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ACTION UPDATE - WINTER 2007
LAC HOLDING TWO
ALDERMANIC FORUMS
Heated races in the
43rd and 46th wards
There are 5 candidates running for alderman of
the 43rd Ward. Where do
they stand on social justice issues that have impact on residents of the ward, and throughout the City of Chicago? How will they take leadership in the community? Come find out Thursday, February 15, 2007 at Church of Our Saviour, 530 W Fullerton Parkway. Doors open at 6:30, and the forum will run from 7 pm – 8:45 pm.
Along with Jane Addams Senior Caucus and
United Power for Action and
Justice, LAC will be asking the candidates questions about issues including affordable housing creation and preservation, homelessness, transportation,
and the future of the Children’s
Memorial land. All five candidates, Vi Daley,
Tim Egan, Rachel Goodstein, Michele Smith and
Peter Zelchenko, have been invited to this event.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS!
The 46th ward candidate’s forum will be on
Wednesday, January 31st at
the Walt Disney School which is on 4140 N Marine Drive. LAC is co-sponsoring this forum with the Organization of the North East and the Uptown Chicago Commission. The candidates running for alderman
in the ward are Helen Shiller and James
Cappleman.
These forums are a great opportunity to see
learn where the candidates
stand, and see potential elected officials make commitments to the issues we care about so we can hold them accountable later. Aldermen are elected every four years. Other offices in this election include Mayor, City Clerk, and Treasurer.
For a 46th Ward map, go to:
http://www.chicagoremap.org/pdf/coalition_a/Ward46.pdf For a 43rd Ward map, go to:
The Municipal Election will
take place on Tuesday, February 27th
LAC Documents
Police Abuse of Homeless Youth,
Report Calls for 50% Reduction
in Incidents
LAC members and allies have been collecting
documentation of youth
incidents with the police for the last several years – ranging from verbal harassment to actual physical assault.
We have had many interactions with police
officials to attempt to stop
harassment of youth by police in our community, from Superintendent Cline on down. Our most recent attempt was a forum with the local police sergeants on July 10 , 2006 but the only direct results of that was increased harassment of youth and programs that serve
Leaders decided to report on all of the
interactions that we have had
with the police in our efforts to alleviate the problem of harassment. On December 5th , LAC leaders released a report: “A Broken System: Lakeview Action Coalition’s Report on Police Harassment & Abuse of Homeless Youth in Lakeview.”
On that day, 150 hearty LAC leaders, from
Pastors and congregation
members to homeless adults and youth, marched in solidarity. The freezing weather didn’t stop the leaders from holding an outdoor press conference before the march. The group then energetically marched across Addison, delivering a copy of the report to 23rd District Commander Yamishiroya, down Halsted, across Belmont and up Broadway, chanting and passing out fliers all the way. The main theme for the event was "Protect Homeless Youth, Stop the Abuse."
LAC leaders called for a reduction of
incidents of harassment and abuse
of youth in Lakeview by the police in the 19th and 23rd Districts by 50% by August 2007. We committed to continue documenting reports of harassment and abuse of youth by the police during this period. We also committed to work in collaboration with other organizations across Chicago towards developing a system that effectively polices the police, as changes are made at the Office of Professional Standards. To read the full report, go to our website at www.lakeviewaction.org. Youth Allies Call to Action!
The LAC Homeless Youth/Police Relations Task Force is
calling on our 20
Youth Allies to support a youth at his trial date on February 9th at 10am. We are attending solidarity with this youth. Please contact LAC the court dates in for further information. Health Care Task Force Documents Service Inequalities
Despite Community
Benefits Program, Uninsured Have Difficulty Accessing Care
A preliminary study of the health care needs in
Lakeview reveals that
the uninsured infrequently access care from the many and high quality health service providers in Lakeview. The study also found that the two large non-profit hospitals in Lakeview had sued the same number of uninsured people for unpaid hospital bills as they had offered those people financial assistance through charity care. Charity care - reduced price or free care for those who can not afford to pay – is a required program at non-profit hospitals.
Responses to the 42 surveys completed in 2005 also
indicated that few
respondents had seen charity care or community benefit programs at Lakeview hospitals. Equally few had seen medical information translated in languages other than English.
The Health Care Task Force is furiously collecting
information for an
updated and expanded report to be published in May of 2007. The report will be a collection of stories, pictures, and statistics about the problems that the un and underinsured in our community experience with accessing certain types of health care services, such as primary care and dental care.
Calling on those
interested in Health Care distribution injustice in Lakeview!
LAC’s Health Care Task Force has launched a series of
information
sessions and focus groups at various shelters, soup kitchens and supportive housing sites in Lakeview. The purpose of these “Care for All sessions” is two-fold:
1. To collect information for our report about problems
related to
accessing health care in our neighborhood, and 2. To educate the un and underinsured about their right to free health care at not-for-profit hospitals through the Charity Care program.
Having identified locations in Lakeview where we would
like to have
these Care For All sessions and focus groups, the Health Care Task Force is in need of many volunteers! Working at a Care For All session is a great opportunity to do service while also instigating structural change. The dates and times of the sessions are flexible as they can largely be determined by the schedules of the volunteers and the members of the LAC Health Care TaskForce.
For more information on health care injustices
happening in Lakeview and
Chicago more broadly, check out http://www.careforall.info/. If interested in learning more to work at one of our information sessions, shoot an email to blinden@lakeviewaction.org or call 773.549.1947 x385.
Lincoln Park Plaza
Win 5 Year Renewal of Section 8!
After an energizing all-tenants’ meeting in
December at Bethlehem UCC
(much thanks!), tenant leaders of Lincoln Park Plaza (formerly known as Rienzi Plaza) have been working creatively with their owner, Alderman Tunney, Commissioner Quigley, HUD, IHDA and the Tax Assessor to make a five year contract work for their owner. The past few months have been stressful and full of unexpected turns for the tenants, and negotiations are still underway. However, since initial miscalculations have been cleared up, the owner has agreed to sign a 5 year Section 8 renewal! The tenants deserve a big CONGRATULATIONS!
Mayor Proposes Set
Aside Compromise
For the past 5 years, LAC leaders have been working
with other community
leaders from throughout Chicago to pass an affordable housing set aside ordinance. Throughout this fight, the Mayor has made small concessions that would have never happened without our work. First he passed the Affordable Requirements Ordinance, which calls for affordable housing when TIF money or city land is used. The he passed the downtown density bonus, which called for set asides or donations when density increases are request in the central part of Chicago. That program has generated commitments of over $24 million that will be used to support affordable housing.
But the Mayor has always been vehemently opposed to a
citywide program.
Until now.
In October, the Mayor has put forth a set aside
proposal which is not
adequate but is much closer to our proposal than anything else he has presented in the last 5 years. His proposal has gone to city council and was referred to committee. His proposal calls for a 10% set aside in developments over 10 units seeking city assistance through land or zoning increases. He wants these units to be affordable to people at 100% of the Area Median Income (That is a family of four with an income of about $75,000 and an individual with an income of $52,000).
The Balanced Development Coalition (of which LAC is a
founding member)
and many alderman are offering support for this proposal if the Mayor can accept 2 amendments that would create a policy that would create more units, and units affordable to real working families in Chicago.
Please join us at City Hall on Wednesday, January
24th, at 10 am on
the 2nd floor for a press conference with our allies calling on the Mayor and City Council to move on the Mayor’s proposal with amendments.
Please contact Jennifer at LAC to find out when the
final hearing and
vote will be, as well as LAC’S SET ASIDE VICTORY PARTY! 43RD WARD BALANCED DEVELOPMENT REFERENDUM RESULTS: "SHALL THE CHICAGO CITY COUNCIL ENACT THE INCLUSIONARY HOUSING ORDINANCE, TO PROMOTE A BALANCED COMMUNITY WITH HOUSING AVAILABLE FOR WORKING FAMILIES AND INDIVIDUALS OF VARYING INCOME LEVELS?" PRECINCT YES NO 1 67% 33% 7 71% 29% 8 65% 35% 21 60% 40% 31 64% 35% 37 69% 31%
TOTAL YES VOTES: 1,162
TOTAL NO VOTES: 602
66% VOTED YES!
CONGRATULATIONS ON THE
RESULTS!
Committee Researches Preserving Hotels
A committee of people from LAC members Lake View
Lutheran Church, North
Side Housing and Supportive Services, Anshe Emet Synagogue, Mercy Lakefront Housing, Deborah’s Place and Lake View Presbyterian Church gave come together to research policies other cities have enacted to preserve their single room occupancy (SRO) hotels.
Over 1,000 people live in SRO’s in Lakeview, and
many of these buildings
are under constant threat of conversion. Those tenants would then be on the streets. LAC has a history of success preserving SRO’s, the most successful story being the preservation of the Belray Hotel on Racine and Belmont.
The committee is looking at models from cities like
Los Angeles, San
Diego and New York City, in which policies and organizing was used to ensure that SRO buildings were not swept away as neighborhood gentrification occurred. The committee will be meeting with potential allies and developing a strategy for action in the next month.
Call Jennifer if you are interested in being
involved.
The LAC Board
Has Five New Members!
LAC Members and
Supporters:
As a new year begins, I am writing to let you know that
LAC continues
with our exciting work, and to ask for your financial support. As you know, we need your support to keep up the fight for justice.
In the past year we took some real risks and won
concrete victories! In
May, we had a successful Convention attended by 600 representatives from our member institutions. Nearly 30 leaders took part in planning and speaking at that event.
Our Affordable Housing Task Force has been very busy.
In the Spring, LAC
leaders assisted an ally, Logan Square Neighborhood Association, in winning a ballot question supporting the Balanced Development Ordinance. Following up on that, LAC leaders placed the same question on the ballot in six precincts in Lincoln Park, and won on November 7^th with a yes vote of 66%. That support took work: about 40 LAC leaders and allies were on the streets, knocking on doors on some of the most affluent streets in Chicago, on the coldest days of October and November, to win this initiative. And now, Alderman Vi Daley has committed to working with us on the set aside. We hope to be able to have our citywide Balanced Development Set Aside victory party early in 2007!
On the issue of health care, we have continued
informing un and
under-insured people of their right to emergency care at the local non-profit hospital, and have helped many settle thousands of dollars in bills. Early in 2006, we worked with Attorney General Lisa Madigan to pass a bill at the state level to make the medical billing process more transparent for all Illinoisans.
Finally, the Homeless Youth and Police Relations Task
Force started out
the year meeting with Police Superintendent Phil Cline, and ended the year releasing a report on the work we have done for reforms of police accountability in the community. That report can be accessed on our web page. We have built partnerships across the city with other organizations working on police relations issues, and have taken real risks. As one LAC funder just wrote to me: “Thank you for your important work for vulnerable youth. And for taking on the law enforcement community – LAC demonstrates courage and tenacity, two ingredients needed to get results!”
And we will continue to work for results in 2007!
Please check our web
site www.lakeviewaction.org for updates on our efforts. Please consider continuing your financial support of LAC. Any contribution you make is tax deductible, and goes directly to social justice work in your community!
Happy New Year!
Jennifer Gonzalez
Executive Director
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Thank you to all of you who have given your energy to making LAC a successful catalyst for social change.
If we are going to continue to work for justice,
solidarity, and
diversity in Lakeview, we also need your financial support.
Think Locally!
Enclosed is my tax-deductible contribution in the
amount of:
____$10 ____ $25 ____ $50 ____ $100 ____other
Name:______________________ Institution :
_______________________
Please make checks payable to the Lakeview Action
Coalition and mail to
3225 N. Sheffield, Chicago, IL 60657.
THANK YOU!
Up-Coming Events:
Call LAC at 773-549-1947 for more information.
Candidate’s Forum in the
46th ward:
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Seating at 6:30 pm,
Forum at 7:00 pm
Disney School
4141 North Marine Drive
Candidate’s Forum in the
43rd ward:
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Seating at 6:30 pm
Forum at 7:00 pm
Church of our Saviour
530 West Fullerton Parkway
Please remember to vote in the City
Elections on Tuesday, February 27'th
Homeless Youth Court
Case:
Friday, February 9, 2007,
10 am
Community Council:
Thursday, March 8, 2007
7:00 pm
4040 N. Sheridan
LAC Public Life 101
Community Organizing Training:
Tuesdays in March
(3/6, 3/13, 3/20, 3/27)
6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Please call LAC to sign up for this 4 week session
L.A.C. Staff:
Jennifer Ritter-Gonzalez
Executive Director
773-549-1947 X364
Becca Linden
Community Organizer
773-549-1947 X385
Linda Slavik
Business Manager
773-549-1947 X365
lslavik@lakeviewaction.org |