Armor of Education and Experience…

CCIL graduates six foodservice trainees on April 28, 2008

CCIL honored six foodservice graduates on Monday, April 28, 2008. Jamal Lucas, Tina McBryde, Patricia Pitre, Russell Reiter, Sonya Rodriguez and Taron Williams all successfully completed an intense nine week training program preparing them for jobs in the food industry.

In partnership with Aramark and the Mayor’s Office of Workforce Development (MOWD), CCIL’s kitchen training program has been stirring up excellent results by helping people secure jobs. Since its inception in February 2006, the program is geared toward assisting non-violent, ex-felons who are 21 and older.

“This is a nine week training program and this was our ninth group to graduate. What’s most impressive is everyone in this class passed their sanitation exam on the first try giving them certification with the State of Illinois and the City of Chicago Health Departments! Their eagerness, willingness to learn and teamwork was energizing. Our program is demanding and these trainees went above and beyond. Mentoring them was a pleasure,” said Bob Joens, CCIL Foodservice Director.

Contact Lisa Dieterle, Manager for CCIL's Center for Workforce Development, at 773-435-8336 for more information about the foodservice training program.

True Housing Affordability

Neighborhood-Level Data

The Center for Neighborhood Technology recently unveiled a new interactive web mapping tool which provides neighborhood-level data on the affordability of housing in the 52 largest metropolitan areas. In an attempt to measure the "true affordability" of housing, this tool accounts for both housing and transportation costs as a percent of income, called the Housing and Transportation Affordability Index. Often housing alone is more affordable outside of city centers, in the suburbs or exurbs, but when factoring in transportation costs it becomes less affordable. This site is designed to help individuals, planners, housing advocates, and policy-makers identify the true affordability of housing at the neighborhood level, and thus make better housing-related decisions.

Investigate the housing affordability in the 52 largest metropolitan areas in the country.
http://htaindex.cnt.org/

Emergency Fund

The Emergency Fund provides immediate financial assistance to low-income Chicago area individuals and families in needs. Including CCIL, more than 60 agencies are part of this collaborative network.

CCIL is proud to host the Annual Meeting of the Emergency Fund Board of Directors on Tuesday, May 6, 2008 from 11:15 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. At least 100 guests are expected to attend this luncheon where they'll have an opportunity to hear more about the Homelessness Prevention Call Center, the integration of state funds for homelessness prevention in the city of Chicago and other special projects. Tours of CCIL's state-of-the-art facility will also be available to those interested.

Wall of Fame

Soon the exterior brick wall circling CCIL’s 2750 W. Roosevelt Road campus will come to life as the Chicago Public Art Group, members of North Lawndale and CCIL residents work side-by-side in creating a bright, colorful mural capturing the energy and essence of the community. The Chicago Public Art Group unites communities and artists in creating high quality works of art that can be seen throughout the city. This incredible opportunity wouldn’t be possible without the receipt of a $30,000 grant from the Guthman Fund.

Shriver Center 2007 Poverty Report Card

Rating Members of Congress

The 2007 Poverty Scorecard: Rating Members of Congress assigns letter grades to each member of the United States Senate and House of Representatives according to their voting records on the most important poverty-related issues that came to a vote in 2007, including legislation on affordable housing, health care, education, labor, tax policy and immigrants' rights. With the help of a national advisory board and other anti-poverty experts, the Shriver Center identified and analyzed fourteen critical Senate votes and fifteen critical House votes. In general, states whose Congressional delegations generally opposed anti-poverty measures are clustered in the south and western parts of the country. States whose delegations had the worst voting records and highest poverty rates were South Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma, Kentucky and Arizona.

Press Release:
http://www.povertylaw.org/advocacy/publications/2007-scorecard

Just What the Doctor Ordered

Health Fairs - Just What the Doctor Ordered…

No medical insurance results in people putting off health care until a small problem turns urgent. For many in the United States, healthcare is secondary to keeping a roof over their heads and food on the table.

CCIL, in conjunction with Rush University Medical Center, will be hosting a city-wide health fair on Saturday, May 17, 2008 from 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m at CCIL's main campus at 2750 W. Roosevelt Road (California/Roosevelt).

The focus of the health fair is to provide better access to healthcare including free health screenings, physicals and immunizations for underserved individuals and families across the city of Chicago. More than 400 doctors will be on hand providing complimentary services.

Call 773-435-8363 for more information. To schedule group arrival times contact Ms. Sharon Gates at 312-942-3670.

CCIL Roots - Reverend William Seath

Does Anyone Know Descendants of Reverend William Seath?

In preparation for CCIL's upcoming Centennial Celebration in 2009, we are searching for descendants and friends of Reverend William Seath. Below is a brief bio about Reverend Seath...

Reverend William Seath was on the staff of the Union City Mission of Minneapolis, Minnesota, from 1920 to 1931 when he became Executive Director of the Chicago Christian Industrial League. After retiring in 1963 he served as an interim pastor, supplied pulpits, spoke before a variety of civic groups at many churches and Bible conferences. Reverend Seath is the author of "Challenge of the Impossible" (1967), "Handbook of Rescue" (1961), "Study of Rescue Missions" (1954), and numerous booklets and magazine articles.

If you have information about Reverend William Seath's descendants please contact Jenny Brandhorst at jbrandhorst@theleague.org.