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Rahm Wants Urban Farms, Mobile Food Trucks

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More than 600,000 Chicagoans lack easy access to a grocery store offering healthy and fresh foods, according to mayoral candidate Rahm Emanuel.

To eradicate food deserts in low-income communities throughout the city, Emmanuel plans to increase access to fresh food options, by “engaging smaller local grocery stores, facilitating public-private partnerships and encouraging community gardens to thrive,” he said at a Feb. 1 press conference at Growing Power Iron Street Farm, 3333 S. Iron St.

Chicago mayoral candidate Rahm Emanuel fielding reporters questions, during his press conference at the Growing Power Iron Street Farm, on Feb. 1, where he talked about his plans to combat food deserts in low-income communities across the city. Photo by Mary C. Johns

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Categories: Homepage Special Reports

Crystal Clear Views

by  Editorial Assistant

I was recently invited to speak at a panel discussion to talk about a scary incident I had with asthma last summer. I almost died because I didnt take care of myself the way I should have.

I spoke at an asthma summit sponsored by the Grand Boulevard Federation on August 22nd and 23rd at Lindblom High School. Other presenters at the event spoke about their concerns about what was triggering asthma attacks in their communities and the reports of increased cases of asthma throughout the city. After hearing the others speak and thinking about my own near-fatal account with asthma, I felt the need to share my story further with the public. I cannot stress enough the importance of taking care of yourself if you are asthmatic.
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Bird Flu Pandemic Expected

by  Editor-in-Chief

Congressional leaders are currently rushing to prepare for the “looming danger” of a bird flu pandemic, according to U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA), and others who spoke at the federal Health and Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee hearings on Influenza Preparedness, on January 31, 2006, in Washington , D.C.

A Rush to Prepare
“The public needs to be informed about what is coming and educated about what actions are expected of it” declared Dr. Joanne Godley, a bioethicist and acting health commissioner, Philadelphia Department of Social Services.

“Scientists, doctors and public health people tell us that it’s not a matter of if but when [the bird flu] will move into a pandemic stage,” declared Harkin during the televised hearings on C-Span 2.
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Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit

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In March 2003, President George W. Bush proposed a new framework to modernize and improve Medicare to Congress. Eight months later, on December 8, President Bush signed the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003.

Designed to help seniors pay prescription drug bills, the president hailed his reforms, but a growing number of critics are finding fault with the new benefit. The basic question remains: will the Bush Administration drug benefit help seniors pay for their medicine?

Medicare is a federal government program that provides health insurance for seniors aged 65 and above, as well as people with disabilities and those with permanent kidney failure. The original Medicare plan only covers prescription drugs in a few cases, like certain cancer medicines. Read more »

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The True Face of Poverty

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From nearly every front, many Americans report that the economy was good during the nineties. Statistics indicate that unemployment was down, salaries went up and the stock market was booming. However, now studies are beginning to trickle in showing that for those already living at the extreme end of the economic income range, their situation actually worsened, leaving many Americans dangerously exposed when the economy stalled in the past couple years.

In late September, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that 1.7 million people slid into poverty in the last decade. The report also showed that the Midwest was hit the hardest of any region due mostly to loss of manufacturing companies in the area.
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Stop The Violence

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In this article, I’ll continue to describe the deplorable conditions we live in at Ogden Courts. There are two buildings in Ogden Courts at 2610 and 2710 W. Ogden Ave. Our buildings are only seven stories high. This means they won’t be torn down in the transformation of the CHA complexes I learned this at the last meeting we had to meet our new manager. They finally fixed the second opening to the lobby. They fixed up many empty apartments but they rented them to new tenants. Read more »

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Altgeld Gardens News

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A note from me: I hope everyone in all of CHA had Happy Holidays and also if I haven’t gotten to you; I’ll be around soon.

New Clinic

I would like to tell you about the new Clinic in Altgeld. We had a lovely small program. Gov. Jim Edgar cut the ribbon on Wednesday, Oct. 22, and this is how the program went: Read more »

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