Progress Illinois

Earlier we covered the large march that started the third and final day of the Showdown in Chicago (catch up on days one and two here).  After making their way across the Chicago River, the thousands of protestors congregated in front of the Sheraton Hotel (home to the American Bankers Association annual conference), where they heard from an array of speakers, some locally-based and some from the national stage.  Among them 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:

We'll have more video from the rally as the day goes on.  Be sure to check back.

3:06 p.m.: 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, courtesy of SEIU and National People's Action:

4:15 p.m.: And here is AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka addressing the protestors:

Finally, 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:

Today marks the final day of the Showdown in Chicago and it began with a huge march across the Chicago River to the downtown Sheraton, home to the American Bankers Association's annual conference.  As of 11 a.m., thousands of participants were streaming up to the hotel, where they will hear from a variety of speakers, including AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka and Change to Win chair Anna Burger. 

We'll have photos, video, and more updates from the event as the day goes on.   

11:35 a.m.: Here's the view of the Sheraton rally from above:

11:45 p.m.: Chicago laborer Marcus Moore tells us why he's taking part in today's 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:

12:00 p.m: Before the marchers took off for the Sheraton, 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:

Here are some more images from the march:

This Sunday, the members of the American Bankers Association (ABA) will descend on the Sheraton in downtown Chicago for their annual conference, featuring appearances by conservative commentators Newt Gingrich and George Will.  But local progressives don't plan on letting the bankers party in peace.  During the three-day conference, SEIU Illinois (which sponsors this website), Action Now, National People's Action, and dozens of other activist organizations will hold a string of events highlighting the growing discontent with the banking industry.  Americans who are fed-up with the endless bailouts and exorbitant bonuses will be traveling from all across the city, the state, and the country to take part. 

These actions will begin with a Sunday afternoon event at the Hyatt (151 E. Wacker) organized by NPA and featuring economist Dean Baker.  More actions will take place on Monday, culminating with a large march starting at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday at the intersection of Wacker and Stetson.  The march will lead into a rally in front of the Sheraton (pictured left), featuring speeches by AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka and Change to Win chair Anna Burger.  It's not to be missed.

The impending "Showdown in Chicago" has been getting more and more media attention in recent days.  Politico reported that Michael Moore may show up.  The Atlantic's Marc Ambinder wrote about it as well, calling Chicago an "epicenter of labor vs. banking conflict."  Both Mike Lux and NPA's George Goehl have been blogging about the event at Huffington Post.  C.J. Hawking recently wrote in the Wednesday Journal about an Oak Park action planned for Monday morning. Meanwhile, SEIU's Stephen Lerner popped up on Thom Hartmann's radio show (broadcast here in Chicago on WCPT) to discuss the event. "We think Chicago is the start of people doing what we haven't done enough of," he said, "which is to be in the street."  Listen to an excerpt:

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SEIU Illinois executive director Jerry Morrison also appeared on Bill Press' morning show today to promote the "showdown." "If you've got a gripe with the banks," he said, "then we need you to be there."  Listen:

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Progress Illinois is going to be providing more information on the schedule over the next few days and will be providing intensive coverage starting Sunday afternoon.   

The United States is currently suffering through a devastating recession, conducting two wars, and struggling under both a broken health care system and an aging energy economy.  So what does Rep. Mark Kirk want to make a key issue in the 2010 Senate race?  The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN).  During an appearance on WLS Radio's Don Wade and Roma this morning, the North Shore Republican took the opportunity to dredge up the embattled organization and spread a false claim about its connection to SEIU (whose Illinois state council sponsors this website). Listen (full audio here):

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KIRK: Remember, in Chicagoland, ACORN founded SEIU in Chicago and they are intimately linked.

Time for a quick history lesson...

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In recent weeks now, we've reported twice on the upcoming demonstrations set to coincide with the American Bankers Association's three-day annual convention here in Chicago (October 25-27).  While the protest is being led by National People's Action and SEIU Illinois Council (which sponsors this website), 16 other organizations had signed on as of this afternoon.  Also, a pair of websites sprung up this week to spread the word about the protests. 

A recent GritTV segment touched on many of the concerns at the center of this effort. It features James Mumm, organizing director at the National People's Action, Nomi Prins, author of "It Takes a Pillage," and Dean Baker, Co-Director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research. Here are Mumm's comments about the upcoming demonstrations:

MUMM: So after all this -- the crash, unemployment reaching 10 percent, millions in foreclosure -- the banks are throwing themselves a three-day party in Chicago. Well, they made the wrong move. They should have planned that in the farther reaches of Canada.  Because National People's Action, SEIU, Jobs with Justice, and a host of other people will be there to crash the party and say, "Look, you can't have receptions and parties while the American people are still suffering from your policies." 

Watch the full thing:

There will be plenty more updates in the coming weeks, so be sure to check back.

This morning, U.S. Senate candidate Mark Kirk and fellow Republican Rep. Peter Roskam will hold a press conference in downtown Chicago that aims to directly tie SEIU Illinois (which sponsors this website) to the embattled Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN).  In particular, they're pushing the U.S. Census Bureau to sever ties with SEIU because of the affiliation.  Here's an excerpt from Kirk and Roskam's press release:

One SEIU local union, the Illinois Homecare Workers and Home Childcare Providers, sprouted from ACORN's organizing efforts and pays rent to ACORN.  SEIU national president Andy Stern serves on ACORN’s advisory council.  According to his own Web site, ACORN Founder Wade Rathke is the “Founder and Chief Organizer” of SEIU Local 100.

In Illinois, SEIU Local 880 rents office space from the “Chicago Organizing and Support Center”, an ACORN affiliate, and both Local 880 and ACORN have offices at 209 W. Jackson Blvd in Chicago.

Putting aside the ridiculousness of the right wing's recent campaign against ACORN, Kirk and Roskam really should have done more research -- and perhaps watched less Glenn Beck. 

Just last week, CBS 2 Chicago investigated the relationship between SEIU and ACORN here in the Land of Lincoln.  Reporter Mike Flannery noted that the group known as ACORN Illinois actually "collapsed in 2007" after local leaders Denise Dixon and Madeline Talbott "complained that ACORN's then-national leader, Wade Rathke, put his brother in charge of finances, was concealing key money moves and was, in short, a scandal waiting to explode."  "We just felt things were not right at the top," Talbott told Flannery.  She and Dixon went on to start the organization Action Now.

Before going after ACORN, Kirk should have thoroughly researched his own voting record as well.  From Abdon Pallasch's Friday Sun-Times article:

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At today's endorsement event at SEIU Illinois State Council headquarters, Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias and union president Tom Balanoff both called out GOP frontrunner Mark Kirk for missing this week's congressional vote to extend unemployment benefits.  Watch it:

As we noted, Kirk has previously voted for certain measures to extend jobless benefits while opposing others. In an article published late yesterday, the Tribune quoted Kirk spokesman Eric Elk saying that the congressman had been "unavoidably detained" but would have voted for the bill if present.   

Earlier this month, we reported that National People's Action, the SEIU Illinois Council (which sponsors this website), and dozens of other regional progressive organizations are planning a major protest to coincide with the American Bankers Association (ABA) conference in Chicago in late October. The ABA is being targeted because they serve as a powerful lobbying arm of the financial industry and have fiercely opposed common-sense economic reforms.  For instance, in a June article, Nation editor Chris Hayes referred to them as "the chief obstacle to a proposed bankruptcy reform bill that would let judges modify mortgages" (referring to Sen. Dick Durbin's bill, which may see new life soon). 

The organizers hope the event will garner national attention by drawing concerned activists and citizens from all over the country.  To that end, we learned today that SEIU International Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger and newly-selected AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka are going to appear at the event.

For those not familiar with Burger, here's an interview she gave to TPM earlier this year:

And below is a profile of Trumka released by the AFL-CIO last week:

The three-day protest will begin on October 25.  We'll have more info as the event nears.

As the daily papers reported this morning, the SEIU Illinois State Council (which sponsors this website) has opted to join the Teamsters Joint Council in supporting Gov. Pat Quinn in the 2010 Democratic primary.  “Pat Quinn is the right choice to lead Illinois out of this recession,” said SEIU Illinois President Tom Balanoff in a statement.  "He has been a fighter for working families all of his life."

Taken together, these are powerhouse endorsements.  The two unions have more than 270,000 combined members across the state, as well as deep campaign warchests. At the SEIU offices in downtown Chicago this morning, Quinn thanked them for their support, repeating his pledge to be "aggressive and progressive."  Watch an excerpt from his remarks:

Talking to reporters, Balanoff commended Quinn's efforts to generate new revenue during the spring legislative session and looked towards the next round in that fight. "This is a crisis. Now is the time that we need to take decisive action. And that action really needs to be geared toward keeping Illinois strong.  And the way we do that is to keep working families strong," Balanoff said.  "We need political leaders who are willing to step up and make the hard decisions. So we will support the governor and we will support all others who are fighting to raise revenue and understand that's the only way we can keep these basic services." 

Quinn also used the occasion to give a shout-out to AFSCME Council 31, which hasn't announced which Democratic gubernatorial candidate it intends to support: 

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