On February 1 ten volunteer researchers braved the blankets of snow falling on Chicago to gather at the CivicLab to launch the next phase our our Civic Illumination work. We are now looking at the New Market Tax Credit Program and hedge fund activities in Chicago. This six minute video introduces the work and the reason for undertaking it. To get more details or to volunteer, contact Tom Tresser at tom@civiclab.us.
Category: News
Adult Asthma Symposium @ The CivicLab
This is a free event for the community!
On The Commons. Are You In?
Check out this brief video from our colleagues at On The Commons.
“Running For Local Office” Workshop At The Lab 2/22
Who Plans What For Who? Let’s Look At Chicago Planning Efforts
Chicago Teachers For Social Justice and the CivicLab are collaborating for a six-week session where people come together to examine an issue in order to act. It’s called “Inquiry To Action” and the inquiry we are hosting at the Lab starts on February 25. We will meet from 6:30pm to 8:30pm on six Tuesdays through April 1.
GRASSROOTS VISIONS FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT; TUESDAYS 6:30-8:30PM
Chicago is said to be the city of Big Plans. But WHO made those plans and who benefits from them? Many big-ticket projects have been proposed by City Hall over the years in order to make Chicago a “world-class city.” But what, exactly, is a world-class city? This study group will review the history of community planning in Chicago, starting with the 1909 Burnham Plan and will investigate key players in the city’s planning history in the present era. Who are they and what, exactly, are they planning for us? We will seek to understand the context and motivations and outcomes for these plans. We will look at the Right To The City movement and other frame-challenging planning movements to see what other sorts of visions can be surfaced for the future of our great city.
This is a peer process of inquiry. The sessions will be co-facilitated by CivicLab co-founder Tom Tresser and CPS teacher and manager of the CivicLab Research Team, Emily Finchum.
There is a Kickoff Event on Saturday February 15 6-8pm and a Finale Event on Saturday April 5 6-8pm.
There is no charge to participate. Attendance at all sessions is encouraged. YOU MUST REGISTER HERE.
Learn The State Of The State @ The CivicLab!
State of the State: Illinois Through the Looking Glass of the State Data Lab
Wednesday, January 22, 2014 from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM
Register online at https://state-of-the-state-1-22.eventbrite.com.
Truth in Accounting (TIA) is dedicated to promoting truthful, timely, and transparent government financial reporting. In support of that mission, TIA has developed estimates of debt burdens across the 50 states. These estimates are the product of an exhaustive search for a wide variety of ‘off-balance sheet’ items that government accounting standards long excluded from the main financial statements.
Truth in Accounting has also developed a new website research and data resource, called State Data Lab. This service helps citizens learn about those 50 state analyses, and also provides context for understanding government financial results with a broad range of economic, demographic, and financial information.
This CivicLab session will help attendees learn how to use State Data Lab as a tool for understanding the state of the State of Illinois. Topics to be discussed include:
- Illinois debt – reported and hidden
- Illinois debt – how does it stack up against other states?
- Factors associated with, and/or causing, the Illinois debt load
- Does Illinois really ‘balance its budget?’ How about Chicago?
- Illinois population and inmigration/outmigration patterns
- Government service quality (including welfare/Medicaid) and state finances
- The Illinois legal environment: does it matter for the Illinois economy?
- Illinois labor markets, and their relationship with public debt
About the Instructor:
Bill Bergman serves as Director of Research Truth in Accounting. He is responsible for identifying, collecting, and managing State Data Lab. Bergman has over twenty years of financial market experience, including 13 years as an economist and policy analyst at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Some of his research projects while serving at the Fed included the role of credit ratings in capital regulation, the implications of national emergency powers for Federal Reserve ‘independence,’ and writing the Chicago Fed’s contribution to the Federal Reserve’s ‘beige book.’ Bergman earned an M.B.A. and an M.A. in public policy from the University of Chicago in 1990, and currently teaches finance and economics courses at Loyola University Chicago.
Local Labor History @ The CivicLab Jan 21
Chicago & Illinois Labor History: Our untold story. It’s relevance today
A workshop at the CivicLab on Tuesday, January 21, 6:30-8:30pm. 114 N. Aberdeen Street. $10.
Register online at https://labor-history-1-21.eventbrite.com.
Presented by Larry Spivack, President of the Illinois Labor History Society and Regional Director with AFSCME Council 31, the largest public employee union in the state and the country, participants will walk through a multi media presentation about the richest labor history in the world in order to develop a better sense of the legacy of the fight for social justice and economic justice.
This story will be told through slides and videos and general discussion. Many of today’s social issues were shaped by struggles and important historical events of year’s past. Working people were the major influence in these events and many of the stories are rarely told or interpreted accurately. Chicago and Illinois are home to some of the worlds’ most important historical events concerning workers and how we got here.
This class will help activists and the general public apply the connection between the struggles today in democratizing our economy by learning about the rich and incredible story of how we got here and where we are headed. This class often motivates individuals to become more active in their union or organization that has an affinity with the general principles of workers rights and labor solidarity.
About the instructor: Larry Spivack is a life long labor activist, educator, lay historian and promoter of social justice. His work is informed through his many years of labor organizing, collective bargaining negotiations, teaching labor history and being in the trenches for over 30 years. A former teacher in the public school system and rank and file leader for AFSCME, Larry continues his work as an AFSCME staff person, and is President of the most distinguished labor history Society in the country. The Illinois Labor History Society (ILHS) is the deed holder and steward of the most important labor site in the world, The Haymarket Martyrs Monument in Forest Park, Illinois. It is also the steward of the Emma Goldman monument. The ILHS has helped bring National Landmark status to many of the State’s most important labor sites including The Union Miner’s cemetery in Mt. Olive, Illinois where Mother Jones is buried, the Union Stockyard Gate in Chicago and of course the Haymarket Martyrs Monument. It helped lead a 30 year campaign to get a statue at Haymarket Square and leads the May Day event every year at Haymarket Square in Chicago The ILHS is a partner in trying to get National Park Status for the Pullman community on Chicago’s South Side. The ILHS leads labor history tours and works every day to bring the untold story of America to the people.
“TIF 201” Workshop January 28
TIF 201 – Organizing Around The TIF Program
The CivicLab
Wednesday, January 28, 2014 from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM
Tax Increment Financing Districts have been in the news lately.
Just WHAT are TIFs?
HOW do they work and how MANY of them are there?
Do they HELP or HURT the city?
Tom Tresser, the co-founder of the CivicLab and the lead organizer of the TIF Illumination Project, will break it all down in this informative and – yes – engaging and strangely entertaining workshop. Learn what over 2,000 other Chicagoans have learned from the TIF Illumination workshops done all over the city!
This session will past the TIF basics covered in previous workshops and will focus on how to help communities organize to impact the TIF districts that in their area.
$10. Attendees must register via EventBrite @ http://tif-201-1-28-14.eventbrite.com. All proceeds go to support the operation of the CivicLab. Making democracy.
The Nation recently profiled our work in a cover story entitled “Chicago Rising!” The author said “Chicago is where the spreadsheets are meeting the streets — and changing the face of politics in the city.” Join us to learn why and how this is happening.
What attendees at previous sessions have said…
“I just wanted to say thank you for the fantastic class last night. I learned a ton of new and disturbing information. I learned about Civic Lab while taking a class during the Chicago Ideas Week and I am looking forward to more classes! Thanks so much for creating such a wonderful organization and I look forward to seeing you speak at other events.” – John D.
“Illuminating and impressive presentation on TIFs in Chicago/Cook County las night. I thought I was up to speed, but proceeded to have my mind further blown on the lack of transparency and accountability. Highly recommend checking out The CivicLab Chicago. Thanks to Tom and the team there!” – Cory Jaffe
“The TIF 101 Class was AWESOME!!!! It is information that everyone should know. I hope that you will consider publishing that booklet that you presented. It would sell like wild fire!” -Dr. Carmen L. C. Palmer, Founding President, Educational Village Keepers
Holiday Hours
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!
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.