May 17 - 23, 2021

May 17 - 23, 2021 Vol. 29 No. 20

2

$

$1.10 goes to vendor

Local media outlets are essential. Give today to keep their voices strong. #SaveChicagoMedia

Donate at savechicagomedia.org

4

Arts & (Home) Entertainment

6

SportsWise

8

Cover Story: Childcare tax credits

We are replacing our usual calendar with virtual events and recommendations from StreetWise vendors, readers and staff to keep you entertained at home!

Now that the Blackhawks are out of the upcoming NHL playoffs, the SportsWise team discusses what it would have taken the Hawks to go after another Stanley Cup and what happened since their last championship.

The federal childcare tax credit is being expanded as part of the latest COVID relief package. Three academic economists discuss the impact of these extra funds on kids’ education and improved health.

11

From the Streets

15

The Playground

Mayor Lori Lightfoot wants to use half of the $1.9 billion in American Rescue Plan discretionary funds to pay down City debt. Advocates want to be sure housing gets funded with the other half. Also, Bernard Kleina shot color photos of Dr. Martin Luther King’s 1965-67 Chicago Freedom Movement, on display in an exhibit at the Elmhurst Art Museum through June 20. And, education advocates respond to the prospect of Chicago Public Schools using stimulus money to pay down debt with a request for TLC: a plan for Trust, Learning and Care.

THIS PAGE: Metropolitan Family Services photo.

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

LEARN MORE AT streetwise.org

DONATE

To make a donation to StreetWise, visit our website at www.streetwise.org/donate/ or cut out this form and mail it with your donation to StreetWise, Inc., 2009 S. State St., Chicago, IL 60616.

We appreciate your support!

My donation is for the amount of $________________________________Billing Information: Check #_________________Credit Card Type:______________________Name:_________________________________________________________________________________ We accept: Visa, Mastercard, Discover or American Express

Address:_______________________________________________________________________________

Account#:_____________________________________________________City:___________________________________State:_________________Zip:_______________________ Expiration Date:________________________________________________Phone #:_________________________________Email:_________________________________________

ARTS & (HOME) ENTERTAINMENT RECOMMENDATIONS Since being stuck inside, which shows have you been watching? Which movies? Have you read any good books lately? Any new music releases have you dancing in your living room? StreetWise vendors, readers and staff are sharing what is occupying their attention during this unprecedented time.

To be featured in a future edition, send your recommendations of what to do at home and why you love them to Creative Director / Publisher Dave Hamilton at dhamilton@streetwise.org

The Stars Align!

A Night of Covenant House Stars More than 50 powerhouse stars will team up for A Night of Covenant House Stars, to benefit Covenant House's work providing care and support to homeless and trafficked young people in 31 cities across 6 countries. The concert will be co-hosted by 6-time Tony Award-winner Audra McDonald (CBS' The Good Fight) and CBS 60 Minutes correspondent John Dickerson, both members of the Covenant House Board of Directors and will feature performances and appearances by Jon Bon Jovi, Meryl Streep, Rachel Brosnahan, Morgan Freeman, Stephen Colbert, Dolly Parton, Dionne Warwick, Tony Shalhoub, Charlie Day, Vanessa Williams (pictured), Ryan Reynolds, Robin Roberts, Laurie Metcalf, Jon Hamm, Broadway Inspirational Voices, Covenant House youth and more! A Night of Covenant House Stars will include performances from across the country by Covenant House youth with the support of Broadway Inspirational Voices. The event will be streaming on Amazon Prime Video, Broadway on Demand, Broadway World, iHeartRadio Broadway, Facebook, Twitch, YouTube, and Stars in the House on May 17 at 7 p.m. CT. Details and FREE RSVP available at www.covenanthouse.org.

(HOME) ENTERTAINMENT

Youth & Literature!

4

6th Annual ChiTeen Lit Fest Chicago Public Library (CPL) invites teenagers ages 13-19 to virtually attend the 6th annual ChiTeen Lit Fest (CTLF), running now through May 22. Designed for-teens-byteens, ChiTeen Lit Fest is an all-genre storytelling festival that connects Chicago’s youth to hone their unique talents through literary arts. For free registration and a complete program schedule, visit chiteenlitfest.org. Registration closes 30 minutes before each program begins. CTLF empowers teens to lead peer-driven and authentic self-expression in a safe space. Throughout the festival, participants learn from their peers as well as local literary professionals, organizations, and festival headliners. The 2021 headliners are activist and multigenre rapper, Ric Wilson, and 2019-2020 National Youth Poet Laureate and singer/songwriter, Kara Jackson. Festival programs will take place on Zoom and YOUmedia’s YouTube channel.

A Gay Classic!

‘Jeffrey’ Jeffrey, a gay actor/waiter, has sworn off sex after too many bouts with his partners about what is “safe” and what is not. In gay New York, though, sex is not something you can avoid. Whether catering a ditzy socialite’s “Hoe-down for AIDS” or cruising at a funeral; at the gym or in the back rooms of an anonymous sex club; at the annual Gay Pride Parade, or in the libidinous hands of a father-confessor, Jeffrey finds the pursuit of love and just plain old physical gratification to be the number-one preoccupation of his times—and the source of plenty of hilarity. Suddenly, just after he’s reconciled himself to celibacy, Jeffrey’s flamboyant friends introduce him to the man of his dreams, who also happens to be HIV-positive. W hat follows is an audacious and moving romantic comedy with a difference—one in which the quest for love and really fabulous clothes meet, and where unflagging humor prevails even when tragedy might be just around the corner. By Paul Rudnick, directed by David Belew, streaming at Pride Arts Center, $10, May 18 at 7 p.m. at pridearts.org .

A Safe Place!

Girls Mini-Summit: Secure Your Self + Rights Secure Your Self + Rights will provide an opportunity for young women, girls, trans, and gender nonbinary individuals ages 13-24 from across Chicago to share their concerns around threats to their safety. They will have the opportunity to ask panelists how they can protect their rights to an education, to a future free from discrimination, inequality, and abuse. Featured panelists are: Commissioner of the Mayor’s Office for People with Disablities Rachel Arfa, Owner & CEO of Asutra Stephanie Morimoto, Chairwoman of the Cook County Young Democrats Chakena Perry, U.S. Senator Tammy Ducksworth, 17-year-old activist Zoe Weinstein, Vice President - State and Local Government Affairs at Verizon Nina C. Mathis, and moderator Sophia Eisenberg. May 18, 5 p.m.

Register for FREE at chigirlssummit.com

One -on -One Play!

‘Where the Air Meets the Water” "W here The Air Meets the Water" by Alexander Utz is a pair of intersecting one-on-one walking plays for one actor and one audience member on the Chicago lakefront. It's the third anniversary of AJ and Cara's friendship, and they've reached a fork in the road. Taking the form of conversational monologues about memories, aspirations, and art, the audience will walk with Cara or AJ through Chicago as they prepare to confront the future, whatever it holds. This intimate, one-of-a-kind theatrical experience, concluding at the shore of Lake Michigan, is live performance reimagined for a post-pandemic world. The last block of shows are May 20, 7 p.m.; May 21, 5:30 & 8 p.m.; May 22, 2 & 7 p.m. $30 at avalanchetheatre.com .

Unigue Voices!

‘Tellin Tales Theatre presents: Divercity’ Nine writers, actors and advocates with a range of disabilities tell their stories, ranging from touching to hilarious, in "Tellin’ Tales Theatre Presents: Divercity" which is being presented virtually through May 23 at tellintales.org/divercity-2021.

Closed captioning and audio description will be available. “Though Tellin’ Tale has had to pivot due to the pandemic, the virtual platform works well for performers with disabiliites. It also creates an intimacy that facilitates going deep within to share our experiences,” said director Tekki Lomnicki. The stories were developed and directed in a six-week Zoom Master Class taught by Lomnicki. The performers come from Chicago and suburbs, northwest Indiana and Georgia and include Brian Heyburn, Brianne Coleman, Jack Gehringer, Whitney Hill, Michele Lee, Ben Saylor, Terri Thrower, Molly Wiesman and Nate Woogen. Ticket prices: Regular: $15; Disabled: $10; I love Tellin’ Tales ticket/donation: $20; add $2 ticket fee for each. Links will be sent to ticket holders for the show and the Zoom talkback, which takes place after each performance. The mission of Tellin’ Tales Theatre is to shatter the barriers between the disabled and non-disabled worlds through the transformative power of personal story. (Photo from 2019 show.)

Helping Howard Brown Health!

'Belting for Life' Jeff Award-winning director and HIV+ activist Christopher Pazdernik presents the 6th annual “Belting for Life” (formerly known as “Chris’ Birthday Belt Fest”), an annual benefit concert for Howard Brown Health, one of the nation’s largest LGBTQ organizations. “Belting for Life” will be available to stream through Monday, May 31. This performance is suitable for all ages and runs approximately 100 minutes with no intermission. Tickets are available with a tax-deductible donation of $20 at HowardBrown.org.

Belting for Life features 30 award-winning musical theatre artists performing music theatre and pop songs with music direction by Jeff-award winning music director Dr. Michael McBride.

Adventurous Performances!

Pivot Arts Festival A celebration of contemporary performance in theater, dance, music, video/film, puppetry and multi-genre events. The 2021 Pivot Arts Festival theme is “Reimagining Utopia” with a mixture of live performances presented safely for the pandemic, in-person video installations and streaming events all responding to the need to create a better world post-pandemic. Multiple performances with tickets ranging from $10 – $30 will be held May 21 - June 6. Check website for complete listings pivotarts.org/festival.

-Compiled by Dave Hamilton

www.streetwise.org

5

Vendors Russ Adams, John Hagan and Donald Morris chat about the world of sports with Executive Assistant Patrick Edwards.

SPORTSWISE

Blackhawks'

Russ: Welcome to this week’s edition of SportsWise! Today, we’re discussing our beloved Chicago Blackhawks and what it would have taken to make the NHL playoffs this season, as well as what happened over the past few years to get us here. John, would you like to get us rolling?

John: I would, Russ. Thanks.

Well, this season, although we had a slight chance near the end there, it would have nearly taken a miracle for the Blackhawks to get into the Stanley Cup Playoffs. That said, we have a lot of issues heading into the offseason.

Patrick: It’s unfortunate, because, even in an average season such as this, there’s nothing like the 'hawks strapping 'em up and skating through opponents.

Russ: I’ll definitely miss it.

John: True. The thing is, toward the end of the season, we would have had to win the remaining 4 games, while the Dallas Stars and Nashville Predators needed to lose their remaining 4 and 3 games, respectively.

Donald: Could’ve happened.

John: It could’ve. But to add more tension to it, both teams would have had to lose in regulation—no OT. In OT, a loss still nets 1 point, so it wasn’t looking very positive. Added to that, while the

season recap/missed opportunities

Blackhawks’ power play was one of their strongest components, their penalty killing was another matter: 76.4% success rate, which ranked 5th-worst in the league.

Donald: Now, I just read Chicago Sun-Times writer Ben Pope, who stated that, since April 24, the Blackhawks had gone 17-for-17 on penalty killing, including 9-for-9 in a 3-game series versus the Predators; unfortunately, it was too little, too late.

Patrick: Before we go on, for those who don’t know officially what “power play” and/or “penalty kill” is— mind you, I was one of them until digging for this discussion—take note: When a team has a one-man-or-more advantage over another team in hockey due to a penalty, this condition is referred to as a “power play.” On the other side, the team that’s minus one or more players—which is also referred to as “short-

handed”—is often labeled as being in “penalty kill” mode.

Russ: Wow. Somebody did some homework. Impressive.

So, what do you guys think happened since the good old days of the 2010-decade to get us here?

John: Although there are other perhaps more crucial factors, a couple in my opinion are poor defense and faceoffs.

Now, both would benefit from having, at the very least, one superstar on the team.

With the defense, opposing teams were shooting 33.1 shots-per-game versus the Blackhawks—3rd worst in the league. To me, it’s not due to a lack of depth, but to the lack of a superstar: one who’d hold the puck more on offense and, perhaps, disrupt the other team’s mojo. The same with faceoffs. The Hawks were, at least this season, mired in the very-low end of things in regard to face-off success rate.

Donald: Well, I feel it came down to discipline, which I believe falls on the coaching. Say what you want about former head coach Joel Quenneville, he always had the Blackhawks ready, unlike current head coach Jeremy Colliton.

Russ: Now, in fairness to Coach Colliton, the Blackhawks never got the superstars to replace the likes of Duncan Keith or Jonathan Toews.

John: Agreed. Basically, Coach Colliton must prove to us, the fans—with or without a superstar—that he can develop the talent that’ll put the Blackhawks in position to win games as former coach Joel Quenneville used to do.

Russ: Well, there it is, folks.

Thank you once again for catching us here at SportsWise for StreetWise!

Any comments or suggestions?

Email pedwards@streetwise.org

How lifting children out of povert

by Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach, Hilary Hoynes, and Melissa S. Kearney

As part of the latest COVID-19 relief package, the federal government has expanded the child tax credit and made it available to all families with children except those with the highest incomes. Families will get US$3,000 per kid ages 6 to 17, and $3,600 for younger children. The Internal Revenue Service will deliver half of this money as monthly payments of either $250 or $300 during the second half of 2021 and the rest as a lump sum during the 2022 tax season.

If the government extends this benefit beyond the one year that’s currently funded, as many members of Congress and the Biden administration would like, this policy has the potential to dramatically cut child poverty by as much as 50%.

This kind of arrangement is already the norm in many countries, such as Canada, Germany and the United Kingdom.

As economists who have spent decades studying poverty, we believe it will have lasting benefits.

Long-term benefits Many studies conducted in recent years show that lifting children from the burdens of poverty has the potential to improve their health and ability to get a good education.

For example, economist Chloe East found that when low-income families with young kids receive benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the children are less likely to miss school and more likely to be in good health as they get older.

A team of researchers who assessed the effects of reforms to cash welfare programs conducted in the 1990s similarly found that helping low-income families pay their bills leads to their kids doing better at school in the future.

Other studies have looked into what happened when low-income families with children wound up with more money through expansions in the earned income tax credit, or EITC – a benefit paid to workers with low levels of earnings that the government substantially expanded in the mid-1990s.

Researchers have found that this increased income was associated later on with students scoring higher on standardized tests and becoming more likely to graduate from high school and go to

“The expansion of the federal Child Tax Credit is a remarkable step that shows when we have the will, we can combat child poverty,” said Voices for Illinois Children Executive Director Tasha Green Cruzat.

“Before the pandemic, Illinois had more than 430,000 children living in poverty. Nearly one million Illinois children were below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level – an amount research shows is necessary to meet just basic household needs. With hundreds of thousands of Illinois residents having lost jobs or seen reduced work hours due to the pandemic, the need for help is that much greater. Combined with the expansion of the federal Earned Income Tax Credit, we will take a major leap forward in helping low and moderate-income Illinois families.”

"Yet, the changes in the two tax credits will last for only one year. The impact of poverty – from health to education – can last for years. Congress needs to make the changes to both tax credits permanent and send the message, that as we move out of the pandemic, all of us will move forward together to a better life.”

-Tasha Green Cruzat Executive Director Voices for Illinois Children

ty today will help them tomorrow

More income, higher test scores The largest of the Earned Income Tax Credits increased family income by up to 20 percent, or $2,100, between 1993 and 1997. According to Gordon B. Dahl and Lance Lochner in the American Economic Review, a $1,000 increase in income raised combined math and reading test scores by 6 percent.

More money, more likely to finish high school and college Looking at four decades of the federal and state Earned Income Tax Credit, Jacob Bastian of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and Katherine Michelmore of Michigan/Ann Arbor and Syracuse University found that an additional $1,000 received when a child was 13 to 18 years old increased his or her likelihood of completing high school by 1.3 percent, of finishing college by 4.2 percent, of being employed as a young adult by 1 percent and of increased earnings by 2.2 percent. Bastian and Michelmore’s findings were published in American Economic Review and University of Chicago Press Journals.

college, and in early adulthood they are more likely to have a job and earn higher wages.

Another study that one of us conducted with two other colleagues found that babies born to families benefiting from the EITC are healthier overall. Other research found that women who give birth while benefiting from the EITC have better physical and mental health.

And two of us conducted a study that detected better health in adulthood for people whose families benefited from the introduction of the food stamp program when they were children in the 1960s and early 1970s. Similarly, researchers have seen long-term improvements in terms of increased educational attainment among lowincome children whose families received a type of basic income paid to members of the Eastern Cherokee tribal government out of casino profits.

When families with young children get access to cash welfare, that support has even been linked to higher earnings in adulthood and longer lives. www.streetwise.org

9

Universal child benefits in Europe Similar to the $3,000 child credit that is being enacted in the United States as part of a COVID relief package, universal child benefit plans go to families whether they work or not and whether or not they will spend the money on childcare, food or rent. Here are the annual universal benefits in 2012 for families with two children in 11 European nations, according to the University of Antwerp’s Minimum Income Protection Indicators (MIPI), quoted by Vox:

An incomplete fix This entire body of research suggests that the benefits of alleviating poverty are significant when children get more money, food, health care and other resources early on, especially between conception and the age of 5.

To be sure, providing all but the wealthiest families who have children under 18 with extra cash will not begin to do away with all of the inequalities facing children in America. Nor will these payments ensure that all children ultimately have the same shot at good health, a great education or, down the road, opportunities to make a good living.

But we do believe that this policy, especially if it takes hold for the long term, will meaningfully improve millions of children’s lives and give them a much better start in life.

Among other things, it reverses a troubling trend.

Since 1990, increases in federal spending aimed at benefiting children, including changes to the earned income tax credit, have often failed to assist the poorest families in a country where 1 in 7 children were languishing in poverty before the COVID-19 pandemic began.

Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach is professor of education and social policy and director of the Institute for Policy Research at Northwestern University.

Hilary Hoynes is professor of public policy and economics at the University of California, Berkeley.

Melissa S. Kearney is professor of economics at the University of Maryland and director of its Aspen Economic Strategy Group.

10

Luxembourg: $8,750 Belgium: $5,709 Austria: $5,704 Germany: $5,620 Ireland: $4,060 Sweden: $3,507 Finland: $2,883 Denmark: $2,794 Norway: $2,576 Netherlands: $2,404 France:

$1,779

EITC expanded in the mid-’90s The U.S. Earned Income Tax Credit began in 1975, when roughly five million tax filers received Internal Revenue Service credits of about $1,000 each to reduce the federal income tax they owed. By 1994, nearly 20 million people were receiving a credit of roughly $2,000 and since 2009, it has leveled out at about 27 million people receiving a $2,500 tax credit, according to A Brief Legislative History on EveryCRSReport.com.

Early welfare program showed results in schooling, adult income The Mothers’ Pension program was the first government-sponsored welfare program in the United States, from 1911 to 1935. Male children of accepted applicants lived one year longer than those of mothers who were rejected. They obtained one-third more years of schooling, were less likely to be underweight and had higher income in adulthood. Anna Aizer, Shari Eli, Joseph Ferrie and Adriana Lleras-Muney matched recipients' administrative records to census, World War II and death records, and reported in American Economic Review.

Mayor's plan to use $965 Million on debt, not social services, causes ire from chicago's housing Advocates

by Suzanne Hanney

The possibility that Mayor Lori Lightfoot might use half of $1.9 billion in American Rescue Plan discretionary funds to pay down debt lit up the chat room of a May 4 virtual citywide housing forum.

“Disappointed,” “sad,” “mad,” “frustrated,” read the comments in the “We Demand Better” forum hosted by the Bring Chicago Home (BCH) coalition. Members of the coalition include the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless (CCH), Right to Recovery, Jewish Council on Urban Affairs, ONE Northside, United Working Families and more.

The coalition unveiled righttorecovery.org/survey as a mechanism for gaining ideas on how relief money should be spent. Respondents can express their preferences by allocating a hypothetical $1,000 to everything from housing to free early childhood education, reopened public health and mental health clinics and more vaccination sites.

Juanita Rodgers, a grassroots leader with CCH, said that Chicago’s homeless population keeps increasing and is now at 77,000, with 3 out of 4 (75%) doubled up with friends or relatives.

“Let the mayor know we have rights,” said Roxanne Smith of Communities United. “Housing should not be gentrified.

We should have a place to fit your income without robbing Peter to pay Paul.”

Dr. Sabina Wong of the PCC at the Boulevard Medical Respite Center, who is also a member of the Chicago Homelessness and Health Response Group for Equity (CHHRGE), a coalition of healthcare and emergency shelter providers, said that the group has learned that doctors and medicine don’t make people healthy, but a secure place to rest at night does.

“CHHRGE stands firmly behind the Bring Chicago Home campaign,” Wong said. “Health care savings exceed housing costs.”

The advocates pointed to a California initative, Project Homekey, which created 6,000 units of housing in 95 projects, many of them converted motels.

California used $750 million in federal coronavirus relief, supplemented with $100 million in state funds, plus philanthropic grants and municipal matching funds, according to the Los Angeles Times. The LA area will gain 1,800 units, of which 1,000 will be in the city itself.

Chicago officials said April 14 that using $965 million of the $1.9 billion from the American Rescue Plan was a top priority of Mayor Lightfoot because it would allow the City to reverse a decision to borrow $465 million to balance the 2020 budget and another $500 million for 2021, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. This kind of debt restructuring, known as “scoop and toss,” takes old debt and throws it into the future. It was used in the Daley and Emanuel administrations until 2017.

WTTW.com compared scoop-and-toss to a person who uses a high-interest credit card to buy groceries and who only pays the minimum each month. Borrowing $965 million to balance the two budgets would add eight years and $1 billion to the City’s debt service, according to SourceMedia.

Ald. Jason Ervin (28th ward), chairman of the City Council’s Black Caucus, said he understood the need to rectify finances but that government taking care only of its own needs would be “a tough sell,” according to the Sun-Times.

“I hope there will be some conversation about the flexibility of some of this revenue being utilized for the extensive amount of support that many of our residents will need going forward.”

www.streetwise.org

FROM THE STREETS

“We are here to demand the city dedicate some of that money to the homeless population.” Rodgers continued with a poem, “When you burn down this city, what about these people? When you build this city up, what about these people?

These are the ones being robbed and murdered. Don’t you care when they are hurting?”

Single Room Occupancy hotels are a crucial part of Chicago housing stock, but an endangered species, said Lamont of ONE Northside. “Chicago can choose to do the same old, same old and see the same results, or do better.”

11

'In focus: the chicago freedom movement and at the elmhurst art museum through june 20

Bernard Kleina was ahead of his time in wanting to shoot with color film, which resulted in some of the most realistic photos of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during the 1965-67 Chicago Freedom Movement. The movement, led by Dr. King, James Bevel and Al Raby, fought against systemic racism and segregation in Chicagoland and inspired the Fair Housing Act of 1968.

Now on display at the Elmhurst Art Museum, “In Focus: The Chicago Freedom Movement and the Fight for Fair Housing,” features 40 historic photos by 85-year-old Kleina and seeks to provide an understanding and context for this national issue that had roots in Chicago.

Kleina photographed Dr. King and other civil rights leadership and organized public marches. After the civil rights movement, as director of HOPE Fair Housing Center, he helped to eliminate housing discrimination in northern Illinois for over 40 years. He now lives in Wheaton. The exhibit provides in-

12

sight into the Chicago Freedom Movement and the Fair Housing Act through maps, statistics and first-person accounts provided by the National Public Housing Museum, HOPE Fair Housing Center, Elmhurst History Museum and The HistoryMakers.

Adding contemporary context to “In Focus” are statement pieces that remind viewers there is still a long way to go before we reach the goals of Dr. King and the civil rights movement. Included are recent photographs of summer 2020 protests taken by 21-year-old Chicago photographer Vashon Jordan Jr. plus insights from race, class and communities journalist Natalie Moore, award-winning author of “The South Side: A Portrait of Chicago and American Segregation.”

Programming includes a May 20 event, “Becoming the ’Burbs” Part 1, 9-10 a.m., which will feature a prerecorded conversation with historians and scholars on the ways Chicago’s suburbs were created, from the Great Migration to discriminatory practices.

d the fight for fair housing' 0

Column 1: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in front of City Hall, July 26, 1965. Photography by Bernard Kleina.

Column 2: Housing Mural, Chicago, John Pitman Weber. Photography by Bernard Kleina. Lift the Ban Coalition at Daley Plaza, August 18, 2020. Photo by Vashon Jordan Jr. Image courtesy of the artist. Members of the Lift the Ban Coalition pose for a photo during the "Stop the Eviction Avalanche - Occupation of Eviction Court" weeklong demonstration at Daley Plaza, in the Loop neighborhood, August 18, 2020.

Column 3: Dan Lund, Elmhurst History Museum, visiting "In Focus." Photograph by Steven Koch. Installation view, "In Focus." Photograph by Steven Koch.

Column 4: Kendall Dirks, Untitled Depth of Field Project, 2021, Mixed media. Elmhurst Art Museum Teen Art Council.

A link on the museum’s website will be available the day of the program. Part 2, 7-8 p.m., will feature a live discussion with leaders of Elmhurst, Lombard and Naperville on demographics and stories of segregation, sundowning and unfair housing practices in their towns. Questions will be taken. A Zoom link will be available on the museum’s site. Both programs are free to the public, with no registration required.

The exhibition also debuts a collaborative project between the Design Museum of Chicago, Elmhurst Art Museum’s Teen Council, and York Community High School’s Black Student Union. These groups worked together to produce a photography-based project in which the teens consider their own relationship to their residences in combination with a quote by Dr. Martin Luther King.

equip visitors with tools to inspire lasting change in their own communities. A complementary exhibition by Ayanah Moor and Alisha Wormsley, “There is Black Housing in the Future: Equitable Public Housing as Memorial” will be presented in the Mies van der Rohe-designed McCormick House on the museum’s campus.

“In Focus” and “There is Black Housing in the Future” will run through June 20 at the Elmhurst Art Museum, 150 S. Cottage Hill Ave. in Elmhurst (one block from the Metra station).

The museum is open noon-5 p.m. Thursday-Sunday. Admission is $15 ($12 for seniors) and free for students and children under 18. More information on its COVID protocols is available at elmhurstartmuseum.org -Suzanne Hanney, from prepared materials

The exhibition concludes with "The Movement Is Not Over," an in-person and online action center, providing resources that www.streetwise.org

13

'Raise your hand for illinois public education' suggests 'tlc' for cps's 'return to normalcy' for all

by Suzanne Hanney

Using $1.8 billion in federal stimulus dollars to bring Chicago Public Schools (CPS) back to normal is not good enough: what they need is a little TLC, student and parent leaders said in an April 28 press conference.

TLC, as in Trust, Learning and Care, is a detailed plan for how to use COVID relief money developed over the past six weeks by advocates with Raise Your Hand for Illinois Public Education. CPS may use the federal money to pay down debt and has not yet agreed to meet with parent and youth leaders, according to Raise Your Hand, Brighton Park Neighborhood Council and Enlace Chicago officials.

“What we are asking for is [funding] for our needs, our reality,” said teen leader Catlyn Savado. “It is our reality that a student may not attend class because of an internet connection, that there are students who are homeless, Black and Brown students who have been deprived in this narrative.”

“We’re here today because we need to have a say in how this $1 billion is going to be spent in our schools,” said Chinella Miller, a CPS parent and Local School Council member. “Like Catlyn said, we keep trying to get back to normal but our normal is two different normals. Because you failed us before the pandemic, we need you to go back and fix those things first. We need more social workers, money for remote learners; they should receive a stipend so they don’t fall behind. My diverse learners are falling behind.”

Ald. Michael Rodriguez (22nd ward), who is also a CPS parent, said his ward encompasses five CPS high schools and 10 grammar schools. The ward includes Little Village, North Lawndale and the 60623 ZIP code, which had the highest number of COVID-positive people early in the pandemic. Simultaneously, it is the ward with the highest number of immigrants, and so the most people who cannot access personal stimulus money. CPS should use its federal COVID relief to

14

bridge the digital divide and to deal with the mental health crisis caused by gun violence, he said.

“This money is not for debt, this money is not for anything other than the CARE[S] Act, for the pandemic,” said Rousemary Vega. “It is time it is used in the right, where it belongs: to our students, in our schools, in our communities.”

However, the prospect of the Chicago Board of Education using its stimulus money to pay down its $8.3 billion debt caused Standard & Poors to raise the CPS credit rating from BB- to B in early April, according to The Bond Buyer. That’s still junk bond status, which means CPS pays a higher interest rate to borrow money, as a measure of its low creditworthiness.

Raise Your Hand Executive Director Jianan Shi said that the Trust Learning Care plan would not demand the full stimulus payment.

Trust stands for transparency, as in a quality control team of parents, administrators and youth to monitor school buildings’ COVID safety; and more staff – even parents – hired shortterm to fill shortages.

Learning means “those who need the most, get the most.”

Special ed teachers should not be pulled out of their designated roles and $12.5 million should be spent to ensure each student has a working computer and wifi. More professional development on teaching literacy remotely and on recognizing mental health issues was recommended, along with more bilingualcertified staff for smaller learning settings. A public tech support center, to field questions on remote learning, was also suggested.

Care means more mental health services, whether individually- or group-led; it also means social emotional learning built into the curriculum and pandemic learning plans when there is COVID in the family.

Streetwise 5/23/16 Crossword To solve the Sudoku puzzle, each row, column and box must contain the numbers 1 to 9.

Sudoku

©2021 PuzzleJunction.com

7 Six-time U.S. Open champ 8 Christmas song 0 Bugbear 1 Animal disease 2 ___ of Wight 3 Mrs. Lincoln’s maiden name 4 “Come in!”

5 Skin problem

6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 22 24 26 27 28 30

Blubber 43 Just out Chorus member 44 Kind of Cat’s scratcher relationship Strong point 48 USMC rank On one’s back 50 Recorded Songbird 51 Tool with Awestruck teeth Signature piece? 53 See 5 Down Shred 56 Motif Sandpiper 58 Aromatic Like Superman compound Savvy 59 Descartes’s Kind of spray “therefore” Soft creamy own 60 Encircle candy 61 Nobelist 1 Skye cap 31 Three, in Pavlov 2 Surrounded by Sardinia 62 Jamboree 3 Highway 33 Assumed name shelter division 34 Permissible 64 Optimistic 35 ©2021 ParchesPuzzleJunction.com 4 Warm dry 65 Seals’ meals Copyright 37 Fruitcake item 66 Diaper wearer winds 39 Anger 5 Surface 69 Lease

Copyright ©2016 PuzzleJunction.com

©PuzzleJunction.com

Sudoku Solution last week's Puzzle Answers

Solution

Sudoku Solution

PuzzleJu

Crossword

Across 1 Fancy marbles 5 Many miles away 9 Watering can part 14 Certain hockey shot 15 Curse 16 Clear, as a disk 17 Dominant 19 Cast a ballot 20 River to Donegal Bay 21 Meditative sect 22 Dates 26 Vocalizers 30 Departs 31 Possesses 32 Bottom line 33 Farm units 34 Sweeping ©2016 PuzzleJunction.com 35 Gallows reprieve 59 Church offering 10 Antler point 36 Washday 11 Feedbag morsel 60 Can’t stomach problem 12 Finish, with 61 Sheepskin 37 Tonic’s partner leather “up” 38 Ran, as colors 13 Rocker Nugent 62 Transparent 39 Young bears 18 Most basic 63 Mine entrance 40 Chills and 21 Brass 64 Margin fever component 41 Altercation 22 High note Down 43 Tumult 23 Shut off 1 Sugar amt.

44 Sonic follower 24 Reindeer 2 Fla. neighbor 45 Catapult 3 Card game for 25 Pizza places 46 United States 26 Boar two mathematician 27 Accord 4 Hot springs 48 Opaque gem 28 ___ available 5 Cancels 49 Indivisible 6 Roman deities 29 Sow’s pen 50 Unwakable 31 Codeine source 7 Diarist Frank state 34 Incite 8 Abbr. after a 51 Make into law name 35 Aspersions 54 Take exception 9 Good craps rolls 38 Savage

39 40 42 44 45 47 48 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58

Soup container Top-notch Born Give-and-take, orally Tiny village Coffee shop order Raccoon relative Neighbor of Sudan And so forth Zero Gobbled up Chinese tea Before, of yore The land of ___ Joke Compass pt.

Find your nearest StreetWise Vendor at www.streetwise.org

How StreetWise Works

Our Mission

Orientation Participants complete a monthlong orientation, focusing on customer service skills, financial literacy and time management to become a badged vendor.

Financial Literacy Vendors buy StreetWise for $0.90, and sell it for $2. The profit of $1.10 goes directly to the licensed vendor for them to earn a living.

Supportive Services StreetWise provides referrals, advocacy and other support to assist participants in meeting their basic needs and getting out of crisis.

S.T.E.P. Program StreetWise’s S.T.E.P. Program provides job readiness training and ongoing direct service support to ensure participants’ success in entering the traditional workforce.

THE PLAYGROUND

To empower the entrepreneurial spirit through the dignity of self-employment by providing Chicagoans facing homelessness with a combination of supportive social services, workforce development resources and immediate access to gainful employment.

Solution

15