Sikh Religious Society Hosts Asian American Caucus Legislators and Community Service Leaders
Palatine, IL: Sikh Religious Society Palatine Illinois hosted a meeting between the Illinois Legislative Asian American Caucus and the Pan-Asian Voter Empowerment Coalition (PAVE) on March 22, 2016 at the Sikh Gurdwara in Palatine, Illinois. A group of bi-partisan, Illinois State Legislators and Executive Directors of diverse group of Asian American Communiy Social Service Agencies participated in the discussions.
The meeting was facilitated by Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Chicago and coordinated by, Rajinder Singh Mago, Public and Media Relations Coordinator, for the Sikh Religious Society.
The legislators in attendance at the bipartisan caucus meeting included Senator Daniel Biss, Representative Elaine Nekritz, Representative Thomas Morrison, Representative Fred Crespo, Representative Michelle Mussman, and Representative Carol Sente. Leaders from the South Asian American Policy & Research Institute (SAAPRI), Association of Retired Asians, Chinese, Korean, Laotian, Cambodian, Indian American communities and SRS were invited by Asian Americans Advancing Justice | Chicago.
The purpose of the meeting was to strengthen working relationships with legislators, and to make them aware of PAVE's commitment to civic engagement, and to obtain their assessment on what it will take for the stalemated Illinois budget to be passed. State budget Impasse's impact on PAVE Coalition members is devastating. It is badly hurting the South Asian immigrant and refugee communities.
“Indo-American Center has been devastated by the cuts to the Immigrant Services Line Item (ISLI) in the budget,” said Selma D'Souza, Executive Director of the Indo-American Center, a PAVE coalition member organization. “As a result of the elimination of ISLI and the lack of a State budget, the Indo-American Center has scaled back interpretation and translation services that assist our most vulnerable and limited English proficient community members in accessing public benefits. We also cannot offer the citizenship classes that help our community members become U.S. citizens and participate in our democracy. The lack of a budget is hurting our community and we need a budget solution now.”
Illinois Secretary of State Literacy funding has also been very deeply cut.
Many social service agencies staff has not been paid on time, several agency staff members have been laid off, remaining ones are working overtimes on a shoe string budget, the vulnerable needy and the seniors are not receiving the social services like ESL, Citizenship classes, which is key for our populations to get civic-ally engaged.
There are over 242,000 South Asians living in Illinois, made up of people born abroad or in the United States and descending from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, or Bhutan. Among South Asians in Illinois, 67% are U.S. citizens and therefore eligible to register and vote.
“There are over 92,000 Asian Americans in the 8th Congressional District, and with over 43,000 who are South Asian,” said Reema Kapur, Executive Director of SAAPRI. “We will make our community's values and needs heard by voting."
The meeting was another reflection of the ongoing effort to increase civic engagement and political empowerment led by Advancing Justice | Chicago and SAAPRI. Over the past two months, the organizations have partnered with various South Asian American serving institutions in an effort to increase voter education and election participation in the suburban South Asian community.
In addition to discussing the voter engagement activities led by Asian American organizations at the caucus meeting, community leaders tackled difficult topics, most notably the current budget stalemate in Springfield. Both Republicans and Democrats dialogued about the possibility of a compromise between the two parties. Illinois is the last state in the country without a budget for the current fiscal year.
There are several bills in the house e.g. Domestic Worker Bill of Rights (DWBR, HB1288), that need attention.
"Meetings like this caucus meeting and advocacy opportunities like Asian American Action Day are important ways that the South Asian community can ensure that our voices are heard and taken seriously," said Rajinder Singh Mago from the Sikh Religious Society. "We hosted several of these legislators after the Oak Creek Sikh Temple shootings in 2012 when the Hate Crimes Resolution (HR1193) passed through the IL state legislature. We need to continue to be engaged not only on election day but year-round," Mago added.
The caucus meeting closed with an announcement that the PAVE coalition member organizations would once again be filling busloads to head to the state capitol for Asian American Action Day, an annual legislative rally with over 350 community participants on May 17th, 2016. For more information, contact Steve Hosik Moon at [email protected].
Rajinder Singh Mago
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