Broad Shoulders Update

On March 2, the United Congress of Community and Religious Organizations released "Grassroots Human Rights Policy Guide for Racial Equity: Illinois 2010". The report, which was developed with the expertise of over 1,000 grassroots leaders throughout the state, is intended (much like our own report to eliminate poverty) to be utilized as a blueprint for lawmakers and human rights activists to use to address racial equity and human right issues within Illinois. The report highlights almost 50 proposed state and federal polices and policy ideas that, if enacted, would have either a beneficial or harmful impact on racial equity and human rights. The guide highlights policies concerning criminal justice, economic justice, education equity, fiscal fairness, health equity, housing equity and immigrant equity in a highly accessible and easily readable manner. In addition, the report provides information on the Senators and House Representatives supporting each bill.

If addressing human right issues and racial inequalities is important to you, this report lets you easily identify which politicians best promote these values, after which you can vote accordingly. So if you believe in the values of human rights or racial equity and you want your elected officials and state legislation to reflect it, do yourself a favor and read this report.

Finally, the report ends with opportunities for readers to engage in meaningful human rights work. This includes information about the Illinois Commission on the Elimination of Poverty. If the content of the report and the work that this commission does is something that is of interest, you have a fantastic opportunity to do your part in eliminating poverty by participating in a Public Hearing On March 8th in Chicago. At this hearing everybody will have the opportunity to weigh in on the best ways that the state of Illinois can eliminate or alleviate poverty. Food, drinks and child care will be provided, so come and let your voice be heard!

Monday Flickr Photo: March 8, 2010

by Anne Holub
3/8/10

Photo by Flickr user jwhite jwhite from our pool.

This fun photo from our Flickr pool highlights a few brave folks who participated in last weekend's Polar Plunge at North Avenue Beach on Lake Michigan. The annual event, now in its tenth year, raises money for Special Olympics Chicago. Even with the small warm-up we had last week, I still give these folks lots of credit for splashing into that freezing water (note the guys in full wetsuits making sure everyone stays safe)! This, and other great photos of our region, can be found in our Explore Northeastern Illinois Pool on Flickr.

 

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CREATE in the news

The Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency Program (CREATE) will soon benefit from $233 million in federal stimulus funds.  Paul Merrion of Crain's Chicago Business looks at how the freight project is moving forward in light of recent events, including the stimulus funding, the State of Illinois budget problems, and the Canadian National railway's purchase last year of the Elgin, Joliet, and Eastern railway.

In January, CREATE had announced a $133 million grant funded by ARRA to build a rail-rail flyover near 63rd and State in Chicago, which will eliminate conflict between 78 Metra Rock Island trains and approximately 60 freight and Amtrak trains that intersect there daily. An additional $100 million was announced in February via the U.S. Department of Transportation TIGER program to support six CREATE projects across 13 Illinois communities, ranging from rail line and viaduct improvements to a highway-rail grade separation.

The New York Times is reporting a new tack taken by the Obama administration to address the foreclosure crisis, this time acknowledging that some homeowners need to simply get out of their mortgage by way of a short sale, where a property is sold for less than the mortgage balance. This new maneuver comes just a week after President Obama headed to Nevada to promote the $1.5 billion, Help for the Hardest Hit Housing Markets program that hones in on five states hit hardest by the housing bustNevada, Florida, Michigan, Arizona, and Californiaand works with state and local housing finance agencies to increase their capacity in addressing areas that have seen a 20 percent drop in home prices since their peak. But with this short-sale initiative, the administration is taken arguably its most aggressive step in trying to address the housing crisis—a crisis where solutions have been elusive to say the least. The Times reports that under the short-sale program, “the servicing bank, as with all modifications, will get $1,000. Another $1,000 can go toward a second loan, if there is one. And for the first time the government would give money to the distressed homeowners themselves. They will get $1,500 in relocation assistance.” Ideally, the program will allow the servicers to get more money than they would with a foreclosure, and for the borrower, the ability to short-sale could limit credit damage than damage incurred when defaulting on a loan. The Times also notes that it could also benefit communities, limiting the number of vacant properties in line to be sold by banks.

Rosie Carrasco of the Latino Organization of the Southwest, Leticia Marquez of UE, Graciela Guel from Mexicanos Unidos, Marilu Vargas of Our Lady of Guadelupe, Jatziry Garcia from Radio Arte, and Ana Guajardo from the Immigrant Workers Center of South Chicago, will be among women leaders from the Mexican community calling on President Obama to renew his commitment to immigration reform and stop raids and deportations currently breaking apart thousands of families.

The International Women’s Day event takes place Monday, March 8, at 11:30 a.m. at Casa Michoacan, 1638 S. Blue Island, and is building for the national march for immigrant rights in Washington, D.C. on March 21.  The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights plans to take 200 buses with 10,000 Chicagoans to the protest.

Earlier on Monday morning, ICIRR will release a report on the state of immigrant women in Illinois (8:30 a.m. at the Chicago Foundation for Women, 1 E. Wacker, 20th floor).   Flavia Jimenez of ICIRR, Betty Gao of the Chinese American Service League, Nadiya Arshi from Muslim Women Resource Center, and Neusa Gaytan from Mujeres Latinas en Accion, and others will provide personal testimonies of overcoming obstacles to develop as community leaders.

Wage theft is growing dramatically (as recent Newstips have indicated) — some advocates describe it as an emerging business model in an economy increasingly dependent on contingent labor — but weaknesses in Illinois law allow many employers to get away with it.

On Monday, state legislators and labor and community groups will announce legislation to increase penalties for employers who steal wages and remove obstacles to enforcement of wage law in Illinois.

State Sen. William Delgado (D-2) and State Rep. Lisa Hernandez (D-24) will be joined by workers who have experienced and fought wage theft and their supporters in the Just Pay For All Campaign at a press conference (Monday, March 8, 1:30 p.m., outside the Thompson Center, 100 W. Randolph) to announce the introduction of SB 3568.

The bill would amend the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act to establish an administrative hearing procedure under the Illinois Department of Labor for wage theft claims below $3,000, and would allow employees to recover legal costs if they file successfully for unpaid wages in civil court.

Smaller wage claims often fall through the cracks of the existing system, said Chris Williams of the Working Hands Legal Clinic, which handles many such cases.   He said that of 10,000 wage claims filed with the Illinois Department of Labor last year, 75 percent were for amounts under $3,000, and half were under $1,500.

Currently the labor department can investigate wage theft claims and make determinations but has no enforcement power; that requires a separate, potentially costly court action by the attorney general’s office.  And private attorneys must rely on contingency fees, which don’t cover costs in smaller cases.

(Working Hands takes wage theft cases as part of its mission as a nonprofit legal clinic supporting workers centers which organize low-wage and contingent workers, Williams said.)

The bill would also bring the state’s wage payment law into line with other labor law which allows workers to sue individual owners, in addition to companies, in order to recover wages.  In part this removes barriers to enforcement established by the Illinois Supreme Court in a 2005 decision (Andrews v. Kowa Printing), which required employees to prove “knowing violations” by owners.

“This would be a big advantage when a company goes into bankruptcy,” said Williams, citing the Duraco case (recently reported here) in which “two brothers who are robbing the people who worked for the company are hiding behind [bankruptcy] reorganization.”  Working Hands recently filed suit on behalf of former Duraco workers, claiming hundreds of thousands of dollars of unpaid wages.

The bill would also increase penalties and fines, including criminal penalties for repeat offenders, and establish a Wage Theft Enforcement Fund paid for by fines and fees.  It would add a penalty of 2 percent a month when back wages are paid, to “eliminate forced interest-free loans” from workers to employers, Williams said.

The bill was initiated by the Working Hands Legal Clinic along with others in the Just Pay For All Campaign, including the Chicago Workers Collaborative, Immigrant Workers Project of South Chicago, and the Latino Union of Chicago.  Several labor and immigrant groups are endorsing the bill.

Sunday, March 7, 2010

This weekend's springlike weather drew nearly 60 sun-craving cyclists to the xXx Racing - AthletiCo Saturday ride.  It's an incredible number for early March, especially considering much of the team's core is at training camp in San Luis Obispo until next weekend.

Just a share under half were new or non-team members, and a sizable percentage of them had never been on the ride before, let alone raced a bike.  Nerves, shyness, and self-doubt were overcome by curiousity, competitiveness and a sense of adventure; the result was a rewarding experience that's hopefully ignited a fire that should last until the conclusion of the Chicago Cross Cup at Montrose Harbor in early December.

Getting past the nerves and reservations is the biggest step towards fulfulling your dream of finally racing a bike.  Once that registration is completed online or mailed, the goal you've set for yourself is almost self-fulfilling. Now is the time to get out on your bike and ride hard in the warming temperatures, honing your skills in one of the dozens of group rides in the Chicago area.  To rest and recover and replace all those calories you're burning.  To meet new friends and cycling ethusiats.  And, of course, to pick your first race.

Below are several excellent choices for someone new to bike racing to take that first step.  These races are local, with beginner-friendly courses - such as wide turns and smooth pavement - and may have beginners-only fields.  Online registration is or will be available for all of these races.  Category 5 (beginner) fields tend to close faster than most as competitive-cycling's popularity grows.  Don't let that discourage you - there is almost always day-of registration and very rarely does the entire pre-reg'd field show to a race.

• Gapers Block Crits (March 22-26) – Low key, low tech, low cost racing. Ride to the races each day of the week at Calumet Park on the far South Side.
• Vernon Hills Grand Prix (May 2, a link will be added registration opens) – A nearby criterium on a four-corner course with smooth pavement.
• Monsters of the Midway (May 15) – A fun local race on the University of Chicago campus at the Midway Pleasance, a simple four-turn rectangular course amid a beautiful academic setting.
• Fox River Grove Cycling Challenge (May 16) – The word “challenge” does not do justice the hill that greets the racers immediately after the first turn.
• Sherman Park Criterium (June 12) – Held in the South Side oasis designed by the Olmsted Brothers of Central Park fame, this 1-mile lap was designed for bicycle racing, feature wide, sloping turns.
• Glencoe Grand Prix Criterium (August 14) – The newly announced site of the U.S. National Criterium Championships, this challenging course is within riding distance for both spectators and racers alike, just off of famed Sheridan Road along Chicagoland’s North Shore.

New to racing?

Be sure to take advantage of the many online resources at your disposal:

• Chicago bike racing – Features up-to-date race calendar with links to registration, plus race and local coverage, includes plenty of tips for new riders.
• USA Cycling – Information on licensing requirements and purchase, as well as rules and regulations.
• Illinois Cycling Association – The state governing body for racing in Illinois.
• Be sure to check back here, at the Active Trans Racing Blog, for events, racer profiles, and racing basics. Also be sure to check out training tips at the Coach's Corner, by Randy Warren of xXx Racing.

Take your place at the line this year and open up a whole new world in cycling.  Good luck and go fast! 

Rob Breymaier, Executive Director of the Housing Center, will be meeting with Ron Sims, Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development, and the Director of Urban Affairs, Alfonso Carrion next week to discuss federal efforts to promote integration and regional equity.