Citizen Suburban Times Weekly 2-12-2020

Citizen CELEBRATING BLACK HISTORY MONTH Week of Feb. 12, 2020

| Vol. 3 | No. 27 | www.citizennewspapergroup.com

SUBURBAN TIMES WEEKLY

Former Lt. Gov. Sheila Simon says the state should require more financial disclosure from lawmakers during recent testimony before the Joint Commission on Ethics and Lobbying Reform at the Capitol in Springfield. Capitol News Illinois photo by Peter Hancock

ILLINOIS ETHICS LAWS AMONG THE WEAKEST IN THE NATION

Government reform advocates told a panel of state lawmakers recently that Illinois has some of the weakest governmental ethics rules in the country and that lawmakers should put more teeth into them if they hope to regain the trust of the public. SEE PAGE 2

POLITISCOPE Supreme Court allows public charge clause that kept Nazi-era refugees from the US PAGE 2

BLACK HISTORY FOCUS

REAL ESTATE

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PAGES 6-7

Check out our real estate listings for important foreclosure information

Housing Choices for Blacks Has Fallen and Risen

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COMMUNITY

Illinois ethics laws among the weakest in the nation Advocates urge stricter rules on conflicts of interest, financial disclosure Continued from page 1

BY PETER HANCOCK CAPITOL NEWS ILLINOIS phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com

Springfield – Government reform advocates told a panel of state lawmakers recently that Illinois has some of the weakest governmental ethics rules in the country and that lawmakers should put more teeth into them if they hope to regain the trust of the public.

“For me, the disheartening part of all of it is not that so many lawmakers at all levels of government have strayed so far from the rules and have overshadowed the good work of ethical lawmakers, but that so many across our state kind of react to this news with a shrug,” said Georgia Logothetis, assistant director of the watchdog group Common Cause Illinois. “It’s a kind of disheartened acceptance that, well, this is just the way things work in Illinois.”

Logothetis was part of a panel of reform advocates who testified before the Joint Commission on Ethics and Lobbying Reform. The commission was formed last year in the wake of federal investigations that led to indictments against three sitting state lawmakers, two of whom have since resigned.

The recent hearing, the third since the panel was formed, focused on the state’s Governmental Ethics Act, and specifically its provisions dealing with conflicts of interest

and financial disclosure requirements.

While some states specifically prohibit lawmakers and other public officials from acting on issues in which they have a direct financial interest, Illinois has no such provision.

In fact, the only thing the Illinois law says about conflicts of interest is that when they arise, lawmakers “should consider the possibility of eliminating the interest causing the conflict.”

“If that is not feasible,” the statute continues, “he should consider the possibility of abstaining from such official action.”

Marie Dillon, policy director for the Better Government Association, a Chicago-based advocacy group, said that law was the result of a 1965 study commission that initially recommended mandatory rules, along with penalties and public reporting for violators. Those suggestions were rejected by lawmakers at the time.

“So, we ended up with a law that leaves it up to individual legislators to decide if they have a conflict of interest and, if so, what to do about it,” Dillon said. “As a taxpayer, I have to say emphatically, that’s not good enough.”

Nicholas Birdsong, a policy specialist for the National Conference of State Legislatures, said conflict of interest laws vary widely among the states. He said 35 states require lawmakers to recuse themselves from votes in which they have a conflict of interest and 13 states, including Illinois, leave the decision up to the lawmaker.

In Tennessee, where the rules are different in each chamber, the state House has a mandatory recusal policy and the state Senate has a discretionary policy. Utah, Birdsong said, requires legislators to vote if they are present,

regardless of whether they have a conflict.

Birdsong said some states have adopted the idea that lawmakers should be able to vote, even if they have a conflict of interest, because “legislators are elected and they’re obligated to vote according to the will of their constituents regardless of whether or not it serves or hurts their interest, and so having these sort of mandatory recusal rules essentially limits their ability to do their jobs.”

Many of those testifying also called for updating and expanding the Statement of Economic Interests forms that public officials in Illinois are required to fill out.

“The interesting thing about this document to me is, I’m not sure it adequately assesses what the interests are,” said Brad Cole, executive director of the Illinois Municipal League.

As an example, Cole pointed to one question on the form that asks what other units of government the person filing the form has worked for in the preceding year.

“It doesn’t say what you do for that unit of government, and that makes me wonder what is the interest,” he said. “If you are employed, what are you doing? What is the interest that you might have with the unit of government.”

Other questions on the form ask filers to identify the names of businesses in which they have an ownership interest; the names of professional organizations in which they are an officer or director; the nature of any professional services they rendered for which they were paid more than $5,000; the identity of significant capital assets they own; and the name of any lobbyist with whom they have a “close economic association.”

Others pointed out that people filling out

the form do not have to disclose outstanding debts or credits, any real estate holdings they may have other than their home, or how much income they derive from sources that might present a conflict of interest.

Former Illinois Lt. Gov. Sheila Simon, who served from 2011 to 2015 under then-Gov. Pat Quinn, said reporters often refer to the current document as a “none sheet” because people can write the word “none” on virtually all of the questions, even though they might still have significant outside interests.

She argued that the form should be designed in a way that is useful to the public rather than in a way that protects the privacy of public officials.

“I’d ask you to step back and look at how it’s going to affect people back home,” she said. “How is it going to affect not just members of the state House and Senate, but how is it going to affect people who are on the city council and the county board and the library district and everyone who is a constituent of those elected people who would like to know, does the person who’s proposing the new library board have an interest in the property where they’re going to build the new library?”

The joint commission so far has not made any recommendations for new ethics laws. Its final report to the General Assembly is due March 31.

But Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker made a forceful plea in his recent State of the State Address that he expects lawmakers to pass “real, lasting ethics reform this legislative session.”

“I think that message coming from the leader of our state is one of the strongest messages that can take place,” Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, a member of the commission, said after the meeting.

POLITISCOPE

Supreme Court allows public charge clause that kept Nazi-era refugees from the US

BY LAUREL LEFF

During the Nazi era, roughly 300,000 additional Jewish refugees could have gained entry to the U.S. without exceeding the nation’s existing quotas.

The primary mechanism that kept them out: the immigration law’s “likely to become a public charge” clause.

Consular officials with the authority to issue visas denied them to everyone they deemed incapable of supporting themselves in the U.S. It is not possible to say what happened to these refugees. Some immigrated to other countries that remained outside Germany’s grip, such as Great Britain. But many – perhaps most – were forced into hiding, imprisoned in concentration camps and ghettos, and deported to extermination centers.

Laurel Leff

In August, the Trump administration resurrected the “the public charge” clause as a way to limit legal immigration without changing the immigration laws. The rules would deny admission to those unable to prove under tough new standards that

they won’t claim government benefits.

A lower court had blocked that new rule with a preliminary injunction, but the Supreme Court lifted the injunction on January 27. The court’s decision allows the rules to go into effect everywhere, except Illinois.

Neither the five conservative justices in the majority, nor the four more liberal justices in dissent, explained their reasoning.

The many different organizations and states who have challenged the rules can continue their litigation, but the odds of ultimately winning aren’t good. Solicitor General Noel J. Francisco, who asked the Court to lift the stay, argued that the new rule was a reasonable interpretation of the statute that denies admission to anyone who is “likely at any time to become a public charge.”

As someone who has studied Eu-

ropean Jews’ attempts to escape Nazi persecution and immigrate to the U.S., the administration’s evocation of the public charge clause is chilling.

The public charge clause stretches back to an 1882 act, which was then incorporated into a 1917 law, that spelled out the classes of aliens who could be excluded from the U.S., including “persons likely to become a public charge.”

For the first five decades, the public charge provision barred few people, basically only those unable to work due to physical or mental handicaps.

After the 1929 stock market crash and the ensuing Great Depression, the Hoover administration sought to combat unemployment by reducing the number of immigrants. But it didn’t want to change the recently implemented Immigration Act of 1924 that set annual overall and coun-

CELEBRATING BLACK HISTORY MONTH

try-by-country quotas.

In September 1930, the State Department issued a press release that told consular officials that they “must refuse the visa,” to anyone they believed “may probably be a public charge at any time.” The instructions achieved the desired effect. Within five months, only 10% of the quota slots allotted to European immigrants had been filled.

When the Roosevelt administration assumed power in March 1933, it continued the new interpretation of the public charge clause. As refugees from first Germany and then most of Europe sought to escape Nazi persecution, the State Department used the public charge clause to limit the number of foreigners, most of whom were Jews, from immigrating to the U.S. With anti-foreigners pushing for Continued on page 4

CITIZEN | Suburban Times Weekly | Week of Feb. 12, 2020

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BLACK HISTORY

POLITISCOPE

Housing Choices for Blacks Has Fallen and Risen

BY WENDELL HUTSON Contributing Writer

There used to be a time when blacks had to be careful where they lived in Chicago and the suburbs because segregation had divided people up based on their race and economic status.

To some degree, housing is still based largely on race and income even though The Fair Housing Act (Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968) outlawed such measures. Under this federal law, it is illegal to refuse to sell or rent a dwelling to any person because of religion, sex, familial status, race, color, disability, or national origin.

From 1910 to 1930, the “Great Migration” occurred and brought large numbers of blacks to Chicago from the South. In fact, from 1940 to 1960, blacks began coming to Chicago in droves (which historians said was around 60,000) hoping to find good, paying industrial jobs.

But Chicago’s housing market grew thus pushing blacks seeking housing to what was called the “Black Belt” located between 12th and 79th streets and Wentworth and Cottage Grove Avenues.

And such overcrowding resulted in poor housing conditions for blacks, which was the goal of whites, according to Timuel Black, a 100-year-old historian.

He said the game plan all along was to keep blacks out of good neighborhoods and lump blacks together in one concentrated area.

These days, a millennial wouldn’t know what a “kitchenette” is but Black said, “those of us old enough to remember can tell you it was not an ideal place to live.”

With supply not being able to keep up with demand, landlords opted to divide up apartments also known as kitchenettes and then charged ridiculous rents for units with no bathrooms.

Fast forwarding to nearly 30 years later, local housing choices for blacks improved after years of decline. The Chatham neighThe Calumet City Board of Fire and Police Commission will be accepting applications for the position of Firefighter.

Applications will be available for pickup at the Office of the City Clerk; 204 Pulaski Road, Calumet City, IL beginning Tuesday, February 18, 2020. The Clerk’s office hours are as follows: Monday thru Friday 9:00 A.M. - 5:00 P.M. Application deadline February 28, 2020 Starting Firefighter Salary is $52,954.70 + holiday $4,158.30 = $57,113.00; 1 year is $66,651.18 + holiday $5,233.82 = $71,885.00; 2 year is $71,686.24 + holiday $5,629.20 = $77,315.44; Benefits include family health care coverage, pension, 2 weeks paid vacation after 1 year.

You must meet the following minimum requirements by the application deadline: ● $20 non-refundable application fee; ● U.S. Citizenship; ● Valid Driver’s License; ● 21 years of age and under 35 years of age by March 28, 2020; unless otherwise exempt by statute; ● No Felony arrests; ● Must be an Illinois State Certified Paramedic prior to be being hired; ● A current CPAT card with ladder certification valid within 12 months of test date; ● Application must be returned with required information, postmarked February 28, 2020.

Mandatory Orientation - Saturday, March 21, 2020 Test Date - Saturday, March 28, 2020

By Order of the Calumet City Board of Fire and Police Commission Joseph S. Blake, Chairman Mary L. Cox, Commissioner William B. Galgan, Commissioner

borhood on the South Side has historically been a middle-class area where blacks “with a little money” would move to once they “made it,” explained former U.S. Sen. Roland Burris, who has lived in Chatham since 1963.

“I remember as a young man I would drive through Chatham and look at all the beautiful homes and say to myself ‘one day I will live here.’ And wouldn’t you know it, I have been a Chatham resident now for almost 60 years,” Burris told the Citizen.

“For as far as I can remember, Chatham has always been a predominately black neighborhood although I am beginning to see a few whites walking their dogs in the area, so I guess the neighborhood is diversifying and that’s good.”

According to census data, Chatham has a population of 32,844 whose residents are 97 percent black, 2 percent white and 1 percent Hispanic.

Burris, an 83-year-old husband, father and grandfather, lives in the same home he bought in 1972 from the late gospel singer Mahalia Jackson.

“I bought this home January 30, 1972 and Mahalia died Jan. 27, three days before the sale was to become final,” recalled Burris, who was a real estate attorney at the time. “Her family tried to stop the home from being sold but it was too late because a contract for the home was already in place. It is my desire to remain in this home forever.”

Jackson bought the 4,000-square-foot home in 1956 when it had three bedrooms and one bath only to add space to the home and expand it to a four bedroom and two and a half bath house with no basement but a large attic.

Chatham is unique though because traditionally, it has always been a black neighborhood. However, Bronzeville is a different South Side neighborhood and is quickly changing into a very diverse community thanks largely to the Chicago Housing Authority’s Plan for Transformation in 2000. The plan included demolishing high-rise buildings and replacing them with two to three story mixed-income, apartment buildings.

As a result, Bronzeville, which is 5.2 miles from Downtown, has attracted a drove of middle to upper class families including many whites. Gone is the former Ida B. Wells public housing complex at the corner of Pershing Road and Cottage Grove Avenue. The complex has been replaced with spacious apartments, townhomes and condominiums.

“Bronzeville is becoming the ‘new’ version of Hyde Park when you look at the housing available in the area,” contends Harriet Moore, 74, a Bronzeville resident since 1984. “I can tell you that blacks still dominate the population but whites are quickly discovering the neighborhood too.”

There are 24,014 residents in Bronzeville, according to census data, and the average household income is $50,157 and the median household income is $33,959.

“There’s not a lot of poor people living in Bronzeville anymore since public housing was redeveloped in Chicago,” she added. “That’s why I say Bronzeville is looking more and more like Hyde Park, and soon it may be too expensive for common folks like myself, a retired school teacher, to live here.”

Beyond historically black neighborhoods like Chatham and Bronzeville, housing has shifted in other areas like Auburn Gresham on the South Side based on race.

“Auburn Gresham used to be a predominately white community but then a shift began around 1980 when whites were moving further west, and the dividing line was Damen Avenue and today it’s Western Avenue,” said Burris. “You’re not going to find too many black families living pass 87th and Western where suburbs like Evergreen Park and Oak Lawn begin.”

Sheryl Gilmore, 49, said she grew up in Auburn Gresham but now lives in Evergreen Park, “and I love it.”

The human resource executive said while Evergreen Park is mostly white, there are “a lot of middle-class, black families living here and we all get along just fine regardless of race,” she added. “My church and my job are in Chicago but my heart is suburban life.”

Not far from Auburn Gresham is Beverly, which has historically been a mostly white neighborhood. Today, its population is 20,815 residents including 56 percent white, 35 percent black and 5 percent Hispanic, according to census data. There are very few apartment buildings in Beverly also, which could explain why blacks rarely relocate there, said Madison Carruthers, a Chicago real estate analyst.

“Research has shown that crime breeds mostly in neighborhoods saturated with rental units, and homeowners are more likely to report criminal activity and maintain their properties,” said Carruthers.

“But renters often do not care about maintaining property they do not own and will not report crimes even if they are a victim themselves.”

Other south suburbs have also been transformed since the early 1980s when whites started moving back to Chicago neighborhoods from Markham, Country Club Hills and Flossmoor, which all previously had a majority white population, but is now mostly black, according to census data.

June Isaac, 81, a Markham resident since 1995 remembers when Markham was mostly white but looks at it now and sees dilapidated homes, run down apartment buildings, vacant lots, closed up businesses and crime running rampant.

“I moved to the suburbs from Roseland to escape the gangs, bad public schools and corrupt politicians. And after running away from what I thought were problems behind me, I am now dealing with here in Markham. There’s no glory days here anymore and if I wasn’t old and stubborn, I would gather my things and move back to the city.”

CELEBRATING BLACK HISTORY MONTH

Supreme Court allows public charge clause that kept Nazi-era refugees from the US Continued from page 2 legislation decreasing the quotas and refugee advocates trying to hold the line, the out-of-the-spotlight approach had political appeal. A State Department official acknowledged during hearings on a bill to cut the quotas 90% that “the administrative regulations were working so well that there was ‘no urgent need for legislation.’”

Indeed, none of the numerous quota-cutting bills introduced throughout the 1930s passed.

Neither the language of the 1917 act nor the press release that doubled as an executive order indicated how applicants could prove they wouldn’t require public support. Should they show proof of assets?

What kind of assets and in what amounts? Should they provide sworn affidavits from Americans vowing to support them?

But who could provide such affidavits, and what financial resources must they possess?

With few guidelines and vast discretion, consular officials could basically do what they wanted.

Top State Department officials made clear what it was they wanted: to reduce immigration as much as possible. They also made clear that consular officials’ careers hinged upon accomplishing that goal. The State Department largely succeeded, primarily by relying upon the public charge clause, historians who have researched its use agree. Once World War II started in 1939, security concerns also were used to deny visas.

About 200,000 refugees from countries under Nazi domination were admitted to the U.S. as immigrants. About 550,000 could have been under existing U.S. quotas. Only once during the 12 years of the Nazi regime, in 1939, was the German quota filled. In all other years, the quota ranged from 7% to 70%.

Reviving the public charge clause Although immigration laws have changed considerably since the 1930s and 1940s, the existing Immigration and Nationality Act retains a version of the public charge clause. It is as vague as earlier incarnations.

Anyone who is likely at any time to become a public charge is inadmissible, but the act doesn’t define what that means.

A related statute suggests “the availability of public

benefits” shouldn’t be “an incentive for immigration.” It allows administering agencies to consider factors such as the applicant’s age, health, family status and financial resources.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which is under the Department of Homeland Security, will now start using the new rules to determine admissions to the U.S. and to assess possible status changes for certain immigrants already here.

Those in the country can now be denied permanent legal status if they had used non-cash benefits such as for food and housing in any of 12 months during a 36-month period.

The new regulations specify negative and positive factors immigration officials must consider in deciding who is likely to become a public charge.

Applicants who have enough money to cover “any reasonably foreseeable medical costs” or have a good credit score, for example, are judged favorably.

Those who lack private health insurance, a college degree, sufficient English-language skills for the job market or a well-to-do sponsor are assessed negatively.

Of recent applicants from Europe, Canada and Oceania, 27% had two or more negative factors under the new rules, Mark Greenberg of the think tank Migration Policy Institute told The Washington Post. Of those from Asia, 41% had two or more negative factors. Of those from Mexico and Central America, 60% had two or more negative factors.

In October, the State Department amended its rules for consular officers to use in issuing visas, to be in line with the new public charge interpretation. The Department of Justice has yet to announce its standards for use in deportation and other immigration court proceedings.

The regulations leave the ultimate determination “in the opinion” of the appropriate government official. I see little reason to doubt the result will be fewer and different types of immigrants. The Trump administration is as likely to succeed in communicating what it wants to lower-level officials as was the State Department in the Nazi era.

Laurel Leff is an Associate Professor of Journalism at Northeastern University.

CITIZEN | Suburban Times Weekly | Week of Feb. 12, 2020

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