IC-SS Weekly News: January 8, 2024
2024 Is Here – Let’s Go
We hope you had a restful holiday season. There’s important work ahead in 2024, Whether you have a lot of time and energy or just a little, you can make a difference. We’ll share many ways you can help protect our democracy and keep the fascists out of the White House, Capitol Hill, and state capitols around the country. Let’s go!
IC-SS: Be a Voting Member!
Will you become (or remain) a voting member of Indivisible Chicago-South Side? We invite you to become or remain a voting member to have a voice in leadership, endorsement, and governance decisions for our group.
To become a voting member of IC-SS, please register via this voting member registration form as soon as possible and no later than 5:00 pm, Friday, January 19, 2024.
Who can be a voting member? Youqualify if you’ve been active in some way with our group in the past two years: attending an IC-SS meeting or event; joining us or citywide Indivisible Chicago to get out the vote by canvassing, phoning, texting or writing to voters; or simply by participating in actions we’ve shared in the IC-SS newsletter or social media, such as phoning our lawmakers, signing letters to elected officials, or attending a demonstration.
Notes:
- If you received a January 5 email asking you to confirm or join, you need only reply to that email to remain a voting member. If you did not receive the January 5 email last week, please complete the voting member registration form instead.
- Anyone is welcome to take part in Indivisible Chicago-South Side’s open meetings, events, and projects. However, only voting members can vote on leadership or endorsements or participate in matters of group governance.
- Youqualify to become a voting member if you’ve been active with our group in any way in the past two years.
TODAY: Dark Money vs Trans Rights
From Indivisible Evanston and Indivisible Naperville: Indivisible Evanston and Indivisible Naperville present a webinar on trans rights, gender affirming care, and the dark money influences behind the attacks on the trans and LGBTQ+ community.
On Tuesday, January 9th, at 7:00 pm, join the Zoom webinar Trans Rights, Gender Affirming Care and Dark Money, presented by Indivisible Evanston and Indivisible Naperville. Register here.
Speakers will include Dane Menkin, Nurse Practitioner and Director of LGBTQ Services; Naiymah Sanchez, Trans Rights Advocate and Educator – ACLU of Pennsylvania; Aisha Davis, Senior Policy Counsel, ACLU Illinois. Register!
Progressive Messaging Webinar: Jan 24
From Indivisible Illinois, Indivisible Chicago Alliance, and other groups: Join us to hear messaging advice for the 2024 election. Speakers include Anat Shenker-Osorio of ASO Communications, host of the Podcast Words to Win By and Nick Knudsen, Executive Director of DemCast USA. Via Zoom on Wednesday, January 24th, 7:00-8:30 pm CT. Register here.
Remember Jan 6 – Act in 2024
Saturday was January 6th, the third anniversary of the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. We won’t forget how Trump led his followers into an attack on our government, aided and abetted by his Republican allies.
This year, Indivisible Chicago Alliance leaders created commemorative graphics and projected them around the loop on the night of January 6th. (And IC-SS provided a little help on the night of). Let these photos inspire us all to act in 2024!
Organizations and Opportunities
Indivisible Chicago-South Side shares information and actions from other organizations on issues important in our country, state, city, and communities.
Democracy Webinar with Heather Cox Richardson
From Jews United for Democracy & Justice: This Wednesday, January 10th at 7:00 pm CT (graphic shows 5 pm PT), we welcome historian and popular blogger, Heather Cox Richardson.
Richardson is a professor of American history at Boston College. She has written many critically acclaimed books, including one about the history of the Republican party through the Trump administration. Her Substack blog, Letters from an American, is Substack’s most popular blog and is the foundation of Richardson’s newly released book, Democracy Awakening. Register Here
Bring Chicago Home
Support Bring Chicago Home… act and learn.
ACT: Phonebank for Bring Chicago Home
Do you support Bring Chicago Home and believe the ordinance would be a fair way to help alleviate homelessness in Chicago? Bring Chicago Home can pass only if we convince enough voters to support it in the March 19 referendum.
So take a couple of hours to phone voters and inform them about Bring Chicago Home! From anywhere, you’ll get on Zoom with Bring Chicago Home organizers, who’ll give you all the info and training you need to use a dialer system to phone Chicago voters. Sign up here:
- Tuesday, January 9th from 5:30pm-8pm
- Thursday, January 11th from 5:30pm-8pm
- Find many more phonebank dates here.
LEARN: What is Bring Chicago Home & Why Vote for It?
What is Bring Chicago Home, and why should Chicago voters support it in the March 2024 referendum?
From the Bring Chicago Homecoalition: Bring Chicago Home (BCH) was born out of the growing need to address our housing and homelessness crisis in a real and meaningful way.
The Bring Chicago Home campaign launched in the fall of 2018 to create a new revenue stream that would be legally dedicated to providing permanent affordable housing with wraparound supportive services to people experiencing homelessness. To date, the campaign has been endorsed by over 100 community, policy, labor and faith-based organizations.
[A BCH ordinance would] restructure the Real Estate Transfer Tax (RETT), a one-time tax on properties when they are sold to create a substantial and legally dedicated revenue stream to provide permanent affordable housing for people experiencing homelessness.
[Under a BCH ordinance,] property sold for less than $1 million would see a decrease. Properties sold for more the $1 million would see an increase. Nearly 95% of properties would see a decrease.The new tax is estimated to generate at least $100 million every single year, and be legally dedicated to programs that alleviate homelessness.
Now that the City Council has voted to put the BCH referendum on the ballot, the next step is for Chicago voters to vote on it in March 2024. If Chicago voters approve the referendum, the City Council can then pass an ordinance increasing the real estate transfer tax.
Rainbow PUSH: Summit for Gaza, Jan 12-13
“We unequivocally condemn attacks on all innocent civilians, including the October 7th Hamas-led attacks in Israel which killed 1200 Israelis and saw 240 people taken hostage. We condemn the Israeli government’s military siege and indiscriminate bombardment of Gaza, where U.S.-made weapons have contributed to the loss of nearly 20,000 Palestinian lives… It is our moral obligation to leverage our collective power to end the escalation of death and ongoing humanitarian crises.” ~ Rainbow PUSH Coalition
On Friday, January 12th and Saturday, January 13th, Rainbow PUSH will hold a 2-day Emergency Summit on Gaza at PUSH headquarters, 930 E. 50th. You can also attend virtually. The agenda includes:
- Building on the legacy of Dr. King and Rev. Jackson
- What Palestinians are enduring
- The mass/diverse mobilizations occurring in our cities & on our campuses: a new generation speaks
- Ceasefire, saving lives and building peace
- What can be done?
The Summit is free but you must register. For more info and to register:
