Chicago
Chicago
Jerry Baggot is on a long-term mission to change Washington and a more urgent one to make hundreds of wellness calls to older Chicagoans during the coronavirus crisis. For the 60-year-old from the South Loop, there is something seamless about the two undertakings.
“Volunteering is what we do,” Baggot told Chicago City Wire. “We are a grass roots, citizen activist army.”
The “we” Baggot refers to is the Convention of States Project (COSP), a nationwide effort to bring about a constitutional convention with three amendments in mind: enact terms limits for members of congress, reform congressional fiscal and spending powers and limit powers and jurisdiction of federal officials. He is Illinois State Director for the COSP.
Jerry Baggot
| COSP
“The marker,” Baggot said, “is the national debt, which is approaching our GDP (Gross Domestic Product). Now we not only have a broken government in Washington we have a broke government.”
Passage of House Joint Resolution 119, sponsored by state Rep. Allen Skillicorn (R-East Dundee), would have Illinois join 15 other states that have approved constitutional convention resolutions. The effort needs 34 states in all.
Baggot, a Chicago public school substitute teacher, says the wellness calls arose from his approaching State Rep. Sonya Harper (D-6th), whose district covers part of the South Loop, about signing on to the Skillicorn resolution. She responded that she needed help to advance her legislative initiatives. The problem, he told her, was that he doesn’t agree with all her initiatives. Then came the offer to check on older members in her district, and he jumped at it.
He makes 20-30 calls a day from a 31-page list of 20 names each. He doesn’t discuss the COSP during his calls – that would be improper, he says.
“It has become increasingly apparent to me that what is being driven from society is gift-giving without an expectation of a return,” Baggot said. “One of my first jobs was as a waiter. Whenever I worked with an expectation of a gratuity, I made very few tips. Whenever I worked and simply provided the best service I possibly could, I was very pleased with my tips.“
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