PRESS RELEASE

 

For Immediate Release                                             Contact: Samantha Anderson

March 1, 2004                                                                            312-681-5310 Office

                                                                                                    312-330-1126 Cell 

 

Chico Responds to Chicago NOW’s Request for All Campaigns to Provide Statement on Domestic Violence

 

As the father of four daughters, I am very much concerned about the threat and insidiousness of domestic violence.   Affecting every social, ethnic, and economic group, domestic violence can no longer be ignored or considered a private, family matter.

 

Domestic violence is a social scourge that harms the entire family.  For too many victims, domestic violence is a source of shame, trapping the family in a cycle of violence and creating the next generation of abusers and victims.

 

To end domestic violence, we must not only encourage victims to speak out, but provide resources to assist them.  These certainly include, but are not limited to, providing extensive counseling for all involved parties, offering shelter and aid to victims (and their children) who leave their abuser, strengthening and enforcing orders of protection, and expanding public outreach and education programs.

 

During my years at the City of Chicago and the Chicago Public Schools, we were proactive in developing programs to help victims of domestic violence.  Our actions included:

 

• Creating the Mayor’s Office on Domestic Violence.  Created while Chico was Mayor Daley’s Chief of Staff, the Mayor’s Office on Domestic Violence has expanded to provide resources for abuse victims, including shelters, counseling, and legal assistance.  It also operates a 24-hour emergency hotline.

 

• Assisting children affected by Domestic Violence.  Children not only suffer greatly from abuse, but suffer also from displacement when leaving the abuser results in homelessness or temporary housing in a shelter.  Under the McKinney-Vento Act and at costs well over $1 million annually, the Chicago Public Schools provided extensive services to homeless students.  These resources included transportation to schools, counseling, and monitoring by a social worker.

 

I agree with Chicago NOW that domestic violence is a real issue and one that should be discussed at the federal level.  Treating domestic violence as a private matter only allows the vicious cycle of abuse to continue.

As a U.S. Senator, I will be committed to providing resources to prevent and end domestic violence.

 

Appointed President of the Chicago Public School Board in 1995, and reappointed in 1999, Chico led the effort to turn around the Chicago school system.  Chico’s leadership turned a 4-year projected budget deficit of $1.3 billion into a $345 million surplus; raised test scores for 5 out of 6 years; devoted $2.8 billion to building 1,137 new classrooms in 72 new school structures, and provided after-school programs for 175,000 students. 

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