Action Now On Tipped Workers And Vacant Properties

In an article on the Women’s eNews blog, “Tipped Workers Hope for Hike in Sub-Minimum Wage,” Madeline Talbott, Lead Organizer at Action Now, was quoted about tipped workers and the minimum wage:

Madeline Talbott, chief organizer of Action Now, a Chicago-based, grassroots organization of working families that advocates for economic change, predicts that Illinois will eliminate its sub-minimum wage for tipped workers (currently $4.95 an hour) when the legislature considers a package of bills this spring to increase the overall state minimum wage from $8.25 to $10.65. Last year, a poll found that 71 percent of voters supported these changes.

“State legislatures are more likely to pass economic bills like this in presidential election years,” says Talbott. “The recent recession — the worst since the Great Depression of 1929 — has shown legislators that an increase of a few hundred dollars in a tipped worker’s annual wage not only benefits the worker, but the state economy. Low-wage workers spend the increased funds on groceries, school supplies for their kids and other necessities that create jobs for other workers.”

Also, Braden Listmann, Housing Policy Director at Action Now, wrote an article, “Vacant property ordinances: Enforcement is key to success” for the Metropolitan Planning Council’s blog series on vacant properties.

Action Now Members Travel To Springfield With Faith Leaders To Raise The Minimum Wage!

The Raise Illinois coalition at the Capitol

The Raise Illinois coalition, convened by Action Now, filled up a 68 passenger Amtrak train car with faith leaders and minimum wage workers and supporters to travel to Springfield on the morning of January 31^st, to call on legislators to pass Senate Bill 1565, which is the bill to raise the minimum wage in Illinois.

Reverend C.J. Hawking, Executive Director of Arise Chicago and member of the Raise Illinois coalition

Once in Springfield, Raise Illinois held a press conference in the Capitol Rotunda with 34 faith leaders, an economist, minimum wage workers, supporters, and legislators. Clergy unveiled a scroll of over 200 names of faith leaders that have signed on to the Raise Illinois petition to raise the minimum wage. Senator Kimberly Lightford, the lead sponsor of the bill,  spoke at the press conference as well as faith leaders Reverend C.J. Hawking, Reverend Norval Brown, Reverend Jackie Lynn, Reverend Bonnie Osei-Frimpong and economist Ron Baiman.

After the press conference, Raise Illinois broke up into groups and went to legislators’ offices to present a copy of the petition and speak to them about the importance of passing SB 1565 this year.

Action Now members Marie Gasaway, Margaret Davis and Gloria Warner with Senator John Mulroe at the Capitol

Raise Illinois also brought a copy of our Illinois Voter petition with over 1,000 signatures of voters that support raising the minimum wage. Those that signed the petition were invited to include comments. Christina E. from Hanover Park, Illinois said, “Raise It! It’s at a rate that makes it unlivable. Its ridiculous to think that a person making $8.25 can afford everyday cost of living items and their bills, plus paying off any debts and trying to get ahead on that small amount of pay. It’s just not reasonable! The economy will never be stimulated if we cannot even afford to live.”

Press Coverage:

Progress Illinois, “Faith Leaders Call On Springfield To Raise The Minimum Wage“

WICS ABC News, “Top Stories” (go to 2:20 minute mark of Top Stories video)

Chicago Now, “Minimum wage in Illinois would help economy, report says“

Huffington Post, “Raise Illinois: Why I’m Going To Springfield Tomorrow” by Reverend C.J. Hawking, Executive Director of Arise Chicago, a member of the Raise Illinois coalition

Video of our press conference and of Senator Kimberly Lightford speaking about why SB 1565 is so important:

Protestors Supporting CPS School Closings Admit They Were Paid!

Chicago Sun-Times photo of Thaddeus Scott outside of HOPE Englewood where he says he was paid to protest in support of school closings. (photo by John J. Kim)

In a front-page investigation by Rosalind Rossi of the Chicago Sun-Times, two men admit they were paid by an organization called HOPE Englewood to protest in favor of closing neighborhood schools!

Action Now members have seen many paid protestors at school turnaround hearings and they have admitted to us as well that they were being paid $25 to show up and many didn’t even know why they were there.

It was also reported in the Sun-Times article that HOPE Englewood has received nearly 1.47 million in CPS contracts since 2010! Is it a coincidence that CPS is giving money to an organization that pays people to support CPS policies?

CPS has claimed that they are looking out for our childrens’ best interests and trying to improve education. If this is so, then why do they have to pay people in the community to protest and lie for them?

Action Now members go to rallies and protest because they believe strongly that they are working for justice. It is disturbing that CPS is paying people to impersonate true community activists and leaders that sacrifice their time and effort for a cause that they truly believe in. We are fighting against CPS school closings and AUSL turnarounds because we know how unjust and harmful they are to our children, parents, teachers and communities.

This is what a REAL protest looks like with ACTUAL community leaders fighting to save their schools from corrupt "big money" institutions like CPS and AUSL!

 

CPS and HOPE Englewood should be ashamed of themselves for preying on low-income people by paying them to protest against their own best interests and the interests of their communities.

Action Now Holds MLK Day Rally To Protest School Turnarounds And Closings In African-American Communities

Herzl parent Kim Hemphill speaking about CPS setting up neighborhood schools in North Lawndale to fail by denying them basic resources

On January 16^th, 2012, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Action Now community members and parents from Dvorak and Herzl schools held a press conference to voice their concerns about CPS’ pattern of neglecting neighborhood schools in low-income minority communities and then suddenly remodeling and pouring resources into the school right before they announce it is slated for turnaround. The event was held on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day to highlight the fact that the racial and economic disparities that Dr. King saw when he lived in North Lawndale 45 years ago, still exist today in Chicago’s education system.

Marching past the Dr. King Legacy Apartments, the exact location where Dr. King lived in North Lawndale 45 years ago

As Herzl parent Kim Hempfill said, “We were told that our school would be closed if there weren’t significant gains in our ISAT test scores. Parents and teachers worked hard together to help our children improve and as a result, Herzl jumped 10 points on the ISAT in one year. Then we were told it wasn’t enough and that the school would be an AUSL turnaround. None of the schools in the area are given enough attention and resources they need to be successful except for Johnson, which is an AUSL turnaround school.” After the plan was finalized to turnaround Herzl, contractors have been in and out of the school, children have been moved out of rooms that they are told are going to be remodeled, there are plans for elevators to be put in the building and several other repairs are planned for the summer.

The march to Herzl Elementary

Lisa Russell is a parent of a student at Dvorak, and has seen this CPS pattern many times in the North Lawndale community. She says, “I don’t think the schools are failing, I think the system is failing the schools. You ask CPS for more resources for your school for years and years and you never get them, but then all of a sudden you start getting things when they are about to close the school or turn it into a charter. Parents and teachers came together to help the school improve and stop it from closing, but every time we hit the bar for progress that CPS demanded, they would raise it higher so that no matter how much we got better, it was never enough. They were setting us up to fail. The new renovations at Dvorak follow the pattern and we feel like we’re next. CPS doesn’t want neighborhood schools to succeed.”

Parents, teachers, students and community members gathered in front of Herzl, a school that is on the list to become an AUSL turnaround

Evidence gathered by the Chicago Consortium on School Research shows that school closings and turnarounds fail to improve student achievement and that the racial achievement gap has only gotten larger. Action Now held this press conference and march because we believe it is time to end the inequitable policies which have left low-income students of color in the bottom tier of schools, and which have left schools isolated from their communities.

Action Now members also joined a protest earlier that day on the South Side at Marquette Elementary that is slated for turnaround.

Press coverage:

ABC News (Action Now and Kim Hemphill in video)

Chicago Tribune (Kim Hemphill quoted)

NBC News (Action Now in video)

WGN Radio/RedEye (photo of Action Now and Kim Hemphill quoted)

Progress Illinois (video of Michelle Young speaking and march to Herzl)

Chicago Sun-Times

Even Mitt Romney Supports Raising The Minimum Wage!

Responding to a rope-line question at a campaign event on Saturday in Derry, New Hampshire, former Governor Mitt Romney stated that he favors raising the minimum wage automatically each year so that it keeps pace with inflation. Mr. Romney’s position breaks from conventional GOP opposition to raising the minimum wage.

When asked his position on the minimum wage, Mr. Romney said, “My view has been to allow the minimum wage to rise with the CPI [Consumer Price Index] or with another index so that it adjusts automatically over time….  I already indicated that when I was governor of Massachusetts and that’s my view.”

Whoa! If Mitt Romney can support raising the minimum wage, then it should be a no-brainer for Illinois Democrats!

Watch video:

Action Now Joins KOCO In Protest At Mayor’s Office To Stop School Closings

Chicago Tribune photo of Action Now President Michelle Young and other community leaders protesting outside of the Mayor's office (click image to zoom)

On January 4th, Action Now members joined Kenwood Oakland Community Organization and other local organizations in a protest and sit-in outside of Mayor Emanuel’s office calling for an end to CPS’ failed policy of school closings and turnarounds in low-income minority neighborhoods.

Video of Action Now members singing and chanting with others outside of the Mayor’s office:

Press coverage:

ABC 7 News

Progress Illinois

Chicago Tribune

Action Now Leader Mahaley Somerville

Action Now Leader Mahaley Somerville, age 90, was interviewed by the Woods Fund about her long history fighting for social justice.

“People are afraid to speak up, speak out, but I’m not. I always spoke what I thought was right.”

To read the full profile, click on the image to the right:

 

Action Now Protests Fannie Mae Lawsuit!

Gloria Warner sharing her personal struggles with vacant buildings in her community

Action Now rallied at the offices of Fannie Mae on December 20th to protest the lawsuit that the Federal Housing and Finance Agency (FHFA) filed against the City of Chicago’s Vacant Property Ordinance. The FHFA lawsuit is an attempt to exempt Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from having to maintain and secure their vacant properties that pose a serious threat to the health and safety of families in Chicago’s communities that have been affected by the foreclosure crisis.

Action Now members marching and chanting outside of Fannie Mae

Action Now members have worked hard for three years to develop a vacant property ordinance that protects our neighborhoods from the crime, property devaluation and health risks associated with vacant homes. In the City of Chicago’s South and West sides and the Southern Suburbs, we have thousands of vacant buildings that were left behind when Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac refused to modify loans by reducing principle amount owed and threw families out into the street.  Now, these vacant properties sit open to trespassers, drug dealers and thieves, who destroy the buildings as well as the communities.

Trash at a neglected Fannie Mae vacant property on the West Side of Chicago

As Action Now Board Member Gloria Warner said, “I am extremely upset that the FHFA is trying to sue the City of Chicago so that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac don’t have to take care of their vacant properties. It is shameful that the federal government is wasting taxpayer dollars on a lawsuit that is trying to make neighborhoods worse. They should drop their lawsuit immediately and stop trying to interfere with our efforts to make our communities safer!”

Press coverage:

ABC 7 News, “Group Protests Outside Chicago’s Fannie Mae Offices”

Progress Illinois, “Chicagoans Push Back Against Housing Ordinance Lawsuit”

Video of Action Now Board Member Charles Brown speaking at the rally (courtesy of Progress Illinois):

Victory! Cook County Passes Vacant Property Ordinance!

Action Now press conference and rally earlier this year calling for enforcement of Chicago's Vacant Property Ordinance

As a result of Action Now’s hard work on the issues of foreclosure and vacant properties, this morning, December 14th, the Cook County Board of Commissioners unanimously passed a Vacant Property Ordinance! The Cook County Vacant Property Ordinance is similar to the one we got passed in the City of Chicago, and it provides for municipalities in the county to have a uniform vacant property ordinance that they can use to address the problem outside of Chicago.

A member helping at a neighborhood clean-up that Action Now held on a block with several vacant buildings

Action Now Housing Policy Director Braden Listmann spoke at the Cook County Board hearing about why this ordinance is so important, “I would like to focus on things that we can all see and all feel when we live and work in the community. One of our members had her home broken into, her belongings stolen and then stored in a vacant property across the street from her. Other members living near vacant properties have to deal with drug dealers and gang members that use unsecured vacant properties as a criminal haven in their community. In some cases, children have been pulled into vacant buildings and assaulted. You know these facts if you live near vacant buildings that have been neglected during the foreclosure process. Action Now members fight for real changes in the community; and that means keeping people in their homes and ensuring that vacant homes are well maintained so they do not become a nuisance and a danger. Action Now members are willing to fight hard for better communities.”

Press coverage:

Chicago Sun-Times (Action Now’s Braden Listmann quoted)

Chicago Tribune (photo of Action Now at top of article)

Fox Chicago

Recent Minimum Wage and Education News!

Starting January 1, 2012, San Francisco will become the first city in the nation that has a minimum wage above $10 an hour! A 32-cent hike will push the hourly pay to $10.24. If they can do it, so can we!

To get involved in Action Now’s campaign to raise the Illinois minimum wage: go to www.raiseillinois.com

There was a also a great Op-Ed in the New York Times today called “Class Matters. Why Won’t We Admit It?” about the unaddressed link between poverty and education.

Excerpt: “Can anyone credibly believe that the mediocre overall performance of American students on international tests is unrelated to the fact that one-fifth of American children live in poverty? Yet federal education policy seems blind to all this… In Finland, with its famously high-performing schools, schools provide food and free health care for students.”

Click here to read more!

The problems this article addresses can be seen in Chicago with the recurring CPS agenda to close public schools with low-income minority students or privatize them by turning them into charters. Instead of trying to undermine public education for children in poverty, why not allocate resources (TIF $) to make up for the inequalities?