Hundreds of changemakers and activists attended States and the Future of Antitrust: How State Policymakers Can Take On Monopolies and Rebuild Local Economies in 2025 and Beyond, a virtual event hosted by ILSR and the State Innovation Exchange (SiX). Featuring Attorneys General Keith Ellison (Minn.) and Kris Mayes (Ariz.), the lively discussion centered on the vital role states can play (and have played) in using antitrust enforcement to rein in corporate power.
In their fireside chat, AGs Ellison and Mayes touted their major accomplishments—from AG Ellison filing a right-to-repair suit against John Deere to AG Mayes leading a case against RealPage to rein in corporate collusion to raise residential rents in Arizona. They showed that, in the uncertain years to come, state governments can and will take the reins in the fight against corporate monopolies.
Following the fireside chat was a galvanizing panel of state officials and advocates, led by Ron Knox, Senior Researcher and Policy Advocate at ILSR. The discussion featured leaders working in diverse communities across the country sharing strategies for fostering fairer markets—and winning.
Ida Eskamani, Senior Director for Legislative Affairs at the State Innovation Exchange stressed that the fight against corporate power is an intersectional fight that affects all of us in our daily lives. Tammie Hetrick, President and CEO of the Washington Food Industry Association demonstrated the stakes of the fight by explaining just how un-level the playing field is for independent grocers. Finally, Rep. J.D. Scholten, who represents Iowa’s 1st district in the state legislature, passionately expressed his view that the fight against corporate power isn’t about left vs. right, but rather about up vs. down.
The recording is available on YouTube, or you can watch it here.
Our "Power Play" virtual event was a lively discussion on how monopoly power leverages structural racism and what we can do about it.
Independent businesses from across the country tuned into a lively and informative virtual town hall featuring Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan.
Nearly 400 people tuned into our lively town hall with Rep. David Cicilline on February 22nd, which detailed how Amazon’s growing dominance hurts independent businesses.
In this episode of We the People, ILSR's Stacy Mitchell and Lina Khan join Rep. Ellison to talk about how to take on Amazon.