Commentary

By Chinta Strausberg

Well, with most of the precincts reporting, CNN projected President Barack Obama’s former chief of staff Rahm Emanuel the winner of the six-way mayoral race.

While the ward-by-ward and precinct by precinct totals aren’t available yet, I wonder if the African American community went fishing, and if so why?

Of the six candidates, Carol Moseley Braun was the most qualified, but cash-wise, she was one of the poorest ones, too.

So what does that say  about Chicago voters…that they support only those  who can afford to pay for TV and radio ads?

The Braun campaign was cash-strapped. So has it come down to that can buy votes via ads and street heat?

Was there an organized voter suppression going on?

I have so many questions and no answers but I do know that today in the memory of the late Mayor Harold Washington who was elected the city’s first black mayor today that we should have, could have done better.

When you don’t respect yourself, when you don’t recognize your power, others won’t either.

Chinta Strausberg is a Journalist of more than 33-years, a former political reporter and a current PCC Network talk show host.

Starks warns: ‘Low turnout favors Rahm Emanuel’

By Chinta Strausberg

Chicago, IL – In what some thought would be another historic day since today falls on the 28th anniversary of the election of the late Mayor Harold Washington, Chicago Election Board Chairman Langdon D. Neal Tuesday said it’s turning out to be a “fairly uneventful day” with the exception of one admitted drunken 17th Ward election judge who removed herself from her post.

Chicago has 1,406,037 registered voters and 25,000 absentee ballots including those from nursing homes, the military and overseas.

In a teleconference with reporters, Langdon and Jim Allen, director of Communications for the Board of Election Commissioners, said as of around 1:45 p.m., turnout hovered between 40-45 percent. “We are no where near where we expected,” said Allen. Langdon said this percentage is citywide.

What is unusual about today, explained Langdon is that “it’s been pretty consistent all day. Usually, we have a surge in the morning the first hour-and-a-half and we have a surge in the last hour-and-a-half, but so far today, it’s been pretty consistent throughout the day. We have not seen a surge.”

Saying the board did not have any serious problems through the day, Langdon confirmed they did have a few issues of electioneering but that was a relatively small number of cases. There were almost no equipment issues as well.

However, the board is currently in court to extend the voting hours of the 19th precinct of the 20thWard because the pastor, who owns the polling site, overslept resulting in the late opening of the facility.

“We’re hoping for a later rush of good strong 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. period of voting because at this point the numbers are not as strong as we expected,” said Langdon.

“We were anticipating based on the early voting numbers and based on the absentee ballot applications returned and requested that we would be over 50 percent,” said Langdon admitting, “It will take a strong effort and turnout between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. to reach that point.”

Langdon said, “It seems that a greater percentage of voters are choosing early voting as a means of casting their ballot.”

According to Langdon, four-years ago they were at 33 percent and four-years prior it was about the same. “So, we would be over where we were four-years ago and the proceeding election to that, but when we have an election where we have not had an incumbent mayor in over 60-years, we expected a greater turnout,” said Langdon.

The early votes will not be counted until the polls close at 7 p.m. and when the Board begins to receive votes from the precincts. “When those votes received, they are merged with the early vote tallies from the particular precincts in which those early votes belong,” said Langdon. “They are tabulated precinct-by-precinct,”

While Langdon could not narrow down which wards were experiencing high or low turnout at this time, he said, “There is not one area of the city that is out-performing greatly in another area. They are generally all within the lower side and some in the high 30’s and the larger wards the mid 40’s.”

The Board has received 19,000 absentee ballots out of a possible pool of 25,000 applications that were processed, Allen said.  He said 73,205 voted in the Early Voting Program.

According to Allen, the Board is hoping for at least a 40 percent turnout but said earlier today in some pockets he heard reports it was “barely 20 percent.”

Asked what time would be the final outcome, Langdon said “because of the need for precision with the percentage of actual votes that a candidate needs (50 percent plus one vote), you really need to get into the 90 percent range before you can predict or call a winner.”

When asked if a candidate request a recount, Langdon said the official results cannot be declared for over two-weeks from today because by law they have two-weeks to receive and count overseas and military ballots along with late arriving absentee ballots.

 “There cannot be an official declaration of a winner until we complete that two-week process and that is generally about three-weeks from today,” Langdon said.

“If for any race, it comes down to the last few votes, then there is no official winner until the last vote is counted,” Langdon said. He explained that to win a candidate must get 50 percent of the ballots cast plus one additional vote.

The Board will be posted between 7:30 p.m. and 7:45 p.m., according to Langdon. The ballots are counted in the precinct then transmitted to the Board.

Robert Starks, a political professor at the Northeastern University and political editor of the N’DIGO newspaper, said he too thought the percentage of voter turnout would be higher “given the fight over the mayor’s race.”

Starks warned, “a low turnout favors Rahm Emanual and a higher turnout would give Carol Moseley Braun a better chance of winning.”

Starks added, “On the eve of 28th anniversary of the death of Mayor Harold Washington, his executive secretary, Delores Woods died.”

Chinta Strausberg is a Journalist of more than 33-years, a former political reporter and a current PCC Network talk show host.

by Chinta Strausberg

Chicago, IL – The entire world was watching 28-years ago tomorrow when the late Mayor Harold Washington won his historic election as Chicago’s first African American mayor.

Today, scores of black, white and Hispanic supporters of Carol Moseley Braun will come together in a last Get-Out-To-Vote (GOTV) rally, dubbed “Stand for Carol,” as a show of unity around the Braun campaign.

The press conference will be held 11 a.m.  at the Parkway Ballroom, 4455 South King Drive, Chicago, IL.

With six mayoral candidates running including three African Americans who will be ‘eating’ away at the same constituency pie, the question remains out of a total 1,406,037 eligible registered voters for Tuesday’s, February 22nd election, will there be a run-off set for April 5th or can one candidate garner the required 50 plus 1 vote total to become the next mayor of Chicago.

According to Jim Allen, director of Communications for the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners, there were 1,407,979 registered voters in February 2007 and 1,406,037 for tomorrow’s election.

Another question is will the 650,000 registered black voters come out and vote in a unified manner as it did in 1983 and 1987 that resulted in the election and re-election of Washington, or will they once again split their vote and lose the Fifth Floor of City Hall.

According to the Chicago Board of Elections, the Washington vote totals were: 424,126 in the 1983 primary, 668,176 in the 1983 general, 587,594 for the 1987 primary, and 600,290 in the 1987 general.

While the U.S. Census recently reported that Chicago lost 200,000 residents, there are still 650,000 registered blacks. Winning Tuesday’s election still literally lies in the hands of blacks who are celebrating Black History Month.

The question remains have blacks been psychologically beaten down by a bevy of media polls and now suffer from apathy, or will the “sleeping black giant” awaken and become the “quiet storm” it displayed in 1983 and 1987?

So, when the political dust settles, will Wednesday’s headlines read: “Braun upsets polls; wins mayoral race,” or will it read: “Blacks push Rahm over victory line,” or “Rahm wins by a landslide; blacks push Emanuel over victory line.”

Yet another question is whether the insult level of African Americans has been reached over the record of the perceived front-runner, Rahm Emanuel who has voted 128 times against the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC).

Some of those anti-CBC votes included Emanuel’s voting against: funding for education and affordable housing, voting against $5 million in funds to access to water during the draught in Sub Sahara Africa; saving jobs and funding retraining programs for federal prisoners; funds to fight cancer, diabetes, AIDS, heart diseases and infant mortality in minority communities.

There’s more anti-CBC voting by Emmanuel. He voted against the CBS on legislation to fund a pharmacy school for Chicago State University, voted against a bill that would have eased credit card rates, voted against holding gas prices down, voted against Jackson-Lee amendment to H.R. 5006 that would have increased funding for minority health research; voted in favor of the H.R. 2681 that shortchanged veterans; voted against the 2003 Small Business Health Care Bill (H.R. 660) that would have allowed small businesses to buy affordable health insurance for their employees; voted against state’s rights to legalize medical marijuana; voted in favor of eliminating diversity VISA program (amendment to H.R. 437); voted against saving federal prison job programs; voted for Homeland Security funds though his party members were critical over how Hurricane Katrina victims were treated and inadequate security at chemical plants, and he was against forcing conservative media to be ‘fair and balanced” (amendment to H.R. 2829)

Being 43 percent of all registered voters in Chicago, it will be African Americans who will determine how Wednesday’s headlines will be written. The question is will they awaken Wednesday morning to the realization that they once again split their vote and lost or will they deliver another stunning victory for their own community?

Chinta Strausberg is a Journalist of more than 33-years, a former political reporter and a current PCC Network talk show host.

By Chinta Strausberg

Chicago, IL – Flanked by scores of black, white, Latino and Asian supporters, mayoral candidate Carol Moseley Braun Monday laid out a series of alleged serious breech of ethics by her opponent, Rahm Emanuel, and later called for a federal probe of his campaign tactics she says has reaped him millions of dollars when he was a public servant and allowed him illegal access to city employee records for political gain.

In a letter to U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, Braun asked that office to investigate Emanuel’s alleged use of confidential personnel records of city workers she claims were given to him for political purposes. It is a charge Emanuel denies.

She is also seeking an investigation of his alleged access to secured areas at O’Hare Airport by supervisory airport staff to offer food and beverages to city workers “while discharging their official duties as employees of the city of Chicago.”

In her letter, Braun said, “Such allegations give rise to reasonable inferences that (1) the anti-electioneering provisions of the consent decree in the captioned Shakman case were violated; (2) airport ethics rules were violated by the offerings of food and beverages and (3) City of Chicago and federal security regulations were violated by providing access to supposedly “secure” areas of the airport to this candidate; and in each case, voter intimidation and/or coercion may have occurred under the color of official sanction.

“Such violations as may have violated privacy rights of workers, or security mandates at the airport, meet the requisite standard for federal jurisdiction,” wrote Braun who asked this office to investigate these alleged violations.

“As a former Assistant United States Attorney in the Northern District, as a former member of the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, as an attorney-at-law of long standing, and most importantly as a citizen, I am concerned deeply that (1) the laws be executed faithfully and (2) there be no (a) actual impropriety or (b) appearance of impropriety in the forthcoming municipal election,” she stated.

During her press conference, when a reporter asked one of her supporters, Rep. Danny K. Davis (D-7^th), about his political ad running on WVON that says his father told him that anyone not supporting his own is worse than an infidel and wasn’t that racist, Davis quipped, “the commercial is designed to help people understand self-interest. It has helped people understand self-interest.”

Among those standing with Braun at the press conference, held at the Parkway Ballroom, 45^th and King Drive, was Illinois Senator Martin Sandoval said Rahm Emanuel is “bad” for Chicago because “Rahm has made his life making millions off the middle class his entire career. Carol Moseley Braun’s public service career is impeccable and is dedicated to the working class and the working poor.

“Rahm Emanuel had an opportunity to provide the best public policy and advice to President Barack Obama, my former colleague, to pass immigration reform and he (Emanuel) called it the ‘third rail politics,’ and during his tenure as chief of staff, more Latinos were deported during all eight-years of George W. Bush’s presidency.

“This is not a man that’s going to bring people together. This is not a man who has the best interest of the Latino at heart,” said Sandoval.

 “There is no doubt in my mind that block-by-block, ward-by-ward that Carol Moseley Braun is the best candidate….

“This election is a disgrace to democracy in America,” said Sandoval. “There is no doubt that there has been a conspiracy on the behalf of the journalists, the newspapers, the Board of Elections and the Supreme Court…. It’s a shame that in 2011…as we knock off blacks, Latinos and white ethnics off the ballot to run for city aldermen…Rahm Emanuel, a carpetbagger is allowed to stay on board as a candidate…. That is appalling….. It’s a disgrace….”

“More Latinos have been deported today as a result of Rahm Emanuel’s policies because of my colleague, President Obama, a fine man, stood with us in the legislature supporting immigrant rights of the indigent, supporting health care.

“But when he (Obama) got to Washington, Rahm Emanuel hoodwinked my President and led him believe that the right way to move America was without Latinos. More Latinos have been deported during Rahm Emanuel’s tenure of chief of staff than all the years of George W. Bush,” Senator Sandoval said.

He accused Emanuel of  “Making money selling mortgages and made money putting people into foreclosure. This is not the man that the city of Chicago can afford to live with for four-years.” He hopes everyone will support Braun.

Braun said one of the mayoral candidates recuse himself while he was a member of Board of Education while he was privatizing education of Chicago, giving out contracts to friends and foe recuse himself from 100 votes and never told us who he was recusing himself for, what the conflict of interest was or whether it had anything to do with his getting richer and richer.”

Braun said this Board of Education member “when he crashed a law firm that he was managing partner of did not follow-up to assist the 600 employees who lost their jobs to get reestablished in any way.”

In terms of Freddie Mac Braun said has been described as being at the center of the mortgage meltdown in this country. We still haven’t gotten the minutes from the board meeting of Freddie Mac to know how it was that he (Emanuel) was able to sit there as a board member and missed or doing anything about or calling the roll on a $9 billion accounting error.

“Huge amount of money disappeared over night and gave rise to the mortgage meltdown that we’re seeing right now,” she said referring to Emanuel. “Then going back into the House of Representatives and serving on the very committee that was involved with these things without even recognizing that there was a conflict of interest as he served on the board of  Freddie Mac.

“Then he (Emanuel) comes back into the private sector after that term in congress and go to work for a company that paid him $18.5 million and for two-years never registered for a lobbyists. If he had, we would have at least know who it was his clients expected him to vote to ‘manage relationships ‘ with but we never found that out,” said Braun. “So, we do not know what he did to earn $18.5 million.”

Braun said Emanuel does not have a CPA degree, is not a lawyer or have an MBA “so to get a job that pays you $18.5 million in two-years and not make a phone call says to me that something is rotten in Denmark. No offense to the Danes.”

She made it clear about the fallout of what Emanuel behavior resulted in. “When I talk to pillaging and plundering, among the things that came out of that involvement was 3,000 Chicagoans lost their jobs in the merger that he was supposed to have facilitated….

“What you’ll find is someone (Emanuel) who has been on his own side. He’s been on the side of deep pockets. He’s been on the side of special interests over the years and was paying himself trickery…as another kind of public servant in this election,” said Braun. “I have always been on the side of working people. I have never profited personally from any of my public involvement….”

Braun disputed some media reports about her organic company saying “It is doing fine” and that she never reached out for government contracts to sustain her company.

Chinta Strausberg is a Journalist of more than 33-years, a former political reporter and a current PCC Network talk show host.

Rev. Jackson, Rep. Rush surprise Rahm at South Side eatery

By Chinta Strausberg

Chicago, IL - John Rogers, Chairman/CEO of Ariel Investments, LLC, Monday said the energy in support for mayoral candidate Carol Moseley Braun is growing and the realization that “Carol will fight for us.”

Rogers is supporting Braun because he says she best represents all of Chicago and has shown a “life-long interest in helping people who are less fortunate, women, people of color, working class Americans and Chicagoans.”

After holding a successful press conference at the Parkway Ballroom, 45^th and King Drive, Rev. Jackson, Rep. Bobby L. Rush (D-1^st), Rev. Paul Jakes and others went over to the “Home of the Chicken & Waffle” restaurant on Pershing Road where mayoral hopeful Rahm Emanuel was scheduled to visit.

When Emanuel entered the crowded eatery, he was greeted with chants of “Carol, Carol,” and with cameras rolling, Rush held court with the press.

He told reporters that he has eaten at this restaurant several times and not for political reasons, either. “This is my neighborhood,” said Rush inferring that Emanuel is an interloper. A huge Carol Moseley Braun van was parked outside of the restaurant 

But, Emanuel stayed focus on today’s election asking people to vote for him. The owner of the restaurant, Tonya Johnson, told reporters she was proud to support Emanuel. “He is a very good guy, and we look forward to him being mayor of Chicago.”

Emanuel has never answered questions about his voting against the Congressional Black Caucus 128 times while in congress that included voting against: funding for education and affordable housing, $5 million in funds to access to water during the draught in Sub-Sahara Africa, saving jobs and funding retraining programs for federal prisoners; funds to fight cancer, diabetes, AIDS, heart diseases and infant mortality in minority communities; voted against funding the pharmacy school for Chicago State University; no to easing credit card rates; no to holding gas prices down, but yes to voting for bills that eroded the civil liberties and privacy rights, warrantless wiretaps and surveillance.

Emanuel continues to remain mum on these allegations saying rather he’s focusing on becoming mayor “of this great city.”

Chinta Strausberg is a Journalist of more than 33-years, a former political reporter and a current PCC Network talk show host.

By Chinta Strausberg

“She has real ideas on how to improve our schools, stop the killing of our children, make our streets safer and get our economy working. Carol is for us, Rahm is not unless you’re a millionaire or a movie star,” said N.O.W. Executive Vice President Bonnie Grabenhofer during a press conference held at the Rainbow PUSH Coalition.

By Chinta Strausberg

Saying the city of Chicago is the most segregated city in America including black history, Jonathan Jackson, the national spokesperson for the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, Saturday said one of four Americans owe more on their home than what their house is worth and that the resulting structural deficit is unfair to people of color.

Like the national Organization for Women (NOW), that’s why he is supporting Carol Moseley Braun for mayor.

Jackson said 25 percent, or 50 million people, of all those having mortgages, 13 million owe more on their homes than what it is worth today. “This is a structural problem that we’re facing in America.”

Explaining, Jonathan Jackson said many school systems are funding by property taxes. However, they lose their homes, the property taxes are unpaid and the city ultimately confiscates resulting in a reduction in revenue he says is “driving so many of our problems.”

According to the Financial Inquiry Crisis Commission, headed by Phil Angelides, Jackson said, “This crisis was totally avoidable and in large part, you can put it on the credit rating and agencies. We were over charged for credit and other people paid too little for too much credit. This structural problem has not subsided and has not changed.”

He gave as examples California, where agriculture is the number one industry like he said in Wisconsin. “The winds that are blowing in California with their $27 billion budget deficit meaning they made commitments to pay for services that exceed what they receive in their income.

“If you have a $100,000 taste but only a $70,000 income, you have a structural budget deficit. Nothing different. If you have an annual budget deficit, that means you are begging, borrowing and stealing from all of your friends to maintain your lifestyle,” said Jackson.

“That’s going on across the nation,” he said explaining that California is the seventh largest economy in the world. Jackson said two-years ago California had a deficit but went to several major banks, the U.S. Treasury and congress and received $12.3 trillion in funds. One in nine Americans is Californians. He said that state the government “turned its back” and did not help California.

“We could see then that there was going to have $500 billion of budget deficit shortfalls all across America,”

“This is the first time we’ve had three consecutive years of annual budget shortfalls across all city’s and state’s around America. We have not seen these economic conditions since the Great Depression,” Jackson said.

“The city of Chicago has also fallen victim to this problem as well but it has a few other peculiar dynamics that happen. Jackson said the state of Illinois reportedly has a $15 billion budget deficit.

Saying there is hope for change, Jackson said, “So many of these padded pensions and all of these elected officials they are not
running for office….” Jackson said some of them are running just to get another pension.

Jackson referred to the Census saying more than $440 billion is annually sent back to the states. “Because our population is short by 200,000 people” he says means $1400 per person. “We shall be the poorer here for ten-years. We will have another $280 million expansion on our budget because we don’t quality for those funds.

“The African American firefighters are owed $100 million and we’re still litigating this in the courts. We see Jon Burge victims are still coming out of jail….”

Jonathan said he is supporting Carol Moseley Braun because “she’s someone I can trust and she is someone that I know and she is someone I can work with. You may not know Rahm Emanuel like I do,” Jackson said.  You can’t come to town this long and expect to make it right. The same rules he’s breaking are the same ones he’s going to be asked to uphold and enforce.”

Jackson ticked off legislation aimed at improving the health and welfare of African Americans that Emanuel voted against.

Referring to Emanuel, Jackson said, “This man has a long history. He’s not new to Chicago. He’s new coming to the South Side because he’s like so many others. He just wants to come here and take something. I want him to stay out of here and go back to where he just came from…,” Jackson told a cheering audience during the Saturday morning Rainbow PUSH Coalition broadcast hour. His father echoed his son’s sentiments.

Saying people have the right to vote for whomever they wish, the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. said they ought to know what side of the political spectrum they are on and that there should be some consistency involved.

Jackson was referring to some African Americans who traditionally have supported black candidates but who recently backed Rahm Emanuel.

“If you are playing for the Green Bay Packers, that’s alright, but wear a gray uniform,” he said. “Don’t be playing for the Packers in the Bears huddle. You have the right to be a Green Bay Packer or a Bear, but the Bears are wearing blue and Green Bay’s wearing green. You should not be a Green Bay Packer in the huddle of the blues.

“What made Judas a bad guy? It had nothing to do with his race. That’s not the issue,” said Jackson. “He could have been a consultant for Rahm (Emanuel). He was in Jesus’ huddle. It’s alright to be a government spy, but you shouldn’t spy on your own household….”

To those who told him to “be practically, Jesse, because you have to be with the winner,” Jackson said: “Pharaoh was the winner politically…but the bible is full of stories where the minorities plus God ultimately was the winner. In Alabama, George Wallace was the winner but ultimately he’s the loser…. Our story is minority plus God makes us winners.

“It’s easier than to preach against Pharaoh when you are in slavery than preach against David when you’re from his own tribe,” said Jackson.

Jackson recognized Bonnie Grabenhofer, executive vice president of the National Organization for Women (NOW) who was in the audience.  Jackson said it in 2003 Emanuel “went after the NOW organization. I can’t stand a man who goes after a woman on some cowardice grounds.

“He said NOW was unfair in their ads. NOW was telling the truth,” he said.  Jackson credited the Crusader and the Chicago Defender for endorsing Carol Moseley Braun. “Our community is coming together,” he bellowed.

“Some people may look like us. They are of our color, but they are not of our kind. We are about justice for all…,” Jackson said introducing Braun.

Saying Rev. Jesse L. Jackson “was the first person to put this campaign in context to let them know this wasn’t just about whether you like” her hairstyle or not.

“This race,” said Braun, who thanked the Crusader and the Chicago Defender for endorsing her, “was about the people, was about the people, was about the country, was about urban policy and whether or not we are going to slide down a slippery slope of another depression in America….”

Braun said when she was a girl, she marched with Dr. King and that “every step of the fight with God’s grace, I was able to deliver to do the right thing, I kept my promises, I did my best, and I delivered for the people.

“As a young U.S. attorney, I’ve worked on a case and achieved a small victory by stopping the fast foreclosures that were going on in those days. As a state representative, I fought to give welfare recipients the ability to get higher education, and I created the local school councils. I sued my own party so that Miguel del Valle can have a seat in the Illinois legislature.

“As Mayor Harold Washington’s floor leader, I was able to keep council wars out of Springfield and hold on to the (O’Hare) airport and to the Park District for Mayor Washington when they tried to strip him,” she recalled.

“As Recorder of Deeds, I reformed that office and bought in and worked with the union, first time ever, and delivered more money to the county that it ever gotten from that office.

“As a U.S. Senator, I started a national debate about rebuilding our crumbling schools about making sure women had pensions in their retirement and not force them to live below the poverty line. I fought Jesse Helms on the Confederate Flag and held up the voice of a whole segment of our country that had never been heard on the floor of the U.S. Senate.

“As Ambassador, I ran two embassies representing our country, and as a small business owner, I tried to bring better nutrition to the city of Chicago. I have never profited personally from public service.

“I’ve never taken a personal dime from the taxpayers, and I’ve always been accountable for my work in office and as mayor I will be a leader to build communities to sees…respects…an serves all of the people of this city,” said Braun.

“Chicago is one of the most beautiful cities in the world if you don’t see the homeless villages under the bridges in Edgewater, if you don’t see the blood on the streets in Englewood, if you don’t see the young men and women who have given up hope because they cannot find jobs,” she told a cheering audience.

Braun vowed if elected she would be a mayor who “will include all, exclude none and see to it that the needs and concerns of every community, every neighborhood get addressed and met, and I will use all of the skills and experience that I have earned over the years in public service to make government work for all of the people of this city.”

Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr., who like his son has also endorsed Braun, ticked off Emanuel’s anti-Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) record where he voted against the CBC 128 times. “You have the right to be on that team. That means you are against it (Emanuel’s record), too.” Jackson said when Emanuel was a congressman he did not have any people of color on his staff. “You have a right to be on that team but keep your uniform on and stay in your own huddle. We’re together. We’re still buddies,” he told a cheering audience.

Jackson, who thanked the Chicago Defender newspaper and the Crusader for endorsing Carol Moseley Braun, said years ago most blacks did not have the right to vote but that tomorrow “we must have the right vote.”

“Our world seems to be in such turmoil. There is a connection to what is happening in Egypt and Tunisia, Yemen,
Bahrain, and Libya, and what is happening in Wisconsin, Illinois and Ohio,” said Jackson referring to a seemingly worldwide wave of protesters seeking democracy, fairness and justice.

Having met with workers in Wisconsin and Ohio, Jackson said, “There is a global scheme going on. There is a global revolt…. When the banks began to collapse in New York, it begins to collapse in London, in Germany, France and all over the world because in a very tight way we have globalized capital without globalizing human rights, without globalizing worker’s, women, children’s rights and the environment.

“In some sense, when the collapse came, it collapsed on the people,” said Jackson. “The rich bailed out the rich and left out the poor. It’s prosperity at the top and austerity at the bottom.” Jackson alleged that the “big banks got paid for their schemes. They get paid to get out of the hole and now they are getting huge bonuses. They are getting paid at every conceivable angle.”
As an example, Jackson said because “because we did not have the public option on the health insurance bill, we’re now 59 millions without health insurance. Insurance fees are rising without competition. That was that big trade-off. “

Jackson said 49 million Americans are in poverty. “They work but can’t make ends meet…. They live in homeless shelters but can’t afford to pay rent. They work but they are living under roofs or they’re living under bridges or the are living in homeless shelters.

“Half of the homeless today are men…veterans. We tend to love soldiers but not veterans so much….” Jackson said there are 44 million on food stamps and 31 million looking for a job. “Yet, when you hear the pronouncements coming out of Washington some of it sounds too much like one party and two names because they agree on certain things.

“They agree to be civil not to call each other names. They agree on the budget for Afghanistan to raise it… but they don’t suppose the right to vote in D.C. More people live in D.C. than (those) living in 19 states.

“But, they agree on certain things…bailing out the banks but not link to lending investment. They agree to not stop foreclosures a priority. They agree on private schools for a few but not public schools for the masses,” said Jackson. “They agree to have a tax cut in December and a job cut in February.

“That is why we’re not about Democrats or Republicans. We’re about democracy and republic…. We represent the heat…. The rich have no ceiling and the poor have no floor….” “The wealthy are subsidized and the working poor are marginalized.”

Braun , who has promised to change that equation, took a swipe at the media one outlet that challenged her for telling the truth. “Be clear. If your team is about money and power and not about the people, just say that. Just tell the folks the truth.”

She gave more bills that Emanuel voted for like “the warrantless wiretap and surveillance authorization. H.R. 339 that let people who sell you meat from animals that have fallen down because of illness they can’t be sued and he voted for those things. I didn’t make that up. That’s the record. Check the records. That’s the simple truth.

“All the TV ads, the huge spending, the unlimited money cannot get past what you (Emanuel) have already done, what team you’re playing on, what interest you represent, what you’re going to do to the people of the city of Chicago,” said Braun.

“I have the truth on my side. I have the experience, the capacity and the will to lead this city into the next economy,” she said. “Out of the ashes of  this recession, we will create a new urban model with green jobs and reclaim homes that families can live with revitalized neighborhoods and reinvigorated schools.

“I have pledged no new taxes because working people have been taxed enough. We have to do better with what we have,” she said describing that practice as being more “prudent.”

“We will grow this economy by making this city work for everybody. Our great diversity in this city will be our strength and we will build communities in which there is balance and shared prosperity for all of the people,” said Braun.

“In the end, it is really up to you. I only have one vote,” she said explaining she has brought a message of hope to them. “You have the vote. You have the power. Protect your interests. I ask for your vote and together we will make this city as great as it can be. Together, we will rebuild Chicago and set a standard that the rest of the country can look at and emulate. Punch 3 on February 22nd….

“God willing we’ll win. We’ll get to City Hall, and I will invite all of you to join me there,” Braun told a cheering audience.

And, Bonnie Grabenhofer, executive vice president of  NOW, plans on being there. Her organization has endorsed Braun for mayor. She said NOW and the National Equality PAC and the Chicago NOW Pac are so proud to endorse” Braun.

“Throughout Carol’s 25-years of public service, she has had the courage to always do the right thing to improve our lives,” said Grabenhofer. She wants to end no-bid contracts “and we want a mayor we can trust in a way that includes us all. Carol Moseley Braun is that mayor.”

She said when Braun was a state representative she sponsored the state’s first minority and female set aside legislation and said when she was a U.S. Senator Braun passed a law that was the first five percent procurement goal for women-owned business in federal contracting. She fought efforts to repeal tax incentives for minority ownership for broadcast properties.

“She has real ideas on how to improve our schools, stop the killing of our children, make our streets safer and get our economy working. Carol is for us, Rahm is not unless you’re a millionaire or a movie star,” said Grabenhofer.

She said Emanuel “represents a bunch of insiders but nothing will change for the better. This is a man who disrespects everyone around him.” She criticized Emanuel for not attending a candidate’s forum on violence against women and LGBTQ people. She said Emanuel and Gery Chico never showed up. “Does Rahm think that we should trust him because he made promises? Actions speak louder than words. Rahm is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. He is a conservative dressed up to look like a liberal, but Rahm has consistently opted to throw away women’s rights in order to strike deals with..anti-women special interests groups. He has consistently voted against the Black Congressional Caucus, against proposals to end discrimination and help uplift African Americans.

“Carol has made gender equity and the needs of the African American community a priority. She includes us in her discussion and she has spent her entire life as a public servant fighting for us. She will continue to do so as mayor of Chicago,” Grabenhofer said urging all to Punch 3….

“A vote for Carol is a vote for yourself. We can take the power. If we all vote, we can win this and we can take back our city,” she told a cheering audience.

Rev. Jackson concluded the broadcast by reminding everyone to “don’t you do less than your best on Tuesday.”

Photo: By Chinta Strausberg

Chinta Strausberg is a Journalist of more than 33-years, a former political reporter and a current PCC Network talk show host.

Activists say it’s about stopping attacks vs. poor

By Chinta Strausberg

“What is at stake is not just Chicago but in the whole country with Rambo (Rahm Emanuel) representing the symbol and the substance of a movement that says poor and working people have to pay for the sins of the rich” – Rev. Walter “Slim” Coleman.

Senator Jacqueline Collins: “I think Carol is carrying on the agenda of Dr. King. She’s indicated she has marched with Dr. King,” Collins said. “Carol has Dr. King’s vision and she has his agenda and that is why (this election) is important.”

A popular minister and loyal supporter of the late Mayor Harold Washington Saturday said this election is a litmus test for poor people and that everyone especially blacks must come out to vote Tuesday if they want to break the political tide he says is running rough shod over their rights and opportunities in America.

Others like Senator Jacqueline Collins (D-16th) believe tomorrow’s election is one about policy and who is carrying on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s social and economic agenda. Collins said only one candidate, Carol Moseley Braun, is carrying out Dr. King’s agenda.

And both Collins and Rev. Walter “Slim” Coleman, who pastors the Lincoln United Methodist Church and the Adalberto United Methodist Church in the Uptown community, agree that Chicagoans must turnout in huge numbers on Tuesday not just for another mayoral victory but to send a message to those with anti-King agendas that the political winds are blowing over Chicago as it did in Egypt and other countries.

“What is at stake is not just Chicago but in the whole country with Rambo (Rahm Emanuel) representing the symbol and the substance of a movement that says poor and working people have to pay for the sins of the rich,” said Coleman. “That’s not in the bible. It is contrary to everything that is about democracy and about justice and about the future of this country,” he said.

“If we don’t take a stand here and draw a line right here in Chicago, then it really won’t matter who is the president of the United States in this time or the next time because we will have lost the battle,” Coleman warned. “We can’t afford to lose on Tuesday. We need to shut down this vicious and wicked idea that the poor have to pay for the sins of the rich.”

Coleman frowned at the candidacy of Emanuel, who is the media’s perceived front-runner. “Rahm represents a self-righteous, hypercritical point of view that rewards those who put this country and this city in crisis and with keeping and increasing their wealth and hypercritically comes out and says to teachers and people who are cleaning the streets and people who are without jobs that they will have to pay for what we did,” said Coleman.

Senator Collins said Tuesday’s election “is about policy. It is not about personality. It’s about who has the best agenda to impact our community…all suffering and hurting communities.

“We have high unemployment,” said Collins. “We don’t have contracts comparative to our population….” She said tomorrow’s election is about who has the best agenda to address our needs.

“When you address the needs of the African American community, it gives a strong foundation for all of society because we’re usually at the bottom of the ladder,” said Collins. “We are the last in and the first fired.

“ I believe Dr. King’s agenda, though it was an agenda focused on the needs and the concerns of the African American community…all those people who have been the subjects and the victims of injustice…” helped other ethnic groups as well.

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice ever where is what Dr. King used to say. When you uplift the African American community, you uplift all of human kind,” said Collins.

“Dr. King opened the door not only by fighting for justice, equality, parity, politics and economics in the social strata while he fought for those rights for us, his battles also benefit the rights of women, gays and lesbians…. He opened the door.

“I think Carol is carrying on the agenda of Dr. King. She’s indicated she has marched with Dr. King,” Collins said. “Carol has Dr. King’s vision and she has his agenda and that is why (this election) is important.

“And, that is why I think it is so important. It’s not about money. It’s about who best serves those who are most in need, and I think Carol has that answer because she is carrying on the legacy of Dr. King,” said Senator Collins.

Photo: By Chinta Strausberg

Chinta Strausberg is a Journalist of more than 33-years, a former political reporter and a current PCC Network talk show host.

Chicago, IL — Attorney General Lisa Madigan today announced that 150 teams of Assistant Attorneys General and investigators from her staff will be working throughout the state on Tuesday, Feb. 22, to monitor elections to ensure polling places are accessible and that Illinoisans’ voting rights are protected.

Attorney General Madigan urges voters to call her office if they encounter suspected improper or illegal activity.

Chicago and northern Illinois voters can call: 1-866-536-3496 (TTY 1-800-964-3013).

Downstate voters can call: 1-866-559-6812 (TTY 1-877-844-5461).

Madigan reminded voters of some of their basic voting rights:

• Voters have the right to vote if they are in line when the polls close at 7 p.m. or at any other time between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. on Election Day (10 ILCS 5/17-1).
• If a voter makes a mistake or “spoils” a paper ballot and the voter has not cast the ballot, the voter has the right to receive a replacement ballot (10 ILCS 5/17-11).
• If a voter cannot read, has trouble understanding English, or is disabled, that voter has the right to request assistance from anyone other than his or her employer, an agent of his or her employer, or an officer or agent of his or her union (10 ILCS 5/17-14).
• Voters have the right to take unpaid time from work to vote, but no more than two successive hours, as long as they have applied with their employer before Election Day. The employer may set the time of day (10 ILCS 5/17-15).
• No one is allowed to try to influence a voter within 100 feet of the polling place (10 ILCS 5/17-29).

With a significant number of candidates on the ballot in Tuesday’s mayoral and aldermanic elections and anticipating a high volume of Election Day complaints and inquiries, the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office will be stepping up efforts to ensure that proper procedures are being followed and election laws are not being violated, State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez announced.

The State’s Attorney’s Election Fraud Unit has already been fielding a high rate of complaints and general advice calls, particularly during the early voting process, according to Alvarez. With approximately 250 candidates on the ballot Tuesday and a hotly contested race for mayor, authorities believe that election activity could be at an all time high in Chicago.

“There are a significant number of contested races on Tuesday and we understand that when a large number of candidates are competing in close local races that tensions may run high,” Alvarez said.

“But there will be zero tolerance for any type of illegal election activity or political mischief. We have the authority to arrest and charge any person who violates election laws and we will not hesitate to exercise that authory.”

The State’s Attorney’s Office will be stepping up efforts to visit polling places to confirm that proper procedures are being followed and taking complaints and investigating election infractions. As part of the plan the office will:

     * Assign 200 Assistant State’s Attorneys to on-the-ground Election Day duty in all of

       Chicago’s 50 wards.

     * Operate an Election Day Central Intake and Dispatch Center to accept and assess

        complaints for referral to election authorities, law enforcement or campaigns. Election

       Hotline Number is 312-603-7960.

     * Have Rapid Response Teams made up of State’s Attorney Investigators and ASA’s available

        to respond to calls that are urgent and require immediate attention.

     * Assign an additional 80 State’s Attorney employees (40 investigators; 40 ASA’s) for

        special election monitoring at Chicago nursing homes. Nursing home voting took place

        this past Friday and Saturday and will conclude on Monday (February 21, 2011).

Alvarez said law enforcement would respond to any issues with poll watchers and potential crimes in polling places, particularly in ward races with multiple candidates. Authorities will be on high alert for any disregard of election authority, attempts at vote buying, tampering with voting machines, unlawful observation of voting or improper assistance in the voting processs.

“It is our hope that all of the citizens of Chicago will take the opportunity to exercise their right to vote on Tuesday and the men and women of the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office will be on hand to ensure that the process is fair, respectful and nonviolent,” Alvarez said.