by Rev. Marilyn Pagán-Banks, Executive Director of A Just Harvest and President of IIRON

As an ordained minister and someone who heads an anti-hunger organization, when I hear the President and CEO of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Doug Whitley, say that “the biggest loophole in the Illinois Tax Code is that the state does not tax individuals for the purchase of food or medicine”, I’m sickened!  Once again, the most vulnerable are being blamed for the economic crisis that was actually caused by corporations concerned only with their bottom-line.

Carrying signs that read, “No More Secrets” and “Disclose Taxes” and donning flash lights symbolizing the need to “shine a light” on corporations that are not paying their fair share of taxes,  members of Make Wall Street Pay Illinois visited Mr. Whitley at his office in Springfield yesterday, asking him to support SB282.  SB282 is a bill that would require Illinois publicly traded corporations to report on the taxes they pay to Illinois.

His immediate response was “no.”  He went on to make arguments, which were really no argument at all.  You can watch this 2.5 minute video to see his arguments for yourself.  Otherwise, please keep reading below.

He said, “Individual tax returns should be private.”  We replied, “this bill is not about individual tax returns, this is about publicly traded corporations.  Corporations are not individuals.”

He said again, “this information should not be open to the public.”  We replied, “the tax returns of non-profit organizations are open to the public, why shouldn’t publicly traded corporations be held to the same reporting standard?” He didn’t answer.

He said, “the IRS sets the rules, no laws are being broken.”  We replied, “this is not about whether or not laws are being broken, this is about having all the information disclosed so that we can look at how 2/3 of publicly traded corporations in Illinois pay no income tax.  Then we can begin to fix the tax code to ensure all corporations are paying their fair share.”

We asked, “how do the one-third of the corporations that actually pay their taxes feel about this bill? Do you represent them too?”  He had no reply.

At this point in the meeting, the Lakeview Action Coalition reported that they had just met with Director Hamer of the Illinois Department of Revenue and he supported the need for transparency, the concept at the heart of SB282, and committed to further studying the bill.  Mr. Whitley had no reaction to this news.

It was obvious Mr. Whitley would hold fast to the “charge to aggressively promote the interests of Illinois business” (taken from his bio) and would not be moved to use his position to support the interest of the state of Illinois, its citizens, the people most affected by budget cuts due to lack of revenue—so we closed the meeting in prayer and exited the meeting chanting powerfully.

As a person of faith, I am not discouraged by Mr. Whitley’s behavior—on the contrary my passion is rekindled.  I believe that God’s justice will be a light for all people (Isaiah 51:4).  I am charged to carry this light.

by Kristi Sanford, Director of Communications

Since I’ve started my new position as A Just Harvest’s Director of Communications I’ve been eating dinner in the Community Kitchen about once a week.  I started out doing this so that I could do a better job of helping the organization tell this part of its story – the amazing story of how 40 partners, mostly religious congregations and civic organizations, come together to provide a nutritious meal every single night of the year to anyone who walks through our door.

I look forward to my weekly dinners at the Community Kitchen.  But, believe it or not, I was a little nervous the first night I went to eat.  I’m an introvert, so anytime I go somewhere I don’t know anyone I get a little nervous.  Of course this is silly, because it wasn’t actually true that I didn’t know anyone.  I realized I knew a number of patrons who live in the community (I live down the street) and who have volunteered in our administrative office.

Each time I go I feel welcomed, not just by the volunteers and staff, but by the other patrons. And I know I’m not the only one who feels this way.   I could tell that Charles, the young man I met as I waited to be seated, also felt very welcomed.  And amazed that a place like this existed.

It was Charles’ first visit to the Community Kitchen.  He had lost his job a few weeks ago, and had trouble getting his Link card authorized (also known as SNAP or food stamp benefits).  He had run out of food at home, and his caseworker suggested he come to the Community Kitchen.  Before he was even seated he turned to me and asked how he could volunteer.  He was blown away by the fact that he could just walk through the door and get a meal, no questions asked.  He said he’d be getting his Link card by the end of the week, but that he’d want to come back to volunteer.

I ended up sitting at a different table than Charles and had a great conversation with John.  John eats at the Community Kitchen about 3 days a week.  On the other days, he goes to the south side to help a relative.  This month, his relative didn’t have enough money to make rent, so John sent him the money he had on hand.  We talked about healthy eating, the stock market, theology and the writing of C.S. Lewis.  We had very different ideas about God and religion, but it made for some very interesting dinner conversation.  So interesting that the clean up crew had to ask us to leave so they could finish their work.

These conversations are the main reason I enjoy eating at the Community Kitchen.  I also savor the joy of a delicious meal prepared and served with love and respect, and the knowledge that people still care enough about other people to spend time, money and energy to help one another.

I invite you to come for dinner some evening. I invite you to come as a guest rather than a volunteer. I invite you to come on a different night than your congregation serves.  And I invite you to tell us about your visit.  And to share your experience on our blog, if you like.

The purpose of the 99% Spring Training

If you weren’t able to make it in April to Northside P.O.W.E.R.’s 99% Spring Training, but are still wondering it is all about, please watch this short video of George Goehl, executive director of National People’s Action.

Everyone is talking about the massive cuts that Governor Quinn is proposing for Illinois’ FY 2013 budget.  They sound downright painful, especially the $2.7 billion in cuts he proposed to make to Medicaid, the state’s health care system for the poor.  A Just Harvest patron’s struggle to get nutritious food, pay rent, and buy medication as things currently stand.  Deeps cuts to Medicaid will only make their challenges greater.

Cuts to the state budget – like the 9% Quinn is proposing for many state departments – will have a ripple effect in the economy.  A recent study by the Alliance for a Just Society finds that for every percentage point we cut Illinois spending, we lose 6,230 jobs.  As people lose their jobs in the coming year to Illinois budget cuts many of them will turn to places like A Just Harvest for help.

We need to be looking at revenue sources, not simply cuts.  Quinn made a weak reference to raising $75 million annually by closing a tax loophole enjoyed by oil companies.  Check out IIRON’s take on corporate tax loopholes that, if closed, could actually raise serious revenue for Illinois – $1.5 billion over three years!  If you’re feeling wonky (and I mean this in a good way), read the original study by Good Jobs First detailing these loopholes.  Although this isn’t enough to solve all our budget woes, shouldn’t we be looking for ways to lessen the pain?

Northside P.O.W.E.R. participated in an action called “Fat Cat Tuesday” that called on corporations and our elected officials to repent and give up corporate tax giveaways for lent.  Click on the image below to see press coverage in Progress Illinois.

“…until all have plenty, and no one is left in need.”  This is A Just Harvest’s vision of how the world should be.  We’d like to create a world where there is no need for emergency food distribution.  In other words, we’d like to put ourselves out of business.

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was articulating a similar vision when he launched the Poor People’s Campaign shortly before his assassination.  The Civil Rights Movement vanquished Jim Crow, but didn’t vanquish the poverty suffered by millions of African Americans.  Recognizing than great numbers of Americans of every race and ethnicity lived in poverty, Dr. King turned his sights on creating a multiracial movement that would vanquish poverty and create a more just economy – to ensure that “all have plenty, and no one is left in need.”

Although we no longer have state-sanctioned racial apartheid in America, we do live in an America with staggering economic inequality – an economic apartheid, if you will, which has only been increasing in recent decades.  A Just Harvest seeks to live MLK’s dream – to “Occupy the Dream”.

On January 15, 1,500 people of faith and community leaders came together to honor the legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and promote policies that will alleviate hunger, poverty and growing income inequality.

This is a 5 minute video synopsis of the event:  (Click here to watch the FULL EVENT on YouTube.)

A Just Harvest is committed not only to meeting hungry people’s immediate need for food, but to supporting public policies which alleviate hunger and poverty.  Due to the persistently high employment rate, record numbers of Americans are seeking food assistance from the SNAP program (formerly known as food stamps) and from organization’s like A Just Harvest.  For this reason, A Just Harvest is calling on our elected officials to take action within their power to create jobs now.

Rather than further cuts to taxes on the wealthiest Americans and waiting to see if they create jobs (which hasn’t worked so far), let’s take matters into our hands and pass a bill guaranteed to immediately create decent jobs for millions of unemployed Americans.

Northside P.O.W.E.R. and Moveon.org organized a rally to demand that Rep. Dold (R-10th) support the jobs bill introduced by Rep. Schakowsky(D-9th).

In this video A Just Harvest patrons, volunteers and Northside P.O.W.E.R. leaders and interns share their experiences in this recession.  They are struck by the fact that while they struggle with unemployment, underemployment and the possible loss of health care while the  large banks and Wall Street investment firms are handing out record bonuses.   We now know that many of these banks engaged in predatory lending and sold risky mortgages as stable investments, and that this irresponsible behavior harmed the economy.   Ordinary people are suffering, but the banks got bailed out but are failing to extend the same generosity to average Americans as the American tax payer extended to them.

Why does A Just Harvest care about these things?  Because we are committed not only to feeding the hungry, but fighting the root causes of hunger.

In the Spring of 2010, Lakeside Community Development Corporation (CDC) obtained funding for outreach to let people know about the Circuit Court of Cook County’s Foreclosure Mediation Program. This program provides a Housing Counselor, a Lawyer and a Mediator, all FREE of charge, funded by the Cook County budget.

The mediation program was created as the result of an organizing campaign spearheaded by Action NOW and conducted by a coalition of community organizations including Northside P.O.W.E.R. Both Lakeside CDC and St. Peter’s U.C.C. Skokie are members of Northside P.O.W.E.R. (NsP). Beth Lanford of St. Peter’s U.C.C. has a personal self interest in this issue. One of her brothers lives in a state where lenders do not have to get a court order of foreclosure. All the lender has to do is put an ad in the local paper announcing the time of the house’s auction. The lender then mails the ad to the homeowner. So people drove by her brother’s house, checking it out as a possible investment. He was wondering what was going on. That is until he received the ad in the mail!

So, when Beth was approached with the opportunity of helping homeowners save their homes, she was ALL FOR IT. It turns out that her story is not the only one out there. So many people are in foreclosure for a variety of reasons.

With the help of NsP and Lakeside CDC, St. Peter’s U.C.C. began to organize a door knocking campaign in Skokie. Lakeside provided the walk sheets, and St. Peter’s the door knockers. Door knockers approach people in foreclosure and provide information on the Mediation program, urging them to call and get into the program.

Next, St. Peter’s approached the Village of Skokie to explore coordinating efforts reaching out to homeowners in foreclosure. St. Peter’s met with Mayor George Van Dusen and the assistant Village manager John Lockerby.

As a result of these meetings an agreement was reached that ended duplication of efforts and continues to explore possible channels of cooperation. This led to Mayor George Van Dusen’s special appearance at the Northside P.O.W.E.R. – MLK Sunday Public Meeting on January 16^th, 2011.

The work is not done! If you want to get involved with this exciting outreach, call St. Peter’s U.C.C. at (847) 673.8166.

To Get Into the Mediation Program Call
877.895.2444
Or
Lakeside CDC
At 773.381.5253