To: President Donald Trump
Hold President Obama Accountable BEFORE November 6th!
In 2008 the South side of Chicago stood up and challenged the status quo along with the rest of America and made a vote for CHANGE. That change was you Mr. President. Since then there has been a unique sense of pride in People of Color on the South side of Chicago to know that it is one of our own that has shattered America’s glass ceiling in the White House.
However, four years later we as neighbors feel that we have yet to experience the “Change” that we elected you to represent. While we are fully aware that the entire nation is under your leadership, we also understand that true change begins at home! As your neighbors and supporters, we are concerned about the quality of life for working class and poor people in our neighborhood. The following are our primary concerns and recommendations that YES YOU CAN take to address some of the ails of our community;
1. Education Concern: One of the most pressing concerns on the south side is education. In 2008 you gave a speech entitled "What's Possible for Our Children” and in it you said; "Promising high-quality teachers in every classroom and then leaving the support and the pay for those teachers behind is wrong. Labeling a school and its students as failures one day and then throwing your hands up and walking away from them the next is wrong.” Mr. President, those wrongs are prevalent right here on the south side of Chicago! Mayor Rahm is attacking the CPS school system through firings, turn-arounds, and closures of south and west side schools. Mr. President, Dyett High School which is right down the street from your house, is being abandoned by Rahm! It is one of the 17 schools that have adverse actions planned against it for the 2012-13 school year. These actions will displace students and increase student dropout rates. These actions mean that African-American children, who make up over 40% of CPS students, will continue to feed the School to Prison pipeline thereby, increasing its flow through your back yard.
Presidential Solution: After months of attending rallies, protests, and meetings with City electeds, we have still been silenced and today are left with you Mr. President as our last recourse. We as parents, teachers, and your neighbors have demanded a halt to all school closures and turn-arounds in Chicago. Further, we demand a school board that is elected by the People and NOT appointed by the mayor for the students of Chicago. This can be done at your discretion through a moratorium!
2. Housing Concern: Mr. President, in 2009, you passed laws that protected renters from foreclosure related evections. You also implemented a 90 day moratorium on foreclosures allowing families to stay in their homes for the holiday season. While these were great beginning steps, it now appears to the casual observer that helping families to stay in their homes has fallen to the bottom of your priority list. Here in your home town Chicago, we have more than twice the national average of foreclosed homes and over 25,500 vacant buildings. On average 100 foreclosures are filed everyday in Chicago. These abandoned properties bring down the value of all those around them, attract criminal activity, and serve as a grim reminder of what used to be. Concurrently, homelessness is on the rise which makes the sight of increased peopleless homes that much harder to tolerate.
Presidential Solution: In 2008 while you were still Senator Obama, you voiced the need for tightening regulations and reforming of the financial regulatory system in addition to a $10 billion foreclosure prevention fund to help Americans keep their homes. This should be moved to the top of your priority list once again as without a stable home children and families cannot thrive. Additionally, we would implore you to execute a National 1 year moratorium on ALL foreclosures and ALL financially motivated evictions.
3. Employment/ Jobs Concern: In Chicago the unemployment rate is in the double digits. The national stats do not take into consideration all of the long-term unemployed, nor those who have never been employed. When you factor in these would-be workers, the unemployment rate increases significantly. The answer is NOT low wage, part-time, insecure jobs. While those may be just fine for a highschooler, for a family trying to survive these low wage jobs do not suffice. In your now famous “Change We Can Believe In” speech you gave in Springfield you said; “Let’s be the generation that ends poverty in America. Every single person willing to work should be able to get job training that leads to a job, and earn a living wage that can pay the bills, and afford child care so their kids have a safe place to go when they work”. We cannot and will not be the generation that ends poverty as long as we allow the exploiting of OUR people for corporate gain. For example Mr. President, Wal-Mart who has been the largest opponent of paying “living-wages” to employees plans to build a store just around th...
However, four years later we as neighbors feel that we have yet to experience the “Change” that we elected you to represent. While we are fully aware that the entire nation is under your leadership, we also understand that true change begins at home! As your neighbors and supporters, we are concerned about the quality of life for working class and poor people in our neighborhood. The following are our primary concerns and recommendations that YES YOU CAN take to address some of the ails of our community;
1. Education Concern: One of the most pressing concerns on the south side is education. In 2008 you gave a speech entitled "What's Possible for Our Children” and in it you said; "Promising high-quality teachers in every classroom and then leaving the support and the pay for those teachers behind is wrong. Labeling a school and its students as failures one day and then throwing your hands up and walking away from them the next is wrong.” Mr. President, those wrongs are prevalent right here on the south side of Chicago! Mayor Rahm is attacking the CPS school system through firings, turn-arounds, and closures of south and west side schools. Mr. President, Dyett High School which is right down the street from your house, is being abandoned by Rahm! It is one of the 17 schools that have adverse actions planned against it for the 2012-13 school year. These actions will displace students and increase student dropout rates. These actions mean that African-American children, who make up over 40% of CPS students, will continue to feed the School to Prison pipeline thereby, increasing its flow through your back yard.
Presidential Solution: After months of attending rallies, protests, and meetings with City electeds, we have still been silenced and today are left with you Mr. President as our last recourse. We as parents, teachers, and your neighbors have demanded a halt to all school closures and turn-arounds in Chicago. Further, we demand a school board that is elected by the People and NOT appointed by the mayor for the students of Chicago. This can be done at your discretion through a moratorium!
2. Housing Concern: Mr. President, in 2009, you passed laws that protected renters from foreclosure related evections. You also implemented a 90 day moratorium on foreclosures allowing families to stay in their homes for the holiday season. While these were great beginning steps, it now appears to the casual observer that helping families to stay in their homes has fallen to the bottom of your priority list. Here in your home town Chicago, we have more than twice the national average of foreclosed homes and over 25,500 vacant buildings. On average 100 foreclosures are filed everyday in Chicago. These abandoned properties bring down the value of all those around them, attract criminal activity, and serve as a grim reminder of what used to be. Concurrently, homelessness is on the rise which makes the sight of increased peopleless homes that much harder to tolerate.
Presidential Solution: In 2008 while you were still Senator Obama, you voiced the need for tightening regulations and reforming of the financial regulatory system in addition to a $10 billion foreclosure prevention fund to help Americans keep their homes. This should be moved to the top of your priority list once again as without a stable home children and families cannot thrive. Additionally, we would implore you to execute a National 1 year moratorium on ALL foreclosures and ALL financially motivated evictions.
3. Employment/ Jobs Concern: In Chicago the unemployment rate is in the double digits. The national stats do not take into consideration all of the long-term unemployed, nor those who have never been employed. When you factor in these would-be workers, the unemployment rate increases significantly. The answer is NOT low wage, part-time, insecure jobs. While those may be just fine for a highschooler, for a family trying to survive these low wage jobs do not suffice. In your now famous “Change We Can Believe In” speech you gave in Springfield you said; “Let’s be the generation that ends poverty in America. Every single person willing to work should be able to get job training that leads to a job, and earn a living wage that can pay the bills, and afford child care so their kids have a safe place to go when they work”. We cannot and will not be the generation that ends poverty as long as we allow the exploiting of OUR people for corporate gain. For example Mr. President, Wal-Mart who has been the largest opponent of paying “living-wages” to employees plans to build a store just around th...
Why is this important?
Dear President Obama,
We are residents of the South side of Chicago and would first like to welcome you and First Lady Michelle back home. While we are aware of your busy schedule this weekend with the NATO Summit being in town, we would like to take the opportunity of your visit back home to express to you some of the greatest concerns of your South side neighbors.
We still believe that CHANGE is possible but in order for us to carry that belief into the voting booth we need to see ACTION from you Mr. President and we need to see them before November 6th!
We are residents of the South side of Chicago and would first like to welcome you and First Lady Michelle back home. While we are aware of your busy schedule this weekend with the NATO Summit being in town, we would like to take the opportunity of your visit back home to express to you some of the greatest concerns of your South side neighbors.
We still believe that CHANGE is possible but in order for us to carry that belief into the voting booth we need to see ACTION from you Mr. President and we need to see them before November 6th!