Announcing The Chicago Resilient Families Initiative Task Force
Following the press release announcing the creation of the Chicago Resilient Families Initiative Task Force and an invitation by Alderman Ameya Pawar to leaders in the community, the task force assembled for its first meeting on September 26, 2018.
Co-chaired by Alderman Pawar, CEO of American Red Cross Celena Roldan, and SEIU Local 1 President Tom Balanoff, the task force is composed of elected officials, city department heads, and leaders from labor, philanthropy, business, and the faith community.
The purpose of the task force is to advance a dialogue on Universal Basic Income (UBI) and modernizing the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), and to drive a national conversation to deconstruct the narrative around deserving and undeserving people, especially as it relates to social welfare policy. The goal is to publish a report on a Chicago-run UBI program and list a series of prescriptive policies aimed at reducing poverty in the city and beyond. The task force will (1) recommend what a pilot — run by a range of city actors, public and private — could look like and (2) outline potential policies that could increase economic security in Chicago to educate policymakers.
After initial introductions, the task force launched into a fruitful discussion to frame its upcoming exploratory activities. The diverse backgrounds of the task force members and ensuing partnerships with city departments and external stakeholders, foundations, advocacy organizations, philanthropists, and leading public policy makers, will ensure that a comprehensive path forward is taken to promote economic freedom and dignity for all Chicagoans. We look forward to the innovative vision that these leaders will bring forth in the coming months.
Chicago Resilient Families Initiative Task Force Members:
Ameya Pawar, Alderman, 47th Ward
Celena Roldan, American Red Cross
Tom Balanoff, SEIU Local1
Amy Rynell, Heartland Alliance Impact
Bob Reiter, Chicago Federation of Labor
Carmelo Barbaro, University of Chicago Poverty Lab
Chasse Rehwinkel, Illinois State Comptroller
Christian Mitchell, State Representative, 26th District
Cindy Moelis, Pritzker Traubert Foundation
Damon Jones, University of Chicago, Harris School of Public Policy
Dorian Warren, Center for Community Change
Helene Gayle, Chicago Community Trust
Ellen Alberding, Joyce Foundation
Geoffrey Nagle, Erikson Institute
Gilbert Villegas, Alderman, 36th Ward
Harper Reed, PayPal
Joe Moreno, Alderman, 1st Ward
Lisa Morrison Butler, Department of Family and Support Services
Maria Pesqueira, Healthy Communities Foundation
Maria Whelan, Illinois Action for Children
Marisa Novara, Metropolitan Planning Council
Mary Howard, Chicago Housing Authority
Michelle Harris, Alderman, 8th Ward
Natalie Foster, Economic Security Project
Pastor Chris Harris, Bright Star Church
Pat O’Connor, Alderman, 40th Ward
Roderick Sawyer, Alderman, 6th Ward
Sol Flores, La Casa Norte
