I photographed political campaigns in 2003-2004 for @julianmulvey respected in the political field as a media consulting expert, helping people win campaigns in the US and around the world including working on the campaign for @BernieSanders. #TheCapital in #Springfield, IL, asked him for a photographer, he recommended me. I've probably shot about 30 campaign races now. I don't post about photographing politicians, probably because I consider myself a "Music" photographer and didn't want to confuse my "brand" as they say. But the people who work in politics are more rock n roll than ever, I love the 2 genre's I work in, they both make people feel good and like they can take on the world: music & politics! I felt I should share about the people I'm working with, they ARE making a difference in the country, their communities, their districts, it's inspiring. Ask yourself, do you know who your representative is in your district? You should check it out, this is not a judgement, but just a nudge to get involved locally if you can and maybe not spend as much time focusing on news. These people get their hands dirty and make real change. The woman in this photo is @LisaDugan and she is full fledged #badass. She came out of retirement to run again to be an elected official in the Kankakee area of Illinois. She started out as the only female electrician in the 70's with 300 men. She served 5 terms as rep in the 79th district. An article in the #DailyJornal quoted her speech in Springfield during the budget crises that took 3 years to figure out. "The budget impasse affected people's lives so much. When Gov. (Bruce) Rauner and Lindsay Parkhurst vote against funding anything, that tells me they turned their backs on the people of Illinois," Dugan said during her speech. "You can't say you care. You can't say you'll fund the schools. ... You shouldn't stand up and tell people you'll help them and then vote against funding anything in the state or in the 79th District." I do the #campaigns for #statereprentatives and have also photographed #TheSpeakerofTheHouse #MichaelMadigan. Lisa Dugan