Progress Illinois

On October 25, members of the American Bankers Association (ABA) descended on the Sheraton in downtown Chicago for an annual conference featuring appearances by conservative celebrities Newt Gingrich and George Will.  But local progressives didn't let the bankers party in peace.  During the three-day conference, the SEIU Illinois State Council (which sponsors this website), Action Now, National People's Action (NPA), and dozens of other activist organizations held a string of events aimed at harnessing the growing public discontent with the banking industry.  Taxpayers who are fed-up with the endless bailouts and exorbitant bonuses -- not to mention the ongoing obstruction of commons sense financial regulations -- travelled from all across the state and the country to take part. Meet a few of the participants in the video below:

Here is a compendium of Progress Illinois' three day's worth of coverage:

On Sunday afternoon, nearly a thousand activists and mobilized taxpayers from across the state and country arrived in Chicago. They streamed off buses and into the downtown Hyatt where a string of speakers fired up the crowd. One of them was Larry Ginter of the Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement, who asked the audience to show how they've been affected by the banking industry's destructive policies. Watch it (courtesy of SEIU and NPA):

Following Ginter was Tom Balanoff, president of the SEIU Illinois State Council (which sponsors this website):

Later, Sen. Dick Durbin took the podium, where he told the story of Chicagoan Nettie McGee:

Durbin also urged the bankers assembled at the ABA conference to quit obstructing the formation of the Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA):

Illinois' senior senator went on to tell the crowd, "It's time for the showdown":

Later in the evening, hundreds of protesters headed out of the Hyatt and across the Chicago River to crash the ABA members' "Roaring Twenties"-themed cocktail party. Here's some footage (courtesy of SEIU and NPA):

Fox Chicago also had a great report on the first day of actions, highlighting the experience of Chicagoan Bonita Williamson:

Further, here's the fiery conclusion of Rev. Tony Pierce's speech at yesterday's event (Pierce is the vice president of the Central Illinois Organizing Project):

The Nation's Esther Kaplan also provided a great wrap-up of the first day of events:

Yep, you heard right, hundreds of people were chanting for a Consumer Financial Protection Agency, a new oversight body Barack Obama has proposed that could ban such disastrous practices as no-doc mortgages, payday loans, and no-warning overdraft fees on checking accounts. (A bill to create the agency made it through the House Financial Services Committee last week). Wonky, sure, but vital, too, and it was both hilarious and inspiring to see a roomful of Iowa farmers and Kansas retirees and preachers and teachers and utility workers jumping to their feet at the sound of those magic letters. One woman from Wichita, Arnetta Jefferson, told me she herself was facing the loss of her home and described "house after house after house empty" in her community, all from foreclosures. "I'm tired of it," she said. CFPA! CFPA! CFPA!

Monday began with a speech by Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) chair Sheila Bair, who strongly expressed her support for the formation of a Consumer Financial Protection Agency (she was also scheduled to address the American Bankers Association conference today). "I don't know how anyone can say we've done a good job protecting consumers in financial services," Bair said to the assembled "showdowners." "So we need this new agency." Watch some clips from her appearance (courtesy of SEIU and NPA):

Later in the morning, hundreds of protestors headed over to 71 S. Wacker, the Chicago headquarters of Goldman Sachs -- by far the most powerful bank in the country. Below is some video from that racuous action:

Furthermore, WBEZ's Eight Forty-Eight devoted two segments of this morning's program to the Showdown in Chicago event. First, they talked to Shelly Ruzicka, director of operations for ARISE Chicago, one of the local organizations participating in the event. Then host Robert Steele discussed the issue of banking reform with Tribune business columnist David Greising and Phil Ashton, assistant professor at the College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs at the University of Illinois-Chicago.

Following the Goldman Sachs action, many of those same demonstrators headed over to Wells Fargo's office building and rallied in the lobby, chanting: "Bailouts? No thanks! Bust up big banks!." When security finally escorted them from the premises, the crowd yelled in unison, "We'll be back! We'll be back!" Watch it (courtesy of SEIU and NPA):

During the subprime mortgage boom that led to the financial crisis, Wells Fargo was easily one of the worst actors. In recent months, several lawsuits filed across the country (including here in Illinois) have alleged that the bank targeted minority homeowners for high-interest mortgages while offering cheaper deals to white customers. Moreover, local unions have spent much of this year fighting Wells Fargo's efforts to cut off credit to companies like Hartmarx and Quad City Die Casting. In fact, the United Electrical Workers (who represent the Quad City employees) were on hand in Chicago today and can be seen briefly in the video above.

Later in the day, the protestors moved back to the Sheraton, where the ABA conference is taking place. There we caught up with Trenda Kennedy. The Nation's Esther Kaplan described the Springfield resident's situation in her Day 2 recap:

Take Trenda Kennedy, of Springfield, Illinois, and her partner, Brandy Hensley. Between them, they have six kids, and their home, Kennedy said, "has been a haven for teenage boys." But last year Kennedy lost her job as an office worker; soon, Hensley, a fire fighter for ten years, was laid off too. Suddenly, they desperately needed a mortgage modification to save their home. They saw two different HUD-certified counselors; Kennedy spent hours being lectured by a Hope Now representative about how to manage her finances. But no one actually helped them get a modification. On their own, the couple submitted paperwork three times to their lender, Bank of America, and battled to get Hensley's income from her new job in food services included in the math. (The bank had insisted that only spousal income counted, not that of domestic partners.) Last Friday, Kennedy called BofA one more time, only to get an automated message. "Your modification has been canceled," Kennedy recalls hearing. "Your financials do not support a workout. Your house is currently in foreclosure." That same day they left for Chicago for the first protest of their lives.

Kennedy told us that she is outraged and disgusted at Bank of America's decision to reject her request while spending millions to lobby Congress. Indeed, as more and more Americans face foreclosure, the industry continues to devote staggering amounts of money to block regulatory reforms on Capitol Hill. So far in 2009, the nation's largest commercial banks have spent upwards of $27 million on lobbying expenses, the Center for Responsive Politics reports. That's in addition to the $50 million they spent in 2008 -- the same year the industry collectively cashed $700 billion bailout check.

"That $27.6 million could have kept so many people in their homes,"Kennedy told us. "The banks, my bank, Bank of America, got $45 billion in bailout money. What's a $100,000 mortgage to them? It's a drop in the bucket." Watch:

Rev. Robert Bushey of Decatur echoed that message, telling Congressit's time to rein in the banks. "They made our financial systemcollapse, and with their big money -- some of which they got from us --they're lobbying Congress," Bushey said. "[W]e want to reclaim ourdemocracy. We want to say to Congress, you have to chose people overprofit." Watch:

Tuesday marked the final day of the Showdown in Chicago and it began with a march across the Chicago River to the downtown Sheraton, home to the ABA's annual conference. Before the protesters headed out, SEIU International President Andy Stern addressed the crowd, saying, "If anyone is confused about why we're here, let me tell you: It's because we love our country." Watch it:

Chicago laborer Marcus Moore also told us why showed up for the march, saying that the economic problems facing his community "started at the top and it trickles down. And it's affecting us pretty hard. And I think the banks are to blame." Watch it:

Here is a slideshow of images from the march itself:

As of 11 a.m., thousands of participants were streaming up to the hotel to hear from the numerous speakers. Here's the view of the rally from above:

Among the speakers at the rally were Change to Win chair Anna Burger and Tom Balanoff, president of the SEIU Illinois State Council (which sponsors this website). "Did [the bankers] build anything? Create anything? Do anything?" Burger asked the crowd, which repeatedly responded "No!" Watch some excerpts from their remarks:

Here's a taste of the speech given by Angenita Tanner, a child care provider and member of SEIU Healthcare Illinois/Indiana. "America bailed out the banks," she told the crowd. "But the banks aren't bailing out the people!" Watch it:

Here's more footage from the rally, courtesy of SEIU and NPA:

And here is AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka addressing the protestors:

Action Now's Denise Dixon told the crowd that the bankers "had the nerve to have a party in Chicago and didn't invite us."  "We came anyway!" a marcher yelled back.  Watch it: 

Finally, be sure to check out this great video recapping the three-day Showdown (produced by Heather Stone for the SEIU Illinois State Council):

On July 1, Illinois' new fiscal year began without a state budget in place thanks to the General Assembly's failure to raise the income tax rate and pass a balanced spending plan.  The ongoing political stalemate has left social service providers in the dark about how much state funding they will receive over the next 12 months.  As a result, many of these organizations have begun laying off staff and scaling back their programs, leaving recovering addicts, domestic violence survivors, the developmentally disabled, and other vulnerable citizens in the lurch.

As the negotiations continue in Springfield, Progress Illinois plans to track the ongoing fallout statewide.  But we need your help.  If you hear of further cuts and layoffs by social services agencies -- either directly or via news reports -- please send that information to contact@progressillinois.com so that we can add it to our list.

Below is a map of the affected organizations we've identified so far, followed by the full list. (Click here to explore a larger version of the map.)

Continue reading »

Earlier this month, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley released the latest round of alarming budget numbers, this time projecting a $300 million shortfall over the coming year. The deficit led City Hall to send out 1,500 pink slips to Chicago city workers, cuts which the Chicago Federation of Labor is still working to avert. In response to the news, Crain’s columnist Greg Hinz noted that the layoffs — if finalized — would only fill “about 10% of [the] hole in the city budget.” He went on to ask: “So, where’s the city going to get that kind of cash?”

Good question. During Ald. Manny Flores’ appearance on Fox Chicago Sunday two weekends ago, one possible source of additional revenue came up: Daley’s sprawling tax increment financing (TIF) system. (Want to get up to speed on TIF? Check out this 2007 Reader article.)

“How much TIF money does the mayor have at his disposal?” co-host Dane Placko asked Flores, who has emerged as one ot the City Council’s TIF reform champions. In response, the First Ward alderman emphasized the need for more transparency regarding the city’s finances. Watch it (the relevant discussion begins at the 3:20 mark):

It’s great to see reporters asking questions about the TIF system in the context of the budget negotiations. For years, the Reader’s Ben Joravsky was a lone voice in the local media calling attention to this mayoral slush fund. In the meantime, the property tax revenue being siphoned away from local taxing bodies through TIF has more than doubled over the past six years — from $216 million in 2002 to $570 million in 2008.

It seems ridiculous to be redirecting so much money away from the general tax base at the same time that revenues are sharply declining. Indeed, with a little creative thinking and flexibility on the part of city officials, there are several adjustments to the TIF system that could provide some relief for cash-starved taxing bodies in Chicago. In this post, we’ll examine three potential modifications: redistributing surplus funds, terminating "elderly" TIF districts, and adjusting the TIF tax base for inflation.

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(Last updated: July 3, 2009)

In late January, just days after Barack Obama wore one of their suits to his inauguration, 122-year-old clothier Hartmarx, Inc. declared bankruptcy. Bloomberg reported at the time that the company had cited a "decline in clothing purchases, particularly luxury items, coupled with lower borrowing capacity under a senior credit facility" as the factors leading to the bankruptcy filing.

That "senior" creditor, Wells Fargo, agreed to extend a $100 million debtor-in-possession loan to keep the company operating during the proceedings and, by early May, Hartmarx had attracted three potential buyers. According to reports at the time, two of the bidders intended to keep the company intact, while the third favored liquidation.  Word quickly spread that Wells Fargo, seeking a quick return, was leaning towards the latter as its favored "stalking horse" bidder.  

The Fight Begins (5/4-5/19)

This news of a potential liquidation led workers, union leaders, and members of Congress to spring into action to aid the company, which employs nearly 4,000 people nationwide, including 1,000 in Illinois.  Continue reading »