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NEWSLETTERS 2001: Winter 2001: Fall
Spring 2001 Third Annual Suburban Civic Fair Get Up, Get Out & Get Active...In Your Community! In celebration of our seventh anniversary, the Citizen Advocacy Center will sponsor the third annual Suburban Civic Fair on October 13, 2001, at Harper Community College in Palatine. All nonprofit organizations, associations, projects, clubs or religious groups are invited to gather under one roof to meet one another, to build coalitions, and to provide countless opportunities for people who live in suburbia and Chicagoland to Get Up, Get Out and Get Active in Your Community. The Suburban Civic Fair is a day-long event jammed with activities featuring 50-100 community groups from DuPage and Cook County, panel discussions with community leaders on hot topics affecting suburbia and a thought provoking key-note address by, "America's #1 Populist", Jim Hightower. The Suburban Civic Fair is an opportunity for people to learn of the countless community groups close to home that address every kind of cause or issue. If you are interested in healthcare, the environment, transportation, politics, civil or civic rights there will be a group for you to discover and join. If you are a community group, the Suburban Civic Fair is the place to broaden your volunteer and membership base and increase your organization's visibility in the community. With the infiltration of beepers, cell phones and the Internet people "stay connected" 24 hours a day. We live in a global community where the concept of community is more expansive then ever before. Despite the ability to stay connected constantly, more people feel disenfranchised, displaced and disconnected from the community in which they live, to the point of not even knowing neighbors. How and where do people build relationships outside of family, work or school? The Citizen Advocacy Center's Suburban Civic Fair is a home remedy to this trend of losing a connection with the local community. The Suburban Civic Fair is the first step to rejuvenating community involvement and reminding people the value of face-to-face people contact and building relationships. ****Suburban Civic Fair Key-Note Speaker **** JIM HIGHTOWER Hightower is a progressive populist political commentator heard on radio and published nationwide. He has been an advocate for consumers, hometown businesses, working families, farmers, and minorities for more than 30 years. His new book, If The Gods Had Meant Us To Vote They Would Have Given Us Candidates, comments on the state of politics in the new millennium, focusing on the presidential candidates, all beholden to the powers-that be; the topics of interest to ordinary people which no candidate will discuss; and moving stories of citizens beginning to create a new politics with candidates beholden to the power-that-ought-to-be. No one in America today delivers a motivational speech like Jim Hightower, bringing home a hard-hitting, tell-it-like-it-is political message, yet keeping his audience doubled-up with laughter. In the tradition of Mark Twain, Will Rogers and Woody Guthrie, he skewers the Powers That Be on behalf of the Powers That Ought to Be --America's workaday folks. I facilitated a brown bag lunch on President Bush's education proposal, "No Child Left Behind." The focus of the discussion was the testing provision of the proposal and the President's call for increased accountability for both schools and teachers based on the results of standardized assessments. While the President's plan has been outwardly criticized by both liberals and conservatives, it has also received broad support by both major parties, as evidenced by the House of Representatives passing the President's proposed mandate for schools to administer annual assessments in grades 3-8. If the plan survives the U.S. Senate, these annual assessments would serve as a basis for distributing federal funds to schools through a system of rewards and sanctions. I became interested in President Bush's education proposal after reading a series of articles in the New York Times which exposed the shortcomings of the test scoring industry and addressed concerns regarding the effect of scoring errors on thousands of students in public schools nationwide. Through further research, I became fascinated with the overwhelming concerns being voiced on the Internet and in newspapers by education experts and watchdog organizations, as well as teachers, students and parents nationwide. I discovered a sharp divide in regard to issues such as the proposal's effect on minority and low-income students and the academic effectiveness of test-driven reform. During the brown bag lunch, former principals, a current educator, as well as concerned parents and grandparents in the community discussed these issues, coming to a general conclusion that although schools must be accountable for students who are not performing at grade level, federal funding should not be awarded solely on the basis of standardized test results. More importantly, all present were in agreement that school reform is an important issue in communities across the nation that must reach beyond increased testing and include more comprehensive, personalized methods of assessing student achievement. Rebecca Gold, CAC Legal Intern YOUR CITIZEN ADVOCACY PLANS FOR THE FUTURE If you remember, it was just seven years ago that Theresa Amato and the original Board of Directors brought life to the Citizen Advocacy Center. The CAC began its development based upon the original ideas and mission outlined in our articles of incorporation as a 501(c)3 corporation. Our number one purpose then and now is to build democracy at the grassroots level by developing the voice of citizens and their self-government capacities, and by working to deepen democratic practices and laws so that the government becomes more accountable to the people. This mission and its continuance is more necessary than every before. Its success rests upon our ability to reach out and develop increased civic consciousness through the program and activities that CAC has sponsored through the years. To prepare for the next seven years, we must develop and grow a larger civic minded activists network. This type of outreach will not happen without the deployment of energetic programs and services which will allow us to reach deeper into the communities we serve. This democracy mission will require careful planning and continued frugal use of our resources. To sustain the drive to democratically empower communities we must raise funding from amongst our supporters that know us as well as those that we have yet to meet. The board of directors of the Citizen Advocacy Center would like you share your ideas for fundraising with us through the creation of a fundraising committee for our common good. Please call or write the CAC at 630-833-4080 c/o Steve DeLaRosa to join this planning committee. All year long, but especially- in the summer-, student interns- invade the Citizen- Advocacy Center-! With their assistance-, the Center- prints more brochures, hosts more workshops, and holds open the doors of government- to more people. Interns come to the Center from schools across the country, including: The Public Interest Law Initiative, NAPIL, University of Illinois Law School, University of Hawai'i, DePaul University School of Law, Washington University School of Law and York High School. Special- thanks to the interns: Dion Cassata, Browning Clark, Rebecca Gold, Catherine Hood, Matt Richards, and Allison Rieff I worked on many projects at CAC but my main focus was the procurement project, one of the CAC's largest, ongoing projects. I investigated how procurement and ethical policies of government contracts operate at the county level. This involved analyzing the DuPage County Purchasing Ordinance and comparing procurement practices and procedures among Chicago-area counties, including Cook, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will. I also researched statutes and guidelines for obtaining goods and services at the state level, attended public bidding and hearings, and analyzed the extent of state control over local, or county level procedures. While working on the procurement project, I also facilitated a brown bag lunch on President Bush's education proposal, "No Child Left Behind." The discussion focused on the proposal's testing provision and the President's call for increased accountability for both schools and teachers based on the results of standardized assessments. Community members with diverse backgrounds concluded that although schools must be accountable for students who are not performing at grade level, federal funding should not be awarded solely on the basis of standardized test results and a more comprehensive, personalized method of assessing student achievement is necessary. In addition to working with community members on intake questions such as county redistricting, property rights and the Open Meetings Act, I researched another hotly debated topic, campaign finance reform. Public Financing for Judicial Campaigns Act, IL House Bill 1704, sets forth requirements for Illinois Supreme Court Justice candidates in order to receive public funds and penalizes those candidates who violate the Act by either exceeding their private contribution limit or accepting private contributions after a certain date. In effect, the Act would not only set a total limit on how much money would be spent on the financing of judicial campaigns, but also remedy the ethical dilemmas that result from judicial candidates accepting money from trial lawyers and other private contributors. Rebecca Gold, Washington University School of Law Visit the Center's new and improved website with current information on programs and projects! WWW.CITIZENADVOCACYCENTER.ORG FREE FALL SESSION CITIZEN TRAINING CORPS NEW CLASS! PROTECT YOUR PRIVACY Clear your schedule to participate in this action based civic skills class. Become a smarter and a better informed community participant! Sept. 24th Representatives at Every Level Of Government; Oct. 1st Request Public Information; Oct. 8th Basic Research Tools; Oct. 15th Open Meeting Act; Oct. 22nd Protect Your Privacy; Oct. 29th Basic Debate Skills. CAC and the Public Interest Law Initiative gave me the opportunity to take my first steps into Chicago's public interest legal world. I worked on a variety of projects that ranged from attending conferences on food irradiation and a media workshop with Jim Hightower to participating in many local DuPage County government and community meetings to creating a new web site for the Center. During the summer I vastly improved my legal research and statutory interpretation skills through researching many intake questions such as proper county record -keeping policies and specific exemptions under the Open Meetings Act. I educated citizens on ways they can become involved in their local government and had the opportunity to make numerous Freedom of Information Act requests and appeals on behalf of citizens who had been wrongly denied access to public information in addition to creating a brochure on the taxing powers of local government and updating many educational brochures. The project that hit closest to home was a guide I created detailing how students can establish a loan repayment assistance program in their law school. A majority of law schools do not have loan assistance programs and enormous financial burdens deter many law students and lawyers from pursuing public interest law careers. This step-by-step guide for law students will be sent to every law school across the country encouraging students to organize and implement a program. Establishing a loan assistance program is the first step to making it possible for students with large loan accumulations to choose public interest law careers. CAC's other summer interns were great to work with as well as CAC's staff. The staff was very supportive and provided guidance when necessary, but also allowed significant independence when working on projects. Browning Clark, University of Hawai'I My summer projects at the Center involved creating a resource guide for non-profit organizations interested in seeking grant money and updating the CAC's Freedom of Information Act case library. Finding grant funding can be a daunting task for small, grassroots organizations, many of which routinely visit CAC for fundraising assistance. This basic guide to grant funding is a tool to help organizations sort through the tens of thousands of grant-offering organizations in the United States, both nationally and locally from federal, state, and local government, private companies and private foundations. In researching this project, I was introduced to the various roles that lawyers may play in grant funding and administration. Lawyers are frequently involved with grant money transfer because approval and distribution of a grant is in essence a contract. Additionally, lawyers may be involved with the final contract approval process by making sure that all contract requirements are fulfilled before funds can be administered. Finally, because non-profits enjoy special tax considerations, lawyers are sometimes called upon to make sure that an organization is incorporated in a way that is cognizant of tax issues. My second project involved updating the CAC Illinois Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) case decision library through researching and summarizing Illinois court decisions and the Illinois Compiled Statutes. The library is a resource for CAC attorneys as well as members of the public who have FOIA-related questions. Updating the library, in addition to small research projects, required varying degrees of legal research and used several resources: on-line computer legal research databases, the many resources at the DuPage County law library, and the CAC's library. This gave me the opportunity to hone my research skills, which will help in law school and my career. I enjoyed my internship and am glad to have had the opportunity to work at a not-for-profit organization. The lawyers obviously believe in the mission of CAC and choose to work here because it is meaningful and interesting to them. Dion Cassata, University of Illinois Law School When I began working at the CAC this summer I wasn't sure what to expect, as I had never done any type of legal work before. I first worked on a survey focusing on the quality of DuPage County municipal and township websites. I visited all municipal and township websites (those that existed) to see what information was available and to see if specific information such as agendas, minutes, public body representative contact information, and the ability to make Freedom of Information Act requests was present. A copy of this survey will be sent to the public bodies along with suggestions about what information the public bodies might add to help improve the civic knowledge of visitors. The second project I worked on was a brochure to be used in the Citizen Training Corps about how legislation is passed through Congress. This took quite a bit of time to complete, but I found it interesting to learn exactly what steps a bill goes through on its way to becoming a law. Finally, before school began, I researched issues concerning privacy rights in Illinois. Although I was a volunteer this summer, I found working here far more rewarding than a paying job elsewhere would have been. Allison Reif, York High School My first project for the CAC was facilitating the O'Hare Evening Program. The central issues discussed concerning O'Hare expansion were quality of life problems for residents adjacent to flight paths and the stake of lucrative landing fees. Community members talked about Mayor Daley's potential loss of landing fees as motivation to expand O'Hare despite public outcry: a 737 may pay $300 to land 128 passengers and a 747 may pay $2,000 to land a full plane, all of which goes to the City of Chicago. I also monitored the redistricting process of DuPage County. A state law required the County Board to reduce its number of members and separate the County Board from the Forest Preserve Commission after the 2000 census. I attended a public hearing with approximately 50-60 other people where minorities in the community lobbied the Board to adopt single member districts, 18 Board members from 18 districts rather than 3 members elected at large from six districts. Advocates argued that single districts would promote better County representation. The Board refused to adopt single member districts and rationalized the decision by stating there was no time to hold a public vote before the statutory redistricting deadline of July 1, 2001. I felt the Board avoided the issue of single districting and voted in favor of their own incumbency. I wrote a letter to the editor of several newspapers to this effect. Thirdly, I worked on civic education by researching how the Illinois State Board of Educational Standards are adopted and enforced. The State Board is currently updating and revising state educational standards and are welcoming public input. CAC is in the process of compiling proposals to increase the standards of civic education. Lastly, after participating in the Citizen Training Corps, the interns created a civics board game for middle school students with questions that focus on basic civic and governmental knowledge. All four of my projects helped to reintroduce me to my passion for public interest law. I thank the Center for this opportunity . Catherine Hood, DePaul University School of Law The Citizen Initiative Awards will be presented on October 13, 2001 at Wm. Rainey Harper Community College, Palatine, IL and are created to recognize citizens who act as catalysts for more citizen participation in the democratic process. Recipients of this award have demonstrated significant and informed civic participation in their communities and by their example have inspired others to build democracy. To nominate a citizen or organization, please send the nominee's name, address, phone number, fax/ E-mail and references with phone numbers to the Citizen Advocacy Center at P.O. Box 420, Elmhurst, IL, 60126. In addition, please give examples and attach documentation as needed. Please include your name and phone number. NOMINATION DEADLINE IS OCTOBER 5, 2001 The Citizen Advocacy Center's Third Annual Suburban Civic Fair is Saturday, October 13, 2001 at Wm. Rainey Harper Community College in Palatine. The FAIR is FREE to the general public and is an opportunity for people in Chicagoland and the suburbs to Get Up, Get Out and Get Active in Your Community. Visit the Suburban Civic Fair to learn of the countless community groups close to home that address every kind of cause or issue that inspire community activism and rejuvenate the spirit of individuals and organizations who are community activists. This day-long event is jammed with activities featuring 50-100 nonprofit organizations, projects, associations, clubs or religious groups from DuPage and Cook County, stimulating panel discussions with community leaders on hot topics affecting Chicagoland and suburbia and a keynote address by, "America's #1 Populist", Jim Hightower. Jim Hightower is a progressive populist political commentator heard on the radio and published nationwide. He has been an advocate for consumers, hometown businesses, working families, farmers, and minorities for more than 30 years. His new book, If The Gods Had Meant Us To Vote, They Would Have Given Us Candidates, comments on the state of politics in the new millennium, focusing on the presidential candidates, all beholden to the powers-that be; the topics of interest to ordinary people which no candidate will discuss; and moving stories of citizens beginning to create a new politics with candidates beholden to the power-that-ought-to-be- America's workaday folks.
Jim Hightower Speaks at Citizen Advocacy Center's Third Annual Suburban Civic Fair Get Up, Get Out & Get Active in Your Community! October 13, 2001 the Citizen Advocacy Center held its Third Annual Suburban Civic Fair: Get Up, Get Out and Get Active In Your Community at Wm. Rainey Harper Community College. The Suburban Civic Fair was a celebration of community activism and building democracy at the grassroots level. Thirty-four diverse nonprofit organizations and community groups participated in the Suburban Civic Fair.Organizations from Cook and DuPage County that focus on environmental, health, transportation, and religious causes as well as political and civil rights organizations attended. Community leaders in electoral reform, racial profiling, cyberspace and democracy, and transportation and sprawl led panel discussions throughout the day. Jim Hightower's keynote address was the highlight of the day-long celebration of community activism. National radio commentator, writer, public speaker, former Agricultural Commissioner of Texas, best selling author of, "If the Gods had Meant us to Vote They Would Have Given us Candidates" and America's #1 Populist, Hightower discussed the importance of outspoken advocacy for the people's interest and the common good, particularly in light of new threats in the wake of September 11 terrorist attacks. Hightower commented on how the rise of a moneyed aristocracy within our nation and a global moneyed elite imperils our freedoms and political power. As examples, Hightower criticized the newly created Office of Homeland Security, which is not subject to Congressional oversight but allows military authority over domestic affairs, and the reemergence of autocratic Fast Track legislation as contrary to economic and social justice. Hightower also emphasized Nobel Prize winner Gunter Grass' statement that the first duty of a citizen is to keep his mouth open! What can we do? Hightower stated that we need a new politic that puts the common good first through agitating, advocating and organizing!
SPRING SESSION OF THE CITIZEN TRAINING CORPS - FREE CIVIC EDUCATION PROGRAM Begins March 6th, 2002. ¨
Learn the answers in CAC's Free Course! Call the CAC and sign up today! 630-833-4080 or visit our website at www.citizenadvocacycenter.org Wednesday, March 6 - 7:00 PM
Wednesday, March 13 - 7:00 PM
Wednesday, March 20 - 7:00 PM
Wednesday, March 27 - 7:00 PM
Wednesday, April 3 - 7:00 PM
Wednesday, April 10 - 7:00 PM
Citizen Initiative Awards - 2001 Recipients - The Citizen Initiative Award was created to recognize citizens who act as catalysts for more citizen participation in the democratic process. Recipients of this award have demonstrated significant and informed civic participation in their communities and by their example have inspired others to build democracy. This year's awards: Congratulations to Ms. Marget Hamilton of Wheaton, IL! Marget Hamilton became a citizen activist in 1940 when she, along with friends from the League of Women Voters, protested the fact that the children of Japanese American citizens were not being allowed to swim in the Barrington pool. In 1955, after she moved her family to Wheaton, she started the Wheaton Chapter of the League of Women Voters and helped change the Wheaton form of government from Commission to Council Manager. Mrs. Hamilton was Wheaton's first woman candidate for Council Manager and in 1959 won the seat. Among her many accomplishments in government service, she was instrumental in drafting and adopting in 1967, Wheaton's Fair Housing Ordinance, the first of its kind in Illinois. She served as Mayor of Wheaton in 1969 and was the head of the DuPage Mayors and Managers conference in 1970. Since Mrs. Hamilton's retirement in 1971 she has: organized and directed the office of the DuPage County ACLU, served on the Board of Directors of the DuPage County Legal Services Foundation, and is the director of the College of DuPage Older Adult Institute. The Institute now serves 10,000 people every year. Congratulations to Dr. Wendy Morris, Bolingbrook, IL! In the words of Dr. Morris' nominator, "Wendy is a one-woman tour de force." She received her doctorate from the University of Illinois and she was nominated for her outstanding work in the fight against racism, homophobia, anti-semitism and other forms of discrimination. Dr. Morris understands that fighting hate is central to building democracy. As a member of DuPage Voices for Racial Justice and the DuPage County Unity Coalition, Dr. Morris has helped to organize anti-racist sentiment in DuPage County. Working with these organizations and others, she took the initiative and established a Rapid Response Network that can respond quickly to hate crimes. She has not only worked tirelessly herself, she has inspired others to get up, get out, and get active in their communities. To nominate a candidate for the 2002 award, call the CAC! With Liberty & Justice For All? Like everyone else, I was shocked by the events of September 11th. My shock, however, paled in comparison to my sense of disbelief as I have learned of passed and pending state and federal legislation labeled as "anti-terrorist" or "patriotic". This legislation is supposed to protect the health and safety of Americans but instead restricts civil liberties. A civil liberty is a constitutional restraint on government guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and protected by the courts. Unlike other countries, the U.S. Constitution cannot simply be suspended during times of a national security threat. Prompted by the surge of "anti-terrorist" legislation, I began researching the United State's historical approach to national security threats and how civil liberties have been affected in the past. I was surprised to learn that infringement on civil liberties seems to be the American way. During the McCarthy era, immigrant members of the Communist Party were deported and in World War II, Japanese immigrants were sent to internment camps simply for having Japanese ancestry. In the blink of an eye after September 11th, Congress passed and President Bush signed the USA PATRIOT Act, the most recent infringement on civil liberties at the federal level. Among its many provisions, this anti-terrorist legislation expanded the government's ability to conduct electronic surveillance, reduced procedural due process safeguards and allows the detention of immigrants without being charged for a crime. Since the passage of the USA PATRIOT Act, several states have followed the federal government's lead and proposed or passed patriotic or anti-terrorist legislation to varying degrees. For example, the Pennsylvania legislature passed a bill mandating the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance or singing of the national anthem at the beginning of each school day. Students can refrain from participating only with the written approval of their parents. In a more dramatic move, some Wisconsin legislators have proposed the institution of the death penalty in order to deter terrorism. Illinois Attorney General, Jim Ryan introduced an "Anti- Terrorism" bill during the veto session that currently defines terrorism extremely broadly. Under the proposed bill, terrorism could include any activity designed to put pressure on the government which results in property damage. We must monitor the progression of this bill and contact our state legislators to let them know we do not want our civil liberties compromised in Illinois. How far are we willing to allow legislatures to chip away at civil liberties before people stand up and say enough? At a time of crisis, it is important to remember the words of Ben Franklin who wrote in 1759, "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." Ms. Jill M. Dressner January 11th, Brown Bag Lunch Attack on Civil Liberties
January 16th, Evening Program Corporate Profiteering During War
January 30th, Evening Program Lack of Public Health Funding and Pharmaceutical Gouging.
February 8th, Brown Bag Lunch Campaign Finance Reform in IL.
Volunteer and Donor Holiday Party & Open House! Thank you to the many volunteers and donors who helped the Citizen Advocacy Center build democracy in 2001. This party is for you! Visit the Center Thursday, December 13, from 6 - 8 PM for a celebration of civic energy and volunteerism! Bring a friend and introduce them to the Center! New Class Added to the Citizen Training Corps. Protect Your Privacy! The Citizen Advocacy Center has added a new class focusing on PRIVACY to the Citizen Training Corps program!
Call the Citizen Advocacy Center at 630-833-4080 or visit our website at www.citizenadvocacycenter.org to sign up for the Citizen Training Corps by March 6! Participants will learn privacy protection tools as well as many other important civic tools in the Citizen Training Corps.
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