Thursday, August 28, 2003
News Release
Open it NOW! Friends of the Old Slave House issued a news release this morning in regards to the rejection by the governor's staff of our plan to reopen the Old Slave House. You should probably read the rejection letter first. There are two pages to the letter, page 1 and page 2.
Click on the paragraph below to go to our news release.
Governor's staff rejects region's Old Slave House plan
Ignores need for site security, 60 new jobs
Just the Facts, Ma'am
The Old Slave House stands in Gallatin County, a county hit hard by high unemployment. One in five residents lives in families with incomes below the poverty line. One in 50 residents left the county in 2002, either moving on or passing away. Last year, Gallatin County suffered the fastest population loss of any county in the state. Any amount of new jobs would help.
On Tuesday, Gov. Rod Blagojevich, awarded the county $50,000 to renovate part of the Gallatin County Courthouse. Sweating himself in the packed two-story courtroom as he made his announcement he also promosed to find them money for air conditioning (the courtroom isn't air conditioned). "We can't be rushing justice!" he deplored. That's all and good, but there's a reason why there has never been any air conditioned in the courtroom. The county simply couldn't afford it. They can't afford it because jobs are disappearing, that poverty levels are rising and the population that remains continuing to shrink year after year. Something has to change.
Open it NOW! Friends of the Old Slave House issued a news release this morning in regards to the rejection by the governor's staff of our plan to reopen the Old Slave House. You should probably read the rejection letter first. There are two pages to the letter, page 1 and page 2.
Click on the paragraph below to go to our news release.
Ignores need for site security, 60 new jobs
EQUALITY — Siding with state bureaucrats rather than the people of Illinois, the governor's office has block efforts to preserve an importand African-American historic site and create 60 new jobs through tourism in an economically distressed region of southeastern Illinois.
Just the Facts, Ma'am
The Old Slave House stands in Gallatin County, a county hit hard by high unemployment. One in five residents lives in families with incomes below the poverty line. One in 50 residents left the county in 2002, either moving on or passing away. Last year, Gallatin County suffered the fastest population loss of any county in the state. Any amount of new jobs would help.
On Tuesday, Gov. Rod Blagojevich, awarded the county $50,000 to renovate part of the Gallatin County Courthouse. Sweating himself in the packed two-story courtroom as he made his announcement he also promosed to find them money for air conditioning (the courtroom isn't air conditioned). "We can't be rushing justice!" he deplored. That's all and good, but there's a reason why there has never been any air conditioned in the courtroom. The county simply couldn't afford it. They can't afford it because jobs are disappearing, that poverty levels are rising and the population that remains continuing to shrink year after year. Something has to change.