LVEJO - El Cilantro Issue No. 8

"ADDRESSING THE NEEDS OF THE YOUTH...
AND PLANTING THE SEEDS OF REVOLUTION"
Issue # 8, Volume 2
March 2006 Issue

*(Disclaimer: People’s opinions are very important to us and highly welcomed. However, Articles submitted into El Cilantro
are not entirely reflective of the ideas and beliefs of the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization).

The juvenile court system was developed to help neglected, delinquent, and abused children. It served as treatment centers to help abused children suppress their trauma. These centers would help children and teens by teaching them to do right and become successful members of society.

The Juvenile Justice System is quite different from the Adult Criminal Justice System. It’s primary objective is to rehabilitate the juvenile while the Adult Criminal Justice System's objectives are to discourage crime and punish the offender. In addition, the terms used in the juvenile justice system is different from the adult criminal justice process. For example, ‘delinquent act’ means crime, ‘adjudication hearing’ means trial, ‘found delinquent’ means convicted or found guilty, ‘disposition” means sentencing, and detention means jail.

The first juvenile court in the world was the Cook County Juvenile Detention Center. Before its opening in 1899, children would be incarcerated with adults in asylums and prisons. The Cook County Juvenile Detention Center was started after The Coalition of “Child-Saving” Reformers won a 30-year campaign for a separate juvenile court system.

In 1935, after a lack of presence from The Coalition of “Child-Saving” Reformers, the Supreme Court decided that the juvenile court system would only try cases that the state’s attorney chose not to prosecute. In 1965, after receiving much criticism from citizens, the Juvenile Court Act was overhauled, which gave a significant amount of legal protection to minors.

The cases are carried out initially in the same way as they are for adults. In most cases an initial investigation of a crime is conducted by a patrol officer who goes to the crime scene or the location of the victim, shortly after the crime is reported. First, the officer will assist those who need medical attention. Then the patrol officer will interview the victims and any witnesses and will write an initial report reporting the situation of the crime. Also, any officer may take photographs and dust for fingerprints during an inspection of the scene. The patrol officer then completes an incident report which is sent to detectives who investigate that particular type of crime.

In the follow-up investigation, the patrol officer's report is then reviewed by a sergeant or another ranking officer in the detective division. The case may be assigned to a detective for follow-up investigation. Detectives may contact witnesses for statements, obtain further physical evidence, and may request further descriptions of suspects or stolen property.

If a juvenile is arrested and taken into custody, he or she is taken to a detention-screening center. The court will then decide whether or not the juvenile will be held in custody to await a detained advisory Hearing. If the juvenile is detained, the county attorney must decide whether to file charges. Within 24 hours after the detention decision, the juvenile must be taken before a judge for a detained advisory hearing. Many juvenile defendants are released at this hearing to their parents, guardian or person having custody of the youth, with a personal promise that the juvenile will return to court when required for an adjudication hearing. If the juvenile defendant is not in custody, the juvenile, the juvenile's parents or guardians will be notified to appear before the court within 30 days for an Advisory Hearing.

At the Advisory Hearing, the juvenile defendant is informed of the nature of the charges against him or her. The juvenile is also advised that he or she should have an attorney and if he or she cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided. The juvenile is asked to enter a plea to the charges against him or her. Normally, a plea of not guilty is given and an adjudication hearing date is set. Defendants are given the right to a speedy trial. An adjudication hearing must be set within 45 to 60 days after the date of the advisory hearing. If the juvenile defendant pleas guilty at the advisory hearing, a disposition hearing date is set or can take place immediately after the juvenile's change of plea.

Untitled HELP US GET THE DREAM ACT

-Carmen Godinez-

We are said to be the future
Wow....who said that?
Cuz for this country we are a bunch of useless immigrants
We don’t have a right to succeed
We have to pay the double
Just to get a decent education
The tasks don’t matter
Cuz we’ll fight to succeed
So let me warn you
We will succeed and be somebody in life
You hate gangs right?
Well it’s your fault they are out there
They dropped out
Your laws destroyed their dreams
So it will be your fault if I get into one too
Cuz you’ll break my dreams
I think I don’t believe in the American Dream anymore
Cuz thanks to you we ain’t got any dreams
Some lost hope
I’m starting to lose hope too
And im just 13 years old
A 13 year old with no dreams
But you can help me dream and succeed
We have the right to be somebody in life
You just have to act

HELP US GET THE DREAM ACT!

BOYS

A heart is not a play thing,
A heart is not a toy,
But if you want it broken,
Just give it to a boy.
Boys they like to play with things
To see what makes them run,
But when it comes to kissing,
They do it just for fun.
Boys never give their hearts away
They play us girls for fools,
They wait until we give our hearts
And then they play it cool.
You will wonder where he is at night,
You will wonder if he's true.
One moment you will be happy,
One moment you will be blue.
If you get a chance to see him,
Your heart begins to dance.
Your life revolves around him,
There's nothing like romance.
And then it starts to happen,
You worry day and night.
You see, my friend, you're losing him.
It never turns out right.
Boys are great, though immature.
The price you pay is high,
He may seem sweet and gorgeous,
But remember, he's a guy. Don't fall in love with just a boy.
That takes alot of nerve.
You see, my friend, you need a man
To get what you deserve.
So when you think that you're in love,
Be careful if you can.
Before you give your heart away
Make sure that he's a man.

Mindless

- Goggles-

Mindless…

Life truly imitates farce,
All these conspiracies and lies,
Misunderstandment and mistrust,
The pain in her once beautiful eyes,
Again and again she feels the pain,
As the sun comes down,
So does the rain,
Tragically her life ends because she knows too much,
And when the government is questioned,
They say they’ve never heard of such,
So don’t believe the lies the government feeds you,
And be yourself,

Even when no one believes you…

Patriots vs. the World

- Goggles -

The war rages on with no one listening,
The war must end to bring back the Christening,
They say that for peace there must first be war,
It’s all a redundant metaphor,
The nations are divided,
But not as much as ours,
The Patriots wish to fight because they think its right,
While the rest know it is a foolish fight,
It’s all about money as few can see,
It’s all about the power of one military,
America receives threats but no one listens,
As the dawn of the early morning glistens,
We shall soon wake up with nothing around us,
And the Yankees shall see what war has brought us.

-Is bottled water worth it? “Evian” is spelled backwards is “naïve”.
-Banging your head against a wall uses 150 calories an hour.
-In 1980, the city of Detroit presented Saddam Hussein with a key to the city.
-In ancient China, people committed suicide by eating a pound of salt.
-People in parts of Western China put salt in their tea instead of sugar.
-In Cleveland, Ohio it is illegal to catch mice without a hunting license.
-Someone on Earth reports seeing a UFO every three minutes.
-An Iceberg contains more heat than a lit match.
-Your body is creating and killing 15 million red blood cells per second.
-Fifteen people are known to have been crushed to death by titling vending machines towards them in the hope of a free can of soda.
-Americans collectively eat one hundred pounds of chocolate every second.
-Muhammad is the most common name in the world.
-The average yearly salary of a DJ you listen to on the radio is only $20,000!
-The average American eats at McDonalds more than 1,800 times in their life.
-Tipping at a restaurant in Iceland is considered an insult

Looking for individuals willing to volunteer their time to forge economic, environmental and social justice, in order to unite our communities talents, and power to build a society that treats all of us equally: no matter what race, culture, age, or gender we are.

Over the past year, there has been a lot of controversy with online profile sites such as MySpace, facebook, xanga, and tagged. These sites allow you to make your own profile and allows others to see it. One of the main issues with these sites is that people are placing personal information on their page, and since anyone can see your profile, they may see whatever you place on the site.

Some sites like MySpace have given options such as making your profile private, and only to be viewed by people who you have as friends. However, hackers have ways of getting around that.

One of the main complaints has come from parents who are afraid of sexual predators posing as teenagers and what they might do to children and teenagers on these online profile sites. In Middletown, Conn., police suspect that about seven teenage girls were fondled or had sex with men they met on MySpace who turned out to be older than they claimed.

In schools across the country, students have been suspended for threatening classmates on MySpace, and in one case, for creating a fake profile under a principal's name and photo.

Another major complaint is coming from people applying for jobs. Many employers look up potential employees on sites like MySpace using their e-mail address, and if the account is not set to private, they will be able to see the “real” person that they are considering for hire.

The final major complaint with these sites is how students may bully other students while on these sites. Teachers and principals all over the country agree that these sites should be monitored more closely by school districts to prevent problems that may have been talked about on these sites from actually occurring.

However, there are many positive things that come with having a profile on these sites. MySpace has become a booming business for musicians, as bands on the site can post band information, tour dates, and other business information.

Students use these sites to communicate with each other and even their teachers and school administration for information such as school events. In these sights, you can look up a name, an e-mail address, or another form of information and find old friends as well as new friends, making these ever-growing sites a major business.

MySpace grows more and more everyday, and is becoming a multi-million dollar business, since it gets as many as 180,000 new members a day, and now has more than 54 million registered users. MySpace.com was recently sold to Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation for $580 million cash, making it prone to new ideas such as films. Who knows where these sites will take us, but very soon, having a page on these sites will be as common as having a phone number or e-mail address

Too much is too wrong in this country. We have a foreign policy that is foreign to our core values, and domestic policies wreaking havoc at home. It's time for a change. From Chicago to New York let’s stand for Peace.

After ensuring that the Boys Club remainded opened, Kimberly started as staff at the LVEJO office and moved up to the possition she has now. Everyone just loves her. Elda, a collegue says, “Kim is more of a friend than a boss. She is always worries about her staff even if their problems are not work related. She does a great job and still makes sure everyone is having fun.”

But how did she start off? Well, Kim started protesting at a very young age. At around 8 years old Kim decided she was unsatisfied with an allowance of only 50 cents. She decided to talk to the man in charge of her financial situation, her father. According to her mother, Kim argued her points on why her allowance should increase and what would happen if it did: and she won, doubling her weekly allowance. Also in the 7th grade, Kim organized a walkout to protest the hiring of a new principal without even taking into consideration the thoughts of the student council. Again, she succeeded and the school was forced to wait until after Kim graduated to place in the new principal.

Despite proficiency at campaigning and community organizing, Kim has other interests to pursue in her near future. Not only is she a working mother of two but is highly interested in cooking and plans to attend culinary school. She also enjoys reading Harry Potter and Steven King books. You can even questio her on ER, Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends and CSI, and you can bet she will know the answer. Kim even has them saved on her DVR. Perhaps her many skills and interests is why friends describe her as a “modern women that wears many hats and does them all well.” Maybe this is the reason why she can be called a role model to many, or maybe it is her advise to all the readers: “Let it be the one that goes pppprrrrttth” quoted from Blueregard Q. Kazoo from Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends.

Have you ever tried to get people to support a cause but they don’t seem interested or the big cheese (the boss, principal, etc.) won’t let them? Well I got just the advice you are looking for.

What is the issue you’re trying to get support for? What is it about? How and where can I help? These are just a few questions you might want to be prepared to answer. Whenever you are trying to get support be sure to have enough info to give to people. You can do this by creating a pamphlet, poster, etc. Make sure you know what you are talking about. If you don’t know what you are talking about or don’t seem convinced your audience won’t be interested.

What happens if the people that wan to get involved can’t get involved because a higher authority won’t let them? When this happens you try to convince the boss. How do you do this? First, think about what you are going to say to the big cheese. Hint: Make sure it’s convincing…Make the big cheese feel like this issue affects everyone not just a small group. Then, set up an appointment with the big cheese and be persistent if they are busy. DON’T GIVE UP! It would help to bring a visual for your presentation.

Now that you have the big cheese’s attention, you can start promoting your pamphlets, fliers, etc. Start getting people interested in the issue and once you have about 20 people you can begin the next phase. Phase 2: Who can solve your problem? Who is responsible for the problem? Where do they meet? These are good things to find out. For example (just an example it’s not like it happened) the CTA is planning to reroute because of convenience for people (gentrification look it up or see the CTA article by me also). So I figured out they have board meetings where people testify. I contacted them and told them that I wanted to show my concern and then you pass on the info on where this place is, how to get there, and what time do we meet there. These are things you can do to get your voice heard.

When doing all of this organizing remember to keep cool. Be respectful and polite no matter how unfair the situation is. Keep people interested in the issue and that they get informed and have an input to this process. After you have made your voice heard to the people responsible for the problem, have a follow up re-union. Plan what your next step will be and how will you make sure your voice is taken seriously. Be organized and make sure that everyone feels like this is their issue. Finally, congratulations because you are now a community leader that people can look up to. BE PROUD!

CTA: The Not So Convenient Method of Transportation
The Inside Story On What Is Really Going On…

The CTA is the only method of public transportation in the city of Chicago. It’s either the CTA or the CTA! The CTA gave a lot to talk about when it raised its fairs to 2 dollars per ride with no transfers. They did so for the reason that they needed more money because they were in debt. Now, the CTA plans to reroute part of the Blue Line to make it more “convenient” for people. WAIT!! Won’t the reroute cost money? You bet it will! It will cost 4 million dollars!

Right now you might be saying what does this guy know about the reroute. Well let me tell you what I know. The CTA has decided to reroute the 54/Cermak which now instead of going all the way to O’Hare will go to the loop and back. Stops like Racine, UIC Halstead, and the Clinton stop will be cut from the 54/Cermak service. These stops are crucial to many people who go Whitney Young H.S., University of Illinois in Chicago, and the biggest post office in the U.S. which is at Clinton. The CTA’s justification for this change is that there isn’t a big demand for the 54/Cermak branch. Another excuse that they have is that with the new service people can go downtown faster. LET’S BE REALISTIC! Latinos and African American need access to neighboring neighborhoods. People actually need to go to more places then just the loop. Most people from 18th Street, North Lawndale, and Little Village get off at the Polk, Racine, UIC Halstead, Clinton, and O’Hare stop because they got off to go to school or to work. When the CTA was asked how we aresupposed to get to work and to school, they said “Take the bus.” WAIT a minute aren’t we supposed to be the customers and the CTA provides transportation service, isn’t it their job to provide convenient service to their customers. Despite the many opinions of people from North Lawndale, Pilsen, and Little Village the CTA decided to reroute the 54/Cermak Branch along with 24 bus routes.

My Opinion: Why is the CTA targeting low income communities? Why not instead of spending so much money on a totally new project they spend it on improving the current service? These are critical things that we should take into consideration. Is the CTA’s goal gentrification? (the displacement of low income communities for high income communities)

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