Chicagoans vs. Special Interests Donation Drive
DECEMBER 28, 2010
How much would you give to ensure a corruption-free Chicago?
Today, please consider contributing $25 to my campaign for mayor as we kick off a 96-hour "Chicagoans vs. Special Interests - People's Donation Drive."
In the final 96 hours of 2010, let's make sure special interests, city contractors and lobbyists don't decide the results of the election in 2011.
Issues & Solutions
DECEMBER 11, 2010
Solutions to create good JOBS and spur economic development.
- Trigger growth in green industries, high-tech manufacturing, the allied health industries and other promising economic sectors
- Re-energize industries by building on Chicago’s strengths, such as our position as a transportation hub
- Support small business by expanding access to capital and cutting unnecessary bureaucratic red tape • Prioritize jobs that deliver living wages and benefits and protect workers
Already a leader in EDUCATION and has the experience to improve our school systems
• Work to convert every low-performing neighborhood school into a high-performing school • Promote state education funding reform to equalize funding across the state and reduce reliance on property taxes to fund education • Ensure an effective evaluation system and quality professional development for teachers and principals • Strengthen City Colleges of Chicago through an emphasis on career preparation programs in areas of job growth, expansion of adult education, and continuation of developmental courses
Will work to create a responsible city BUDGET
• Maximize revenues without overburdening the regular taxpayer • Increase transparency regarding the use of TIF dollars and ensure their use to enhance neighborhood development • Cut spending on line items that do not meet basic city services and human needs • Audit city functions and expenditures to improve efficiency, weed out waste, and uncover corruption
Click Here for a Full List of solutions breakdowns.
Miguel del Valle: For Every Neighborhood
DECEMBER 10, 2010
City Clerk and mayoral candidate Miguel del Valle called for increased focus and investment in community learning centers like the one at Monroe Elementary School in the city’s Logan Square neighborhood after touring the school on Thursday.
Monroe Elementary partners with the Logan Square Neighborhood Association (LSNA) to provide programs for families after school and in the evening, including adult education classes for parents, homework help for students, as well as sports, music and art programs for children.
Del Valle toured the school with Monroe Principal Edwin Rivera and LSNA Resource Coordinator Maria Alviso, viewing the building’s facilities for after-school programming and meeting community members.
Del Valle proposed a partnership with the private sector to fund the creation of more Community Learning Centers like the one at Monroe, increasing their number by 50 percent during his first term as Mayor.
“Just as we have a responsibility to be engaged in our children’s learning,” del Valle said, “Chicago’s business community must continue to be engaged and help support community learning as well. This is a natural partnership.”
“I believe in these partnerships because they work,” del Valle said. “Community Learning Centers are great for the neighborhood and they improve our schools.”
According to a study conducted by the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), Chicago Public School students participating in Community Learning Center activities improved academically. Of those students, 70 percent improved their completion of homework, 72 percent improved their participation in class, 66 percent improved their classroom behavior, and 73 percent improved their overall academic performance. In addition, eighth graders proved better prepared for high school.
“These programs prepare students because they engage the whole neighborhood. And we’ve seen what an engaged neighborhood can do,” del Valle mentioned as a reference to the successful Whittier school lock-in, where parents lobbied for a field house to be refurbished into a library during the fall of 2010.
“We can bring neighborhoods together through Community Learning Centers. Not only will we be able to provide better education, but we will grow stronger neighborhoods in the process,” dell Valle added. “We need to create a culture of involvement.”
Monroe Elementary partners with the Logan Square Neighborhood Association (LSNA) to provide programs for families after school and in the evening, including adult education classes for parents, homework help for students, as well as sports, music and art programs for children.Del Valle toured the school with Monroe Principal Edwin Rivera and LSNA Resource Coordinator Maria Alviso, viewing the building’s facilities for after-school programming and meeting community members.
Del Valle proposed a partnership with the private sector to fund the creation of more Community Learning Centers like the one at Monroe, increasing their number by 50 percent during his first term as Mayor.
“Just as we have a responsibility to be engaged in our children’s learning,” del Valle said, “Chicago’s business community must continue to be engaged and help support community learning as well. This is a natural partnership.”
“I believe in these partnerships because they work,” del Valle said. “Community Learning Centers are great for the neighborhood and they improve our schools.”
According to a study conducted by the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), Chicago Public School students participating in Community Learning Center activities improved academically. Of those students, 70 percent improved their completion of homework, 72 percent improved their participation in class, 66 percent improved their classroom behavior, and 73 percent improved their overall academic performance. In addition, eighth graders proved better prepared for high school.
“These programs prepare students because they engage the whole neighborhood. And we’ve seen what an engaged neighborhood can do,” del Valle mentioned as a reference to the successful Whittier school lock-in, where parents lobbied for a field house to be refurbished into a library during the fall of 2010.
“We can bring neighborhoods together through Community Learning Centers. Not only will we be able to provide better education, but we will grow stronger neighborhoods in the process,” dell Valle added. “We need to create a culture of involvement.”