Incoming Deputy Chief of Staff, for Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, on the equitable distribution of resources, inclusive leadership, and social responsibility

With over 50 percent of votes cast in the February election deriving from voters 55 or older, this demographic holds significant weight in deciding which mayoral runoff candidate will take office.  In an effort to ensure all Chicagoans’ concerns were addressed in the final week before Election Day, AARP Illinois hosted Voters 50+ Spoke Up and We Listened, a virtual community forum highlighting the concerns of older constituents.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZEBTkSiIdo “AARP Illinois is a non-profit, nonpartisan organization that doesn’t endorse candidates, but we have a long history of providing our members and voters 50+ with accurate information to make informed decisions in their local elections,” said Álvaro Obregón, Associate State Director of AARP Illinois. Obregón was joined by Edgar Ramírez, President and CEO of Chicago Commons; Claude Robinson, President of Onyx Strategic Partners, LLC; and Abe Scarr, State Director of Illinois PIRG as panelists for the Tuesday evening event. The [...]

IL Latino News covers the social determinants of health and democracy. Collaborations like the coalition of Chicago's largest Black and Latino-serving organizations to produce the candidate conversation event are integral to the health of democracy.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0P-fuDwaaCU Chicagoans flocked to the Chicago History Museum on Monday night for a chance to hear from mayoral candidates Brandon Johnson and Paul Vallas before the April 4 Runoff Election. Chicago’s Black and Brown Future: Conversations with the Mayoral Candidates focused on issues impacting Black and Latino communities including housing, crime, education, economic development, equitable representation, and immigration. The conversation was moderated by veteran journalists, longtime CBS2 Chicago reporter, Dorothy Tucker and publisher of IL Latino News, Hugo Balta. Tucker is the current president of the National Association of Black Journalists. Balta has served twice as president of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. Moderators Dorothy Tucker and Hugo Balta. “Events like tonight’s conversation with Chicago mayoral [...]

Early Voting in all 50 Wards opened Monday and the Chicago mayoral election is now less than two weeks away. A new poll released today sheds light on which issues are top priority for Latino and Black voters, shaping their vote for the city’s next leader. The Chicago Mayoral Study was led by The Center for the Study of Diversity and Democracy (CSDD) at Northwestern University and a coalition of local Latino and Black organizations, including Hispanic Federation, Illinois Black Advocacy Initiative, Latino Victory Project and the Latino Policy Forum. “I was heartened to see that the city of big shoulders embraces efforts to integrate migrants into the community. Seventy nine percent of all Chicago likely voters polled responded favorably to the question to “create a humane and orderly way to allow immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers to live and contribute to Chicago,” with 88 percent of Latinos, 78 [...]

IL Latino News produces stories focused on the responses to the social determinants of health and democracy. 120 candidates filed petitions for Chicago’s newly-created District Council positions on Nov. 28, a few months ahead of the February 2023 municipal elections. City voters will be able to elect three members in their police district for the first time, along with the next mayor, city clerk, city treasurer, and alderpeople. These positions form part of a new system for police oversight, accountability, and public safety in the city. Called Empowering Communities for Public Safety (ECPS), this coalition encourages community engagement and input to hold police accountable and create safe neighborhoods.  ECPS now oversees the Chicago Police Department (CPD), the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA), and the Police Board. “We believe that it’s necessary for the community to have not just a voice, but a decisive voice in what happens in their communities around policing and [...]

Scotland made international headlines in August becoming the first country to provide free period products to its citizens. While the U.S. isn’t there, legislation supporting menstrual equity has been cycling through multiple states increasingly over the last few years. Illinois has been progressive on this issue, becoming the third state to end the “tampon tax” in 2016, and introducing and implementing several bills into law in 2021 and 2022. States highlighted in red currently implement the "tampon tax" on menstrual hygiene items such as pantyliners, tampons and menstrual pads. With so many bills being introduced, it can be difficult to keep track of what’s become the law of the land. IL Latino News spoke to legislators and other parties involved to figure out who these laws are designed to support. Low-income people 16.9 million U.S. menstruators live in poverty, making the price of hygiene products extra costly. Without government aid, [...]