The Cycle That Keeps The Low-Income Oppressed

 Bisera Rozic is a DePaul University student majoring in Economics and a PCG intern.

What's a better way of showing you care about seniors in an economy that's double-dipping into recession than cutting Illinois Cares Rx?

Our seniors and people with disabilities are facing hardships as is trying to get by. The high cost of prescriptions is making it difficult to take care of their health and programs such as Illinois Cares Rx were put in place to ease the pain. Thursday, June 14, 2012, Governor Quinn decided that he needed $1.6 billion worth of Medicare cuts to help his $2.7 billion worth of cuts plan fill Illinois' budget deficit. These are Medicare cuts that will leave hundreds of thousands of Illinoisans to scramble for ways of affording high costs of prescriptions; however, the loopholes that exist and allow the rich to get richer, we're supposed to turn a blind eye to that.

What Illinois Cares Rx did was assist seniors and people with disabilities with paying for their prescriptions. For those that have Medicare, Illinois Cares Rx provides seniors and those with disabilities with extra help paying their co-insurance, annual deductible, and monthly premium. Those without Medicare were also provided with assistance through Illinois Cares Rx Basic and Illinois Cares Rx Plus; the difference between the two programs is based on qualifications.

The Sun-Times reports that the state would get $290 million from hospitals after the cuts.

In a time when we should be attempting to alleviate the hardships our neighbors are facing, Governor Quinn decided to take away a program that assists 180,000 seniors afford their medication. It is unfortunate to see our basic moral values deteriorate. Faith taught us to care for one another and through programs such as Illinois Cares Rx we were caring for those that were unable to care for themselves.

The Segregation of North and South in Chicago

Bisera Rozic is a DePaul University student majoring in Economics and a PCG intern.

The decision to shut down the southern part of the Red Line of the Chicago Transit Authority for five months next year is preposterous. Not only will it affect those wishing to attend a Chicago White Sox game but it will create a big discomfort for commuters going to and from work or school.Yes, the city will save $75 million dollars and the project will be only 5 months instead of 4 years (4 years if they did it on the weekends), but what does that $75 million mean to those 147,000 people that are going to be inconvenienced by this project? The plan is to have the Green Line pick up the Red Line's traffic on the south side, thus those 84,000 that ride the Red Line on an average weekday will be added to the 63,000 riders that take the Green Line on an average weekday. Chaotic much? According to the CTA and city officials, no. 

Photo Credit: CTA

 

The CTA has also announced that those 84,000 passengers could either ride the Green Line or use shuttle buses that will be provided at the Red Line. Oh, and the CTA will throw in a 50-cent discount to those riders. Because, you know, the 50-cent discount compensates those 84,000 that will have to leave their homes a lot earlier than they already do and will also be put together with the 63,000 people that ride the Green Line on an average weekday. So comforting.

The Chicago White Sox are struggling with attendance as is, they do not need to be annihilated. Even after winning the 2005 World Series Championship, the Sox have had a hard time getting people to the ballgames. Here are their stats compared to the Chicago Cubs, who have not won a World Series in over a century.

Statistics credit to ESPN

The thing about the Chicago Cubs is, they're seen as a brand. A brand that sells. No one can figure out how the Cubs keep selling tickets. But here is the thing, like it or not, unfortunately this is how things are. The White Sox can have as many titles as the Yankees (27) and still not draw as many fans as the Cubs. The answer to success is location. The Cubs are on the north side of Chicago. While crime does occur here, it is usually always downplayed in the media. The White Sox, however, play on the South Side where the media is like a magnifying glass and serve Chicago with daily reports of shootings and crime. But the south side is in possession of a lot of greatness which makes it unfair that it will be cut off from the rest of the city for 5 months.

Honestly, I do not want to put up with any more commute trouble than I already do, so for those 5 months, I will not be seeing the south side. I will not be attending a Sox game or enjoying a delicious dish by Soul Vegetarian East. The south side is the only place in Chicago that can serve you up with some great, healthy, southern food that is suitable for vegans and vegetarians. Sure, the north side has its share of vegan/vegetarian-friendly diners and cafes. But it is limited when it comes to family and dinner oriented restaurants such as Soul Vegetarian East.

There would be outrage if the Addison Red Line stop was shut down for 5 months, let alone all of the northern branch. But just as there are commuters from Evanston and Skokie that come into the city to work or go to school, there are also commuters that come in from the south side and south suburbs.

What is yet upsetting even more is that just this past weekend, a whole bridge was replaced in 55.5 hours. The Purple Line does not operate between Friday 8:30 PM - 4 AM  Monday and during that time a 103-year-old bridge was replaced. This is the first of the three bridges that will be replaced in Evanston just this month. Of course, no one on the north side will be inconvenienced by the projects. If these things do not serve as evidence of the segregation in Chicago, I do not know what does.