Monthly Archives: December 2018

Celebrating Albert R. Lee: An Early Beacon for Civil Rights in Champaign County

Posted on 12/12/2018 by Vanessa Rouillon

The African American community in Urbana-Champaign and the University of Illinois community gathered this fall on several occasions to celebrate the life and contributions of an outstanding African American man: Albert R. Lee (1874-1948). Lee was the son of a slave, … Continue reading →

Posted in African American, civil rights | Comments Off

Making a Profit off of the Crisis in Affordable Housing

Posted on 12/12/2018 by Janice Jayes

In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, Frank Rolfe and Dave Reynolds discovered a lucrative new area of real estate investment, manufactured home communities (MHCs), and made millions by buying out older mom-and-pop operations and putting new profit-oriented practices … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing | Comments Off

Local Sheriff Cooperating with ICE

Posted on 12/12/2018 by Brian Dolinar

On the day Manuel went to have his electronic monitor cut off, he was feeling “uneasy” about being picked up by agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). It only took minutes for the sheriff’s deputy at the county jail … Continue reading →

Posted in Immigration, incarceration | Comments Off

Mayor Harold Washington: Champion of Race and Reform in Chicago

Posted on 12/12/2018 by John Palen

If you’ve read Robert Caro’s biographies of Lyndon Johnson, you know what it’s like to be kidnapped by a historian who’s also a great story teller. The reading lamp burns late. I’ve just finished a new book on Illinois history … Continue reading →

Posted in African Americans, African Americans, Chicago, Politics | Comments Off

Brexit, Regrexit, Lexit: Is Socialism in One (European) Country Possible?

Posted on 12/12/2018 by Richard Esbenshade

On November 25, Great Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May returned from Brussels with approval from the other 27 European Union (EU) member states for a deal on Brexit, the British commitment to exit the EU pursuant to the results of … Continue reading →

Posted in Eastern Europe, European Union, International, International, socialism | Comments Off

Democratic Backsliding in Eastern Europe

Posted on 12/11/2018 by Carol Skalnik Leff

After the collapse of East European communist regimes, the watchword among Western European political elites and political scientists was “conditionality,” a term borrowed from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) lexicon to express the terms upon which the new regimes could win coveted … Continue reading →

Posted in Eastern Europe, Poland | Comments Off

Getting Money out of Politics and Beyond: A Call for a We the People Amendment

Posted on 12/11/2018 by Greg Coleridge

The midterm elections are over. Candidates have been elected and unelected. Ballot issues have been passed and rejected. What hasn’t changed one iota, however, are the catastrophic harms to people, communities, the natural world and our republican form of self-government … Continue reading →

Posted in Citizens United, Corporations, Elections, Politics | Tagged Citizens United, Corporations, Elections | Comments Off

A New Option to Finance A Clean Energy Future for Everyone

Posted on 12/11/2018 by Robert E. McGrath

While renewable energy technologies have made tremendous strides in recent decades, financing and investment options for those who want to go green have remained scarce. The Clean Energy Credit Union (CECU), chartered by the American Solar Energy Association in 2017, … Continue reading →

Posted in Economy, Environment, Environment, solar energy | Comments Off