BPI is a public interest law and policy center dedicated to addressing compelling issues of social justice and quality of life in the Chicago region.
     Just Now
      News from BPI
December 2016
Help Us Create a Just Society

Our friends sometimes tell us they find it challenging to briefly describe BPI's work to others.  Because we are in the trenches on so many critical issues--affordable housing, justice reform, racial segregation, concentrated poverty, early childhood learning, government corruption--our work resists distillation into a sound bite or elevator speech.
 
But the essential BPI message is resoundingly clear:  We are committed to creating a just society by addressing the systemic inequities that all too often define, limit, and damage the lives of low-income children, families, and individuals.
 
Yes, these problems are huge and intractable, but BPI is hard at work in creating and advancing solutions. In 2016, we were on the front lines of social justice issues, including:
  • Taking steps to strengthen Chicago's police accountability system
  • Working to reform Illinois' criminal justice system
  • Providing young children in the Altgeld-Riverdale community with opportunities to improve their chances for success in school and life
  • Expanding housing opportunities for public housing families

We can only do it with the support of people like you.  Please consider BPI in your year-end giving.  Now -- more than ever -- BPI and the people we serve need you at our side. 
  
Documentary Examines How Police Contract Language Hampers Accountability


BPI Director of Justice Reform Adam Gross is featured in a documentary released this week by Al Jazeera English examining Chicago police accountability in the aftermath of the Laquan McDonald shooting.

The Contract: Chicago's Police Union, part of a series called Fault Lines, focuses on how provisions in the City's contract with the Fraternal Order of Police create conditions that hamper investigations and can lead to cover-ups of improper actions. One of the problematic clauses in the contract calls for a mandatory 24-hour waiting period prior to the questioning of any police officer involved in a shooting. 

Replacement of Public Housing Units Is Critical to Success of Lathrop Redevelopment

As the construction start date for mixed income redevelopment of Lathrop Homes approaches, most likely in early 2017, BPI is involved in activities to ensure that public housing units not being replaced on the site are replaced instead in non-segregated neighborhoods of opportunity on Chicago's North Side.

Lathrop, constructed in the 1930s at Diversey Avenue and the Chicago River, once had 925 non-elderly low-rise units and is one of the very few major CHA developments on the North Side.  In recent decades, it fell into disrepair, and today only 144 units are occupied.  Ten years ago, CHA announced that it intended to redevelop Lathrop as a mixed-income community. After several years of planning and extensive community dialogue, a plan has been adopted that calls for 401 public housing, 494 market rate, and 221 affordable units. The plan thus eliminates 524 public housing units in an amenity-rich North Side neighborhood that has quality public schools, low crime rates, a variety of job opportunities, and good access to parks and retail and healthcare services.

Alex Polikoff delivers oral arguments to the Illinois Supreme Court.
State Supreme Court Decision a Victory for Honest Government 

In a unanimous opinion issued earlier this month, the Illinois Supreme Court upheld the authority of Cook County's Independent Inspector General to investigate possible corruption in the Cook County Assessor's Office.

BPI Senior Staff Counsel Alexander Polikoff, acting in the capacity of Special State's Attorney, represented Cook County Independent Inspector General Patrick Blanchard throughout the four-year dispute with the Assessor's Office.  

"The ruling is more than a victory for the Independent Inspector General of Cook County," Polikoff said. "It is also a victory for open and honest government, and therefore for the people of Cook County and, more broadly, Illinois."


(L to R) Lolita Cleveland_ Resource Coordinator at Chicago-based Youth Guidance_ and Angela Bailey_ Senior Policy Associate at BPI_ at the statewide Innovation Zone Conference November 10 in Bloomington.
Altgeld-Riverdale Innovation Zone Praised at State Conference

The Altgeld-Riverdale Early Childhood Innovation Zone, a partnership between BPI and a community-wide coalition, received accolades at a statewide conference earlier this month for successfully increasing preschool enrollment at the schools and centers within its borders.

"This Innovation Zone developed new pipeline strategies with a diverse array of community partners including the local housing authority, park district, public library, local health center, and several social service agencies. Together they are supporting area preschools and childcare centers in their efforts to increase early learning opportunities for families from priority populations. They found success one small win at a time, achieving between 80% and 100% enrollment in school and center-based early learning programs this year," said Leah Pouw, who oversees all 11 of the state's Innovation Zones for Illinois Action for Children. "The high levels of enrollment are the result of an organized and comprehensive effort to get all partners on board by engaging families in the enrollment process."


Meet Mara Easterbrook, Polikoff-Gautreaux Fellow

Hometown: Bethesda, Maryland

Education:  JD, University of Chicago Law School, 2016; BA, Law Letters & Society, University of Chicago, 2013

Areas of Interest : The legal issues that interest me most concern civil rights, particularly in the context of criminal justice reform, housing, and voting rights. I'm also interested in public policy as a tool to combat poverty, particularly in the realm of education, community development, and health care.

Why BPI: I hoped to come to BPI because I wanted to work on Chicago-specific social justice issues. BPI, and the Polikoff-Gautreaux Fellowship in particular, provides an amazing opportunity to work on a variety of issues that are pressing to low-income, and under-represented, people in Chicago. BPI is staffed by thoughtful and dedicated people with expertise on Chicago social policy, and it's a great place to work on advancing law and policies that improve quality of life for low-income Chicagoans.

What she's working on : I'm primarily working on public housing issues. I'm involved in litigation to preserve the number of public housing units on Chicago's North Side. I'm helping to organize BPI's position on CHA waitlist policy, and I represent the interests of the Gautreaux class at several public housing developments. I'm also involved in BPI's criminal justice reform project, working on the issue of cash bail and pre-trial systems reform in Cook County.

Book on her nightstand:   Slaughterhouse Five  by Kurt Vonnegut. And, from my phone on my nightstand: the "Stuff You Should Know" podcast. I just listened to a good one called "Why Did Easter Island's Civilization Collapse?"

Hobbies:  Reading, working out, cooking, following Chicago sports, waiting for Beyonce's next album to come out. 

Fun Fact:   I saw Chicago's own Phil Ponce in the audience at a play last week! I was too shy to go up and say hi, but I'm hoping word gets back to him that I'm a big fan and have several story ideas I'd like to run by him. 

  
Just Now  is BPI's periodic electronic newsletter. Have a question or comment?  Send feedback to BPI Director of Communications Andi Rosen at arosen@bpichicago.org

BPI is a public interest law and policy center that for 47 years has worked to create a just society.  BPI strives to resolve compelling issues of social justice and quality of life in the Chicago region by addressing the challenges of urban poverty, increasing housing and educational opportunities, building vital communities, and improving Illinois' justice system.

Considered one of Chicago's most tenacious and versatile advocates for the public interest, BPI lawyers and policy experts engage in legal and policy research, advocacy, organizing, litigation, and collaboration with nonprofit, community, governmental, business and academic organizations to accomplish our mission.