Thursday, October 1, 2009
Thursday, July 2, 2009
CHART Protests 47th St Clinic Closure
Around 70 members of the CHART coalition - including four members of SSN - came together Tuesday (June 30th) to protest the UCMC's plan to close the women's health clinic on 47th St. Full story on the CHART site.
Monday, June 22, 2009
NoGames Goes to Switzerland
Members of the NoGames coalition were in Switzerland last week, presenting their case to the IOC that Chicago is not ready to host the 2016 Olympics. They got a brief mention on the BBC website, and according to the delegation themselves, they're the first group ever to travel to IOC headquarters to ask them NOT to host the games in their home city. They'll be hosting a reception to talk about their trip this evening at 7pm in Carmichaels, 1052 W Monroe.
While we're on the subject, this is as good a time as any to link to Ben Joravsky's excellent open letter to the IOC in the Chicago Reader. SSN supported both the NoGames campaign and the Communities for an Equitable Olympics coalition this year, and although the latter scored a significant victory in getting a memorandum of understanding with Chicago 2016 (including commitments on affordable housing and jobs) , Joravsky's piece makes an excellent case for why it would be better for everyone if the Olympics just didn't come to Chicago at all.
While we're on the subject, this is as good a time as any to link to Ben Joravsky's excellent open letter to the IOC in the Chicago Reader. SSN supported both the NoGames campaign and the Communities for an Equitable Olympics coalition this year, and although the latter scored a significant victory in getting a memorandum of understanding with Chicago 2016 (including commitments on affordable housing and jobs) , Joravsky's piece makes an excellent case for why it would be better for everyone if the Olympics just didn't come to Chicago at all.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Stories from the CHART Town Hall
To add to what Mark said in the previous post about the CHART town hall last Wednesday: some anecdotes.
1. Besides pointing out the gap between the UCMC's charity care and the tax breaks it gets for it (again, that's $48 million), Heather O'Donnell also stated that nobody is currently holding private hospitals responsible for charity care. (That means it's up to us.)
2. According to an ER physician: it is a long-standing myth that the cost of non-emergency care in the ER is great. Setting up and running an ER is very expensive, but the incremental cost of non-emergency care is not that high.
3. A UofC emeritus professor needed to see a cardiologist. He went to the UCMC, found a cardiologist, but was told he would have to wait 3 months for an appointment. But, as it turns out, the UCMC had opened up a branch on the Gold Coast--and the very same cardiologist was working over there. So he went to that clinic on the Gold Coast. No 3 month wait. When he showed up they parked his car for free, the receptionist offered him coffee, it only took him 5 minutes before the nurse came to meet him, and then, after that, just another 5 minutes for the doctor to see him--for a 40 minute visit.
4. One dude had gone to Mitchell Hospital shortly before the town hall meeting. He asked 5 nurses, in passing, if they knew about the event. 4 out of the 5 told him they wouldn't dare to talk about the rally where someone else might hear. Although I didn't write them all down, there were plenty of other stories like this last one, about threats, punishments, and just plain petty forms of manipulation, used by management to get nurses and other workers to mind their own business.
And one last thing I noticed: these issues are bigger than the UCMC itself, and all of them are connected to the brokenness of the health care system in the region and in the nation as a whole--and, sure enough, calls for single payer health care turned out to be big applause lines.
1. Besides pointing out the gap between the UCMC's charity care and the tax breaks it gets for it (again, that's $48 million), Heather O'Donnell also stated that nobody is currently holding private hospitals responsible for charity care. (That means it's up to us.)
2. According to an ER physician: it is a long-standing myth that the cost of non-emergency care in the ER is great. Setting up and running an ER is very expensive, but the incremental cost of non-emergency care is not that high.
3. A UofC emeritus professor needed to see a cardiologist. He went to the UCMC, found a cardiologist, but was told he would have to wait 3 months for an appointment. But, as it turns out, the UCMC had opened up a branch on the Gold Coast--and the very same cardiologist was working over there. So he went to that clinic on the Gold Coast. No 3 month wait. When he showed up they parked his car for free, the receptionist offered him coffee, it only took him 5 minutes before the nurse came to meet him, and then, after that, just another 5 minutes for the doctor to see him--for a 40 minute visit.
4. One dude had gone to Mitchell Hospital shortly before the town hall meeting. He asked 5 nurses, in passing, if they knew about the event. 4 out of the 5 told him they wouldn't dare to talk about the rally where someone else might hear. Although I didn't write them all down, there were plenty of other stories like this last one, about threats, punishments, and just plain petty forms of manipulation, used by management to get nurses and other workers to mind their own business.
And one last thing I noticed: these issues are bigger than the UCMC itself, and all of them are connected to the brokenness of the health care system in the region and in the nation as a whole--and, sure enough, calls for single payer health care turned out to be big applause lines.
UCMC: Where did all the money go?
Over 150 students, workers, medical professionals, patients, activists, and local residents came out last week to an open town hall meeting organized by the Coalition for Healthcare Access Responsibility and Transparency (CHART), of which SSN is a member. The lively discussion included the revelation that although the UofC Medical Center receives around $58 million every year in tax breaks, it only spends $10 million on the charity care that is supposed to justify them. As Heather O'Donnell (Policy Director, Center for Tax and Budget Accountability) remarked, the UCMC's standard response - that it needs the extra money to cover its losses on Medicaid patients - is simply an attempt to muddy the water. Although it is true that hospitals take a hit on Medicaid patients, Illinois law clearly states that tax breaks are specifically intended to cover charity care only. All healthcare providers suffer from the broken Medicaid system whether they get tax breaks or not, so the UCMC cannot use Medicaid losses as an excuse for failing in its charity care obligations. To read the full CTBA report, click here.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
The New Grove Parc?
The first campaign that SSN was ever involved in was the campaign to save Grove Parc Plaza, the Section 8 housing development between 61st and 63rd St on Cottage Grove Avenue. After a long fight concluding in a sit-in at the offices of HUD, the tenants' association successfully lobbied for the complex to be taken over by POAH (Preservation of Affordable Housing), a non-profit based in Boston. Since then, plans have been drawn up to redevelop Grove Parc whilst preserving all of the affordable units.
In this interview with Chicago Public Radio, the architect for the new Grove Parc discusses the plans.
In this interview with Chicago Public Radio, the architect for the new Grove Parc discusses the plans.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
U of C closes 47th St clinic
See the Trib article here.
Whatever the university says, it's hard not to see this as part of a long-term trend to diminish health care and education services for those on the south side who need them most. SSN will be working with CHART (Coalition for Healthcare Access, Responsibility, and Transparency) on a response to the closure. Watch this space.
Whatever the university says, it's hard not to see this as part of a long-term trend to diminish health care and education services for those on the south side who need them most. SSN will be working with CHART (Coalition for Healthcare Access, Responsibility, and Transparency) on a response to the closure. Watch this space.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Student Leader Awards
Congratulations to Hannah Jacoby (Howell Murray Alumni Association Award and Perry Hurst Prize) and Nalika Vasudevan (Unsung Hero Award), and to Luis Brennan (Maroon Key).
Go Southside!
Go Southside!
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Springfield report
courtesy of Aliya and Larissa
On Wednesday, April 22, seven members of SSN joined members of SEIU and SOUL on a bus trip to Springfield to speak with legislators about bringing green jobs and better public transit options to the Southside, as well as balancing the budget in a fair and responsible way. The day started early, with everyone on the bus by 6:15, where we were greeted with donuts, coffee and excited community organizers. Upon reaching Springfield, we hurried to meet with Hyde Park's representative and Illinois House Majority leader Barbara Flynn Currie. Our numbers were impressive, and she listened to us for a reasonable amount of time and agreed to cooperate with our objectives. After speaking with a few more legislators, many of whom seemed duplicitous and dismissive, we joined the other lobbyist groups outside for a rally that could only be described as showy, placating and generally unproductive. The subsequent lobbying was fairly chaotic and less successful than before, kind of an "every organizer for himself" situation, and few legislators even stopped to talk with representatives of our group. Ultimately, we personally left feeling confused as to what our role was exactly, but really enjoyed interacting with the people from SOUL and SEIU and getting to know other members of SSN better. We still believe that bringing legislators closer to their constituents has inherent merit, and we applaud SEIU and SOUL for the work they are doing. Overall, it was a beautiful day, and Abe Lincoln's house was damn cool.
On Wednesday, April 22, seven members of SSN joined members of SEIU and SOUL on a bus trip to Springfield to speak with legislators about bringing green jobs and better public transit options to the Southside, as well as balancing the budget in a fair and responsible way. The day started early, with everyone on the bus by 6:15, where we were greeted with donuts, coffee and excited community organizers. Upon reaching Springfield, we hurried to meet with Hyde Park's representative and Illinois House Majority leader Barbara Flynn Currie. Our numbers were impressive, and she listened to us for a reasonable amount of time and agreed to cooperate with our objectives. After speaking with a few more legislators, many of whom seemed duplicitous and dismissive, we joined the other lobbyist groups outside for a rally that could only be described as showy, placating and generally unproductive. The subsequent lobbying was fairly chaotic and less successful than before, kind of an "every organizer for himself" situation, and few legislators even stopped to talk with representatives of our group. Ultimately, we personally left feeling confused as to what our role was exactly, but really enjoyed interacting with the people from SOUL and SEIU and getting to know other members of SSN better. We still believe that bringing legislators closer to their constituents has inherent merit, and we applaud SEIU and SOUL for the work they are doing. Overall, it was a beautiful day, and Abe Lincoln's house was damn cool.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Southside Goes to Springfield II
More pictures from lobby day in Springfield, this time from Fabian. And in related news, on Chicago Public Radio's Eight Forty-Eight this morning, Amy Terpstra of the Heartland Alliance explains why more progressive taxation (one of our major lobbying goals) is essential for fighting rising poverty in and around Chicago: "It's a structural problem, so what we need are structural solutions."
Monday, April 27, 2009
Southside goes to Springfield!
Last Wednesday (April 22nd), seven members of SSN joined a busload of SOUL leaders and over a thousand representatives of unions and community groups from across the state of Illinois to lobby our elected officials in Springfield. A report on the day will be up soon - in the meantime, here are some pictures.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
The Gold Line campaign
The Southside Solidarity Network supports SOUL's campaign for the Gold Line, a proposal to improve public rail transit in the underserviced Southside. The plan was originally authored by James Withrow. Here is the outline from SOUL:
The Gold Line currently has the support of 4th Ward Alderman Toni Preckwinkle, 5th Ward Alderman Leslie Hairston, 7th Ward Alderman Sandi Jackson, 8th Ward Alderman Michelle Harris, 20th Ward Alderman Willie Cochran, State Representative Barbara Flynn Currie, State Representative Will Burns, State Senator Kwame Raoul, and Congressman Danny Davis (7th IL).
In Winter quarter, SSN members went downtown to join SOUL in a (polite) invasion of a meeting of the Metra Board of Directors. On April 22, SSN members joined SOUL at the state capital of Springfield in order to lobby for funding for a Gold Line feasibility study (among other issues). Our very own Jake Werner was on the front line facing off against the politicians.
As a result of this and other work, the RTA will receive a request from CDOT for $300K for the feasibility study; meanwhile Congressman Danny Davis is seeking federal authorization for the project. Great progress has been made, but much work remains to be done.
Additional info
For more information, contact SOUL transit organizer Will Tanzman at (312) 402‐0572.
See also the following links:
[last modified June 10]
SOUL is organizing to push Chicago’s transit agencies to turn the Metra Electric South Chicago branch train line from Randolph/Michigan to 93rd St./Baltimore into a more effective train line that will serve tens of thousands of Southside residents. This line runs through one of the most densely populated areas of the South Side, but many Southside residents do not ride the line because service is infrequent (just once per hour during most of the day), transfers between CTA and Metra are limited, and there is a huge gap between 27th St. and 47th St. with no stops.The state of the campaign
SOUL’s proposal - which the organization is calling the ‘Gold Line” - is to make the following improvements on the Metra Electric:
- Run trains to/from Randolph/Michigan and 93rd St./Baltimore every ten minutes from 6:00 a.m. until 12:00 midnight
- Accept CTA fares and allow transfers between CTA and Metra
- Upgrade stations at 59th Street and 63rd Street and build a new station at 35th Street
The Gold Line currently has the support of 4th Ward Alderman Toni Preckwinkle, 5th Ward Alderman Leslie Hairston, 7th Ward Alderman Sandi Jackson, 8th Ward Alderman Michelle Harris, 20th Ward Alderman Willie Cochran, State Representative Barbara Flynn Currie, State Representative Will Burns, State Senator Kwame Raoul, and Congressman Danny Davis (7th IL).
In Winter quarter, SSN members went downtown to join SOUL in a (polite) invasion of a meeting of the Metra Board of Directors. On April 22, SSN members joined SOUL at the state capital of Springfield in order to lobby for funding for a Gold Line feasibility study (among other issues). Our very own Jake Werner was on the front line facing off against the politicians.
As a result of this and other work, the RTA will receive a request from CDOT for $300K for the feasibility study; meanwhile Congressman Danny Davis is seeking federal authorization for the project. Great progress has been made, but much work remains to be done.
Additional info
For more information, contact SOUL transit organizer Will Tanzman at (312) 402‐0572.
See also the following links:
- Withrow's argument for the Gold Line
- Article on Southside transit, including the Gold Line (Chicago Weekly)
- Article on the Gold Line (Chicago Maroon)
- Article on a Gold Line teach-in run by SSN and SOUL (Maroon)
- I Support the Gold Line Facebook group
[last modified June 10]
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
A win on the mental health clinics
How's this for an auspicious inaugural post for this blog. From the Chicago Maroon:
As the article notes, the truth of the Mayor's announcement is currently in a state of flux: the clinics have in fact been shutting down. But we are assured they'll be reopening. And a number of people downtown have the job of preventing the mayor from being made a liar. And (crucially) the funds for the clinics have been identified. Still, there will probably be some work for us to do on the issue in the future.
Even so, this is a big win. STOP is planning a victory party, and we're on the invite list. SSN will be holding a celebration of its own, so stay-tuned and get ready to invite all your friends.
Mental health clinics granted stay after students help stage City Hall sit-inRead the rest of the article for more, including rather a lot of attention paid to our very own Mark Hopwood.
20 to 30 students have been involved with advocacy over the course of the campaign, attending pickets, protests, and town hall meetings on the fate of the clinics.
Mayor Richard M. Daley announced an 11th-hour halt to the closing of four South Side mental health clinics Tuesday, the day after a City Hall sit-in attended by U of C students.
The city announced it would close the clinics, which serve 2,000 patients across the South and West Sides, in January, spurring local organizers into actions.
As the article notes, the truth of the Mayor's announcement is currently in a state of flux: the clinics have in fact been shutting down. But we are assured they'll be reopening. And a number of people downtown have the job of preventing the mayor from being made a liar. And (crucially) the funds for the clinics have been identified. Still, there will probably be some work for us to do on the issue in the future.
Even so, this is a big win. STOP is planning a victory party, and we're on the invite list. SSN will be holding a celebration of its own, so stay-tuned and get ready to invite all your friends.
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