Grassroots public pressure can have an impact, and not just in Washington.

Last summer, shareholders in a major American gun company, Sturm Ruger & Co., ordered the CEO to issue an annual report on the company’s efforts to reduce the harm associated with its guns. Why? Simply to put and keep the issue on the agenda.

The shareholders’ resolution was drafted by a group of religious leaders — the Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility — and a grassroots advocacy group — the Metro Industrial Areas Foundation.

1212 Larkin is a proposed integrated permanent supportive housing project in Elgin, Illinois. The proposed development will consist of 48 units in 12 new-construction, multifamily apartment buildings, and the preservation and historic reuse of the former Larkin Center. It is targeted to serve populations with special needs, and working families, reaching a broad range of Elgin renters in need of affordable housing.

As of July 1, our region is within reach of a pragmatic solution to a major social problem -- the overuse of emergency rooms as the default destination of those with mental illness who are apprehended by police but should not be incarcerated.

Law enforcement officials find it frustrating to sit for hours in emergency rooms until the overworked medical staff finds the time to treat a person. Those struggling with mental illness often worsen while waiting -- trauma on a street followed by trauma in a loud and crowded ER waiting room. And the families of those with mental illness are often left to wonder what is happening to their loved one.

The State of Illinois has passed its first capital budget in ten years this past weekend.

DuPage United and the Fox River Valley Initiative with the rest of the Illinois Metro IAF affiliates (Lake County United and United Power for Action and Justice) fought hard for inclusion of substantial money for affordable housing and for specific allocation of funds for what we call “Reclaiming Communities” in two Chicago neighborhoods: Southwest Chicago and Lawndale. We won on each front.

Los Angeles County supervisors approved a plan Men’s Central Jail downtown and build at least one mental health treatment facility in its place. A partial victory in seeking alternatives to incarceration.

In his first few weeks as governor, J.B. Pritzker will have to take a swing at a lot of tough pitches, but one important issue looks to us like an easy fastball over the middle of the plate.

We urge Gov.-elect Pritzker to take the lead in creating a network of crisis stabilization units in lllinois, which basically are emergency rooms for people in the throes of a mental health breakdown.

On May 10, the shareholders of a major American gun company took a modest step toward responsibly addressing the unacceptable levels of gun-related deaths and crime in our nation. Shareholders of Sturm, Ruger & Co. (Ruger) passed a resolution requiring the company to issue a report on its actions to mitigate harm associated with its products.

On April 25th, 10 leaders from Metro IL IAF along with the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago (CIOGC) attended the Aurora Public Library Board meeting in response to the satirical poem that was on display at the library that incited violence against Muslim women and others.

The four IL IAF affiliates - DuPage United, Fox River Valley Initiative, Lake County United and United Power for Action and Justice - assembled 1257 leaders from the across four counties in Northern Illinois to meet with all 10 candidates for Illinois Attorney General - 8 Democrats and 2 Republicans in advance of the March 20th Primary election. 

We, the members of DuPage United, demur President Trump’s misguided demonizing of Muslims and his use of publicly-known extremist propaganda. We believe that the use of this hate-filled speech puts the lives of not only our Muslim neighbors’ at risk, but all minority groups. The rise in virulent anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim, and anti-minority messaging has already resulted in a rise in Hate Crimes, most notably against Muslims in 2016 according to the FBI.