Research Study

Roseland: Needs Assessment and Organizational Infrastructure, an Introduction

Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 10/26/2009 - 10:42

Between August and November 1984, The University of Illinois Center for Urban Economic Development (CUED) conducted a study of the Roseland community.
The study of Roseland had two basic components:

1. An assessment of needs and resources. This component was designed to determine the most pressing needs in Roseland as well as the community's potential for revitalization.

2. An analysis of organizational resources. This was done to determine the availability of local organizations and other actors engaged in efforts aimed at the improvement of local conditions in Roseland.

Humbolt Park: Employment Challenges and Opportunities

Submitted by CUED WEB ADMINISTRATOR (not verified) on Fri, 10/16/2009 - 16:50

Chicago’s Humboldt Park economy and residential community have changed significantly since the 1970s. Traditionally a predominately white, working-class community, since the early 1970s, Humboldt Park has grown increasingly Latino and poor. Unemployment has risen, while manufacturing employment dropped by 70 percent between 1972 and 1993.

Employment, Housing and Anti-Displacement Services In West Town

Submitted by CUED WEB ADMINISTRATOR (not verified) on Fri, 10/16/2009 - 16:48

This document reports the findings of research by the Center for Urban Economic Development at the University of Illinois (UICUED) on behalf of twenty-five non-profit organizations that provide services to the residents of West Town and other West Side neighborhoods. The twenty-five organizations include local churches, block clubs, banks and other community development organizations. Twelve of these organizations administer programs that focus on the West Town community.

Directory Of Community Service Providers In The Austin Neighborhood Of Chicago

Submitted by CUED WEB ADMINISTRATOR (not verified) on Fri, 10/16/2009 - 16:45

The University of Illinois at Chicago Center for Urban Economic Development (UICUED) held a series of meetings with community-based organizations and community residents in the Austin neighborhood during 1994. Austin is a primarily African-American community of almost 100,000 people on the far West Side of Chicago with many pockets of poverty and attendant social ills.

The Hidden Public Cost of Low-Wage Work in Illinois

Submitted by CUED WEB ADMINISTRATOR (not verified) on Fri, 10/16/2009 - 15:05

Five years after enduring a deep recession, the Illinois economy is once again generating jobs. But the current economic recovery poses a paradox: Where economic expansion has historically been accompanied by falling poverty rates, state expenditures on public benefits programs to help working families make ends meet have been growing. Because many of the jobs being created pay wages too low to support families, year-round workers are turning to public-support programs to make ends meet. This public support for year-round workers and their families is the hidden cost of low-wage

Workplace Safety in Atlanta's Construction Industry: Institutional Failure in Temporary Staffing Arrangements

Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 07/20/2009 - 10:15

Data on workplace injuries, safety concerns, and provisions for safety
equipment and job training suggest that workers supplied by temporary staffing
agencies to building and construction contractors in the Atlanta metro area work in
substandard safety conditions. Agency-supplied temps cite inadequate job training
and insufficient provisions for safety equipment as reasons for their safety concerns.
Temporary agency workers in Atlanta’s building and construction industry
experience substandard safety conditions in part because non-standard employment

Measuring the Performance of Job Trainers Under WIA: Results of a Survey of Chicago Providers

Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 07/20/2009 - 10:14

The Workforce Investment Act (WIA), signed into law in August 1998, overhauls the federal job training system that has been in place for more than 15 years. WIA replaces the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) with block grants to states for the provision of employment services to job seekers. Expanded state and local control over the design, implementation, and evaluation of the new workforce investment system is a core component of the Act, and state and local Workforce Investment Boards will be responsible for tailoring the system to local needs.

Education for All: Chicago's Undocumented Immigrants and Their Access to Higher Education

Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 07/20/2009 - 10:10

The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) recently estimated that approximately 432,000 undocumented immigrants currently reside in Illinois. Many of these immigrants arrive in Illinois as young children and received their schooling in the State. Currently, many students without legal immigration status do not fulfill their educational goal of attending college.

Chicago's Undocumented Immigrants: An Analysis of Wages, Working Conditions, and Economic Contributions

Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 07/20/2009 - 10:08

Undocumented immigrants are strongly committed to working in the United States and they make significant contributions to the economy. Undocumented workers account for approximately 5% of the Chicago metro area labor market and represent a growing segment of the low-wage workforce. Undocumented immigrants earn low wages, work in unsafe conditions, and have low rates of health insurance.

Social Security Admistration's No-Match Letter Program: Implications for Immigration Enforcement and Worker's Rights

Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 07/20/2009 - 10:03

The U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) began its employer “no-match letter” program to help properly allocate the billions of dollars of contributions collected from workers with incorrectly filed Social Security numbers (SSNs). Under the program, SSA sends letters to employers every year that identify the Social Security numbers of employees who do not match names or numbers in SSA’s records.