Fox Valley Citizens for Peace and Justice continues to meet on the corner of Kimball and Grove almost every Saturday since October of 2011 and will be at Elgin's Earth Summit Saturday April 20th, ELGbtq+'s second annual Elgin Pride Parade and Festival on Saturday June 1st, Aurora Green Fest Saturday June 08th, and Elgin's Juneteenth Cultural Festival on Saturday June 15th.
Coal, Oil, and Gas brought us the Industrial Revolution. They brought us mass production, factories, automobiles, air flight, warmth in the winter, air conditioning in the summer, and the amazing array of consumer goods that fill our homes and make us comfortable, or at least keep us occupied. It has been the foundation of our economy and our way of life.
But we are now paying a terrible price for all that abundance. The burning of fossil fuels is destroying the biosphere upon which we all depend. It is causing wildfires, not just on our West Coast, but all across the world, even inside the Arctic Circle. Paradoxically, it is bringing us both floods and droughts, both heat domes and the polar vortex.
Our Two Speakers for this Webinar:
Kathy Kelly 
Kathy Kelly has traveled to war zones and lived alongside ordinary people in Afghanistan, Iraq, Gaza, Lebanon, Bosnia, Haiti and Nicaragua. She and her companions in various peace team delegations believe the U.S. should end all U.S. military and economic warfare and pay reparations for suffering already caused by U.S. wars. In 2009, she lived with a family in Gaza during the final week of Israel’s “Operation Cast Lead” aerial attacks. In 2013, she arrived in Gaza just after a cease fire was declared following Israel’s “Operation Pillar of Defense.” In 2003, she entered the Jenin refugee camp, in the West Bank, while it was under attack. Kathy wrote eyewitness reports about the suffering and destruction she and her companions witnessed.
Responses to the FVC4PNJ questionnaire for candidates for the ECC Board of Trustees:
We send the questionnaire to all four candidates. Two responded. Two did not respond.
1) Is ECC doing a good job of protecting the health of students, faculty, and staff during the covid-19 pandemic? What would you do differently to strengthen those efforts?
I have been retired from ECC for approximately 15 months, but it appears that ECC is taking the important steps to protect the health of individuals that come to campus during the pandemic. Routine activities have been modified including most courses being taught virtually, many faculty have modified their styles of teaching to improve student learning and are in contact with students more frequently; all individuals’ temperatures must be taken to access the campus; most employees are working off campus and the campus is cleaned more regularly and effectively.
Five candidates responded to our questionnaire. The other candidates did not reply. Click on Read More and Scroll down to read the responses of all five.
I believe the community, City Hall, non-profits, and our neighboring villages and cities need to work hand in hand to help try to solve this problem. Homelessness is an issue that is impacting all communities.
I support PADS and their great efforts to help the homeless in Elgin and the surrounding areas. The city owns many buildings through-out Elgin and 600 S. State Street is one of them. This property is located on the edge of Elgin away from all the downtown soup kitchens and public transportation. So, is this building the best suitable location? Maybe it is, but again I would like the everyone to work together on this and not force it into a certain neighborhood without community conversion where all the stakeholders can voice their thoughts and ideas.
