A Triumph-ant WIN! Roots. B6
Michigan Chronicle
Vol. 82 – No. 13 | December 5-11, 2018
Powered by Real Times Media | michiganchronicle.com
Statement from Congressman-elect Andy Levin (MI-09) on General Motors “Today, I joined Reps. Marcy Kaptur and Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio and Reps. Debbie Dingell, Brenda Lawrence and Sander Levin of Michigan to respond to Monday’s announcement by General Motors that they are cutting more than 14,000 blue and white collar jobs, including idling the Warren plant in our district and cancelling the Volt, a plug-in hybrid I am proud to drive and which I’ve often boasted about being built in Southeast Michigan. GM has broken a bond of trust with the people of the 9th District of Michigan, the people of the industrial Midwest, and the people of our country. This announcement came after the U.S. taxpayers saved GM from bankruptcy – the company literally would not exist but for that help; after GM received generous concessions from its employees through the UAW when it was down; after GM was provided incredibly favorable tax benefits in the years following the auto bailout, and additional cash through the Republican corporate tax giveaway; and despite quarter after quarter of large profits. It’s clear that these cuts will have a devastating ripple effect throughout our communities. For every job lost in assembly and transmission plants, several more will be lost in parts producers and suppliers that employ so many of our families in Michigan’s 9th District and beyond – not to mention additional jobs disappearing in local businesses when they lose crucial customers. Today, I am focused on the future. We need to develop a coherent industrial policy cutting across taxation, government procurement, economic development, job training and trade policy. It is time for the United States to invest in manufacturing at home, not facilitate the flight of capital to the lowest cost, lowest regulation environment. The jobs that will be shipped to low-wage countries like Mexico and China to produce vehicles and parts can be done here, by UAW workers. Our trade agreements can focus on raising the standard of living of workers in the United States and the other countries involved. In particular, we need to expand electric vehicle charging infrastructure rapidly and massively and make sure we build electric vehicles and their parts right here in Michigan and Ohio. I look forward to working with GM, the UAW and our other automakers to bring more jobs building the vehicles we drive home, where they belong.
See GM page A2
WHAT’S INSIDE
It’s a Bird... It’s a Plane... It’s
Super Beauty Roots. B1
$1.00
Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Literacy Historic suit over poor conditions in Detroit schools gets new backers, fresh hope
By Lori Higgins A historic federal lawsuit that claimed that deplorable conditions in Detroit schools are violating children’s civil rights suffered a seemingly devastating blow last summer when a federal judge rejected its central claim. But six months later, local advocates and civil rights experts across the country are stepping up, arguing for the suit to continue through the appeals process. At the same time, the transfer of power in the state’s leadership could revive the so-called “right-to-literacy” lawsuit, which argues that the state — which controlled the city’s main school district for much of the last two decades and set policies that governed dozens of charter schools — is responsible for the poor literacy skills of students. Mark Rosenbaum, the lead attorney for the plaintiffs, said he is “really blown away” by the breadth of more than a dozen supporting briefs filed this week by local advocacy groups and experts in education, law and the economy. The lawsuit outlines a mountain of inequities Detroit students face, including a lack of books, supplies and curriculum materials, as well
as dilapidated building conditions.
Republicans who have vigorously fought it for two years.
“There is nobody … that says the conditions in these schools is defensible,” Rosenbaum said.
“I know that the governor-elect (Gretchen Whitmer) and the attorney general-elect (Dana Nessel) have expressed a genuine concern about Detroit students and the state of the schools,” Rosenbaum said. But, “I won’t make any predictions.”
He declined to speculate about what will happen come January, when Democrats take over both the governor and attorney general offices, wresting responses to the lawsuit out of the hands of
The key question is whether Whitmer and Nessel will
“
Although not beaten by torrential winds of a storm like the schools in New Orleans, DPSCD schools have too been decimated by a storm. Not a natural storm, but a storm of neglect. A storm of constitutional violations.”
continue defending a lawsuit that has been fought by the current attorney general, Bill Schuette, who lost his bid for governor to Whitmer earlier this month. Schuette’s office has argued that there is no right to literacy. Whitmer, during the gubernatorial campaign, repeatedly criticized Schuette for that stance. “The governor-elect believes that every child has a right to literacy,” said Clare Liening, the press secretary for Whitmer’s transition. “Her transition team is working to review pending litigation so that the governor-elect and
See LITERACY page A2
Thousands of Detroit residents are eligible for property tax relief December 10th is the 2018 deadline By Patreice A. Massey MANAGING EDITOR
Far too many Detroit residents lose their home to tax foreclosure each year, but there are resources that can help Detroiters build equity and stay in their home. Since 2002, nearly 150,000 properties have ended up in Wayne County tax auctions. Of these properties, nearly 90 percent have been purchased by speculators. On top of that, over 80% of all properties that enter tax foreclosure eventually become blighted. Tax foreclosure drives displacement, homelessness, speculation, blight, and low property values in re-
cord-breaking numbers. The root causes of this cycle must be tackled, and Detroit residents must be empowered to build equity in their homes that have often been in their family for many generations. Homeownership is one of the best ways to ensure that life-long Detroiters build wealth, and maintain the integrity of the city’s neighborhoods.
For those homeowners struggling to afford property taxes, there is help available. However, not enough people know about programs for Detroit homeowners with low incomes (see income eligibility requirements below). Perhaps the most helpful tool is the Homeowner’s Property Tax Assistance Program (HPTAP) which can reduce your 2018 property taxes by 50% or even 100%. In 2017, only 5,500
residents applied for the HPTAP program, yet nearly 40,000 residents are estimated to be eligible. As an effort to build awareness around the HPTAP application, and to create more locations where residents can go to receive help applying, the Quicken Loans Community Fund has partnered with 20 community or-
See TAX
RELIEF page A2