VIA Times – July 2016 Issue Vital News, Vibrant Views for Asian Americans in Chicago & Midwest
By: Veronica Leighton
The month of July has brought us the most interesting news stories that not only affect us as individuals but the entire world that we live in. From the city of Chicago’s property tax concerns thus calling for mayoral term limits, the state of Illinois’ business/entrepreneurship concerns for the minority, women, and persons with disabilities, to the Philippines/China issue over the maritime use of the West Philippine Sea & South China Sea. Read with me the latest developments on these important, unfolding topics before our eyes…
* Governor Signs Executive Order to Ensure Equal Opportunities for All Illinois Businesses–Executive Order 2016-08 offers reforms to address disparity among minority, women and persons with disabilities owned businesses that utilize state contracts
Governor Bruce Rauner signed on July 13 an Executive Order to help ensure equal opportunity is provided to all Illinois businesses looking to contract with the State. Executive Order 16-08 directs the Illinois Department of Central Management Services (CMS) to oversee the implementation of the recommendations from a 2015 Disparity Study. It also directs CMS to investigate and, if needed, take appropriate steps to implement a sheltered markets initiative, to increase the number businesses owned and controlled by minorities, women, and persons with disabilities doing business with the State.
“We need to lift up minorities, women, and persons with disabilities who have been overlooked within our society and are underrepresented in our economy,” Governor Rauner said. “Illinois is one of the most diverse states in the country, yet a 2015 study found that disparities exist between the number of minority-owned and women-owned businesses and their utilization on contracts and subcontracts through the State. This Executive Order seeks to address this disparity and ensure more minority-owned businesses are given the opportunity to do business with the State.”
EO 16-08 directs CMS to institute a number of reforms to how it currently administers State of Illinois Business Enterprise Program (BEP) to address the problems highlighted by a 2015 Disparity Study. Details of the study can be found here.
Many of these reforms are common sense administrative fixes to make it easier for BEP businesses to understand and access state markets, including: creating an electronic data collection and monitoring system to track BEP utilization; reviewing CMS’ own process for setting BEP goals on state contracts; and, reviewing the time it takes to get procurements out to the public and the time bidders have to submit responses to these procurements.
“This Executive Order, especially the thoughtful consideration of use of Sheltered Markets, is perhaps the most important step the State of Illinois has taken toward bringing equity to Black and minority-owned businesses in the state,” said Larry Ivory, President and CEO of the Black Chamber of Commerce.
Other reforms are designed to help BEP businesses become more competitive bidders, including: developing a mentoring program to pair BEP businesses with more established businesses; strengthening State-sponsored bonding and financial assistance programs; and, implementing procurement forecasts to increase BEP businesses’ access to contracting information.
“This is an important step for the minority business community and their ability to compete and grow,” said Sheila Morgan, President and CEO of the Chicago Minority Supplier Development Council. “The Governor’s action today shows a sincere desire to support economic development through inclusive practices in procurement in the State of Illinois.”
The Executive Order also directs CMS to determine whether the creation of “Sheltered Markets” can reduce disparities and, if so, take appropriate steps to establish sheltered markets in industry-specific areas.
Sheltered markets may be created when certain State procurement solicitations are specifically set aside for BEP-eligible businesses. These initiatives are able to target areas where discriminatory practices have prevented progress towards parity in contracting. They also complement and bolster the efforts of other BEP measures such as the state goal of 20 percent of contracts awarded to minority businesses.
Pursuant to the Executive Order, CMS must report on its results on July 1st of each year, beginning on July 1, 2017.
Record property tax hike shows need for Mayoral Term Limits and Fulltime Consumer Advocate
An appeal from former IL Gov. Pat Quinn: “As Chicago homeowners opened their mailboxes recently, some screamed. The property tax bill had arrived, with City Hall’s spine-tingling property tax increases. The Mayor engineered the record-high $588 million hike just after his reelection.
Chicagoans already pay some of the nation’s highest property taxes, on top of artificial levies and fees such as the corruption-riddled red-light camera program. And now we have the new garbage collection fee on our water bills!
Ben Franklin once said death and taxes were inevitable, but he never said it’s inevitable to be taxed to death. The recent unfair tax and fee increases on the backs of working people underlines the need for a fundamental structural change in the Office of the Mayor.
That’s why Chicago needs mayoral term limits.
And that’s why we’ve launched the Take Charge Chicago petition drive. Our two referendums would term limit Chicago’s Mayor and establish an elected Consumer Advocate. They would be Chicago’s first binding referendums in memory.
Chicago is the only city among the nation’s ten largest without mayoral term limits. Big cities like New York, Los Angeles, Houston, and Philadelphia all have term limits on their mayors. Twenty Illinois communities have mayoral term limits, including Springfield, Naperville, Des Plaines, and Oak Lawn. The President of the United States is term limited. Term limits curbs the clout of insiders and SuperPACs, stirs things up, and encourages fresh voices.
An elected Consumer Advocate would have stood up for taxpayers during last year’s budget battle and made millionaires and big corporations pay their fair share. The Consumer Advocate will fight for equality in the tax code, be a watchdog for openness in City Hall and be a champion for everyday people.
We hope to collect 100,000 signatures of registered voters to put the Take Charge referendums on the ballot. Then, if a majority say “Yes”, both reforms automatically take effect in time for the 2019 election. The current Mayor would be ineligible to run in 2019.
We need your signature and help in collecting signatures. Download a petition now at TakeChargeChicago.org, or call 773- 999-2016. Find Take Charge Chicago on Facebook and follow @TakeChargeChi on Twitter. Join the grassroots movement to reform Chicago, one petition signature at a time.” *****
Statement of Former Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose L. Cuisia, Jr. on the Arbitral Tribunal’s Ruling
“I join the entire Filipino nation and the international community in welcoming the decision of the Arbitral Tribunal on the case filed by the Philippines against China over maritime issues in the South China Sea and the West Philippine Sea.
I wish to thank all the 5 Judges of the Tribunal led by its President Thomas Mensah from Ghana, and its members composed of Judge Jean-Pierre Cot from France, Judge Stanislaw Pawlak from Poland, Judge Alfred Soons from the Netherlands, and Judge Rudiger Wolfrum from Germany. The Tribunal was ably assisted by the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) as Registrar led by Ms. Judith Levine and her team of lawyers and staff.
I also wish to thank the outstanding legal counsels of the Philippines led by Mr. Paul Reichler from Foley and Hoag, and his team composed of Mr. Lawrence Martin, Professor Bernard Oxman, Professor Philippe Sands, Professor Alan Boyle, and Mr. Andrew Lowenstein.
Most especially, I wish to thank former President Benigno Aquino III and his former Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert Del Rosario for their iron will to do what is right amid adversity. Without their personal leadership and their principled foreign policy, we would not have been able to come to this point.
The former President and Foreign Affairs Secretary were assisted with complete dedication by the men and women of the Department of Foreign Affairs, Department of Justice, Office of the President and the Office of the Solicitor General.
The decision of the PCA affirms what the Philippines has been espousing all the along, that the disputes in the South China Sea should be resolved peacefully on the basis of international law, including UNCLOS. As Secretary Del Rosario once said, “International law is the tie that binds all states in a community of nations. Take it out, and then international relations will fall into anarchy and chaos.”
With this award, it is my fervent hope that China, as a party to the UNCLOS, and as a responsible member of the international community, will abide by the Tribunal’s decision. The decision should now serve as basis for any future discussions relating to the final resolution of the South China Sea question.
As the former Philippine Ambassador to the United States, I likewise wish to take this opportunity to thank the US government for consistently supporting the peaceful resolution of disputes in the South China Sea. The US has made clear that it does not take sides on the competing territorial claims, but it has a clear stake in preserving freedom of navigation and commerce through some of the world’s busiest sea lanes. We appreciate US statements consistently stating that the US will sail, fly, and operate anywhere that international law permits.” ##
IL Gov. Bruce Rauner signs Executive Order 2016-08 that offers reforms to address disparity among minority, women and persons with disabilities owned businesses that utilize state contracts, surrounded by some State officials and community leaders; 2nd photo: Gov. Bruce Rauner with VT/CPRTV’s Joe Mauricio and Ed Ortiz of E.C. Ortiz Company, LLP., representing the Filipino-American community.
