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COALITION MET WITH ILLINOIS' GOVERNOR QUINN'S REPRESENTIVES A FINAL EXTENSION FOR THE REMAINING WORKERS UNDER THE "PUT ILLINOIS TO WORK" PROGRAM

UPDATE

Saturday, January 15, 2011

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This past Thursday and Friday, a coalition of over 200 ministers, community activists, small business owners, social service organizations, and "Put Illinois To Work" workers facing January 15th job layoffs participated in two public demonstrations and press conferences calling on Illinois Governor Quinn not to have to use the symbolism of Dr. King's birthday and national holiday to announce that thousands of poor workers from the program would no longer have jobs and to offer another extension.

The Coalition led by The Pastors Network with ministers like Rev. Marshall Hatch, Rev. Ira Acree, Rev. Roosevelt Watkins and activists and community leaders led by Mark Allen of Black Wall Street-Chicago and The Illinois Voter Restoration Project, were invited to and met with representatives of The Governor in The Governor's Office on Friday January 14th.

The Governor's people informed the delegation of the progress of the program in that the numbers of 26,000 affected workers had drastically changed for those who were college students and they are now back in school, others who had found new full time employment, and that the current numbers couid be as low as 14,000 affected by job layoffs on January 15th, and with that Rev. Hatch said that because of those successes is why The Governor SHOULD grant one more 90 Day extension as we prepare these final workers for transition into new legal employment opportunities.

Today, January 15th, the actual birthday of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr Illinois has technically made National and International HISTORY in announcing the largest LOSS OF JOBS for up to 14,000 poor workers in Chicago and across Illinois who will OFFICIALLY LOSE their jobs from The States "Put Illinois To Work" program today on Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's actual birthday of January 15th!!

A man who spent his own last birthday on earth planning a "Poor People's Campaign" for JOBS for the least our our people, and most of our local and national media, leaders and all will spend these national commemorations singing  WE SHALL OVERCOME; listening to excerpts of "I HAVE A DREAM" and other Rev. Dr. King speeches; enjoying "symbolic" breakfast, lunches, dinners, commercial business sales; Photo ops; parties, and other social "feel good" events, while the "substance" of 14,000 poor workers are laid off their jobs today and many sent back to the gang, drug and criminal elements of the streets, not eligible for unemployment and with NO legitimate source of income!!

This past November elections, Chicago and Illinois' poor workers AND VOTERS were bombarded with multi MILLIONS of dollars in mass media buys; robo calls, political columns, special radio talk shows everyday, religious, civic, business and other DESPERATE appeals and personal visits from Former President Clinton, Vice President Biden, and Chicago and Illinois' own President Barack Obama and First Lady on the ABSOLUTE STATE OF EMERGENCY in HAVING to re-elect Illinois Governor Pat Quinn as the vanguard to look out for the least of our people!!

As 14,000 poor people and VOTERS face this almost "death row" countdown to whether they will have a legitimate job to report to Monday, we are challenging our Illinois Governor to make "IMMEDIATE" decisions on taxes, death penalty, and EVERY OTHER ISSUE EXCEPT will he preserve 14,000 poor people on Rev. Dr. King's birthday with their continued JOBS or a certainty to increase the local and state crime rates if these 14,000 poor people are forced back to the life threatening illegal street economies to economically provide for themselves and their families!!

What a difference a few months can make -- from the emotional and political frenzy of the RECENT November elections to todays DANGEROUS and EMBARASSING
SILENCE of Chicago's Outgoing Mayor Richard M. Daley, the six remaining candidates who want to be the new Chicago Mayor; those just re-elected in November, those local leadership Incumbents who want to be re-elected, to the hundreds of those who filed for election to be new Aldermen, ALL with the "promise" of what they ALL would do if they were elected or re-elected to fight for local jobs and yet 14,000 poor people AND VOTERS would like to know WHERE THEY ALL STAND NOW?