Groups At Meeting To Urge Aldermen To 'Put People First'
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Community activists, advocacy groups and union representatives will join 20 of Chicago's 50 aldermen Thursday night for the first ever People's City Council Meeting.
The meeting is set for 6:30 p.m. at the UIC Forum, 725 W. Roosevelt Rd. Its purpose is to urge the City Council to stand with advocates for policies that advocate people over corporate profits.
A flier for the meeting, distributed separately by several community organizations, says that the Chicago Mercantile Exchange uses $15 million in tax dollars to remodel its restrooms despite making a $475 million profit this year, and $250 million gets taken from Chicago Public Schools classrooms and is used as tax incentives for such "rich corporations" as Boeing, United Airlines and MiillerCoors.
The flier also says foreclosed properties cost the city millions in upkeep and emergency response, "while banks enjoy skyrocketing profits."
"We say it's our money, and we want it back," the flier says in boldface letters.
At the meeting, the flier says, participants "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!"
A total of 1,500 people are expected at the meeting. The Chicago Teachers Union, the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, two locals of the Service Employees International Union, the hotel workers' union Unite HERE and the Lakeview Action Coalition are among the organizations that will be represented.
All 50 aldermen on the City Council were invited to attend, according to literature for the event.
Buses are leaving from several locations across the city to transport participants to the meeting.
