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Barack Obama
Quick Hit
by Ashlee Rezin
4:47pm
Tue May 21

Unite Here Workers Oppose Pritzker Nomination For Commerce Secretary

Senate confirmation hearings for Chicago billionaire Penny Pritzker’s nomination for U.S. Secretary of Commerce are scheduled for Thursday, but workers from the her family-owned hotel chain are already voicing their opposition to the selection.

“This is not somebody we want in Washington; this is a lady whose business model hurts workers,” said Demetrius Jackson, 25, a lifelong Chicagoan and convention service houseman at the Hyatt Regency Chicago for six years.

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Quick Hit
by Ellyn Fortino
2:57pm
Mon May 20

Former Obama Staffers Reflect On Life Inside The White House

Working inside the White House is not as glamorous and eventful as some popular TV shows make it out to be, former Obama administration staff members said at a recent panel discussion in Chicago.

“The truth of the matter is that not every single day is incredibly action packed in the White House,” said Elizabeth Jarvis-Shean, former White House research director.

Although Jarvis-Shean worked on issues she said she had a special interest in, such as the Affordable Care Act of 2010 and repealing "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell," about 50 percent of her time consisted of “mundane” day-to-day assignments.

Some of her typical tasks included editing speeches or vetting somebody expected to stand on stage with the president, among other things, she said.

Also, White House staffers are not as witty as the characters on “The West Wing” TV show, said Chris Lu, former White House cabinet secretary.

“If you’ve seen ‘The West Wing’ TV show, you know the whole thing is walking and talking,” Lu said at the discussion, sponsored by the University of Chicago Institute of Politics. “You can’t walk and talk in the West Wing ... it is tiny in the White House.”

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Quick Hit
by Ellyn Fortino
1:17pm
Fri May 17

Report: Chicago Homeowners Lost $3.1 Billion In Wealth Last Year, Communities Of Color Hit The Hardest

The city of Chicago lost more than $3.1 billion in wealth, or about $2,900 per household, in 2012 as a result of the foreclosure crisis, according to a new report from the Alliance for a Just Society.

And more than $192 billion in homeowner wealth was lost nationally last year, the new analysis shows.

Communities of color in Chicago saw more foreclosures and lost wealth per household compared to other communities.

In 2012, the average Chicago household in zip codes with the highest concentration of people of color lost $3,700 in wealth, the “Wasted Wealth” (PDF) report found.

In comparison, the average wealth lost in segregated white communities was about $1,300 per household.

“Seeing this loss of wealth per household is profound," said the Rev. Marilyn Pagán-Banks, president of IIRON, which also worked on the release of the report. "People of color in Chicago, whose majority equity holdings remain in real estate, have been particularly affected by the crisis.” 

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Quick Hit
by Ellyn Fortino
5:31pm
Thu May 9
1 comment

IL Senate Committee Passes Legislation For State-based Health Insurance Exchange

The Illinois Senate Insurance Committee passed a measure Wednesday that looks to establish a state-run health insurance marketplace for small businesses and individuals as part of President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act of 2010.

Some health care and consumer advocates are pushing for a state-based insurance exchange, but questions still remain on how to make the marketplace the best it can be.

"We're walking into a new territory. We haven’t been here yet," said Brigid Leahy, director of legislative affairs at Planned Parenthood of Illinois. "But at least we know that if we're running things at the state level, we can fix things, we can make them better, we have better control over making sure that it works for consumers. If it’s in the hands of the feds, we don’t have that power." 

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