Citizen Suburban Times Weekly 10-3-2018

Citizen Week of Oct. 3, 2018

| Vol. 2 | No. 8 | www.thechicagocitizen.com

SUBURBAN TIMES WEEKLY

ART SCENE

MATTESON FOOD VENDORS SHOW DIVERSITY AT UNITY DAY

Deeply Rooted Dance Theater Celebrates Past and Future PAGE 2

POLITISCOPE

Something’s going on here: Building a comprehensive profile of conspiracy thinkers PAGE 4

The 13th Annual Taste of Matteson & Unity Day displayed food from local restaurants and vendors from different ethnic backgrounds even though Matteson has a predominately black population.

SEE MORE ON PAGE 3

TRAVEL

Carnival Corporation Launches Third Season of America's Most Popular Travel TV Series PAGE 2

Mattia King, 17, is a senior at Rich South High School in Matteson and a student in the school’s Prostart Culinary Program that participated in the 13th Annual Taste of Matteson & Unity Day event on Sept. 28. Photo credit Wendell Hutson

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2 | CITIZEN | Suburban Times Weekly | Week of Oct. 3, 2018

ART SCENE

Deeply Rooted Dance Theater Celebrates Past and Future

Deeply Rooted Dance Theater’s “An Inspired Past. A Jubilant Future” takes place Saturday, Dec. 15 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 16 at 2 p.m. at the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts on the University of Chicago campus, 915 E. 60th Street, Chicago.

Deeply Rooted Dance Theater (DRDT) celebrates its successes and looks forward to what lies ahead with “An Inspired Past. A Jubilant Future” December 15 and 16 at the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts on the University of Chicago campus, 915 E. 60th Street, Chicago.

The program’s “Act 1: An Inspired Past” includes two works by Co-Founder and Artistic Director Kevin Iega Jeff. Nia Keii—A Gift of Life (1982), choreographed to celebrate the birth of Jeff ’s niece (Nia Keii), depicts nature’s elements in joyous movement, set to music by Joe Sample Flack (1984), set to the music of legendary performer Roberta Flack, is a portrait of strife and despair but ultimately triumph.

“Act 2: A Jubilant Future” features a world premiere by Co-Founder and Associate Artistic Director Gary Abbott. Parallel Lives is inspired by poor, working women who have shared life-changing events, both beautiful and tragic, with original music by Evangelos Spanos based on Vivaldi’s “La Folia.” Abbott’s “Somewhere,” an excerpt from his Sweet Ree (1992), is a dance of hope, longing and dreams, set to music performed by Aretha Franklin. The program concludes with Jeff and Abbott’s 2004 work Heaven, which spotlights joy and

humanity, clarity and resolve, with music by Janice Pendarvis, Anthony Moten and Raymond Jones, updated by Sam Trump.

A special performance for youth and senior audiences Wednesday, December 12 at noon features Abbott’s Parallel Lives along with excerpts from Jeff ’s Flack and Nia Keii.

Deeply Rooted Dance Theater’s “An Inspired Past. A Jubilant Future” takes place Saturday, Dec. 15 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 16 at 2 p.m. at the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts on the University of Chicago campus, 915 E. 60th Street, Chicago.

Tickets are $35–55 for the December 15 performance; visit deeplyrooted-jubilant-dec15. eventbrite.com. Tickets for the December 16 performance only are $35–55, $150 for the performance and post-performance VIP reception; visit deeplyrooted-jubilant-dec16.eventbrite.com.

Tickets for the youth/senior performance Wednesday, December 12 at noon are $10; visit https://deeplyrooted-jubilant-youthandsenior. eventbrite.com All programming is subject to change.

For more information, visit deeplyrooteddancetheater.org.

TRAVEL Carnival Corporation Launches Third Season of America's Most Popular Travel TV Series Abu Dhabi, Jordan, Oman, Tanzania, Cambodia and Mumbai are among the exotic destinations that highlight the third season of original travel experience programming from Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE :CCL ;NYSE :CUK ), the world's largest leisure travel company.

New episodes of Carnival Corporation's Ocean Original TV programs "Ocean Treks™ with Jeff Corwin," "Vacation CreationTM with Tommy Davidson and Andrea Feczko," and "The Voyager™ with Josh Garcia" begin Saturday, October 6, and will again air on Saturdays through fall 2019 on ABC and NBC. "We're thrilled at the continued growth all three series have enjoyed and we're eager to share new episodes of these popular TV shows to the millions of families and travel buffs in search of new destinations to add to their vacation wish lists," said John Padgett, chief experience and innovation officer for Carnival Corporation, whose portfolio features nine world-leading cruise line brands, including Carnival Cruise Line, Cunard, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises and Seabourn. "Fans will continue to see that the opportunities to experience the world on a cruise vacation are endless."

Back for a third season on ABC stations is "Ocean Treks with Jeff Corwin." It broadcasts nationally as part of the daytime Emmy-winning

"Weekend Adventure," a three-hour programming block airing Saturday mornings on 98 percent of the country's ABC affiliate stations.

In season three, Corwin takes audiences to Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Madagascar, the Seychelles, the Canary Islands and Mumbai, India.

"Vacation Creation with Tommy Davidson and Andrea Feczko" also returns to ABC's "Weekend Adventure" and takes viewers beyond the typical travel show by personalizing vacations of a lifetime for couples, individuals and families facing hardship, in need of hope or seeking much-needed time together.

In its third season, episodes include visits to the Shetland Islands in Scotland where they go on an excursion to explore the origins of the popular Shetland Ponies; a trip to Iceland where they take in the geo-thermic wonders of Reykjavik; and they sail to Cuba to explore the sights and sounds of Old Havana.

"The Voyager with Josh Garcia" returns to NBC for a third year as part of the network's nationally broadcasted "The More You Know" programming block. In the new season, viewers will travel with Garcia to Abu Dhabi; Aqaba, Jordan; Muscat, Oman; Kuala Lumpur and Manila, Philippines. In one very special episode, Garcia joins a group of fellow passengers for a new kind of adventure – voluntourism - where

Carnival Corporation launches third season of America’s most popular travel TV series, featuring African, Indian and Middle East destinations, along with Cambodia, Dublin and Sri Lanka, highlighting global breadth and diversity of Carnival Corporation’s cruise line brands. (PRNewsfoto/Carnival Corporation & plc)

they help build a playground for a community in Honduras and then meet with an elderly group in Cozumel, Mexico who teach Garcia and friends how to make authentic salsa.

Carnival Corporation's original series – which debuted in fall 2016 and are distributed by Litton Entertainment – have been honored with two Daytime Emmy nominations and 24 Telly Awards, which recognize the best in TV and cable, digital and streaming, as well as non-broadcast productions.

The original content is part of Carnival Corporation's focus on producing and broadly distributing engaging and compelling experiential content.

All three shows continue to be ranked as number one or number two in their time slot,

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and collectively reach an average of more than five million viewers every weekend. With cruise vacations growing 20 percent faster than landbased vacations and with more people than ever taking cruise vacations in 2018, the strong ratings are further evidence that Americans' interest in cruise vacations is growing exponentially.

Season two of La Gran SorpresaTM – another series from Carnival Corporation that airs on Univision -- begins in late 2018 with a holiday special and extends into "wave" season, when many consumers book cruise vacations. The onehour program is hosted by award-winning television personality Poncho de Anda and showcases how the power of travel reunites families.

CITIZEN | Suburban Times Weekly | Week of Oct. 3, 2018

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COMMUNITY

Matteson food vendors show diversity at Unity Day Continued from page 1

BY WENDELL HUTSON CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The 13th Annual Taste of Matteson & Unity Day displayed food from local restaurants and vendors from different ethnic backgrounds even though Matteson has a predominately black population.

According to census data, Matteson has a population of 19,097, which includes 78 percent (14,833) blacks; 14.6 percent whites (2,784) and 4.3 percent Hispanic (813).

The purpose of the Sept. 28 event at the Holiday Inn in Matteson was to showcase diverse food choices available in the south suburb, said Matteson Mayor Sheila Chalmers-Currin.

“It’s good to come out and meet the residents of Matteson especially young people,” Chalmers-Currin told the Chicago Citizen. “We [village of Matteson]

“THIS EVENT IS ALL ABOUT BREAKING BREAD AND SITTING DOWN WITH ONE ANOTHER AND I LOOK FORWARD TO IT EVERY YEAR.” MATTESON MAYOR SHEILA CHALMERS-CURRIN are in a place where you would want to be, right off Interstate 57.

This event is all about breaking bread and sitting down with one another and I look forward to it every year.”

More than 200 people attended the three-hour event where they could choose from eating Greek chicken, Chinese food and pizza to Italian, Mexican and vegetarian meals.

Vendors donated food for the event, as they do every year, and monies from ticket sales will be used to help fund other village events, according to Chalmers-Currin. And sponsors included ComEd, Rogers & Holland, Marathon, and Waste Manage-

ment.

And volunteers like Lionell Harris and his wife Teresa did their part to help make the event fun.

“We’ve lived in Matteson for 30 years and volunteer every year,” said Teresa as she served up Greek chicken to patrons while her husband served Chinese food.

“Matteson is a great place to live, work and visit and that’s what we want to show people.”

Among the dozen vendors that participated were students from the Prostart Culinary Program at Rich South High School in Matteson.

One of those students was Mattia King, who said even though

she does not plan to pursue a culinary career she is happy to be taking the class.

“I now know how to make homemade pizza bread and saute meatballs,” boosted the 17-yearold senior. “I would definitely recommend this class to other students regardless of their career path.”

Mark Crawford, director of the Prostart Program at Rich South, agreed with King about recommending the class to all students.

“Cooking is universal so what students learn in the class could be applied to everyday living like following directions and preparation,” said Crawford.

Matteson resident Gregory Cook, 43, attended the event for the first time.

“I didn’t even know they [Matteson] had stuff like this,” said Cook. “But it’s nice to see businesses come out to show support for the community. I’ll definitely be back next year.”

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4 | CITIZEN | Suburban Times Weekly | Week of Oct. 3, 2018

POLITISCOPE

Something’s going on here: Building a

comprehensive profile of conspiracy thinkers

BY JOSHUA HART

Here’s a theory: President Barack Obama was not born in the United States. Here’s another: Climate change is a hoax. Here’s one more: The “deep state” spied on Donald Trump’s campaign, and is now trying to destroy his presidency.

Who believes this stuff? Conspiracy theories have been cooked up for ages, but for the first time in history, we have a president who has regularly endorsed them. Assuming that President Donald Trump’s preoccupation is genuine, he shares it with many fellow Americans. What explains it?

I’m a psychologist who studies, among other things, people’s worldviews and belief systems. I wanted to figure out why some people gobble up conspiratorial explanations, while others dismiss them as the raving of lunatics.

CONSISTENCY IN VIEWS By and large, people gravitate toward conspiracy theories that seem to affirm or validate their political views. Republicans are vastly more likely than Democrats to believe the Obama “birther” theory or that climate change is a hoax. Democrats are more likely to believe that Trump’s campaign “colluded” with the Russians.

But some people are habitual conspiracists who entertain a variety of generic conspiracy theories.

For example, they believe that world politics are controlled by a cabal instead of governments, or that scientists systematically deceive the public. This indicates that personality or other individual differences

Joshua Hart

might be at play.

In fact, some people seem to be downright devoted to conspiracy theories. When conspiracy maven Alex Jones’ content was recently banned from several social media websites, the popularity of his Infowars news app skyrocketed.

Scientific research examining the nature of the “conspiratorial disposition” is abundant, but scattershot.

So in a pair of new studies, and with help from my student Molly Graether, I tried to build on previous research to piece together a more comprehensive profile of the typical conspiracy theory believer, and for that matter, the typical non-believer.

COMMON TRAITS We asked more than 1,200 American adults to provide extensive information about themselves and whether they agreed with generic conspiratorial statements. We tried to measure as many personal factors as possible that had been previously linked to conspiracy belief. Looking at many traits simultaneously would allow us to determine, all else being equal, which ones were most

important.

Consistent with previous research, we found that one major predictor of conspiracy belief was “schizotypy.” That’s a constellation of traits that include a tendency to be relatively untrusting, ideologically eccentric and prone to having unusual perceptual experiences (e.g., sensing stimuli that are not actually present). The trait borrows its name from schizophrenia, but it does not imply a clinical diagnosis.

Schizotypy is the strongest predictor of conspiracy belief. In addition to experiencing the world in unusual ways, we found that people higher in schizotypy have an elevated need to feel unique, which has previously been linked with conspiracism. Why? Probably because believing in non-mainstream ideas allows people to stand out from their peers, but at the same time take refuge in a community of like-minded believers.

In our studies, conspiracy believers were also disproportionately concerned that the world is a dangerous place. For example, they were more likely to agree that “all the signs” are pointing to imminent chaos.

Finally, conspiracists had distinct cognitive tendencies: They were more likely than nonbelievers to judge nonsensical statements as profound – for example, “wholeness quiets infinite phenomena” – a tendency cheekily known as “bullshit receptivity.”

They were also more likely to say that nonhuman objects – triangle shapes moving around on a computer screen – were acting intentionally, as though they were capable of having thoughts and goals

they were trying to accomplish.

In other words, they inferred meaning and motive where others did not.

IS TRUMP A CONSPIRACY THINKER? Although we can’t know how he would score on our questionnaires, President Trump’s public statements and behavior suggest that he fits the profile fairly well.

First, he does display some schizotypal characteristics. He is famously untrusting of others. Donald Trump Jr. has described how his father used to admonish him in kindergarten not to trust anyone under any circumstances. The elder Trump is also relatively eccentric. He is a unique politician who doesn’t hew consistently to party lines or political norms. He has espoused unusual ideas, including the theory that people have a limited lifetime reservoir of energy that physical exercise depletes.

President Trump also seems to see the world as a dangerous place.

His campaign speeches warned about murderous rapist immigrants flooding across the border and black communities being in “the worst shape” they’ve ever been. His inauguration address described a hellish landscape of “American carnage.”

CHAOS NEEDS COMFORT The dismal nature of most conspiracy theories presents a puzzle to psychologists who study beliefs, because most belief systems – think religion – are fundamentally optimistic and uplifting. Psychologists have found that people tend to adopt such beliefs in part because

they fulfill emotional goals, such as the need to feel good about oneself and the world. Conspiracy theories don’t seem to fit this mold.

Then again, if you are a person who looks at the world and sees chaos and malevolence, perhaps there is comfort in the notion that there is someone to blame. If “there’s something going on,” then there is something that could be done about it.

Perhaps, then, even the darkest and most bizarre conspiracy theories offer a glint of hope for some people.

Take the “QAnon” theory that has recently received a flurry of media attention. This theory features a nightmare of pedophile rings and satanic cults. But some adherents have adopted a version of the theory that President Trump has it all under control.

If our research advances the understanding of why some people are more attracted to conspiracy theories than others, it is important to note that it says nothing about whether or not conspiracy theories are true.

After the Watergate scandal brought down a president for participating in a criminal conspiracy, the American public learned that seemingly outlandish speculation about the machinations of powerful actors is sometimes right on the money.

And when a conspiracy is real, people with a conspiracist mindset may be among the first to pick up on it – while others get duped. The rub is that the rest of the time, they might be duping themselves.

Joshua Hart is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Union College.

NEWS

Statistics show home fire death rate higher than in 1980 According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), if you have a reported home fire today, you are more likely to die than you were in 1980. This startling fact is attributed to several factors, including the way homes are built and the contents in them. “Open floor plans and a prevalence of modern synthetic furnishings make homes burn faster and the fires produce deadly smoke and gases within moments,” said Lorraine Carli, NFPA vice president of Outreach and Advocacy. According to Carli, you can have as little as two to three

minutes to escape a home fire today as compared to eight to ten minutes years ago.

These concerns prompted NFPA to create “Look. Listen. Learn. Be aware. Fire can happen anywhere” as the theme for Fire Prevention Week, October 7-13, 2018. It emphasizes three basic but critical messages: Look for places fire can start Listen for the sound of the smoke alarm Learn two ways out of each room “This year’s Fire Prevention Week messages point to the essentials of home fire

safety,” said Carli. “Looking for potential fire hazards in the home, making sure your smoke alarms are working properly, and having a home escape plan that everyone has practiced – these actions can dramatically reduce the loss from home fires.”

Motivating the public to take these steps can prove challenging, notes Carli, because people don’t think they could have a fire, despite the fact that home is the place they’re at greatest risk. Four out of five U.S. fire deaths occur in homes.

“Because we have reduced the overall

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number of fires, there is a general complacency and a lack of action around home fire preparedness and planning,” said Carli. “Our goal for Fire Prevention Week is to make sure people recognize that fire remains a very real risk, and that everyone needs to take action to protect themselves and their families.”

For more information about Fire Prevention Week, October 7-13, and this year’s theme, “Look. Listen. Learn. Be aware. Fire can happen anywhere,” visit www.firepreventionweek.org.

CITIZEN | Suburban Times Weekly | Week of Oct. 3, 2018

AROUND TOWN

Highlights From The Village of Matteson Taste of Unity Day

Mayor of Matteson Sheila Chalmers-Currin Greets Darrell Garth, CST Weekly Publisher and Janice Garth at Matteson Annual Taste and Unity Day festivities.

The event was held recently at the Holiday Inn Matteson. (Photos on this page are courtesy of CST Weekly staff photographer).

Matteson residents enjoying the Taste Festivities

Attendees Stand In Line For Their Chance To Try The Different Vendors Dishes while others seated enjoyed conversations with other participants.

State Rep. Debbie Meyers-Martin (38th) shares a conversation with Johnathan Currin during the Unity Day Festivities. .

State Rep. David E. Miller (29th) and Wife Donna Miller, Cook County Commissioner (6th) District.

Community participation

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6 | CITIZEN | Suburban Times Weekly | Week of Oct. 3, 2018

NEWS

South Suburban PADS, a non-profit working to end homelessness in Chicago’s south suburbs, is hosting their annual Pathways Home Fundraiser on Oct. 17 at the Community House in Flossmoor.

Photo Credit: Provided by South Suburban PADS

Annual Fundraiser Raises Awareness On Homelessness In South Suburbs

BY KATHERINE NEWMAN

South Suburban PADS is hosting their Pathways Home Annual Fundraiser on Oct. 17 from 4-7p.m. at the Community House in Flossmoor. The event is being organized as a networking opportunity with the hope that bringing together businesses, individuals, and the faith community in Chicago’s south suburbs will help the organization to further support their mission of ending homelessness in the area.

South Suburban PADS is a non-profit organization that has been working to prevent and end homelessness in the south suburbs of Chicago for 27 years.

“Over the past 27 years, South Suburban PADS has provided emergency shelter and meals to enable over 17,000 people to survive homelessness. At South Suburban PADS ultimately we seek to provide pathways home and we help over 500 people annually to preserve

“OVER THE PAST 27 YEARS, SOUTH SUBURBAN PADS HAS PROVIDED EMERGENCY SHELTER AND MEALS TO ENABLE OVER 17,000 PEOPLE TO SURVIVE HOMELESSNESS.” ROHIT D’SOUZA, PHILANTHROPY MANAGER FOR SOUTH SUBURBAN PADS or access affordable rental homes,” said Rohit D’Souza, philanthropy manager for South Suburban PADS. All are invited to attend the Pathways Home Fundraiser and enjoy an evening of networking with community partners, businesses, members of the faith community, and individual residents who all share the same drive to create opportunities and serve the most vulnerable people in the community.

“What we realized is that we have the business community, the faith community, and the individuals who support us but they don't always meet together, they don't always recog-

nize that they are all serving in the community and supporting the cause to end homelessness,” said D’Souza. “They are all doing the same work and we're all on the same mission and looking at the same vision which is making the south suburbs self-sufficient and making the south suburbs sustainable over time.”

In the 2016/17 fiscal year, South Suburban PADS served 1,825 low-income people. These clients included a variety of people, including individuals with disabilities, limited or no income, working adults, families, and children. Whether working or not working, South Suburban PADS clients struggle to access and

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maintain affordable housing, according to a press release from South Suburban PADS. The goal for the event is to raise $15,000 for South Suburban PADS which will support their efforts to prevent and end homelessness.

Individual tickets are available for $50 and sponsorship levels range from $500 to $5,000 and include tickets, special mention in the program, and special mention on social media.

The event is only 3 hours long, with an initial 4-5 p.m. greeting and networking, 5-6p.m. main event, 6-7 p.m. networking and closing.

“Our work is not done and there is much to do in the south suburbs and we invite the community in the surrounding suburbs to support this work. It is open to the public, the tickets are $50. There are lots of sponsorship opportunities available and we do have one presenting sponsor already, that’s Republican Bank,” said D’Souza.

For more information and to buy tickets, visit sspads.org.

CITIZEN | Suburban Times Weekly | Week of Oct. 3, 2018

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NEWS

$400,000 Grant Will Increase Access To Capital For Small Businesses

BY KATHERINE NEWMAN

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) Fund recently awarded a $400,000 grant to the Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives Micro Finance Group (CNIMFG). The grant money will allow CNIMFG to provide even more small business loans to the greater Chicago area, including businesses in the South Suburbs.

In 2012, CNIMFG was established as a CDFI and began giving small business loans in 2013.

CNIMFG is one of only 302 CDFIs in the country that were selected to receive grants from the U.S. Department of Treasury with the purpose of increasing lending and investment in economically distressed communities, according to a press release from the Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives.

“Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives, our parent company, is a real estate developer with a mission to revitalize neighborhoods,” said Erika King, vice president of lending for CNIMFG. “Micro Finance Group was really just a natural fit under [Chicago

Neighborhood Initiatives] overall mission because without small businesses we could not really create a healthy community. The goal of CNIMFG is to provide resources to underserved businesses in low to moderate income communities, to minority individuals, and to other underserved entrepreneurs.”

The typical CNIMFG borrower is a start up or established small business that normally wouldn’t be a qualified candidate for a large financial institution’s lending program. Whether it be because of a bad credit score, a lack of assets, or a minimal lending history, CNIMFG is able to look at borrowers on a case by case basis to determine if they are a good candidate for a loan.

CNIMFG provides loans that range from $500 to $25,000 for a start-up business and $500 to $50,000 for existing businesses. The loans provide access to capital in underserved neighborhoods that help borrowers maintain and improve their businesses by being able to purchase additional inventory, add new equipment, expand workspace, build storefronts, and establish storage space among other things, according to the

CNIMFG website.

“We’re working with a lot of underserved borrowers, minority borrowers, and low to moderate income borrowers that just don’t have access to get capital to start a business by any other means,” said King. “Not all banks want to lend to a small business because it really doesn’t generate the interest that would make it an appealing ask for bank sometimes.”

This grant will allow CNIMFG to get more money out into those underserved communities that need help building up their business communities. King said that she is excited to have received the grant and even more excited to be able to reach even more small businesses. “[The grant] just basically validates the work that we do and it really legitimizes our program.

I think that’s exciting because it shows that we’re out there and we’re doing what we set out to do and more importantly the impact is there. Being recognized on the national level certainly makes us very excited and very proud to be a recipient of that award,” said King.

Ladder Up and the Center for Economic Progress Join Forces Ladder Up and the Center for Economic Progress, the leading Chicago-based providers of free financial services in Illinois, recently announced that they are joining forces. In a strategic merger, the nonprofits will increase their impact in fulfilling the mission of both organizations: providing hardworking families with the financial services and resources they need to move up the economic ladder.

The merged nonprofit will operate under the Ladder Up name, with Christine Cheng continuing to serve as the unified organization’s executive director and founder Bob Burke continuing to serve as board chairman.

“Financial instability is a critical issue affecting millions of Illinois

families. The Center for Economic Progress and Ladder Up have been on the ground delivering needed financial resources to clients for more than 20 years,” said Cheng.

“By coming together, we will combine strengths to grow our ability to serve families.”

Since the Center for Economic Progress was founded in 1990 and Ladder Up in 1994, the two organizations have generated a combined total economic impact of $1.15 billion by: Serving over 700,000 clients; Engaging 34,000 volunteers; Preparing 570,000 tax returns; Returning over $800 million in tax refunds; and Securing an estimated $300 million in financial aid awards for students.

“Low-income families have the least

UIC earns national recognition for sustainability efforts The University of Illinois at Chicago has earned praise from federal officials for its sustainability initiatives by earning the designation as a “2018 U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon School.”

UIC was among 46 schools and districts acknowledged for their efforts to reduce environmental impact and costs, promote better health, and ensure effective environmental education. UIC was one of only six colleges or universities to receive the Postsecondary Sustainability Award.

Officials announced the award Sept. 19 at a ceremony at the U.S. Department of Commerce in Washington, D.C.; it is the latest of two sustainability awards UIC has recently earned.

money, but often pay high fees for poor-quality service,” said Burke. “Ladder Up helps those families get the tax refunds they deserve, without charging them fees. This merger will help us return more money to more hardworking families for years to come.”

According to a recent Heartland Alliance study, over one-third of Illinoisans and nearly half of Chicagoans are considered low income or living in poverty. Ladder Up gives low- income families access to highly skilled volunteers who provide free and trusted tax services, helping them secure refunds that average $1,800 per eligible client. For working-poor families who earn an average of $14,000-15,000 annually, this financial boost helps them meet their basic needs and stabilize their

households.

“By combining the expertise and footprint of both organizations, the Center for Economic Progress and Ladder Up have the opportunity to scale solutions that expand economic stability and resilience for financially vulnerable families across Illinois,” said George Wright, the Center for Economic Progress board chair.

In early November, Ladder Up and the Center for Economic Progress employees will move together to a new and expanded space in the Apparel Center in Chicago’s River North neighborhood for the next stage in the Ladder Up journey.

For more information, please visit: https://www.goladderup.org/ about/.

New Approach Uses Technology to Identify Sole Owners of $2,000 or Less in Cash, Approximate Value in Cook County: $6,885,020 The new ‘Money Match’ program automatically will return lost money to Illinois residents without the usual need to gather paperwork or file a claim, Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs said recently. The ‘Money Match’ program uses existing technology and state records to match unclaimed cash with qualifying Illinois taxpayers. The property must be $2,000 or less in cash with only one owner. The goal is to return more money, more quickly, and without the need

of paper, to Illinois taxpayers.

Individuals can search the state treasurer’s database for their name or the name of their business or non‑profit at www. illinoistreasurer.gov/ICASH. Because the treasurer’s office accepts unclaimed property twice each year, Frerichs encourages individuals to search the database twice each year. Frerichs’ office never charges money to search the database or return unclaimed property.

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Educators and staff members participate in a three-day New Teacher Orientation More than 30 incoming teachers and staff members have joined the Dolton West School District 148 family this year.

The educators and staff participated in a three-day New Teacher Orientation in August. The sessions provided the new staff members with the opportunity to get acquainted with each other, to learn more about the District and to help prepare for the new academic year.

“The addition of these remarkable educators and staff members enhances our elite team and helps to implement rigorous instruction and provide resources for our students to advance as accomplished learners and skilled leaders. We are delighted to have them in District 148,” said Dr. Kevin J. Nohelty, Superintendent of Schools.

The orientation was led by the District’s Induction/Mentor Coordinator Michael Hurst. The sessions are part of the District’s state-approved, two-year Induction/Mentor program which brings together firstand second-year teachers, also known as teacher protégés, with building mentors on a monthly basis throughout the school year.

Hurst welcomed the incoming educators and provided them with helpful materials. He spoke about the Induction/Mentor Program, went over procedures and forms and gave them some insight into the District and its mission. He also answered questions, offered some classroom tips and engaged the educators in activities to help them get ready for the academic year.

District 148 is a pre-kindergarten through eighth grade school system serving families in sections of Dolton, Riverdale, Harvey and South Holland.

8 | CITIZEN | Suburban Times Weekly | Week of Oct. 3, 2018

AROUND TOWN

Highlights From The RTDO Blue Wave Annual Dinner Event

Left to Right: Calvin Jordan, Rich Township Democratic Committeeman, Yumakea Brown, Clerk, Village of Matterson.

Yumakea Brown, J.B. Pritzker and Calvin Jordan

Pictured are member of the dinner committee from left to right: Andre Satchell, Monica Gordon, Julian Alexander, Richardo D. Spivey, Cassandra J. Matz, Jerome Brown, Yumeka Brown and Adam Shorter, III

Mayor of Matteson Sheila Chalmers- Currin with Democratic Nominee for Governor of the State of Illinois J.B. Pritzker.

Left to right: Bill Lowry, Cook County Commissioner (3rd Dist.), J.B. Pritzker, and Calvin Jordan.

Julian Alexander, Calvin Jordan, J.B. Pritzker, wife of Judge Barrett and Andre Satchell.

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