February 14 - 30, 2024

February 14 - 20, 2024 Vol. 32 No. 07

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STAY COVERED WITH MEDICAID! C H E C K YO U R S TAT U S AT A B E . I L L I N O I S . G O V.

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4 Arts & Entertainment 6 SportsWise

Event highlights of the week!

Stanford women's college basketball coach Tara VanDerveer is the all-time winningest head coach in college basketball history, so why doesn't she get more publicity?

7 Cover Story: unbanked in a cashless society

“How many people don’t have a bank account? And just how difficult has it become to live without one? These questions are becoming increasingly important as more businesses refuse to take cash in cities across the U.S. People without bank accounts are shut out of stores and restaurants that refuse to accept cash. Also, 10 vendors tell us how they manage their money.

12 From the Streets

American Federation of Teachers union President Randi Weingarten and Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates visit a Chicago Public School with 126 migrant students to highlight the need for more resources.

15 The Playground

ON THIS PAGE: A sign posteed in a Sweetgreen location warns that they no longer accept cash (Jacki Chikwen photo). DISCLAIMER: The views, opinions, positions or strategies expressed by the authors and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, or positions of StreetWise.

Dave Hamilton, Creative Director/Publisher

dhamilton@streetwise.org

StreetWiseChicago @StreetWise_CHI

Suzanne Hanney, Editor-In-Chief

suzannestreetwise@yahoo.com

Amanda Jones, Director of programs

ajones@streetwise.org

Julie Youngquist, Executive director

jyoungquist@streetwise.org

Ph: 773-334-6600 Office: 2009 S. State St., Chicago, IL, 60616

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT RECOMMENDATIONS Compiled by Dave Hamilton

Go to it Laughing!

Wu Tsang: ‘MOBY DICK; or, The Whale’ In “MOBY DICK; or, The Whale,” award-winning filmmaker and visual artist Wu Tsang embarks upon a feature-length, silent-film telling of Herman Melville’s great American novel. The film features original orchestral music composed by Caroline Shaw and Andrew Yee with Asma Maroof, which is performed live by the Chicago Sinfonietta. This adaptation, written by Sophia Al Maria and directed by Tsang, follows the white whale above and below the surface of the water, developing a visual cosmology that resists the exploration and exploitation of the Earth under imperial colonialism. Tsang’s approach pairs the classic story of the whaler’s ”floating factory” with the beginnings of the film industry. “MOBY DICK; or, The Whale” was shot entirely on a soundstage combining silent-era filmmaking techniques with Virtual Production, a virtual reality game engine projecting surreal ocean environments. Playing 7 p.m.

February 14 - 16 at the Edlis Neeson Theater inside the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, 220 E. Chicago Ave. Tickets are $40 at mcachicago.org.

More Human Than Human!

‘Blade Runner’ Live in Concert The Auditorium Theatre, 50 E. Ida B. Wells Drive, kicks-off the “Auditorium Philms Concert Series,” a new multi-media experience presenting iconic films brought to life with scores performed in concert by the Chicago Philharmonic, with the North American premiere of one of the all-time sci-fi classics, “Blade Runner.” The original 1982 film (2007 final cut) will play in its entirety on the big screen of the iconic Auditorium Theatre stage while an all-electric 11-piece chamber orchestra made up of members of the Chicago Philharmonic perform the thrilling futuristic score by Vangelis mixed in-sync with dialogue and sound effects from the original film.

The one-night-only performance is Saturday, February 17 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets start at $59 at auditoriumtheatre.org.

La Vie Bohème!

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

'La bohème' by Giacomo Puccini Giacomo Puccini died a century ago, and the Italian Cultural Institute of Chicago, 500 N. Michigan Ave., will screen a Teatro alla Scala production of his opera, "La boheme" at 6 p.m. on February 16. This production, three hours long, was proposed at the centennial of director Franco Zeffirelli's birth. Wielding the baton will be Eun Sum Kim, the youthful permanent conductor of the San Francisco Opera. Marina Rebeka sings the role of the ailing embroiderer Mimì, with whom the poet Rodolfo falls in love when she knocks on his door in their tenement to seek a light for her candle. Freddie De Tommaso sings Rodolfo. FREE, but registration is required at iicchicago.esteri.it

Mythical Art on Display!

Sif Itona Westerberg: ‘Twin Flame, Double Ruin’ The Driehaus Museum, 40 E. Erie St., presents the first solo US museum exhibition of Copenhagen-based artist Sif Itona Westerberg, featuring recent bronze and concrete sculptures that draw from popular mythological narratives in dialogue with the museum’s richly-ornamented 1883 Nickerson Mansion. Creating a language of hybrid forms, Westerberg transforms common industrial materials such as aerated concrete into delicate, sensitive surfaces engraved with the retellings of ancient lore. Using material to explore the technological advances of industrialization, as well as the disenchantment that replaced myth in the dawn of modern society, Westerberg’s work offers a deeper understanding of the Nickerson Mansion and the cultural and social ideals of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. On view February 15 - April 14, included with museum admission at driehausmuseum.org

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Opera For All Ages!

The Matchbox Magic Flute’ In her acclaimed signature style, Mary Zimmerman conceives a brand new theatrical adaptation of Mozart’s beloved opera. Playful and imaginative, this presentation features a cast of 10 and orchestra of five. Prince Tamino rescues Princess Pamina, daughter of the Queen of the Night, amid dragons, a man who is a bird, trials by fire, water and underground corridors. Mozart composed Symphony No. 1 in E Flat Major at age 8, so the play is targeted at those 8+. Through March 10 at Goodman Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn St. Tickets start at $25 at goodmantheatre.org

The Sounds of History!

Motet Choir: Early Music of Mexico and Peru The University of Chicago Motet Choir and special guests Bethany Battafarano, singer and PhD student in ethnomusicology, and multi-percussionist Nicolas Muñoz, explore the early music of Mexico and Peru. The second part of the concert will be devoted to contemporary classics of South America that blur the lines of popular and classical music. At Fulton Recital Hall, Goodspeed Hall, 1010 E. 59th St., 3 p.m. February 16.

FREE.

Bob Dylan Re-Imagined!

‘Girl from the North Country’ Girl from the North Country reimagines 20 legendary songs of Bob Dylan as they’ve never been heard before, including “Forever Young,” “All Along The Watchtower,” “Hurricane,” “Slow Train Coming,” and “Like A Rolling Stone.” It’s 1934 in Duluth, Minnesota. We meet a group of wayward travelers whose lives intersect in a guesthouse filled with music, life and hope. Experience this "profoundly beautiful" production (The New York Times) brought to vivid life by an extraordinary company of actors and musicians. Playing daily through February 25 at CIBC Theatre, 18 W. Monroe St. Tickets start at $32 at northcountrytour.com

Finding Meaning!

‘Is God Is’ Twins Anaia and Racine receive a mission from their presumed dead mother, God, to seek revenge on their father. Stretching from the Dirty South to California, "Is God Is" is a genre-bending tale with elements of ancient tragedy, Afropunk, and the Spaghetti Western exploring generational cycles of violence.​Playing February 16 - 25 in the Watts Theatre at The Theatre School at DePaul University, 2350 N. Racine Ave. Tickets $7 students/$12 standard at theatre.depaul.edu

Dinner & a Gallery!

Escapade | Tasting Exhibition Escapade | Tasting Exhibition is a dynamic contemporary art pop-up that invites guests to escape into a realm of artistic and culinary collaboration. The menus are crafted in response to the ongoing art exhibition, promising a distinctive experience that intertwines the arts of creativity, taste, and imagination. The exhibition will feature over 20 original contemporary artworks and will provide four courses and two cocktails to all attendees from award winning chef, Danny Bullock (pictured). Chef Bullock is renowned for his award-winning dishes that blend fresh ingredients and bold flavors. His dishes are not only delicious, but also works of art on a plate. February 17, 4 p.m. at salonlb., 1010 W. 35th St. Tickets are $100 at fineartbyraven.com

Party Like it's 530 BCE!

‘Party at the Pantheon: A Modern Greek Stoner Comedy’ Orpheus is still mad after his girlfriend, Eurydice, died. It wasn’t his fault. Good thing his friend, Dionysus, can throw a sick party. Hopefully Sisyphus can keep these two on speaking terms long enough for the disco ball to drop. Now all they gotta do is find some food, some drink, and some music for this thing. You can peep this modernized cast of characters straight out of English Class at The Factory Theater, 1623 W. Howard St., from February 16 - March 23: Fridays & Saturdays at 8 p.m.; Sundays at 3 p.m. Tickets are $25 at TheFactoryTheater. com or (312)275-5757.

www.streetwise.org

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Vendors (l-r) Russell Adams, Donald Morris, John Hagan and William Plowman chat about the world of sports.

Women in sports deserve respect John: This week, we are talking about Stanford women's college basketball coach Tara VanDerveer. Stanford defeated Oregon State on January 21 by 65-56. She surpassed Coach Mike Krzyzewski – Coach K, formerly of Duke’s men's basketball – as the alltime winningest head coach in college basketball history.

But, she has not received the same publicity. Why? Donald: Here we go again, it seems there's a big a big vacuum when it comes to giving women any kind of respect.

Men are really guilty of that, of bypassing women for any type of awards: the same pay for the same work done, or the same thing for the same coaches.

John: But Pat Summitt got the Tennessee basketball court named after her.

SPORTSWISE

William: I get what he's alluding to. Women just don’t get the recognition. Take the WNBA. When was the last time you heard a WNBA game on the radio?

John: The WNBA/Las Vegas Aces’ Candace Parker's getting endorsements from Adidas.

William: That I hadn't heard about. But I don't see a lot of women's college basketball on TV. It's not like with men's basketball where you can get just about any team.

John: So my question is, why is Pat Summit getting all the accolades that Tara VanDerveer did not get? And they’re both women.

William: Well, she's getting at least that much but, how often do women really get much publicity in sports?

You don't turn on ESPN 1000 or 670 the Score and hear the guys talking about women, let alone any specific woman.

John: How about Iowa’s Caitlin Clark, ESPN’s No. 1 women’s cager? Russell, do you buy the sales pitch of either Donald or William?

Russell: They don't give them the credit that they deserve.

WNBA gets no credit at all.

But I'm proud of Tara. She got three championships, in 1990, ’ 92 and 2021. She’s 70 and still going strong. Should be headline news, but it’s not! I’ve been watching college women’s basketball for the longest, more than the

men. 1,203 wins. So Coach K, move over! You got a new champion in town!

John: Yeah, I think she should get more pub. But Pat Summitt won eight national titles: 1987, 1989, 1991, then a threepeat from 1986 to 98, 2007, 2008.

Ms. VanDerveer coached the U.S. 1996 women's Olympic team to a gold medal, but Pat Summitt also received a 2012 Medal of Freedom.

Conferences make a difference. SEC: big TV contract with CBS. The Big 10 also, big, big, big. Even the Big East. The PAC 12, a lot of games are played in Pacific time zones. A lot of people on the East Coast don't see them.

So, do you guys want to add anything before we wrap up?

Donald: I would just like to say that the late Pat Summitt did do a great job, with 1,098 wins. Tara VanDerveer did a great job also. She was head

coach in 1996 of USA women's Olympics; Coach of the Year, in 1988, 1989, 1990, 2011 and 2020.

William: Regarding what you said about time zones, you got a good point. A West Coast game is gonna start at 8 o'clock at night. That's 10 o'clock in Chicago, 11 on the East Coast. If it's on a weeknight or Sunday night, people have to go to work the next morning, and might not be able to catch the game.

Russell: The 1996 U.S. women's Olympic team, man, that was an unbeaten team. Support your women: WNBA, women’s college basketball.

They are good.

Any comments, suggestions or topic ideas for the SportsWise team? Email StreetWise Editor Suzanne Hanney at suzannestreetwise@yahoo.com

'No Cash Accepted' Signs Are Bad News for Millions of Unbanked Americans

by Jay L. Zagorsky / Vendor quotes by Suzanne Hanney

How many people don’t have a bank account? And just how difficult has it become to live without one?

These questions are becoming increasingly important as more businesses refuse to take cash in cities across the U.S. People without bank accounts are shut out of stores and restaurants that refuse to accept cash.

As it happens, a lot of people are still “unbanked”: roughly 6 million in the U.S., the latest data shows, which is about the population of Wisconsin. And outside of the U.S., more than a billion people don’t have a bank account.

I am a business school professor who researches society’s transition from cash to electronic payments. I recently visited Seattle and was amazed by the mixed signals I saw in many storefronts. Numerous shops had one sign proudly proclaiming how welcoming and inclusive they were — next to another sign saying “No cash accepted.”

This tells people without bank accounts that they aren’t welcome.

Why not have a bank account?

Why would someone want to avoid using banks? Every two years, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation surveys households about their connections to the banking system and asks people without bank accounts why they don’t have one. People can respond with multiple answers. In 2021, the top reason — with over 40% of respondents choosing it — was that they didn’t have enough money to meet the minimum balance.

This is consistent with data showing that poorer households are less likely to have bank accounts. About onequarter of those earning less than $15,000 a year are unbanked, the FDIC found. Among those earning more than $75,000 a year, almost every person surveyed had some type of bank account.

Unbanked Rates by State, 2021 (percent)

COVERSTORY

Source: FDIC

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(Jackyenjoyphotography photo)

Ordinances mandate keeping cash option

Ordinances that would prevent stores from refusing cash in favor of plastic failed in Evanston January 8 and in Chicago in 2017.

Businesses go cashless to save on employee time for counting money and on armored truck deliveries, and to deter potential robbers.

However, Evanston’s Eighth Ward Council member Devon Reid proposed the ordinance so that people who didn’t have bank accounts would not lose access to grocery and retail stores, according to the Evanston Roundtable.

Reid cited a 2021 study by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) that estimated 5.9 million U.S. households lacked a bank account. “When you do the math, in Evanston that is about 5,000 people,” he said.

The proposal would have banned retailers and restaurants from refusing to accept cash, except for those that installed “reverse ATMs,” which convert cash to prepaid cards.

Council members voted 4-2 against the ordinance, citing the effect on small businesses, according to the Daily Northwestern. In a survey of 33 businesses last year, only 7 businesses said they refuse cash.

The Chicago City Council also considered – and rejected – a similar ordinance in 2017.

Then-Ald. Edward Burke (14th ward), a sponsor of the ordinance, said that banning cash is not fair to people who don't have credit cards or even bank accounts, according to CBS2 Chicago.

"It's a discriminatory practice that also impacts credit card holders who simply can't afford to pay off their balances each month," Burke said.

However, Tanya Triche Dawood with the Illinois Retail Merchants Association said going cashless was a high-end trend. "This is not something that has spread widely -- it frankly has been fairly contained into the downtown area of River North and in some of the areas where frankly there's a lot of disposable income."

– Suzanne Hanney, from online sources

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The second- and third-most common answers show that some people are skeptical of banks. Roughly one-third of survey respondents agreed that “Avoiding a bank gives more privacy,” while another one-third said they simply “don’t trust banks.”

Rounding out the top five reasons were costs of dealing with a bank. More than one-quarter of respondents felt bank account fees were too high, and about the same proportion felt fees were too unpredictable.

While many middle-class and wealthy people don’t pay directly for their bank accounts, fees can be costly for those who can’t maintain a minimum balance. A recent Bankrate survey shows basic monthly service fees range between $5 and $15. Beyond these steady fees, banks earn $4 to $5 each time people withdraw cash from an ATM or need services like getting cashier’s checks. Unexpected bills can result in overdraft fees of about $25 each time an account is overdrawn.

Being unbanked in America The FDIC calls people without a bank account “the unbanked.”

People with a bank account but who primarily rely on alternative services such as check cashing outlets are called “the underbanked.”

The latest FDIC data shows almost 6 million unbanked and 19 million underbanked U.S. households. Given that 2.5 people live in the average household, this means there are over 15 million people living in a home with no connection to banks, and 48 million more in homes with only a tenuous connection to banks.

StreetWise Vendors: Cash or Card?

James Tate

Do you use cash or card? “I kind of use both. If I buy something for a dollar, I am not going to use a card. But you can’t move unless you got plastic in this town. it’s the way of the world. The Davis Theater only takes credit. People are worried about thefts. It’s coming more and more.” Tate received a debit card a little bit before he retired from being a security guard in 2007. He receives his Social Security check via direct deposit.

Jacqueline Sanders

“Cash only. I don’t like credit cards because they just get people in trouble. I use cards to order stuff online, a prepaid card.”

Unbanked Rates by Income Level

Combining the two figures means roughly one out of every five people in the U.S. has little or no connection to banks and Race and Ethnicity, 2021 or other financial institutions. That can leave them shut out (percent) of stores, restaurants, transportation and medical providers that don’t take cash.

The true number of unbanked people is likely higher than the FDIC estimates. The questions on being banked or unbanked are supplemental questions added to a survey given to people at their homes. This means it misses homeless people, transients without a permanent address and undocumented immigrants.

These people are likely unbanked because you need a verified address and a government-issued tax-identification number to get a bank account. Given roughly 2.5 million migrants crossed the U.S.-Mexico border in 2023 alone, there are millions more people in the cash-only economy than the FDIC estimates.

Use of a Rent-to-Own Service or a Payday, Pawn Shop, Tax Refund How many people globally Anticipation, or Auto Title Loan are unbanked?

by Bank Account Ownership, While the U.S. has relatively high rates of people with bank 2017 - 2021 (percent) accounts, the picture is different in other parts of the world.

The World Bank has created a database that shows the percentage of each country’s population that has access to financial services. The World Bank’s definition of being banked is broader than the FDIC’s, since it includes anyone who uses a cellphone to send and receive money as having a bank account.

Source: FDIC (both graphs).

www.streetwise.org

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Using a prepaid card is costly

They look like a credit or debit card, but using these cards is still costly, according to the U.S. government’s Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB). Here are some hidden fees: Monthly fee - a fixed fee you pay monthly even if you don’t use the card. The fee is automatically deducted from your account balance. Some cards may waive it if you have your pay or benefits directly deposited into your prepaid account.

Transaction fee - charged every time you use the card, for purchases in stores or online: either “pay-as-you-go” or a single monthly fee.

In-network / out-of-network ATM withdrawal fee - Individual banks and ATMs belong to different networks. The bank that issues your prepaid card may belong to one or more. You may pay less or avoid ATM fees by using your prepaid card at in-network ATMs. Balance inquiry fee - if you check your prepaid card balance at an ATM or call customer service. Most cards offer at least one free option.

Cash reload fee - imposed by the retail location for adding money to your card. Most prepaid cards provide other options, including direct deposit, which may avoid this fee.

Paper statement fee - Some prepaid cards charge if you request paper statements. You may be able to go online to get a statement, or at least a list of your recent card transactions, without a fee. Under the CFPB’s prepaid rule, you have the right to free information about your account.

Unless they provide monthly statements, prepaid card providers must give you, without a fee, balance information by phone, transaction history online, or transaction history by mail. You may be charged a fee for a mailed transaction history.

Inactivity fee - charged if you don’t use your card for a certain period. The length of time can vary and not all prepaid cards charge inactivity fees.

Card-to-card transfer fee - if you transfer money between two prepaid cards. Some card providers allow you to transfer money between cards online without a fee.

Bill payment fee - Some prepaid cards let you pay your bills online through the card provider’s website. A less costly way to pay your bills is to set up direct payment through the company you are paying.

– source: https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/what-types-of-fees-do-prepaidcards-typically-charge-en-2053/

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Dwight Fitch

“Cash. My Social Security check comes and they take my picture every month at the currency exchange. I am scared of cards because they auto pay and all that. I get money orders right there at the currency exchange for my bills and go pay wifi and cable at the store.”

A retired truck driver and security guard, Fitch has been a vendor for seven months. Initially, he visited StreetWise for the food, and then cashier Ron Madere encouraged him to become a vendor.

After orientation, he received his 15 free papers and was given both Wells and Randolph and Water Tower Place as selling locations. He made $70 in his first day and decided the downtown location was more lucrative. That’s why you’ll find him there 6-6, with a break for lunch at StreetWise.

“I love StreetWise. I make my own hours. There’s nobody on my back. I dreamed of a job like this.”

Overall, the World Bank estimates about one-quarter of the world’s adults don’t have access to a bank or mobile-phone account. But that varies dramatically by region. In countries that use the Euro, almost everyone has a bank account, while in the Middle East and North Africa, only about half the population does.

A more inclusive economy Many of us swipe our credit cards, tap our phones or insert a debit card to pay without thinking. However, there are at least 6 million people in the U.S. and almost 1.5 billion worldwide who are unbanked.

When businesses stop accepting cash, the unbanked are forced to use payment methods like prepaid debit cards. However, these prepaid cards are costly (see sidebar). For example, Walmart, one of the largest U.S. retailers, offers a reloadable basic debit card. The card costs $1 to buy and charges $6 per month in fees, in addition to $3 each time someone wants to load the card with cash at Walmart’s registers. Paying a minimum of $10 just to set up a debit card for a few purchases is a steep price.

The next time you see a sign in a shop or restaurant window stating “No cash accepted,” you’re really looking at a business excluding many unbanked and underbanked people. Insisting that all businesses accept cash is a simple way to ensure everyone is financially included in the modern economy.

Jay L. Zagorsky is a clinical associate professor of Markets, Public Policy and Law at Boston University. Courtesy of The Conversation.

StreetWise Vendors: Cash or Card?

Paula Holmes

“Both. If I don’t have cash, it’s swipe. I have a debit card and a credit card that’s helping me build my credit up. I don’t really spend money. I love my parfaits from Dunkin Donuts or Starbucks. When I want one, I spend cash.

When we do go out, I spend a little on my credit card.”

Robert Qualls

“Cash most of the time.

Bank debit card rest of the time for bills.”

Keith Hardiman Lee A. Holmes

“Both. A debit card from when I joined my credit union. If I got the card I use cash, or my card. Don’t make a difference.”

“Cash only. Credit card, debit, I don’t care. I used one once and they asked me if I ordered a $37 dinner in Philadelphia. I don’t go to the store, I can’t. With all this breach of emails, hospitals, information can get out there and you can get into a world of deeper trouble. I hate it because I see things online that I would like to buy, but I can’t. Even if I had a prepaid card, I might put too much money on it and you have to have a certain amount of money in your account. It’s a Catch 22. I don’t have the money, so I would rather pay cash for it and call it a day.”

VW

VW uses both cash and debit cards/checking account. “The service worker inside the cell phone store accidentally let me know that online there’s no service charge fee but they charge $5 to pay the cell phone bill, so I started loading a few days before my bill is due. I deposit as needed, for shopping or if a sign says “No Debit Today,” at the corner store, I like to have cash ready.

“The prepaid card was offered to me at the free tax help program, they offered to open an account for me [and her refunds are sent there.] I don’t use that card, barely, because there’s a fee to load it at the Dollar Tree, at the register or the currency exchange. I can use their ATM free, but I have no teller privileges. I like to use a debit card that has a chip on it. I don’t like the fee charge, so I go online to pay the cell phone bill, but if I haven’t deposited money on time, I have to go to the cell phone store to pay cash.”

Russell Adams

“Bank debit card and credit card from a bank. I don’t carry too much cash. I make my money and go to the bank and deposit it so that I don’t have too much money in my pocket, but on my card.”

Tatiana Stroman

Credit card, originally obtained with her father. She uses it for food and clothes.

www.streetwise.org

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Education leaders plead for resources to support the influx of migrant students

by Suzanne Hanney

Some of the 126 migrant students at Daniel Cameron School in West Humboldt Park arrived in Chicago wrapped in blankets, with no winter clothes.

a TV newsperson asked if the recent freezing weather was the right time for Mayor Brandon Johnson to impose a 60day limit on shelters, since extended.

“The number is changing every day, we are enrolling students every day in all grade levels. What is different is the level of need: children arriving in our country, our schools with immense levels of trauma – physical and mental – from passage essentially through war zones,” said Gabriel Paez, Cameron’s English Learner Program Teacher (ELPT).

“News flash! We are in a situation now for which it is all hands on deck, for which this municipality doesn’t have the resources to shoulder by itself. What they are saying is we are overcapacity, ‘Help!’ One in 3 students at Nicholson in Englewood is already without housing, now on top of the newcomers, help!’

Paez kicked off a media roundtable with Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) President Stacy Davis Gates and American Federation of Teachers (AFT) President Randi Weingarten that highlighted the need, and called for federal funding to deal with the crisis. Joining them were Executive Director of the community group Blocks Together Carolina Gaeta and state Rep. Lilian Jimenez, who is the parent of a Cameron kindergartener. Jimenez said she appreciates her son being able to become bilingual alongside the migrant newcomers.

She grew up the daughter of an undocumented immigrant and became a lawyer.

“Where are you going to open shelters when you had 50 schools closed in 2013 that are uninhabitable,” she said, referring to schools closed under Mayor Rahm Emanuel for reasons of under enrollment and deficit budget.

Paez described a migrant student, since graduated, who was in an auto accident in Mexico and arrived here missing part of her hand.

FROM THE STREETS

“I was the person who flagged her, and who took her to the emergency room for care," Paez said. It wasn’t in his job description, he said, but it needed to be done.

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“We have a team effort,” he said. “It cannot be done by one person, one school, even one district. Chicago Public Schools need federal help now to make sure these kids are humanely received, that we can accommodate their learning, their mental health needs. We need so many systems in place and we are building the ship after it has already sailed.”

Just the same, Paez said the migrant crisis has brought national attention to the issue, so that it is “not a challenge, but an opportunity to reinvest in the public education that all our children deserve but at this moment that especially migrant and ESL (English as a Second Language) are entitled to.”

Paez chairs the CTU bilingual education committee and hosted a sanctuary roundtable with elected officials. CTU President Gates called him the “squeaky wheel” that brought her, and AFT President Weingarten, to the January 17 media event. She had an impassioned response when

Prior to the migrant crisis, CPS already had 20,000 students who were houseless: not necessarily living on the streets, but doubled up with friends. Now, there are 5,000 newcomers who do not have homes and do not speak English, she said.

The AFT’s Weingarten said she could see from Cameron what could be accomplished when a school gets resources, and she promised to use the union’s White House contacts. Regarding the Chicago Public School's shortage of bilingual education teachers, she supported full tuition reimbursement over the current 50 percent, as well as a social work coordinator in schools dealing with migrants.

“People come here because it is a beacon of hope, but the immigration system is broken and it has to be fixed,” she said. In prepared material earlier, she had accused “rightwing politicians try[ing] to score points by closing their borders ad shuttling students to cities like Chicago, New York, D.C. and Boston” while public schools were working on the ground to provide everything from bilingual curriculum to career support, accessing health care and legal services to finding housing.

Viviana Ortiz is the Students in Temporary Living Situations (STLS) coordinator at Cameron, the person who outfits students with jackets and boots after they arrive in blankets and who identifies other needs for housing and medicine.

Every school is mandated to have an STLS coordinator, and it is a dedicated position in schools with more than 80 such students. Migrant students at Cameron live in a nearby shelter; or three, four, and five families to an apartment, sleeping on the floor, she said.

Left: STLS coordinator at Cameron, Viviana Ortiz organizes donated jackets for migrants in her office. Right top: Cameron's English Learner Program Teacher Gabriel Paez, migrant moms Maryorie Vega and Martha Ugsha, AFT President Randi Weingarten and CTU President Stacy Davis Gates during a media roundtable. Below: Blocks Together's Carolina Gaeta and Breon Clark with a bulletin board of Blocks Together activities at the school.

(Suzanne Hanney photos).

Many of these families had stable jobs in Venezuela as police officers or teachers until its financial system fell apart, Ortiz said. Ecuadorians, meanwhile, had a civil war. “Our families are the ones who work on the streets, selling candy; or as dishwashers and in construction.”

Martha Ugsha, who came from Ecuador three months earlier, said her son was struggling because not all his teachers speak Spanish. Maryorie Vega, here five years from Honduras, said her daughter was moved from a bilingual class to English-only to accommodate newer students.

Blocks Together has a Sustainable Community Schools partnership with Cameron, with an office in a classroom of the brick building that has recently undergone $1 million in capital improvements. The community organization has facilitated cafes with parents, workshops about criminal record expungement; drumming, poetry, and soccer programs.

“Every child has a story in this building,” Blocks Together's Executive Director Gaeta said later. The newcomers may have seen loved ones die on the trip here or they may simply miss home. Existing students have health issues and food insecurity in a community that has suffered disinvestment for over 30 years, where the median income is $35,000 to $45,000, not the $75,000 cited for Chicago.

Blocks Together gives the school community tools to deescalate distress, Gaeta said, from Spanish language brochures to classes in Spanish for the Black families who requested them, to yoga. As a community group, it used participatory budgeting to gain a nearby skate park and hairbraiding classes, a microeconomy tool for job creation.

“There’s a lack of resources in this community, so let’s not fight over scraps, but see how we integrate with each other,” she said.

www.streetwise.org

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se Sudoku 1 to2/15/16 9.

PuzzleJunction.com

Streetwise 2/15/16 Crossword To solve the Sudoku puzzle, each row, column and box must contain the Sudoku numbers 1 to 9.

Puzzle

Crossword Across

©2016 PuzzleJunction.com

61 Albanian money 62 Picture holder 63 Unlawful firing?

64 Disrespect 65 Pinball paths 66 Varieties

10 Go straight 38 Criminal 11 Annoyance charge 12 Ancient Greek 39 Sculptor’s marketplace output 13 Seating 41 1980’s Geena sections Davis sitcom 18 Buddy 43 Band box 22 Burden 45 Needle 24 Completely continuously Down 25 Similar 47 Besmirches 26 Exploit 48 Sleeper’s woe 1 Droops 27 Sicilian city 49 Caper 28 Stadium 50 Some 2 Telegram offerings, at 3 Prayer leader showdowns 4 Rickshaws times 51 Road curve 5 Dutch commune 29 PC linkup 53 Paraphernalia 31 Tomato blight 55 Recipe abbr.

6 Wedding 32 “Dog Day member 56 Skin cream 7 Water conduits Afternoon” additive 8 Teen spots character 57 Egg producers 9 Butterfly 34 Pocketbook 59 Genetic stuff catcher Copyright 35 StiffPuzzleJunction.com hair 60 Make lace ©2016

©PuzzleJunction.com

Copyright ©2016 PuzzleJunction.com

lastSudoku week's answers Solution

Solution

Sudoku Solution

Find your nearest StreetWise Vendor at www.streetwise.org

1 Reins in 6 Back of the neck 10 Sensory input 14 Sky-blue 15 Gradual 16 Hawk’s opposite 17 Ferret out 18 Other versions of oneself 20 RR depot 22 Hawaiian tuber 23 Sundial number 24 Walkway 27 Parking place 29 College girls 31 Hose hue 32 Amber or umber, e.g.

34 Like some D.A.’s 35 Got ready 37 Make a choice 39 Startled cry 40 1999 Pulitzer Prize-winning play 41 ___ Paulo, Brazil 42 Cone producer 45 Cotillion V.I.P. 46 Inscribe by way of compliment 48 Tater 51 Quake starter?

53 Utah city 54 Kind of bean 56 Josip Broz, familiarly 57 Nosegay 58 Frazier foe 59 Bellyache 61 Mountain pass 63 Toss out

©2016 PuzzleJunction.com

66 70 71 72

Slice of lumber Collar type Zig or zag Beautiful people 73 Fender blemish 74 Actresses Adams and Smart 75 Weighed down Down 1 Blackguard 2 Submachine gun 3 Carpet 4 Extra studying before a test 5 Cal. page 6 Secretive org.

7 In sum 8 Latke ingredient

9 Still-life subject 10 Horatian work 11 Motherless calves 12 Egg-shaped objects 13 Withstand 19 Mythical bird 21 Attribute 24 ___ Le Pew 25 Farm measure 26 Taxing trip 28 Pound, e.g.

30 Cereal grain 33 Dangerous driver 36 Electrify 38 Samoan staple 41 Cobblestone 42 Betting game 43 Residents (Suffix)

44 ___ Martin (cognac) 45 Banned pesticide 46 Use a clothesline 47 Filmmaker Francis Ford ___ 48 Separated 49 Pontius ___ 50 Accord 52 Courtyard 55 Wood sorrel 60 Nick and Nora’s pooch 62 ___ Tasman 64 Big bang maker 65 Dash widths 67 Pitch in 68 Map abbr.

69 Scout group

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