Video of Occupy The Dream
By popular demand, here is the video of our IIRON Occupy The Dream event on January 15. Enjoy…
Attorney General Madigan Sues Standard & Poors
In another good turn for Wall Street accountability after last night’s SOTU announcement by the President of a full investigation of mortgage fraud, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan is suing Standard and Poors for their high rating of junk mortgages. This is indeed good news on the Wall Street accountability front. We always give elected officials credit where credit is due, so thank you Attorney General Madigan. Here is a link.
SOTU Announces Full Bankster Investigation–Our Organizing Victory!
If we can trust the State of the Union declaration, despite conflicted Eric Holder and other Administration secretaries, nearly all of whom have strong Wall Street ties, the President is now pushing for a full investigation of Wall Street mortgage fraud instead of pushing for a weak sweetheart deal for banks. Be assured, THIS IS OUR VICTORY! It is our organizing in IIRON, National Peoples Action, the New Bottom Line and others who have stood up for the 99% that has made this happen!
Word has it that shutting down Attorney General Madigan’s phones on Wednesday, our actions this Monday and all the in the street and on line organizing by IIRON and our national allies put a real scare into the re-election calculations. We prevailed because it became clear that running against our organized ire –on behalf of our members and communities who are underwater on their mortgages, in foreclosure and living with multiple vacant properties on their blocks–was just too scary a proposition. Letting banks off the hook is easy given the money they throw around in elections. But when the people organize on their own behalf, it becomes indefensible to sell them out. And that is what we’ve done! We’ve made it too hard to take care of the big money and too hard to sell out the 99%!
Congratulations to everyone who made a call, signed a petition, or had the courage to come out and personally confront banks and elected officials these past 2 years. Congratulations to the SOUL 16 who were arrested at the mortgage bankers convention in October. Congratulations to the 1500 people who came out to the Occupy the Dream meeting on MLK Sunday. Congratulations to Shani Smith and Rita Pope and all the other homeowners who had the courage to speak up and proclaim “its not my fault and I am not ashamed– and I’m fighting for my home and the millions of other family homes that Wall Street tried to steal! Congratulations to the 99%
LSS Home Liberation Journal: Days 2 & 3
Liberate the South Side’s Home Liberation Project kicked off if in full gear on Thursday, January 19th with a House Blessing from several religious leaders from across the Chicago and Northwest Indiana. Pastor Vance of St. Stephen’s Lutheran Church set the tone for day one of the Home Liberation stating, “We are here on this cold day to make sure our sister has a warm place to stay. What banks are doing to our communities is a moral outrage… and we are here to Liberate the South Side.”
Home Liberation Day 2
On day two of the Calumet Heights home liberation community groups held leadership meetings, the Anti-Eviction Defense Team met to discuss how to assist in the family’s transition, and the home liberation family packed for Saturday’s big move with much excitement.
Creating a safe community space and drawing attention to the issues of foreclosure, vacant property, the role of banks in crashing the economy, and the disproportionate impact on communities of color are major goals of the LSS Home Liberation Project. Community groups invited neighbors to join the leadership meetings and contribute to the discussion around the family’s transition. The conversations successfully set a moving strategy, helped compile some additional resources for the family, and propelled the Anti-Eviction team into action.
Members of the Anti-Eviction team assisted the family in packing, arranging for a moving truck, and pinpointing any additional needs for their transition into their new home. Liberated home occupant, Tene shared her hopes accessing affordable housing to shelter her family and fears that the banks would continue to terrorize the community with vacant homes and putting yet another working family on the streets. Her youngest daughter expressed her anticipation of moving into the new home by creating new hairstyles and clothes for each of her nine dolls before she packed them away for the move. “I will go to bed tomorrow with a warm roof over my head and wake up to a breakfast table with my family,” says the oldest son. His only regret was he could not share this experience with his two other siblings that are away at schools outside the city.
Home Liberation Day 3
LSS Anti-Eviction Defense Team jumped into action helping the family to move their personal belongings into the liberated home. Neighbors greeted the family with prayers, hugs, and donated furniture items. The family’s youngest member immediately ran to pick out the biggest room in the house as her own quickly unpacking and aligning her baby dolls in there new digs on her dresser. Mom was later surprised to see both children gathered in the living room around a small table to do their homework, “this is unheard of on a Saturday afternoon…who abducted my children,” she expressed with joy. The son explained there wasn’t heat in their last home forcing them to spend longer hours at school whenever possible or seeking some warmth under the covers. Now they had a warm, well-lit, and clean space to their assignments.
Although mom was tired she found the strength to shop for groceries and cook the family’s first sit down meal together in more than three years.
Urgent Action Needed: Stop AG’s/Obama from letting banks off the hook for fraud!
A sweetheart deal, letting the banks off the hook for fraud and absolving them of all liability is being hammered out in a room in Chicago right now! We must stop this grave miscarriage of justice and protect families and communities against the high crimes of Wall Street banks!
First, here is what you can do:
Sign the petition at New Bottom Line.
Call Attorney General Lisa Madigan at 312 814-3000.
Call the White House at (202) 456-1111
Tell them: Do not let the banks off the hook. The 50 state settlement must result in writing down all principal to current market value, no less than $300 billion in damages, and no waiver of liability other than robo-signing. If you are willing add: I will not vote for any elected official who supports a weak settlement and sides with the 1% over the 99%.
Background:
After Bank of America and the other big banks were caught fraudulently foreclosing on families in 2010, the 50 states attorneys general announced that they would file a joint lawsuit against the banks to demand restitution for those harmed and to prevent such abuses in the future. With AG Lisa Madigan on the executive committee of the suit, we all had great hopes that they would get the job done and finally hold these Wall Street banks accountable. More than a year later, after lots of back room meetings and the involvement of the Obama administration, it looks like they are on their way to handing another victory to Wall Street.
HUD Secretary Shawn Donovan is in Chicago today to convince states Attorneys General to back a settlement that would let the banks off the hook for their role in the foreclosure crisis – paying a tiny fraction of what’s needed in exchange for blanket immunity from future lawsuits.
This is unacceptable.
President Obama has the ability to stop and change the direction of this sweetheart deal. And he must choose. Will he settle for a deal that benefits the one percent and lets the big banks get away with their crimes? Or will he stand with the 99 percent and push for real accountability and a solution that will help millions of people in this country?
Here are the hard facts about the housing crisis we face:
- 3.5 million Americans are homeless.
- 18.5 million homes sit vacant.
- Since 2007 more than 7.5 million homes have been foreclosed.
- Default and foreclosure rates are now several times higher than at any time since the Great Depression.
Meanwhile, a report by New Bottom Line states that average banker pay at the six biggest banks hit an all-time high in 2011.
Instead of going to bonuses and compensation, this money could used to rebuild the economy decimated by the Wall Street banks during the mortgage crisis. Specifically:
- Just half of the banks’ bonus and compensation pools would be enough to write down the principals on all underwater mortgages in the country.
- If the six banks took half of their bonus and compensation pool and put it directly into a public service jobs fund, they could create 1.8 million jobs, and still have enough money left over to pay the average employee $60,605.
- Just 72% of the $144 billion in bonuses and compensation at the top six banks would have been enough money to plug the $102.9 billion in budget holes for all 50 states for the current fiscal year.
Our Demands:
1) Only with bold and courageous action, can President Obama restore our economy, provide real relief and opportunity for millions of people, and hold those accountable for who have unfairly and illegally taken so much from us. The Administration needs to use all the options at their disposal, from the Department of Justice to the SEC and the regulators to stand up for the 99% and hold Wall Street accountable. President Obama must:
a) Enact a full investigation into the fraudulent and illegal activities of the big banks.
b) The 50 states Attorneys Generals are negotiating a settlement with the big banks on their mortgage fraud activities-but reports say the deal will only result in $20-$25 billion for principal reduction. There can be no “sweetheart deal” percent deal with the big banks.
c) The big banks, such as Bank of America, Wells Fargo and JP Morgan Chase, must agree to a minimum of $$336 billion in principal reduction for underwater homeowners nationwide-especially for communities of color who were most targeted with fraudulent mortgage practices.
2) While banks, government officials and AGs meet behind closed doors, homeowners are left out in the cold.
a) The administration and the Attorneys General must recognize homeowners as a party of interest to the settlement, and give us a seat at the table.
b) Before any settlement is reached, the terms must be shared and discussed with homeowners and the public. We all have a stake in this settlement, and we should all have a say.
Our Actions Today:
80 leaders from IIRON and its affiliates SOUL and Northside POWER along with Illinois Peoples Action, Lakeview Action Coalition, National Peoples Action, New Bottom Line and Moveon assembled at the Thompson Center and delivered a letter to the staff of Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan. The letter demanded a deal that was fair to underwater homeowners or NO DEAL! The group then moved on to the Obama for America office in the Prudential Building where we were met by a huge detail of security and police who refused us access. The group negotiated a delegation of 5 to meet with a representative of OFA. An office manager was sent down who said he could not speak for the campaign but that he would have to talk to those who could. We asked to meet with “those who could” but were refused. We asked for a meeting with David Axelrod and were given the campaign number for the media.
About 30 of the leaders then made their way from downtown to the OHare Hilton where the AG’s were meeting with HUD Secretary Donavan and other administration officials but were denied access to the meeting room by another extremely heavy security detail. The group delivered a box of chocolates and a card reading: “Don’t give your love (and our money) to the 1%” signed, The 99%. Here is a link with video from our action today. Also Chicago Tribune coverage here and Firedoglake coverage here.
Your Action:
If you are reading this, we need you to move from thinking the right thoughts to doing the right thing. Please make the call and sign the petition to help us create the groundswell needed to stop one of the greatest miscarriages of justice in America’s history. If you want to get involved, go to contact us and fill out a form.
We’ll see in you in the streets….
Don’t let banks off the hook Mr. President, AG Madigan!
Updated 1/23 at 2:45PM
A meeting is being held in Chicago today (1/23) involving the Director of HUD, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan and other attorney’s general to settle the 50 state lawsuit against bank robo-signing fraud. Every indication is that this will be a weak sweetheart deal for the banks, letting them off for a pittance of the cost to mortgage borrowers and the economy and absolving them of all future liability. This would be one of the greatest miscarriages of justice in American history and we cannot let it happen. We cannot let any elected official believe this will be an acceptable action for their voting public.
Update: 80 leaders from IIRON and its affiliates SOUL and Northside POWER along with Illinois Peoples Action, Lakeview Action Coalition, National Peoples Action, New Bottom Line and Moveon assembled at the Thompson Center and delivered a letter to the staff of Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan. The letter demanded a deal that was fair to underwater homeowners or NO DEAL! The group then moved on to the Obama for America office in the Prudential Building where they were met by a huge detail of security and police who refused us access. The group negotiated a delegation of 5 to meet with a representative. An office manager was sent down who said he could not speak for the campaign but that he would have to talk to those who could. We asked to meet with “those who could” but were refused. We asked for a meeting with David Axelrod and were given the campaign number for the media.
About 30 of the leaders then went to the OHare Hilton where the AG’s were meeting with HUD Secretary Donavan and other administration officials but were denied access to the meeting room by another extremely heavy security detail. The group delivered a box of chocolates and a card reading: “Don’t give your love (and our money) to the 1%” signed, The 99%. Here are video links of the action...and here.
American homeowners collectively are at least $700 billion underwater on their mortgages due to the fraudulent housing bubble created by Wall Street and the big banks. This does not even include the costs of lost savings, foregone college educations, unemployment, bankruptcies, and community blight that has result4ed from fraudulent mortgage schemes and subsequent economic crash. Any settlement must include writing down all mortgage principals to their current appraised value instead of the bubble generated value and real remedies must be realized by those who suffered the consequences of the illegal activity of Wall Street.
For an excellent commentary on this issue see George Goehl, Director of National Peoples Action’s Huffpost piece here.
And please let Attorney General Lisa Madigan that a sweetheart deal for the banks will not be acceptable. Call her at 312 814 3000.Sample script can be found here. You might also call the Obama campaign HQ at 312 6983670 and sign a petition here.
LSS Home Liberation a Success!
LSS Home Liberation Project
Liberate the South Side is a group of concerned South Side and South Suburban residents, who are working together to hold Wall Street accountable to the needs of our communities. The group’s Home Liberation Project aims to re-occupy vacant, foreclosed homes.
Home Liberation Day 1
Liberate the South Side’s January 19th home liberation was a success! More than 30 South Side community leaders, neighbors, and a number of clergy met at the corner of 87th on Kenwood during an afternoon snow flurry before liberating a vacant home for a displaced family. Reporters, local news cameras, and photographers gathered around the group to document the rally lead by Pastor Vance of St. Stephen’s Lutheran Church and the new tenants of the liberated home. In the moments leading up to liberating the home there was so much joy and excitement, that participants barely noticed the cold brisk winds stirring.
The home had been vacant for two years and neighbors of the liberated home immediately welcomed the family onto their block. A group of neighbors presented the new tenant, a single mother of four, with housewarming gifts. Humbled, she stated to crowd “My name is Tene Smith. I am a single mother. I work two part-time jobs to support my family. I am an artist and welding student. The banks were bailed out and given a second chance. I believe that working families should be given a second chance as well, to have gainful employment and affordable housing. I want to say thank you to everyone for giving me and my family this chance.”
“Thousands of people are homeless in Chicago, while tens of thousands of properties in our city sit vacant,” says Rev. Thomas Gaulke of Trinity Lutheran Church. “The negligence and fraud of Wall Street should lead to the arrest and prosecution of bankers and the bankruptcy of the banks – not the homelessness for our people and blight in our communities.”
Several religious leaders from across Chicago and Northwest Indiana blessed the house, including Pastor Vance and Rev. Gaulke, before Tene hung a special painting she created for her new home.
Liberate the South Side’s Eviction Defense Team worked well into the night to finish painting and making last minute repairs so the family could move their personal belongings into the home.
Join the LSS Eviction Defense Team
Contact Shani at 773.359.6692 for information on how to join the LSS Eviction Defense Team. Liberate the South Side encourages you to become a member of their Eviction Defense Team. There are countless ways to get involved with LSS Home Liberation Project.
Goals of Liberate the South Side’s Home Liberation Project
- House displaced families.
- Reoccupy a vacant building that would otherwise contribute to community blight and attract crime.
- Create a safe community space in which neighbor can talk about the impact of the economic crises on the area, organize teach-ins on issues of economic and racial justice, host organizing trainings, community meals, etc.
- Draw attention to issues of foreclosure, vacant property, the role of banks in crashing the economy, and the disproportionate impact on communities of color.
Make a Contribution
Contribute to holding the banks accountable and fight the epidemic of abandoned homes! Most vacant homes have fallen into disrepair and are in danger of further deterioration. Your contribution will enable LSS to make needed repairs to homes we are able to liberate. Mail your check to:
Liberate the South Side
2901 S. King Drive, #1815
Chicago, IL 60616
Occupy the Dream MLK Celebration Packs the House
Dr. King’s Birthday Celebrated by 1,500 Strong
Occupy and Faith Communities Come Together Demanding an Economic Agenda for the 99%
1,500 people turned out IIRON’s Occupy the Dream public meeting, celebrating the legacy the Martin Luther King, Jr. by holding elected officials at the state and national level accountable to move to a progressive agenda protecting the interest of the 99%. Leaders also announced an week of action targeting banks that accepted tax payer financed bail-out funds, yet refuse to provide relief to homeowners in foreclosure.
“Our Democracy is being high jacked by the wealthy elite, large banks, and corporations who now control elections,” said Reverend Dwight Gardner, a pastor from Dr. King’s own Progressive Baptist denomination and keynote speaker. “Inequality in this nation, the gap between the haves and the have not’s, continues to grow. And only a few, that 1% so aptly named by the Occupy Movement, are benefiting at the expanse of the rest of us. This is not acceptable.”
Congressional representatives Jan Schakowsky (IL. 10), Jesse Jackson Jr. (IL. 2) and Peter Visclosky (IN 1) attended andcommitted to federal infrastructure and jobs legislation. Schakowsky and Jackson also committed to a millionaire’s tax and a financial speculation tax.
State Senator Heather Steans and State Representatives Robyn Gabel and Kelly Cassidy pledged to fight any attempt to roll back corporate taxes in Illinois and to work for a more progressive tax system.
Rep. Kelly Cassidy (D-14) said, “The number of people who turned out today to pledge to work for change gives me great hope that we can finally create a progressive tax system progressive tax system and raise the revenue to providesservices to the people of the state of Illinois.”
On Monday, Jan 16, people of faith will protest the epidemic level of foreclosures and astronomical student debt at the Federal Reserve Bank.
Northside P.O.W.E.R. will march to Bank of America on Tuesday, January 17 at 3:30 p.m. to demand that Bank of America stop foreclosure proceedings on an Evanston resident and write down her mortgage to fair market value. Afterwards, they will march to Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s office to demand the withdrawal of Illinois from the 50 state robosigning settlement, which would let banks of the hook for the full extent of the economic damage caused illegal foreclosures.
On Wednesday, Jan 18, at 9:30 am the Northwest Indiana Federation will occupy the Gary Board of Works & Safety.
On Thursday, Liberate the Southside will occupy a vacant, foreclosed home that they have repaired. The will turn the home over to a homeless family.
Occupy the Dream was sponsored by IIRON and its member organizations: Southsiders Organized for Unity and Liberation (SOUL), Northside P.O.W.E.R., the Northwest Indiana Federation and the IIRON Student Network. Occupy the Dream is also endorsed by Make Wall Street Pay Illinois and Occupy Chicago.
1,500 people attended IIRON's Occupy the Dream MLK Public Meeting
The crowd listens to Rita Pope share experience of foreclosure at the hands of Bank of America.
Congressman Peter Visclosky of Northwest Indiana addresses the IIRON Public Meeting
Congresswoman Jan Schakowksy addresses the IIRON Public Meeting
From Left: State Rep. Kelly Cassidy, State Senator Heather Steans, and State Rep. Robyn Gabel, commit to fighting any attempts to roll back corporate taxes in Illinois and to work for a fair taxation systems.
Jesse Jackson Jr. speaks at the IIRON Public Meeting
The Demands of the 99%
Having articulated the frame of “Make Wall Street Pay” and advanced a variety of campaigns against the big banks that crashed the economy, IIRON and its national network, National Peoples Action were elated to see the Occupy Wall Street movement take off. Locally, many IIRON leaders have participated in numerous activities and actions of Occupy Chicago over he past months. IIRON and its affiliates have conducted our own actions against banks, taken arrests at the annual conference of the Mortgage Bankers Association of America, and are about to begin the occupation of a vacant home and initiate an eviction resistance campaign called “We Will Not Be Moved”. We are the 99% and an occupying force in our own right.
One criticism of the occupy movement is the lack of a coherent set of specific demands. Partially, this is a construction of the mainstream media who simply do not seem to understand combinations of words like “take the money out of politics”, “bust up the big banks”, or “tax the rich”. Where the criticism has some merit is in an ongoing structured set of coherent demands and a strategy to impose consequences on the appropriate decision makers until those demands are won. That is the stuff of organizers, like IIRON, but not so much of a broad social movement. This really is not a criticism. They are different and very complimentary creatures. Before the Occupy movement we had lots of organizing and no space to talk about major systems change. This is a once in a generation opportunity. But it must not be wasted by folks like us who have mastered that other part of the equation– winning specific victories. The leaders and organizers of IIRON are bound and determined to do our part in this historic moment to both help build and properly use the energy, anger and visibility of this movement to make major systems change.
On this Sunday, January 15th from 2:30 to 4:30 (at Peoples Church, 941 W. Lawrence Avenue) IIRON and its allies, including Occupy Chicago will move a number of specific issues and demands along toward the goal of winning. These include:
Moving our individual and organizational money and accounts out of Bank of America, Chase Bank and Wells Fargo. This is a part of a major national campaign with a demand to write down every underwater mortgage in America to its real value.
Engage Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle to enter into a process to create banking standards for county money.
A campaign to get Illinois Attorney General to drop out of the watered down and completely inadequate 50 state “settlement” on a lawsuit against illegal robo-signing. Indications are that while this bank fraud cost homeowners $700 billion, the plan is to settle for $20 billion and absolve the banks of all responsibility on every fraudulent practice, not just robo-signing.
Secure commitments from state legislators to vote against proposed corporate tax breaks and for more revenue sources from corporations and the rich; and to introduce legislation for a state public development bank.
Secure commitments from area congressmen for specific jobs and infrastructure legislation, and a financial speculation tax.
Launch a series of strategic actions to move these demands: bank actions, shareholder meeting takeovers, eviction resistance, home occupations, moving our money, call in days and voter education.
You can be part of the solution of the 99% by joining us Sunday and working to implement these very real and specific solutions to the power and abuse of Wall Street. Come out Sunday and Occupy the Dream!
See you there, and thereafter!
