Explore our content

All types | All dates | All authors
Federal Government
Quick Hit
by Ellyn Fortino
10:31am
Wed May 1

Workers, Immigrant Rights Advocates Prepare For May Day Rally In Chicago (VIDEO)

Immigrant rights advocates, workers and other activists will march and rally in the city today in support of workers' rights and comprehensive immigration reform that provides a fair pathway to citizenship and stops deportations until a new law is passed.

Members of SEIU* Local 1 and the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) prepared for the May Day event yesterday by making signs and hashing out final details for the rallies. 

"Having immigration reform is going to help a lot of families fix their status and come out of the shadows and stop living in fear," said Graciela Vergara, chair of the SEIU Central Region Latino Caucus, at the sign making event. "A lot of our people in our community live in fear, because they’re not here legally ... and we know that a lot of companies, a lot of employers have been doing E-Verify. A lot of families have been affected." Read more »

Quick Hit
by Ellyn Fortino
3:54pm
Mon Apr 29

Environmental, Public Health Activists Voice Support For New Emissions Standards At EPA Hearing

EPA HearingEnvironmentalists and public health advocates urged the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to finalize its draft rule that would reduce the amount of sulfur in gasoline at a public hearing in Chicago today.

The EPA's proposed Tier 3 program unveiled last month aims to set new vehicle emissions standards and reduce the sulfur content of gasoline from 30 parts per million to 10 parts per million by 2017.

The American Lung Association estimates the change could be the equivalent of taking 33 million cars off the road.

"What an impact that is, and yet the oil companies are still fighting that," said double lung-transplant recipient Dan Dolan-Laughlin before today's hearing. "I don’t understand. Well, yes I do. It’s money."

Read more »

Quick Hit
by Progress Illinois
6:04pm
Fri Apr 26
1 comment

Op-Ed: Make Workplaces Safer With Immigration Reform

The following was written by Jorge Ramirez, president of the Chicago Federation of Labor.

One positive side effect of Congress passing comprehensive immigration reform would be an increase in workplace safety and a reduction in the staggering number of fatalities, injuries and illnesses suffered by workers on the job in the United States.

The debate over the most sweeping reform to our nation’s immigration system provides added significance as we honor Workers Memorial Day on April 28, remembering those who were killed, injured or became seriously ill because of their job.

Read more »

PI Original
by Ashlee Rezin
3:54pm
Fri Apr 26

Genetically Engineered Food Must Be Labeled As Such, Argue Consumer Rights Advocates

Congress

The United States is one of the last remaining industrialized countries that does not mandate disclosure of genetically modified organisms (GMO) on food labels. But recent state and federal legislation reflects the rallying cry of food advocacy groups calling for the government to give consumers the right to know exactly what they are eating.

PI Original
by Ashlee Rezin
1:03pm
Fri Apr 26

CISPA Could Be The End Of Online Privacy, Internet Activists Say

Congress

Privacy advocates condemning the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) as the end of online confidentiality experienced a triumph this week as the legislation will likely be shelved by the U.S. Senate.