The Illinois Green Party Presidential Primary is now open until midnight on February 19th.  This vote will help determine how delegates are assigned to candidates at the Green Party Presidential Nominating Convention in Baltimore in July. Anyone is welcome to vote, but you must also sign up on line as a member of the Green Party.  The ballot includes a registration form, which will also work to renew current members for the upcoming year.

People’s State of the Union: A Green New Deal for America from Jill Stein for President on Vimeo.

by Steve Alesch, DuPage County Greens

Duopoly President Obama has indicated that he plans to sign the bills into law shortly, despite the fact that the several unfair trade agreements the US has already agreed to, for example CAFTA, NAFTA, GATT, and WTO, are a major root cause of the US Great Recession that has persisted for 3 years resulting in more than a 17% real unemployment rate and the highest US poverty rate in over 50 years.

Obama campaigned with a message that unfair trade agreements were US job killers and needed to be re-written to be fair to US workers.  Now he is stabbing US workers in the back by supporting these 3 new job killing unfair trade bills.

It’s also very hard to find any news about this in the US corporate controlled media.  Note that 5 CEOS control 80% of our media.  Here’s a story from a foreign news outlet regarding this betrayal of the 99%.

It’s time to join the occupation of Washington DC.

November 26, 2010

Candidate for 12th Ward Alderman, Alberto Bocanegra, Jr. announced today that he is fully behind the effort to pass the Clean Power Ordinance which was introduced by Alderman Joe Moore. Alberto points out that the 12th Ward is right between the two old coal fired power plants, Fisk and Crawford. These plants are contaminating the air that residents breathe, causing unnecessary illness and death. “The time is long past when these plants should have cleaned up their emissions,” Alberto said. Alberto points out that this ordinance would force big reductions in the fine particulate matter coming from these plants as well as reductions in carbon dioxide which is the main gas contributing to global warming.

“Midwest Generation needs to take the responsible course of action and implement controls on its contamination,” said Alberto. He points out that the ordinance gives Midwest Generation the option of cleaning up their emissions or closing the plants. “We hope that Midwest Generation will choose to clean up its emissions. But if they choose to shut the plants instead, they must fair alternatives to any workers who are displaced, “Alberto emphasized.

Alberto pointed out the study done by the Environmental Law and Policy Center showing that the Fisk and Crawford plants have caused between $750 million and $1 billion in public health damages since 2002. “The residents of the 12th Ward should not be forced to bear the monetary and health costs of this outmoded technology,” stated Alberto.

“For the sake of all residents of Chicago and the surrounding suburbs, this legislation needs to move forward as fast as possible,” Alberto points out. Alderman Cardenas is now taking over the leadership of the Committee on Health since Alderman Ed Smith is retiring. Alderman Cardenas should push for a joint committee hearing between the Committee on Health and the Committee on Energy, Environmental Protection, and Public Utilities on this ordinance in early December. This is needed so that the ordinance can be passed by the current City Council early in 2010.