Anti-Racism, Anti-”Chief” - Illinois Disciples Foundation

The Voice
Vol. 30 Number 1
Illinois Disciples Foundation
October 2004
Anti-Racism, Anti-”Chief”
By Mike Bordieri and Jen Tayabji
Once again, the anti-“Chief” movement has shown
us that progress towards social justice must come from
community action; unjust institutions, in this case the University of Illinois, will use any and every stalling tactic,
only to serve their own political interests. Following last
Novemberʼs University of Illinois Board of Trustees meeting during which Trustee Carroll tabled a resolution to remove “Chief Illiniwek” as the symbol of the U of I, the
PRC organized fiercely to build momentum for the March
Board meeting. Carroll, after tabling the resolution, promised to re-introduce her resolution to eliminate the “Chief”
when the University next met at UIUC in March.
Month of Action
Last February and March the PRC, along with other members of a multi-cultural coalition, held a Month of
Action, which was kicked off by a press conference. Artists
Against Racism, part of the coalition, held a hip-hop show
against the “Chief” for another event supporting the Month
of Action. Unfortunately on February 25th, Trustee Carroll
publicly announced that she would no longer re-introduce
her resolution to eliminate the dance and logo of “Chief
Illiniwek.” Despite this setback, the PRC pushed forward
to the culmination of the Month of Action—the coalitionʼs
In This Issue
3
Cardona Receives
Asylum
6
CGFC: Shop Local,
Shop Cooperative
An Open Letter to
Bush and Kerry
11
Participants of the sit-in stand in the door of Swanlund.
“Day of Honor”—held the day before the Boardʼs meeting at the UIUC campus. The “Day of Honor” featured an
all-day presence on the UIUC Quad, a night rally in front
of the student union, and a camp-out on the Quad. At the
Board meeting the next morning, anti-“Chief” supporters
came out to speak at the Public Comment Session and to
show the Board that continued inaction is not acceptable.
Sit-In at Swanlund
After Marchʼs Board of Trustees meeting, student trustee Nate Allen publicly announced that he would
introduce a resolution to retire “Chief Illiniwek” for the
April Board meeting agenda. The next day, Board Chairman Lawrence Eppley canceled the April meeting due to
“lack of sufficient new University business.” On Thursday,
April 15th, the day the Board was originally scheduled to
meet, students, faculty, alumni, and community members
responded to the Boardʼs disappointing inaction by taking
over Swanlund Administration building.
Friday afternoon, sit-in participants came to an
agreement with Chancellor Nancy Cantor and Trustee
PRC article continues on pg. 14
The IDF
The Illinois Disciples Foundation (IDF) was
envisioned in 1905 and chartered in 1916. The IDF is
a regional unit of the Christian Church (Disciples of
Christ) in the United States and Canada. It is located
at the Urbana-Champaign campus of the University of
Illinois.
610 East Springfield Avenue
Champaign, IL 61820
(217) 352-8721
[email protected]
www.prairienet.org/idf
idf
IDF Programs
The IDF Mission
The Illinois Disciples Foundation is nurturing and
clarifying the understanding of its purpose and mission
as exigencies arise and opportunities offer. The Illinois
Disciples Foundation is informed by its historical
experience, the liberating streams of consciousness
within the Judeo-Christian tradition, and the vision of a
just, peaceable, and ecologically sustaining realm. The
Illinois Disciples Foundation is a pioneering campus
ministry with the mission priority of “Peace with Justice.”
This means that the Illinois Disciples Foundation is
a ministry of, for, and by a people committed to an
ecumenical mission of:
• denouncing violence;
• working for justice and compassion;
• speaking truth to power;
• standing in solidarity with those struggling for justice,
peace, and the integrity of creation, and caring for
and affirming the gifts of all people, with special
regard to those oppressed or disenfranchised on
the basis of race, gender, sexual orientation, class,
age, national origin, cultural identity, spirituality
or religious affiliation, physical or mental ability,
HIV antibody status, marital status, family structure,
socioeconomic status, educational status, or other
distinctions.
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peace
with
justice
Activist Forum Speaker Series
Common Ground Food Co-op
Progressive Resource/Action Cooperative
Uprising
Women’s Direct Action Collective
IDF Staff
Jen Tayabji
Aaron Smith
Mike Bordieri
Amy Clay
Mark Kenny
Lino Pardo
Jana Robert
Bradley Wickersham
Rev. Jim Holiman
Executive Director
Assistant Director
Campus Ministry Associate
Campus Ministry Associate
Campus Ministry Associate
Campus Ministry Associate
Campus Ministry Associate
Custodian
Campus Minister Emeritus
IDF Board of Directors
Brooke Anderson
Claudia Lennhoff
Janna McGregor Garla
Bill Mueller
The Voice
Kurt Hilgendorf
Jeff Machota
Joseph Miller
Martin Nieto
October 2004
Cardona Receives Political Asylum
By Lino Pardo
In our continuing story of Luis Adolfo Cardona, “The Voice” updates the campaign against the Coca-Cola
killings in Columbia. The Illinois Disciples Foundation has hosted Luis Adolfo Cardona twice in the past couple of
years to speak about his experiences working for a Coca-Cola company in Colombia and his witnessing the assassination of union officer Isidro Gil by paramilitary gunmen, followed by an attempt on his life at a Coca-Cola bottling
plant.
Luis Adolfo Cardona moved to the United States in 2002 through an AFL-CIO international solidarity protection program, eventually being granted political asylum for himself and his family through the U.S. Department
of Homeland Security. Working with union and anti-war organizers, Cardona has been touring the country, talking
about his experiences and promoting the boycott against Coca-Cola, making considerable international headlines as
well.
Through the efforts of the
Stop Killer Coke Campaign, Green
House, the International Human
Rights Fund, and other activists and
organizers, six colleges and universities have already terminated major vending and pouring contracts
with Coca-Cola. Schools, churches,
and major unions such as UAW Local 22 have followed this movement
by removing Coke machines from
their unions and banning the sale and
distribution of Coca-Cola products
from union functions. Internationally,
groups from Canada, Venezuela, the
United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany,
Italy, and Australia have been following this boycott.
Unfortunately, even with all
Luis Cardona and others at a Coca-Cola Boycott March in Chicago
the notoriety Coca-Cola has had with
its terror tactics, paramilitaries have
continued killing union members. Colombia remains ʻthe most dangerous place in the world to be a union member,ʼ
according to the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions. The organization estimates that 90 percent of all
trade unionists killed worldwide die in Colombia. To this day, no charges have ever been brought against Gilʼs killers.
In January 2004, Hiram Monserrate, a member of the New York City Council, led a delegation composed
of union leaders, council members, and human rights activists on a 10-day, fact-finding mission to Colombia. The
delegationʼs final report, released in April, said “Coca-Cola is complicit in human rights abuses of its workers in
Colombia” and “bears responsibility for the campaign of terror leveled at its workers.” (The report can be found at
www.killercoke.org) G.E.S. Investment Services, a Swedish investment company, arrived at a similar conclusion
and recently placed Coca-Cola on its list of bad corporate citizens.
Recently, William Mendoza, vice-president of the beverage workersʼ union SINALTRAINAL, spoke to
a delegation of the Colombia Action Network (CAN). “Nine compañeros have been assassinated, 45 have been
displaced and 75, have had their lives threatened. The only thing these people have in common is that they work
Cardona article continues on next page
October 2004
The Voice
3
Cardona article ctd. from previous page
for Coca-Cola. Now the military and the paramilitaries
are threatening our families,” said William Mendoza. He
went on to say that because the unionʼs struggle is winning international attention, Coca-Cola is changing their
tactics by closing down plants and then reopening them
without unions.
“Since 1990 the Coca-Cola Company has had
the goal of union-free plants in Colombia. Twelve years
ago 96% of the Coke workforce was unionized. 96% of
the jobs with Coke were full-time permanent positions.
Now only 4% of the jobs with Coke are permanent fulltime jobs, the rest are temporary positions. In 1993, 1808
workers were members of SINALTRAINAL, but now
only 300 workers are with the union. At Coca-Colaʼs
plants a union worker will earn $260 per month and
work an 8-hour day, whereas a non-union worker will
earn $110 per month, the legal minimum, and work 14
to 16 hours per day. The companyʼs campaign of firing,
pressuring, and threatening union members and leaders
has severely hurt the union.”
Coca-Cola continues to receive big profits from
its operations in Colombia, but continues to reject any
responsibility for the conduct of its bottlers or management. It is for this reason that it is important to continue
the campaign of resistance against the politics of the
Coca-Cola corporation and to continue the campaign at
the international level against the assassinations of the
trade unionists. Continued support eventually brings attention. The May 31, 2004 issue of “Fortune” (www.fortune.com), an unflattering front-cover story about Coke
entitled, “Coke, The Real Story: How One of the Worldʼs
Great Companies Lost Its Way.” The story pointed out,
“Cokeʼs decision not to investigate possible union-related murders at its bottlers in Colombia has become a
public relations nightmare.”
Lino Pardo is a Campus Ministry Associate (CMA) at
the Illinois Disciples Foundation (IDF). He is also a student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Activist Forum Recap
By Aaron Smith
On February 26th, 2004 the Activist Forum
Group of the Illinois Disciples Foundation hosted Joseph T. Miller in a talk about his life and experiences as
an activist, in a presentation entitled, “Born Into Cold
War, Tempered by Vietnam: An Activist Itinerary.” Joe
currently works as an academic advisor and adjunct assistant professor at the University of Illinois. He has been
involved with the IDF for many years, and currently sits
on our Board of Directors as the Board Chair. Joe also
serves as a national coordinator for Vietnam Veterans
Against the War (VVAW).
Activist Forum is a program of the IDF, organized by the staff of the IDF. It has featured many
long time activists speaking about their rich experiences
working in their communities to bring about positive
change. Past Activist Forum speakers include Urbana
City councilwoman Esther Patt; Director of the Center
for Women in Transition Kathy Sims; liberation theologist Rev. Dan Dale; progressive economist Mark Weisbrot, and Barry Romo also a national coordinator of
VVAW.
Joe Miller, as well as any speaker weʼve had,
exemplifies a life of struggle for social justice. During
his presentation he spoke in detail about some of the
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early influences he had growing up as a Catholic in McCarthy-era America, which led him to question the status quo.
Through his story-telling, Joe led us through the
events which brought him to be involved in the Vietnam
War (at one point serving as an intelligence officer in
the Gulf of Tonkin in 1964), and eventually to become
an activist against the war, both while in the service and
when out of it. His rising political involvement eventually brought him to become involved with Vietnam
Veterans Against the War in 1969, with which he is still
active today.
Joeʼs story was quite fascinating and amazing
for many of the younger people at the talk, but was
equally enthralling for many of us who have known Joe
for years. Many of the stories were new even to his fellow board members and friends. The question and answer session at the end went on for many longer than
planned, no one wanted to end the conversation! It was
another highly successful Activist Forum presentation.
Aaron Smith is the Assistant Director of the Illinois
Disciples Foundation (IDF). He has been involved in
several of the IDF programs, including the Progressive
Resource/Action Cooperative (PRC), since 1998.
The Voice
October 2004
Film Series Recap
By Aaron Smith
The Illinois Disciples Foundation hosted our second annual “Human Rights Film Series” in March and
April of 2004. Last spring the IDF sponsored the highly
successful Series with the purpose of raising awareness
about past and current violations of human rights, both
abroad and in the U.S., which in many cases, the United
States government was itself involved. The films often
explore the history of important social movements for
justice.
The Series featured five documentaries, each followed by 20-30 minutes of group discussion facilitated
by community activists. There were up to fifty people
in attendance at each film, making this yearʼs series a
resounding success!
On Thursday, March 18th, we showed “Uncovered: The Whole Truth About the Iraq War,” a controversial and arresting new film that takes you behind the
walls of government, as CIA, Pentagon, and foreign service experts speak out, many for the first time, detailing
the lies, misstatements, and exaggerations that served as
the reasons to fight a “preemptive” war that wasnʼt necessary. The film was facilitated by Joe Miller, an adjunct
assistant professor at UIUC and a national coordinator of
Vietnam Veterans Against the War, Inc.
Activist Forum speaker Joe Miller.
See previous page for article.
October 2004
On Thursday, April 1st, we showed “Incident at
Oglala: The Leonard Peltier Story,” about the violent
events that took place in 1975 on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, the extended standoff between
FBI agents and Indian activists, and the resulting, hotly
contested and politicized conviction of Leonard Peltier,
a Sioux political leader, for the deaths of two federal
agents.
On Thursday, April 8th, we showed “Zapatista,”
a film from the Big Noise Collective, documenting the
1996 journey of three young activists into the heart of
the Zapatista movement in Chiapas, making the connections between it and the global movement against economic exploitation. The film documents the Zapatista
peasant uprising for economic and social empowerment
in the weeks of the signing of NAFTA, and the refusal of
the indigenous people of southern Mexico to participate
in the economic model of global capitalism.
On Thursday, April 15th, we showed “Hidden
Wars of Desert Storm.” On August 2nd, 1990, Saddam
Hussein launched his troops against Kuwait. Were all
diplomatic means really utilized to try to resolve the issue peacefully? Was there any threat against Saudi Arabia from Iraq? What is the truth behind this mysterious
“Gulf War Syndrome?” “Hidden Wars of Desert Storm”
brings answers to these questions, backed by interviews
with General Schwarzkopf, former US Attorney General
Ramsey Clark, former UNSCOM team-leader Scott Ritter, and many others. Major Doug Rokke facilitated the
film. He is a PhD health physicist, forensic scientist, and
former U.S. military expert on the use of depleted Uranium weapons in the 1991 Iraq War.
On Thursday, April 22nd, we showed “Stolen Moments,” which attempts to detail the struggle of lesbians
to survive in a hostile world. Beginning with modern day
celebrations of pride, it moves back through time, documenting the many successes and setbacks in the struggle
for recognition of lesbian identities and rights.
Be on the lookout for information about the
Third Human Rights Film Series this spring!
Aaron Smith is the Assistant Director of the Illinois
Disciples Foundation (IDF). He has been involved in
several of the IDF programs, including the Progressive
Resource/Action Cooperative (PRC), since 1998.
The Voice
5
CGFC: Shop Local, Shop Cooperative
By Amy Clay
Last year, the Common Ground Food Co-op
(CGFC) celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary. Now, in
the thick of its third decade, our co-op faces a number of
changes as it evolves to meet the needs of its membership
and to deal with both the benefits and barriers of modernity. With each new change it undertakes, from an improved
inventory to the pitfalls of dealing with a national distributor, the staff and volunteers of the Common Ground
Food Co-op face each new challenge with ingenuity and
vision.
Over two years, ago United Natural Foods purchased Blooming Prairie Co-operative. While the transition was gradual, it was finally complete on August 1,
2004, it created a number of changes for CGFC. While we
have new inventory and ordering systems, more product
availability and more frequent service, we are also dealing
with a national corporate distributor rather than a regional
cooperative one. This change reflects a broader trend of
the demise of the cooperative distributor.
In the last decade, organic and natural foods have
come into mainstream use. We can all see this as a victory
because it means people are starting to be more conscious
of the food that they eat. However, we have to consider
who is bringing that food to the people. As organic and
natural food finds its way to the shelves of the Discount
Superstores like Wal-Mart and Meijer, we have to be aware
of how itʼs getting there. Are they bringing high quality
food at prices accessible to people? Are the production,
transportation, and sale of these foods occurring within a
socially and economically just framework? Cooperative
Grocers and Distributors allow their member-consumers
to make sure that these things are happening.
Blooming Prairie has been Common Groundʼs
main distributor ever since the early days of Co-op history. Blooming Prairie Co-operative built their business
by serving the unique needs of co-ops, buying clubs, and
other small natural food stores in the Midwest. Born in
an era when many small distributors existed all over the
country, serving small market niches, Blooming Prairie
grew to be the leading natural foods distributor in the Midwest by possessing a deep understanding of the needs of
their customers.
While Blooming Prairie flourished, other natural
foods distributors in other parts of the country did not fare
as well. Distributors around the country quietly went under or sold to the rapidly expanding United Natural Foods
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(Rainbow). In an age of national consolidation, confidence
in the smaller regional cooperative distributors started to
fade. With the recent collapse of North Farm Co-op, many
Co-ops were feeling the sting of having lost all of the time
and equity they had invested. Many did not want to see
that happen again.
Blooming Prairie made a number of unsuccessful
attempts to salvage cooperative distribution, but with little
luck. After unsuccessfully attempting to acquire a few
other distributors along the way, Blooming Prairie tried to
forge a partnership with the other large regional co-operative warehouses with the idea that they could unite to form
a single Co-op distribution network that was national in
scope. This attempt also proved unsuccessful as the major
regional cooperatives struggled with forging the specific
needs of their members with the broader aims of a national
organization.
In the end, the leadership at Blooming Prairie decided to broker a sale to United at a premium price. While
members of the Common Ground Food Co-op voted
against it, the sale went through with the support of many
of the larger cooperatives who had more equity invested in
Blooming Prairie.
The Common Ground Food Co-op has been creatively responding to this change in many ways, principally by reevaluating the pricing system at the Co-op to
ensure that we are delivering high quality at low prices,
particularly on items of necessity. Common Ground Food
Co-op has also begun to work with an employee-owned
grocery distributor, Kehe Foods out of Chicago. CGFC
will also continue to support Natural Farms, a small, independently-owned natural foods distributor in Madison,
WI that was created from the demise of North Farm Coop. Additionally, Common Ground may be working with
one of the two remaining Co-operative Distributors left in
the US. Tuscon Cooperative Warehouse is thinking about
expanding its warehouse, which currently only serves a
few neighboring states in the Southwest, to include the
Midwest. The staff at Common Ground will keep you updated on whether this opportunity becomes available.
Having witnessed the effects of corporate consolidation, from the loss of our cooperative distributor to the
loss of a number of small businesses in our community,
Common Ground Food Co-op is dedicated to supporting
local businesses and local farmers. When the Urbana Park
The Voice
CGFC article continues on next pg.
October 2004
CGFC article continued from previous pg.
District asked Common Ground to join them in hosting
“Thought for Food,” they couldnʼt resist. Board members,
staff and volunteers of the Common Ground Food Co-op
presented workshops on eating locally year-round, raising Urban Poultry (thatʼs right, chickens in your backyard!
Beat that Colonel Sanders!) and cooking with locally
grown vegetables. They also co-sponsored a farm animal
petting zoo, provided information on food issues of interest to our community and helped to prepare a meal using
only food provided by local farmers.
Buying locally is important to the folks at the
Common Ground Food Co-op. Keeping our money within
our own community means that it is continually reinvested. Supporting locally owned or cooperative businesses is
imperative not only to the futures of the businesses, but to
your own. Co-operatives and locally owned businesses are
principally accountable to the consumer: you; while major
national or international corporations are accountable to
their shareholders and to the larger forces of the market.
Common Ground will continue to support locally/regionally owned small and cooperative distributors with your
help. Take control of your options. Shop local. Shop cooperative.
Common Ground Food Co-operative
For information about membership and other
questions, please call (217) 352-3347.
Store Hours
Mon - Fri
3 - 8pm
Sat - Sun
12 - 6pm
Amy Clay is on the Common Ground Food Cooperative
(CGFC) Board. She is also a Campus Ministry Associate
(CMA) at the Illinois Disciples Foundation and a student
at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Molly
Stentz, Ordering Coordinator at CGFC, was a source of
information for this article.
Uprising Today
By Jen Tayabji
This summer, the IDF program Uprisings held
another series of classes entitled “Uprising Today.” Reverend Jim Holiman, the Campus Minister Emeritus at
IDF, led the classes. Holiman was the Executive Director
and Campus Minister of IDF from 1963 until 2000.
Uprisings introduces and traces significant historical strands in the legacy of Christian left-wing social
justice ministry, and provides a format for community reflection on the praxis of social justice ministry: discernment and resistance. Moreover, Uprisings wants to nurture and incite the spirituality of social justice in the IDF
community. Uprisings can teach us about this progressive
tradition of Christianity so that we can learn from it for
the social justice work we are doing today. Uprisings is a
study group that is critical of mainstream Christianity and
holds it accountable for the injustices perpetrated in its
name. Critically analyzing Christianity will give us tools
to be critical of other societal institutions that create and
perpetuate injustice.
This summerʼs series focused on the story of the
praxis of people of faith and conscience for peace with
justice, sharing concerns and expectations. The sessions
focused on the legacy of progressive Christianity and how
October 2004
activists can model current and future social movements
on these historical models.
About twenty student and community members
came to “Against The Stream: Orientation to Uprising Today,” which was the kick-off for the series. At this orientation, participants shared their current social concerns in
order to give the rest of the series current issues to address
within the progressive theological perspective.
Participants read James Carrollʼs “Constantineʼs
Sword: The Church and the Jews.” They also studied theologians such as Dietrich Bonhoeffer. At the last session,
participants viewed the documentary “Bonhoeffer” by
Martin Doblmeier. Bonhoeffer was a German theologian
who publicly challenged and resisted the Third Reich.
This summerʼs “Uprising Today” was truly a success in giving participants the tools and understanding to
critically analyze mainstream Christianity and other institutions that perpetuate injustice in their name. Thank
you to Rev. Holiman for leading the series and to all those
who participated!
Jen Tayabji is the Executive Director of the Illinois
Disciples Foundation (IDF).
The Voice
7
An Open Letter to President Bush
and Senator Kerry
By Ray Parrish
As a draft, military and veterans counselor since
1976, Iʼm disappointed with both Pres. Bushʼs defense of
his military record and Sen. Kerry for his attack on it.
Maybe thatʼs because I can just imagine a nervous, teenage George Bush sitting knee-to-knee with his
draft counselor trying to figure out how to avoid being
sent to Vietnam. It starts with an angry young man decrying the injustice of the draft, the War, the way his father
treats him, and his life in general. The process continues
with trained professionals assuring the tearful youth that
his fear of dying is just as natural as his revulsion at the
thought of killing another human being. Then there were
the tedious hours spent reading the Selective Service
and Military Manuals and discovering the way into the
National Guard and rehearsing the emotional phone call
to dad. It ends with celebratory hugs and brother-handshakes all around.
Personally, I congratulate the young Lt. Bush
for reading the regulations and figuring out that he could
take the rest of the year off once he got in his flight time.
With his clout, it didnʼt matter if he performed his Reserve duty. They wouldnʼt dare punish him. Sure, we can
be jealous that his “job” was flying through the clouds
with no one shooting at him, but most of us wouldnʼt be
able to do that in the first place and he could have found
himself in combat if history had been different. I applaud
his commanders for interpreting the regulations to favor
this young GI, giving this Congressmanʼs son a break,
not court-martialing him for missing a few appointments,
and giving him an early-out for college. Maybe it became
obvious that keeping him around would be a waste of
taxpayersʼ money and might be risky for the commanderʼs own career. But, itʼs a great war story, George, and I
can just imagine you telling it when you, Cheney, and the
other draft dodgers sit around drinking.
Brother George, now that youʼre sending to war
the children of those who served in your place and survived the war that you avoided, you should point out the
differences between the two conflicts. After all, Vietnam
was a land war in Asia, and youʼre old enough to remember that former General and President Eisenhower warned
us away from such follies after he ended the war in Korea. And, unlike Iraq, the Vietnam War was started with a
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US Military/CIA hoax in the Gulf of Tonkin. You might
not want to remind people that much of the evidence of
this era was destroyed or discredited by the post-Nixon
CIA director, your father, the other President Bush.
And shame on you, John Kerry. Although you
gave in to advisors for only a couple of days and your
criticism was right on the mark, you should have given
Brother George a smile, a thumbs up, and congratulated
him on his successful strategy to avoid service in Vietnam.
Just because you refused to use your familyʼs influence
to get into the Reserves and you accepted the US Navyʼs
invitation for an all-expense-paid trip to sunny Southeast
Asia, you shouldnʼt blame those of us, like George, who
were lucky enough to have missed that hell.
Brother John, it was you that got me interested
in Vietnam Veterans Against the War, VVAW, in the first
place. I was still on active duty and agonizing about how
disappointed my Vietnam veteran father would be if I deserted. Growing up around Vietnam vets, I had already
decided that I couldnʼt lead men in this war, so I passed
up a USAF Academy appointment. It was the sight of you
proudly testifying before Congress with your wild hair
and uniform shirt with a VVAW button that convinced
me to stay in long enough to get an honorable discharge
and a good conduct ribbon. Because of you, I got on the
plane to the Mid-East for my first duty assignment. More
than that, I was able to be welcomed home as a fellow
veteran with my head held as high as Brother Georgeʼs.
So, Brothers George and John, have a joint press
conference affirming the right of American soldiers to
refuse to fight in any war that their conscience finds objectionable. In return, the newly revived VVAW Military
Counseling Service will set aside 1/10 of 1% of the money we raise in a George & John fund for draft counseling
at Ivy League schools--if that ever becomes necessary
again. Of course, if you both do that, I might not be able
to decide which of you to vote for in November.
Ray Parrish was a Sgt. in the USAF from 1972-1975. He
is currently the Military Counselor for Vietnam Veterans
Against the War (VVAW). He will be speaking at IDF on
Oct. 19, 2004 at 7pm in a free talk entitled “Leave No Vet
Behind.”
The Voice
October 2004
Local Grassroots Organizing
on Medical Debt
By Bill Mueller
In early 1997, a small group of consumers and
volunteers for Champaign County Health Care Consumers (CCHCC) began meeting to discuss concerns about
the billing practices of the larger health care providers
in Champaign County. Dubbing themselves the Medical
Billing Task Force, they began researching the subject of
medical billing and collection, what laws and regulations
apply to it, and how it affects patients.
“What we first found was almost a total vacuum,” said Claudia Lennhoff, CCHCCʼs Executive Director. “No laws or regulations directly applied to medical
billing and collection, nor could we find any other groups
in the country who were working on the problem.”
Seven years later, “medical debt” and “hospital
billing and collection” have become a national issue.
CCHCC has received wide recognition for its early work
and for emerging as a leader in shaping the issue as it
has expanded to larger venues. Articles on CCHCCʼs
work have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Modern Healthcare, and Health Leaders Magazine,
among other publications.
Lennhoff believes that the attention the issue is
getting is justified by the fact that it gets to the heart of
what is wrong with the health care system. “More and
more people cannot afford health care, whether they
have insurance or not. More and more families experience financial difficulties and even bankruptcy due to
overwhelming medical debt. And who knows how many
more delay or forego needed care because of the expense,
ruining their health in the process?
“The problem is not simply about covering the
uninsured. Many of the people driven into bankruptcy
because of health care providersʼ billing and collection
processes do have health insurance, but they find out
– once they need serious health care – that the insurance
isnʼt enough. Moreover, the systemic practice of charging the uninsured the highest prices cannot be justified by
any stretch of the imagination.”
As interest in the issue has grown, CCHCC has
worked with a variety of local, state, and national organizations, including Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance
Foundation, statewide labor organizations, and Bostonbased The Access Project (TAP). Research into medical
October 2004
debtʼs impact on consumers led to CCHCC, two other
communities, and TAP releasing the national report, The
Consequences of Medical Debt: Evidence From Three
Communities, in April 2003. CCHCC staff and volunteers have testified at hearings of the Illinois legislature
about hospital billing and collection practices, as well as
communicating with the office of the Illinois Attorney
General about discriminatory pricing questions.
“Hospitalsʼ charitable, non-profit, tax-exempt
status comes with obligations to the community,” said
CCHCC organizer Brooke Anderson. “Charitable status
is not just a way for hospitals to have tax savings and say
they are benefiting the community by providing a valuable service. Charitable status is a social, legal, and financial contract with the community.”
CCHCCʼs work has also had various forms of
indirect – but very concrete – impact on health care providers at all levels. In February 2004, Champaign County
officials – drawing from research and principles first put
together by CCHCC – denied Provena Covenant Medical
Center its property tax exemption for the years 2002 and
2003. That decision was upheld by the Illinois Department of Revenue. Provena is appealing the decision but
has already paid $1.2 million in property taxes for each
of those years, and it is facing similar reviews for the
coming years. Carle Foundation Hospital is also under
scrutiny by local officials and may well face a similar
decision in the coming months.
The tax decision on Provena has shaken the hospital industry across the nation. Jim Unland, editor of
The Journal of Health Care Finance, has noted that the
issue has significant investment banking and capital access implications for all non-profit hospitals. Investors in
bond issues and other funding mechanisms for non-profit
hospitals will be leery of putting money into hospitals
or hospital systems that are on shaky ground in terms of
their tax status and relationship with their home communities.
Another blow to the hospital industry came
in June 2004, when attorneys coordinated by Richard
Scruggs (the attorney who successfully sued the tobacco
industry) began filing class action lawsuits on hospitals
The Voice
Medical debt article continues on pg. 11
9
GEO Wins Contract Amid
University Problems with Payroll
By Bryan Nicholson
rest. Those who remained continued to follow the negotiations between the GEO and the University. A remarkable thing happened around mid-June; our bargaining
team announced that a final agreement could be reached
by August. The University had compromised on a number of key points, including a grievance clause with thirdparty arbitration. The GEO scaled back its more ambitious goals, such as subsidized childcare and less costly
insurance premiums for dependents.
But even as both sides reached agreement on
most topics, a tough battle continued over the package
of wages and health care fees. The GEO won a 3% costof-living increase for each of the three years of the contract as well as reductions to the cost of medical care. Just
as significant, grads covered by the contract would also
have the protection of a strong non-discrimination clause,
which the University acceded to only after strong protest
from grads and community allies. But most importantly,
all of these new rights and benefits are now enforceable
under state law.
To ensure that the agreement went into effect for
the first day of work in mid-August, the GEO held a contract ratification vote from July 19 to August 2. The outcome of the referendum was a resounding confirmation
from the membership that the agreement was a good starting point. Again, the assistance of local
activists and progressives was essential
for tasks such as the ballot count.
But our victories were also
mixed with setbacks. Too many of our
graduate colleagues returned to the
classroom to find that the Universityʼs
payroll software, BANNER, contained
serious flaws. Among the most distressing was the failure to grant tuition waivers to hundreds of employees, resulting
in delayed financial aid refunds and late
charges. In many cases, GEO members
reported that they were temporarily unable to pay basic bills such as rent and
childcare. Adding insult to injury, the
Administration decreed that it would
Senator Barack Obama congratulates members of GEO on their contract
GEO article continues on next pg.
The last three months have been an exciting time
for the members of the Graduate Employeesʼ Organization (GEO) and our many community supporters. Last
May, there appeared no end in sight to the talks over our
first labor contract with the University of Illinois. Many in
the GEO believed that a strike showdown, similar to the
one that won us recognition in 2002, would be necessary
to break through the administrationʼs intransigence.
Writing now in the first week of October, so much
has changed! The GEO finished negotiations and ratified
a labor agreement in time for Labor Day. Grad employees
secured a well-deserved pay increase and a reduction in
our medical fees. The Union also has won a series of grievances, simultaneously enforcing the terms of the contract
and winning back pay for some employees. And our membership numbers have been growing faster than in recent
memory. However, many employees are still struggling
with the problems stemming from the Universityʼs faulty
payroll software. Plus, the University has still not delivered on its promise to collect dues from our constituents.
So, many in the C-U community may be asking:
How did we get to this point? And where do we go from
here?
The story starts in early summer, after many grads
had left the area for research, employment, or simply to
10
The Voice
October 2004
GEO article continued from previous pg.
not assess union dues from grad paychecks until an unspecified date in the future. This was a clear violation of the new
contract, and the Unionʼs response was two-fold. First, we filed a first Unfair Labor Practice complaint and second,
over a hundred grad employees picketed on Sept. 2nd to demand that the University fix the payroll problems.
Where does the GEO stand now? Our recent tactics seem to have paid off, since the University has returned
to the table to work with the GEO to fully implement the terms of the contract. Our stewards and volunteer organizers
are working at the ground level to educate their colleagues about the new agreement and to verify compliance by the
academic departments. And at the Union office, we continue to strengthen our alliances with other progressive organizations in the community and to find new friends who are also committed to social justice.
Bryan Nicholson is the Communications Officer for the Graduate Employeesʼ Organization (GEO). He is a Ph.D. student in History at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is also a Teaching Assistant (T.A.). at UIUC.
Medical debt article continued from pg. 9
around the U.S. for discriminatory pricing against uninsured patients. Lennhoff described the suits as “a wake-up call”
for the hospital industry. “Hospitals have known about these problems for several years,” she said, “and many consumer organizations have tried to work with hospitals to help them address the problems in a collaborative community
process. But, letʼs face it: Many hospitals have not been interested in collaborations with consumer groups or their own
communities, even when that would be in their own best interest.”
Locally, the Medical Billing Task Force – now the Community Coalition on Medical Debt – is currently working with local nonprofits Provena Covenant Medical Center and Carle Foundation Hospital to revamp their charity
care and patient finance policies and practices. Both hospitals have stopped the practice of “body attachments,” which
resulted in the arrest and jailing of people who could not pay their hospital bills. Both hospitals are expanding and advertising their charity care programs. And, both hospitals are instituting protocol that should vastly reduce the number
of patients who are overwhelmed by debt when they should be getting discounts or free care.
“Those are all great victories for the Coalition and for the community,” said Coalition member Carmen Reid.
“Of course, there are many more changes that need to be made, and we can expect resistance from the hospitals to some
of them. But in some ways, the fact of regular ongoing meetings between consumers and the hospitals is the most important development of all.
“Our work in Champaign County has been key in moving this issue to the state and national level, and weʼre
proud of having shaped the national dialogue on health care. That said, two things have to happen and then continue to
happen: first, in policy decisions at all levels – the voices and priorities of consumers and communities must be at the
table and be a privileged point of view; and, second, we have to have sustained work at the grassroots level – through
honest and open community process and mutual accountability. In its essence, health care is a community endeavor, and
only that grounding and perspective will bring us and keep for us a workable health care system.”
Bill Mueller is a community organizer with the Champaign County Health Care Consumers (CCHCC). He is also a
member of the IDF Board of Directors.
The IDF Thanks Its Donors
The IDF could not struggle for peace with justice in our community and in our world without the
support of our donors. We would like to take this opportunity to thank the individual donors who have
contributed since the last issue of “The Voice.”
Sally Anderson, Mark Armantrout, James Barrett, William and Barbara Deutsch, Sanjay and Janna
Garla, Christina Gee, Andrew and Pauline Granato, David Green, Leon Harter, Kurt Hilgendorf, Jim and
Deloris Holiman, Pamela and George Johnson, Claudia Lennhoff, Jeff Machota, Lynnea Magnuson, Cindy
McDonnell, Joe Miller, Zachary Miller, Meg Miner, Brian and Cheryl Mitchell, Bill Mueller, Martin and
Maggy Nieto, Katheryn Oberdeck, Rev. Deborah Owen and Kevin Frings, Peggy Patton and Todd Kinney,
John Prussing, Julian Rappaport, Anne Robin, Barry Rowe, Marya Ryan, Harvey and Sybel Thomas, Doug
Thompson, Barbara Trist and Ellen Baranowski, Paul Wienke, and David Kent Yates.
October 2004
The Voice
11
Familias Latinas por una Educación
Digna y de Excelente Calidad (FLEDEC):
Moving Forward!
By Guadalupe Garcia and Mariolga Reyes Cruz
Translated by Martin Nieto
Many in Champaign-Urbana have begun to recognize the dramatic increase in the Latino population
within the last 5 to 10 years. The great majority of the
new immigrants come from Mexico, speak primarily
Spanish, and work long hours for relatively low wages.
Many of them have children attending the local public
schools. These children must work extremely hard to
learn a new language and figure out how to function
in a new culture. Even though many of the parents see
that their children have invaluable opportunities now by
virtue of living in the United States, they are beginning
to recognize that those opportunities are not necessarily
automatic. These parents have to assert their childrenʼs
rights and fight to ensure that they have access to the opportunities available.
FLEDEC: History of a Common Struggle
In the spring of 2003 a group of Latino parents
with children in the Champaign public schools, in talking with each other, found that not only did they share
similar hopes and aspirations for their children, but they
also share similar concerns and experiences in dealing
with the schools. Among many experiences in common,
parents found that they all had problems with transportation, minimal information in Spanish and/or school
personnel with whom they could communicate, limited
support for newly arriving Latino students who did not
fit into existing programs or classes, and lack of academic achievement of the majority of Latino students in
the district. These were just a few of the problems that
parents shared with each other.
The recognition of their shared concerns became
gradually apparent for those parents participating in the
meetings of the Parent Advisory Committee organized
(for the first time) by the Champaign Community Unit 4
District in the spring semester of 2003. Attending these
meetings was a significant group of parents with children
at elementary, middle school, and high school levels,
12
teachers and administrative personnel, as well as members of the community interested in existing educational
programs for Latino students who are English Learners.
During these meetings parents had the opportunity to obtain more information about the programs, express their
concerns regarding the quality of those programs, and
assess the economic realities of the programs. However,
many participating parents came out of those meetings
frustrated. In spite of the fact that, during the meetings,
they had extensive discussions about one particular program structure identified as the one most likely to bring
about the desired academic goals, the district unilaterally decided they were not prepared to implement such
a program. It was then that a group of parents decided
that they had to work together to bring about the changes
needed to improve the educational opportunities for their
children.
Guadalupe Garcia, one of the founding members of Familias Latinas por una Educación Digna y de
Excelente Calidad (FLEDEC), explains that the group
consists of parents and other members of the community interested in active support, collaboration, and dialogue among parents, teachers, school administrators,
and the community in general in the effort to evaluate
and improve the education that Latino students receive
in regular classrooms, as well as in bilingual and ESL
classrooms. The families of FLEDEC recognize that
even though the number of bilingual parents involved
in schools is increasing, as are the number of bilingual
teachers and other professionals, parents who do not
speak English can and must make their voices heard. It
is these parents and their children who are in the position
to report on how the bilingual/ESL programs are being
experienced by the people those programs are supposed
to serve.
This group of families has collaborated with
other members of the community to gain access to information about the educational programs currently beFLEDEC article continues on next pg.
The Voice
October 2004
FLEDEC article continued from previous pg.
ing offered, what type of programs better advance the
educational achievement of children, how the school district functions in general, and how parents can use their
power to push for needed changes. The working meetings of FLEDEC are attended by parents with children
in different schools who share their experiences about
what is going well at schools and develop strategies
to deal with things that need improvement. In addition
to parents who attend meetings, members of FLEDEC
maintain communication with many families who, for
a variety of reasons, cannot attend meetings but are interested in contributing to school improvement. In this
way, the families of FLEDEC not only speak about and
are informed by their own experiences as parents who
are active participants, but also speak about the experiences of other Latino families with children who are
English learners. The group has also met with teachers,
principals, school administrators, professors, university
students, and other members of community with something to contribute to educational improvement.
Goals and Achievements
The general goal of FLEDEC is to work with
members of the community to make the schools a place
where Latino students are able to develop their academic
and social capabilities. Members of FLEDEC want their
children to learn to speak, read, and write in English and
Spanish, but also want them to develop their academic
skills in math, sciences, the arts, and to participate in the
full range of extracurricular activities so they can learn to
relate to students of different cultural backgrounds with
respect, dignity, and joy. A well-rounded education will
give Latino students the preparation necessary to face
their future with more positive expectations. FLEDEC
recognizes that this work belongs to all. Schools need the
support and collaboration of families and other members
of the community to contribute resources, ideas, and energy. For this to happen, schools need to open their doors
to families not only during teacher-parent conferences,
but also on a day-to-day basis and particularly when decisions are being made that affect their children. Because
the responsibility belongs to all in the community, all
parents must have access to participate meaningfully in
the educational process of their children.
Signs of Progress
During the short time that the families in
October 2004
FLEDEC have been working together, the group has
made significant progress in changing the conditions that
Latino students face in Champaign schools. Some of the
significant accomplishments are:
• FLEDEC has identified the program of dual language
immersion (English/Spanish) as the program that has
been demonstrated to improve academic achievement
and provide the context for children to learn to function
in a multicultural environment.
• FLEDEC has successfully convinced the district level
administration to begin addressing the educational needs
of students who are English learners.
• In collaboration with school administration, members
of FLEDEC have been instrumental in creating new positions to be filled with bilingual personnel such as the
director of bilingual and migrant education, and in filling more teaching and support positions with bilingual
candidates.
• FLEDEC has demonstrated to the administration the
need to maintain open communication with Latino families to ensure that children are receiving adequate support to improve their academic achievement.
• FLEDECʼs involvement has convinced school administrators that they should be implementing the programs
that have been demonstrated to be effective in educating
children learning English (not simply those that teachers
endorse or with which they are comfortable.)
In the time that FLEDEC has been active, members have had to ask difficult questions and highlight
troublesome issues. Some people whose school experiences differed from those of the parent group have interpreted negatively the issues raised and the actions taken
by FLEDEC. The parents of FLEDEC remain convinced
that, in the long run, all will benefit when schools are
willing to work in partnership with all segments of the
community. Thus, these parents remain positively disposed to collaborate with all segments of the community
to achieve specific results that directly benefit students
in bilingual programs and the families who do not speak
English. FLEDEC meets monthly at the Illinois DisciGuadalupe Garcia is one of the founding members of
the FLEDEC. Mariolga Reyes Cruz is a graduate student in Clinical/Community psychology who volunteers
at schools and has been working with Latino parents in
dealing with school issues for many years. Martin Nieto
is a member of Board of Directors of the Illinois Disciples Foundation and a member of FLEDEC.
The Voice
13
PRC article continued from cover
Frances Carroll on the conditions under which they would
leave the building. Those conditions, although they did not
include the elimination of “Chief Illiniwek,” did include
monumental victories for the anti-“Chief” movement! We
got the anti-”Chief” resolution was put back on the agenda
for the Trusteesʼ June 2004 meeting, and sit-in participants
left the building to meet cheering crowds and national and
international media attention in our favor.
Despite repeated attempts to establish contact,
Chairman Eppley never once bothered to speak with representatives about the conditions under which participants
would agree to leave the building. Clearly, Eppley would
rather see the campus in crisis than speak even once.
Given the Boardʼs refusal to communicate, knowing that they would eventually take action to clear the building, and not wanting our participants to face arrest at the
hands of an unresponsive Board, the decision was made
to negotiate with Chancellor Cantor about the terms under
which participants would leave the building.
As a result of outstanding and inspiring work on
the part of African American and Latino/a students on the
inside of the sit-in, who called their representatives and senators in the Illinois General Assembly, they were able to win
meetings with the entire Black and Latino/a Caucuses of
the Illinois General Assembly. Cantor also guaranteed selfselected student representation at upcoming meetings with
the North Central Association, the accreditation agency of
UIUC, and assured sit-in participants that no disciplinary
action would be taken against them. In addition, a verbal
agreement was made with Trustee Carroll whereby she
agreed to place a resolution against “Chief Illiniwek” on the
agenda of the Boardʼs June meeting in Chicago. Under these
terms, sit-in participants agreed to leave the building. The
announcement of the agreement and the end of the sit-in
was made at a joint press conference with Chancellor Cantor and with a signed statement declaring the victories.
Building from the momentum of the sit-in, the PRC
allied with other anti-“Chief” organizations, including I-Resist, to intensify pressure on the Board of Trustees during
the early summer. That pressure came to a head at the June
11th Board Meeting in Chicago.
“Consensus Conclusion”
Dozens of activists traveled to Chicago to join
members of the Chicago Native American community in
solidarity against the “Chief.” The protest, organized by the
Native American Educational Services College, was in response to a resolution drafted by Trustees Carroll and Sodemann which called for a “consensus conclusion” to resolve
the matter of “Chief Illiniwek.” This resolution offered no
timeline for the conclusion and attempted to slow the momentum of the anti-chief movement.
When Trustees Carroll and Sodemann introduced
their “consensus conclusion” resolution, anti-”Chief” activists drowned them out with chanting. The Trustees could
barely finish reading their resolution, as protestors raised
fists and banners in the air. As the Board voted in support
of the resolution, protestors drowned out the roll call vote,
chanting, “Your stinking resolution is no type of solution.”
Only UIUC Student Trustee Nate Allen voted against the
resolution.
The resolution that passed is nothing but an ode to
“Chief Illiniwek,” and an attempt to silence Native peoples
and their allies. Initiating another dialogue also flies in direct contradiction to the Plummer Report, the result of an
earlier dialogue that cost Illinois taxpayers over $500,000.
Plummer concluded that there are only two options regard-
Have you seen the pro-“Chief” bumper stickers on vehicles around town?
They say, “The Chief: YESTERDAY, TODAY, FOREVER” -a disturbing reference to racist Governor George Wallaceʼs famous quote,
“Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever”.
Do you wish you had an anti-”Chief” bumper sticker to let people know that not
everyone in this community supports racism and the “Chief”? Well, now you can!
Only $1 each
Size: 3.75 x 7.5 in, Color: blue and white
Send check or money order to:
PRC
610 E. Springfield Ave., Champaign, IL 61820
Minimum $5 order by mail.
Or pick them up in the IDF office (M-F 12-5pm)
14
The Voice
October 2004
ing the “Chief”: retain it or retire it. Plummer writes, “It is
abundantly clear that there is no ʻcompromiseʼ available.”
The passage of this resolution has only strengthened the
anti-”Chief” movementʼs resolve and inspired more people
to get involved in fighting racism at the University of Illinois.
The NCA Report
The anti-“Chief” movement celebrated a major victory just as students returned to classes for the fall semester. The Higher Learning Commission of the North Central
Association (NCA) addressed the controversy of “Chief Illiniwek” in a report regarding their April 2004 Focus Visit.
Although the commission did not directly challenge the accreditation of the University, they underlined the damaging
consequences of the “Chief” and also cited the Boardʼs failure to resolve the issue. The Evaluation Team wrote, “The
Chief issue and surrounding controversy have an influence
that is harmful to educational effectiveness in a variety of
areas, especially leadership, governance, educational integrity, and campus climate.” The report also chastised the
Board for their handling of the controversy: “In the absence
of decisive action, the Board is, in effect, saying that it prefers to face the consequences of eroding damage to the effectiveness, governance, and reputation of the institution
than the consequences of retiring the Chief.”
Fall Semester 2004
Despite the NCA recommendations, the Board continued their tradition of stalling any resolution to the matter.
At their September meeting on the Springfield campus, they
passed a resolution, as part of the “Consensus Conclusion”
process, to “preserve and recognize the stateʼs American Indian Heritage.” This resolution takes no action to eliminate
the “Chief.” It does, however, incorporate familiar pro“Chief” rhetoric once again into public policy. The Board
states in the resolution that “the campus possesses rich
collections of research materials and art works related to
American Indian culture and traditions that attract scholars
and students at all levels.”
This claim clearly contradicts the findings of the
NCA report, which states “the institution will find it increasingly difficult to attract outstanding Native American and
other minority administrators, faculty, and students, and the
most highly-qualified individuals for leadership positions.”
Anti-“Chief” supporters attended the Board meeting in silent protest of the passage of the resolution. President of the University, James Stukel, who authored the
resolution, focused on the semantic shift his policy offered.
As he introduced the resolution he explained the difference
between honoring Native Americans and celebrating Native
culture. Although weʼre glad to see that he is expanding his
vocabulary, the unfortunate fact is that the “Chief” continues to divide our campus and promote miseducation about
Native cultures.
In spite of the actions of the Board, opposition
to the racist legacy of the University moves forward. The
PRCʼs annual Anti-Columbus Day Rally successfully addressed the broader issue of imperialism and its effects, including racism, attacks on civil liberties, and the war in Iraq.
Now the PRC is organizing for the November BOT meeting
here at UIUC. We must voice our disapproval of the racist “chief” and demand that the board act immediately and
eliminate the “Chief” in name, dance, and logo.
Mike Bordieri is a co-coordinator of the PRC. He is also a
CMA at the IDF and a student at the U. of I. Jen Tayabji is the
Director of the IDF. She has been involved with the PRC and
the Womenʼs Direct Action Collective since 1999.
IDF T-shirts
back
(IDF logo on
front)
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front)
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Send form with check or money order to:
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October 2004
The Voice
15
Illinois Disciples Foundation
610 East Springfield Avenue
Champaign, IL 61820-1601
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tickets on sale now at the idf office and at the door
tickets cost $8-15 on a sliding scale
In addition to the dinner and the keynote speaker, there
will be a raffle. Raffle tickets are $1 each and prizes are
donated from local businesses and organizations.
Bill Davis is a national coordinator of Vietnam
Veterans Against the War (VVAW), an organization
started in 1967, dedicated to fight for peace, justice,
and the rights of all veterans. He is also the president
of the Auto Mechanics union Local 701.
“Veterans Fighting
in the Workplace
and in Iraq”
Bill Davis
featuring keynote speaker
doors open at 5:30pm
wisegarver lounge at idf
saturday. november 6
a peace with justice campus ministry
illinois disciples foundation
join the
idf annual fall dinner