Action Bulletin Winter 2019

IVI-IPO Endorsements in the 2019 Chicago Municipal Election

Support Our Candidates!Contact one or more of our endorsed candidates to volunteer to walk precincts, phone bank, work

Election Day, help out in the office, or make a donation. And be sure to let them know IVI-IPO sent you!

Office Candidate Phone WebsiteTreasurer Peter Gariepy 773-307-9262 www.peterforchicago.comWard 3 Pat Dowell 773-373-3303 www.dowellforthirdward.comWard 4 Sophia King 773-309-6515 www.friendsofsophiaking.comWard 5 Leslie Hairston 773-324-0005Ward 6 Roderick Sawyer 773-245-1230Ward 7 Jedidiah Brown 312-909-0167 www.JedidiahBrown.comWard 9 Cleopatra Watson 626-872-5378 electcleopatra.comWard 11 David Mihalyfy 773-818-5205 www.letourlightshine11thward.com/Ward 12 Jose Rico joserico2019.comWard 14 Tanya Patiño 773-968-7411 tanyafor14.comWard 15 Berto Aguayo 773-407-2603 bertoaguayo.orgWard 17 David Moore 773-846-0289 www.citizensformore.comWard 18 Chuks Onyezia 773-999-9819 www.ChuksForAlderman.comWard 20 Nicole Johnson 872-760-3408 www.nicolejchi.comWard 22 Michael Rodriguez 773-837-0024 www.mikerodriguez.orgWard 24 Traci Treasure Johnson 773-521-2424Ward 25 Byron Sigcho-Lopez 224-818-6930 www.sigchofor25.comWard 26 Roberto Maldonado 630-303-2863 www.robertomaldonado.comWard 27 Walter Burnett 312-296-4071Ward 28 Miguel Bautista 312-961-9048 miguelfor28.comWard 29 Chris Taliaferro 773-263-9298Ward 31 Milly Santiago 773-543-5082Ward 33 Rosanna Rodriguez Sanchez 847-226-5302Ward 40 Dianne Daledien 773-719-0387 www.DianneforWard40.comWard 41 Tim Heneghan 773-631-0447 www.timheneghan41stward.comWard 43 Rebecca Janowitz 312-825-9741 RebeccaJanowitz.comWard 46 Marianne Lalonde 773-336-2504 marianneforuptown.comWard 47 Matt Martin 217-343-4411 www.matt47.comWard 48 Harry Osterman harryosterman.orgWard 49 Joe Moore 773-973-4949 electjoemoore.com

In this report I want to highlight three significant accomplishments, as well as address two important upcoming projects.

IVI-IPO conducted our all-day “Campaigns A-Z Workshop” candidate training program at Loyola Law School on October 27, 2018. Around 20 aspiring candidates attended the event that covered every aspect of running for office from setting up a campaign to how to

win on Election Day. One of the highlights of the event was the lunchtime Campaign Clinic with University of Illinois Professor Dick Simpson, author of the acclaimed Winning Elections in the 21st Century, a copy of which was given to all participants. Coincidentally it was four years to the day since we last offered the program to another group of hopefuls, some of whom have since been elected. We plan to hold it again prior to the 2020 election, so watch your emails for this great opportunity. The success of our workshop is due to the efforts of our Program Vice Chair, the late Randy Crumpton, attorney.

December featured our Holiday Party to which we invited all our members to “Meet the Candidates” running for office in the current election cycle. The event was held at the Chicago Teachers Union on December 12, 2018. Many elected officials and candidates for office attended, including Mayoral hopefuls Toni Preckwinkle, Lori Lightfoot and Dorothy Brown, incumbent Clerk Anna Valencia and challenger Patricia Horton, two aspiring candidates for Treasurer, Ameya Pawar and Peter Gariepy, our current county Assessor (and endorsed candidate) Fritz Kaegi, several aldermen, and many others aspiring for office in the future. Candidates and members enjoyed abundant food and great conversation for several hours. The primary credit for this goes to our Political Action Committee, our membership that participated, and especially our State Political Action Chair Al Kindle.

As I make this report we are currently engaged in our endorsements for the Consolidated Municipal Elections in February of 2019, which will determine the direction that our Municipal government will go to address the many critical problems and financial issues our city currently faces. We have already conducted our citywide endorsement sessions and are in the midst of our aldermanic endorsement sessions which are scheduled to occur on 6 different dates at 10 different locations. The endorsements highlighted in this newsletter resulted from these sessions and a later review and approval by our Board of Directors. Many hundreds of hours of time have been committed by our members to participating in the evaluation process and we hope that the results of our efforts will guide the general public in connection with choosing the right candidates in the upcoming Municipal Election.

Following the completion of our endorsements, Monica Faith Stewart, Chair of our Legislative Action Committee will be seeking volunteers to revive and reinvigorate this important committee to pursue legislative action. If you are interested in working with her on this please e-mail her at mfaithstewart@gmail.com. Ms. Stewart, a former state legislator, is familiar with the legislative process and her connections to former and current legislators will be invaluable in the revival of this part of IVI-IPO’s historic progressive mission.

Finally, on January 30, 2019 at 6:00pm the Chair of this year’s Independents’ Day Committee Grace Chan McKibben will initiate the process of planning for our 75th Annual Independents’ Day Dinner (IDD) in July of this year. For the last two years we have had very successful IDDs involving not only awards to stellar recipients, but also first a Gubernatorial and then Mayoral forum, which were great successes. We hope to have a special IDD this year to commemorate our 75th year as the recognized voice of Illinoisans who are more committed to progressive issues and good government than to any particular personage or political party. If you are interested in helping to plan this very special IDD please contact Ms. McKibben at gchanmck@gmail.com and request to be added onto the committee and if possible the kickoff conference call.

State Chair’s Reportby Stephen Stern

Meet the Candidates Holiday Party

December 12, 2018

What is the Green New Deal?

A week after the 2018 midterm elections, a climate justice group, comprised primarily of young people, called the “Sunrise Movement” organized a protest in Nancy Pelosi’s office calling on her to support a “Green New Deal.” (GND) On the same day, freshman congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez launched a resolution to create a committee to develop and implement it. 45 members of Congress to date are co-sponsoring it, along with taking a pledge to reject fossil fuel campaign donations. Organizations supporting a GND initiative include 350.org, Greenpeace, Sierra Club, and Friends of the Earth.

The organizers state that: “We’re building an army of young people to stop climate change and create millions of good jobs in the process.” Their aim is to “descend on the Presidential debates,” and “make sure the GND is a top issue in the 2020 election.” Local groups of supporters called “hubs” are being organized nationwide in cities and schools.

The term “green new deal” is not entirely new, similar plans have been suggested under other names, and Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein made a version of it part of her campaigns. A progressive think tank called Data for Progress, however, recently laid out another new, significantly more detailed and expansive sets of proposals. The term “ecosocialism” has been discussed, advanced and applied by some political theorists as a new policy concept, which the GND incorporates. More conservative, climate change deniers or regulatory opponents have already targeted it for criticism, alarm and warning, which are likely to increase during the upcoming Presidential campaign.

The scope of the current plan is to develop and draft legislation with the objective of reaching the following outcomes within the target window of 10 years:

• Dramatically expand existing renewable power sources and deploy new production capacity with the goal of meeting 100% of national power demand through renewable sources;

• building a national, energy-efficient, “smart” grid; • upgrading every residential and industrial building for state-

of-the-art energy efficiency, comfort and safety; • eliminating greenhouse gas emissions from the manufacturing,

agricultural and other industries, including by investing in local-scale agriculture in communities across the country;

• eliminating greenhouse gas emissions from, repairing and improving transportation and other infrastructure, and upgrading water infrastructure to ensure universal access to clean water;

• funding massive investment in the drawdown of greenhouse gases;

• making “green” technology, industry, expertise, products and services a major export of the United States, with the aim of becoming the undisputed international leader in helping other countries transition to completely greenhouse gas neutral economies and bringing about a global Green New Deal.

Implementation of the GND is outlined, involving “a national, industrial, economic mobilization,” and described as “a historic opportunity to virtually eliminate poverty in the United States and to make prosperity, wealth and economic security available to everyone participating in the transformation.”

The Plan (and the draft legislation) shall: • provide all members of our society, across all regions and

all communities, the opportunity, training and education to be a full and equal participant in the transition, including through a job guarantee program to assure a living wage job to every person who wants one;

• diversify local and regional economies, with a particular focus on communities where the fossil fuel industry holds significant control over the labor market, to ensure workers have the necessary tools, opportunities, and economic assistance to succeed during the energy transition;

• require strong enforcement of labor, workplace safety, and wage standards that recognize the rights of workers to organize and unionize free of coercion, intimidation, and harassment, and creation of meaningful, quality, career employment;

• ensure a ‘just transition’ for all workers, low-income communities, communities of color, indigenous communities, rural and urban communities and the front-line communities most affected by climate change, pollution and other environmental harm including by ensuring that local implementation of the transition is led from the community level and by prioritizing solutions that end the harms faced by front-line communities from climate change and environmental pollution;

• protect and enforce sovereign rights and land rights of tribal nations;

• mitigate deeply entrenched racial, regional and gender-based inequalities in income and wealth (including, without limitation, ensuring that federal and other investment will be equitably distributed to historically impoverished, low income, deindustrialized or other marginalized communities in such a way that builds wealth and ownership at the community level);

• include additional measures such as basic income programs, universal health care programs and any others as the select committee may deem appropriate to promote economic security, labor market flexibility and entrepreneurism;

• deeply involve national and local labor unions to take a leadership role in the process of job training and worker deployment.

Additional information on the Sunrise Movement and the GND is available at: https://www.sunrisemovement.org/

Interested in working on legislative issues? Email iviipo@gmail.com to volunteer for the National Affairs (Congress), Legislative Affairs (Illinois General

Assembly) or Community Action/Municipal Affairs (Cook County and Chicago) committees

National Affairs Committee ReportBy Charles Paidock, Chair

By Bonnie McGrath

A better name for the book, “Chicago is Not Broke, Funding the City We Deserve” might be “Chicago IS Broke and These Are the Reasons Why.”

Yes, the City of Chicago is broke—and I have no reason whatsoever to doubt the myriad calculations in this book, which lays out how much we lose, waste, steal and give away unnecessarily. It is a positively harrowing tale, a municipal horror story that will keep you up at night.

Or at least have you thinking more seriously when you cast your next vote for mayor and alderman.

The reasons we’re broke you already know, I’m sure: things like the unfunded pension funds, the low bond ratings, the dead weight on the payroll. But you probably don’t know the exact amounts we squander in each and every category. Delving into the astronomical amounts in a few short chapters is dizzying, upsetting and totally sickening. This book is not fun. But it is a necessary read for anyone who lives here and cares.

The chapters (written by various experts) on the billions of dollars we lose due to corruption, toxic swap bank deals and police abuse will make you anxious and nauseous. That I can guarantee. And it’s pretty clear that anyone who could stop it all has no interest in doing so—or is incapable of same.

There is no gray area. It’s all wrong, all criminal and all keeping us a City that’s broke. Nothing is complicated. Politicians, contractors and banks steal from us; police abuse people and we have to pay off those they abuse. It’s that simple. And it’s all completely unnecessary. And ridiculous.

The chapter regarding TIF funds (written by Tresser himself) is clear-cut. It’s just what you’ve heard but can’t believe. Billions of the City portion of our property tax dollars has been collected and deposited in various Tax Increment Financing district accounts—for decades, all sequestered in a mayoral slush fund and given to the politically connected to build private developments. Instead of the money being given to the schools, libraries and parks, for instance, in that district, for which it was originally intended.

To be fair, occasionally the diverted money is used to build a school or other public building. But not very often. And probably built by a politically connected contractor who kicks back campaign contributions to those letting the contract….

And there’s many a rat who takes the TIF money, builds something, and then sells it at a profit—keeping the free money from the City for himself.

There are other short chapters (the book is dense—but easy reading and only 95 pages) that are quite helpful to those interested in seeing how we lose billions and billions of dollars, while borrowing what we need (or going without) and paying usurious interest rates. Chapters that will make you cry.

Chapters about how to read the Chicago budget; and on how a progressive income tax, a public bank and a financial tax on Lasalle Street would work in our favor if we had the nerve to make them a reality. Which we don’t.

One thing that bugged me about this tome, though, is for all the billions that totally go up in smoke in this City, many chapters mention the big But For: “But for this abuse, mismanagement, criminal behavior, what have you, we could be giving all that money to the schools, for instance…all these billions.”

The schools? The way they are now? Just as mismanaged and corrupt as anything else.

While the chapter on corruption lays out what we pay for corruption in dollars, there is no solution offered as to getting rid of corruption. And CPS is rife with corruption: dead weight, the contract letting process, wasted resources and much more.

Before we worry about saving billions in one pot, and putting it in another pot, what difference does it make if we never clean all

the pots? I think editor Tresser needs to get back to the drawing board with another book of ideas—for cleaning out all the filthy mismanaged pots and turning them into pots of gold.

It’s easy to add up the incredible loss on a balance sheet, quite another to change a culture that’s been dishonest since the day it was born.

Visit my blog: http://www.chicagonow.com/mom-think-poignant

“Chicago Is Not Broke” by long-time IVI-IPO member Tom Tresser, may be purchased at wearenotbroke.org

BOOK REVIEW Chicago is Not Broke, Funding the City We Deserve

Organized and Edited by Tom Tresser

Independent Voters of Illinois-Independent Precinct Organization1325 S Wabash #105Chicago IL 60605

The Action Bulletin is published quarterly by theIndependent Voters of Illinois-Independent Precinct Organization1325 S Wabash #105Chicago IL 60605

Stephen Stern, State Chair

Aviva Miriam Patt, Editor

Contents:

Page 1IVI-IPO Endorsements

Page 2State Chair’s Report

Page 3 National Affairs Report

Page 4Book Review

Page 5-7Aldermanic Voting Record

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