A group of parents and community members are calling on Ald. Danny Solis (25th) and officials from the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) district to build a new community center at Whittier Elementary School, to replace La Casita, which was demolished earlier this month.
La
Casita, which served as a volunteer-run library that provided computer
access, English classes and after-school programs to local residents of
Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood on the Southwest Side, was torn down without notice. District officials cited safety concerns and severe
disrepair to the CPS-owned fieldhouse that was being used as a community
center until the moment a demolition crew arrived on August 17.
“What
happened, I found to be very unjust, very traumatizing,” said Lisa
Angonese, 52, executive director of La Casita and member of the Whittier
Parents Committee (WPC), which ran the community center’s programming.
“We saw a demolition of a precious and valuable building right before
our very eyes, traumatizing to the parents, children and members of the
community.” Read more »
Immigrants
in need of organ transplants and their allies have occupied the public
space in front of Chicago’s Northwestern Memorial Hospital. The
occupation began Sunday evening following the Friday death of Sarai
Rodriguez, 25, an uninsured and undocumented Chicago immigrant
originally from Mexico who was in critical need of a new liver.
Rodriguez’s
family and dozens of activists held a remembrance ceremony outside
Northwestern Sunday evening and camped out overnight. The occupation
will continue through Monday, the group said.
The Illinois House of Representatives voted yesterday in favor of six
amendments that would ban semi-automatic assault weapons and
large-capacity ammunition magazines.
However, Illinois doesn’t currently have—and has never had—an Asian American member in the state legislature. “They said, ‘you’re going to form an Asian American caucus with no Asian American elected officials?’” Kang told Progress Illinois. “But it makes sense, so long as we yield results.”
As the nation reels in the wake of a Connecticut school massacre that has left 26 dead, Mayor Rahm Emanuel met with Chicagoans and legislators this afternoon to discuss gun control in Illinois.
This is typically the busiest month for the Illinois General Assembly – state lawmakers stay in Springfield each week to agree upon an annual budget by May 31 and act on other major bills. This year, again the focus is on the state budget – and the related problems of underfunded pensions and rising Medicaid costs.
But there are other key measures that have flown under the radar so far during this hectic legislative season – including a bill that would give Illinois the highest minimum wage in the nation, at effectively $10 an hour. Read more »
A group of parents and community members are calling on Ald. Danny Solis (25th) and officials from the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) district to build a new community center at 
Immigrants
in need of organ transplants and their allies have occupied the public
space in front of Chicago’s Northwestern Memorial Hospital. The
occupation began Sunday evening following the Friday death of Sarai
Rodriguez, 25, an uninsured and undocumented Chicago immigrant
originally from Mexico who was in critical need of a new liver.
Andy Kang noticed the funny looks.
This is typically the busiest month for the Illinois General Assembly – state lawmakers stay in Springfield each week to agree upon an annual budget by May 31 and act on other major bills. This year, again the focus is on the state budget – and the related problems of underfunded 