Memo To The Mayor-Final

Photo: Ngozi Okorafor
Focused Conversations on Economic Development, Job

Creation, Wealth Creation and Housing in the Auburn Gresham,
Chatham, Avalon Park, West Chesterfield, Park Manor,
Greater Grand Crossing and South Shore Communities
Hosts
Nonprofit Utopia, LLC
Providence Bank & Trust
Leslie Page-Piper
Sponsors
On The Table
Chicago Community Trust
Featured Speaker
Steve Van Drunen, CEO, Providence Bank & Trust
Facilitators and Scribes

Patrick Brutus, Jobs and Economic Development Committee Chairman,
Coalition of African American Leaders
William Hoover, President, Paragon AGI Corporation
G. Sequane Lawrence Executive Manager, Fathers, Families and Healthy Communities
Ronald Milsap, Vice President, Mission Banking and CRA Officer, Providence Bank & Trust
Leslie Page-Piper, Consultant
Teresa Rufaro Prim, Co-Founder, Prim-Lawrence Group
Heather Parish, Co-Executive Director, Pierce Family Foundation
Tiffany Smith, Neighborhood Strategy Coordinator, Neighborhood Housing Services-Chatham
Editing and Survey Administration
Valerie F. Leonard, Founder, Nonprofit Utopia, LLC
Photographs and Videos
Hurley Green, III, Publisher, Chicago Independent Bulletin

Cynthia Stewart, Executive Director, Sustainable Options for Urban Living, Inc.
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On the Table: Memo to the Mayor, May 28, 2019
Hosts: Nonprofit Utopia, LLC, Providence Bank & Trust
Participants and Supporters
Brent Adams, Senior Vice President of Policy & Communication, Woodstock Institute
Byam Alexander, CRE Asset Maximizers
Major Armstead, Retired Educator
Jacquelyn Baldwin, Organizer, Jewish Council on Urban Affairs
Michelle Bibbs, Consultant, The Alford Group
Derrick Buckingham, Chief Development Officer, Juvenile Protective Association
Patrick Brutus, Jobs and Economic Development Committee Chairman,
Coalition of African American Leaders
Horace Clark, CEO, BNtheMix
Coleman Conley, Business/Financial Advisor, Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc.
Arness Dancy, President and CEO, Chicagoland Black Chamber of Commerce
M. Michelle Day, CEO, Nehemiah Trinity Rising
Angela Dowell, CFO, Chicago Community Loan Fund
Mary Ellen Drake, Community Development Specialist
Gilbert Edmond, State Farm Agency Owner, Gilbert Edmond State Farm Agency
Dr Jerry Field, Former Director, Chicago Veterans Coordinating Committee
Dion Fleming, Organizer, CAP Pullman Rizing
Worlee Glover, Administrator, Concerned Citizens of Chatham
Rev. Dennis Hains
Brenda Grauer, Program Manager, Jewish Council on Urban Affairs
Rev. William Hall, Pastor, St. James Community Church
Wendell Harris, Vice President, Lending Operations, Chicago Community Loan Fund
William Hoover, President, Paragon AGI Corporation
Megan Hryndza, Mighty Deposits
Adrienne Irmer, Board Member, Social Change
Lola Jenkins CEO, Chicago Family Partnership
Kimberly Jones
Lynda Jones Self-Realization Coach, Unlock Your Joy
G. Sequane Lawrence Executive Manager, Betty Shabazz International Charter Schools
Theo Leonard Jr., Financial Representative, Country Financial
Ronald Milsap, Vice President, Mission Banking and CRA Officer for Providence Bank & Trust
Bruce Montgomery, Director, Business Development, Operation HOPE
Leslie Page-Piper, Consultant
Heather Parish, Co-Executive Director, Pierce Family Foundation
Lisa Marie Pickens, Principal, ARISE Consulting
J.P. Paulus, President, Do-Folder Consulting
Steven Philpott, CEO, XtraMedium Communications Corp
Nubia Ptah
Ariel Rainey, Founder/CEO Hustle Mommies
David Robinson, Director of External Affairs, Manufacturing Renaissance
Deborah Smith
Tiffany Smith, Neighborhood Strategy Coordinator, Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago
Cynthia Stewart, Executive Director, Sustainable Options for Urban Living, Inc. S.O.U.L.
JoAnn Terry, Director, CCT Museum
Sheryl Ware, Managing Broker, Adoria Elite Enterprises
Mike Strode, Exchange Coordinator, of the Kola Nut Collaborative
Christophe Valcourt
Eli Washington, Chairman, Chesterfield Community Council
Rev. Joel Washington (Khunanpu Sangoma), Reformation Lutheran Church Chicago-On Campus
Joseph Williams, Non Profit Director/Community Organizer, Mr. Dad's Father's Club
Doris Wilson, VP, Commercial Services, Providence Bank & Trust
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To: Mayor Lori Lightfoot
From: On the Table Participants and Supporters
Re: Addressing Issues Around Economic Development, Job Creation, Wealth Creation and
Housing for Residents and Stakeholders in the Chatham, Avalon Park, Park Manor, West
Chesterfield, Auburn-Gresham, Greater Grand Crossing and South Shore Communities
Date: May 28, 2019
Congratulations on your recent election as Mayor of Chicago. We realize this is a time of great
challenge, as well as opportunity for every Chicagoan, and each of us must do our part to ensure
that, not only does our city maintain its World Class status, but our neighborhoods get the attention
they deserve as well. We are particularly concerned with Chatham, Avalon, Greater Grand
Crossing, South Shore, Auburn-Gresham, West Chesterfield and Park Manor. Our targeted
communities lag the City of Chicago as a whole in terms of job creation, economic development,
wealth creation and housing affordability. This, although these communities have educational
attainment equal to or greater than the City as a whole.
We used the On the Table discussion as an opportunity to address these issues. Our guests
separated into 4 tables; one for job creation; one for economic development; one for wealth
creation and another for housing in our target communities. We followed up our discussion with a
participant survey to give participants the opportunity to debrief on the discussion; expound further
on the principles of cooperative economics that were raised during the discussion. We also used
the survey to respond to questions that were posed in the On the Table Memo to the Mayor Survey
that may or may not have been fully discussed during our time together.
High Level Recommendations
Based on the information gathered from our discussions and survey, we recommend that you
proceed with your plans to view every major policy and development, procurement and planning
process through the lens of diversity and inclusion. It is our hope that, in so doing, you will identify
opportunity gaps and begin to put the infrastructure in place to close gaps in wealth, income, job
creation and housing burden.
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In addition, we recommend that you review those same policies through the lens of self-
determination and Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics): To build and maintain our own stores, shops,
and other businesses and to profit from them together. By extension, this includes utilizing
community assets to create jobs, hire community residents; provide housing opportunities; creat
wealth and encourage entrepreneurship as a collective. You and the City could play a role in
creating a favorable environment in which this could occur. In the interest of time and efficiency,
we have shared 4 recommendations from each conversation.
We ask that you review the attached summaries of each conversation, as space constraints would
not allow us to include every great idea in the body of this cover memo. It should be noted that
these recommendations have been made as a result of the initial On the Table discussions and
follow up surveys to participants and input from our supporters.
Economic Job Creation Housing Wealth Creation

Development
Support community- Develop and implement a Engage residents in the Partner with the federal,
directed and citywide TIFWorks revision of previous state and county
neighborhood-controlled training program to train community development government units, local
development; utilize 2,000 eligible participants plans to address the banks and community-
community-based experts from the south and obstacles hindering the based organizations to
to work with community westsides who are community’s provide asset building and
and City to help facilitate unemployed, under- development. wealth creation programs
and implement planning employed and hard to for the unbanked.
processes employ
Develop inclusive Remove barriers for local Work with City Agencies Provide City of Chicago
industrial policy linked to construction contractors and local financial Linked Deposit Program
advanced manufacturing and other businesses to institutions and with low interest rates and
and 21st Century compete for City business intermediaries to provide credit enhancement for
education. and increase their local residents access to banks’ lending in LMI
capacity to hire local the capital they need, at areas.
community residents. For favorable rates, so they
example: Lift the Union may invest in their own
PLA requirements on communities.
community-based projects
<$300,000.
Co-host with the Mayor's Capitalize on skill sets of Redefine housing Utilize economic
office, a high-level local residents in such “affordability” and development incentives
symposium that features areas as health care, incorporate this language (TIFs, NMTC, LIHTC,
manufacturers, educators, administration and in housing policy. This Opportunity Zones, NOF,
supply chain players, and education. Create new calculation should etc.) to jumpstart
key city departments to comprehensive career factor in current debts and community development;
explore ways to invest in pathways that lead to homeowner cost burden give the Community the
our communities and industry certifications and to more accurately reflect ownership/oversight of
employ our residents living wage jobs. resident’s ability to pay. these projects.
Creation of a regional Support creation of co- Apply restorative justice Provide tax freeze / tax
equitable industrial policy working spaces for small principles to housing abatement for business
that articulates the businesses and worker- courts. Develop and owners in LMI areas
feasibility of and owned manufacturing implement a process for
relationship with concerns. remedy and reconciliation
manufacturing and amongst residents and
construction sectors and owners of troubled
labor and government buildings and or business
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Next Steps
We will be debriefing with On the Table participants and supporters to gauge their level of interest
in implementing any of the ideas discussed during the On the Table event during the month of
June. If there is such an interest among our participants, we will prioritize issues, flesh out ideas
and convene a working group to “get the ball rolling”. Providence Bank & Trust has expressed a
willingness to support and participate in these efforts. Several of our participants have already
begun to brainstorm in sub-groups and make informal suggestions.
In closing, we thank you for your time and consideration. Any questions regarding this memo
may be addressed to Valerie F. Leonard, Founder, Nonprofit Utopia, LLC, at
valeriefleonard@nonprofitutopia.com; Ronald Milsap, Vice President, Mission Banking and
CRA Officer for Providence Bank & Trust, at RMilsap@ProvidenceBank.com or Leslie Page-
Piper at lpagepiper@gmail.com.
We have provided links to attachments as follows:
Summary of Mayor’s Transition Team Memos Prepared by the Transition Team; Oral Summary
Provided by Ronald Milsap
• https://www.scribd.com/document/411732788/LL-EconomicDevelopment-Policy
• https://www.scribd.com/document/411732601/LL-Investment-Wealth-Issue
• https://www.scribd.com/document/411732534/LL-CreatingGoodJobs-Issue
• https://www.scribd.com/document/411732419/LL-Position-Paper-Housing
Recap of the Mayor’s Transition Team Memos; Videos by Cynthia Stewart, Executive Director,
Sustainable Options for Urban Living, Inc. S.O.U.L.
• Recap of the Housing Conversation Provided by Tiffany Smith, Neighborhood Strategy

Coordinator, Neighborhood Housing Services-Chatham
• Recap of the Jobs Conversation Provided by William R. Hoover, Executive Director,
Paragon AGI Corporation
• Recap of the Economic Development Conversation, Facilitated by G. Sequane Lawrence,
Executive Manager, Fathers, Families and Healthy Communities; Presented by
Adrienne Irmer, Board Member, Social Change
• Recap of the Wealth Creation Conversation Provided by Teresa Rufaro Prim, Co-Founder,
Prim-Lawrence Group
Other resources as follows:
• Survey Results
• Slideshow prepared by Hurley Green, III, Publisher, Independent Bulletin
• Photos taken by Valerie F. Leonard, Founder, Nonprofit Utopia, LLC
• Video of Remarks by Steve Drunen, President of Providence Bank & Trust, by Valerie F.
Leonard
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Economic Development
Facilitator: G. Sequane Lawrence
Executive Manager, Fathers, Families and Healthy Communities
Discussion Participants: G. Sequane Lawrence, Executive Manager, Fathers, Families and

Healthy Communities; Worlee Glover, Administrator, Concerned Citizens of Chatham; Adrienne
Irmer, Board Member, Social Change; Lola Jenkins, CEO, Chicago Family Partnership;
JP Paulus, Founder, Do-Gooder Consulting; Wendell Harris, Vice President, Lending Operations,
Chicago Community Loan Fund; M. Michelle Day, CEO, Nehemiah Trinity Rising
Survey Respondents: G. Sequane Lawrence, David Robinson, Director of External Affairs,

Manufacturing Renaissance; Worlee Glover, Adrienne Irmer, Leslie Page-Piper
Additional Input From: Mike Strode, Exchange Coordinator, of the Kola Nut Collaborative
Scribe: Leslie-Page Piper
Editor: Valerie F. Leonard
Issues and Ideas
One of the frustrations expressed during our conversation was the fact that large multi-million-
dollar global consulting firms are often hired to facilitate planning processes that could very well
be facilitated by local residents and stakeholders. We also believe there should be intentionality
around having members of the community direct the conversation and ideating, not just high-
priced consultants or large institutions of higher education. You should prioritize support for
facilitators to assist with creating neighborhood quality of life plans and practitioners/planners to
help implement the plans that already exist.
Other ideas that surfaced included how to develop community consensus on economic
development; process design, public/private support for community facilitators to assist with
neighborhood-centered economic development quality of life plans.
Intersection of Discussion and Survey Results
Issues that were raised on the participant survey that warrant further discussion included worker -
owner cooperatives; Opportunity Zones; Thrive Zones; community-owned businesses and
democratic budgeting (Participatory Budgeting) at the local level; career technical training pipeline
and community ownership of manufacturing companies with no identified successor.
Specific Actions You Can Take
Specific actions that you could take include the development of a database of local expert
facilitators, preferably, those who live in local communities that are facilitating community plans.
Those local facilitators can work with the Department of Planning and Development and delegate
agencies to assist in the facilitation and implementation of community plans. We recommend that
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you develop a comprehensive citywide economic development plan supported by a comprehensive
land use plan to maximize opportunities for the greatest local impacts. We also recommend that
the planning and implementation processes incorporate sweeping polls of community members to
target the businesses THEY want to see. You should consider repealing or reforming the vacancy
tax credit legislation that incentivizes commercial property owners to keep their property vacant
instead of finding tenants or developing the property to attract tenants.
Recommended Focus
We recommend that you focus on the following:
• Creation of a regional equitable industrial policy that articulates the feasibility of and
relationship with manufacturing and construction sectors and labor and government
• City support of community directed and controlled neighborhood development;
• Inclusive industrial policy linked to advanced manufacturing and 21st Century education.
• A high-level symposium co-hosted by the Mayor’s Office and community stakeholders
that features manufacturers, educators, supply chain players, and key city departments to
explore how the city can take advantage of the incredible opportunity to pick this low-
hanging fruit.
• Develop comprehensive citywide and people-driven economic development plan
supported by a comprehensive land use plan.
Equity, Diversity Inclusion, Transparency,

Accountability and Transformation
Our discussions around economic development revealed that some of our core values were
consistent with your core governing values of equity, diversity, inclusion, transparency,
accountability and transformation. One issue of significant concern was equity in distribution of
the City’s resources in supporting local communities. Some of us are already emphasizing
neighborhood-focused and inclusive visioning, planning and implementation. We are also using
evidence-based, data-driven processes that rely on collective decision making, diversity and
accountability. These are guided by ethics of shared knowledge, information, space and power are
about accountability and transformation.
Two overarching themes from our discussion included self-determination and Ujamaa
(Cooperative Economics): To build and maintain our own stores, shops, and other businesses and
to profit from them together. By extension, this includes creating jobs, housing opportunities,
wealth creation and entrepreneurship. One concern that was raised was the tendency of the City to
focus on Downtown development at the expense of local neighborhood development, particularly
on the South and West Sides.
We believe that the City of Chicago should begin to view its work through the lens of cooperative
economics by creating an office of worker-owned businesses like NY and San Francisco. Other
examples included the Basque Country's Mondragon cooperative considered one of the best
examples of a worker-led eco-system based on manufacturing.
A recent study commissioned by Manufacturing Renaissance and UIC Great Cities Institute found
that there are hundreds of aging owners who aren't certain what they will do with their companies
when they retire. These companies are ripe for acquisition by qualified buyers in our community.
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Manufacturing Renaissance is in the process of setting up a company that identifies owners who
are ready to sell, reviews the books of the company, identifies qualified minority and female
potential buyers facilitate the deal and provides ongoing support until the transition. We believe
the City could play an integral role in providing financial and technical assistance, as well as tax
incentives to ensure that this initiative, and others like it, are successful in transferring the
ownership of these companies into the hands of minority- and worker-controlled entities.
Specifically, the City should catalyze public/private investment in these ownership structures and
support the emerging city-wide worker-owner cooperative eco-system through tax incentives,
financial assistance, technical assistance, favorable procurement policies and practices, etcetera.
We were very encouraged to learn that you have just hired the City's first Chief Equity Officer,
and will be creating a City Council Equity Committee to examine ordinances, policies and
procedures through a lens of diversity, equity, inclusion, accountability and transparency. We
recommend that you start off with discussions with local residents and stakeholders to get a sense
for their experiences and ideas surrounding equity; what that means from our perspectives, and
what might be done to improve equity outcomes. We also recommend that you conduct impact
analyses on processes and procedures as they relate to financial incentives, major community and
economic development.
After this is done, we trust that you will identify equity deficits and institute explicit practices and
policies to remedy these civic and municipal short comings. For example, each ward should
receive municipal funds based not only on population but land mass and scale of their respective
infrastructure. Policing must be adjusted to ensure higher crime areas receive more resources.
Schools in marginalized communities must be adequately invested in- with regard to both physical
and human capital needs.
The inclusive dialogue and hiring a CDO are great starts—in order to be successful, we need the
commitment of the political will and investments to execute the plans. A lot can be achieved by
implementing equitable procurement and compliance practices and then sticking to those
requirements.
Another thing to consider is the use of data to collect evidence on the ground to identify key issues
and lay the foundation for change. The UN Human Development Report was created by Lord
Mehgnad Desai, Manufacturing Renaissance’s team of activists and several other leading
economists to measure the "human" condition rather than simply the GNP, or economic health and
well-being of a city, state or sovereign country. The report lists the rankings of each country in
categories such as birth rates, hunger, education attainment, infant mortality, poverty, etc.
Chicago could conduct a similar data gathering and reporting process on each of the 77
communities, as was done by the Harold Washington Administration. The report was a one stop
reference and data resource on every statistic you could imagine. For example, it listed all the
churches with data on congregation size, activity in the community, and events. It listed all the
non-profits serving a neighborhood with all their available data. It listed voting numbers,
developments, housing, businesses along with all the data normally associated with community
planning and development. It was a planner's bible. Such a tool would be an incredible value to
everyone.
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David Robinson, who couldn’t attend our event, has already begun having conversations with
people about this symposium and has indicated a desire to be part of the ongoing conversation if
your Administration, the Trust and others think it feasible. If so, we’d also like to include others
from our On the Table group who might be interested in participating at the appropriate time.
Successful Models of Cooperative Economics and Self-Determination
There are a number of successful cooperative economics models that have worked in the past
and/or in other places. For example, Mondragon in Spain, Emilia Romagna in Italy are the gold
standards. The health care coop in NY is great. Evergreen in Cleveland is showing promise. The
government should reimagine anchor institutional strategies with an eye toward ensuring the
businesses taking advantage of institutional procurement are worker owned. As noted above, the
Mondragon Cooperative in Northern Spain is brilliant.
One of the most critical things that Chicago can do to support the burgeoning ecosystem for
cooperative enterprise is examine the Cooperative Technical Assistance Program (CTAP) out of
Minneapolis. They have developed an eight-session course on the formation of a cooperative
enterprise which would prepares participants to access additional resources upon completion.
Given that the city presents several educational resources on worker owned cooperatives and
employee ownership models, this lessens the burden on more advanced incubators allowing them
to focus their time on mentoring more advanced stage cooperatives towards success and stability.
Presently, many of these advocacy organizations not only need to provide introductory resources
to get the general public acquainted with these business models, but they also should provide
mentorship throughout the life of the business for formation, feasibility studies, access to capital,
market analysis, and all other aspects of the cooperative business.
Chicago entities currently engaged in cooperative economics (worked-owned cooperatives)

development include: The Chicagoland Cooperative Ecosystem Coalition, Solidarity Economies
of Greater Chicago and the Kola Nut Collaborative. Bop Biz Center, is a Chatham example of
“collective” community economic development, created by Roland “Ro” Davis. The Bop Biz
Center offers professional workspace rental, professional services and pop-up retail space to
emerging retailers.
We are not going to be able to adequately address every issue in a single conversation, survey and
a memo. If there is interest among our discussion group, you and the Trust, we should continue
this dialogue. Once we arrive at a jointly agreed upon plan, we recommend that you launch a
follow-up series of presentations and conversations with the city's critical stake holders,
connecting silos to make sure that things really go to scale. So that means, with the Mayor's office
as an equal partner in the organizing process, we share our vision to the foundations, the
commercial club, the folks at the Union League Club, the City Club, the retailers, manufacturers,
developers, hospitality, financial players, healthcare and other agencies to find out where they see
themselves in the plan. We believe that, if they see themselves, they will contribute resources and
without resources, this process could become and exercise in flowery rhetoric.
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Improving the Chicago Region by Improving the
Quality of Life in Our Local Communities
The ideas and suggestions presented in this memo will not only improve the quality of life in our
targeted communities, they will be beneficial to Chicago and the region as a whole. Closing the
wealth and employment gaps will expand our tax base so that there is less of a financial strain on
current residential and commercial taxpayers. We will ultimately be able to generate more revenue
overall and help lead to social transformation in our region. We can share lessons learned with
local communities and other municipalities, who can look at them and use them as models and
benchmarks by which to measure their own initiatives.
When the people have real impact/influence on decisions being made about their neighborhoods,
it matters, and it fosters an environment of engagement that we desperately need in Chicago.
Other Municipalities with an Equity Focus
Several other municipalities have developed policies around housing, economic development, job
creation and wealth creation with an eye towards equity. These include Pittsburgh, Seattle,
Portland, NYC and Atlanta. The Next City website also has several resources with a focus on
equity in planning.
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Job Creation
Facilitator: William Hoover
Executive Director Paragon AGI Corporation
Discussion Participants: William Hoover, Patrick Brutus, Jobs and Economic Development
Committee Chairman, Coalition of African American Leaders; Cynthia Stewart, Executive
Director, Sustainable Options for Urban Living, Inc. S.O.U.L.; Dr. Jerry Field, Former Director,
Chicago Veterans Coordinating Committee; Major Armstead, Retired Educator;
Valerie F. Leonard, Founder, Nonprofit Utopia, LLC. Rev. Dennis Hains,
Survey Respondents: Patrick Brutus, Jerry Field, Cynthia Stewart, Valerie F. Leonard
Additional Input From: Lisa Marie Pickens, Principal, ARISE Consulting
Scribes: Patrick Brutus, Leslie-Page Piper
Issues and Ideas
We discussed a number of issues, including job creation and the gaps in employment levels
between blacks and other demographics. We also discussed dis-engaged youth; the fact that more
seasoned workers are often overlooked in the workforce development discussion; entrepreneurship
as a means of creating local jobs; the fact that the largest segment of workers in the target area
work outside the City of Chicago; high unemployment rates; the need for higher wages.
A number of ideas bubbled up, such as:
• Using City resources to expand and support alternative apprenticeships and other options
for skill development and training of urban residents.
• Including Union, non-union, schools, business groups as you convene conversations to
address critical issues. Fund job training with a Citywide TIF Works open to all residents
of community areas based on area unemployment and household income statistics.
• Return to 2013 version of Small Business Initiative that was intended to open public
construction & maintenance contracts under $300,000 to non-union, community based,
MWBE Contractors.
The result would increase job creation and training. We would have tools to rebuild lives, develop
affordable housing, support NOF and other small business improvements like TIF, Retail Thrive
and public infrastructure.
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Intersection of Discussion and Survey Results
The results of the participant survey indicated a number of issues that deserve a deeper dive. For
example, too many of those with the greatest need are overwhelmed by their circumstances and
are stuck without hope. Our residents have been targeted and unfairly subjected to a school to
prison pipeline. The results are a high percentage of the un and under-employed have
"Backgrounds".
Many of our youth and forgotten returning citizens face so many barriers that they have lost hope
for a better future. We must craft with community input: academic, faith-based and business
outreach, training and mentoring that is intentional about meeting the real needs (career-interest
assessments, skill-based training, emotional health support, positive mindset training &
reinforcement, coaching for goal attainment) of this population.
Other ideas include looking at ways to leverage the strengths of the local workforce in areas such
as healthcare, education and administration to solidify career pathways that lead to industry
certifications. This, in turn, will necessarily include a discussion regarding strengthening the
alignment of the school curriculum with the needs of local employers.
Our participants also expressed a desire for re-convening to develop a solid plan, a reasonable
budget, funding and a small group of those at the meeting with hands on experience and a track
record of success.
One of our supporters, who was unable to attend, suggested that we push a little more on the
concept of DEI and additionally engage around Equity, inclusion and shared power---which is
extremely important in the newly imagined Chicago and different from the usual discussion of
DEI. Are folks willing to share power? And that includes the usual suspects, but also those of us
who often get into the room or up to the table knowing others are missing and never invited.
Specific Actions You Can Take
There are a number of actions you can take, right now, to begin to close the existing employment
gap:
• Develop and implement a citywide TIFWorks training program to train 2,000 eligible
participants from the south and westsides who are unemployed, under-employed and hard
to employ so that they have an unprecedented opportunity to work in sustainable and
upwardly mobile jobs that improve the quality of life for them. The added bonus is that
these individuals would contribute to the tax base which needs to expand.
• Create comprehensive career pathways that lead to industry certifications and living wage
jobs. Support local entrepreneurs in their efforts to start and grow their businesses, create
jobs and take control of their economic environment.
• Support combined job training, emotional health & housing options to stabilize homeless
and reduce recidivism of returning citizens.
• Lift the Union PLA requirements on community-based projects <$300,000.
• Utilize TIF kick start funds ($50,000,00) in co-operation with various agencies and
industrial organizations.
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Recommended Focus
We recommend that you focus on the following:
• Closing the employment gap between blacks and whites in the City of Chicago
• TIFWorks training program to train 2,000 eligible participants from the south and
westsides who are unemployed, under-employed and hard to employ
• Working with our group to start an internship program and hence, present the interns to
industry
• Community development that is intentional about directing resources to community
residents, people, assets and small local business, instead of slicing off the wealth to
outside consultants, union fees and incentives to big corporations. This will create
improved economic futures for those who have been trapped and left behind.
• Creating living wage jobs in our target area so residents don't need to commute outside
the City.

It should be noted that the unemployment rates in our targeted communities are much higher than
the City unemployment rate--2 to 2.5-times as high, depending on the community. These
communities have populations that range from 93%-97% black, as compared to the City at large,
with a population that is about 30.1% black as of the 2016 American Fact Finder Survey
(Census.gov, via CMAP). The Unemployment rate in Chicago was 10.9% in 2016, while it ranged
from 19% to 24% in these communities, in spite of the fact that their educational attainment is
comparable to, or even higher than, in some instances, as the City as a whole. (Census.gov, via
CMAP)
Equity, diversity, inclusion, transparency, accountability can all be achieved by embracing the
concepts of cooperative economics and the self-empowerment of low-income communities of
color. The top down, consultant led approach that essentially says, "we know better than you poor,
uneducated, criminal people", must change. There are passionate, educated, experienced, honest
residents and stakeholders in these communities who are ready, willing and able to lead training,
create businesses, develop real estate and unite a community with shared growth.
We believe there are a number of policies and practices you can put into place to ensure equality.
For example, the 30% MBE/WBE sanctioned on the Lincoln Yards and 78 mega projects are a
great start to moving towards parity, however the city should visit the idea of a TIFWorks training
program that also should include an incentive for the MBE/WBE owners to actually HIRE black
workers and just be qualified as 51% or more minority ownership of the entity.
We also recommend that you open shop access for community-based construction. Minority
businesses have fewer resources: capital, skilled workers and business networks. We have a system
that claims to want to increase MWBE participation, yet requires an upfront "TAX" to be paid to
an outside entity of tens of thousands of dollars to be allowed to paint a room at a public library.
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City-Wide TIF Works funds could be used to provide entry - mid level, on the job skill training
for MWBE Certified business (include FT, PT & 1099 workers) located in targeted communities.
We respectfully request that you prioritize comprehensive economic development planning, with
workforce development in our target area. In so doing, we recommend you work with local leaders
to attract employers who can pay wages comparable to what may be found Downtown or other
more affluent areas of the City. You should also work with our schools and City Colleges to make
sure our workforce is prepared to be hired in these jobs. We also recommend that you work with
local businesses to increase their capacity to be able to pay living wages, through technical
assistance, financial assistance, and working with County, State and Federal agencies to provide
tax incentives for local purchasing and hiring.
We have participants with successful track records in workforce development, including Major,
Cindy and Jerry, who are willing to work with the group to have a plan ready to start 10 days after
funding that will work, and create jobs within six to eight months. We envision an
internship/apprentice program that is open to all, including youth, adults displaced and those who
need retraining to support themselves and their families. The internship allows for a respectful
retraining program
Cooperative Economics and Self-Determination
While we did not explicitly use the jargon surrounding cooperative economics and self-
determination, we agreed that it was very important to us all that we take control of our economic
environment. Cooperative economics provides a path toward a more inclusive economy. This a
time of widening health and wealth gaps in communities of color, not just in Chicago, but across
the globe. We must empower our people to have a greater say in their futures and more equitable
access to economic opportunities. The City can provide the critical financing and technical
assistance communities need to establish and grow employee-owned businesses.
We also suggest that you support worker owned cooperatives with organization, training and
access to capital. Given the dramatic changes occurring in the economy, we need to redefine "job".
An FTE income target from legal sources should be written into policy to recognize those who use
their skills to become self-employed, work in project-based industries like construction or other
non-traditional W2 generating jobs.
The City of Chicago can serve as a catalyst for cooperative economics and self-determination by
supporting local chambers of commerce and Small Business Development Centers. You can also
provide tax incentives for local business owners who live in the communities, and for businesses
that purchase locally.
As mentioned above, there were three participants at our table who have successful track records
in workforce development. They have expressed a willingness to share their plans with the group.
We respectfully request that, in the event the group advances these ideas, that you would review
their past successful plan and assign a liaison that has the same experience and success the groups
have. No corporate advisors, just factory owners. If this group, for whatever reason, decides not to
go forward with a multi-faceted plan, Major, Cindy and Jerry are ready to move forward now.
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Economic Development has always been present in the Chicago region. Growth opportunities are
greatest in areas that are at the end of their economic life cycles. Historically we tear down,
displace people and businesses; build new, raise standard of living for new residents. This vision
permits the people who live in the communities to be supported in every way. We recommend that
you champion policy, programs and pilots that encourage self-empowerment, in-place stability,
wealth creation, ownership and investment into their community with assistance from public -
private funds.
Focusing on the south and westsides then rationally, the development of these neighborhoods, is
the means through which to make Chicago better, safer, smarter etc. By improving these parts of
town, we will be able to draw residents back to the city and thus increase and expand our tax base.
Other Municipalities with an Equity Focus
City governments are shaping up as key actors accelerating worker co-op development. It started
in 2009 when the City of Cleveland accessed a federal guaranteed loan to help finance the
Evergreen Cooperatives. Since then, nine more city governments have moved to promote worker
cooperatives through municipal projects, initiatives, or policies because they want to reach people
and communities often left out of mainstream economic development. Other city governments
including Philadelphia are considering it now. (Michelle Camou) http://www.geo.coop/story/how-
urban-governments-are-promoting-worker-co-ops
Addressing the housing and health of the nation’s aging population the home care industry is of
utmost importance. One way to address the growing demand for home care while creating worker
wealth and employment is the creation of worker-owned home care co-ops. To date, there are ten
worker-owned home care co-ops currently operating in the U.S. They are transforming the industry
to offer fair compensation for meaningful work. They have reduced employee turnover from 60 to
30 percent annually. https://ncbaclusa.coop/blog/interagency-working-group-on-cooperative-
development-provides-survey-of-homecare-worker-co-op-landscape/ One example is just across
the border in Wisconsin.
“Launching Minority-Owned Co-ops Takes More Than Good Intentions” tells the story of Georgia
Allen, founder and CEO of the Soaring Independent co-operative. Soaring Independent offers
home care services to elderly people or individuals with mobility issues. Allen and a group of
colleagues had started thinking about creating a business because they were fed up with low wages,
high turnover and low-quality care. https://nextcity.org/daily/entry/launching-minority-owned-co-
ops-takes-more-than-good-intentions
We recommend two resources: Cooperatives in Wisconsin is a new publication that highlights

cooperative types, structure, finance, and steps to start a cooperative. A go-to guide for anyone
looking to start a cooperative or learn more about them! https://uwcc.wisc.edu/ Robbie Markus,
is co-founder of the Evanston Development Co-Op (EDC). They are a new workers' cooperative
that builds environmentally sustainable, affordable housing by and for Evanston residents. link to
the website - https://evanston.coop/
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Housing
Facilitator: Tiffany Smith
Neighborhood Strategy Coordinator, NHS Chicago, Chatham
Discussion Participants: Tiffany Smith, Heather Parish, Co-Executive Director, Pierce Family
Foundation; Rev. Joel Washington (Khunanpu Sangoma), Pastor, Reformation Lutheran Church
Chicago-On Campus; Jacquelyn Baldwin, Organizer, Jewish Council on Urban Affairs; Deborah
Smith, Consultant, D Denise Enterprises, LLC; Lynda Jones Self-Realization Coach, Unlock Your
Joy; Brenda Grauer, Program Manager, Jewish Council on Urban Affairs
Scribes: Heather Parish, Tiffany Smith and Leslie Page-Piper
Survey Respondents: Rev. Joel Washington; Jacquelyn Baldwin
Issues and Ideas
We had a robust discussion, in which we identified issues, solutions and a vision for housing in
our target area. The issues we outlined included the following:
• Lack of access to capital for developers and homeowners/end users

• Gentrification/resident instability
• Lack of resources to support owners of 1-4-unit buildings
• Insufficient housing (and financial) education resources for residents
• Current definition of affordability is obsolete
• Aging population, housing stock and infrastructure
• Lack of resources to assist people experiencing homelessness
• Government-sanctioned demolition in lieu of community engagement
• Community Displacement
• Residents’ rights as they relate to HUD and other entities
• Organizational rules and governance
• Affordable housing needs, including, but not limited to, senior housing
• Vacant housing stock in need of affordable renovation etc.
Our overall vision for our target area is community stabilization. This would be achieved through
housing preservation; construction of new single and multi-family homes and preservation of our
historic bungalows and rehabbing abandoned houses.
Intersection of the Discussion and Survey Results
In addition to the list outlined above, one idea that we felt should get more attention is the creation
of diverse neighborhoods.
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Specific Actions You Can Take:
Tools You Can Use to Achieve a Stabilized Community Ready to Receive New Residents
• Resident Engagement: The residents of Greater Chatham are aware of the challenges
facing them as they work to buy, fix and keep their homes. They are prepared to partner
with the city to revise previous community development plans to address the obstacles
hindering the community’s development.
• Restorative Justice Process to Address Troubled Buildings: Community organizations

such as the Greater Chatham Initiative should be leveraged to develop and implement a
process for remedy and reconciliation amongst residents and owners of troubled buildings
and or business.
• Community Land Trusts and the Land Bank: Vital to a stabilized community is the
absence of vacant or troubled buildings. You should utilize community land trusts to return
vacant and troubled buildings to productive use. While these tools are currently in place,
the timeliness of execution is lacking.
• Senior Housing Support: With over 25% of the Greater Chatham community aged 65 or
older, the issues surrounding “aging in place” are a priority. While some of our seniors
may choose to leave their homes for a facility, many of our seniors choose to age in their
homes. This choice, however, remains a choice only for those who can afford to upgrade
their homes to support a senior lifestyle. You should make funding available for internal
home improvements to support “Senior Choice”. Additionally, if the City partners with
the County to review the income and property value limits to obtain the senior freeze and
long-term resident tax exemptions are essential to helping our seniors afford the option to
age in place. Conversely, quality affordable senior residential facilities are in short supply
within the Greater Chatham area. Key to community stability is the sustainability of our
Seniors. This sustainability hinges on our ability to keep our seniors close to the family,
friends, and businesses that originally attracted them to the community.
• Redefine Affordability: The term “affordable housing” can mean different things to the
diverse segments of our Greater Chatham community. While homeownership assistance
initiatives target 80%-120% of area median income (AMI), home improvement assistance
initiatives are consistently capped at 80% of AMI or $71,300 gross annual income for a
family of four. This number does not factor in non-discretionary resident spending such
as student loan debt, secondary education costs due to underperforming schools and
aftercare costs associated with the single parent households that make up 30% of the
community’s population, A new calculation must be defined if we are to create financially
stable communities. This new calculation should factor in current debts and homeowner
cost burden to more accurately reflect resident’s ability to pay.
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• Access to Capital: Parts of Greater Chatham stand at the cross-roads of the next wave of
gentrification due to its proximity to the proposed Obama center and Tiger Wood’s golf
center. Now that Woodlawn has experienced dramatic property value appreciation,
investors have turned their sites to Grand Crossing, Park Manor and South Shore to acquire
low priced properties that can yield 15%-17% returns. While there is benefit to the target
community as we decrease the number of vacant and/or distressed properties, their
financial gain typically leaves these target communities since the chief investors are not
residents of the communities nor the city of Chicago. Residents need a means of accessing
capital for investment in their own communities to compete with the rash of investors
entering the market from Colorado and California. The benefits of such a scheme are two-
fold:
• Recirculation of dollars spent within the target community as resident

investors utilize local vendors to for development projects;
• Vested investment due to the resident’s stake in the outcome of both the
development and sale of the renovated property.
Recommended Focus
We recommend that you focus on stabilizing existing residents as a precursor to creating more
affordable housing opportunities for renters and prospective homeowners. Stabilization of existing
residents would include funding for both internal and external housing infrastructure upgrades to
prepare the housing stock for the inevitable transition of the properties due to the community’s
aging population. Resident driven development projects should be prioritized over outside
investors to support a cooperative economics development model.
Our participant survey uncovered a number of ideas, including subsidized owner/management

compliance with residents’ rights with respect to HUD and other entities; organizational rules and
governance; fostering the education regarding said rules; local, national and regional HUD
enforcement of said rules and town hall meetings.

We believe one of the best ways to create an environment of equity, diversity and inclusion,
transparency, accountability and transformation is to create affordable housing and promote
diverse communities. This may be achieve through a number of policies and programs, including
resident engagement; increasing the amount of affordable housing required in new developments;
instituting a senior housing bill of rights; providing a continuum of housing resources/operations
homelessness to homeownership; knowledge-building/training; access to capital and incentives
for developers and existing homeowners; restorative justice court for housing preservation;
equitable treatment for subsidized vs. market rate residents; community land trusts; rent control
and property tax freezes; organizational rules and governance and the enforcement of HUD rights
for residents (including HUD Section 3).
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Our participant survey also yielded a number of examples and suggestions around ways the City
could encourage cooperative economics in the housing arena. Black Mall is such an example, and
we believe the City should study it more, and replicate it in our target area. You should also
consider replicating the Black Holy Family Model. Visit https://blackholyfamiy.wordpress.com
for further information.
The City, particularly the Department of Planning and Development, could support cooperative
economics and self-determination through housing cooperatives, including the former Englewood
Faith-Based Housing Cooperative. You can also leverage HUD funding for construction and
financing with IHDA financing and Chicago Public Housing subsidies, including HUD Section 3,
which provides employment opportunities for very low-income people in public housing.

The cost of racism impacts every neighborhood. According to CMAP, “Chicago's black
population, the city's largest demographic in 2000, has dropped by 24 percent through 2017, going
from more than one million in 2000 to just under 800,000 in 2017. The number of whites in
Chicago surpassed blacks in 2017, and Latinos will almost certainly pass blacks by the time of the
2020 census. Chicago's population would be increasing if not for the black exodus.” (Is Chicago’s
legacy of segregation causing a reverse Great Migration? by Pete Saunders Chicago Reader,
January 24, 2019)
The drastic population reduction is due to a number of quality of life issues, including school
closures; lack of economic opportunities; higher cost of living, high crime, increasing property
taxes with corresponding diminished city services and school quality. Improving the quality of life
in African American communities would stem the loss of Black Chicago residents, who, until very
recently, were the largest segment of Chicago’s population. Stemming the Black Exodus would
stabilize Chicago’s population, and hence, property tax base and resulting revenues. We believe
our memo can provide solutions that help every Chicago realize that everyone becomes stronger
when we work together to provide opportunity for everyone.
Other Municipalities and Models with an Equity Focus
New York City is a prime example of a municipality that utilizes co-operative housing to bring
about equity. Prairie Fire is a housing development initiative that seems to be making an impact
on affordable housing.
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Wealth Creation
Facilitator: Teresa Rufaro Prim
Neighborhood Strategy Coordinator, NHS Chicago, Chatham
Discussion Participants: Teresa Rufaro Prim, Co-Founder, Prim-Lawrence Group;

Bruce Montgomery, Director, Business Development, Operation HOPE; Angela Dowell, CFO,
Chicago Community Loan Fund; Community Representative, Megan Hryndza, Mighty Deposits,
Theo Leonard, Financial Representative, Country Financial; Gil Edmond, State Farm, Agency
Owner; Doris Wilson, Vice President, Commercial Services, Providence Bank & Trust; Ronald
Milsap, Vice President, Mission Banking and CRA Officer, Providence Bank & Trust
Scribe: Ronald Milsap
Issues and Ideas
We discussed several issues, including home ownership, business formation, innovation in

education, cooperative economics just to name a few.
Recommended Focus
Issues: We respectfully request that you prioritize the wealth gap that exists between African
Americans and whites in the City of Chicago. Wealth / Income inequality this is the great chasm
between the “Haves” and the “Have-Nots”. We also request that you increase the Minimum Wage
and support legislation for universal basic income.
Topics: If we could choose topics for you to focus on, we would include access to capital for small
businesses and leveraging the City coffers to invest (deposit funds) in Community Banks to
provide a lower cost funding source and credit enhancement.

Your core values of equity, diversity, inclusion, transparency accountability and transformation
are consistent with our desire to close the wealth inequities along racial lines. Like you, we believe
that in order to address any of the issues that plague minority communities in Chicago (education,
health, economics, etc.), it has to be done from the lenses of those values.
As it stands, taxes, fees, levies, etc. are imposed with an unfair burden put on minority
communities. We respectfully request that you enact policies to stop the stripping of resources
from these communities. We also ask that you implement more progressive policies to redistribute
the wealth that’s been extracted.
We recommend that the City address inequities in wealth distribution and employment by
supporting worker co-ops.
21 | P a g e
The City can leverage its resources to educate the community firstly on the benefits of cooperative
economics. We recommend that you consider allocating City resources to support programs,
policies and strategies to build wealth in our target communities and reduce the wealth gaps along
racial lines in Chicago.
• Revisit Congressional Black Caucus – “WOW” Initiative – With Wealth Ownership

• Encourage and push for business, home, real property ownership
• All roads need to lead to some type of ownership
• Increase home ownership to catalyze wealth
• Increase number of business owners
• Leverage Cooperative Economics, Cooperative Business, Cooperative Real Estate
• Demand Equity Side and not just a supplier side of major economic development projects
in the City of Chicago
• Emphasize early learning for students on wealth building (support programs like Stock
Game, Business in Box, Junior Achievement, One Stock One Future)
• City Hackathon, More Maker Labs and Incubators on South and West Side
• Innovation in Education / Programs in Schools focused on Entrepreneurship and Arts &
Culture, for example “The Business of Sports” and “The Business of Art & Culture”
much like a College Prep or Vocational program would do
• Call upon BIG Money Center Banks to influence how the spend / allocate the CRA
dollars to ensure efforts are coordinated and directed to highest and best use
• Follow the National Platform 10 steps for dealing with wealth inequality found at
www.inequality.org
• Support programs that emphasize asset protection, education for generational wealth
transfer and estate planning
• Provide disincentive for property owners to sit on land / vacant buildings
• Create commercial counterpart to the City’s Large Lot program for vacant lots and
storefronts for Businesses
• Provide tax freeze / tax abatement for business owners in LMI areas
• Provide business MMRP and grant incentive to stimulate local economy
• Provide City of Chicago Linked Deposit Program with low interest rates and credit
enhancement for banks lending in LMI areas
• Provide equal access to high quality schools and other education alternatives
• Ensure that 1/3 of all new CHA units are affordable to local residents
• Partner with the federal, state and county government units, local banks and community-
based organizations to provide asset building and wealth creation programs for the
unbanked.
• Raise taxes on super wealthy
• Explore local reparations (free college, starter homes in lieu of vouchers, seed capital for
small business startups, etc.)
Secondly and most importantly the City has to put its money and other economic development
tools to work (TIFs, NMTC, LIHTC, Opportunity Zones, NOF, etc.) to ignite these efforts and
give the Community the ownership of these projects.
22 | P a g e
If Chicago can lift its weakest communities then all of Chicago benefits. If Chicago can prime
the pump to get resources into communities of greatest need then we can invest in those things
that have lasting permanent value (not more policing and prisons).
Other Municipalities and Models with an Equity Focus
As mentioned above, Modragon, Spain where one of the country largest companies is a worker
owned cooperative, provides a great model of how governments can support equitable employment
models. See Wikipedia for more details: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mondragón.
Brazil has a strong focus on improving job skills in labor market, and creating favorable conditions
for businesses to invest in youth employment and helping young people find and hold on to qualit y
jobs
Oakland, CA encourages savings for young children through their Kindergarten to College Savings
Program
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Attachments
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Attachment 1: The Situation
As it stands, the City has comprehensive economic development plans for Downtown, with few,
if any, strategies that drill down to the local neighborhood level. Emphasis has been on attracting
talent from other countries and states, with limited opportunities for local residents. In fact, our
target communities experience unemployment rates at 2-3 times the City average, in spite of the
fact that our education attainment meets or exceeds Citywide educational attainment (CMAP
Community Profiles).
As a rule of thumb, households should spend no more than 30% of their gross incomes on housing
costs in order to stay within the range of affordability. We have found considerable gaps in housing
affordability, just on Chicago’s South Side. The average housing cost burden for our targeted
communities ranges from Avalon Park’s 43.3% to South Shore’s average housing cost burden of
52.6 % between 2012 and 2016 (Chicago Health Atlas). Some communities, such as Mount
Greenwood and Beverly, enjoy a much lighter housing cost burden, with average housing cost
burdens of 14.6% and 19.1%, respectively, during the same time period. (Chicago Health Atlas).
An article written by Gail Marks Jarvis, a reporter for the January 31, 2017 issue of the Chicago
Tribune, “Chicago's Racial Wealth Gap Far Worse Than U.S. Average, Report Finds”, indicated
that a report by the Corporation for Enterprise Development found that the median income of
whites in Chicago was $70,960 compared with $56,373 for Asians, $41,188 for Latinos and
$30,303 for blacks. They also found that the median values of homes owned by African Americans
were only about half those owned by whites. Only 34.5 percent of African Americans owned
homes, compared with 53.5 percent of white residents. The median value of homes owned by
whites was $275,000. (Marks Jarvis 2017). By deduction, the median value of homes owned by
African Americans at the time was $137,500. The 2016 median household income in our target
areas ranged from $25,620 in South Shore to $32,348 in Chatham (Census.gov via CMAP).
Likewise, the list price for homes in our target area ranges from $144,000 in Grand Crossing to
$174,999 in Chatham (Realtor.com).
It is against this backdrop that we had an opportunity to participate in The Chicago Community
Trust’s on the Table: Memo to the Mayor event, hosted by Nonprofit Utopia, LLC and Providence
Bank &Trust, at the Urban Partnership Bank building, 7801 South State Street.
25 | P a g e
Attachment 2: On the Table Discussion
Steve Van Drunen, President and CEO of Providence Bank & Trust kicked off the event and
answered questions regarding the recent merger of Providence Bank and Urban Partnership Bank,
as well as the implications for the merger upon their ability to support nonprofits and faith-based
organizations. Ronald Milsap, Vice President, Mission Banking and CRA Officer for Providence
Bank & Trust, provided an overview of memos from the Mayor's Transition team as they relate to
economic development, job creation, and housing development.
We had about 35 participants in all, representing leaders from the local target communities,
community-based organizations, the faith community, financial institutions and supporting
organizations. We broke out into 4 discussion groups, with one table focusing on housing; another
table focusing on economic development; a table focusing on wealth creation and another table
focusing on job creation.
While we may not have always explicitly used the common jargon for diversity, equity and
inclusion, themes of equity, cooperative economics and self-determination resonated at every
table. We said we wanted to be able to control the means of production to create wealth and drive
economic development. We expressed dismay at current policies that favored unionized
construction shops, effectively blocking opportunities for non-union shops owned by black
contractors to fully participate in Public Works Projects. These include government-mandated
Project Labor Agreements (PLA’s) the Davis-Bacon Act, and other labor laws. And the list goes
on.
We discussed issues of concern, solutions and shared collective visions as they relate to how you
might implement policies for individuals around investment and wealth creation, economic
development, job creation, affordable housing and related policies. At the end of the day, one
participant remarked, "...for the first time ever, I feel like my voice was heard... (and something
will be done as a result)".
After the event was over, we shared a post-event survey that mirrored the questions on the Chicago
Community Trust’s On the Table Survey. Given the fact that themes surrounding collective
economics and self-determination surfaced, we included questions to help unpack those concepts
as well. There were 12 responses in all-10 from participants and 2 from invitees who were not
able to attend On the Table.
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Attachment 3: News Coverage
We thank Hurley Green, III, Publisher of the Chicago Independent Bulletin, for covering Our On
the Table event. Here is page 12 of the May 27th edition of the newspaper.
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Attachment 4: Highlights of the Day
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Memo To The Mayor-Final

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Memo To The Mayor-Final

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Photo: Ngozi Okorafor

Focused Conversations on Economic Development, Job

Steve Van Drunen, CEO, Providence Bank & Trust

Facilitators and Scribes

Editing and Survey Administration

Valerie F. Leonard, Founder, Nonprofit Utopia, LLC

Photographs and Videos

Hurley Green, III, Publisher, Chicago Independent Bulletin

From: On the Table Participants and Supporters

Date: May 28, 2019

High Level Recommendations

Economic Job Creation Housing Wealth Creation

We have provided links to attachments as follows:

• Recap of the Housing Conversation Provided by Tiffany Smith, Neighborhood Strategy

Other resources as follows:

Discussion Participants: G. Sequane Lawrence, Executive Manager, Fathers, Families and

Survey Respondents: G. Sequane Lawrence, David Robinson, Director of External Affairs,

Scribe: Leslie-Page Piper

Editor: Valerie F. Leonard

Issues and Ideas

Intersection of Discussion and Survey Results

Specific Actions You Can Take

We recommend that you focus on the following:

Equity, Diversity Inclusion, Transparency,

Successful Models of Cooperative Economics and Self-Determination

Chicago entities currently engaged in cooperative economics (worked-owned cooperatives)

Other Municipalities with an Equity Focus

Additional Input From: Lisa Marie Pickens, Principal, ARISE Consulting

Scribes: Patrick Brutus, Leslie-Page Piper

Editor: Valerie F. Leonard

Issues and Ideas

A number of ideas bubbled up, such as:

Specific Actions You Can Take

We recommend that you focus on the following:

Equity, Diversity Inclusion, Transparency,

Cooperative Economics and Self-Determination

Other Municipalities with an Equity Focus

We recommend two resources: Cooperatives in Wisconsin is a new publication that highlights

Scribes: Heather Parish, Tiffany Smith and Leslie Page-Piper

Survey Respondents: Rev. Joel Washington; Jacquelyn Baldwin

Editor: Valerie F. Leonard

Issues and Ideas

• Lack of access to capital for developers and homeowners/end users

Intersection of the Discussion and Survey Results

• Restorative Justice Process to Address Troubled Buildings: Community organizations

• Recirculation of dollars spent within the target community as resident

Our participant survey uncovered a number of ideas, including subsidized owner/management

Equity, Diversity Inclusion, Transparency,

Improving the Chicago Region by Improving the

Other Municipalities and Models with an Equity Focus

Discussion Participants: Teresa Rufaro Prim, Co-Founder, Prim-Lawrence Group;

Scribe: Ronald Milsap

Editor: Valerie F. Leonard

Issues and Ideas

We discussed several issues, including home ownership, business formation, innovation in

Equity, Diversity Inclusion, Transparency,

• Revisit Congressional Black Caucus – “WOW” Initiative – With Wealth Ownership

Other Municipalities and Models with an Equity Focus

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