[Peace] TONIGHT: Poverty referendum speakers/support needed

Tue Oct 21 10:12:05 CDT 2008

This is a reminder that speakers (in particular, Champaign residents) and
supporting audience members are needed tonight at the Champaign City
Council meeting to urge City Council members to make a statement in favor
of passage of Champaign's township poverty referendum, during the city
council meeting, in front of the media. Other motivations are to educate
the viewing public and the media present about the issues surrounding the
referendum. If there are enough impassioned speakers and if enough city
council members make a statement, it could make media stories tomorrow and
start raising wider awareness of the referendum.

As a reminder, the Champaign City Council, in their dual role as Township
Board Trustees, oversees the Township and its administration of the
General Assistance program that provides aid to the poorest, most
vulnerable citizens of Champaign. And the *advisory* referendum on the
Primary ballot back in February (passed with 71% in favor) explicitly
urged the Township Board (AKA City Council) "to restore the level of
General Assistance funding by actively pursuing any and all means
available to them". So it's entirely appropriate for citizens to urge them
to make a statement supporting passage of the referendum. In fact, we're
just insisting that they do what the voters already asked them to do. This
is the last chance for the Council to do so in this setting - the next
City Council meeting is on Election Day itself.

Logistics:
The meeting will be held, as usual, starting at 7PM in the City Council
Chambers at the Champaign City Building, 102 N.Neil St. The City Council
Chambers are on the ground floor to your left as you come in the main
entrance. Public speaking is allowed during the "Audience Participation"
agenda item. Immediately following that, there is a "Council and City
Manager Comments" agenda item where council members could make a statement
in support of the referendum. The meeting's agenda is online at:

http://archive.ci.champaign.il.us/archive/dsweb/Get/Document-6501/2008-10-21%20Regular%20Council%20Meeting.pdf

I've also included the meeting agenda as an attachment.

Note that "Audience Participation" will not happen right away. In fact, it
is the 10th item on the agenda. Among other things, the council will
approve 10 sets of minutes from prior meetings and consider 17 resolutions
and ordinances before Audience Participation. I think it would be helpful
for speakers to coordinate while we wait (make sure all important points
will be covered, avoid excessive repetition, etc.). This would be done in
the lobby outside the chambers. If you would like to speak and/or attend,
but can't afford to attend the whole meeting, please reply directly to me
with your phone number and I'll make sure you get a call giving you an
estimated 45 minutes notice. Alternatively, you could watch the meeting
live on cable channel 5 and follow along with the attached agenda to
estimate when Audience Participation will come up.

Talking points:
==========
Here is a listing of the some of the most salient points. Also important
though, is to speak from your heart - how you feel about how Champaign is
treating those most stricken by poverty who have nowhere else to turn.

Starting February of last year, about half of all General Assistance
clients were abandoned due to insufficient township funds. In addition,
the remaining clients had their financial benefits slashed up to 53%.

A new comparison of funding levels for General Assistance indicates that
all other comparable townships in a 100 mile radius fund General
Assistance at levels many times higher than Champaign: from 730% higher
for Cunningham Township (Urbana) to 1870% higher for City of Bloomington
Township, exposing an astonishing disparity.

While a past referendum to increase Township funding failed in November
2006, the upcoming referendum only asks for a small fraction of the prior
referendum's increase (2 cents per $100 assessed value instead of 5
cents).

Most homeowners would pay less than $10/year additional on a property tax
of several thousand dollars. The median home value in Champaign is about
$150,000. 2 cents per $100 of assessed value (assessed value is 1/3 of
market value) comes out to $10. The property tax bill for an
owner-occupied median value home in Champaign is around $3250 total.

Due to the property tax caps law, voters will not be told anything on the
ballot about what the increase will be used for (though Supervisor
Abernathy has described this on the record). This calls for Township Board
Trustees (AKA City Council Members) to help educate voters on the facts
and explicitly urge passage of the referendum despite the wording that
will be inscrutable to many.

An advisory referendum earlier this year on the spring Primary ballot
showed strong support (71% in favor) for restoring General Assistance aid
to the poor. Despite the advisory referendum's request of the Township
Board (AKA City Council) "to restore the level of General Assistance
funding by actively pursuing any and all means available to them", the
Board as a whole has done nothing to advocate for passage of the
referendum. And though 6 individual trustees have expressed personal
support for its passage, the three remaining trustees have declined to
state any support for the funding increase (Feinen, Foster and
Schweighart).

The city's poorest, most at-risk citizens will be hardest hit by the
worsening economic crisis and there will also likely be new demand for
General Assistance services.

If you want to become more informed on this issue, There are many
materials available:

1. My article in the current issue of the Public I

2. The online article based on the Public I piece:
http://ucimc.org/node/3439

3. A follow-up online article with astonishing statistics comparing
General Assistance funding in Champaign with comparable surrounding
cities:
http://ucimc.org/node/3533

4. An online appeal for media coverage of this issue with extensive
detailed references that could be used to in story production:
http://ucimc.org/node/3548

5. A 19 minute educational video on Youtube (interviewing Township
Supervisor Linda Abernathy and her Administrative Assistant D'Anne
Winston) in two parts:
Part 1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2SdLSuG0Z0
Part 2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_darOmyxos

6. An 18 minute audio version of the educational interview with Linda and
D'Anne:
http://imsahp.chambana.net/~randall/champaign_township/2008%20Champaign%20Township%20Referendum%20AUDIO.mp3

7. A short two-sided issue flyer suitable for passing out in public
http://imsahp.chambana.net/~randall/champaign_township/povref.pdf

Hope to see you tonight,
R
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