Press Inquires:  Ty Cratic - 312-798-9378
                        Press@AldermanErvin.com

Airport Workers To Make Another Call For Stable Jobs, Living Wage

With turnover of airport concession contractors on the horizon, employees’ concern for their jobs and wages prompted Ald. Jason Ervin (28th) to sponsor a new ordinance earlier this month aiming to ensure fair living wages and job security.On Wednesday morning, Unite Here!, the union representing airport workers and other hospitality-related employees, is set to...(Read More)

Report: Living Wages At Airports Good For Local Economy (VIDEO)

Chicago aldermen pushing for the Stable Jobs, Stable Airports ordinance received a boost yesterday when an independent study was released showing that millions of extra dollars can be added to the local economy through increased workers’ wages. The study (PDF), conducted by professors at the University of Chicago and Roosevelt University, determined that more than $8 million could be injected into the economy if the living wage gap were closed for Midway and O’Hare airport concession workers.Virginia Parks, a professor at the University of Chicago ... (Read More)

Wages could lift off 

Roosevelt hosts discussion on raising wages for airport workers.

By Jason Lankford 

Roosevelt hosts discussion on raising wages for airport workers.


A panel discussion about a proposed city ordinance that would mandate a living wage of $11.18 an hour for airport concessions workers at O'Hare and Midway airpots was held Tuesday Nov. 1 in the Gage Gallery.

The "Stable Jobs, Stable Airports" ordinance, originally introduced to the city council on Oct. 5, has been signed by 150 faculty members from Chicago-area colleges. More than 20 of those signatures are from Roosevelt professors and it is also being sponsored by 31 Chicago Aldermen.Yet aviation Commissioner Rosemarie Andolino has opposed the legislation, saying the airport economy should be left to market forces. 28th Ward Alderman Jason Ervin, said that, based on what he has heard, Mayor Rahm Emanuel does not currently support the ordinance. If the mayor vetoes the ordinance, a vote of 26 aldermen will be required to override Emanuel's veto... (Read More)


Photo by Giacamo Luca

Roosevelt hosts discussion on raising wages for airport workers.

Aldermen: Budget Meeting Crucial Before Enacting Mayor's Proposed Cuts

Twenty-eight Chicago aldermen signed a letter (embedded below) to Mayor Rahm Emanuel demanding a meeting with Budget Director Alex Holt to reexamine the mayor's proposed cuts to the city's libraries, health care, police and fire dispatch and graffiti removal budgets in their wards. Emanuel could pass his first $6.3 million budget proposal with as many votes as the letter has signatories.

The aldermen are also expressing opposition to the mayor's proposed $60 hike on sticker fees that would affect more than 184,000 larger passenger vehicles, often teased as a measure targeting "soccer Moms," according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

Freshman Ald. John Arena (45th) told the Sun-Times the letter's purpose was to build a bridge of open communication between the mayor's office and the City Council.

"This is a letter to the mayor asking for him to come to the table and have a conversation -- not it being, 'My way or the highway,'" ...(Read More)

A Street Transformed by Foreclosures

A Street Transformed by Foreclosures
Andrew A. Nelles
This house in the Austin neighborhood is one of six abandoned buildings on its block and one of nearly 15,000 in the city.

by MERIBAH KNIGHT and BRIDGET O'SHEA | Oct 28, 2011

Thomas Burton remembers exactly when he closed on his West Wilcox Street home. It was Sept. 6, 1962, at 3 p.m. Eager to begin a homeowner’s life with his wife and their six children, he got off early from his shift as a driver for C&K Snacks to make the closing.

“This was my first house,” he said. “I couldn’t forget that date.”

Decades later, his children are grown and the 30-year mortgage has been paid off. But the neighborhood is a far cry from what it used to be.

The street has been transformed — six foreclosed and abandoned homes now sit on Burton’s block. There are 28 vacant buildings on West Wilcox, which is less than a mile long. ...(Read More)

Top Chicago cop defends station shutdown plan

Combined 12th and 13th District would have most cops in city

By BEN MEYERSON
Editor


Protesters call for honks from passing cars during a rally to save the 13th District police station on Tuesday.
Photos by ERIKA HILDEGARD JOHNSON/Contributor



Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy explains the plan for closing the 13th District police station Tuesday night.

As Garry McCarthy took to the stage Tuesday night, it was clear he didn’t have many friends. The packed house of Chicagoans mostly from West Town were rowdy, and they were angry with the police superintendent’s plan to shut down their local police station.

So when he walked up to the podium at the packed meeting hall of the Ukrainian Cultural Center, 2247 W. Chicago Ave., it was with remarkable aplomb that McCarthy began to explain the most controversial decision of his still-young career in Chicago: the closing of three police stations... (Read More)

Alderman wants ‘prostitution-free zones’

BY FRANK MAIN Staff Reporter/fmain@suntimes.com

Parts of Chicago would become “prostitution-free zones” under an ordinance introduced by a West Side alderman.

Ald. Jason Ervin (28th) said the ordinance would bar those convicted of prostitution-related offenses from public parks and walkways in the zones. The police superintendent would designate the zones with input from elected officials and community groups...(Read More)