(CHICAGO, IL) - The Service Employees International Union and SEIU Illinois State Council jumped into the special election for Illinois' second Congressional district with a radio ad outlining how Debbie Halvorson is anti-worker and urging voters to oppose her.

The ad, airing on urban radio stations, can be viewed here: http://action.seiu.org/page/content/yes-radio/

In addition, SEIU is directly communicating with workers and their families that are represented by the Union, and who live in the second Congressional district about the importance of this special election and why President Obama needs allies to enact his plan to strengthen the middle class. SEIU and the Illinois State Council are not making an endorsement in the race.

SEIU's radio ads and voter contact will draw attention to Debbie Halvorson's record in voting against working families. For example, Halvorson voted against extending unemployment insurance for workers who lost their jobs and when they desperately needed assistance. She voted with Congressional Republicans 88 times instead of supporting President Obama's agenda during her short tenure in the U.S. House of Representatives. Finally, Halvorson was against making the wealthiest Americans pay their fair share when she voted to ensure couples with estates worth more than $10 million would keep paying a lower tax rate while Chicago's south side and south suburban communities urgently needed investments to create jobs.

"President Obama needs partners in Congress who have his back, and who believe in shared prosperity, economic and tax fairness, and a passion to reinvest in our country again to create good paying jobs," said Tom Balanoff, President of the SEIU Illinois State Council. "But the truth is that Debbie Halvorson simply does not share those same values and fails that basic leadership test to support working families and our communities."

April Verrett, the Executive Vice President of SEIU Healthcare Illinois and Indiana, said: "We need the next Congressperson for the second district to fight for President Obama's bold agenda - not oppose it. Debbie Halvorson's record while in Congress demonstrated that she is more interested in protecting the richest 1% instead of supporting our communities. The workers represented by SEIU are sending a very clear message with these ads and voter outreach: 'We're not voting for Debbie Halvorson.'"

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