North Lawndale Employment Network
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Transition Committee: Business, Neighborhood, and Economic Development
By Brenda Palms Barber
President and CEO, North Lawndale Employment Network and Sweet Beginnings, LLC; Chair, Workforce Committee, North Lawndale Community Coordinating Council
It is my sincere honor to have been invited to serve as a member of Mayor-elect Lori Lightfoot’s transition team, on the Business, Neighborhood and Economic Development committee. Our job as committee members is to help inform Mayor-elect Lori Lightfoot’s new administration, as she charts Chicago’s path forward and prepares to be ready to lead on day one – May 20th, 2019. Below, for your information, is a downloadable file of the 2-page policy memo each committee member was asked to submit.
This memo is a collective of voices from workforce development organizations serving the North Lawndale community and the extraordinary and deeply committed members of the North Lawndale Employment Network, and the NLCCC Workforce Development subcommittee. Together, they helped to identify and generate the recommendations presented in the memo. You have helped to inform creative responses to the most stubborn, systemic barriers to employment that we see our job seekers struggle with, and strive to overcome in our community.
After participating in my first transition committee meeting last week, I have to admit, it was refreshing to note that the transition leadership team, leading our discussions, were clearly reflecting the values and priorities the Mayor-elect ran on during her campaign. I was encouraged to know that our Mayor-elect, is seriously committed to approaching the work and leading the work of the city through an equity framework.
Download Memo Here: 2-Page Policy Memo PDF
Here are the 5 key values and priorities listed that inform our practices and policy recommendations:
● Transparency
● Diversity & Inclusion
● Equity
● Accountability
● Transformation
Here is a list of Transition Committees:
● Arts & Culture
● Business, Economic & Neighborhood Development
● Education
● Environment
● Health & Human Services
● Public Safety & Accountability
● Housing
● Transportation & Infrastructure
● Good Governance
● Youth
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