Tuesday, June 19, 2012

A jobs for youth program? Are you sh*%#ing me?



Unemployment rate in Cook County is around 9% not including those who have given up looking. For black and Latino youth it's closer to 50%. For ex-offenders it is much, much higher. The record number of young victims of gun violence in Chicago streets this summer parallels the youth unemployment rates.  For Chicago area young people, unemployment, poverty and family income account for nearly all of the risk factors leading to juvenile incarceration. Yes, youth unemployment is a deadly business in this county.

Given this, I had to blink and couple of times and rub my eyes to make sure I was reading this correctly. It's Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle announcing that the board is "contributing" $120,000 to a county-wide summer jobs for youth program, bringing the total to $265,000 for all of the Chicago area.

You've got to be kidding me. I mean, once the two bureaucrats administering the program are paid, what's left?

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