The Democratic primary race between U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. and former congresswoman Debbie Halvorson is focused more on local job creation than Jackson Jr.'s ethics scandal.
The SEIU Illinois State Council, which sponsors this web site, has issued their endorsements for the upcoming March 20 primary races.
“Each of these candidates has championed the needs of the working families united in SEIU and the millions of people they serve every day as home care and child care providers, public employees, medical professionals, security guards and janitors, first responders and social service workers,” said Tom Balanoff, president of the SEIU Illinois State Council.
The following is from Keith Kelleher, president of SEIU* Healthcare Illinois
and Indiana, on the passage of the tax break package passed by the Illinois House earlier today.
By granting a large
tax break today to one of Illinois’ most prosperous companies, the
Illinois House has concentrated more wealth in the hands of the rich,
even as average workers are literally taking to the streets to decry
growing income inequality.
While we applaud the House for passing a
separate bill that expands the Earned Income Tax Credit for low-wage
households, the benefits of this measure are eclipsed by the magnitude
of the tax breaks lawmakers approved for the state’s corporate
heavyweights. For every one dollar in tax breaks the House has given to
workers struggling to propel themselves out of poverty, it has doled out
nearly two dollars to corporations.
Occupy Chicago is taking part in a global day of action demanding jobs, not cuts. Activists and seniors will also hold a rally calling for the preservation of Medicare and Social Security.
For the second consecutive Saturday, the Occupy Chicago movement flexed its muscles with a 2,000-person march down Jackson Ave. and attempted occupation of Grant Park. More than 100 Chicago police officers surrounded the park warning protesters of the 11 p.m. park curfew and the risk of possible arrest.
By the end of the night at least 130 protesters were handcuffed with zip ties, photographed and escorted to the first district police station at 18th St. & State St. by a city paddy wagon and Cook County Sheriff buses by county correctional guards.
A massive rally will kickstart an effort to 'Take Back Chicago' today at 4 p.m. More than 7,500 people are expected to take part in the march and rally in protest of the lack of good jobs in the area and the influence of big banks and corporations in politics, just as major players in the financial industry converge in Chicago for the Mortgage Banker Association and Futures Industry Association expos. Read more »
Janitors and supporters in 22 cities across the country rallied for fair wages and good jobs in preparation for new contract negotiations as the agreements are set to expire in the next year.
SEIU Local 1 gathered more than 300 people at the Thompson Center drawing attention to the plight of low wage workers in this unrelenting economic recession.
SEIU* Local-73, which represents the 71 traffic control aides the city laid off two weeks ago, will meet with Mayor Rahm Emanuel at a to-be-determined time about the lost jobs. “We met with them last night and they said they were going to talk with us,” said Local-73 Secretary-Treasurer Matt Brandon.
Brandon related the news at the end of the mayor’s second and final scheduled town hall meeting regarding the city’s $635 million budget deficit. The town hall was held Wednesday night at Malcolm X Community College on the near West Side and consisted of the mayor answering mostly pre-screened questions to a gymnasium-sized audience.
Emanuel used the occasion to strike blows against the “dishonest” budget policies of 22-year Mayor Richard Daley, without ever mentioning his predecessor by name.
But it was Emanuel’s own early policies regarding traffic workers and teachers that provided the most dramatic moments.
The SEIU Illinois State Council, which sponsors this web site, has issued their endorsements for the upcoming March 20 primary races.
The following is from Keith Kelleher, president of SEIU* Healthcare Illinois
and Indiana, on the passage of the tax break package passed by the Illinois House earlier today. 
For the second consecutive Saturday, the Occupy Chicago movement flexed its muscles with a 2,000-person march down Jackson Ave. and attempted occupation of Grant Park. More than 100 Chicago police officers surrounded the park warning protesters of the 11 p.m. park curfew and the risk of possible arrest.
A massive rally will kickstart an effort to '
Janitors and supporters in 22 cities across the country rallied for fair wages and good jobs in preparation for new contract negotiations as the agreements are set to expire in the next year.
SEIU* Local-73, which represents the 71 traffic control aides the city laid off two weeks ago, will meet with Mayor Rahm Emanuel at a to-be-determined time about the lost jobs. “We met with them last night and they said they were going to talk with us,” said Local-73 Secretary-Treasurer Matt Brandon. 
