Taking back Chicago

I'm looking forward to next Tuesday, October 15th when a coalition of union and community groups will come together to "Take Back Chicago." Several thousand people are expected to take part in this community meeting at the UIC Forum. Things will start with a 5 p.m. march and rally and continue on with a forum.

With local elections on the horizon, the goal of TBC will be to forge a common vision for the city's future and then to hold candidates accountable to that vision. High on the agenda are school closings, the continued destruction of families, public housing, social services and employment opportunities.

The convening Grassroots Collaborative includes:

Action Now • AFSCME Council 31 • Bickerdike Redevelopment Corporation • Brighton Park Neighborhood Organization• Chicago Coalition for the Homeless • Chicago Teachers Union • Enlace Chicago • Illinois Hunger Coalition • Kenwood Oakland Community Organization • ONE Northside • Pilsen Alliance • SEIU Healthcare • Southsiders Organized for Unity and Liberation • SouthsideTogether Organizing for Power • Southwest Organizing Project

You can sign up to take part in Take Back Chicago on Facebook.  I did.

Buying an Election

There's nothing grassroots about the coalition Rahm is building. It's focused solely on buying the next mayoral election.

Today's Sun-Times reports:

In the face of a rancorous year at the city’s helm, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has hauled in nearly $1.4 million in larger campaign donations in the last three months — and with nearly a year and half before his re-election, he already has $5 million cash on hand.

Griffin

Nearly $120,000 of the donations in the last period came from employees at investment giant Citadel or from the hedge fund manager Ken Griffin himself. Griffin is reportedly Chicago's second richest man (behind Sam Zell) and a major player in Chicago's corporate-style school reform. He's a big backer of anti-teacher-union groups like Stand For Children, one of the sponsors of the notorious Senate Bill 7. Stand for Children also dropped $10,000 into Rahm's war chest.

The law firm of Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP that employs former Mayor Richard M. Daley and Daley’s best friend Terry Newman was a big contributor. So was the law firm of Kirkland Ellis and the financial firms CTC, and Grosvenor Capital Management LP, whose CEO and chairman Michael Sacks is vice-chairman of World Business Chicago and Emanuel’s close friend and business adviser.