People's City Council to be held July 7 at University of Illinois at Chicago
The 28,000-member Chicago Teachers Union is co-hosting what is being called a "People's City Council" meeting at the University of Illinois at Chicago on Thursday evening, July 7, 2011. According to the Chicago Teachers Union website (www.ctunet.com), the theme of the meeting is "It's Our Money and We Want It Back!" The event is building from the two June 2011 marches (the June 14 Stand Up Chicago march that ended in front of the Pritzker family's Hyatt Regency Chicago Hotel and the June 22 march at the Chicago Board of Education) and civil disobediences that highlights corporate tax breaks and corporate tax avoidance in Chicago and across the USA.
Registration for the Peoples' City Council can be done on line at www.ctunet.com. CTU officials say that people can also register on the day of the event.
The event will be held on Thursday, July 7th, 2011, at the UIC Forum 725 W. Roosevelt Road Chicago, IL 60607 . Doors open at 5:30 p.m.; Event begins at 6:30 p.m.
The CTU has provided people with the following "Did you know..." facts about the issues before the event:
• The Mercantile Exchange got $15 million in our tax dollars to remodel their bathrooms, despite making $475 million profit in three months this year?!
• $250 million dollars gets taken from CPS classrooms every year, and given to rich corporations like Boeing, United Airlines and MillerCoors!
• Bank foreclosed properties cost the city millions in upkeep, fire and police response, while banks enjoy skyrocketing profits!
We Say: It's Our Money, and We Want It Back! 1,500 Chicago residents are coming together to say YES to our money, our schools, our jobs, and our housing! We will lay out what’s wrong with the system, what’s right about new revenue sources that protect Chicago’s working families, and invite aldermen to partner with us to put people first!
As of July 1, the CTU has not announced which aldermen are scheduled to participate.
The Chicago Teachers Union is also providing buses from Kenwood Academy High School (on the south side) and Lane Tech High School (on the north side) for people who wish to attend. Again, you can register at www.ctunet.com and arrange bus transportation.
