(A Message from the Better Business Bureau)              

 Chicago, IL – Unless you’re among a select group of people, sitting down and creating a budget does not sound like very much holiday fun. Nevertheless, in tough economic times, the Better Business Bureau recommends mapping out your spending in November to help ease the strain of a financial holiday hangover in January.

 According to a survey by Consumer Reports, shoppers planned on spending about $699 over the holidays last year, but, in a follow-up survey, admitted to actually spending closer to an average of $811, 16 percent more than planned. Creating a budget, and being disciplined enough to follow it, is one of the best ways to avoid overspending during the holidays. 

“While sitting yourself down and crunching numbers isn’t the most festive way to spend an evening, because of the current economic climate many can’t afford to spend with abandon,” said Steve J. Bernas, president & CEO of the Better Business Bureau serving Chicago and northern Illinois. “Building a budget and sticking to it over the holidays will stave off a painful financial burden.”

The following are four steps recommended by the BBB to consider when creating a budget this holiday season:

Step One: Consider your Income.

The first step is to measure how much money is coming in.  Add up your monthly salary along with your spouse’s and any child support payments, dividends or interest payments and other sources of income.

Step Two: Add Up Regular Monthly Expenses.

Adding up expenses is usually harder than determining your income because there are so many more factors to consider. Start with your rent or mortgage, utilities and credit card payments. Also factor in other expenses for gas and car maintenance, healthcare and groceries. A full list of monthly expenses to consider is available at www.bbb.org  

Step Three: Estimate Extra Holiday Expenses.

A lot of little purchases have a way of adding up over the holidays and it’s important to consider all of the expenses of the season including:

• Gifts – Make an itemized list of everyone you want to buy presents for and estimate how much you’re willing to spend for each. This includes presents for family, friends and coworkers. Also consider the cost for holiday cards and postage.

• Entertaining – Entertaining is big over the holidays. Think about who you’ll be having over and also budget for any food or beverages you might need to bring to someone else’s party. Also consider the costs for eating out and going to the movies-both popular expenses over the holidays.

• Decorations – Take stock of what you already own and then consider any additional spending you might need to make for a tree, lights, ornaments, wrapping paper, etc.

• Travel – If you’re heading out of town for the holidays, consider the cost of travel including any car maintenance or pet boarding if applicable.

• Charitable Donations – Remember the holidays are a time of giving, so budget in how much you plan on donating to a worthy cause. You can learn more about being a savvy donor from the BBB Wise Giving Alliance at www.bbb.org/charity

Step Four: Revisit, Evaluate and Revise Your Budget Along the Way.

Once you’ve added up your income and your expenses, it’s time to compare. If more is going out than coming in, it’s time to go back over your budget and pare down expenses. Consider giving fewer gifts or less expensive ways of entertaining. Last year’s decorations are also probably just fine.

Once you’ve balanced your budget, revisit it frequently over the holidays to make sure you’re sticking to it. You might find that you overestimated in some categories and underestimated in others.

For more advice on saving money over the holidays, visit www.bbb.org

By Juanita Bratcher

There’s so much to be thankful for!

There’s so much to be grateful for!

As we celebrate Thanksgiving Day with family and friends, let us be cognizant, grateful and thankful for the blessings God has bestowed upon us.

In celebration of this annual holiday tradition, we give thanks; we’re prayerful, and filled with gratitude for God’s blessings. We’re thankful for a multitude of things and for various reasons.

Thanksgiving Day is a time of reflection, a time to come together with family and friends…and eat heartily.

According to reports, the first Thanksgiving Day was held for three days in 1621 at Plymouth, Massachusetts as a “thank you” Celebration for leaders of the Wampanoag Indian Tribe and their families in appreciation for teaching much needed survival skills in the New World. Other reports state that the first Thanksgiving occurred in 1619 in Virginia.

In a Proclamation (October 3, 1863), President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed Thanksgiving a national holiday to be held in November to unite the North and South after the war. In the United States, Thanksgiving is celebrated on the 4^th Thursday in November.

So on this Thanksgiving Day, we give God the glory!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Proclamation: By President Abraham Lincoln, October 3, 1863

The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defense, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility and Union.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed.

By Juanita Bratcher

Dr. Margaret Burroughs, Founder and President Emeritus of the DuSable Museum of African American History, has died. She was 95 years old.

 Burroughs, an Artist, Writer, Educator and Poet, made a lifetime contribution to the Cultural Arts and leaves a great legacy in the annals of history. She was a visionary with a passion for the Arts, an inspiration to many – those who knew her up-close and those who watched her from a distance.

Burroughs was devoted to preserving African American history. And she did a yeoman’s job in her efforts to preserve that history.

“Every individual wants to leave a legacy; to be remembered for something positive they have done for their community,” she said in Ebony Magazine. “Long after I’m dead and gone, the [DuSable] museum will still be here.”

And indeed, the DuSable Museum is a laborious lifetime contribution Burroughs made to African Americans and the American Art culture. Burroughs built a strong institution through her dedicated commitment and focused devotion to a dream that turned into a historical legacy. She dreamed it! She lived it!

President Barack Obama in a statement on the passing of Dr. Burroughs said: “Michelle and I are saddened by the passing of Dr. Margaret Burroughs, who was widely admired for her contributions to American culture as an esteemed artist, historian, educator, and mentor.  In 1961, Dr. Burroughs founded the DuSable Museum of African-American History on the South Side of Chicago, which served as a beacon of culture and a resource worldwide for African-American history. She was also admired for her generosity and commitment to underserved communities through her children’s books, art workshops and community centers that both inspired and educated young people about African-American culture. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Dr. Burroughs’ family and loved ones. Her legacy will live on in Chicago and around the world.”

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin issued a statement stating that “Dr. Margaret Burroughs’ legacy can be found in the thousands who learned the lessons of art and history because of her dogged determination.”

Rev. Harold Bailey, Founder and President of Probation Challenge and the PCC Broadcast Network, said of Burroughs: “The love Dr. Margaret Burroughs had for people was beyond that of lip-service. She dedicated her life to serving others, especially those who could not help themselves. For many years, we traveled over Illinois’ highways together visiting prisons in areas we would not have done otherwise. Dr. ‘B’, as she was affectionately known to many, was dedicated to Probation Challenge and the PCC Broadcast Network, where she would often engage in dialogue with Queen Mother Helen Sinclair during filming of Sinclair’s truth broadcast. Dr. ‘B’ will forever remain in our hearts – for her spirit is pure and tells of truth and justice.”  

Johnny Acoff, a retired law enforcement officer, said he was saddened by Burroughs’s death. “Dr. Burroughs was like a family member,” he said. “I enjoyed her a great deal. She was so real; we did many things together.”

Acoff and his wife, Bonnie, Burroughs and the late Ramon Price, DuSable Museum’s Curator, started Underground Railroad Tours.

Focusing on the Underground Railroad Tours, Acoff said: “We (Burroughs and other founders) visited many historical landmarks. 

“She was community minded, a very concerned person,” said Acoff. “She believed in helping other people, especially young people. She tried to steer them in the right direction.”

“She was so energetic,” said Clarence McMillan, a local Artist and Video film maker who also attended The Art Institute of Chicago. McMillan’s art work embraces the covers of a variety of books, magazines and other materials. “She spent a lot of time visiting prisons and teaching inmates about the specifics of art. She was just amazing, an outright gem who didn’t mind giving of herself to others.”

Burroughs was born in St. Rosa, Louisiana, on November 1, 1915. Reportedly, she died in her sleep at her home in Chicago, IL, on November 21, 2010.

Burroughs, a graduate of Chicago Teachers College now known as Chicago State University, also earned a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in Fine Arts at The Art Institute of Chicago. For 23 years, she was a teacher at DuSable High School in Chicago, and logged in another 10 years at Kennedy King College where she taught Humanities.

In 1961, Burroughs and her husband, Charles, co-founded the Ebony Museum of Negro History and Art now known as The DuSable Museum of African American History. Since that time, her contributions have been wide-range. She was respected not only for her efforts but for that which she accomplished. She had a way of making one think with her thought provoking words of wisdom, her art work and principles about life itself.

Commissioner Burroughs was also a member of the Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners. She was appointed to the Board on May 9, 1986. Her current term was to expire on April 26, 2013.

The last time I saw Dr. Margaret Burroughs one-on-one was September 12, 2009 at Acoff’s annual event which she had attended for the last seven or eight years. She was gracious, giving me an Autographed copy of a small booklet titled: “Know Yourself.”   

 Burroughs leaves a great legacy, one of commitment and a wide-range of contributions to the cultural arts.

Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White announced that all offices and facilities will be closed on Thursday and Friday, November 25^th and 26^th, 2010, in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday.

Driver service facilities that are normally open Monday through Friday will reopen for regular business hours on Monday, November 29^th.

Tuesday through Saturday driver service facilities will reopen Saturday, November 27^th during normal business hours.

Individuals can visit the Secretary of State’s Web site, www.cyberdriveillinois.com, to change an address, register to become an organ donor or renew license plate stickers if they have received a renewal form by mail.

 Chicago, IL – Floating World Gallery presents a free seminar “Roots and First Blooms: The Modern Japanese Print as Avant-Garde” at 1925 N. Halsted Street, Saturday, Dec. 11 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. A brief reception with light refreshments will follow the presentation.
 
This seminar will examine the early period of modern Japanese prints, centering on issues of modernism, westernization and militarism, as well as artistic movements such as expressionism and abstraction. Participants will have the rare opportunity to examine original prints that are often only seen in books or behind museum glass. The seminar will provide a foundation in the study of early modern Japanese prints, with an emphasis on history, production techniques, connoisseurship and collecting strategies.
 
Artists showcased in the lecture will include Jun’ichiro Sekino, whose works are the focus of FWG’s breathtaking new exhibition of more than 100 works, running Dec. 3 to Jan. 14. Those attending the seminar will have the opportunity to view the complete exhibition as well.
 
The seminar, “Roots and First Blooms: The Modern Japanese Print as Avant-Garde” is part of FWG’s free monthly seminar series. The presentation will be conducted by the gallery’s Director of Exhibitions Elias Martin. Admission to the seminar is complimentary, however reservations are required. For reservations or more information, email classes@floatingworld.com or call 312-587-7800.

FWG, located in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood, takes its name from the English translation of “ukiyo-e”, referring to images of an evanescent, impermanent world of fleeting beauty. The gallery has been one of the world’s leading dealers in Japanese art for more than 20 years, offering private collectors and institutions the highest quality works of art. FWG opened its new 8,200 square-foot gallery space in October 2009 and is now actively engaged in helping to educate the public and increase awareness of the rich world of modern Japanese art. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. and by appointment. For more information call 312-587-7800, fax 312-575-3565 or email artwork@floatingworld.com.

• Beardstown:  Beardstown Courthouse
• Bement:  Bryant Cottage State Historic Site (reading to take place at local school gym)
• Bishop Hill:  Bishop Hill State Historic Site
• Bloomington:  David Davis Mansion State Historic Site
• Danville:  Vermilion County Museum
• Decatur:  Macon County Museum
• Elizabeth:  Apple River Fort State Historic Site
• Galena:  Ulysses S. Grant Home State Historic Site
• Hartford:  Lewis and Clark State Historic Site
• Lincoln:  Lincoln College Museum
• Mahomet:  Early American Museum
• Metamora:  Metamora Courthouse State Historic Site
• Mt. Pulaski:  Mt. Pulaski Courthouse State Historic Site
• Rock Island:  Black Hawk State Historic Site
• Springfield:  Lincoln Home National Historic Site, Old State Capitol State Historic Site
• Taylorville:  Christian County Historical Society

 History – The morning of departure, February 11, 1861

 

 

 

 

 February 11, 1861, the day before Abraham Lincoln’s fifty-second birthday, dawned cloudy and drizzly, but was an improvement over the cold, snowy weather that had preceded it.  “Hard King Frost and soft Queen Thaw” had come “to a tussle,” as Harper’s Weekly put it.

 
 Abraham Lincoln had breakfast at the Chenery House hotel where the family had been staying.  At about 7:30 a.m. he asked the proprietor about his wife’s health, then walked into the hotel office to get his luggage ready for the impending train trip. Lincoln used a rope to tie shut his family’s packed suitcases, and then used a handful of Chenery House note cards to label each bag with the simple, “A. Lincoln, White House, Washington D.C.”  An African American porter and family friend, Jameson Jenkins, placed the bags in a cart and took them to the train station.
 
 Lincoln climbed aboard a carriage and traveled the muddy streets to the newly remodeled Great Western depot on the east end of town, just a few blocks from the family’s former home.  A group of well-wishers followed the carriage, but Lincoln said little.  His secretary John Nicolay said the “stormy morning” made the mood one of “subdued anxiety, almost of solemnity.”
 
 The first thing Lincoln saw at the depot, besides the “vast concourse” of about one thousand friends and neighbors who had gathered to see him off, was the train.  It consisted of a modern Rogers locomotive with a towering funnel stack, a baggage car, and a bright yellow passenger car adorned with patriotic bunting.
 
The crowd cheered and shouted words of encouragement as Lincoln proceeded into the depot and shook dozens of hands. Although the crowd was large, Lincoln would later recount it was full of people “almost all of whom I could recognize.”
 
Abraham Lincoln bid farewell to his wife about 8 a.m. – she was going to shop in St. Louis and then join her husband’s train in Indianapolis. Then the crowd parted as Lincoln and his entourage moved to board the train.
 
The entourage consisted of:  Lincoln’s son Robert and Robert’s school friend George Latham; Lincoln’s young secretaries John Nicolay and John Hay; his brother-in-law, Dr. William S. Wallace; political supporters Norman Judd, David Davis, Orville Browning, Ozias Hatch, and Jesse Dubois; William H. Johnson, an African American friend who performed odd jobs for the Lincolns in Springfield and served as a valet on the train trip; Elmer Ellsworth, a militiaman and law student Lincoln had befriended; Ward Hill Lamon, a former law associate now serving as Lincoln’s bodyguard; educator Newton Bateman; former Belleville legal colleague William H. Underwood; Quincy attorney Joseph Jackson Grimshaw; Democratic politician William Morrison; longtime friend William Butler; John J.S. Wilson, who had manned the telegraph office on Election Night and would now assume responsibility, using a portable telegraphy machine he planned to carry on board, for receiving messages confirming safe passage en route; railroad superintendent F.W. Bowen, who personally oversaw the journey while it proceeded along his Great Western tracks; banker Robert Irwin; Governor Richard Yates of Illinois, who had called out state militia to guard trestle bridges along the route; and Governor Oliver P. Morton of Indiana.
 
John Hay joked that the guest list for the voyage had ballooned to such an extent it now embraced “members of all the political parties, with the exception of the secessionists…In common with other politicians, [Lincoln] never overlooked a newspaper man who had it in his power to say a good or bad thing of him.”  The journalists leaving on the Inaugural train included:  Henry Villard, New York Herald; Joseph Howard, Jr., New York Times; T.C. Evans, New York World; O.H. Dutton, New York Tribune; Henry M. Smith, Chicago Tribune; Henri Lovie, Frank Leslie’s; W.G. Terrell, Cincinnati Gazette; Uriah Hunt Painter, Philadelphia Inquirer; no fewer than five correspondents from the Associated Press -  J.R. Drake, S.D. Page, J.H.A. Boone, A.W. Griswold, and Theodore Stager; and John Hay, travelling principally as an aide to Lincoln, who doubled as a correspondent for the Missouri Democrat and the Illinois Daily State Journal.
 
The train bells clanged at 8 a.m.  Lincoln climbed the steps of the rear passenger car and turned to face the crowd.  He removed his signature stove pipe hat; the men in the crowd followed suit by removing their hats in the cold drizzle.  Then, even though he had prepared no written remarks, Lincoln began a brief, poignant and emotional speech.
 
“My friends – No one, not in my situation, can appreciate my feeling of sadness at this parting.  To this place, and the kindness of these people, I owe every thing.  Here I have lived a quarter of a century, and have passed from a young to an old man.  Here my children have been born, and one is buried.  I now leave, not knowing when, or whether ever, I may return, with a task before me greater than that which rested upon Washington.  Without the assistance of that Divine Being, who ever attended him, I cannot succeed.  With that assistance I cannot fail.  Trusting in Him, who can go with me, and remain with you and be every where for good, let us confidently hope that all will yet be well.  To His care commending you, as I hope in your prayers you will commend me, I bid you an affectionate farewell.”
 
The Inaugural train trip that began February 11, 1861 in Springfield arrived in Washington on February 23.  It made stops in the Illinois communities of Decatur, Tolono, and Danville; the Indiana communities of Lafayette, Thornton, Lebanon, Indianapolis, Morris, Shelbyville, Greensburg, and Lawrenceburg; the Ohio communities of Cincinnati, Milford, Loveland, Miamiville, Morrow, Corwin, Xenia, London, Columbus, Newark, Frazeysburg, Dresden, Coshocton, Newcomerstown, Uhrichsville, Cadiz,       Junction, Steubenville, Wellsville, Salineville, Bayard, Alliance, Hudson, Ravenna, Cleveland, Willoughby, Painesville, Geneva, Madison, Ashtabula, and Conneaut; Pennsylvania communities Rochester, Allegheny City, Pittsburgh, Girard, Erie, Northeast, Philadelphia, Leaman Place, Lancaster, and Harrisburg; New York communities Westfield, Dunkirk, Silver Creek, Buffalo, Batavia, Rochester, Clyde, Syracuse, Utica, Little Falls, Fonda, Amsterdam, Schenectady, Albany, Troy, Rhinebeck, Hudson, Poughkeepsie, Fishkill, Peekskill, and New York City; New Jersey communities Jersey City, Newark, Elizabeth, Rahway, and Trenton;  Baltimore, Maryland; and Washington, D.C.
 
Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated as the 16^th President of the United States on March 4, 1861.  He had been President for just over a month when the April 12, 1861 bombardment of Fort Sumter heralded the beginning of the worst crisis to ever face the nation or its chief executive.

In addition, the communities of Alton, Clinton, Jacksonville, Pittsfield, and Quincy have indicated they will participate, with a specific location to be determined.  As additional reading venues are made available to those who would like to take part in the world record attempt, those venues will be listed at http://extras.sj-r.com/r/depot.

In Several Communities, Black Prosecutors are Transforming How Crime is Addressed, People are Prosecuted and Punishment is Administered to People of Color

 Michael K. Frisby, president, America’s Wire

Washington, DC (BlackNews.com) - America’s Wire has released a story about the significant role that African American prosecutors are quietly having across the nation in bringing actual justice to the criminal justice system for people of color.

This outstanding article by award-winning reporter Marjorie Valbrun discusses the impact black prosecutors are having in communities. It cites the potential for change in California from the election of Kamala Harris as the state’s Attorney General. Ms. Harris, a Democrat who is San Francisco’s district attorney, clings to a small lead as ballots continue to be counted. She is of African American and Asian descent.

Ms. Valbrun writes that as district attorney, “Harris is among a current crop of black DAs who are transforming the way crime is addressed, people are prosecuted and punishment is meted out. Her innovative approaches for being “Smart on Crime,” instead of simply “tough on crime” are popular in many quarters but derided by some conservatives. Yet they have gained political currency for being thoughtful and pragmatic, and are being modeled by other DAs, particularly those in communities with large black, Latino or other minority populations.”

Furthermore, Ms. Valbrun adds, “Harris, Craig Watkins of Dallas County, Texas, and Seth Williams of Philadelphia form a triumvirate of popular black DAs who work in large urban areas and have made headlines for their efforts to be more responsive to communities they serve and to address racial disparities in the legal system that civil rights groups and others have long cited as the cause of the disproportionate incarceration of people of color.”

This outstanding article is now available at www.americaswire.org. Throughout November, our special introductory offer provides free trial subscriptions to media outlets – mainstream newspapers, community newspapers, news wires, ethnic publications and websites. During the trial period, media outlets can download and publish our articles for free. As of December 1, only paid subscribers will have access to our stories.

“The article on black prosecutors highlights the work they have done to make the criminal justice system fairer to people of color,” said Michael K. Frisby, president of America’s Wire. “Stories on America’s Wire are designed to complement the news coverage already available from various media outlets. Our goal is to better inform the American public about the impact of the structural racism that still exists in America.”

Other articles available on America’s Wire include: * Q & A with Shirley J. Wilcher, director of American Association for Affirmative Action
* The impact of residential segregation on health outcomes
* Conservatives blaming the poor for being poor
* The declining number of black males at colleges and universities
* Tim Wise, a white crusader against racism
* States easing restrictions on ex-convicts
* Commentary by University of Chicago Professor Cathy Cohen on African American youths and the midterm elections.

America’s Wire is operated by the Maynard Institute’s Media Center on Structural Racism. America’s Wire is an innovative news service that will provide enterprising content for wire services, mainstream newspapers, ethnic/community papers, magazines and websites. America’s Wire will provide subscribers with professionally reported, written and edited stories that will help readers better understand the obstacles and challenges faced by people of color. America’s Wire is made possible through a grant from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation.

Madigan Urges Consumers to Sign Up for Automatic Alerts as Recalled Items List Totals 44 Million in 2010

 Chicago, IL — Attorney General Lisa Madigan today released her newest recalled products guide as part of her ongoing effort to protect children by educating families on the dangers of having recalled toys, cribs and other potentially dangerous items in their homes. Madigan also urged consumers to sign up for automatic recall notification, a critical step to keep pace with the growing number of recalls every year.

 In the past year, hundreds of products were added to the recall list, totaling a staggering 44 million individual items in the marketplace.

 “As consumers’ mailboxes fill with holiday catalogs, my Play It Safe Guide is one catalog parents can’t afford to miss for their children’s sake,” Attorney General Madigan said. “Parents have enough to monitor without trying to keep track of the more than 600 products recalled this year. This guide provides an easy way for parents to be sure gifts and other products in your home are safe for your children.”

 The Attorney General’s Play It Safe Guide: Subscribe for Safety is now available in print and online and details the products recalled this year. For recalled products, the guide provides the product name and manufacturer and describes the unsafe features. It highlights recalled toys, such as dart guns, inflatable toys and tricycles, along with recalled essentials like cribs, high chairs and strollers. The guide also details how parents of newborns can reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) that kills 2,100 annually.

 Consumers can view and download the Play It Safe Guide at Attorney General Madigan’s website, www.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov, or request a free, printed copy in the mail by calling the Attorney General’s Recall Hotline at 1-888-414-7678.

 Attorney General Madigan also encouraged consumers to sign up for automatic recall notifications via email through the Children’s Product Safety Commission at www.cpsc.gov.

 While retailers take action to remove recalled products from their shelves, it is crucial for consumers to be proactive and educate themselves on the products to avoid. Toys and other items may already be in children’s homes and places they visit, like the homes of grandparents or other relatives and daycare centers, posing a significant threat to their safety.

 The guide also is important for the many consumers who will shop in the second-hand market or search for online bargains during this economic downturn. Consumers need to be aware of the possibility that some second-hand sellers may not have kept up with the growing number of recalled items.

 The Play It Safe Guide is part of Attorney General Madigan’s continued efforts to protect children by increasing awareness of recalled products. Madigan’s office works with retailers around the state and the Illinois Retail Merchants Association to ensure these products are removed from store shelves. Madigan also has partnered with the Illinois Hospital Association, the state Medical Society and pediatricians to enlist their help in spreading information to parents about potentially dangerous products that they should remove from their homes.

 Last year, Madigan also worked to amend the Illinois Children’s Product Safety Act to expand the amount of time to 240 days that retailers are required to post recall notices for durable products, such as strollers, cribs, bassinets and play yards. Increasing that time period from 120 to 240 days ensures more shoppers will see the recall notices in stores. Also last year, a new amendment to the Illinois Lead Poisoning Act that Madigan helped implement took effect, requiring certain children’s products sold in the state to have a warning label if they contain even small amounts of lead.

2011 Annual Conference to be held April 16-20 at the Sherator Hotel & Towers

The Year 2011 Marks A Shining Moment For The Chicago Chapter And 16 Other Chapters Across The Country

Washington, DC (BlackNews.com) -  The Chicago Chapter of the National Forum For Black Public Administrators (NFBPA) will host the 2011 Annual Conference which takes place April 16 – 20. 2011 at The Sheraton Hotel & Towers in Chicago, IL. The NFBPA 2011 National Conference holds special significance for the Chapter as the year marks a shining moment: the 25th Anniversary for the Chicago Chapter and sixteen other Chapters across the country. The Chicago Chapter was founded in 1986 by the late Mayor Harold Washington, a representation of many of his outstanding legacies.

Conference Highlights “Building on the Legacy…Preparing for the Future”, includes a 25th Anniversary Opening Reception, 25th Anniversary Host Chapter Event, Executive Leadership Institute and National Mentor Program Graduation Ceremony, Plenary Sessions and Luncheons, Public Policy Forums and exciting Tracks of Workshops and the Marks of Excellence Awards Gala.

Confirmed keynote speakers to date are Thomas N. Todd, Esq., a prominent leader of the civil rights movement and activist and Rev. Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr. the retired Senior Pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ

A partial list of sponsors include The Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers, Harris Bank, Colemen Development, Infrastructure Engineering, Comcast, Siebert Brandford Shank, American Airlines, Illinois Sports Facility Authority and Clear Channel Radio.

About NFBPA
The mission of the NFBPA is embodied in the organization’s commitment to strengthen the position of Blacks within the field of public administration; to increase the number of Blacks appointed to executive positions in public service organizations; and, to groom and prepare younger, aspiring administrators for senior public management posts in the years ahead. NFBPA’s members represent more than 350 jurisdictions in 37 states.

For more information on NFBPA and the 2011 Conference, log on to www.nfbpa.org.