Committees

Housing

Secure and reliable shelter is one of our most basic needs as human beings. Our housing committee fights for everyone’s right to have safe, accessible, and affordable housing. Our aim is to expand access to affordable housing by the creation and preservation of low income housing, an inclusive zoning process, and lifting the state ban on rent control. The housing committee fights against gentrification by supporting tenants unions, educating our neighbors about tenants' rights, and building community and solidarity in the ward. 

Education 

We believe strong public schools are public goods that help neighborhoods thrive and are reinforced by access to affordable housing, a living wage, and economic opportunities for young people. Our education committee focuses its energy toward achieving educational justice for Chicago youth. We believe firmly in the value of listening to and uplifting those most directly affected by educational inequity — parents, families, educators, staff, and, above all, young people who have the courage and impetus to stand up for their beliefs. Are you passionate about educational equity? Check out our education committee, which has already aided in the successful removal of police officers from Senn High School here in Edgewater! 

Communications 

As an organization, we strive to maintain transparency and integrity at all times. The communications committee centers these tenets when engaging with our members, the neighborhood, community, and press. With the goal of uniting a strong and multicultural leftist voice, we work to influence our politicians and representatives so that they take effective action in support of our communities. The communications committee also invests in educating our neighbors on issues and engaging accessible participation in our events and actions in Edgewater and Chicago as a whole.

Membership 

Everything we are is driven by the support of our members, and we value each individual who joins us. Our membership committee centers relationship-building and healthy models for growth for our members, as individuals and as a collective. We work to engage everyone from new members who don’t know where to begin to longstanding regulars. The membership committee is dedicated to building a supportive and collective community that meets our needs and those of our neighbors. 

Restorative Practices 

People can grow and learn from their mistakes. Rather than employing punitive measures, our restorative practices committee works with people who have been harmed or wronged to discover how to make it right. It explores what may (and what does) lead to harm, oppression, and silencing in our communities and recommends practices to the organization to build more accountability and commitment to individual and collective transformation. This is a space for community healing and for members to reimagine justice as a process rather than an outcome. Members of this committee will have the opportunity to train with experts in restorative practices. 

Finance 

Our finance committee is hard at work creating and maintaining a budget that provides our activists with what we need to change the world. We also provide critical oversight to make sure that our organization complies with all applicable laws and regulations. How would you fund the revolution? Do you have a pitch for what it could look like to finance a leftist organization? Get in touch with our finance committee and find a home for your ideas.

Rules and Bylaws 

Our rules and bylaws committee is the backbone of our organization, developing our codes of conduct and looking for the most fair and democratic way for our organization to function. Are you the kind of person who thinks about the details that make societies operate in a way that is practical and just? Join our rules and bylaws committee!

Political Education

Political education is our newest committee! Formed in an effort to provide resources and information to the community, our political education committee is here to deepen our shared understanding, from how local Chicago politics functions to the Lift the Ban movement. If you love expanding your political analysis while teaching and learning with comrades, connect with our political education committee and spread the word.