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* From Rolling Stone Magazine’s interview of Rev. Gregory Seal Livingston, who is organizing protests against Mayor Rahm Emanuel…
How specifically does your organization hope to impart the changes you wish to see?
Firstly, we’re looking at applying economic pressure on January 15th. We want to affect trading at the exchanges that Friday. We want to see if we can throw them off. We believe those are the people Rahm listens to, and they won’t want us down there disrupting the trading.
Livingston’s Coalition for a New Chicago helped plan the #BlackChristmas protests on Michigan Avenue last month.
This is, essentially, politics by other means. As with the Michigan Ave. marches, the idea is exactly how Livingston explained it: Push Emanuel’s pals to complain to the big guy.
* Meanwhile, the Sun-Times looks at how the Chicago Teachers Union is funding some of this anti-Emanuel activism…
Fueled by the CTU’s $48.5 million sale of a Gold Coast apartment building in 2014, the Chicago Teachers Union Foundation Inc. has handed out millions of dollars in grants.
The foundation only had assets of about $80,000 and gave just $12,000 in scholarships a couple of years ago, before receiving a huge infusion of money from the apartment building.
In 2014, the CTU’s foundation doled out about $1 million in grants, according to its federal tax returns. And the foundation increased that giving to nearly $2 million last year, labor leaders say.
Some of those contributions went to purely charitable or educational groups, including the DuSable Museum and Mercy Home for Boys and Girls. Records show hundreds of thousands of dollars from the foundation also went to groups that are highly active in the pitched policy debates between Emanuel and the CTU, which is calling for Emanuel’s resignation.
The rest of the list…
Kenwood-Oakland Community Organization.
Brighton Park Neighborhood Council.
Albany Park Neighborhood Council, now known as Communities United for Quality Education.
Logan Square Neighborhood Association.
Pilsen Alliance.
Enlace Chicago.
Raise Your Hand Illinois.
Crossroads Fund.
Blocks Together.
posted by Rich Miller
Monday, Jan 11, 16 @ 9:20 am
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They realize the open-outcry pits are kaput, correct? Do they have some computer sabotage in mind?
Comment by wordslinger Monday, Jan 11, 16 @ 9:35 am
His pals will be calling to complain to the big guy. But they won’t be calling to encourage him to give these individuals whatever they demand.
They will be calling to ask him why they are being allowed to restrict the free movement of others in public areas as on Black Friday, and why they are now being allowed to restrict others from working at their jobs.
Comment by Anonymous Monday, Jan 11, 16 @ 9:36 am
@wordslinger
I don’t think they have a clue what they are doing.
Comment by Chicagonk Monday, Jan 11, 16 @ 9:37 am
Are they intending to try and “spoof”? (somewhat snark)
http://farmdocdaily.illinois.edu/2016/01/still-more-on-whos-spoofing-whom.html
Comment by Anon221 Monday, Jan 11, 16 @ 9:42 am
Selling assets to give money away to others? In hopes they will help advance your argument? It might have been better to hire more lobbyists.
Good to know CTU union dues are spent so prudently.
Comment by Anonymous Monday, Jan 11, 16 @ 9:45 am
Livingston’s group may be a victim of their own echo chamber. If they think that annoyed friends of Emanuel are going to push him out, when the likely replacement would be a de Blasio clone, they really don’t know any business people.
Comment by Rasselas Monday, Jan 11, 16 @ 9:56 am
Good story by the Sun-Times. The CTU sees themselves as a social justice advocate first, and a collective bargaining agent second.
Comment by DC Monday, Jan 11, 16 @ 9:57 am
When there is an injustice and the broader public isn’t recognizing the impact or significance of it I see the value in these confrontational, attention-grabbing events. But at some point to implement long term change you and your issue group have to build the alliances needed to push for changes/improvements and I feel like these people are failing to understand what’s needed. All they have is a one page playbook and a repeat button and we have already reached the limits of its effectiveness.
Comment by The Captain Monday, Jan 11, 16 @ 9:58 am
That isn’t actually CTU dues money if you read further. CTU had a very prime piece of real estate for retired teachers that no retired teachers were living in. They had bought it when that area was a blight and now their investment had really appreciated. They had long ago, established a foundation to manage the property and it’s just accounting, but it basically stops dues money from being mingled with the building money for liability reasons. I believe it was the money from selling the building that was donated. Also a million dollars over that many groups is nice, but even if they got $100,000 a piece, that’s not a lot to fight against city hall’s PR.
Comment by Carhartt Representative Monday, Jan 11, 16 @ 10:03 am
Livingston and anyone affiliated with him is not listed or even associated with CTU donations described in the article. I don’t see how they are connected.
Comment by Not connected Monday, Jan 11, 16 @ 10:05 am
Somebody forgot to tell the open-outcry options pits in Chicago they are kaput.
Comment by Anonymous Monday, Jan 11, 16 @ 10:24 am
Rev. Livingston is a guy who has a lot of media connections from his time with Rainbow PUSH and National Action Network (Sharpton’s group), but he’s not the one who has been mobilizing people on this issue. Also, it’s bad form for the Rolling Stone to do that interview and not mention he was Willie Wilson’s campaign manager. There are so many better people they could have interviewed than him, especially the young people who are leading the street actions.
Comment by Century Club Monday, Jan 11, 16 @ 10:29 am
Century Club — I think the media has had trouble reporting this because it is being led by young leaders. You can’t just trot out the usual talking heads if you want the story.
Comment by Carhartt Representative Monday, Jan 11, 16 @ 10:43 am
–Somebody forgot to tell the open-outcry options pits in Chicago they are kaput.–
Ninety-five percent of CBOE trades are done electronically.
If activists are looking to “affect trading at the exchanges,” we’re talking computers.
Comment by wordslinger Monday, Jan 11, 16 @ 10:53 am
Century Club = +100
Carhartt Rep = same
Comment by crazybleedingheart Monday, Jan 11, 16 @ 11:12 am
I doubt that CTU’s actions are primarily about “social justice.” imho they are preparing the battlespace for a strike or threat of one, by Astro-Turfing the field.
The current actions are meant to weaken Emanuel’s ability to confront them. If push comes to shove, the funded groups will reliably demonstrate in support of the teachers, and the media will, as always, treat it as real “grass-roots” sentiment rather than the organized and funded action that it is.
This is all Saul Alinsky’s playbook, as updated by David Axelrod.
Comment by Harry Monday, Jan 11, 16 @ 11:14 am
What are they going to do, block the door at Lou Mithchell’s? /s
Comment by A guy Monday, Jan 11, 16 @ 11:59 am
Im sure it gives rank-and-file CPS teachers great comfort to know their Union can spend their money to settle political scores as they continue to shell out hundreds of dollars every year for supplies for their classrooms and have to pay for graduate school classes out of their own pocket. I would imagine the vast majority of teachers would rather get a “grant” to buy Kleenex and pencils for their students than a “grant” to go on a long-shot bid to take down Rahm. CTU is so out of touch.
Comment by Red Ranger Monday, Jan 11, 16 @ 12:19 pm
Each year the CTU foundation has given out twelve $1,000 scholarships to CPS students. One would think that after putting in millions and millions of dollars into this fund CTU would have increased the amount of scholarships they give to students, but no they still only give 12 or 13 scholarships. After giving out millions to organizations to do their political work one would think that CTU would have increased the amount of scholarships they give out. NO, they kept the same amount (12).
CTU loves to say they are doing everything for the students but when it comes to giving directly to them, they would rather give to their friends to make sure they show up at their rally’s and give political sound bites to the media (as independent neighborhood groups).
I hope the Internal Revenue Service takes a look at these expenditures.
Comment by Ty Webb Monday, Jan 11, 16 @ 2:26 pm
Great investigative story on CTU. They fund all these “community groups” that are really just CTU fronts, but the press quotes these “grass roots” groups and covers their press conferences as if they were real community organizations. And CTU laughs at the naivete’ of the reporters they’re manipulating.
Comment by Chicago taxpayer Monday, Jan 11, 16 @ 2:32 pm
When the teachers go out on strike and a few thousand get laid off afterwards remember how they spent their money. The well in Springfield is about run dry. Their pension mess is also of their own doing along with the city. They were both partners in crime. Come late spring how to they sell the public on the fact they only pay 2% out of pocket for their pensions. Best to but support of the grass-roots community groups now so they can load up busses for Springfield later.
Comment by Rollo Tamasi Monday, Jan 11, 16 @ 2:38 pm
The ST story mentions that Arizona based Network for Public Education received $200,000 from CTU. And you can see in the link below the Arizona based network endorsed Chuy for Mayor.
http://dianeravitch.net/2015/03/16/network-for-public-education-endorses-chuy-garcia/
I’m sure the $200,000 and the endorsement are two separate items, especially because there are laws against the CTU foundation using funds for political purposes.
Again, I hope the IRS is looking at these expenses.
Comment by Ty Webb Monday, Jan 11, 16 @ 3:18 pm
==- Anonymous - Monday, Jan 11, 16 @ 9:45 am:==
These aren’t dues, but you would know that if you could read for comprehension.
And to the rest of you, where you when Emanuel was astroturfing for school closings?
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-02-13/news/ct-met-emanuel-consulting-firm-20120213_1_education-agenda-consulting-firm-mayor-rahm-emanuel
http://www.wbez.org/story/pastor-responds-paying-protesters-95882
I guess your outrage only begins when the working class might get a few more crumbs wrestled out of the elite.
Comment by Precinct Captain Monday, Jan 11, 16 @ 3:39 pm
Oh Word: Why’d you have to tell them?
Comment by walker Monday, Jan 11, 16 @ 4:06 pm
“These aren’t dues” / No, they aren’t.
They are funds CTU could have spent on anything they wanted to. They have given away millions of dollars to other groups, hoping those groups will help weaken Emanuel. Some of those groups aren’t even based in Illinois.
Every dollar they gave away is a dollar they will now have to use union dues or other funds to pay for. Not the wisest investment.
Comment by Anonymous Monday, Jan 11, 16 @ 5:13 pm
Trying to “affect the markets” strikes me as maybe being illegal? Even the First Amendment has limits, like true threats. I’m an amateur when it comes to securities law, but this seems different than making downtown shoppers uncomfortable.
Comment by Not It Monday, Jan 11, 16 @ 5:22 pm
Dear Not It @ 5:22:
You do understand that “affect the markets” means the protesters plan on marching down LaSalle Street, making lots of noise and hopefully distracting the traders? The protesters will be exercising their 1st Amendment rights, but the unfortunate reality for them is that fewer people work on LaSalle, so they won’t be as effective as they would like to be. What will be interesting is to see how many police get called out to man this…
Comment by Lynn S. Tuesday, Jan 12, 16 @ 12:09 am