Phil Hare Speaks on Poverty at Carl Sandburg
College
By Karen S. Lynch
Rep. Phil Hare (D-Ill) spoke at Carl Sandburg College on March 10 on the
topic of lifting working families out of poverty in Galesburg and surrounding
communities. Knox County is on the poverty warning list for the second year in
a row. Hare spoke following comments from Tom Schmidt, President of Carl
Sandburg College who spoke about the importance of education and job training
skills in overcoming poverty, especially for those who lost manufacturing jobs
at Maytag and Butler. Schmidt was enthusiastic about GalesburgÕs future stating
education is key to improving opportunities for new jobs in the community and
for its citizens to acquire the job skills necessary. Schmidt also talked about
the difficulty a few adults had admitting they had trouble reading, after
successfully earning good wages for many years, while working at manufacturing
plants. Schmidt said it took a great deal of courage for them to ask for the
help they knew they needed.
Hare was
welcomed with warm applause by the audience while saying he wanted to keep his
talk informal and hear from the people. ÒI met with the Register-Mail recently
and they talked about a series of stories they ran about poverty, here in
Galesburg in particular and problems we face. I just wanted to hear from you
and maybe get some ideas and pass along some of the things weÕve been trying to
do.Ó Hare continued, ÒThis community is very special to me, not just because I
was born here — not just because you have one of the best community
colleges in the seventeenth district but seriously, this community has really,
really been hit and I donÕt have to tell you that.Ó Hare said he had met with
Congressman LaHood. ÒYesterday we talked on the floor and I said my mission
here — and I donÕt like to single out individual communities —
because I represent the complete district. But, I want to do everything I can
to help bring this community back. Whether itÕs the overpasses, whether itÕs
working with the community colleges getting the money for programs that they
want for some training.Ó
Hare
added, ÒI want to be proactive here because it seems to me that is what the job
is really all about — helping ordinary people out. It doesnÕt matter
whether you are a democrat or a republican or it doesnÕt matter from what
spectrum you come from. When people donÕt have health care, or they donÕt have
a job, when they leave the community and the younger people arenÕt staying. I
mean thatÕs a drain and youÕve been hit hard, and I donÕt have to tell you
that, with Maytag and all the different losses of jobs.Ó
Discussing what has been done at the federal level, Hare thought they
had made, Òa good first step, we have reduced the student loan interest rate
tax and we need to do more of that.Ó With the emphasis on education, ÒTo me
education is an investment. We can invest now or we can pay later.Ó Rep. Hare
also met with the manufacturing association in Washington recently, ÒThey were
saying we need to have people who are trained to be able to work in our
factories and our businesses.Ó
Hare understands education is a key issue. ÒCommunity colleges are a
wonderful place for those types of programs and other programs. I know Richmond
Community College in Decatur is working with ADM to try to do some training for
bio-diesel and ethanol for people to go to work and I know that is going to be
a huge impact in that area.Ó
Focusing back on Galesburg, ÒI want to be very proactive here. We have a
limited amount of money. But again, I want to bring as much as I can back, as
much as I can, and this community deserves — if you will, from my
perspective, more than its fair share because you paid a very heavy price and I
think I have a responsibility to do what I can.Ó Hare said that he wants to
open the discussion to everyone for ideas or thoughts of what we can do
collectively. ÒWe have to address the issue of poverty in this community. That
has to be addressed!Ó The Register-Mail asked Hare for his assistance, if he
would be willing to bring people together on the issue. Hare responded, ÒIÕd be
honored to do that and just because IÕm not here, I have two great staff
people, Andy Rowe is here and Pat OÕBrien and you should know we have two
people at the Galesburg office that are wonderful. So we have the staff here to
help and thatÕs what I want them to do and I told them I want to get a dialog
going and maybe a task force, mayor, for lack of a better term.Ó
Hare discussed other areas where he has tried to help. ÒYou know weÕve
raised the minimum wage. I think that is going to help some.Ó Hare also talked
about alternative fuels like bio-diesel and ethanol for plants in the area that
may be on the drawing board. He wants to assist in that area as well, as an
area for great opportunity.
Hare also discussed No Child Left Behind. ÒI know Bonnie (Harris) has
probably talked our ears off about the problems we have with that program. In
terms of what that does to the districtÕs schools, that are already hit by the
loss of property taxes. And then the government comes in and under-funds the
program and the school districts pull money out of programs to fund the testing
— and then geography and P.E. and arts and those types of programs that
kids desperately need seem to goÉ and we are going to be looking at Head Start
and Even Start and we need to fully fund those programs.Ó
ÒIÕve received a request from the City of Galesburg and from the county
in particular on economic development areas that they want, and I can tell you
we are going to ride heard on them. I got an appointment with Rep. James
Oberstar (D-MN) of transportation. Ray LaHood and I are going to sit down, and
we are going to sit down with him and see if we can come up with a plan to see
if we canÕt get these things funded, particularly the railroad overpasses that
I know are huge to this community. But weÕve got to do more it seems to me. Too
be honest, IÕm a little bit stuck what else we can do federally. I donÕt think
we can just throw money at it.Ó
Going
back to community colleges, ÒThere are great programs that community colleges
have. City economic development people have. That ordinary people have —
ideas on what we can do to promote economic development, and therefore jobs.Ó
Hare also discussed the need for the infrastructure of roads and water to
promote development, but also acknowledge we have a huge budget deficit. ÒWe
arenÕt going to cure the problem of poverty in the City of Galesburg overnight,
but we have a moral obligation to deal with it, to look at it, to address it
and to come up with ways of being able to see what we can do to help with the
process.Ó
Pointing out the need for community input, Hare added he wanted to work
with the mayor, the county board, state senators, and local economic developers.
ÒIÕm not the type of person, by the way, that wants to tell Galesburg what I
think is best for Galesburg. I think the people who live and work here, or
donÕt work here in particular — we have to have an idea and then let me
be able to see what we can do on our end to get some funding but also to get
some attention drawn to it.Ó
Mayor Gary Smith finished the discussion on local economic development
efforts and the importance of BNSF railroad, (with the second largest
classification yard) and the potential for development with that asset,
thanking Rep. Hare for his support in the grade separation funding for BNSF
railroad improvements. Smith also emphasized the importance of education and
obtaining the skills necessary for local jobs that already exist. ÒThose $20
per hour jobs are there if you have the $20 per hour skills sets. They are
starving for nurses, for medical technicians, and for computer techs.Ó
Jan Occhi (D-District 3) spoke about GREDA and the decline of tax
revenues that directly affect education and social-economic needs. ÒThe
government is having to be very creative in how they can provide the same
quality of life. More people need more social services than ever before. We
have people who have never had to ask for food stamps.Ó Occhi also commented
about her involvement with the Boys and Girls club that is feeding kids after
school and parents are asking if they can eat with their kids.
Bonnie Harris, Regional Superintendent of Schools for Knox County,
discussed the problems of truancy, ÒThe parents drop off their kids at the
front door and they walk out the back door.Ó Funding is a problem with area
schools because of a drop in tax revenue, directly related to the sale of
Maytag and Sandburg Mall at reduced cost that lowered the tax base and tax
revenues. Harris also emphasized education and illiteracy as a major problem
with some parents trying to assist their children, when they have problems
themselves.
Congressman Hare sat with the audience well past the allotted time,
informally taking questions and discussing various ideas and concerns the
citizens have. A local veteran voiced concerns about the current scandal of
veteransÕ medical care at Walter Reed Hospital. Hare is on the VeteranÕs
Affairs Sub-Committee and said the issue of veteran care makes him very angry.
ÒMost of the people injured in the war are loosing limbs while the government
cut funding in the budget by $2 million for prosthetics. Other problems exist
with a shortage of traumatic brain injury specialists nation-wide to treat
veterans. According to Hare, the V.A. estimated we need eleven centers to treat
wounded soldiers and veterans with injuries and traumatic stress but only have
four facilities.
With an impassioned comment Hare concluded, ÒI donÕt want to hear
anymore whether we can afford to help the veterans. We cannot afford not to
provide the necessary funds available to take care of them. We put them in
harms way and we make the promise to take care of them when they come back. If
we donÕt have the money than we better go find it!Ó
3/15/07