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Recorded May, 2009

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Children in Chicago’s North Lawndale community are at a higher risk of getting asthma. According to the Sinai Urban Health Institute, one in four children in that neighborhood have asthma. That’s almost double city-wide and national averages.So what is it about North Lawndale that puts children at an increased risk? Who – or what – is to blame? And are kids in surrounding neighborhoods also at increased rick?

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WNUA Broadcast Date: 4/24/09

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Is political transparency and budget reform possible in Illinois?
In the wake of former governor Rod Blagojevich’s scandal-plagued legacy – and George Ryan’s for that matter – newly installed Governor Pat Quinn advocates open and honest government and fiscal responsibility.
In the midst of a recession-plagued economy, the governor’s recent budget proposal includes a back-to-school sales tax holiday for parents, limits on campaign contributions and a job plan to put Illinoisans back to work.
But Governor Quinn also wants to raise our income tax 50 percent – which brings the current 3 percent income tax to 4.5 percent. He proposes to off-set the increase by hiking the personal exemption from $2,000 to $6,000.
Critics say Quinn’s plan won’t resolve the state’s deepening financial problems and that his talk of government transparency is just that – all talk and no action.This morning on “City Voices” we’ll talk about Governor Quinn’s budget proposal with his chief-of-staff, Jerry Stermer.

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WNUA Broadcast Date: March 17, 2009

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Illinois’ unemployment rate is hovering close to 8 percent.  The national unemployment rate is already there.
Foreclosures are spreading into affluent communities, even suburbia.   Lay-offs happen weekly.  And as the recently jobless white-collar workers come to depend on the state for basic needs, America’s understanding of poverty is changing.
Now, more than ever before, the middle-class - and even some upper-income families - are the new faces of poverty.  And some of these families are not yet eligible for unemployment benefits.
So is Illinois, with its ever-deepening deficit, prepared to take on the growing number of needy residents?  And how will our new governor’s policies help or hurt the needy?

Geoff Smith, Vice President of the Woodstock Institute and Attorney Dan Lindsey of the Legal Assistance Foundation.

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WNUA Broadcast Date March 22, 2009.

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For those who live on the northside of Chicago - and even out in the suburbs - the housing crisis was something we only read about.  It was only affecting our south and west side neighbors.But as the recession worsens, and job-losses spread into every sector of the economy, northside communities are now seeing their homes foreclosed as well.  Middle-lass neighborhoods like Rodgers Park, Lincoln Square – even Lakeview – have seen sharp increases in forclosures since 2006.So what exactly does this mean?  Is this a sign that the recession is finally ‘bottoming out’ like experts said it would?  Or is it a sign that our economy is getting worse – if that’s possible?  And what are the new challenges organizations face as they shift gears and help a new group citizens?