[Peace] April 26 JWJ rally noon / county jail survey Saturday / School for Designing a Society end of semester performances / fundraiser to support IVAW trip to NATO protest / and much more

[Karen Medina]

Events that I know about for this week (and beyond):

Jobs With Justice rally about Flex-N-Gate / Shahid Khan and the U of I
Thursday, April 26th
12:00pm
at the Khan Annex (north side of Huff Hall) to ask the University to
reconsider Shahid Khan’s alumni award.
1206 South Fourth Street
Champaign, IL
Shahid Khan, billionaire and U of I alumni, is receiving one of two
“University of Illinois Alumni Achievement Awards” at this year’s
commencement ceremony. Khan is the owner of Flex-N-Gate, a company
that makes car bumpers. Some of the company’s plants (including the
one in Urbana) have forced workers to handle hazardous materials, like
hexavalent chromium, without the proper safety equipment. In March a
“Speak Out” was held at Channing-Murray in Urbana for Flex-N-Gate
workers to share their experiences with the community:
http://justiceatflexngate.org/video-flex-n-gate-workers-take-a-stand-for-safe-healthy-workplaces/

Help administer door-to-door surveys asking community members about
their thoughts on the proposed jail expansion [The 5 questions are
more like, "What would make your community more secure?" and "If the
county had money to spend, what would your priorities be?"]. Join the
ranks of surveyors. We will meet 10 am Saturday April 28 at the IMC
and have a brief workshop and then conduct surveys until around 2:30.
[longer] If you have never done door-to-door surveys before, know
little about the issue, or only have a hour and a half to spare, your
work is still welcome and needed. We are trying to both get the word
out about the issue and to gather ideas of what community members
would like to have tax money spent on. So far, very few people
surveyed have been supportive of the proposed expansion. We want input
from as many community members as possible. This Saturday will be our
big push to get as much community input as we can.
* Please spread the word to your friends and colleagues. I found that
doing the surveys was interesting - less intimidating and more fun
than I expected. Come join us in our efforts to improve our community!

School for Designing a Society CIRCUS / end of semester performances
April 26, 27
7:30pm - 9:30pm
IMC

Occupy a Street Corner
Saturday, April 28, 2012, 2:00pm - 4:00pm.
Neil and Kirby (Illinois Marathon Edition)

"C-U NATO Mobilization Arts Underground"
Fundraiser for IVAW event and art creation for the NATO protest in May
Sunday, April 29
6pm-10pm (with pot luck supper 6-7pm)
St. Jude Catholic Worker House / 317 S. Randolph St., Champaign, Illinois
Includes making cloth signs, large-scale puppets, ...

=== May 2012 ===
Immigration Forum
May 3
7pm-8:30pm
Champaign Public Library


May 5th
Jobs With Justice activist training day 1 of 2
Day long training
Location TBA
There will be a suggested cost of about $30

Educational forum on the Champaign County Jail proposal (by CU
Citizens for Peace and Justice)
Friday, May 11, 2012
6pm
Urbana City Council Chambers / 400 S. Vine St., Urbana, Illinois
If you think there are better ways to use taxpayers’ money, come and
make your voice be heard.
Speakers:
· Carol Ammons, County Board member who opposes the jail proposal
· Members of Decarcerate Monroe County, a group that stopped a similar
proposal in Bloomington, Indiana
· Community members


For the NATO protest in Chicago.
A bus will be going from Champaign May 20 - leaving early and coming back late.

May 18 - 19, 2012; G8 at Camp David
May 20 - 21
The G8 meeting has been moved to Camp David instead of Chicago (May 18 - 19)
The gathering of NATO allies and the International Security Assistance
Force (ISAF) will go on in Chicago as planned in mid-May.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-g8-summit-to-be-held-at-camp-david-not-chicago-20120305,0,2787373.story
The G8 summit will take place on May 18 and 19, addressing a range of
economic, political and security issues.  The president will then host
the NATO allies and partners on May 20 and 21 in Chicago, where they
will discuss the war in Afghanistan and their planned withdrawal.

May 26
Jobs With Justice activist training day 2 of 2

=== June 2012 ===
Socialism 2012 Conference
Begins Thursday, June 28 at 6:00pm
through Sunday July 1
Location: Crowne Plaza Chicago Ohare Hotel & Conf Center
Join us for more than 100 presentations on such topics as:
Where Is the Egyptian Revolution Going? • The Future of the Occupy
Movement • Marxism and Imperialism • The Overpopulation Myth • The
Communist Manifesto • The New War On Women • What is the Real Marxist
Tradition?
Featured speakers at Socialism 2012:
Ali Abunimah
Ian Angus
Martha Biondi
Nicole Colson
Paul D’Amato
Neil Davidson
Sam Farber
Dan Georgakas
Glenn Greenwald
Arun Gupta
Alan Maass
Marlene Martin
David McNally
China Miéville
Charlie Post
Michael Ratner
Boots Riley
Jen Roesch
Eric Ruder
Beryl Satter
Michael Schwartz
Liliana Segura
Lance Selfa
Ahmed Shawki
Sharon Smith
Marvin Surkin
Lee Sustar
Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor
Richard Wolff
Dave Zirin