Chicago, IL – Workers at Cook County in Illinois have been on strike for two weeks as of today, July 8. Yesterday the workers ratcheted up the pressure on Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle with a large rally and sit-in at the president’s office.

Chicago, IL – Hundreds of workers clad in purple rallied in 90-degree heat in front of Provident Hospital on Chicago’s South Side today, July 5. According to Ericka White, a county employee in the business office and an elected member of the bargaining committee for Local 73, “Our members are strong and we’re going to win our demands.”

Chicago, IL – Striking members of SEIU Local 73 in the highway and transportation division of Cook County government shut down a construction site in Buffalo Grove, a town in the suburbs northwest of Chicago. This two-mile long bridge project was shut down on Friday, June 25, the first day of the strike. The union Operating Engineers, Laborers, and Carpenters are respecting the picket line at the county construction site in Buffalo Grove. This is a $60 million project with $29 million in federal funds.

Chicago, IL – Hundreds of striking members of SEIU Local 73 rallied today, June 26. The rain continued to fall intermittently, sometimes in a downpour, but the festive spirit of the strikers wasn’t extinguished. Even the tornado siren at the end of the rally didn’t dampen their militancy.

Chicago, IL – 2449 members of SEIU Local 73 who work at Cook County Health in Chicago began an open-ended strike on Friday, June 25 at 6 a.m. The SEIU members have been in bargaining with Cook County for over nine months and decided the only way to get the contract they deserve is to fight for it. The facilities that are striking include Stroger and Provident Hospitals; clinics and mental health services at Cermak; Cook County corporate offices and clerk’s office, and the county jail. Members at all of these locations will strike indefinitely until they win a contract that they feel is adequate to return to work.

Fight continues for ECPS

Chicago, IL – On June 23, over 150 people from the movement to stop police crimes and end police impunity rallied outside of Chicago City Hall before the city council meeting. “This should have been a meeting where ECPS would be voted on, where we are turning the people’s ordinance into the law of this city,” Kobi Guillory, co-chair of the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (CAARPR) explained, “but what happened on Friday is that certain alderpersons, acting at the behest of the mayor of this city, blocked our substitute ordinance from being put in, which stopped it from being voted on.”

Chicago, IL – At 7 a.m. on Thursday, June 24 nurses represented by National Nurses United (NNU) In Chicago, Illinois began a 24-hour strike against Cook County's health facilities’ management. The nurses are striking to end chronic staff shortages which they say have been undermining care for patients and the communities.

Chicago, IL – About 25 Palestinian community organizers, members and allies, led by the U.S. Palestinian Community Network (USPCN), filled Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky's office, June 10 to demand she support HR 2590, the Palestinian Children and Families Act. If passed, the bill would end U.S. military aid to Israel used for the imprisonment of children, the demolition of homes or annexation of Palestinian land.