The Immigrant Youth Justice League and nearly 6,000 Illinois supporters will join thousands from around the country in Washington, D.C. on Sunday to demand that President Barack Obama uphold his promise to support comprehensive immigration reform.

“We want to bring the message to the president that immigration reform is urgent and affects a lot people, not only immigrants but also citizens in regards to the economy and keeping families together,” said Catherine Salgado, a member of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. “We are asking the president to use leadership in moving immigration reform forward.”

The trip to Washington follows last Wednesday’s march for immigration reform where hundreds of supporters joined the Immigrant Youth Justice League in Chicago’s Union Park; protesters marched through downtown before assembling at a rally in Federal Plaza.

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“We are here to say that we are undocumented and unafraid,” said one young person as supporters took up the chant.

At the risk of possible deportation, members of the League declared their immigration status to the crowd gathered below Sen. Dick Durbin’s office in a move meant to “turn up the heat “ on the senator, an advocate of comprehensive immigration reform.

Several phone calls were made to Sen. Durbin during the rally, but the calls were redirected to his voice mail.

Among the issues addressed at the rally were education, social services and human rights as well as deportations, which are reported to have increased under the Obama administration.

While there are several ways to gain access to the country, many undocumented immigrants are brought to the U.S. as children only to find, typically upon graduating high school, that services guaranteed to their peers are denied them despite years of growing up in this country. A student may graduate high school to find that they are ineligible for the financial aid that could pay for college.

“[I] received a $20,000 scholarship from a great university,” said Uriel Sanchez, a member of the League. “One week before I was supposed to start school I received a call from an administrator asking for my social security number … I didn’t have one, and I had to pass on the scholarship and on going to a four-year university.”

Though it isn’t against the law for undocumented students to attend college in the U.S., stories of undocumented students held from college educations are common. The DREAM act, supported by U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez, would alleviate this situation by proposing that undocumented youth be eligible for a conditional path to citizenship in exchange for completion of a college degree or two years of military service.

As the U.S. continues to struggle over how to best deal with immigration, stories of deferred educations, separated families, workplace raids and back-logged legalization processes serve as narratives on the state of our national undocumented population.

Under the present law, any of the nearly 11 million individuals in the U.S. illegally are subject to arrest, detainment or deportation.

According to a written statement from Gail Montenegro, spokeswoman for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Illinois, “U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) respects the fundamental right of individuals to advocate for reform of our nation’s immigration laws. ICE is focused on smart, effective immigration enforcement that places priority first on those dangerous criminal aliens who present the greatest risk to the security of our communities.”

To contact Sen. Dick Durbin’s office with your comments, call (312) 353-4952 or click here.

The state’s public rail and bus systems have so far made it largely unscathed through the difficult budget process, in which Quinn is trying to steer the state out of a $13 billion deficit.

“(Downstate agencies) actually have experienced an increase in operating funding over the last couple of years,” said Laura Calderon, executive director of the Illinois Public Transit Association, adding that the allocations in the draft budget was “about what’s expected.”

Under Quinn’s proposed $27 billion budget, presented last week to a joint session of the Illinois General Assembly, downstate transit agencies are slated to see a 10 percent increase in grant money from the state. For MSW Projects, a small transit agency in Henry, Ill., that means a bump from $252,000 this year to $277,000 in 2011.

The increase is welcome news for the rural agency, which offers senior rides and runs fixed routes through Henry County with minivans and a 15-person van. But MSW faces a bigger problem, Calderon said – reimbursements from the state are being sent months after they are due and apprehensive banks are refusing to dole out loans to ailing agencies.

As a result, MSW Projects recently put all its employees on a four-day work schedule to avoid having to take more drastic measures.

“That is enough to keep them afloat right now,” Calderon said.

The picture is slightly different for transit in the Chicago area. The Regional Transit Authority, which includes the CTA, Metra and Pace, saw its state grants drop slightly in Quinn’s budget proposal, from $292 million this year to $285 million next. And that’s down from $302 million in FY 2009.

But Brian Imus, spokesman for the Illinois Public Interest Research Group, a consumer advocacy group, said he too is more concerned that the state is late in paying nearly $250 million for transit service in the Chicago area.

“The delay, if it isn’t fixed, could have a disastrous effect on commuters,” Imus wrote in an e-mail. “The governor’s budget proposal this week doesn’t make me any more confident the state is going to be able to address this shortfall.”

Ed Heflin, manager of the Illinois Rural Transit Assistance Center, said that investing in public transit during a recession is wise because it leads to greater economic development. Every $1 spent on public transit brings a $3 return to the area, he said, and in some cases the return is as much as $8.

Public transit may be the least of lawmakers’ worries this week. Education took the brunt of the damage in Quinn’s 475-page draft budget, shouldering $1.3 billion in proposed cuts. Lawmakers now find themselves entrenched in a battle over Quinn’s suggested fix – a temporary 33 percent income tax hike to fund schools. Health, human services and local governments are also facing a loss of about $300 million apiece.

Quinn’s budget must be approved by both houses of the legislature before it can take effect for the fiscal year that begins July 1. But with lawmakers’ concerns over the November election getting in the way, some expect that serious budget reform will not take place until a special legislative session after the election.

County sheriffs, assessors, coroners and treasurers throughout Illinois are losing 35 percent of their annual $6,500 state stipends this year; circuit clerks, however, are losing 100 percent. The stipend was created in 1986 by the Illinois General Assembly to cover additional duties circuit clerks perform under state law. The stipend was increased to its current amount in 1999.

The Illinois Supreme Court, which is responsible for the circuit clerks’ budgets, says the cuts are necessary to help cover the probation department’s massive $43 million shortfall. But circuit clerks argue their cuts are disproportionate to other state offices, and under the Circuit Clerks Act, the stipend is mandated.

Part of the circuit clerks’ duties include the collection and distribution of fines and data collection of all circuit courts. Gov. Pat Quinn’s 2011 budget plan, released last week , recommends $245 million to the court’s budget, 14 percent less than the requested $322 million.

The stipend from the state budget is needed to compensate clerks for the great amount of work needed to stay on top on ever-changing legislation and the long hours required, said Becky Jansen, president of the Illinois Association of Circuit Clerks. Jansen said the clerks are being singled out, and there are options, such as grants, the probation department could pursue to cover its deficit.

“We understand there are cuts, but we’ve never asked for an increase,” said Jansen, circuit clerk of Effingham County.  “We want to be treated like the other departments.”

The circuit clerks might pursue legal action to restore their stipend but only as a last resort, Jansen said.

“We don’t want any lawsuit, but we also have to protect ourselves,” she said.

The money needs to be reallocated to prevent the salary cut, Jansen said, and the likelihood of the money coming from other sources, such as local taxes, is slim.

By law, the probation budget needs to be fully funded; in the past year, it saw a 63 percent cut, from $95 million to $36 million, said Joe Tybor, spokesman for the Illinois Supreme Court. The money diverted from the clerks was necessary to help fill the gap, Tybor said, adding that he was unaware whether the clerks’ stipend was mandatory.

“After several months of work, the chief justice pleaded and received $16 million,” he said. “The court views the probation system as being vitally important.”

The cut could affect clerks soon retiring, said Sherri Miller, circuit clerk of Carroll County.

“This cut impacts me personally by eliminating 14 percent of my salary, and it impacts my retirement, which is based on the last four years of income,” Miller said.

While cuts need to be made, they should made applied equally, argued Randy Frese, circuit clerk of Adams County.

“This seems to be a slap in the face to court clerks, Illinois Supreme Court and the Illinois Constitution,” said Frese. “I understand that the state is in a fiscal crisis, and I am willing to negotiate this matter. Let’s start with this — if all wages and expenditures in the state’s budget will be cut by 10 to 20 percent, I will accept a 10 to 20 percent cut gladly.”

Historically, the governor’s budgets have reflected the funds the courts are seeking, said Charles Wheeler, director of the public affairs reporting program at the University of Illinois-Springfield. But this proposed allocation goes against the trend.

Cuts are  also being proposed in other areas even though they run contrary to the law, Wheeler said. The cuts won’t be illegal, Wheeler said, as long as the law is changed to accommodate these cuts.

The clerks plan to rally March 17 at the state capitol to protest the cuts and demand they be restored.

“We are coming to Springfield so the legislators and governor remember us,” said Jansen. “We’re hoping they’ll listen and do their job.”

Rev. Randall Harris of Chicago's Faith Community Church speaks about the loss of Park National Bank during a meeting at the Oak Park Light of Liberty Church of God and Christ on Saturday. (Andrew A. Nelles / Photo for ChicagoTalks.org)

No matter what the outcome in the Park National Bank seizure, the situation has broken down barriers between the Austin community and Oak Park residents.

It’s the silver lining in the cloud that has hung over those two communities since  October. That’s when the popular neighborhood bank, located in Oak Park, was seized by federal regulators, said Rev. Marshall Hatch, a member of the Coalition to Save Community Banking, a grassroots organization formed in response to the takeover and forced sale.

“There’s much less of a barrier between Austin and Oak Park,” said Hatch, representing the New Mount Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church in West Garfield Park. “This has brought people together. It’s a grassroots response to what communities all over the country are feeling as they’re gobbled up by bankers who got bailout money.”

Hatch was one of several speakers at a community meeting Saturday held by the coalition. About 100 people attended the at times sermon-like event, held at the Light of Liberty Church of God and Christ in Oak Park, not far from Park National’s former branch at the corner of Austin and Madison.

The purpose of the meeting was to update attendees on a situation that has caused outcry throughout Oak Park and Chicago’s West Side since federal regulators seized Park National Bank and its parent company and turned operations over to U.S. Bank.

Oak Park business owner Beth Harvey speaks about how the loss of Park National Bank has affected her business. (Andrew A. Nelles / Photo for ChicagoTalks.org)

Park National’s community philanthropy made it unique in the banking world, and many in the area worry about whether U.S. Bank will perform those same community functions. That’s one question Beth Harvey, owner of Harvey House Bed & Breakfast in Oak Park, says she already knows the answer to.

Yet when Harvey recently asked U.S. Bank for a loan, “I was turned down,” she said. “They offered me a credit card.”

Praise on Saturday ran high for River Forest resident Kelly, who was known for lending to customers in Austin and West Garfield Park. After the 2007 closing of Austin High School, Kelly extended a $22 million, no-interest loan to build Christ the King Jesuit College Preparatory School; students began attending class in the new building Jan. 4.

The bank was known for giving zero-percent loans to neighborhood organizations and schools and giving money to community organizations through grants, as well as doing things like cleaning up houses that had been subject to foreclosure.

To ensure that U.S. Bank treats the community the same way, the coalition is trying to negotiate a Community Benefit Agreement with the bank, said Quiwana Reed-Bell, community development director at the Westside Health Authority.

The coalition has several requests for the bank: to honor commitments made by Park National, ensure local hiring and fair lending practices, ensure that foreclosures are not done on a whim and provide grants and funding support, with a community advisory committee directing where monies should go.

Rev. Marshall Hatch speaks to a crowd of about 100 residents Saturday about the October seizure of Park National Bank by federal regulators. (Andrew A. Nelles / Photo for ChicagoTalks.org)

“They’re gonna have a set of standards to live by,” said Reed-Bell. “We’re moving forward with specific expectations.”

“It’s going on three-and-a-half months and we’ve increased in size as well as militancy,’ Redmond said.

The coalition is calling on the bank regulator’s inspector general to investigate the actions against Park National by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), which regulates and supervises all national banks.

Sen. Don Harmon (D-Oak Park), assistant majority leader of the Illinois Senate, said he wants the appropriate committee to continue an investigation of the seizure.

“This is not done yet,” Harmon said.

Meanwhile, Hatch and the coalition’s “rag-tag band of disciples” are holding two events. The debut of “Too Good To Fail,” a documentary about their trip to Washington, D.C., will play at 7 p.m. March 25 at the New Mount Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church, 4301 W. Washington Blvd. in Chicago. A demonstration at the FDIC and U.S. Bank will be held at 9 a.m. March 31, beginning at the Westside Health Authority, 4800 W. Chicago Ave. in Chicago.

“We lost a lot, and we’re not going to take it sitting down,” said Hatch.

Nicholas Myers contributed to this report.

With so many cases on her docket, a visitor to her courtroom may wonder: Does going through cases this fast even make a dent? “We’re going to wipe out domestic violence,” Walowski explains with a smirk. She is only half joking.

Born in Poland, Walowski came to Chicago at the age of 8. While growing up in the Back of the Yards neighborhood, a freak first-hand run-in with the justice system inspired the young Walowski to pursue the law as a career.

Walowski, then in the eighth grade, was witness to a fatal shooting near the corner of 51^st Street and Ashland Avenue, not far from her childhood home. Walowski testified against her neighbor’s killer and promised herself a career as a prosecuting attorney.

“I think that was when I first realized I wanted to be involved in law somehow,” said Walowski, now 41. “It all just seemed so interesting to me.”

Walowski attended Maria High School on Chicago’s South Side. She was awarded several college scholarships and graduated in only three years from the University of Illinois-Chicago.

Walowski then attended IIT’s Kent College of Law and after graduating spent the next 15 years as an Illinois state prosecutor. After nearly two decades of “putting away the bad guys,” Walowski began to consider becoming a judge.

“I eventually decided I wanted to be a judge because I got tired of just putting criminals away,” said Walowski. “I like trying to resolve issues between both sides and coming to a resolution that is fair.”

In 2008, Walowski ran in the 10^th subcircuit and won her first six-year term as a judge. Following a brief stint judging traffic court, Walowski came to Cook County’s Domestic Violence Court, where she has been ever since.

Walowski’s days now consist of a seemingly unending onslaught of case after case. Working in the domestic abuse court means that Walowski often must oversee cases that may seem suspicious to the average person. These, Walowski insists, are among the most frustrating cases in her workload.

“Sometimes I’ll have a situation where a person who has clearly been the victim of abuse will go ahead and drop the charges anyway,” said Walowski. “Those are the cases that can really frustrate you because if the evidence is not there, we have to throw it out and move on.”

Luckily, if the evidence in a case is overwhelming one way or the other, the state can choose to continue to pursue the case even though the accuser does not wish to proceed.

As a prosecutor, Walowski has seen many defendants and witnesses turn their lives around, steering violent gang members away from crime and into college and productive careers.

“They keep in touch with me, and it’s really nice to hear from them,” said Walowski. “That’s the kind of thing that gives me the determination to keep going.”

Walowski now lives in the Lincoln Square area with her 4-month-old son.

Dealing with such unsavory topics as domestic abuse and child endangerment on a daily basis can undoubtedly take its toll. For Walowski, however, it is made bearable by keeping in mind al the good she is doing.

“I see a lot of really negative things, but I see so many positives as well,” said Walowski. “I just hope I am able to help by listening to both sides.”

House Bill 4647, which passed the House 112-1 last month and is currently awaiting a vote in the Senate, would force Chicago Public Schools to start a hotline to collect anonymous tips from people who might otherwise fear reporting crimes to the police. The hotline would be run by the Chicago Police Department, which would investigate each call.

Rep. Chapin Rose (R-Charleston), the only representative to vote against the bill, said this is just another unnecessary expense the state can’t afford.

“We already have this program. It is called 911 and Crime Stoppers,” Rose said. “The state of Illinois is broke. We don’t have enough money to pay our teachers. Our school districts are broke and waiting on back payments. We don’t need this. If there is an immediate threat to someone’s life, we should be dialing 911, not some 1-800 number.”

Davis disagreed. She said students will not call 911; they will not seek out a police officer because they are afraid of the repercussions of being a “snitch.”

“There must be a way for students to call and anonymously report any incidents of violence that they have heard about,” Davis said. “We need to have a way for our children to reach out and report violence without being afraid for their safety.”

Nineteen CPS students have been killed this year, 15 by gunshot, said CPS spokesman Bob Otter.

Ken Trump, president of National School Safety and Services, said there is no guarantee that a hotline will work, but said it will be largely dependent on how well the hotline is promoted.

“School hotlines are just another piece of the puzzle. They are an extra tool for school officials and law enforcement,” Trump said.

If passed, Illinois will join 10 other states that have similar violence prevention hotlines within their cities, including Florida, Michigan and Georgia. Rochelle Finzel, program manager at the National Conference of State Legislators, said besides Colorado, there is no state that has passed legislation on a statewide hotline.

Illinois, along with most states, doesn’t necessarily need a hotline, said Elena Calafell, executive director of Illinois Center for Violence Prevention. Instead, the state needs to implement a comprehensive plan that involves all entities working together to curb violence, she said.

“The statistics are clear: Youth do not turn to adults, instead they turn to their peers,” she said. “Having a mechanism or vehicle for the students to report violence anonymously is a great idea, but it is a very small part of the puzzle and one that I don’t think will be utilized a great deal.”

Some supports say an anonymous tip line would help get around a community “code of silence” that often stifles law enforcement efforts.

“There is a fear that young men and women have and they won’t break the code of silence, even if it’s anonymous,” Tio Hardiman, director of Ceasefire Illinois said. “They are always afraid someone is going to find out that they snitched. We have to change those mindsets before these programs will work.”

Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie (D-Chicago) didn’t agree. She said if there was concern, the bill wouldn’t have overwhelmingly passed.

“If this is something that the Chicago Police Department and Chicago Public Schools, among other entities, don’t agree with, it would be a surprise to me,” she said. “I would have thought they would have made their concern known to someone. Obviously they didn’t. The vote was 112-1.”

The Chicago Police Department and Chicago Public Schools declined repeated requests for comment.

Trump said ensuring students’ safety needs to become a priority again.

“We have to put our money where our mouth is,” he said. “It is one thing to say that school safety and violence prevention is the top priority, but that has to be reflected in the budget, otherwise it is more rhetoric than priority.”

Ron Holmes, a spokesman for Sen. Jacqueline Collins (D-Chicago), a co-sponsor for the bill in the Senate, said there has been a lot of support for the bill, and they expect it to see it on the calendar this week.

Kelsey.Duckett@loop.colum.edu

Illinois lawmakers are currently pondering two child helmet bills. HB 6114, introduced by Rep. Julie Hamos (D-Evanston) at the urging of the American Academy of Pediatrics, would require kids 17 and under to wear helmets while biking on any public road or sidewalk, or their parents would face a $30 fine. Sen. Ira Silverstein (D-Chicago) is leading a similar bill through the Senate, which would apply to kids 15 and younger.

Helmet advocates and doctors argue the law is a common sense way to prevent brain injury. Wearing helmets would prevent up to 45,000 head injuries per year in the U.S., said Scott Allen, executive director of the Illinois chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Children ages 5 to 14, the age bracket where bike injuries are most common, would especially benefit, he said.

But not all biking advocates are on board with the bill, and motorcyclists and equestrians – leery that their heads will be lawmakers’ next target – are fighting it too.

Rob Sadowsky, executive director for the Active Transportation Alliance, said his group supports helmet wearing for all ages but has found that helmet laws are not effective. Supporting this is the fact that Chicago has one of the highest rates of helmet wearing in the country, he said, even though it is not required by law.

Bike safety education is a better way to get the message out, Sadowsky said, but neither Hamos’ or Silverstein’s bill comes with money for a public awareness campaign.

“The law alone is not enough to change behavior,” Sadowsky said. “You have to tie it to education.” He likened the helmet legislation to the state’s seatbelt laws, which did not gain traction with motorists until the state poured money into a “Click It or Ticket” campaign.

But opponents’ biggest concern is that a helmet law could open the floodgates to a number of intrusive laws.

“The risks of a head injury while biking is comparable to walking, rollerblading, even showering,” Sadowsky said. “At some point, we have to be very careful. Do we need a helmet for every activity?”

Motorcycle advocates say we don’t, and argue that a helmet law would be a step in the wrong direction toward big government. They successfully lobbied against an earlier bill by Hamos that would have required children to wear helmets while riding on the back of motorcycles.

“The belief is that government is there to protect you from yourself,” said George Tinkham, spokesman for the Illinois motorcyclist advocacy group ABATE. “The situation is not so dire that mommy and daddy have to be pushed aside and big brother has to step in.”

Child helmet laws are already on the books in five Illinois cities – Barrington, Cicero, Inverness, Libertyville and Skokie.

Kathy Phelan, trauma coordinator at Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital in Barrington, said she has seen a “significant decrease” in bike-related head traumas in her 29 years at the hospital, largely because of a surge in helmet wearing. She was unsure if the drop was due to the city’s 1997 law mandating helmets for children under 17 or changing public opinion.

“When I was a kid, you wouldn’t be caught dead wearing a helmet. You’d be a total dork,” agreed Mike Deering, spokesman for the Barrington hospital. “Now you wouldn’t dare let (your kids) go out without a helmet on.”

Advocate Good Shepherd has held several bike helmet giveaways, Phelan said. The hospital also gives free helmets to bike injury patients when they do not own one or when their helmet has been cracked in an accident.

This code of silence helps to protect criminals, perpetuate retaliation and hinder police in their investigative efforts, Weis said, especially in low-income and tight-knit communities.

Weis focused on student safety in his Feb. 18 address to the small crowd, saying that many student victims tell police, “I’ll handle it myself.” Weis believes this attitude perpetuates a circle of violence, and he hopes the “Silence Kills” campaign can begin to bring an end to the code of silence with its slogan: “Stop the violence, stop the silence, because silence kills.”

The campaign, funded through federal stimulus money, includes ads in television, radio and print intended to show the brutality and lasting damage of gun crimes.

The primary purpose of police board meetings is to allow civilians a venue to air their frustrations and concerns to members of the board. Citizens who spoke at the recent meeting were largely concerned with police misconduct, specifically the case of 11-year-old Timia Williams, who was allegedly assaulted by three police officers in May 2001.

“The code of silence is justified by the fact that these officers are still on the force,” said Larry Marshall, a close family member of Williams, who said there is a serious lack of public confidence and trust in the Chicago Police Department. Marshall questioned why citizens who do not trust police officers would willingly divulge information to them, regardless of the benefits to a specific case.

Marshall’s friend George Smith, 48, spoke out against the “renegade” officers who allegedly assaulted Williams, delivering a loud and agitated speech that ranged in topic from the earthquake in Haiti to alleged police brutality on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

The board itself is composed of appointed civilians who earn a salary of $15,000 per year. Board members review case files and vote on action to be taken.

During the meeting, the board announced they had overturned the department’s recommendation to fire three officers accused of conducting illegal searches through the use of illegal warrants.

Chicago Justice Project Executive Director Tracy Siska calls this a disturbing trend.

Siska said there has been a two-thirds reduction in disciplinary action taken against police officers accused of misconduct. He heads the Justice Project in an attempt to make police department activity more accountable to the public.

Siska hopes to create more transparency in the Chicago Police Department in order to better regulate and prosecute misconduct. Civilians will eventually be able to, through the Project, trace a 911 call from answer to dispatch. Citizens will also be able to log onto the Project Web site and follow a case from start to finish, including any reports or complaints filed.

Police board members refused to answer questions from media at the meeting, and no one answered the number listed on their Web site. The answering service had one option: To file a complaint, press one.

In the meantime, lawmakers are struggling to pass a new bill that will stand up to future challenges. Illinois is just one of 30 states to have passed a moment of silence law. In Texas and Virginia, those laws were challenged but upheld. But in Illinois, Judge Robert W. Gettleman found the law promoted prayer in schools and was illegal.

Attorneys on Feb. 10 faced off in a packed courtroom, with the state arguing the law is critical because it helps students focus and critics arguing the law crosses the boundary between church and state.

Assistant Illinois Attorney General Rachel Murphy argued on behalf of all school districts in Illinois. Murphy defended the Illinois Silent Reflection and Student Prayer Act, which requires that students begin the school day with a silent prayer or reflection on the upcoming activities of the day.

Students are given choices under the law, and now children who were otherwise afraid to pray can do so, said Murphy.

“The law is mandatory so all students have the opportunity to reflect on whatever they wish,” Murphy said.

Robert Sherman, a former radio talk show host and self-proclaimed atheist, sued in October 2007 once the law became mandatory. Sherman’s daughter, Dawn, was a freshman at Buffalo Grove High School, where the moment of silence was in effect for a month before the court granted an injunction preventing schools from participating.

Sherman said his daughter doesn’t need to waste valuable school time when she’s competing with other students to get into college.

“Dawn’s in honors AP and ranks 15 out of 498 students,” said Sherman. “Dawn is told by the general assembly to stand for a moment of silence; it’s not fair to Dawn.”

Students can pray before or after school and the law puts pressure on children to pray during school, argued Sherman’s attorney, Richard Grossman.

“These are impressionable children of a tender age and tend to find teachers to be authoritative and we have teachers encouraging students to pray,” Grossman said.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) argued the law discriminates against students. ACLU attorney Adam Schwartz objected to the word “prayer” being mentioned at all.

“As soon as there’s a prayer option, it encourages students to pray,” said Schwartz. “It sorts all religions into winners and losers and some religious traditions can’t be accommodated by a moment of silence. It’s stigmatizing.”

Teachers in Chicago have refrained from instituting the moment of silence and won’t act until the court decides, said Rosemaria Genova, spokeswoman for the Chicago Teachers Union.

Rep. William Davis (D-East Hazel Crest), who co-sponsored the controversial bill, said while he wanted to ensure a moment of silence was mandatory, the law does not require students to pray. He said students participate in other activities to help them focus on their studies and aren’t targeted in the same way.

“I just saw on the news a teacher doing yoga with students after lunch as a way for the students to focus,” said Davis. “Like that teacher, our sole purpose was to calm students down.”

Davis agreed the more expedient way would be to see what other states have done and mirror their language, but he said he will wait to see what the court decides. The great thing about the legislature is there is always another legislative session to change the law, Davis said.

Rep. John Fritchey (D-Chicago) introduced an amendment in January 2009 that removed the word “prayer” and replaced it with “silent reflection” and “silent meditation.” Although it passed the House, Fritchey’s chief of staff, Dave Kornecki, said it has been sitting on a shelf because it hit a roadblock in the Senate.

“It’s being held hostage in the Senate,” said Kornecki. “There’s full support in the House, and the intent of Rep. Fritchey is still there to get the bill passed.”

State Rep. Deb Mell (D-Chicago) introduced a bill last month that would force chains such as McDonald’s, Burger King, Subway and Potbelly to disclose on their menu boards the number of calories contained in each meal.

“I found my idea from last summer when I took a short trip to New York City. I saw that restaurants have to disclose information,” said Mell.

Mell, a first-term lawmaker and daughter of longtime Chicago Ald. Richard Mell (33rd), said she found the information useful because she was counting calories using an application on her iPhone.

“I am amazed how [many restaurants in Illinois] we have, and we don’t know what the ingredients are [in each entree]. Sure, there are nutritional fact sheets, but nobody will pay attention when ordering,” she said.

Mell said the new measure would not cost a lot of money because chains already calculate the calories, and they would only have to pay for reprinting the menus.

Jeff Cronin, communications director for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a national advocacy group for healthier eating, applauded the new bill.

“Labeling on menu boards really helps to control consumers’ weight and health,” Cronin said.

Cronin said his group has been working with New York City officials since that city’s legislation was enforced in 2008. Since that time, there has been a big impact on public perceptions.

According to an online survey reported by the Center for Science in the Public Interest, after consumers learned the calorie count of menu items, 71 percent of the people said they wanted to order lower-calorie options. Also, 51 percent said they would no longer order certain items.

The survey was conducted in early 2009, nearly a year after the law had taken effect, among 755 consumers who live in the five New York City boroughs.

“A new law could be a powerful tool to provide information, but we don’t know if consumers would change their habits,” said Dawn Jackson Blatner, a registered dietician and spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association.

Blatner said focusing on fast-food restaurants is a good start because two out of every three people in the county are overweight and fast-food restaurants offer food that is high in calories.

Some would like to extend the idea of posting calories counts to more restaurants.

Denise Wilson, a communications officer for Burger King, said the fast-food chain is fully compliant with current local regulations to post calories on restaurant menu boards.

However, Wilson said the company supports the Labeling Education and Nutrition Act (LEAN Act) introduced last year in the U.S. Congress because it would create a standard for the industry in all 50 states.

Besides Illinois, a dozen other states have introduced labeling laws, but only four have signed them into law. California will be the first one to enforce its law in January 2011. Maine, New Jersey and Oregon will follow suit a short time later.

“Currently, there is a growing patchwork of inconsistent state and local laws governing menu labeling. We will roll out consistent nutritional in-restaurant menu labeling once a federal standard is enacted,” said Wilson.

The National Restaurant Association also said the industry needs a national approach.

“Unfortunately, the current legislation is not the right approach for consumers to get the right information,” said spokeswoman Sue Hensley.

She said the association wants to develop a label that could be similar to the nutrition facts that can be found on food packages.

“It’s like somebody sticking a pillow over you and you’re trying to breathe through it,” said Buckley, who lives on the North Side of Chicago. “Treatments at the hospital are the only thing that helps.”

For years, Buckley and other Cook County residents have been breathing some of the worst air in the nation. That could change with a new regulation set last month by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency strengthening air quality standards for nitrogen dioxide, a main offender of urban air pollution.

Currently, Cook County is the only county nationwide failing to meet the new regulation. But others could join the county when revised monitoring requirements lead to a greater number of sites being monitored.

“I suspect once the monitors are up and running, there will be more areas than Cook County,” said Doug Aburano, environmental engineer with the U.S. EPA’s downtown office.

Nitrogen dioxide, or NO2, is a pollutant from cars, trucks, and burning coal, oil or natural gas, as well as power plants and boilers. It can trigger asthma and bronchitis attacks, and elevated NO2 levels are associated with increased airway reactivity, worsened asthma and increases in respiratory illnesses and symptoms. The agency says the new rule will protect public health, including those with asthma, children and the elderly.

Aburano said the older standard is not protective of human health for those with and without breathing problems. Yet some clean air advocates say the new standard still is not tight enough.

“U.S. EPA was looking at a range of options for setting the NO2 standard, and unfortunately they picked the absolute weakest option,” said Brian Urbaszewski, director of environmental health programs for the Respiratory Health Association of Metropolitan Chicago.

Chicago is an “asthma epicenter” with an asthma hospitalization rate nearly double the national average, Urbaszewski said. He said some new medical research on NO2 was not considered in the EPA decision, and research published two months ago indicated breathing nitrogen dioxide NO2 diminishes the effectiveness of medicine in asthma inhalers, rendering rescue inhalers less able to counter effects of an asthma attack. Higher NO2 levels were also correlated to more senior citizens developing pneumonia in another recent study.

“Changing the air quality standard is not going to make air pollution better or worse, it’s only changing the yardstick we use to measure whether air pollution levels are unhealthy,” Urbaszewski said. “If it’s set too low, or we fail to measure air pollution where we know it’s highly concentrated—near major roads—then people aren’t going to get accurate information they can use to protect themselves.”

If in violation of the new standards, a state will have to develop a plan to reduce emissions so the level in the environment will be below standards. This means coming up with enough emission reductions so that it no longer exceeds that air pollution number. This can be done by setting up new programs, enacting new industrial rules and requiring new pollution controls on big polluters, Urbaszewski said.

Meanwhile, Buckley said she’ll take a wait-and-see attitude to see if the tighter regulation makes a difference in the way she breathes.

“We’ll see how it works out,” she said. “But it’s definitely a good start.”

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With Illinois’ unemployment rate at a staggering 11 percent, employers can afford to be more selective in whom they hire. But a new bill could give job seekers with bad credit a fighting chance in landing a position.

Rep. Jack Franks (D-Woodstock) has introduced a bill, HB4658, creating the Employee Credit Privacy Act, which would protect applicants who believe they were discriminated against because of their poor credit. Washington and Hawaii have passed similar laws restricting credit checks by employers; a credit check ban approved Monday by the Oregon legislature will go into effect July 1.

While employers say credit information is vital because it is an important part of the screening process, opponents say such information is private and irrelevant to job performance.

Franks said business associations are fighting the bill, but the measure is a necessary step to help job seekers in this failing economy. The need for the bill struck him on a family road trip, he said, when he saw a former growth area littered with foreclosure signs hit hard by the recession.

“I want to protect individuals who through no fault of their own have lost their jobs,” said Franks. “Their credit goes into the tank, and they can’t get another job. It’s a perpetual cycle.”

Franks said that the rights of the business owner should be weighed against the public benefit. As a business owner, Franks said he understands both sides of the issue but doesn’t want to create a permanent underclass.

“Let people have a second chance,” Franks said.

Historically, 28 percent of companies have used credit checks on selected applicants, but over the past year that number has spiked to 47 percent, according to a 2010 survey from the Society for Human Resource Management.

Mike Walters, executive director of the Southwest Illinois Employers Association, said the bill restricts business owners and employers. Employers need to have as much information as they can get in hiring, he said, and the proposed legislation severely limits that ability.

“If an individual contracts someone for a job, they have a right to see if the person they hire has defaulted on payments,” said Walters. “If it’s good for the individual, it should be good for employers.”

Walters questioned how the bill would be enforced and whether employers would take their business out of the state if the bill passed.

“If you have any common business sense, you’d understand this is a bad bill,” said Walters.

University of California-Los Angeles Public Policy Department Chair Michael Stoll said while employers should not discriminate against people with lower credit scores, there are instances when accessing a person’s credit information can be a valuable instrument.

Stoll said employers might try to find ways around the restriction by discriminating against low-income applicants. The bill could have unintended consequences and should be limited in order to be effective, he said.

Mark Denzler, spokesman for the Illinois Manufacturers Association, said he opposes the bill because it restricts the use of an important tool employers use when evaluating job applicants. The law already protects certain individuals who have bad history, said Denzler. Under current law, credit reports can’t disclose bankruptcy cases more than 10 years old, or civil suits and tax liens older than seven years.

Denzler said employers only check a small percentage of applicants because of the credit checks’ cost — $15 per applicant.

“Employers don’t do credit checks on everyone,” Denzler said. “From the time a person applies to a final stage of interviews, there is an opportunity for employees to explain they’ve gone through a rough patch.”

Credit checks serve a more important purpose than simply providing an applicant’s credit history; they verify previous employment and former addresses, Denzler said. Credit checks also protect employers from lawsuits if they fail to properly check an applicant.

“I understand the man or woman who has fallen on hard times, but the employers have a right to vet their applicants,” Denzler said.

Over 12,000 people this winter visited the ice rink, which was located for the first time this winter on the northwest parking lot of Wrigley Field, according to Chicago Park District spokeswoman Monique Lehman.

“Compared to last winter’s 10,623 patrons (who visited) Midway Plaisance Ice Rink on 59th Street and Woodlawn Avenue, the Wrigley ice rink was competitive,” Lehman said.

But, Lehman said, the Wrigley rink did not produce as much money as hoped for the park district, returning only about $72,000 of a $300,000 investment by funders. This leaves organizers unsure whether the rink will return next winter.

If the rink had generated excess revenue , it would be used to fund its reopening. But the rink did not meet that mark, said Max Bever, community outreach director for Ald. Tom Tunney (44th), who is also a funder for the rink.

“The rink was an experiment,” said Bever. “It’s possible that it may open up next year, but its depends on funds.”

Using outside funders is not unusual for the park district; most district projects rely on state funds, aldermen’s menu money and/or private sponsors, Lehman said.

Other rink sponsors included the Ricketts family, the Chicago Cubs, the city of Chicago, Westrec Marinas, the Blackhawks, McDonald’s, Harey Carey’s and the Central Lakeview Merchants Association.

Sponsors and organizers met on Nov. 9 to lay out plans for the rink. Their money, along with funds from the park district, covered the expenses. Westrec Marinas built the rink, which opened Dec. 19.

Kevin Jericho’s family of three visited the rink around five times this winter, but he thought it was pricey.

“I thought it was expensive.” said the Lakeview resident. “So we brought our own skates and season passes.”

Admission to the rink was $10 for adults and $6 for children, plus an additional fee for skate rentals. All proceeds helped offset the city’s costs — about $100,000, said Lehman.

Whether the rink will reopen next winter depends largely on the community’s response and support. To voice your opinion, contact Ald. Tunney’s office at 773-525-6034 or via email at ward44@cityofchicago.org, Bever said.

“The park (district’s) efforts alone wouldn’t make it happen again, ” said Lehman. “It would require community effort.”

Columbia Sportswear and the non-profit Active Transportation Alliance are teaming up to celebrate the opening of Columbia Sportswear’s first Chicago store.

For the store’s Grand Opening weekend, from Friday, March 12 – Sunday, March 14, the Active Transportation Alliance will receive 10 percent of all gross sales at the store. Active Trans members will also get a 20 percent discount through a members-only coupon. There will also be live music and giveaway prizes.

WHAT: Columbia Sportwear Grand Opening

WHEN: Friday, March 12 – Sunday March 14

WHERE: 830 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago

Mohamed, who lives in a 1920s property in East Rogers Park, hadn’t noticed any unusual symptoms in Zachary, now 8. She soon learned, however, that her apartment was filled with lead paint.

She was told at the time that her son’s lead level could cause a decrease in I.Q. and difficulties with behavior. Today, although Zachary is “doing excellent,” he was slow in learning to read and sometimes has behavioral issues. That could be attributed to the fact that he’s a typical 8-year-old boy.

“But you sort of wonder,” Mohamed said.

Mohamed was happy to hear about the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s new Renovation, Repair and Painting regulation that takes effect April 22. Philip King, the environmental protection specialist with the U.S. EPA’s Chicago-based Region 5 office, called the rule’s scope “probably the most comprehensive to date because it covers private homes.”

The regulation requires contractors and other paid workers to be EPA-certified when replacing windows or renovating residential houses, apartments and child-occupied facilities built before 1978, when lead-based paint was banned. The rule protects kids from leaded dust resulting from sanding or demolition in old houses.

Exposure to lead is not safe at any age; it can affect how a child’s brain grows and develops, as well as their behavior, cognitive skills, attention problems and I.Q.

The rule will protect 1.4 million children under the age of 6 annually, said Rebecca Morley, executive director of the Maryland-based National Center for Healthy Housing.

“It’s one of the most major regulations the EPA is doing this year,” Morley said.

There are 8.4 million renovation and repair jobs done annually across the U.S., affecting as many as 212,000 firms and 230,000 contractors, Morley said. Under the regulation, every job site in a pre-1978 house will need a certified renovator that has completed a $186, eight-hour course from an accredited training provider. The cost is $300 to become an accredited trainer.

The regulation will be enforced by the U.S. EPA. However, if Illinois becomes authorized by the EPA to conduct the program, it will become the Illinois Department of Public Health’s responsibility, said Sam Churchill, manager of the Illinois Department of Public Health’s Illinois Lead Program. Non-compliers could be fined up to $32,500 per day, he said, depending on various factors.

The number of children in Illinois with lead poisoning appears to be decreasing. In 2000, 23,063 Illinois children were identified with a blood lead level of 10 or greater, which is the number that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends taking action at, Churchill said. In 2007, that number decreased to 5,280, and in 2008, slightly more than 5,000 children had elevated blood lead levels. Yet experts say that no level of lead is safe for children.

“What we hope is that the generation of a lead hazard will be decreased in kids,” said Churchill.

Dr. Helen Binns, professor of pediatrics at Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine and director of the Lead Evaluation Clinic at Children’s Memorial Hospital, said a survey of lead homes in the United States shows that nationally, 87 percent of homes built before 1940 have lead paint somewhere inside. That number drops to 69 percent for homes built between 1940 and 1959, and 24 percent for homes built from 1960 to 1977.

“So if you’re in an older house, which is most of the city of Chicago, there is a high likelihood lead is somewhere in your home,” Binns said.

Dean Amici, owner of the Chicago-based Amici Builders, said homeowners should now expect to add at least 10 percent cost-wise to a renovation. Property values and home sales on older properties could also be affected, he said.

“It’s gonna jack up the cost of remodeling for the average person through the ceiling,” Amici said.

Amici said he hasn’t seen any information or advertising regarding training or certification. “I think they’re going to have a (tough) time enforcing it,” he said. “It’ll be a field day for the lawyers.”

The Illinois Department of Public Health Lead Program is holding a series of meetings informing the public about the new rule, although none are scheduled in Chicago. Churchill said when scheduling the events, costs of the venue, parking, traffic, etc. were taken into consideration after speaking with possibly attendees.

Three Chicago-area meetings will be held at the following locations:

* Aurora Meeting
Tuesday, March 23
9 a.m. – noon
(8:30 a.m. Continental breakfast)
Holiday Inn, 2424 W. Sullivan Road

* Gurnee Meeting
Thursday, Feb. 18
9 a.m. – noon
(8:30 a.m. Continental breakfast)
Vista Hotel & Conference Center
6161 W. Grand Avenue

* Lisle Meeting
Wednesday, Feb. 17
9 a.m. – noon
(8:30 a.m. Continental breakfast)
Hyatt – Lisle Ballroom
1400 Corporetum Drive

To fight this growing problem, Rep. Greg Harris (D-Chicago) introduced House Bill 4672, which would require teachers, principals, guidance counselors and all personnel who work with students in grades 7 through 12 to be trained in suicide prevention two hours each year.

Harris joined forces with the Jason Foundation, which was founded by Clark Flatt after his son, Jason, committed suicide at 16. Harris said youth suicide is preventable — if teachers and school officials know what to look out for.

“When it comes to our schools, youth organizations and various programs, suicide just isn’t on the radar as something that a 12-year-old could be planning,” Harris said. “Ninety percent of the time, these kids are reaching out. We just don’t know how to recognize it.”

In the case of 10-year-old Aquan Lewis, the Evanston student who hanged himself by his shirt collar on a hook in an Oakton Elementary School restroom stall on Feb. 2, 2009, officials said the fifth-grader had made threats about killing himself.

Dr. Ron Davidson, professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Illinois at Chicago, agreed that there are almost always warning signs leading up to a suicide. In the case of Lewis, Davidson said he had serious concerns.

“It seemed this was a situation that could have been avoided. The boy made some kind of statement announcing his plans and how he was feeling, and it either wasn’t listened to or he wasn’t taken seriously,” he said.

Relatives of Lewis have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the school district alleging that Evanston-Skokie School District 65 was negligent. Attorney Todd Smith, who is representing the family, couldn’t be reached for comment.

Oakton Elementary school officials also couldn’t be reached for comment.

If passed, Illinois would be the fifth state to pass legislation requiring in-service training for all school officials. In 2007, Tennessee became the first state to pass the Jason Flatt Act, followed by Louisiana, Mississippi and California. The Jason Foundation has trained 117,000 teachers so far and is currently working with five other states to pass legislation.

“It is not the only thing any state should do, but it is the single most important thing any state should do,” said Clark Flatt, chief executive officer of the Jason Flatt Foundation. “The single most important aspect of suicide prevention is training and specifically training the teachers and school officials to be able to recognize at-risk behavior.”

Davidson said he “whole-heartedly” agrees that the bill should be passed.

“It is absolutely necessary,” he said.

Flatt said the Jason Foundation, along with all organizations involved with suicide prevention, would provide free training to all school personnel.

Mary Kay Dawson, a legislative volunteer for the Jason Foundation who is working with state legislators to get the bill passed, said suicide is the third leading cause of death among young people and “is a real problem.”

“There has been great support in Illinois,” she said. “Everyone agrees with the bill in theory. We are just working on language so when we bring the bill to the table everyone is in agreement. We want this to be a team effort.”

Davidson said he is concerned when he hears any kind of objection to this type of bill.

“Lay the body of a dead child next to the issues people have against this bill, and I am certain the body of a dead child trumps any sort of irresponsible response to not taking immediate action,” he said.

Harris said he hopes there will be vote on the bill next month.

“Typically, these are organizations that are in competition against each other for limited state dollars, but instead we are banding together to say there is not enough state money,” said Daniel Schwick, assistant to the president of Lutheran Social Services of Illinois.

The Responsible Budget Coalition, with 40 buses of supporters in tow, went to Springfield Feb. 16, where they held a press conference at the state Capitol, followed by a rally in support of House Bill 174 on Feb. 17.

“It’s hard; people don’t understand that this is really about them,” said John Bouman, leader of the Responsible Budget Coalition and president of the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law. “If we don’t get this done the right way, we will see everything from teacher layoffs to whole institutions closing.”

House Bill 174 would raise the state personal and corporate income tax from 3 to 5 percent and expand the state sales tax to certain consumer services. It would also provide tax relief by raising the personal exemption from $2,000 to $3,000, doubling the state property tax credit and tripling the Earned Income Tax Credit, which targets low-income families.

This increase would fall only on those who can afford it, said Rev. Alexander Sharp, executive director of Protestants for the Common Good, because the bill will include tax credits for those who cannot afford to pay more.

Instead of a progressive income tax that applies a greater share of the burden to wealthier taxpayers, Illinois is currently one of only six states to have a fixed income tax. So the state’s poorest residents pay 3 percent of their income in state tax, as do Illinois’ wealthiest citizens.

The bill was passed through the Senate last May, and is now waiting on an approval from the House.

Sharp said citizens are fighting against tax increases because they aren’t aware of the services they will lose due to a lack of funding.

“I think there is a mentality that is really unwilling to pay for services that we expect to be provided for us. We have to rise above that and realize the needs of our state,” Sharp said.

Kathy Ryg, president of Voices for Illinois Children, said it is crucial the bill is approved before the Nov. 2 general election, which is why the coalition has started the “We Can’t Wait” campaign.

“We feel very strongly that any delay on having a responsible budget will be very costly to the state as far as programs and services and successful initiatives go. They will either be gone, or their funding will be inadequate to meet the needs of the state,” Ryg said.

Ryg said the current deficit for the 2011 budget is $12.8 billion, which includes unpaid bills to social service agencies and state vendors.

Rep. David Miller (D-Dolton), a supporter of HB174, said he hopes now that the Feb. 2 primary election is past, the legislation will move forward.

“We have proved we can pass the bill in the Senate, now we need to see what we can do with it from here,” Miller said.

“Here, anything is good,” said Naama. “It’s a good life—a nice one.”

Naama is one of an estimated 2,400 Iraqi refugees to resettle to Illinois over the last 2 ½ years, one of 18,000 who have resettled nationwide. The resettlement process, experts say, isn’t easy. But for those like Naama who fled a world of chaos, resettlement is the crisp red apple on the tree of freedom.

Naama, who had fled Iraq for Lebanon, arrived in the United States on July 27, 2009. His wife, Bernadette, 28, came with him. The two met in Lebanon where Bernadette Naama, originally from the Philippines, had originally gone to find work. But because she had been working without proper paperwork, her husband had to pay a hefty fine to get her out of the country.

“He insisted to pay because he didn’t want to go to America without me,” she said. “When we were inside the plane, we felt very safe.”

Once in Chicago, workers from the Heartland Alliance Refugee and Immigrant Community Services (RICS) met the couple and helped them get in touch with her aunt, who they lived with for about two months. But the tight living situation caused tension in their relationship. Bernadette said she and her husband were fighting all the time.

She said when her husband first came to the United States, he had a hard time getting used to the idea that he was a free person because he had gone from a dictatorial government to a democracy.

“It was so hard for my husband,” she said.

But now that the couple has their own apartment, Bernadette said things have become much more pleasant. Still, she said there is a lot of hurt hiding behind her husband’s broad smile and jovial laughter.

“He’s just pretending to be happy,” she said.

Sattar Naama left Iraq for Lebanon in 2000 in hopes of finding work. He returned for a visit in May 2008 after finding out his brother, Muhammad, had been killed by terrorists. On May 13, when Naama and his sister were in his car, a white car with four men wearing black masks showing only their eyes pulled alongside them. Naama noticed at least one of the men had a gun. The man pointed the gun at him and questioned him.

“They said, ‘Why did you come to Iraq—because your father died?’” said Naama. His father had died recently as well. Then the man said, “’I kill you now.’”

Tires screeched as Naama pulled away from the men and made a U-turn in the narrow street; one of the masked men pointed a gun at him again. As he started driving off, the pop of a gunshot echoed through the air. When Naama looked over at his sister, she was dead.

“I need to forget it, but I can’t,” said Naama. He said his family is the biggest thing he misses about Iraq now and that he has no plans of ever going back. He also misses the perks of his job in Lebanon as a supervisor of a cleaning company.

“I had money, a car—I had everything,” said Naama. He said he’s happy, though, because he just got a job working six days a week at Little Lady Foods, a frozen food manufacturer in Elk Grove Village, Ill.

The job requires him to make a 2½-hour trip each morning, which means he has to leave his apartment by 3 a.m. to make it there on time. The reddish tint to his dark eyes shows how the traveling has affected him. But he has a job nonetheless.

Sarah Cady, senior program officer of reception and placement at the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI), said it’s often hard for refugees to find employment once in the country.

“We really want clients to become self-sufficient earlier, and with the economic downturn,” said Cady, “it’s become more of a challenge.”

She said the steps for successful resettlement in the U.S. involve having an adequate amount of culturally competent people on staff to help refugees and the ability for refugees to have access to employment, housing, case management and English language services.

Naama is taking an English class at the Heartland Alliance and though he has progressed a lot, his English still waivers at some points.

“It’s very hard for him to learn English,” said Bernadette Naama. Thankfully, she is relatively fluent in English and helps her husband when she can.

Ed Silverman, bureau chief of Immigrant and Refugee Services at the Illinois Department of Human Services, said learning English is crucial.

“The fact of the matter is, the better your English, the higher your pay is going to be,” said Silverman. “Learning English is a primary survival tool.”

Silverman said refugee resettlement is a long process. He said it takes a minimum of three years before refugee families find economic stability. And in Lebanon, where Naama and his wife had been living prior to coming to the United States, things are very unstable.

“In Lebanon, the situation is challenging,” said Elizabeth Campbell, a senior advocate for Refugees International. She said Lebanon has a history of political instability and division. USCRI estimates there are 50,600 Iraqi asylum seekers and refugees in Lebanon. Those refugees, said Campbell, are “generally viewed with a certain amount of suspicion and fear.”

Bernadette Naama said she and her husband were definitely an oddity to the Lebanese. She said that though the people at first came across as very kind and polite, they would regularly talk about her behind her back.

“The people there are all biting you at the back,” she said.

One afternoon, while Naama was waiting for his wife to come down from getting something in an apartment, a group of about 11 Lebanese men threatened to attack him because he wouldn’t move his car from the side of the road.

They said “’you better move your car or we’re going to kick you.”’ When his answer was no, one of the men came over to Naama and slapped him. What saved him was the screwdriver he had in his glove compartment. He waved the screwdriver around and the group of men disappeared.

Bernadette Naama said she only misses her friends in Lebanon—not the country itself. “If there is worse than hell, we can compare it to that,” she said.

Campbell said the Lebanese government does not recognize any refugees other than those from Palestine. Lebanon, she said, does not regard the 1951 Refugee Convention, which was put in place by the United Nations to protect refugees worldwide. The U.S. is one of the 147 countries the United Nations Refugee Agency lists as compliant to the guidelines set up by the 1951 convention.

Campbell said the U.S. resettles a maximum of 70,000 to 80,000 refugees each year—a number more than all other countries combined. She said Australia and Canada had the next largest numbers, resettling about 15,000 refugees worldwide. European countries, she said, had the smallest numbers, resettling between 30 and 2,500 refugees annually.

Silverman said Iraqi refugees were the most recent to come to the U.S. and that he didn’t expect them to stop coming any time soon. “I expect Iraqi refugees to be coming for the next 20 years,” said Silverman. He mentioned that it took 25 years for Vietnamese and Bosnian refugees to go back to their countries.

What often anchors refugees to the U.S., said Silverman, is having children.

Bernadette Naama said she hopes to have children someday, but right now they are focused on saving enough money to move to a different apartment and escape their noisy neighbors—who are often heard partying through the apartment’s unforgiving thin walls.

Naama said he hopes the move will happen within the next few months. He wants to get a car and move to either Des Plaines or Skokie.

He said coming to America had been his dream ever since he was about 15 years old and saw America for the first time on TV. “I love America,” he said.

Another thing he loves is soccer. Every month or so, Naama and a few other Iraqis play soccer on the street corner. His favorite soccer team is from Barcelona. He rarely misses a game on TV and looks up team scores online.

“That’s his addiction—Barcelona,” said Bernadette Naama, laughing.

“I love Barcelona,” said Naama. “My wife and then Barcelona.”

“I have a terrible medical history, and smoking cannabis for medical purpose improved my lifestyle by 80 percent,” said the 54-year-old, who did not want to be fully identified for fear of being arrested.

Lisa’s situation could change soon if the Illinois General Assembly passes a measure that would allow for the medical use of marijuana, joining a dozen other states with similar law already on the books.

The bill, called the Compassionate Use of Medical Marijuana Pilot Program Act, is sponsored by Sen. William Haine (D-Alton).

The Illinois Senate approved the measure last spring with a close 30-28 vote, and it cleared the House Rules Committee at the end of January. The bill is now on the calendar for a final debate before voting.

Gov. Pat Quinn said earlier this year that he supports the use of medical marijuana.

Under Senate Bill 1381, Illinoisans would be allowed to have six cannabis plants, no more than three of which can be mature, during a 60-day period. The original bill set a limit of seven plants.

It would also establish a patient registry to control cannabis distribution. Patients or caregivers who distribute marijuana to someone who is not allowed to use it for medical purposes could face a $2,000 fine and up to two years in prison.

With the new law, Lisa said she would live in peace of mind and have a better control about the pot she purchases.

“Right now, I have to be really careful because I do not know the quality or where the product I am inhaling came from,” said Lisa. “With the new law, I could make sure to get an organic product and not chemical.”

The Illinois Family Institute, a group that promotes the protection of traditional family values, argues that cannabis should not be legalized for any medical reason.

“We believe that kids and teenagers could think that cannabis is like a pill for relaxing, and Illinois would have a higher rate of young users,” said Kathy Valente, director of operations of the group. She said she based her statement on a study from the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse.

Valente said THC, a substance in marijuana, is already present in many medications, and people should use those instead of an illegal drug.

The Illinois State Medical Society also opposes the bill.

“We are against the use of cannabis for medical purposes because there is no scientific evidence that it could be good for patients,” said the society’s president-elect, Steven Malkin.

Malkin said there are many anecdotes about the use of marijuana, but smoking and inhaling any substance is not healthy and not the right way to administer treatment.

Dan Linn, executive director of the Illinois Cannabis Patients Association, disagrees.

“The patients and the doctors should decide what is  best, and the law should not be influenced by other people,” he said.

Linn said he worked with Sen. Haine to write the bill.

“We made a lot of concessions, and we are now confident that the bill will be adopted,” Linn said. “We are still contacting state lawmakers to make sure they understand the bill, but we should have the 60 votes needed.”

Linn said one major change was that the proposed bill is a pilot project, meaning that lawmakers would have to enact a permanent law in a couple years.

“It’s safe, it’s effective, it’s recommended by the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention),” said John Peller, director of government relations for the AIDS Foundation of Chicago. Peller was involved in the drafting of the bill, which took effect Jan. 1.

CDC Statistics from 2008 show Cook County as having the highest number of gonorrhea cases in the country and the second highest number of chlamydia cases.

State Sen. David Koehler (D-Pekin), the bill’s main backer, struggled to include a controversial clause providing access for minors between the ages of 12 and 17, a necessary feature to include, said Peller.

Before the new law took effect, minors in Illinois could seek treatment for sexually transmitted diseases themselves, without parental consent. Now, any patient over 12 years of age who is diagnosed with chlamydia or gonorrhea may be prescribed medication for their partner at the physician’s discretion.

This expedited partner therapy gives access to treatment for individuals unlikely to seek treatment themselves. But some said that giving this medication to minors is a bad idea.

“They’re too immature to be making those kinds of decisions,” said state Sen. Dave Syverson (R-Rockford), one of six Republican state senators who opposed the bill.

Syverson also raised issue in the Senate that giving medication to minors may lead to the perception that their sexual practices are safe. And this may lead to making poor decisions in the future.

Statistics from the CDC show that minors are among an age group that is most likely to be diagnosed with STDs. When drafting the bill, doctors recommended that expedited partner therapy be available to these minors, said Peller.

Part of the law’s success is reaching a population who wouldn’t have had access to treatment before — in part because of the law’s anonymity from having to seek treatment directly, which some teenagers may find embarrassing, said Peller.

“Youth should not suffer the consequences of life-long STD (diagnoses),” he said.

And for diseases like chlamydia — of which the CDC reported 59,169 cases in Illinois, nearly triple the cases of gonorrhea — it is difficult to recognize symptoms in time to stop the spread of the disease.

“Fifty percent of chlamydia (cases) are asymptomatic — meaning no signs — making it one of the most easily spread (STDs),” Peller said.

Illinois is the 22nd state to implement a form of partner therapy as a tool against the spread of STDs. In California, where patient-delivered partner therapy (PDPT) has been legal since 2001, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) has had no reports of adverse events, agency spokesman Ron Owens wrote in an e-mail.

In California, partners of those infected by an STD received treatment nearly twice as often when the treatment came via patient-delivered therapy (77 percent), rather than when a doctor simply told the infected person that their partner should come in for treatment (40 percent), Owens wrote.

In Cook County, this could mean that of the 34,257 chlamydia cases reported in 2008, 26,377 partners could have had indirect access to treatment. But because medical specialists recommend that a patient be diagnosed directly by a physician, patient referral is still the most common practice used by doctors.

In a survey of eight California family-planning settings, patient-delivered partner therapy was used 20 percent of the time, while traditional patient referral was used half the time, wrote Owens.

But Illinois’ new law is a step in the right direction for treating high STD numbers.

“It’s really a symptom of the broken health care system. People can’t get access to some of the basic diagnoses and treatment,” said Peller.

For the nearest Illinois STD clinic, click here.

Reporter Patrick Smith has been documenting Drew’s struggle. His story, Artists on the march: Free speech protesters pass out artwork to draw attention to Chicago’s Peddler License, appeared in the Columbia College Chronicle on Feb. 8.

Here is a video of Drew and members of the group, called The Free Speech Artists’ Movement, who are working to defeat Chicago’s licensing laws, which they say violate the First Amendment.

Click here to view the embedded video.

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State Sen. Kwame Raoul (D-Chicago) introduced SB 2607 on Jan. 21.It would allow offenders who either plead guilty or are found guilty of a non-violent felony the option of probation without having a judgment entered against them as long as  there is an agreement with the prosecution. If they comply with the terms of probation, the charges would be dismissed.

Felonies eligible for probation would include theft, burglary, possession of a stolen vehicle, drug possession and drug dealing.

Rob Baker, spokesman for Illinois Probation and Court Services, said state lawmakers have already passed a law, the Illinois Controlled Substances Act, for first-time offenders who have substance abuse issues. The Act gives offenders charged with simple possession of drugs the opportunity to enter into a “410 or 710 Probation,” whereby the case can be dismissed without a conviction.

This new bill would expand the law, which Baker said could be an issue for prosecutors because the bill doesn’t limit eligible crimes to only drug-related offenses.

Baker said he sees how this could add to probation officer’s caseload, because a greater number of offenders could be eligible for this option. The probation system is already overloaded, he said, and this would add further stress and strain.

There were 33,354 offenders on probation in 2009, according to Illinois Department of Corrections statistics. This number is 7 percent higher than the national average, according to the National Institute of Corrections.

The bill has not been assigned a committee in the Senate, but Raoul’s Chief of Staff Brandon Thorne said it would likely be assigned the week of Feb. 8. Even though no hearing date has yet been scheduled, there is one group willing to testify in support of the measure.

Laura Brookes, director of policy at Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities (TASC), said the measure is a good alternative to incarceration because prison is often inappropriate for defendants who have committed non-violent offenses. She said it is also more cost effective than prison and can have a life-changing, positive impact for their clients. TASC is a statewide, non-profit treatment center that has been around for over 30 years and receives many clients from court referrals.

“If they have felony convictions, people can’t get a job and can’t have full citizenship,” Brookes said.

It costs $23,394 to house one inmate for one year, according to the Illinois Department of Corrections; the average cost of treatment as a condition of probation is $4,425 per treatment episode, which varies with each individual’s recovery, said Brookes.

George Williams, spokesman for Treatment Alternatives for Safe Center, said the organization is dedicated to finding ways to keep men and women out of jail while focusing on promoting public safety. He said he applauds Raoul for his efforts in helping defendants earn a second chance and become active members of society.

By allowing offenders to have the charges dismissed and a clean record, Williams said, clients can work to overcome two types of stigma. First, there is the social stigma and challenge to integrate into the community because of rejection they might have to face.

“When a person is convicted of felony, there are all levels of consequences and public rebuke,” said Williams. “But there’s also an internal stigma where you think about the challenges and bear that burden.

“It’s hard to visualize being successful,” he said. “It’s the ex-offender phobia that stops them from attempting to do anything.”

Florida passed a similar law in 2009, but there is an exception that prohibits probation if it’s determined the offender poses a risk to the public.

Jan Leone, chief adult probation officer at the Drug Court in Rock Island County, shared concern that the bill would make defendants charged with drug delivery offenses eligible. While probation would benefit substance abusers, Leone said it wouldn’t help other offenders.

“We would not take these clients into our drug court, as we want ‘users’ not ‘dealers,’” Leone said.

Jennifer Bishop Jenkins, founder of Illinois Victims.org and a candidate for Cook County Commissioner, said she supports diversion programs for non-violent offenders but is concerned that the bill might be too far-reaching in including crimes such as felony burglary.

“The hardest thing is to draw that line between violent and non-violent, and this bill is pushing the line,” said Jenkins.

It is most important that the violent offenders remain in prison and not be released due to lack of resources and space, but the resources for probation officers should be increased, said Jenkins. She also supports sealing records but not expunging them.

“I would want to work with Sen. Raoul on the details,” said Jenkins. “We don’t want to overreach on who we are letting off completely scott-free.”

Saline County prosecutor Jeff Thompson said there will always be a record of a felony charge, so prosecuting re-offenders won’t be as difficult as some might think. The court system might not be relieved of any pressure if the bill passes, Thompson said.

“I do not foresee a great deal of unclogging the court system with this proposed change,” said Thompson. “Any person charged with a criminal offense is entitled to appear in court under the law.”

Thompson said if this bill expands the types of cases heard in drug courts in Illinois, that would be an added benefit. He said in his experience, drug courts work but shouldn’t be seen as a cure-all to the problems plaguing the criminal justice system.

“In my mind, the biggest factor in determining the success of this or any other model is to get the court system to buy into it,” said Thompson. “While options can be available, if the players do not buy into the options, there will be no real change.”

On Thursday, Feb. 11, Access Living will host a Historic Six-City Listening Tour organized by the U.S. Dept. of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP).  U.S. Labor Department Assistant Secretary Kathleen Martinez will participate in the Chicago event. ODEP wants to hear from you and the rest of the interested public, including people with disabilities,  on these three areas of interest:

Access Living is a unique place, inside and out.

• Effective ways to increase employment of women, veterans and minorities with disabilities
• Identification of federal and state systems that are effectively collaborating to achieve successful employment outcomes for people with disabilities
• Top issues on which the federal government should focus to support an increase in labor force participation of people with disabilities

Employment is higher among people with disabilities than it is among the rest of the population.

Martinez will be joined by officials from key federal agencies, including the:

• Veteran’s Employment and Training Service, U.S .Dept. of Labor,
• The Employment and Training administration
• Woman’s Bureau and Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs of the U.S. Dept of Labor and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services of the U.S. Dept of Health and Human Services
• Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services of the U.S. Dept of Education
• U.S. Office of Personnel Management
• U.S. Social Security Administration

The Chicago stop of the Listening Tour  will be held on Thursday, Feb. 11, 2010,  from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Access Living, 115 W. Chicago Ave., 4th Floor, Chicago. This is an accessible location.

For registration information, contact (703) 684-0029 or visit www.disabilitylisteningtour.com. For information about Access Living, contact Gary Arnold at (312) 640-2199 or garnold@accessliving.org.

The incumbent received 69 percent of votes, giving him an overwhelming majority against his challenger, Adolfo Mondragon.

Munoz, who was not available for comment during the week leading up to the Feb. 2 primary, was a difficult candidate to beat, said Kent Redfield, a political science professor who specializes in campaign finance at the University of Illinois, Springfield.

“The short time of the election is something that worked well for the incumbent,” said Redfield, referring to Illinois’ early Feb. 2 elections — the first primary in the nation since its move from April two years ago, which gave then-presidential candidate Barack Obama an early win.

Redfield said that January is the time to push campaigns, which left Mondragon just one month to work against Munoz’s money and organizational support. Since January 2009, the veteran politician was able to raise around $200,000 in campaign contributions, compared to Mondragon’s $29,000, reports the Illinois State Board of Elections.

Both the Chicago Sun-Times and the Chicago Tribune endorsed Mondragon, citing his virgin politics as a plus against Munoz’s longstanding membership with the Democratic machine. The papers specifically mentioned Munoz’s relationship with the now-defunct Hispanic Democratic Organization, most notably his close political ties to Angelo Torres, who was convicted of running the city’s Hired Truck Program.

“He’s been mediocre at best. He has really not worked with the people who are on the ground,” said Mondragon on Election Day.

Mondragon, who currently works as a public interest attorney, criticized Munoz for ignoring his community’s complaints about two controversial coal-fired power plants on the Southwest Side.

Pilsen Environmental Rights and Reform Organization (PERRO) has asked Munoz to get involved with the Fisk and Crawford plants, which it calls environmental hazards. Instead, Munoz has accepted over $10,000 in campaign contributions over the past decade from Midwest Generation, owner of the two plants, according to the Illinois State Board of Elections.

“Unfortunately, we see a lot of old die-hard habits when it comes to voting for Democratic candidates. And when in doubt, people will vote for the name they recognize,” said Dorian Breuer, member of PERRO and assistant secretary for Chicago Southwest Side Greens, a local Green Party affiliate.

While Munoz isn’t known for his environmental initiatives, it’s likely he’ll continue to push legislation related to crime and to address the district’s high Hispanic population.

As for a change in leadership in the 1st District, that will have to wait.

“Electorally, with how to beat the machine candidates, it’s not enough to have a good background. It really requires the old school method of having your army on the ground,” said Breuer.

Whether that played a role in Tuesday’s election, one thing is for certain: low voter turnout didn’t help.

devin.katayama@loop.colum.edu

Steans, who is currently serving her first senate term, tallied more than 13,900 votes, or 65 percent of her district, according to the unofficial election results. Madigan, an attorney from Buena Park who ran on a platform of reform, carried 35 percent. About one in four registered voters city-wide went to the polls.

Steans will now face Republican Adam Robinson in the Nov. 2 general election in the race to represent a diverse swath of the North Side encompassing Uptown, Lincoln Square, Andersonville and Rogers Park. But in the overwhelmingly Democratic city of Chicago, that party’s primary elections tend to be a good indication of who will inevitably win the seat.

Madigan, who would have been the first openly gay state senator in Illinois history, positioned himself as a reform candidate in a campaign season abuzz with anti-corruption rhetoric. Still, Steans’ win did not come as a surprise to most political insiders.

“(Steans) is the incumbent, she has a good bit of money, she had robo-calls,” said Dick Simpson, a political science professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago. “And she has the support of the Democratic committee.”

Campaign contribution records show Steans raised more than $220,000 in 2009; Madigan raised half that amount.

Steans kept a low public profile during her campaign, much to the chagrin of her challengers.

Robinson, whose campaign is focusing on lower taxes, school choice and – perhaps surprisingly – marriage equality, said Tuesday that he “applauded” Madigan for joining him in two candidate forums during the campaign. He added that “it was unfortunate that Sen. Steans declined both of those opportunities to address the issues.”

Steans declined requests for an interview.

Among the more controversial elements of the 7th District race, Madigan sent out a series of mailers criticizing the senator for giving more than $200,000 to the campaign of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich between the years of 2002 and 2007.

“If it had been television ads or maybe even radio ads with Blagojevich’s voice that had a more emotional impact, it might (have swayed the election),” Simpson said.

Andrew Hughes, a 27-year-old beer deliveryman from Ravenswood, said he voted for Steans despite the fact that he knew little about her. Instead, he went along with a flier listing Ald. Gene Schulter’s (47th) recommendations that he carried with him in his jacket pocket.

“I try to vote, because it’s all I can do. I’m a working person,” Hughes said. “But I couldn’t find any information … on most things, (politicians) are too vague.”

Steans, a graduate of Princeton and Harvard Universities, has worked for government agencies in Wisconsin and Illinois, serves as trustee of the Steans Family Foundation and formerly headed the board of WBEZ.

She won her senate seat in 2008 with the endorsement of former Sen. Carol Ronen, who abruptly resigned from the seat mid-term in October 2007.

It was the first time Burke had faced a challenge in a primary in nearly two decades of representing the 23rd House District in Southwest Chicago. Lozano, son of a slain Hispanic political activist, garnered nearly 45 percent of the vote to the lawmaker’s 50 percent, according to unofficial results.

Dick Simpson, head of the political science department at the University of Illinois at Chicago, said Tuesday before the polls closed that if the race was close, it would be a major statement indicating the machine’s strength weakening.

“If (Rudy) Lozano gets more than 40 percent of the vote, it would mean that (Dan) Burke can be defeated in a future election, if not the next election,” Simpson said. “It will mean the reform candidate can take back districts from the machine candidates. I see this race as a battle over the future of Latino politics.”

Lozano came close, willing 3,980 votes, while Burke had 4,414.

“The Latino population is growing at a rapid rate and is almost a third of the population in Chicago,” Simpson said. “This race will be a good indication about what the future of Chicago politics will look like and a tight race would be serious change in the future for machine candidates.”

Simpson said the 23rd District, a majority of which is in the 14th Ward, is over 70 percent Hispanic.

Burke hails from a powerful Irish family. His father, Joseph Burke, and brother, Edward, have served the 14th Ward in the Chicago City Council for a combined 55 years. Ald. Ed Burke is the longtime chair of the powerful Finance Committee and is married to Illinois Supreme Court 1st District Justice Anne Burke.

“This race has been entirely different for me,” Burke said in an interview just a day before Tuesday’s win. “In the past, if I voted I was elected. This is a new experience. I have ran a more than fair campaign. It has been a very positive experience, but I think I got what I anticipated.”

In addition to Lozano, there were two other Hispanic candidates in the race: Martin Meza-Zevala and Rene Diaz. These candidates kept a low profile, but may have taken some key votes away from Lozano. Meza-Zevala and Diaz combined received 5 percent of the vote.

Kelsey.Duckett@loop.colum.edu