LAKEVIEW — State lawmakers can't seem to come up with a budget, so a North Side activist group did it themselves.
Hundreds of community activists will gather at Lake View High School Sunday to urge state lawmakers to "put people ahead of corporate profits" and pass a budget that funds education and affordable housing instead of tax breaks for the super rich, according to ONE Northside.
Illinois Senate President John Cullerton, State Sen. Heather Steans and U.S. Reps. Danny Davis (D-7th) and Jan Schakowsky (D-9th) will attend Sunday's event, where activists say they'll discuss ways the state could save $2.5 billion while preserving essential programs for those in need, according to a press release.
At 2:30 p.m. Sunday, the rally will begin at Lake View High School, 4015 N. Ashland Ave.
"Chicago communities have been shortchanged by laws that benefit big corporations and the wealthy at the expense of everyone else on issues like housing, education, mental health, tax policy and criminal justice," the group said. "With two-thirds of corporations in our state paying no Illinois corporate income tax, community leaders are joining together to say that Illinois simply cannot afford to continue on a path that is leaving the majority behind and driving our state further into debt."
ONE Northside "is a mixed-income, multi-ethnic, intergenerational organization that unites diverse Northside communities" such as Rogers Park, Edgewater, Uptown, Ravenswood, North Center, Lakeview, and Lincoln Park by developing grassroots leaders "to build collective power to eliminate injustice in our community," the release said.
In February, ONE Northside, 4648 N. Racine Ave., was awarded the Woods Fund Chicago Power Community Award at the 22nd Annual Chicago Neighborhood Development Awards, for their Chicago for All Campaign. The award recognizes "the value of community organizing, community engagement, and advocacy as important and effective ways to transform neighborhoods or empower communities that have experienced significant social or economic inequities."
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