Toni Preckwinkle with State & Local Leaders Attend Hearing on Youth Joblessness at Chicago Urban League
Hearing Highlights Impact of Persistent Drop in Youth Employment Rates & Lack of Summer Jobs Program Resulting In Increased Violence In Chicago Area Communities
(Download the Press Release in PDF format)
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle joined state and local legislative, educational, civic and community leaders this morning at the Chicago Urban League for a hearing on youth joblessness. A diverse group of youth testified on their experiences and the opportunities that employment and education provide. Additionally, education and youth advocacy organizations will testify about programs and policies that could help reduce violence in Chicago-area communities.
Chicago Urban League President and CEO, Andrea L. Zopp, and Jesse Ruiz, chairman, Illinois Council on Re-Enrolling Students Who Dropped Out of School, opened the hearing on behalf of convening co-sponsors which include the Chicago Urban League, Youth Connection Charter School, Chicago Area Project, Black United Fund of Illinois, Westside Health Authority, Chicago Jobs Council and the Alternative Schools Network.
A new report outlining new data on unemployment was released at the hearing as part of an ongoing series commissioned by the Alternative Schools Network and prepared by the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University, Boston, Mass. (Read the Report)
PANELISTS INCLUDED:
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Illinois Governor Patrick Quinn’s Office, Deputy Chief of Staff, Toni Irving | Illinois Department of Human Services, Director, Michelle Saddler| Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle Cook County Clerk of the Circuit Court Dorothy Brown | Chicago Board of Education, President, David Vitale | Illinois State Senator William “Willie” Delgado | Illinois State Senator Mattie Hunter | Illinois State Senator Dan Kotowski | Illinois State Senator Heather Steans | Illinois State Representative Toni Berrios | Illinois State Representative Kenneth Dunkin | Illinois State Representative Mary Flowers | Illinois State Representative Esther Golar | Illinois State Representative Lisa Hernandez | Cook County Commissioner Edwin “Eddie” Reyes | Cook County Commissioner Robert Steele | City of Chicago Alderman Walter Burnett, Jr. | City of Chicago Alderman Will Burns | City of Chicago Alderman Pat Dowell | City of Chicago Alderman Leslie Hairston | City of Chicago Alderman Roderick Sawyer