“We want to work!” Press Conference Scheduled in Chicago
“We want to work!” Press Conference Scheduled in Chicago (Chicago, IL) – In a press release received by The Southland Journal, US Congressman Bobby Rush’s team outlined a plan that could bring thousands of jobs to the Chicagoland area that has been stalled for years. The release, in part, is below:
WHO:
Congressman Bobby Rush, Illinois 1st District ; Rev. Frank Walton, Chairman, Union of the Unemployed; Emma Lozano, Director, Centro Sin Fronteras; Dr. Cornel Darden Jr., Southland Black Chamber of Commerce & Industry President/CEO; & other supporters.
WHAT:
Asking the Governor to enable 10,000+ jobs.
WHEN:
Sunday, March 7, 2021, 1:00 PM
WHERE:
Parkway Ballroom
4455 S. King Dr. Chicago, IL
WITH THOUSANDS OF JOBS ON THE LINE AND THE CHANCE TO STRENGTHEN ILLINOIS AS THE TRANSPORTATION CENTER OF THE COUNTRY, WE DEMAND ACTION ON THE $2 BILLION COMPASS GLOBAL LOGISTICS HUB THAT HAS BEEN HELD UP FOR YEARS FOR NO RATIONAL REASON. TO BRING AN END TO THE UNEXPLAINED STALLING, THE UNION OF THE UNEMPLOYED AND OTHER SUPPORTERS OF ECONOMIC EQUITY IN ILLINOIS ANNOUNCE PLANS TO BE HEARD AT THE STATE OF ILLINOS
IN ADDITION TO THE UNION OF THE UNEMPLOYED AND CONGRESSMAN BOBBY RUSH, THE COMPASS GLOBAL LOGISTICS HUB PROJECT IS SUPPORTED BY SENATORS DICK DURBIN AND TAMMY DUCKWORTH, THE EDITORIAL BOARD OF THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE AND MANY OTHERS. SAYS RUSH,
“I am absolutely, firmly and totally committed to this NorthPoint job creation opportunity. There is no way under Heaven’s earth that I will passively sit by and watch 10,000 sorely needed jobs in my district evaporate into thin air. We will fight until the finish about this!”
TO BRING AN END TO THE UNEXPLAINED STALLING, THE UNION OF THE UNEMPLOYED AND OTHER SUPPORTERS OF ECONOMIC EQUITY IN ILLINOIS ANNOUNCE PLANS TO BE HEARD AT THE STATE OF ILLINOIS BUILDING IN CHICAGO WEEKLY FOR WE WANT TO WORK WEDNESDAYS.
THE ECONOMIC BOON THAT WOULD RESULT FROM THE COMPASS PROJECT GOES BEYOND THE ESTIMATED 10,000 TO 20,000 FULL-TIME, GOOD-PAYING JOBS IN THE CHICAGO REGION’S SOUTH AND SOUTHWEST SUBURBS. IT IS A QUALITY OF LIFE ISSUE FOR THE MAJORITY BLACK AND BROWN COMMUNITIES SUFFERING THE EXISTING TRUCK TRAFFIC ON LOCAL ROADS AROUND I-80, I-55 AND HIGHWAY 53. IT IS AN ENVIRONMENTALLY SOUND SOLUTION AND A NECESSARY MODERNIZATION FOR THE FUTURE OF OUR STATE’S ABILITY TO MEET THE NATION’S INCREASINGLY LUCRATIVE TRANSPORTATION NEEDS – WE HAVE THE LARGEST INLAND PORT IN NORTH AMERICA AND MUST COMBINE OUR NATURAL ADVANTAGE WITH SMART DEVELOPMENT THAT ENSURES EFFICIENCY, EQUITY AND INCLUSIVENESS IN A ROBUST ECONOMIC RECOVERY FOR THE ENTIRE STATE.
SIMPLY BY BUILDING A BRIDGE OVER ROUTE 53 ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF THE VILLAGE OF ELWOOD, BYPASSING LOCAL ROADS AND CONNECTING THE PROPOSED COMPASS WAREHOUSE SITE TO TWO INTER-MODAL TERMINALS, THE PROJECT CAN REDUCE TRUCK TRAFFIC IN WILL COUNTY BY 9.4 MILLION MILES A YEAR. ENVIRONMENTALLY, THESE SAVINGS LEAD TO A REDUCTION OF Co2 EMISSIONS BY APPROXIMATELY 16,000 METRIC TONS PER YEAR.
NORTHPOINT DEVELOPMENT WILL PAY FOR THE $20 MILLION DOLLAR BRIDGE CRUICIAL TO COMPASS GLOBAL LOGISTICS HUB TO BE BUILT IN JOLIET, APPROVED BY THE JOLIET CITY COUNCIL IN DECEMBER OF 2020. TO MOVE FORWARD, WE ASK THAT GOVERNOR J.B. PRITZKER’S ADMINISTRATION AGREE TO TRANSFER JURISDICTION OF A 1.5 MILE STRETCH OF ROAD FROM THE VILLAGE OF ELWOOD TO THE ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION. THE GOOD PEOPLE OF ELWOOD HAVE BEEN MISLED BY OPPONENTS CLAIMING THIS IMPROVEMENT WILL INCREASE THE TRUCK TRAFFIC THROUGH THEIR VILLAGE – WHEN EVERY INDEPENDENT AND STATE REQUIRED ANALYSIS CONCLUDES JUST THE OPPOSITE. NOT ONLY WOULD THE VILLAGE OF ELWOOD RECEIVE DIRECT NEW TAX REVENUE OF $2.3 MILLION A YEAR AND PERMIT FEES OF $2.4 MILLION, THE PROJECT REDRESSES EXISTING TRAFFIC ISSUES THAT ARE ACTUALLY THE RESULT OF HAPHAZARD DEVELOPMENT ALLOWED IN THE PAST AND INCLUDES AN OVERALL FACE-LIFT ADDING MILES OF WALKING/ JOGGING/ BIKING PATHS AND PARK LANDSCAPING.
THE DEVELOPERS OF THIS PROJECT ARE NOT ASKING FOR ANY STATE MONEY, TAX BREAKS OR OTHER INCENTIVES SO OFTEN DEMANDED BY THOSE WANTING TO BUILD IN ILLINOIS – SO WE ARE ASKING FOR THE STATE TO ACT NOT ON BEHALF OF A PRIVATE CORPORATION, BUT FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE PEOPLE OF ILLINOIS AND ESPECIALLY THOSE THAT HAVE BEEN HISTORICALLY EXCLUDED FROM THE OPPORTUNITY FOR VIABLE, SUSTAINABLE JOBS ENABLING THE UPWARD MOBIITY OF THEIR FAMILIES AND FUTURES.
“The Black and Brown communities across this country have been experiencing all types of pandemics for years. Pandemics born & spread through racism – with little if any acknowledgement until the glaring light of a deadly virus met the horrific viral video of the 8 minutes and 46 seconds that George Floyd pleaded for breathe while a person sworn to serve and protect nonchalantly kneeled on his neck, squeezing the life from his body. The pandemic that has existed and persisted long before COVID19 is now clear to all of humanity: race-based institutionalized injustice, unemployment, underemployment and poverty leading to poor housing, healthcare and education
… leading to the equivalent of a permanent caste beneath all others. We must break this cycle as surely as we must conquer COVID19. We have a chance right now to create a REAL BRIDGE to good paying jobs that can grow strong families and futures, while making sure that Illinois’ economic recovery includes the Black and brown residents who have suffered most from both the historic pandemic of racism and the modern pandemic of COVID19.” – Rev. Frank Walton, Chairman, Union of the Unemployed.
IN ADDITION TO THE UNION OF THE UNEMPLOYED AND CONGRESSMAN BOBBY RUSH, THE COMPASS GLOBAL LOGISTICS HUB IS SUPPORTED BY SENATORS DICK DURBIN AND TAMMY DUCKWORTH, CONGRESSWOMAN ROBIN KELLY, CONGRESSMAN ADAM KINZINGER, THE EDITORIAL BOARD OF THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE AND MANY OTHERS. AFTER YEARS OF STUDY, ANALYSIS, COMMUNITY INPUT, MEETING AND EXCEEDING EVERY REQUIREMENT OF COUNTY AND STATE TRANSPORTATION OFFICIALS, THE QUESTION IS: WHY EXACTLY WON’T THE STATE ACT BEFORE THIS OPPORTUNITY IS LOST?
What a bunch of hot garbage. This isn’t even in Rush’s district! It’s Elwood and Joliet. Not his district. Also, this horrible project would ruin Will County in so many ways. We don’t need more low paying temp jobs that keep people in the poverty cycle. Also, no one wants this. Maybe Rush should actually set foot in the area and talk to people instead of flying around in Northpoint’s private helicopter. He’s bought and paid for and doesn’t represent his constituents. Disgusting.
There are so many reasons why this park SHOULD NOT be built!
– Northpoint has a verifiable history of NOT HIRING UNION to do their builds, even when they promise they will. We have done our homework…
– There are over 2000 acres of buildable land in the Centerpoint complex that these warehouses can be put on. Why do we need ANOTHER park? Answer: Because Northpoint wants in on the cash cow…
– The infrastructure in this area is crumbling under the trucking load we currently have. Adding thousands more trucks and cars to our roads will do nothing but deteriorate them even faster, with no plan or funding to repair them when it happens.
– The land they plan to develop is 2000 acres of the most fertile farm land in the country. They want to pave it over in the name of the almighty dollar.
– The people of the communities who ACTUALLY LIVE where this monstrosity will be built, and have to deal with the day to day congestion, polution, noise, danger, and eye sore that it will cause, do not want it here. There is no benefit to us at all. We were promised the world with Centerpoint and got zero of those promises fulfilled. Northpoint has a noted history of the same poor conduct. Why would we trust them? Again… we have done our homework.
– The polution and congestion will have a large negative impact on Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, Abraham Lincoln National Cemetary, and the surrounding communities.
– The miracle “closed loop” system that they are proposing to keep the trucks off of local roads is already in place for Centerpoint. It doesn’t work there, so why would it work this time?
– Northpoint has asked for TIF tax breaks on this project. The same thing happened in Centerpoint. What happened when the TIF ran out? We now have dozens of abandoned warehouses because the compaines up and moved to a new one that would give them the tax break.
– The “good paying jobs” they promise are not good paying. Yes, they may pay $15 per hour, but there are no benefits and working conditions are horendous. They are staffed by temp agencies that play the game of “90 days work to hire”, lay them off on day 89, and then bring them back to the same position the next day just to restart their 90 days.
The old adage “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is” stands strong in this case. The people who want it the most stand to gain the most. The people who actually have to live with it do not want it here.