Discontent With K-12 Agenda Helps Force Chicago’s Emanuel Into Runoff

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel pauses as he speaks to supporters after he was unable to win a majority vote in the city’s Feb. 24 mayoral election. He now faces Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, a candidate backed by the Chicago Teachers Union, in an April runoff. —Charles Rex Arbogast/AP

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel pauses as he speaks to supporters after he was unable to win a majority vote in the city’s Feb. 24 mayoral election. He now faces Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, a candidate backed by the Chicago Teachers Union, in an April runoff.
—Charles Rex Arbogast/AP

Education Week quotes Pauline Lipman, former GCI research scholar and professor of educational policy studies, on discontent with Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s school policies among Chicago teachers and parents.

Pauline Lipman, a professor of educational policy studies and the director of the Collaborative for Equity and Justice in Education at the University of Illinois, Chicago, said that the mayoral and aldermanic runoffs and the overwhelming approval of the nonbinding school board question all demonstrated that Mr. Emanuel and the majority of city residents have fundamentally different philosophies about the future of education in the city.

It’s a divide Mr. Emanuel could not overcome even with a campaign war chest of more than $13 million, the advantage of incumbency, and endorsement from high-powered friends such as his former boss, President Barack Obama, who visited Chicago to provide a last-minute boost, according to Ms. Lipman.

“We’re seeing a growing education movement in Chicago that’s flexing its political muscle,” Ms. Lipman said, along with the “growing power of parents, allied with the Chicago Teachers Union, in supporting an alternative to Mayor Emanuel.”

Full Story from Education Week »

2013-2014 PB Chicago Research Report Highlights

The Great Cities Institute is pleased to release the second annual evaluation report of the Participatory Budgeting Chicago (PB Chicago) initiative. The research effort examined the 2013-2014 PB cycle and sought to determine who participated in the initiative and why they chose to participate, to assess what new knowledge or skills participants gained as a result of their participation, and to evaluate which outreach techniques were most effective in encouraging participation.

Researchers administered 2,520 surveys to participants and systematically observed the PB process over the 2013-2014 cycle. Key findings include:

  • More people of color, low-income individuals, and youth participated compared to the previous year’s cycle (2012-2013). In the 49th Ward PB vote, African Americans increased their rate of participation by 7% and lower-income individuals increased their rate of participation by 9% from Year One (2012-2013).
  • Targeting youth at assemblies held in schools during school hours increased their engagement and turnout. Approximately 30% of 22nd Ward PB voters and approximately 10% of 49th and 45th Ward PB voters were under the age of 18.
  • Over $1.6 million in additional funding beyond the commitment of aldermanic menu money was leveraged for community projects identified through the PB process. In the 45th Ward, for example, Independence Park will be renovated to be accessible to children with disabilities using $100,000 in funding from the PB Vote, $100,000 in privately raised donations, and $560,000 in State of Illinois funding.
  • PB is becoming institutionalized into the City of Chicago government. In November 2014, the Mayor and City Council voted to fund the hiring of a new City of Chicago Assistant Budget Director whose primary task is to support alderman as they implement PB projects.

At the start of the 2013-2014 cycle, the PB Chicago City-Wide Steering Committee renewed three fundamental goals for the year: community building, equity, and inclusion. Research and evaluation data also demonstrate some success in achieving all three goals. Additional findings as well as detailed information and data on each of the three participating wards can be found in the full research report.

The 2014-2015 PB Chicago cycle is currently underway with a public vote coming up in April 2015. Stay tuned for the full public voting schedule so you can witness direct democracy in action!

About the Author:
Thea Crum, GCI Economic Development Planner: As an Economic Development Planner for GCI’s Neighborhoods Initiative, Thea works in collaboration with community-based organizations and university faculty, staff, and students to provide training and technical assistance on community and economic development projects. She is the lead staff person on the Participatory Budgeting Chicago initiative.

Homeless LGBTQ Youth: Providing for Services

This event will feature speakers from two organizations, The Crib, a division of the Night Ministry, which provides overnight shelter for LGBTQ youth, and Project Fierce, which works to reduce LGBTQ homelessness in Chicago. Tracy Baim, publisher and executive editor of the Windy City Media Group will discuss the Chicago 2014 Homeless Youth Summit, which was held here at UIC last spring, and the planning process created by the youth that resulted in a plan of action to expand services throughout all of Chicago.

For disability accommodations, please contact Christiana Kinder, (312) 996-8700, christia@uic.edu

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GCI releases PB Chicago 2013-2014 Evaluation Report

pbprocess700x375

Community residents in three wards participated in this year’s Participatory Budgeting cycle: the 22nd Ward (Alderman Rick Muñoz), the 45th Ward (Alderman John Arena) and the 49th Ward (Alderman Joe Moore).

Nearly 3,000 people came out to vote on how to spend $3 million in their communities. Residents chose 13 projects, which included:

    • Street resurfacing, street lighting and sidewalk repairs
    • New speed humps for residential streets and school zones;
    • Mural to spruce up a viaduct;
    • Tree planting;
    • New playground and other park improvements;
    • Pigeon abatement in viaducts and overpasses;
    • Bus stop benches;
    • Library improvements; and
    • Beach path extension

The 2013-2014 PB Chicago cycle has seen an increase in participation of minorities and low-income residents throughout the wards as well as an increase in voter turnout.

2013-2014 Evaluation Report »

Presenting the Fund 2040 Proposal

The Fund 2040 Proposal drafted by the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) outlines the need “to support prioritized infrastructure investments that help the region meet its goals for quality of life and economic prosperity.” CMAP Principal Planner Erin Aleman presents the proposal.

Transit could lose millions under Rauner budget

02-23-15 schlickmannews

A Daily Herald story on Gov. Rauner’s cuts in transit funding quotes Steve Schlickman, executive director of the Urban Transportation Center in the College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs.  Schlickman says the cuts to the RTA, while not surprising, will ensure fare increases and service cuts, and will not be good for the region’s economy.

“I am not surprised and in fact expected that the governor might cut the RTA because Illinois has been so generous over the years in funding both the RTA operating and capital budgets from general revenues compared to other heavily dependent transit states,” said Steve Schlickman, director of the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Urban Transportation Center.

“Still such a cut will ensure fare increase and service cuts for the system which is not good for the lower-income, transit-dependent users. Nor is it good for the region’s economy.”

Full Story from Daily Herald »

Why the New Law Combating Wage Theft in Chicago’s Cook County is a Big Deal

The Cook County Board President said the law "will make Cook County a national leader in targeting wage theft.” (Wisconsin Jobs Now / Flickr)

The Cook County Board President said the law “will make Cook County a national leader in targeting wage theft.” (Wisconsin Jobs Now / Flickr)

An article on wage theft in In These Times magazine cites a 2008 study by the Center for Urban Economic Development, then directed by Nik Theodore, that found that nearly 60 percent of the workers surveyed had experienced some sort of wage violation.

Wage theft is a problem with large amounts of money at stake, especially for low-wage workers. In 2008, a joint study by the Center for Urban Economic Development, the National Employment Law Project, and the UCLA Institute for Research on Labor and Employment found that nearly 60 percent of the surveyed workers had experienced some sort of wage violation. The violations included examples of not receiving overtime pay, breaks shorter than legally required, and being paid below the minimum wage. In Cook County alone, the study found that $7.3 million is being stolen from workers every week.

The study concluded that “many employment and labor laws are regularly and systematically violated, impacting a significant part of the low-wage labor force in the nation’s largest cities.”

Full Story from In These Times »

 

Minister of International Trade of the Republic of Ecuador to visit GCI

Dear GCI followers,

We are very excited that the Minister of International Trade of the Republic of Ecuador, Diego Aulestia, is visiting Great Cities Institute at the end of April. He will make a public presentation on April 29, 2015 at 9:30 a.m. in Student Center West, Thompson Room B. He was the former Minister of Urban Development and Housing and was recently appointed to this new and important position.

Minister Auelstia is part of a very interesting administration under the leadership of President Rafael Correa, a graduate of the University of Illinois. The President has been critical of policies that have impoverished his nation, and in their place, has implemented a wide range of strategies to bring prosperity and benefits to people in Ecuador.

Under the leadership of President Correa, Ecuador has created a unique model for its trade relations. We look forward to hearing more when Minister Aulestia shares with us values, strategies and examples of economic development currently underway in the Republic of Ecuador. It will be particularly exciting to hear what Minister Aulestia has to say, at a time when trade agreements are made among nations, but not often openly discussed. This presentation will open our eyes to the many possibilities for economic development and international trade relations. The well being of its citizens seems to be central to the Ecuadorian project for economic prosperity. Minister Auelistia inspires with the openness, creativity and commitment that seems to characterize much of what is happening in Ecuador today.

Ecuador is also host to the 2016 United Nations (UN) Habitat. Recently, Minister Aulestia, along with Joan Clos, Secretary-General of the UN Conference spoke at a press conference about the upcoming international conference being held in Quito.

Please put April 29, 2015, 9:30 a.m. in your calendar and plan on joining us for this exciting event hosted by the Great Cities Institute and the Chicago Trade Commissioner of Ecuador.

Sincerely,
Teresa Córdova
Director

Presenting the CMAP Fund 2040 Proposal

The Fund 2040 Proposal drafted by the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) outlines the need “to support prioritized infrastructure investments that help the region meet its goals for quality of life and economic prosperity.” Learn more about this ambitious plan at a noontime presentation, “Presenting the Fund 2040 Proposal,” Wednesday, February 18 featuring CMAP Principal Planner Erin Aleman. The presentation will run from noon to 1:30 pm at the Great Cities Institute, CUPPA Hall, 412 S. Peoria St., Suite 400, Chicago, IL. Lunch will be provided, and guests are asked to RSVP at: go.uic.edu/fund2040. This event is co-sponsored by the Great Cities Institute and Urban Transportation Center at UIC. Call 312-996-8700 with questions.

FUND 2040 will be webcast live at tinyurl.com/UTC-UIC

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