Story by Adam Doster. Originally published on Progress Illinois.
As the U.S. Senate prepares to take up a comprehensive bill to extend the deadline for unemployment benefits through the end of the year, anti-hunger and labor advocates in Chicago want lawmakers to remember just how intensely people are struggling here in the Midwest.
After days of Republican obstruction, the U.S. Senate approved legislation late last night that will extend temporarily the deadline for unemployment benefits. While the end to the stalemate is welcome news, anti-hunger and labor advocates in Chicago aren’t entirely thrilled with the outcome. As the upper chamber prepares to take up a second bill to extend the deadline through the end of the year, these advocates want Senators to remember just how intensely people are struggling here in the Midwest.
This afternoon, Chicago Jobs With Justice (CJWJ) organized a “Senate Soup Kitchen” in Federal Plaza to dramatize the need for relief. Specifically, the group is demanding federal action to extend (and expand) eligibility for jobless benefits and fund a federal jobs program. “What’s going on in Washington? They are so out of touch,” said Diane Doherty of the Illinois Hunger Coalition. “They don’t hear the voices of people in our communities.” Watch it:
To learn more about CJWJ’s work around the issue of unemployment — or to get involved yourself — contact Susan Hurley: susanh(at)jwj.org.
[...] week you helped Jobs with Justice, in coordination with the Jobs for America Now Coalition, hold actions in cities nationwide and make phone calls that pushed Congress to extend emergency federal [...]