Logan Square rally July 28, 2015... '...These cuts are unjust. Our children have paid enough. We�ve gone through 50 school closures; we�ve seen thousands of teachers laid off. We�ve seen cuts to sports and after school activities...' -- Alderman Carlos Rosa...
It was 89 degrees on July 28th 2015 during the Logan Square Rally. In addition to more than 200 people at the rally, alderman and women spoke eloquently. The rally, called by the Logan Square Neighborhood Association (LSNA) and local schools, was one of many challenging the Chicago Board of Education's attacks on local school budgets.
The first speaker was the alderman of the 31st ward, Milagos Santiago. �I am supporting our parents.. It is time for the city of Chicago and the Chicago Public Schools not to continue balancing the budget and coming up excuses on the backs of our children. I think it is time for the bad decisions that continue to be made by the board not be at the price of our children. Our local schools in my ward lost about $4million dollars-these are several millions that have been cut from our schools, schools that have been struggling for years. This is totally unacceptable. If there is money for charter schools, there is money for our local schools.�
Alderman Carlos Rosa followed: �The 35th ward will lose $1.5 million dollars which will take away educational opportunities from the children of our neighborhood," he told the crowd. "Across the street from my home is Avondale School which will lose $250.000. These cuts are unacceptable, these cuts are unjust. Our children have paid enough. We�ve gone through 50 school closures; we�ve seen thousands of teachers laid off. We�ve seen cuts to sports and after school activities. We�ve seen cuts to music and the arts and now we are told our children and their families will have to suffer more cuts.
So here I am here to stand with the teachers, students and their families to say our children have paid enough, it�s time for the rich to pay their fair share. The mayor has had a great start but we need to use every TIF dollar to go to our schools to plug those holes. We need our legislature to champion in Springfield. I and other members of the city council are ready to go to Springfield to work with progressive legislators to champion a progressive graduated income tax, champion a financial transaction tax. We need our mayor to use his relationship with Bruce Rauner to stand up and say,� We need to get revenue solutions in Springfield.�
He added: "There are districts around the city that property tax dollars are siphoned off and used as handouts to big corporations and businesses.�
Housing-Rosa talked about a meeting he attended on affordable housing.
I talked about what is happening on Diversy and the river where affordable housing will disappear and we said if they disappear, will you make sure those t housing will be located elsewhere in the area. We want to replace affordable housing one by one. There is a place for affordable housing in Logan Square.�
Next speakers Evelyn Rodriquez-will speak for Alderman Joe Moreno-Ward 1. Alderman Moreno is working hard to reintroduce an ordinance, introduced last September named �Keeping the Promise.� This legislation is committed to keeping the Chicago Housing Authority accountable for the surplus money in reserves. The ordinance is to insure that those units �and reserves' stay in Logan Square.
