Video: You Asked the White House, They Answered

In January, the White House Office of Digital Strategy reached out to Patch to get questions from Patch users. In return, Homewood-Flossmoor Patch put the call out for questions from H-F.

One of the questions came from resident Marta Perales. Perales happens to be the Illinois statewide metropolitan planning organization [MPO] coordinator.

She asked, "Can we get more details on how President Obama is going to move forward with improving our transportation infrastructure? How is (President Obama going to get this on the fast track and cut the red tape?"

In the first accompanying video, you can see the response from Jason Furman, principal deputy director of the National Economic Council. 

According to Furman, President Obama has been focused on infrastructure since the beginning of term and invested considerably in it. He does, however, acknowledge that a lot more needs to be done, and on a sustained basis. Furman says Obama intends to reallocate half the money saved from winding down the wars in the Middles East to reinvest on infrastructure maintenance and improvement. More details will be revealed when their budget is released, according to Furman.

The White House also addressed a question from Glenwood resident and local radio host Jaime Gill. 

She said, "I'd love to hear more about (President Obama's) plan for women's health issues and laws against sexual predators."

The second accompanying video includes responses from Special Assistant to the President, Racquel Russell and White House Advisor on Violence Against Women, Lynn Rosenthal.

Russell's portion focuses on the Affordable Care Act, something she says the president pushed hard to secure. According to Russell, come 2014, many current practices that discriminate against women will become outlawed. An example she sites is the denial of insurance coverage for women based on things like a history of cancer or even haven given birth. Russell also goes into some detail about the Obama supported Teen Pregnancy Initiative and the Pregnancy Assistance Fund.

Rosenthal says the president has made ending sexual violence a top priority. The White House is specifically concerned with predators on college campuses, where one in five women are sexually assaulted, according to Rosenthal. She said Vice President Joe Biden recently announced new and more stringent guidelines for colleges to follow in hopes to curb sexual violence. Additionally, the FBI will be adopting a new definition of rape which will include a broader range of sexual assaults, among other things, Rosenthal said.

Patch reached out to representatives from the Republican party for a response, but received no reply.