Marisa Sepulveda said she sends her daughter, Karolina, to St. Francis de Sales High School on Chicago’s Southeast Side because the school offers “a true perspective on good morals and religious beliefs.”

Sepulveda said the small high school, which has 265 students, enforces “a lot of discipline and teaches values and morals.”

Tuition at the school is $600 per month, which Sepulveda said poses a financial hardship for her. Her older daughter, now in college, also attended St. Francis.

Nevertheless, Sepulveda said she will always be glad she has sent both her daughters to a Catholic school. She did not elect to have them attend the local public school, Washington High School, at E. 114th Street.

Sepulveda is one of many parents in Chicago who struggles to afford the tuition for their children’s Catholic school. Some parents say attending the local Chicago Public School simply isn’t an option for them; they select a Catholic school for its traditional education and exposure to Catholic teachings and values. And after many years of declining enrollment, the Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago reports that Catholic schools are now holding their own.

Ryan Blackburn, marketing director for the Archdiocese of Chicago Catholic Schools, SAID 90,000 students attend Catholic schools in Chicago. That number is dwarfed by the 400,000 students in the public school system, making Chicago the third largest system in the country following New York and Los Angeles.

Blackburn said Catholic schools in Chicago last year lost 550 students, but that is a smaller drop than in previous years, when they shed 3,000 students every year during the past decade.

“The reason for the smaller loss of students is that the schools are getting better at telling their story,” he said. “They are getting better at telling why they provide great options — a value-based education, a high quality education and a great network of parents.”

Mary Ramirez, principal at St. Francis, said the school has lots to offer.

“We’re not close to closing, because we are a vital element of the East Side community, as well as the Archdiocesan Catholic School system,” said Ramirez.

Ramirez has worked at St. Francis for 26 years and has served as principal for three. She said she has seen dramatic changes in the school. “When I first started teaching here, there was more than twice the number of students,” said Ramirez in an e-mail.

She attributed the drop in enrollment to recent tuition hikes.

Sepulveda said she agreed, adding, “The tuition in a little bit high, and parents cannot afford it in today’s economy. It is very difficult to pay the tuition. It is a struggle because you have to make a lot of sacrifices.”

Ramirez said the school has lost enrollment because of other factors as well, including the development of magnet and charter schools across the city. In 2004, Mayor Richard Daley announced Renaissance 2010 — his plan to close dozens of poorly performing schools and create 100 new ones, most of them charter and contract schools, by 2010. These new schools are drawing students from private academies, according to the CPS website.

Other competitors to the Catholic schools are the secular private schools like the Latin School and Francis Parker, both on Chicago’s North Side.

Chicago educates a high percentage of its children in private schools, but about two out of three private school students in Chicago attend Catholic schools, according to AllBusiness.com. In 2000, Chicago ranked third among the 10 largest cities in the United States in the percentage of high school students attending private schools, according to AllBusiness.com.

In this competitive environment, Ramirez said that the school has to make up for revenue that has been lost because of the drop in enrollment She said St. Francis depends more on help from corporate donors and other outside funding sources.

“We have to increase our PR and attract more corporate sponsorships to assist families in affording tuition,” said Ramirez. “I believe that St. Francis de Sales is a truly special place that provides a wonderful educational and family experience for young men and women, and I am proud to be able to say I work here and I strive to be a good leader.”

Sepulveda’s daughter, Karolina, is also glad to be attending St. Francis. “I feel comfortable in the environment of the school,” she said. “I think it does provide a better education because being in a Catholic school teaches you morals and good manners that you have to use in the real world.”

Along with the question of being organic, many consumers ask whether food is grown locally. They also ask whether it is fair trade, meaning workers receive just compensation and work in adequate conditions, often on farms outside of the U.S.

Before you decide whether to shop organic, bear in mind that for food in the U.S. to meet organic standards it must meet conditions of the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990. The act states that food must be produced and handled without the use of synthetic chemicals such as insecticide, fungicide and rodenticide — chemicals that are meant to keep produce from rotting, being tampered with or discolored.

Virtually all food was organic until the 1930s, when people began introducing synthetic chemicals to the food supply. The first synthetic organic pesticide was DDT, which was discovered in 1939 by Swiss chemist Paul Muller.  It was considered a miracle treatment because it was toxic to a wide range of insects, it didn’t break down in the environment, it was not water-soluble, and was inexpensive. But in 1962, scientist Rachel Carson published “Silent Spring,” which reported that insect- and worm-eating birds were dying in areas where pesticides had been aerially applied.

In past decades, genetically modified crops became prevalent as a way to increase yields. In the 1990s, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) approved a genetically modified crop for commercial use — a tomato that was genetically altered to be firmer longer than an average tomato.

Many scientists have demanded an executive ban on crop trials until effects of GMOs on health are studied.

Green Grocer Chicago, located at 1402 W. Grand Ave., sells organic food. According to owner and “head stock girl” Cassie Green, 95 percent of the produce they sell is organic. Green said they get their food from providers who use a standard third party certification such as the USDA, Oregon Tilth and The Midwest Organic Services Association. She said Green Grocer Chicago values fair trade, but doesn’t necessarily see it as relevant to their operation because they buy produce within the U.S., where labor laws are stricter than the developing countries central to the fair trade movement.

Green believes that local and organic food both have their value, but what’s important is to carry items that are not treated with pesticides, herbicides or fungicides.

“If you have a local grower who is using the worst of the worst chemicals and subjecting their employees to them, that’s not a good choice,” said Green. “Of course if you are shipping organic apples from New Zealand, then you have to ask if the health pros of not using chemicals are worth it. You have to consider the fossil fuels used to transport those items and how much time has elapsed since they have been picked.”

Whole Foods, perhaps the most popular choice among Chicagoans, reached number five on the 2007 list of the “100 Best Companies to Work For” in Fortune Magazine.

Kate Klotz, Whole Foods’ public relations manager and copywriter for the Midwest Region, said that they shoot for 100 percent organic produce — but that the average is only 65 percent.

To those who would say Whole Foods is only accessible to the wealthy, she said: “I’ve never heard it worded that way. We carry a variety of products that cater to a broad spectrum of shoppers. For those on a specific budget, we have coupons, our private label brand and our weekly sales flier to help them.”

Not all Chicago shoppers have the same values when it comes to shopping for their food.

J.R. Encarnacion, 26, a financial service representative at Fifth Third Bank in Chicago, looks for quality produce, not necessarily organic food, when he shops.

“I know there are some healthy qualities to doing organic, but my opinion always resides in if you have too much in quantity of anything, you’ll end up harming yourself somehow,” Encarnacion said. “For me, shopping boils down to whether or not something isn’t rotten and is good enough to cook with.”

Elizabeth Nerat, a vegan activist and artist in Logan Square, said she does her shopping at local and organic markets.

“I am geared toward organic and the small independent local guys,” Nerat said. “But when I travel I am happy when I see a Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s. I think it’s a really beautiful thing that so many people are trying to give back to the earth and get away from mindless consumerism and disgusting, unhealthy, mass-produced food.”

Emily Cooke, 23, a stage director in Chicago, is gluten-intolerant and said she has to shop at organic grocers to find products that are gluten-free. She is an advocate of shopping organic, and she said that shopping local is better than shopping at Whole Foods, although she acknowledged that Whole Foods sells their share of local food.

“I try to eat as organically as possible because I don’t know what all of those chemicals and GMOs will do to me years down the line,” Cooke said. “But I have a good idea. So why not spend a bit more money now and prevent spending lots of money later on health bills? If I get really sick, at least I’ll know it wasn’t because of something I could have done differently, and I’ll have enjoyed eating really delicious, fresh food.”

Some Chicagoans see organic food as a fad, others take organic shopping seriously.

Steven Haschke, 26, a student at Moody Bible Institute, said he doesn’t notice a difference in the quality of organic food.

“I’ve always been skeptical of the whole organic fad,” he said. “There’s truth to (stand-up comedian) Jim Gaffigan’s sentiment that it’s just a euphemism for ‘twice as expensive.’ I’ve never been able to afford to shop at Whole Foods. If those who work in the food industry want to make organic products more mainstream, they’d better start charging less for it or they won’t succeed.”

Evanston resident Avital Rachmilevitch, 33, disagrees.

“Forget about the price for a moment,” said Rachmilevitch, a teacher at The Princeton Review. “Organic actually means something: These foods are grown without dangerous chemicals in soil that’s not treated with harmful fertilizers that have a very serious long-term effect on the earth.”

Rachmilevitch said organic farming should replace conventional farming practices. “Obviously, price is an issue,” she said.  “I think the government should offer the same subsidies for organics that giant agricultural businesses receive for their destructive farming practices. There needs to be a market incentive to buy organic, because it is clearly objectively better.”

Members of the Pro-Life Action League pray in low tones while clutching rosaries and offering fliers to the people who pass through the clinic’s doors. They make no effort to approach the women.

Corrina Gura, projects coordinator for the organization, has protested outside the near North Side clinic almost every Saturday morning for a year.

“[Women are] not warned going into it that [abortion] is a procedure that could really harm them,” said Gura.

Gura disbursed religious pamphlets aimed at dissuading women from getting an abortion. The leaflets outlined abortion malpractice lawsuits and the side effects of birth control.

The tactics used by Gura — which she calls educating the public — are considered by others to be insulting and invasive.

Max Rowser, a 27-year-old father of two, sat in the foyer of a family planning clinic near the intersection of West Washington and North Desplaines streets and recounted his experience with abortion protesters later that morning. As he and his girlfriend approached the clinic, he said, they were met with members of the Pro-Life Action League. They were much more combative than the North Side group, Rowser said.

“They said, ‘Oh you’re not going to be a stand-up guy, you don’t want to stand up for what you believe in?’ as if they knew what I was believing,” said Rowser. “I feel if a person made it this far, it’s not going to be too much you can do to stop them when they’re already at the door.”

According to the Alan Guttmacher Institute, an agency that tracks abortions and other women’s health procedures, about 1.3 million abortions are performed in the United States each year, making it one of the most commonly performed surgeries in the country. Some volunteers would like to see those number decreased.

Eric Scheidler, executive director of the Pro-Life Action League, said the goal of the organization’s “sidewalk counseling” is to offer help to women who seek an abortion. Scheidler said members of his organization are instructed to reach out to women with compassion and not to intimidate. However, others say methods used by the Pro-Life Action League resemble coercion rather than education or assistance.

“What if she was on the seesaw, saying maybe I should or maybe I shouldn’t? That’s all she needed to hear was the stuff that they were saying. We’d have been gone,” said Rowser about his girlfriend.

According to Scheidler, the main organization the Pro-Life Action League rallies against is Planned Parenthood. He referred to Planned Parenthood as “an outrageous force of evil in the world” and made the generalization that the decision to have an abortion is one “that almost no woman wants to make.”
Despite statements by its members that the Pro-Life Action League does not have religious affiliation, the website outlines the organization’s connection to the Catholic Church.

“The case I would make against abortion is based strictly on science and reason. Religion may have inspired me, but that may not be the case I’m going to make to people,” said Scheidler. He referred to abortion as an easy way out for doctors who find it difficult to care for a mother and fetus.

Lara Philipps, communications and marketing manager for Planned Parenthood, said the clinic requires and provides counseling for women considering abortion. During the counseling session, women are provided with non-biased medically accurate information to allow them to make the best decision for themselves, Philipps said.

“I think their actions are intimidating and do interfere with women’s access to critical health care services,” said Philipps about the protesters.

It was almost like Lollapalooza for the elderly.

About 400 seniors gathered for free health screenings, and health-related information while enjoying lunch, bingo, a raffle and live music during the 14th annual Cinco de Mayo Senior Health and Resource Fair on Chicago’s South Side.

Hosted in the gymnasium of the South Chicago YMCA – it had been planned for the street outside, but the weather did not cooperate – the event was coordinated by Villa Guadalupe Senior Services and the Senior Service Coalition of Southeast Chicago, which counts NCP lead agency Claretian Associates among its members.

The screenings, provided by nearly 60 vendors, covered issues of bone density, blood pressure, hearing, kidney function and incidence of prostate cancer, said Julia Lopez of Villa Guadalupe, who chairs the senior service coalition.

“This enables the community to receive free screenings that would otherwise be very costly to them, regardless of insurance or Medicare,” she said. “We invite major hospitals and many other medical providers. . . It’s a wonderful opportunity for seniors to come together.”

Major donors to the event included, Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center, Advocate Trinity Hospital, Atrium Healthcare Services LLC and Caring Tree. While other key supporters included, Ald. John Pope (10^th), the City of Chicago Department of Family and Support Services, the 4^th District Police, and the South Chicago YMCA.

The Illinois Lions Club provided the hearing screenings out of a van parked outside Villa Guadalupe. Inside the YMCA gym, White Crane Wellness Center handled PSA testing, Pee Dee Kay exhibited its durable medical equipment and Harwin Healthcare and Diagnostics screened for blood sugar. Not all the vendors were healthcare providers, The Federal Highway Administration, for example, gave out tips for senior behind the wheel.

Rush provided screenings for blood pressure, and handed out literature on the center’s senior health and wellness programs, said Dana Bright, coordinator of community health. She said Rush has partnered with Villa Guadalupe for a number of years.

“In the effort to provide educational services for older adults, you tend to meet providers in the community,” Bright said, as the Holy Cross Marimba ensemble got cooking. “We try to provide people with the information and educational opportunities for older adults, as well as a strong focus on family members caring for older adults.”

Advocate Trinity Hospital, another senior service coalition member, handed out information that reflected May’s status as Stroke Awareness Month, said Patrick Owens, coordinator of community relations for the hospital.

“I wanted to get the word out about the signs and symptoms,” he said. “We’re here to provide services that the coalition is looking for. We like to be a good steward of the community, so we come out and (advertise) the services we offer on the Southeast Side.”

Atrium, which provides home health and wellness, dispensed educational information on prevention and early detection, said Pam Fernandes, clinical director.

“We work a lot with patients who have chronic diseases like osteoarthritis, diabetes, congestive heart failure and Parkinson’s,” she said. “We wanted to bring better health for the community.”

Young Activists Organizing as Today's Leaders (YAOTL) Pollution in Pilsen Map ( Click to View Map)

But Dorian Breuer of the Pilsen Environmental Rights and Reform Organization (PERRO) said H. Kramer isn’t the only polluter residents have to worry about — 60 percent of pollution in the Chicago area is from automobile emissions. And the most serious source of those emissions is likely the heavy truck traffic on Cermak Avenue, Ashland Avenue and other thoroughfares.

“Hundreds of trucks go up and down Cermak daily,” said Bill Umoffer, a dispatcher for a local cartage company. “There is a bunch of truck yards in that area. It must be one of the higher places in Chicago for big rig traffic.”

Black smoke coming from trucks’ smoke stacks includes a harmful form of pollution known as poly-aromatic-hydrocarbons. A study done by the Union of Concerned Scientists found that exposure to high levels of diesel exhaust fumes over many years increases the risk of lung cancer or premature mortality by 20 to 50 percent.

The Union of Concerned Scientists said diesel-powered vehicles are responsible for almost half the nitrogen oxides in the air and more than two-thirds of all soot emissions from transportation sources. Health concerns linked to diesel emissions of nitrogen oxides include irritation of the respiratory system, coughing, choking and reduced lung capacity.

Soot has even more health risks. It irritates the eyes, nose, throat and lungs and contributes to respiratory and cardiovascular illnesses and even premature death. People most vulnerable to diesel soot pollution can be children, the elderly and individuals with pre-existing respiratory conditions.

The Little Village Environmental Justice Organization and PERRO both urge their residents to report any dirty trucks to the state police and are asking city authorities to test trucks in the area.

“I’m from the suburbs, and the air is noticeably different,” said student and Pilsen resident Aniket Pandav, 22. “Living at Loomis and Cermak, I’ve seen a ton a of trucks drive by with smoke just billowing out of them, but who is reporting them?”

Illinois passed Public Act 91-0865 on July 1, 2000 to help improve the emissions from diesel-powered vehicles. The act enforces annual emission inspections for all diesel vehicles over 16,000 pounds; if the vehicle is not in compliance, notice is given to the operator to correct the problem.

If a vehicle is not fixed within 30 days, it is placed on the out-of-service list. Operating a vehicle that has been placed out-of-service results in a $1,000 fine. Illinois State Police did not return a call for this story.

Some say the best way to control emissions is a clean fuel alternative. The National Biodiesel Board argues that biodiesel — made from such products as plant oils, animal fats, used cooking oil and algae — is the best clean-burning alternative fuel on the market today.

The biodiesel board also points to independent studies by the U.S. Department of Energy, the National Renewable Energy Lab and U.S. Department of Agriculture that prove biodiesel performs comparably to petroleum diesel but with greater benefits to the environment and human health.

A major advantage of biodiesel is it can be used in most existing diesel engines and fuel injection equipment in blends up to 20 percent with little impact to operating performance.

Wandy Rodriguez, a local truck driver and Pilsen resident, thought biodiesel would ease the problem with pollution in the community, but the shortage of stations to buy biodiesel makes it harder on the drivers.

Though PERRO and other groups are active on pollution in Pilsen in general, currently no local groups are dedicated to reducing diesel emissions from trucks.

Somerset Place, a nursing home at 5009 N. Sheridan Road that housed mentally disabled and elderly residents, was stripped of its Medicare funding on Feb. 7 by the state of Illinois after inspections showed deficiencies within the facility.

Residents were given just 30 days to find housing alternatives in other nursing homes or with family members.

“It’s been home to people for a long time,” said Anthony Zipple, CEO of Thresholds and an advocate for mentally ill. “To get adjusted to the idea of living somewhere else, to build relationships that you need to help support and sustain you in that new place, is hard to do in 30 days.”

Patients’ transitions were aided by the state of Illinois’ Public Health Department and the Illinois Department of Human Services, said Melony Arnold, communications manager for the public health department.

“It would’ve been nice to have enough time for people to transition into traditional settings,” Zipple said. “It may be that circumstances were serious enough that they [the state of Illinois] just couldn’t do it [in time].”

The Illinois Public Health Department did inspections and surveys on Somerset and cited the facility for not meeting requirements pertaining to the well-being of residents.

“After numerous inspections we found and cited Somerset for very serious deficiencies,” said Arnold.

Somerset and other nursing homes in Illinois are not good places for mentally disabled patients, Zipple said.

“In Illinois we have a policy of putting people with mental illness into institutional care even when putting them in community settings would be better and less expensive,” said Zipple. “Giving people alternatives rather than these institutional settings is the right public policy.”

Shortly after the closing of Somerset, an agreement was made to lay out a schedule for state officials to offer nearly 4,500 mentally ill nursing home residents an alternative to nursing home care and be placed into smaller settings, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Zipple said it is hard to get out of nursing homes after a prolonged stay. “The longer you’re there, the harder it is to get out,” said Zipple.

Mark Hyerman, a law professor at the University of Chicago, said  Illinois wasted too much money funding places like Somerset. “The state [of Illinois] wastes a lot of money. They don’t enforce adequate law to ensure the best possible care,” said Hyerman.

Zipple applauded Illinois’ efforts to help residents find alternative housing. “They [the state of Illinois] wanted to make sure [residents] didn’t end up in situations that were dangerous for them,” said Zipple.

Arnold said public health officials educated residents on what alternatives they had before they moved.

“Our goal was to educate residents. Our biggest push was to make sure those residents had a choice in where they moved and we identified potential places where they could go,” said Arnold. “We wanted to make sure they did have a place to go.”

See the film and join a discussion on April 22, 2010 from 11:00 – 11:50 a.m. in Room 210, Journalism Department, Columbia College Chicago, 33 E. Congress, Chicago, IL. Use Harrison (Red Line) or Library (Brown Line) CTA stops.

If you have any questions, call Rose Economou (312) 369-8919 Journalism Department

^{33 E. Congress
Journalism Department
Chicago IL 60605
33 E. Congress. Open to everyone.}

The Cornucopia Institute, a not-for-profit, progressive farm policy research group based in Wisconsin, has been acting as a consumer watchdog and monitoring how organic laws are enforced. This includes tracking how large food corporations follow or try to skirt organic food regulations.

If you take time to buy your food carefully with quality, safety, and the environment in mind, then you care whether soybeans are grown by American organic farmers, if the company supports organic agriculture by sourcing only organic soybeans, and whether they use loopholes in the organic standards to source cheaper, non-organic ingredients. Check the site for a description of why the survey focused on the questions it did. It also talks about why soybeans from China are a problem.

Worst of all, the report states that many “natural” soy food products use a chemical called hexane in processing. According to the report, “Hexane is strictly prohibited in organic food processing, but is used to make ‘natural’ soy foods and even some that are ‘made with organic ingredients,’ such as Clif Bars. Hexane is a neurotoxic petrochemical solvent that is listed as a hazardous air pollutant with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).”

Use the scorecard to shop better for yourself and your family. It’s one thing to just go to the store and buy based on low price. Once you’ve decided your health matters and you begin to read labels and adopt healthy eating patterns, it hurts to believe you bought an organic, ethically grown and produced food just to learn it was all marketing hype.

The issues are complex, but the scorecard is clear and the ratings are explained in detail. Read the study as carefully as you do labels and decide for yourself which soy products are up to your standards.

Kim Marr recalls that she was 19 years old and four months pregnant when her husband first hit her. She didn’t know what had happened because she was knocked unconscious and fell to the ground.

Marr said she quickly forgave her attacker. “I heard those magic words: ‘I promise I’ll never do it again,’” she recalled. But during their three-year relationship, Marr said, she heard that promise too many times to count. Her boyfriend apologized, then offered her flowers and other conciliatory gestures.

Marr’s experiences fall into a common pattern in domestic violence situations known as the cycle of abuse.

Lolita Sanders, an administrator at Family Rescue, Inc., one of the largest domestic violence shelters in Chicago, described the cycle of abuse in three stages: honeymoon, tension building and the explosion.

“The honeymoon stage is when everything seems to be going great,” she said. That stage is followed by an argument and tension over something relatively minor that upsets the abuser; for example, an abusive man might become unnecessarily upset when his wife arrives home from work later than expected.

“Then something happens to set the abuser off, which leads to the verbal or physical abuse, otherwise known as the explosion,” said Sanders.

The cycle of abuse is experienced by many women in all parts of the United States. The U.S. Department of Justice reported that approximately 1.3 million women each year are physically assaulted by an intimate partner nationwide. Intimate partner violence made up 20 percent of all nonfatal violent crime experienced by women in 2001, the department said.

Marr, now 52, a psychologist and living in Darien, recalled a time when the “explosion” caught her off guard.

“I had been out with my friend Terri, who he didn’t like and saw her as a threat, because he didn’t want me to have any friends. I was going to pick up our son from his crib when he grabbed me from behind in a chokehold,” said Marr.

She suffered two black eyes and her second concussion in three months. Marr decided she needed help, but because she was young and financially dependent on her boyfriend, she thought she had few options.

Like Marr, many victims of domestic violence feel trapped.

“Some women find it easier to stay when they rely on their abuser for their finances or when the sole income is coming from the abuser,” said Anuja Mehta, spokeswoman for Apna Ghar, a North Side shelter that primarily serves women of Southeast Asian descent and other minority groups.

Mehta noted that in many abusive relationships, the abuser is much older than the victim and their extended family plays an integral role in their lives.

“You expect a woman to leave all that?” she asked. “It’s almost unheard of in some cultures for women to leave.”

Most therapists who work at shelters say they are careful not to judge a victim.

“I let the person tell her story,” said Mehta. “I don’t give my opinions. I don’t say, ‘I think you should leave.’ If she returns home, I don’t pass judgment.”

She said one of the first things she does when assessing a victim of domestic violence is to create a safety plan for her.

“This entails putting all of your important documents, i.e., birth certificate and Social Security card, all in one easily accessible place, so when you do leave, you can grab your things quickly,” she said.

She also instructs the victim in ways to defend herself, by pulling her forearm across her face when her attacker approaches her. Mehta suggests to victims that they hide the knives and other potential weapons in their homes.

Other therapists recommend that a woman not allow herself to be in a bedroom with an attacker because he can easily block her exit through the single doorway.

Marr remembers calling her brother for help. “He lived too far away, so I ended up calling my abuser’s parents,” said Marr. Her boyfriend had blackened both her eyes, taken their son and left with him in their car.

“He knew our son was the best way to get at me; if he had control of him, he had control over me,” said Marr, adding that it would have been easier to leave if she had had more money or a college education.  “When you’re younger, you think you can handle more.”

Jeff Kiser, Marr’s brother, remembers showing up at his sister’s apartment with a baseball bat in hand and no idea what to do next.

“When my sister called me, I didn’t wait for an explanation. I grabbed my Louisville Slugger and got in my car and drove. When I got to the house, Kim answered the door with two black eyes, and [her boyfriend's] parents standing behind her. I had to put the bat down,” he said.

Another problem many victims face is whom to contact for help, said Bobbie Gordon, a licensed clinical social worker at Shalva, a North Side center for Jewish victims of abuse. Gordon said some religions teach women to take care of their husbands, no matter how they treat their wives.

Relatives of an abuse victim might advise her to “just cook him a nice dinner,” she said.

Marr said she got similar advice from her abuser’s father.

“When his parents came over, his father, who was very old fashioned, first suggested to me that I take him out to a nice dinner, or just stop hanging out with Terri,” Marr said.

She had also gone to the police, but had received no help or sympathy.  “No one would help me,” she said. “It was as if they didn’t believe me or didn’t want to.”

She suggested attitudes toward domestic violence have changed significantly.

Chicago Police Officer Gabriel Rodriguez, a domestic violence liaison in the South Loop, agreed that  more officers are trained in how to handle domestic abuse.

“Historically, a police officer would arrive on the scene, witness the altercation, and tell the abuser to take a walk and cool off,” he said.

In 1986, the state legislature passed the Illinois Domestic Violence Act, which defined domestic violence and created greater awareness. The law requires domestic violence liaison officers to go through a court-mandated 60 hours of domestic violence training, according to the Chicago Police Department.

Marr said although she was quick to blame others, she also began to blame herself for suffering abuse.

“It’s almost impossible not to feel as if it is your fault. I kept telling myself if I were just a better person, this wouldn’t have happened to me,” she said.

Marr and her husband were together for almost three years, and it took her five years to divorce him.  “I moved with my son to Florida to stay with my mother, and he followed us there,” Marr said. He  stole a blank check from Marr, and she didn’t see him again for 22 years.

“Overall, although what he did to me was unthinkable, I think what he did to his son was much worse,” Marr said of his abandonment of his child.

Almost 30 years after the abuse, Marr said she was one of the lucky ones who got out just in time.

The solution: bi-partisan effort to produce a smart budget — which hasn’t been the state’s forte in the past.

“If that funding is not produced, we will unquestionably all see 500 to 1,000 people losing access to drugs,” said John Peller, director of government relations for the AIDS Foundation of Chicago.

The projected funding needs for the Illinois AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP), which provides medication to nearly 4,200 low-income HIV patients monthly — a 32 percent rise since 2007 — grew this year by more than $10 million, reports the AIDS Foundation of Chicago.

But in Gov. Pat Quinn’s FY2011 budget, no additional funding was given to the Department of Public Health, from which AIDS and HIV support draws its funding. The department must now choose between preventative services for the future or helping those affected now.

“On the one hand, a cut wasn’t proposed; but at the same time, the need for new funding grew 36 percent this current fiscal year,” said Peller, who projects the need will grow an additional 25 percent by next fiscal year.

That means for FY2011, the state needs to produce $29.5 million to satisfy the requested needs of the AIDS Drug Assistance Program. Currently, Illinois gives it $19 million.

Last year, the Department of Public Health was forced to transfer over $4 million from other HIV services, including prevention and medical care, to meet the need for the AIDS Drug Assistance Program. But Peller said prevention is important to stopping the spread of HIV and to diagnose and treat patients early, which could save the state money in the future.

In response to the increased need, Rep. Harry Osterman (D-Chicago) has introduced House Bill 6173, which would claim the state’s estimated part, $29.5 million, for the AIDS Drug Assistance Program and restore $14.5 million to the AIDS and HIV services that have been hurt.

“Our ultimate goal is before the legislators adjourn (May 31) … our funding levels are where they need to be,” Osterman said.

While Quinn’s budget proposal provides the same amount of funding for the Department of Public Health as last year, legislators like Rep. Greg Harris (D-Chicago), a co-sponsor of the bill, still see that as a threat to HIV services.

“He (Quinn) proposed flat funding of the HIV line item, but that’s prospective because the demand has skyrocketed so high,” said Harris.

The bill already has 11 co-sponsors, including 10 Democrats and one Republican, but its need must be compelling enough to convince those lawmakers agonizing over the state’s $26 billion budget, which has a $13 billion deficit.

Because Quinn’s proposed 1 percent (from 3 to 4 percent) income tax increase for FY2011 was said to fill budget gaps in education, it’s likely that other departments won’t see increased funding. Peller said to restore lost funds to AIDS and HIV, it’ll be necessary to support an even higher tax increase, but pundits say Illinois might not see any movement until after the November elections.

House Bill 5720 would require drug offenders to stay out of the driver’s seat for a period of six months for the first offense and one year for additional offenses, whether or not their arrest involved the use of a vehicle. The bill passed the House Vehicles and Safety Committee 4-3 last month and is currently awaiting a vote in the House.

Pointing to similar laws in 32 states, advocates of the bill argue that it would make roads safer by preventing known drug users from getting behind the wheel. But opponents say the rule is unnecessarily harsh and would make it harder for drug offenders to get their lives back on track.

The bill would mostly affect those convicted of minor drug crimes who would be punished with fines, probation or short jail sentences, as those receiving lengthier jail time would already see their licenses revoked during their sentences.

Rep. Sidney Mathias (R-Arlington Heights), who introduced the bill, said he hopes to deter young people from doing drugs by taking away something they truly value – their car keys.

“This hopefully will send a message that if you do take drugs, not only will you suffer criminal penalties but driving privileges,” Mathias said. “To some people, the driving privileges are even more important.”

Mathias said the driving force behind the bill was Thomas Glasgow, a trustee of the Village of Arlington Heights and lawyer who says he has been involved as both prosecutor and defender in some 10,000 DUI cases.

“The legislature has determined that we shouldn’t be doing drugs. Period. The legislature has determined that impaired driving is a hazard. Period,” Glasgow said. “This (bill) is the next logical step.”

Glasgow recalls defending a woman arrested for marijuana possession; two weeks later she ran a stop sign, costing the man she collided with his leg. The woman was not visibly intoxicated, Glasgow said, but blood tests showed she had marijuana in her system.

Such incidents are common, Glasgow said, because drugs can stay in a person’s body for up to 90 days – long after the person has ceased to be visibly inebriated.

But that logic is flawed, said Kathy Kane-Willis, director of the Illinois Consortium on Drug Policy at Roosevelt University. While drugs may be stored in a person’s fat cells and urine for weeks after use, she said, this does not affect a person’s motor skills.

The law would also wreak havoc on offenders’ lives, Kane-Willis said. Without a drivers’ license, a drug offender could lose their job and be unable to access treatment, health care or social services.

“This could make the situation much more complicated for people who have drug disorders,” she said. “This is harmful legislation.”

An early version of the bill included a provision for offenders to use a court-issued drivers’ permit to attend treatment or work, but that provision was removed in an amendment.

The issue is further complicated if the offender is not himself a drug user, noted Marc Mauer, executive director of The Sentencing Project, a fair sentencing advocacy group based in Washington, D.C.

“If you’re under the influence of drugs and you get into a serious accident, it’s reasonable that you might lose your license,” he said. “But if you’re convicted of selling low-level drugs but you yourself are not a drug user, it shouldn’t be mandatory any more than if you committed larceny.”

At the Vehicles and Safety Committee hearing, Stephen Baker, an attorney at the Cook County Public Defender’s Office, warned the committee that a similar law was recently challenged and was heard before the Illinois Supreme Court. He urged the committee to postpone action until the results of that trial were available.

“Criminal acts have to have some nexus, some connection,” Baker told the committee. “(There has to be) some use of the vehicle to warrant (license) suspension.”

Under current Illinois law, a person found with drugs in their car can have their drivers’ license revoked. And under a new, 2-year-old law, minors under the age of 21 who are convicted of underage drinking have their licenses suspended for six months.

Black leaders debate President Barack Obama's public policy plans for African–Americans at a forum at Chicago State University on Saturday. (Photo by Sean Evans)

On the eve of the U.S. House of Representatives’ historic vote on health care reform, thousands of black Chicagoans attended a symposium to urge President Barack Obama to form public policy with African-Americans in mind.

The president has highlighted his administration’s efforts to overhaul the health care system, reform mortgage lending practices, improve the economy and improve education as policies that will impact the nation as a whole, not just blacks.

But some noted black leaders at Saturday’s forum, “We Count! The Black Agenda is the American Agenda,” argued the president needs to focus on blacks, who disproportionately lag behind in all these areas. They urged Obama to reach out to their community, which gave him 97 percent of their votes in the last presidential election.

The forum resembled a church session from the start as attendees stood and Father Michael Pfleger of St. Sabina opened with a prayer. Moderator and talk show host Tavis Smiley introduced the panelists to the audience and emphasized that the debate would remain positive by displaying a cube with the word “love” written on all sides.

“I want to make sure that love is so central to this dialogue.” said Smiley.

Panelists used the word “love” to indicate that they were not dismissing the president’s domestic policies, and they referenced times in history when other leaders used the word as the basis for their public policy agendas for blacks.

“When Herald Washington was mayor of Chicago, he said, ‘Because I love black people doesn’t mean that I don’t love anybody else,’” said former Chicago Ald. Dorothy Wright Tillman, one of 12 panelists at the event.

Other panelists, including Rev. Jesse Jackson, Minister Louis Farrakhan and professor Michael Eric Dyson, said blacks should not compare Obama to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Instead, Dyson compared Obama to African-American baseball great Jackie Robinson and said he may have to wait for “the Willie Mays of politics” to see the “black agenda” executed. Robinson is known as the athlete who broke the “color barrier” in baseball, but Mays is often credited as the greatest player of all time.

The panelists agreed that in order for blacks to see action from Obama’s administration, they would have to approach the situation the same way that blacks approached John F. Kennedy.

“If [blacks] get something, it is because we organized and forced the government to speak to our needs,” said Farrakhan, whose Nation of Islam followers provided stringent security for the event at Chicago State University.

Outside the event, Philip Jackson, founder of Black Star Project, a grassroots program that mentors young black boys, passed out fliers to recruit mentors for young black males in Chicago, but he said no one took them.

He added that the forum about the president’s efforts needed to be followed by actions. He urged leaders at the event not to just talk but to walk away from the conversation and work with those organizations trying to affect change in Chicago.

“They’re talking there and not essentially doing anything,” said Jackson. ”If they’re saying you can only talk so much, at that point they should have all gotten up and walked off the stage.”

Last week, the debate over the “black agenda” resulted in a public discourse between some black leaders. Rev. Al Sharpton, president of the National Action Network, and Smiley, who hosts the “State of the Black Union” event, expressed their varied opinions about Obama on the radio.

To view the forum, click here.

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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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.

“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.

Joyce Brown is no stranger to people in need. As the project coordinator for the Englewood Food Network, she’s been organizing food pantries and serving up meals to hungry clients for a long time.

But during the past year, she’s seen a pronounced difference in the people who patronize the pantry run by Beautiful Zion Church, 1406 W. 64^th St., where she volunteers at one of 32 food pantries in the Englewood network.

“There has always been seniors coming to get food,” Brown said. “But now there are more seniors and more families – especially single mothers with children. Everybody is in need.”

In this economy when people run out of food stamps, they’re turning to the food pantries to help them with meals, said Doris Jones, NCP director for Teamwork Englewood, which assists 15 food pantries through its partnership with the Englewood Food Network.

“We’re helping with the food needs and want to make sure people have a variety of produce and money to keep going,” she said.

Clients of the network food pantries receive a bag of groceries containing canned goods, cereal, bread, meat and – if available – fresh produce. The bags contain enough food for a family of four for two to three days. But the network is spending more to stock the pantries because of increased demand.

Teamwork Englewood and New Faith Baptist Church in south suburban Matteson are helping support the food pantries. Last year, New Faith Baptist donated $12,000 for the purchase of food for Englewood residents. And 40 trained volunteers from the Matteson church are on hand to help with cooking and bookkeeping, and to provide workshops to the food pantries.

Another goal of the Teamwork Englewood/New Faith Baptist Church partnership, said Jones, is working with the NCP Health, Food & Fitness Task Force to make sure a variety of healthy produce is available. Fresh produce trucks go to the food pantries on different days and times.

Teamwork Englewood also arranged for the pantries to purchase fresh produce and other goods from the Englewood Farmers’ Market during the season.

This task force is part of Teamwork Englewood’s Quality-of-Life plan to promote healthy lifestyles that include physical fitness, good nutrition and better use of health care resources.

Englewood, said Jones, is a food desert, noting that the only national grocery chains in the neighborhood are one Food 4 Less, at 72^nd Street and Ashland Avenue; and two Aldi’s, at 63^rd and Halsted streets and at 79^th Street and Ashland Avenue.

Because of the lack of nutritious food in the black community, Jones said, many residents are plagued with obesity, high blood pressure and cholesterol.

“Food is an issue,” she said. “We look at having well-balanced and nutritious meals. Adults need to know how to prepare soul food in a healthy way. Once you get a community eating healthy and exercising, the residents start to participate in other civic activities.”

Healthy Cooking

Offering healthier food choices to the Englewood community is the key to bringing the neighborhood the best quality of life it can have, Jones said. A healthy cooking class at Beautiful Zion Church, started by volunteers from the New Faith Baptist Church in July, is providing another means of providing healthier food choices and education.

Chef consultant Kocoa Scott-Winbush, taught the classes this past summer to food pantry volunteers and neighborhood residents. In the classes, Scott-Winbush emphasized incorporating fresh vegetables into meals.

Sandra Wilcoxon remembers the first time the New Mt. Calvary Baptist Church food pantry, a network member, distributed fresh blueberries. “People refused to take the blueberries,” said Wilcoxon, a volunteer at the church’s food pantry, at 1859 W. Marquette Road. “They didn’t want to waste them. They didn’t know what to do with them.”

But through the healthy cooking classes, pantry volunteers came up with a solution the next time blueberries were available – blueberry pancakes. They were a huge hit.

The cooking classes have helped open up clients to food they would not ordinarily purchase, Wilcoxon said, adding that now, when clients line up for assistance, they often share recipes for items in the food bags.

The classes, added Brown, the food network coordinator, help participants “see there are other things to do with that same food. It gives them creative ideas to eat healthy.”

Linda Saunders, a Teamwork Englewood volunteer, has received assistance from a network food pantry and attended the cooking classes. She enjoyed the classes and the way Scott-Winbush expanded her palate.

“This class helped me with various ways to prepare food with healthy benefits,” she said. “They have turned out wonderful.”

Saunders, for example, had never prepared eggplant. But her 13-year-old son was so taken with a recipe that she learned in class that he later attended a cooking class with her.

“You learn not only the methods about how to prepare a dish, but also get cultural information and experience as well,” she said.

Dennis Ware, president and executive director of the Englewood Food Network, said that people in the Englewood community are among the poorest of the poor. They sometimes have to choose whether to spend their money on medication, housing or food.

“The Englewood Food Network strives to make sure they don’t have to make those choices,” Ware said.

Chicago Public Radio’s City Room reports on the increased demand at Cook County food pantries.

The good news is that people impacted by the disease are fighting back, and Chicago is leading the fight. The Chicago Curing Lymphoma and Leukemia Foundation has been formed with a mission of curing blood cancers and ensuring that cutting edge treatments and world class care and physicians remain available to patients battling blood cancer in the greater Chicagoland area. CCLL is led exclusively by volunteers impacted by blood cancer and is is committed to curing lymphoma, leukemia and multiple myeloma by raising awareness and funding for research, maximizing the impact of research by supporting cogent research projects conducted by researchers at the leading area research institutions (Rush University Medical Center, Northwestern and University of Chicago), avoiding administrative costs and attracting and retaining leading clinicians and researchers in the greater Chicagoland area.

CCLL believes that blood cancer research is the superhighway to curing cancer, as blood cancer research has resulted in many treatments for many forms of cancer. CCLL invites you to get on this superhighway to curing cancer and  join them as they drive with full speed toward the cure. The organization will participate in a bike ride in 2010 and in other fundraising activities. If you are interested in learning more and participating visit their Facebook page.

The proposed legislation would allow gay couples to wed in Illinois. As the new bill waits in the legislature until next year’s session, opinions vary widely on the issue in the Chicago area.

“I don’t believe in it,” said Shirley Anderson, 51, of Woodlawn. “I don’t believe in it from a religious standpoint, but I don’t judge – that’s God’s job.”

“I think it’d be a good thing,” said Paula Botha, 25, of La Grange. “I don’t see why it should be any different for same-sex or opposite sex [couples].”

State Sen. Heather Steans (D-Chicago) introduced the Equal Marriage Act in the Senate on Oct. 1. Steans said the bill would be heard by Senate committees as soon as February or March.

“I’ve had a strong response and support in the Chicago area,” said Steans. “I will continue to work with like-minded advocates to advance the bill and am looking for as much help as possible in every area of the state.”

The bill is the first of its kind in the Illinois Senate, but succeeds a civil unions bill introduced in the Illinois House of Representatives in February by Rep. Greg Harris (D-Chicago). Harris also introduced an equal marriage bill, but it failed to move beyond the committee.

Supporters of the new bill hope to reignite the debate around same-sex marriage in Illinois now that the civil unions bill has stalled, after squeaking through the House Youth and Family Committee on a 4-3 vote in May.

While public opinion varies, activists are charged up on both sides of the issue.

“We’re trying to educate people about the harm that this bill will do to religious freedoms and First Amendment rights,” said David Smith, executive director of the Illinois Family Institute, a religious organization that opposes same-sex marriage.

“There is a reason why the state recognizes natural marriage. It encourages it because it benefits the state,” Smith said. “It provides the ideal environment to raise children. What does gay marriage do? Nothing. It doesn’t benefit the state one iota.”

As religious institutions lobby against these bills, activists in the gay community are fighting for more than just marriage.

“I am for the equal marriage bill, but people need to remember that even with marriage equality in the state of Illinois – if it were to pass – it still means that most benefits of marriage are not accruable to gays and lesbians,” said Sherry Wolf, independent journalist, activist and author of “Sexuality and Socialism: History, Politics, and Theory of LGBT Liberation.”

“Most rights come from the federal government, not the states. So it is not enough,” she said.

Wolf was a committee member for the National Equality March in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 11. She said the march was a great start for activism.

“It was just the beginning. And what we need is ongoing speak-outs, rallies, speeches, film showings, sit-ins – all sorts of activism and public expression of dissent,” Wolf said.

“I have a positive outlook no matter what,” said Sidney Stokes, student and president of Common Ground, the LGBT group at Columbia College Chicago.

“If it doesn’t happen right now I know that Illinois, like the country, will one day have it,” he said. “I think the most important thing is to send a message to the legislature that Illinois wants this.”

Smith said the bill would not become law.

“It’s going nowhere fast,” he said. “It does not have the traction, despite the fact that the Democrats have a super-majority in the House and a majority in the Senate.”

For the last six years, the Illinois Family Institute has unsuccessfully lobbied to amend the state constitution to permanently ban same-sex marriage.

“Our amendment is not going anywhere,” Smith said, acknowledging House
Speaker Michael Madigan’s (D-Chicago) refusal to move the legislation to the committee. “It’s status-quo as of now,” he said.

Same-sex marriage rights were repealed in the state of Maine this month by a ballot measure called Proposition 1. Gay couples may marry in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, New Hampshire and Vermont.

“I want to stay in this country,” said Padilla. “Everything is here – my family, school, everything.  I don’t know anyone in Mexico.”

Padilla’s troubles started last January when he was arrested for drinking and driving.  When police discovered his immigration status, they turned him over to ICE. Since then immigration reform advocates, teachers, friends and public officials have rallied to solve Padilla’s plight.

“This highlights the mean-spiritedness of the immigration situation,” said Ald. Cardenas. He called for an end to the impasse on immigration reform in Washington.

“Rigoberto is a straight “A” student; he’s working full time – this is someone I would want fighting alongside me in a war,” Cardenas said.

Sen. Durbin’s bill now has 32 co-sponsors and is currently in the Judiciary committee.  It would require that promising individuals who inherited their undocumented status from their parents attend college for two years, or serve in the military.  After that commitment, the individual could complete the long process of becoming a citizen, but in the meantime they would not live in fear of being deported.

Critics of immigration reform want federal officials to enforce existing laws and call exceptions like the one being asked in Padilla’s case a slippery slope that opens the door for tens-of-thousands of people in this country illegally.

“This world is full of exceptions,” Cardenas said.  “This is no different.”

Padilla’s professor and mentor at UIC, Nilda Flores-Gonzalez, said it made no sense for the U.S. to deport students like Padilla because so many taxpayer dollars were spent educating him in the public schools.

“We have invested a lot in him.  We should cash in,” said Flores-Gonzalez.

Padilla does not know what he will do if the deportation happens and he is forced to return to Mexico.  He left Mexico 15 years ago when he was six. He said he does not have any family there anymore, and he would have no place to stay.

“I guess I would arrive in Mexico with my bags in my hand and walk around, not knowing what to do, or where to go,” said Padilla.

He has 28 days to figure it out.

Cardenas said he would send the resolution to members of the Illinois delegation in Washington D.C.  and the White House.

The only alderman to vote against today’s resolution was Ald. James Balcer (11th). He said he voted against the resolution for one reason only – the drunk driving ticket.

“My vote had nothing to do with immigration. It was the drunk driving. I was hit by a car as a kid and I have strong feelings about this,” Balcer said.

(The following is a YouTube video of a protest on the ICE lockup in Broadview from June 19, 2008.)

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Most of the year, Michael Harris Jr. is a mild-mannered student at Austin Polytechnical Academy on the West Side. But this summer, Harris was transformed into “Solar Mike” — thanks to Youth Ready Chicago at the Science Institute at Columbia College.

Harris was one of 20 students, recruited through NCP, who received paid, eight-week internships at the Science Institute through the city’s Youth Ready Chicago program.

The program is intended to help people ages 14 to 24 find internships, apprenticeships and jobs in Chicago’s public and private sectors, providing hands-on experience and the chance to learn marketable skills.

At Columbia’s Science Institute, students learned about alternative energy sources and other topics in a program called “Science in Everyday Life.” They interviewed people on the street about solar power and posted videos of those interviews – and their own efforts – on YouTube. Which is how Solar Mike was created.

“We didn’t want just a boring documentary, with people talking. We decided to have a superhero,” Harris said at an August reception honoring the 20 interns. “So I said, ‘I’ll do it!’” His quickly created costume of green garbage bags, goggles, duct tape and solar panels was a hit with his fellow interns, who hooted and clapped as it was shown at the reception.

Youth Ready class, photo by Gordon Walek

Students spent 20 hours a week at the Institute. While there, besides studying energy, the interns took a walking architectural tour of the Loop, a double-decker bus tour and a trip to the John Hancock Observatory. They also learned some life skills, such as how to prepare a resume and conduct themselves in a job interview.

“They gave us a lot of information, almost like job training,” said Imani West, a sophomore at Jones College Prep in the South Loop. “This was my first job, so I learned how to act and how to react to people.”

West also praised her supervisor, Marcelo Caplan, technology coordinator at the Science Institute, for the way he explained power and energy. “I didn’t even know what a circuit was,” she said. “Marcelo made it seem so simple, and I always thought it was so complicated.”

This is the first year the Science Institute teamed up with Youth Ready Chicago. “For us, it was a learning experience, as well,” said Victoria Liu, outreach coordinator for the institute.

Besides the work by the institute and its staff, Liu said, the students also benefited from contributions from the John Hancock Observatory, Adler Planetarium, Chicago Trolley & Double Decker Co., Chicago Architecture Foundation, Grand Lux Cafe, Cheesecake Factory and California Pizza Kitchen. “We had a great time with them,” Liu said. “We gave them something to bring back to their communities.”

Denise Weekly will bring back a greater awareness of her city. “I learned a lot,” said Weekly, 17, a junior at Englewood High School who wants to be a lawyer. She enjoyed learning about Chicago architecture the most.

Before the internship, “I only knew two buildings down here – and one of them was the Water Tower,” she said. The job training also was crucial, Weekly said. “They taught us job skills, how to do resumes and how to express ourselves.”

Caplan reminded the students that their ties to the institute don’t end just because summer is over. He urged them to stay in touch and let the staff know how they’re doing. “This relationship will continue until you decide it should stop,” Caplan said. “We are here for you.”

Zafra Lerman, head of the Science Institute, flew back into town just in time for the students’ reception. She encouraged students to aim high in their education. “Your goal now is to graduate from high school, go to college,” Lerman said. “Our planet is sick. We need lots of new scientists with a new way of thinking. We look to you to become those people.”

Communities around the region are taking part in Chicagoland Car-Free Day with events and special offers, including Break the Gridlock’s One Million Less Cars rally at Daley Plaza at 5:30 p.m. and I-Go Car Sharing’s special discount.

“You will be amazed at the sights and sounds you can experience without a car,” said Rob Sadowsky, executive director at the Active Transportation Alliance. “You will feel re-energized by your new routine while cutting down on carbon.”

Resources like RTA’s trip planner, www.goroo.com, bike commuting tips and www.PaceRideShare.com will help commuters every step of the way.

“The RTA is pleased to partner with the Active Transportation Alliance on Chicagoland’s inaugural Car-Free Day,” said Steve Schlickman, Executive Director of the RTA. “This is a great opportunity for the transit agencies to collaborate and remind commuters that our region has an all-access transit system that’s easily accessible, saves time and money.”

Organizations and communities can still partner with Chicagoland Car-Free Day. Contact Ethan Spotts at [email protected] or 312.427.3325 x 287 to learn more.

Chicagoland Car-Free Day Sept. 22 coincides with similar events around the world that encourages people to go sans auto for one day.

Find out more about Chicagoland Car-Free Day at www.chicagolandcarfree.org

Contacts for further information are:
Margo O’Hara, Active Transportation Alliance
312.427.3325 x 224
[email protected]

Diane Palmer, Director of Communications, RTA
Office: 312-913-3282
Cell: 312-907-6902
[email protected]

ABOUT METRA
Metra provides more

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than 80 million rides annually on 11 rail lines serving more than 100 communities at 239 rail stations in the six-county metropolitan area. For complete schedule information, customers may contact Metra Passenger Services, 312-322-6777, during business hours, visit www.metrarail.com, or call the RTA Travel Information Center at 836-7000 (city or suburbs).

ABOUT ACTIVE TRANS
The Active Transportation Alliance is a non-profit, member-based advocacy organization that works to make bicycling, walking and public transit so safe, convenient and fun that we will achieve a significant shift from environmentally harmful, sedentary travel to clean, active travel. The organization builds a movement around active transportation, encourages physical activity, increases safety and builds a world-class transportation network. Formerly the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation, the Active Transportation Alliance is North America’s largest transportation advocacy organization, supported by more than 6,000 members, 1,000 volunteers and 35 full-time staff. For more information on the Active Transportation Alliance, visit www.activetrans.org or call 312.427.3325.

ABOUT RTA
The RTA provides financial oversight, funding and regional planning for the three public transit operations in Northeastern Illinois: The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) bus and train, Metra commuter rail and Pace suburban bus and paratransit. For more information, visit www.rtachicago.com and www.MovingBeyondCongestion.org.

ABOUT CTA
The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) operates the nation’s second largest public transportation system providing both bus and rail service. On an average weekday, 1.7 million rides are taken on CTA. The CTA is a regional transit system that serves 40 suburbs, in addition to the City of Chicago, and provides 81 percent of the public transit trips in the six-county Chicago Metropolitan-area region either with direct service or connecting service to Metra and Pace.

ABOUT PACE
Pace, the suburban bus division of the RTA, provides fixed route bus, ADA paratransit, dial-a-ride and ridesharing services throughout northeastern Illinois. Pace has the seventh-largest bus fleet in North America, one of the largest vanpool programs in the United States, and its regional ADA Paratransit service is estimated to be the largest such operation in the world. In 2008, total ridership on Pace service was more than 40.5 million, its second largest total in the agency’s 25 year history.”

Residents of Chicago’s Near West Side will be able to shop at a full-service grocery store for the first time in four decades when Pete’s Fresh Market opens in 2011.

The local, produce-oriented chain was officially awarded the city-owned site at the intersection of Madison and Western during a meeting Aug. 20. A Giordano’s pizza restaurant also will open as part of the development, which will take about 16 months to build and serve West Haven, East Garfield Park and nearby communities.

Pete’s will offer dairy, meats, fish, poultry, bakery, deli and organic produce — but not pharmacy or alcohol.

“We’ll be coming out of the food desert shortly,” said Earnest Gates, executive director of the Near West Side Community Development Corp., which facilitated the selection process and served as lead agency in producing the community’s 2007 quality-of-life plan, “Rising Like the Phoenix,” which featured the grocery store as a key project. “It’s something that the neighborhood will be able to celebrate.”

Neighbors Development Network, comprised of about 300 homeowners, renters and public housing residents on the Near West Side, took up petitions to bring Pete’s to the community, said Andre Perrin, co-chair.

“We kind of coalesced around Pete’s two years ago,” he said. “We thought it met everybody’s needs. It’s affordable, high quality and has been helping to transform other neighborhoods.”

Perrin specifically mentioned Little Village, where Pete’s occupies a former Jewel location. “It’s been bringing that area back to life, and we envision it doing the same thing at Madison and Western,” he said.

Pete’s Fresh Market representative Charlie Poulakis said the store will encompass 55,000 square feet, and there will be an additional 10,000 square feet of development including Giordano’s and a couple of other restaurants or retailers yet to be determined.

The three-acre site at Madison and Western sits across from another shopping center anchored by a Walgreen’s.

Photo by Mike Quinlan

“We thank the people and all the parties that were involved, especially the alderman, and the people who supported us,” Poulakis said. “The people [who live nearby] motivated us to go to that location.”

“Providing West Side residents with easy access to food and shopping is a priority, because this area has been a food desert for far too long,” wrote Ald. Bob Fioretti (2nd) in his e-newsletter to constituents. “Pete’s is the best choice for the community. They have demonstrated a will to work with and hire from the neighborhood to ensure that local residents benefit fully.”

Produce, Dairy – But No Alcohol, Rx

During a May 6 meeting at Crane High School, where other finalists Jewel-Osco and Food 4 Less also presented, Poulakis said Pete’s offers most typical grocery store departments, except for pharmacy and liquor, and some in the diverse crowd of about 200 were happy to hear booze would not be included. The store will offer dairy, bakery, deli, meats, poultry, fish, organic produce and a salad bar.

“This is a food desert, not a pharmacy desert,” Poulakis said at the meeting, in a nod to the Walgreen’s across the street, although he later added that the store might include some non-prescription pharmacy-type items. “Pete’s likes to go into food deserts and make an oasis. This site fits Pete’s M.O.”

Fioretti co-hosted the meeting with representatives of the city’s newly reorganized Department of Community Development.

The chain, which accepts Food Stamps and LINK cards at its six existing stores on the South and Southwest sides of Chicago and one in south suburban Calumet City, Ill., expects to hire about 150 people at the Madison and Western store.

Fioretti said his office would work closely with Near West Side CDC to keep track of local hiring. Pete’s plans to provide job training before it opens and managerial training to all who qualify, and it pays butchers $16 per hour, according to Poulakis.

The city’s Department of Community Development considered numerous factors in making the selection, including time-line, financing, building design, community input, commitment to local and diverse hiring, commitment to environmentally-friendly features, the level of city assistance needed, and total cost.

“We don’t want it to go any longer than you do,” said Mary Bonome, deputy commissioner with the department, during the May meeting. “Trust me: This has been a long and very expensive process from the city’s perspective.”

Perrin expressed gratitude that the process had reached an end. “The community is extremely happy with the result,” he said. “It’s been a long time coming. It’ll fill a big void that will make this neighborhood more of a true neighborhood, where you don’t have to go somewhere else to do daily activities.”

“The wait is over,” Amy Knapp, the other co-chair of Neighbors Development Network wrote in an e-mail announcing the deal. “It was a long fight but definitely worth it. Thanks to everyone for staying involved and being committed to making this a reality.”