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An abundance of aldermanic meetings!

JCUA is using the first 100 days of the term to forge relationships with members of City Council. In recent weeks, we’ve held meetings between alderpeople and JCUA residents in their ward, where we’ve introduced our campaigns, learned about their goals and priorities, and set foundations for future co-governance.

So far we’ve met with Alds. Daniel La Spata (1), Desmon Yancy (5), Timmy Knudsen (43), Bennett Lawson (44), Angela Clay (46), Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth (48), and Debra Silverstein (50th), and we’re excited to meet with Ald. Lamont Robinson (4) next week!

This Tuesday 8/8, we have an amazing opportunity to engage directly with our elected officials. Join us for “Co-Governance Reimagined” at 6:00 pm at Sketchpad.

Folks from across JCUA are coming together to deepen our relationships and strategize about the work ahead. We’ll be joined by Alds. Julia Ramirez (12), Rossana Rodríguez Sánchez (33), Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35), Matt Martin (47), Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth (48), and others! It will be a special evening.

Chicago’s new national monument

Bronzeville’s Roberts Temple Church — the site of Emmett Till’s funeral — has been declared the “Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley and Roberts Temple National Monument.” Till’s racist murder and his mother’s decision to have an open-casket funeral at the church helped galvanize the Civil Rights Movement.

At a ceremony on Tuesday, Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton spoke of the significance: “While states across this country are attempting to erase Black history, we remember Mamie Till-Mobley’s efforts to expose, for the whole world to see, a miscarriage of justice against her son.” 

Illinois launches hotline for abortion care

Illinois is launching new initiatives to expand reproductive health care, as neighboring states like Indiana pass laws that limit or ban access to abortion.

The Complex Abortion Regional Line for Access (CARLA) is a first-of-its-kind hotline, in which nurse coordinators help patients navigate hospital systems to receive care as soon as possible. The program is being piloted now and will expand statewide on August 21!

Restorative Justice Training

JCUA is hosting our first-ever Restorative Justice Training on Sunday, August 20. There’s only a few spots left — this is your last chance to apply!

Restorative justice is a mindset rooted in values, relationships, respect and community problem-solving, as well as a set of practices to put this mindset into action. Through this training, we will explore how we can bring restorative practices into our JCUA community and use them to guide our organizing work.

Welcome to JCUA’s new Board leadership!

On July 1, the Executive Committee of JCUA’s Board of Directors began their two-year term. Congratulations to each of them:

• Sara Cantor, President
• Cydney Wallace, Vice President
• Rich Amend, Treasurer
• Steve Rothschild, Secretary
• Karyn Bass Ehler, Immediate Past President

We extend our deep gratitude to Karyn for an impactful term as Board President. We also extend our gratitude to Jeff Zaluda, David Feinberg, and Matt Owens who are rotating off the Board.

Farewell and thank you, Jonah!

This week we bid farewell to Jonah Karsh, JCUA’s Avodah Organizer for 2022-2023. Jonah has been an invaluable part of our team, bringing passion and enthusiasm to his work as a community organizer and mentor to JCUA youth leaders. We’ll miss him, but we’re lucky that he’s staying in Chicago.

Jonah shared: “I am so grateful to have worked at JCUA for the last year! I had a blast and learned so much from building relationships with and developing the leadership of our teens and college-aged organizers, collaborating with our powerful coalition partners, and organizing in my home communities of JRC and Evanston.

The JCUA community, both staff and leaders, uniquely combines strategic organizing/power building with a culture of care and kindness that made me feel welcome every step of the way. I won’t be on staff at JCUA, but I’m currently planning to stay in Chicago and participate in our work as a member. Don’t be a stranger!”