Politics

Illinois Clears Major Hurdle for Obama Library in Chicago

Published

9 years ago

May 2, 2015

President Barack Obama speaks at Anacostia Library in Washington, Thursday, April 30, 2015, as he participates in a live “virtual field trip” with middle school students to announce two initiatives to improve education through digital connectivity. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Sophia Tareen, ASSOCIATED PRESS

CHICAGO (AP) — One of the remaining obstacles to building Barack Obama’s presidential library in his hometown of Chicago fell away when Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner signed legislation Friday strengthening the city’s legal ability to build the project on public park land.

The decision to locate the legacy project where Obama started his political career wasn’t a surprise. But it hit snags when the University of Chicago initially failed to secure park land and when an advocacy group objected and threatened a lawsuit like one it filed to stop lakefront construction on “Star Wars” creator George Lucas’ proposed museum.

The measure, which Rauner said would benefit the city and state, changes Illinois law to let Chicago build museums on park or “formerly submerged” land, such as the Lake Michigan-adjacent property where Lucas wants to build.

“Both of those developments will be strong economic drivers for the state of Illinois,” Rauner told reporters during a Friday stop in southwest Illinois, “helping the overall Illinois economy as well as the Chicago economy with tourism and visitors, and help create jobs and more tax revenue.”

Obama’s library will be built on Chicago’s South Side, where the University of Chicago has proposed two potential sites not far from the Obama family’s home. The Barack Obama Foundation, which was deciding between university bids in Illinois, Hawaii and New York, was expected to release details within weeks. Two people with knowledge of the decision confirmed to The Associated Press that Chicago had been chosen. They spoke on condition of anonymity because it hasn’t been publicly announced.

The office of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Obama’s former White House chief of staff, declined to comment ahead of an official announcement, as did the University of Chicago and University of Hawaii. Columbia University officials in New York didn’t immediately comment.

Friends of the Parks, which filed the lawsuit to stop construction of the Lucas museum, said they welcomed Chicago as a choice for the Obama library. But they urged against using park land, saying it could set a dangerous precedent. Before the Illinois legislation emerged — which legislators fast-tracked last month — Friends of the Parks argued the Lucas museum site was a protected waterway.

They said they were considering a similar lawsuit regarding the library. However, the group didn’t mention it Friday.

“We admire your record as a champion of the environment, including the park system in your home town,” the group said in a statement directed at Obama. “Please leave us the double legacy of a world class library and world class parks.”

The group’s objections have stood out among residents, activists and clergy members who largely agree that Chicago wins no matter where the library’s built. Supporters of a location on the South Side — home to historically significant black neighborhoods — called it ideal for the library of the nation’s first black president.

Bishop Larry Trotter of the roughly 10,000-member Sweet Holy Spirit Church, likened it to a “monument” of hope. U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush, a Chicago Democrat, called the library a “significant milestone” for Chicago in an audio statement. Bernita Johnson-Gabriel, head of a neighborhood organization, deemed it a “catalytic” opportunity to generate jobs and create new businesses for area residents.

“This is a wonderful, wonderful opportunity for young people who I’m sure wonder on a daily basis why their community doesn’t have the same amenities as other communities,” she said.

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Associated Press writer Josh Lederman in Washington, Alan Scher Zagier in Belleville, Illinois, and Sara Burnett in Chicago, contributed to this report.

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Follow Sophia Tareen at http://twitter.com/sophiatareen.

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California Black Media

California Senators Alex Padilla and Laphonza Butler Back Local News Resolution

Last week, California U.S. Senators Alex Padilla and Laphonza Butler, both Democrats, announced their support for a resolution that recognizes the significance of local news. In the resolution dated April 23, Padilla and Butler joined Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai’i) and 10 other colleagues in designating April as “Preserving and Protecting Local News Month.”

Published

3 hours ago

May 3, 2024

Oakland Post

Senators Alex Padilla and Laphonza Butler

By California Black Media

Last week, California U.S. Senators Alex Padilla and Laphonza Butler, both Democrats, announced their support for a resolution that recognizes the significance of local news.

In the resolution dated April 23, Padilla and Butler joined Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai’i) and 10 other colleagues in designating April as “Preserving and Protecting Local News Month.”

The resolution acknowledges that local news outlets are a public good essential to preserving America’s democracy.

“Millions of Americans count on the local news to help them understand what is happening in their neighborhoods and around the country. Yet local newsrooms have suffered from some of the harshest layoffs and budget cuts in recent years,” Butler said in a statement.

“It is critical that we recognize the role our local press plays in keeping people informed on the world around them,” she said.

The resolution comes at a crucial time in the media industry when employment decreased by 26% nationwide between 2008 and 2020, according to supporters of the bill. Employment in the newsroom came with great uncertainty as more than 30,000 jobs were lost in the last two decades.

Sen. Schatz said that local news helps increase civic engagement and strengthens democratic norms and practices. This resolution will help local journalists maintain healthy and vibrant communities through valuable storytelling.

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Activism

Calif. Anti-Sex Trafficking Advocates Discuss Competing Bills, Strategies

Advocates from across California are challenging state officials and community leaders to support legislation that provides resources and services for survivors and victims of human trafficking, as well as assistance as they transition back into civil society.  Some of those advocates are also calling for more effective state policy to curtail trafficking, a crime that has an outsized impact on Black children, particularly girls.

Published

3 hours ago

May 3, 2024

Oakland Post

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By Bo Tefu, California Black Media

Some of those advocates are also calling for more effective state policy to curtail trafficking, a crime that has an outsized impact on Black children, particularly girls.

According to the FBI, a report covering a two-year period found Black children accounted for 57% of all juvenile arrests for prostitution. In addition, 40% of sex trafficking victims were Black and 60% of those victims had been enrolled in the foster care system.

“It is time to hold the perpetrators who take advantage of our children accountable,” said the Rev. Shane Harris, a San Diego-based activist, former foster youth and founder of the Peoples Association of Justice Advocates, (PAJA), a national civil rights organization and policy think tank.

“It is time to send a thorough message that if you seek to buy a child for sex, you will pay the highest criminal penalties in this state,” added Harris who was speaking at a rally at the State Capitol earlier this month. Harris was speaking in support of Senate Bill 1414, authored by Sen. Shannon Grove (D-Bakersfield), which calls for people who buy sex from minors to be punished with a felony. The punishment includes a two-year prison sentence and a $25,000 fine.

Harris said the PAJA is the only civil rights organization in the state that supports SB 1414.

Harris urged other Black-led groups who favor anti-trafficking legislation more focused on criminal justice reforms (as opposed to stiffer penalties), to “join the movement.”

Many of those civil rights groups fear that SB 1414 could lead to the incarceration of more Black youth.

Those sentiments were echoed in a panel discussion organized by Black women advocates on April 26 to examine the cause and effects of human trafficking in California’s Black communities. The virtual event was hosted by the Forgotten Children, Inc, a faith-based nonprofit that advocates for survivors and victims of human trafficking through anti-trafficking campaigns and initiatives.

Panelists shared the psychological impact of sexual exploitation on youth and children in the long term.

Author and educator Dr. Stephany Powell shared statistics and information revealing that African American women and girls are the most trafficked nationwide.

Powell, who serves as the senior advisor on law enforcement and policy at the National Center on Sexual Exploitation said that national data indicates that sex trade survivors are disproportionately women of color. She stated that male survivors often go unnoticed because boys rarely report trafficked crimes.

Powell said that decriminalizing prostitution in California could increase human trafficking. She argued that Senate Bill 357, authored by Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), which was signed into law in 2022 and legalized loitering for prostitution, caused a surge in street-level prostitution.

Panelist and psychologist Dr. Gloria Morrow shared opposing views on decriminalizing prostitution. She said that decriminalizing prostitution could help survivors gain access to state resources and support.

Despite opposing views, Powell and Morrow agree that the Black community needs resources and educational programs to address human trafficking.