energy with a $65,000 to $75,000 salary, a 10% sign-on bonus and unlimited PTO, or paid time off. 'I said, 'What is PTO?'' Foley recalled with a laugh. He had never heard of that. The company made him an offer, flew him to Atlanta to meet the team and put him up in a fancy hotel. He was worried that somehow the job, which is based in Chicago, wouldn't materialize, but then he got his company computer and corporate credit card. People told him, 'Don't mess this up,' he said. 'I was like, 'You're crazy if you think I'm going to mess any of this up,'' Foley recalled. There were high hopes for clean energy job training when the Illinois climate bill passed in 2021, and then there was frustration as year after year, the workforce hubs failed to materialize. 'This is one of the difficulties with having such nation-leading legislation,' said Francisco Lopez Zavala, an Illinois Environmental Council climate policy program associate. 'There was no other state in the U.S. to really model off in the efforts Illinois is leading in, with providing these trainings focused on the clean energy trade at such a scale, with the barrier reduction services that are offered,' he said. Among the issues, some state agencies didn't initially have enough staff, Lopez Zavala said, and even now, in some places 'it's still a struggle that we're continuing to work (on).' Pritzker's office did not respond to a written question about workforce hub delays but issued a statement saying in part, 'The idea for the CEJA workforce hubs originated with people from marginalized communities. The hubs are proof of the value of following environmental justice principles and ensuring impacted people have a seat at the table.' The services available to reduce barriers for workforce hub students can include child care, bus and gas cards, and assistance with housing and food. The idea is to give students the support they need to be productive and show up for class, said Crystal Overton, the 548 Foundation's director of student support services. A recent day found her buying clothes for the students' job interviews. 'I'm just thinking all the time, how are we preparing them for success?' Overton said. 'It needs to be a holistic approach, and not just education. It needs to be like Maslow's hierarchy of needs: Are they taken care of? Because if not, they're not going to come in open and receptive to the lesson.' The 11 regional workforce hubs that are already up and running include four in Chicago: the 548 Foundation hub with locations on the South and West sides, two Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership hubs on the South and West sides, and a Safer Foundation hub on the South Side. Classes vary, with the Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership focusing on job readiness training with an emphasis on soft skills as well as an introduction to career pathways and occupations in the clean energy industry. 'Ideally, someone can walk in, not knowing anything about the different career pathways, and then make a choice: OK, do I want to be a solar panel installer or do I want to work in HVAC?' said Abram Garcia, the Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership's interim associate director of program guidelines and budgets. Students can also find out which jobs they can get most quickly, he said, and for some that may be the deciding factor. Walter Alston, 35, of Chicago was drawn to construction, but at the end of his 12-week program at a Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership hub, he spread his net wider, interviewing with the electric vehicle company Rivian. He asked the questions he'd learned in the program — including ones about benefits and safety — and liked what he heard. Rivian offered him a job as a service technician, maintaining and repairing cars. He'll do five weeks of training in California, Arizona, Texas or Florida, and then move to one of those states for a permanent position. 'I thanked RW just, like, a million times,' Alston said of Revolution Workshop, the nonprofit that ran his training program. 'I thanked them, I thanked them, I thanked them.' As for Foley, he has in a sense come full circle. When he started his solar training program, talking to graduates gave him hope that this wasn't just another career dead end. Now he's the one with a job and a story to tell. During a recent video interview, Foley spoke from work, where he was on the road with some colleagues, visiting Illinois project sites. 'I'm loving it,' he said of his job. 'I'm very appreciative of where I'm at. They give me a lot of responsibility, so it's been a true life-altering experience.'