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Spring 2009
The CHA Plan is Dead Janice Patton gave up on the Plan for Transformation a long time ago. Patton moved out of Robert Taylor Homes in 2000, the same year Mayor Richard M. Daley announced the Plan.
Homeless Vets Speak Out This reporter was recently forwarded a press release which focused on the problem of homeless veterans recently discharged from active duty. The Jan. 5, 2009, press release was issued by the Illinois chapter of Volunteers of America indicated that “Nationally, over 200,000 are homeless on any given night in this country and more than 500,000 are homeless at some point during the year.”
The White House Agenda for the Poor The new administration of President Barack Obama is apparently not very interested in sharing its plans for low-income people. Little has been announced publicly about what the administration will do for the poor in these hard economic times, and Residents’ Journal’s calls to the White House over a three-week period failed to get a comment by press time.
Harold Ickes Homes Update The Harold Ickes public housing development is one of the last to go through change under the Chicago Housing Authority’s Plan for Transformation, now in its 10th year.
Ickes Leader Challenges CHA CEO “It is no future at Ickes,” declared Gloria Williams, the resident leader at the Harold Ickes Homes, to Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) CEO Lewis Jordan at the Tenant Services meeting on March 11.
CHA's Safe Harbor Gets Bigger In January and February, the Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) Board approved important changes to its work rules for tenants and to the Plan for Transformation.
Residents Blame CHA for School Closures “Attendance is low in our community because redevelopment is slow,” declared William Fleming, a resident of the Cabrini-Green pubic housing complex, to members of the Chicago Board of Education on Feb. 25.
Under Fire, Board Closes Schools Anyway Under fire from parents, teachers, students and even some state legislators, the Chicago Board of Education voted to close, consolidate, phase out or turn-around 16 schools on Feb. 25.
U. S. Citizens Decry Relatives’ Deportation You could have heard a pin drop at the town hall meeting at Saint Pius V. Catholic Church on Saturday, Nov. 15, 2008, when U.S. citizens spoke about family members who were deported.
Immigration Concerns A national coalition of Jewish organizations has recently been calling for an end to raids by the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) department on work places that hire undocumented immigrants.
Burge Victims' Attorneys Fight Transfers Civil Rights attorney Locke Bowman recently accused Attorney General Lisa Madigan of trying to “dump” 5 cases connected to former Chicago Police Commander Jon Burge.
Wrongfully Convicted Man Files New Petition for Justice David Bates was wrongly convicted in 1983 on charges of murder, attempted murder and armed robbery and sentenced to serve 20 years.
Cops Fight Their Own Over Burge Some Chicago police officers in early January 2009 denounced their own union’s efforts to fund former police Commander Jon Burge’s legal defense.
Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Many grandparents are finding themselves raising their children’s children for a variety of reasons, which include incarceration of the parent, substance abuse and illnesses such as HIV/AIDS.
Child Sex Abuse: The Hidden Holocaust There is a hidden holocaust of child sexual abuse being perpetrated, according to ChildServ, a Chicago-based not-for-profit social service agency dedicated to assisting children and families.
Patients Protest Clinic Closures After months of marches and protests, mental health patients and their advocates finally got their chance to meet with some of their public officials to plead their case about stopping four of their health care facilities in low-income areas from closing next month.
A Health Report on Aneurysm Beauty Turner, former Assistant Editor for Residents’ Journal, died on Dec. 18, 2008. Beauty’s family found her unconscious. They rushed her to the hospital, where the doctor told them that Beauty had slipped into a coma. An aneurysm had ruptured in her brain.
Black History Tour Looks To the Future On Tuesday, Feb. 17, the Bronzeville Merchants Association, formerly known as the 35th Street Merchants Association, held a press conference and tour to which this reporter was invited.
Longest Living ABLA Homes Resident Dies Mrs. Clementine Pettiford, 105 years of age, was recently laid to rest. Mrs. Pettiford was the longest living resident in the ABLA Homes community, formally known as the Hastings Street Housing Development.
How Should Replacement U. S. Senators Be Chosen? Last month, state Rep. Julie Hamos (D-IL) sent out an e-mail asking her constituency to fill out an on-line survey with their opinion of whether Illinois should change its law to hold special elections to replace US Senators.
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