Effective Community Organizing with Amara Enyia __________________________ Education The current state of public education in Chicago is unacceptable. We have a school system that is attacked instead of developed and enriched. Instead of investing in the schools the way a world-class city would, our teachers – community backbones where they work and where they live – are assailed. If that weren’t enough, Chicago made headlines last year for the largest public school closing in United States history. Institutions that anchored neighborhoods, where Chicago kids grew up and made friends, are now lying dormant or being prepared for sale. This is not the education system our children deserve, nor the reputation they should be forced to carry. 1.Maintain an elected school board to put our school systems back in the hands of educators ready to work with communities to meet their needs 2.Create fully funded neighborhood schools and put a freeze on charter schools 3.End unnecessary testing and reinstate arts programs and vocational education 4.Empower local school councils Public Safety Today in Chicago, crime persists amid growing numbers of unemployed, underemployed and underpaid workers. This is simply unacceptable. We cannot continue to ignore the violence because it is not happening right in front of us. Our neighbors are in trouble and instead of being ignored by policymakers; they should be enriched in redevelopment initiatives. Instead of sending our children to school through war zones, we should be encouraging unity, education and trust. Instead of spiraling crime, our seniors should feel secure in retirement and in their own neighborhoods. We can be world-class by rebuilding our city the right way, on a proper foundation. 1.Hire more police- excessive overtime means greater danger for residents and police alike 2.Expand restorative justice to reduce crime and increase community accountability 3.Enhance community policing strategies 4.Develop more youth jobs, after school and extracurricular activities and summer programs Revenue/Finance Responsible management of the people’s money and resources is perhaps our greatest public trust. Our city’s failed leadership continues to squander taxpayer dollars, while threatening to privatize more and more of our valuable public assets and services. I believe in honoring public sector workers and in valuing the services they provide, for which we happen to pay and targeted community economic investment, not flashy downtown tourist attractions. I want to present a program to the people of Chicago that will be a platform to unite us around a shared vision that incorporates the entire city, not just our gleaming skyline. For those of us who trudge off to work when its 15 below, pay our taxes, root for our teams, and expect first-rate public services, Chicago is not just our kind of town- Chicago is our home town. 1.Freeze the debt the city continues to accumulate 2.Enact the La Salle St. Tax and put an end to corporate tax loopholes 3.Honor pension commitments 4.Foster efficiency through necessary services, not extravagances 5.Stop officials from conducting corrupt insider deals Community and Economic Development In Chicago, it has become a game of us versus them. Our neighborhoods are pitted against each other and our people our fighting. I want to rebuild our city so it values every resident, every block, and every neighborhood, regardless of income, ethnicity, or geography. I’ve spent my career countering these sorts of problems by building bridges between policymakers and those affected by the programs they administer because I want Chicago to thrive. Our public assets – our airports, roadways, water systems, public buildings – are a trust built by generations of Chicago taxpayers. These things are our parents’ legacy and our children’s birthright. They cannot be sold off, pennies on the dollar, anymore. Investing in our people and the basics of civic life – schools, mass transit and roads, water and sewer systems, libraries, and parks– we can build an authentically world-class city. 1.Identify development corridors community-by-community and incentivize community hiring 2.Expand vocational training in strategic sectors 3.Maintain community driven development and benefits as part of every development plan 4.Preserve affordable housing and increase accountability so landlords provide quality housing 5.Streamline small business licensing and provide incentives for entrepreneurs to hire from the community 6.Rebuild community mental health services Ethics, Transparency and Communications We must reject leadership that divides us; leaders that ignore us, and leaders whose policies destroy our families and communities. We have a unique opportunity to build a movement – a movement powered by people and fueled by values of transparency in government, integrity in leadership and equity in policy. We need leadership that inspires positive action, not fear. I believe in open government, whose operations are exposed to the light of day, and I believe in ending elite, insider privilege in City Hall. The times require it. I want to build bridges using the things that unite us across racial, ethnic, economic and geographic lines. The only way to end the cynicism, inefficiency and corruption plaguing our city is to unite: One Chicago. 1.End the practice of PAC money or gifts among all city officials 2.Foster an open government with community budget hearings and presentations 3.Webcast public cabinet meetings along with monthly mayoral public meetings 4.Strengthen the Inspector General’s office
Posted on: Mon, 15 Dec 2014 17:19:18 +0000
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