Resources

New Chicago 2011, co-convened by the Grassroots Collaborative, submitted a list of questions to mayoral candidates to ask them about key issues affecting Chicago's communities.

All candidates with over 35,000 petition signatures were asked to fill out the questionnaire in order to attend New Chicago 2011's Candidate Forum.  The Forum took place December 14, 2010 with over 2,500 Chicagoans representing the entire city.

Read more about New Chicago 2011 here.

The Grassroots Collaborative released a study today that examines the impact of Illinois' budget crisis on women and children.  Entitled Gendered Cuts: The Impact of Illinois' Budget Crisis on Women and Children, the report combines careful research with personal interviews to demonstrate the effect of the budget crisis on everyday, Illinois women.

The report recommends the following:

•  Pass legislation such as HB 174, or its equivalent, that raises the state income tax and provides Illinois with much‐needed revenue
• Analyze the state budget through the impact on women and children, ensuring that fiscal decisions lead to greater gender equity
• Reform education funding to ensure that it is both adequate and equitable, and ensure that human services funding meets the needs of ALL Illinois’ residents, especially women and children

Media Box Out Community in Living Wage Debate, a media study released by the Grassroots Collaborative, highlights how mainstream media mostly ignored community voices in the discussion of the Big Box Living Wage Ordinance.  Without all voices being represented, major media denied the public objective and fair news. 

The study analyzed articles and media coverage from major Chicago print news organizations.

Recommendations:

• Coverage should include the voices and opinions of ordinary people who are affected by the issue.
  

• Coverage should not rely only on he-said/she-said back and forth of officials when other sectors of the community have a stake in the debate and are participating in public discussion about the merits of any policy issue.

• Coverage of an ongoing news story should include an examination of substantive issues of cause and effect as well as costs and benefits from a variety of perspectives, especially in cases that highlight historically difficult or controversial issues like race and poverty.