The CivicLab wll be on holiday hours through January 1. Which means we’ll be mostly closed so call before coming by, OK? 312-857-6485. Best wishes for a Healthy & Happy New Year from all of us at the CivicLab!
Author: TomTee
TIF Illuminators Testify
Got a few minutes? Then watch these brief videos from TIF Illuminators Maureen, Don, Bill and Marjorie as they explain why they got involved in the TIF Illumination Project.
The recordings were made at the 49th Ward TIF Town Meeting on July 1, 2013.
Perils Of Privatization
Historian and reporter for The Nation Rick Perlstein is doing a series of articles on the perils of privatization. In this 13 minute interview on WBEZ he lays out the reasons to be very skeptical about the sorts of deals Chicago is “forcing down the throats” of the taxpayers. He gives a shout out to the work of Tom Tresser and the TIF Illumination Project.
Read “State of Deception.” Then Join Restore The Forth
From the December 16 issue of The New Yorker. “It is evident from the Snowden leaks that Obama inherited a regime of dragnet surveillance that often operated outside the law and raised serious constitutional questions. Instead of shutting down or scaling back the programs, Obama has worked to bring them into narrow compliance with rules—set forth by a court that operates in secret—that often contradict the views on surveillance that he strongly expressed when he was a senator and a Presidential candidate.”
Read this and then come to the CivicLab to join in with the volunteers from the Chicago chapter of Restore The Fourth. Big Brother IS watching. E-Mail: RT4.Chicago@gmail.com, 773-417-9943. https://www.facebook.com/RTFChicago.
You Can Run For Local Office…
..or help someone you know and support run for local office! On December 3 master organizers Kitty Kurth and Kevin Lampe conducted a workshop on the basics of running for local office. We had a packed house at the CivicLab. At least five people said they are planning on running for office! We’ll be scheduling more workshops like this in the near future. Keep your eye on the CivicLab workshop schedule at Eventbrite.
A Giant Passes
Take Workshop On Running For Office
Unhappy about the way your local government is running? Stop complaining and BE the government! That’s right, YOU can run for local office and become part of the solution to persistent problems and create new possibilities for your community.
This dynamic 90 minute workshop will show you the BIG picture when considering a run for local office. We will show you a path for success and you will hear from candidates who ran and lost and who ran and won. Bottom line: You CAN do this. This session will explore the Frequently Asked Questions about seeking local office. We will be offering a full day training on the mechanics and tactics in January where attendees will take home a play book for action. Attendees to the December 3rd workshop will receive a discount to that full day training session.
$20. PLEASE REGISTER @ https://running-12-3.eventbrite.com.
The workshop instructors are Kitty Kurth and Kevin Lampe. Kurth Lampe is a Chicago-based strategic communications firm with an international reach with Chicago know how. Complicated ideas are turned into compelling and persuasive messages. Campaigns Kitty Kurth has worked on numerous campaigns serving in roles as campaign manager, press secretary, fundraiser, and advance coordinator. Kurth has served as a media consultant and general consultant for political races at every level from local to presidential including the role of Illinois campaign manager for Presidential candidate Paul Tsongas, national press and advance staff or the general election campaign of Governor Michael Dukakis and Illinois press secretary and spokesperson in the primary and advance person /organizer for Ron Brown’s campaign for Chairman of the Democratic National Committee.Training Kurth regularly provides training for candidates and campaign staff for the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Women’s Campaign Fund, National Women’s Political Caucus, and other groups. In 2001, the U.S. State Department sent Kurth and Lampe to Uganda to conduct campaign-training workshops for women Members of Parliament, candidates, and activists.
Kevin Lampe’s professional experience includes political campaigns ranging from local library boards to presidential campaigns. He has worked during each presidential election cycle since Governor Mike Dukakis in 1988. He served in variety of senior staff roles – including Director of Communications – for presidential candidates. Additionally, he served as an advance man for President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore. Lampe is regularly called upon to train his clients to work with the media. He has performed this task for everyone from US Presidential candidates and other elected officials to community leaders and business executives. Since 1996, he has served on the Speaking Tracking Team at each Democratic National Convention – which handles all the speakers at this event. At the 2004 convention, he worked with then state Senator Barack Obama on his keynote address. In 2012, Lampe was in charge of training for entire Speaking Tracking Team at the Democratic National Convention. Kevin has worked with Hotel Rwanda’s Paul Ruesabegina, Erik Estrada, Ambassadors, CEOs, Senators, and Congressmen. He has worked across the US and in Kosovo, Uganda, Belgium, Albania, Sweden, United Kingdom, Norway, Mali and Macedonia.
Are YOU In A TIF District? Get Illuminated?
Now you can get your own personal TIF Ilumination! For the absurdly low price of $25 we will tell you:
(1) If you are in a TIF District.
(2) If you are, then we will tell you the name of the TIF, when it was created, how much money it extracted in 2012, how much money was left in the TIF at the end of 2012, what major projects were funded by it, AND what percent of YOUR property tax bill was taken by that TIF.
(3) If you are NOT in a TIF we can either convert your fee to a non-deductible contribution, give you credit to an upcoming CivicLab workshop or refund the fee minus PayPal’s service fee. To avoid this option, simply look at your current property tax bill. If you see a name of a TIF district on there, then, buckeroo, you’re being TIF’d.
All funds we receive go to support the operation of the CivicLab, which is 100% volunteer operated. Once we receive notice of payment we’ll email you for your address. We’ll get you a report in 24 hours!
CivicLab Welcomes Move To Amend!
CivicLab welcomes Toma Lynn Smith, from Move To Amend, to the Lab!
“Formed in September 2009, Move to Amend is a coalition of hundreds of organizations and tens of thousands of individuals committed to social and economic justice, ending corporate rule, and building a vibrant democracy that is genuinely accountable to the people, not corporate interests. We are calling for an amendment to the US Constitution to unequivocally state that inalienable rights belong to human beings only, and that money is not a form of protected free speech under the First Amendment and can be regulated in political campaigns.”
“Who Owns West Woodlawn?” Town Meeting
Tom will be presenting on the TIFs of the 20th Ward at this town meeting.