Community Forum Viewpoints
Perspectives on Economic Justice from
Community Forum for Economic Justice Members
Viewpoints are opinion pieces, approximately 500-1,000 words in length, that address important developments and policy issues related to economic justice, especially those that support the campaigns of the Community Forum. Send your Viewpoints to the Community Forum at sjc.cfed@gmail.com. Viewpoints will be reviewed and selected by a committee of the Board of Directors of the Community Forum.
Comments at the St. Joseph County Council meeting
June 13, 2023
by Darryl Heller
I am furious and ashamed of what Amy Drake, and those like her who hold far right, ideologically extreme views, are doing to the health of this county. In exercising your power, you are forcing your narrow and distorted view of equity and justice onto all of us. You claim to care about the health of this county, but you only love it to the extent that it is shaped in your image, which unfortunately excludes many of us who are not of your race, class, and privilege.
Download Comments by Darryl Heller June 13 2023
Anti-Lynching Bill is Historic, Long Overdue — But Why Now?
April 1, 2022
by Darryl Heller
The anti-lynching legislation passed by Congress in March and signed by President Joe Biden on Tuesday is being hailed as a historic moment. This legislation is surely a long time in coming; however, we should ask, why now? While I believe that anti-lynching legislation is important, I also think that it is largely symbolic at this point in our history. We should not let it become a feel good moment that diverts us from the harms being enacted that will affect us more directly and in much more pernicious ways.
Download Anti-lynching bill historic but largely symbolic
Stop the Assault on Public Education and Democracy
June 4, 2021
by Stuart Greene
Black, Indigenous and other people of color’s persistent lack of access to quality education, health care and housing make it clear that discussion of race in school is appropriate. However, Indiana’s Attorney General Todd Rokita co-signed a letter with 20 attorneys general, imploring U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona to eliminate initiatives that focus on race. A wave of legislation threatens to limit how race is taught in schools. However, a more inclusive study of social studies, civics and other subjects is essential for an educated citizenry in a functioning democracy.
Download Stuart Green Stop the Assault on Public Education and Democracy
Harassment and Intimidation Don’t Belong in Our Community
May 22, 2021
by Sharon Lau and Darryl Heller
When someone has made the decision to terminate a pregnancy, they deserve access to the health services they need with dignity and respect, and in a safe, peaceful environment free from harassment and intimidation. Yet, patients who seek services from Whole Woman’s Health of South Bend are subject to attacks by anti-abortion protestors.We call on our government officials, including South Bend Mayor James Mueller, St. Joseph County Prosecutor Kenneth Cotter and Chief of Police Scott Ruszkowski, to uphold their duty to serve this community and enforce its laws on behalf of all residents.
Download Intimidation and harassment don’t belong in community
St. Joseph County Needs a New Vision for Economic Development
May 21, 2021
by Christopher Cobb
For five years, the St. Joseph County Commissioners have pursued a vision of developing a mega-industrial complex, the proposed Indiana Enterprise Center, over the objections of county residents. A new report from the Open Space and Agricultural Alliance shows that they have spent $9.6 million on this project, with little to show for it. It also explains how the TIF (tax-increment financing) districts supporting the IEC cost the local governments, schools and libraries of western St. Joseph County over $200,000 in lost tax revenue annually, and increase the tax burden for local taxpayers.
St. Joseph County needs a new vision for economic development. It should begin from the principle that economic development must benefit area residents, improving quality of life. It should increase community input and focus development attention where it is needed.
Access St. Joseph County Needs a New Vision for Economic Development
A Call to Action to Make Education More Equitable in South Bend Schools
March 9, 2021
By Stuart Greene
Although the South Bend Community School Corporation made a promise of racial equity in response to the 1980 consent decree, a report commissioned by the SBCSC Board of Trustees in 2010 concluded that the corporation had failed to distribute resources equitably to schools populated by a majority of Black and brown students. The authors concluded that structural racism was the root cause of the problems they identified. I am reaching out to readers to ask for collective action to support the education of our children and to educate students of color equitably.
Download Viewpoint A call to action to make education more equitable in South Bend schools
St. Joseph County Council is violating its own ordinance
October 30, 2020
By Darryl Heller, Mike Kruk, and Marty Wolfson
On Oct. 13, the St. Joseph County Council approved two tax abatements against the recommendations of a citizens’ advisory committee and in violation of the council’s own tax abatement ordinance. The three of us are members of that citizens’ committee but we are resigning because we think the committee is ineffective and we refuse to be complicit in a process that violates the county’s ordinance.We believe that if businesses are to receive property tax breaks in the county, they should be held to the conditions that the council put in place to ensure that residents gain real benefits.
Download Viewpoint St. Joseph County Council is violating its own ordinance
It’s not economic development unless it improves the quality of life of area residents
September 26, 2020
By Marty Wolfson
The prevailing view among many county officials, staff and corporate advisers is that economic development means attracting business to the county. And the bigger the business, the better. So the Indiana Enterprise Center (IEC) is, in this view, a major economic development effort. However, this idea is profoundly mistaken. Investments like the IEC are not economic development unless they improve the quality of life of area residents. And the residents of New Carlisle and Olive Township have clearly shown that the IEC would not improve their quality of life.
There are many areas of the county, near communities of Black and brown residents, that are suffering from underinvestment. Why don’t county officials and development staff work with people from South Bend to redevelop these underserved communities?
Download It’s not economic development unless it improves the quality of life of area residents
Big Business Over Public Concerns
September 17, 2020
By Jennifer Betz
Every St. Joseph County resident should be concerned about what happened in county government last week. On the surface, the Board of Commissioners passed a resolution from New Carlisle. The county council approved two rezonings for a combined 733 acres of agricultural land to industrial. What really won was a back door for what has been billed as the ninth largest mega-industrial complex in the United States, the Indiana Enterprise Center. What lost were good governance and the common good.
It seems the Board of Commissioners majority — Kostielney and Fleming — are unconcerned with limits. And they can enable the Economic Development Office and Redevelopment Commission to spend money because the New Carlisle TIF district is now effectively a slush fund to enable consultants and big developers to come in at the expense of the common good.
Download Viewpoint St. Joseph County officials seemed to favor big business over community concerns
Redirect Money for School Resource Officers to Health and Mental Health Services
August 27, 2020
By Trina Robinson
Students, parents, educators and policymakers are all concerned with finding the best ways to keep schools safe. But we must ensure that individual students have their needs met and are not harmed by unnecessary and harsh discipline and justice system involvement, which can funnel young people into the school-to-prison pipeline. Given that very few infractions of school regulations are criminal in nature, we believe that the presence of armed police officers in schools is unnecessary. Any corporation or municipal financial resources that previously have been used for school resource officers (police) should be redirected to hiring educational school-based mental health providers.
Download Viewpoint Redirect money for school resource officers to health and mental health services
Vote Yes on South Bend Schools Referendum and Hold Leaders Accountable
May 22, 2020
By Darryl Heller
Unlike opponents of the school referendum, the shortcomings of the SBCSC do not lead me to the conclusion that the only way to force the school corporation to take action is to defeat the referendum. Quite the opposite: The way that we ensure that all students receive a quality education is to pass the referendum and hold the leadership accountable. Instead of abandoning our traditional public schools, we should double down in our fight to preserve public education, not to maintain the status quo of the past decade, but to renew a vision of what public schools can and should be. My support for the referendum starts from a vantage point of justice and a bedrock commitment to educating the neediest and most challenged students in the district, who are largely poor, black and brown. These are students who need more, not fewer, resources.
Download Viewpoint Vote yes on South Bend schools referendum and hold leaders accountable
We Have a Duty to Protect and Defend the Children Who Attend South Bend Schools
May 20, 2020
By Oletha Jones
When I hear critics of the referendum complaining about how the corporation conducted business in the past as a reason to vote no on the referendum I disagree. Are we to deny current and future students for past decisions for which we and they had no control? The word transformative might not readily come to mind when describing our schools. However it is time to change the narrative. We have a duty to protect public education, real public education. We need financial stability to help achieve the goals outlined in our strategic plan to transform teaching and learning in our schools. Please join me and vote yes on both referendum questions for the SBCSC.
Download Viewpoint We have a duty to protect and defend the children who attend South Bend schools
Covid-19 and the Rebirth of Solidarity
May 12, 2020
By Dan Graff
In response to the covid-19 pandemic, “Coronapolitics” describes the attempt to place the risk of the pandemic on the most vulnerable workers. Fortunately, a countervailing Solidarity Politics led by workers and their allies is emerging to confront the pracititioners of Coronapolitics. Solidarity Politics is when the general public, news reporters, and Congress recognize the contributions of essential workers and take steps to address their problems. Most importantly, Solidarity Politics is cemented when employoees from the nation’s cutting-edge retail and delivery chains — Amazon, Target, Instacart, FedEx — collaborate on a coordinated walkout to protest unsafe working conditions and lack of paid sick days.
Download Covid-19 and the Rebirth of Solidarity
The True Ramifications of the Choice Scholarship Program on the Indiana Public School System
January 16, 2020
By Ellie Graff, senior at Adams High School
The vouchers provided by Indiana’s Choice Scholarship Program allow students to attend the private or religious school of their choice. However, the money awarded to eligible families is directly subtracted from funds that would otherwise be used to support their local public school districts. Advocates of the Program claim that it is supposedly aimed at providing alternative schooling options to low-income and minority families. But the Program is not consistent with its advertised objectives and policies of inclusion, and uses government funding to help people who are more financially stable than public school teachers. The only solution to improving the education of all students is financially investing in and committing to bettering the Indiana Public School System.
Access The True Ramifications of the Choice Scholarship Program on the Indiana Public School System
Vote Centers Redux
January 9, 2020
By John Hagen
The County Election Board appears to want us to use Vote Centers to cast our ballots in the 2020 election. What that means for voter engagement is not clear, but we should not expect turnout to improve nor should voting convenience improve for citizens already taking advantage of available alternatives to election day in-person voting.
Download Vote Centers Redux
Fund 911 Call Centers by Releasing Property Values from New Carlisle TIF District
September 15, 2019
By Marty Wolfson
The County Council listened to the people and tabled a proposal that would have funded the 911 call centers by drastically cutting the budgets of libraries, as well as Transpo, towns, and townships. A better way to fund the call centers is for the County Council to recommend to the Redevelopment Commission that it release some of the assessed value in the New Carlisle TIF district. This action would be responsive to those concerned about the negative implications of the New Carlisle development, would raise revenue without cutting the budgets of units providing needed services, and would lower tax rates rather than raising them.
Access Idea for funding 911 call centers in St. Joseph County worth exploring
Miami Hills Issues Demonstrate South Bend Needs Safe, Affordable Housing
June 4, 2019
By Judy Fox
The residents of Miami Hills are not the only Hoosiers living in deplorable conditions due to our lax landlord tenant laws. But that is only half the problem. Contrary to popular belief, there is very little subsidized housing in our area and those we have, have few vacancies. We need a community-wide strategy that assists good landlords in maintaining their properties at affordable rental rates, we need more safe, affordable housing units and we need landlord tenant laws that hold landlords accountable for renting units in the kind of conditions we are now seeing in Miami Hills.
Access Miami Hills Issues Demonstrate South Bend Needs Safe, Affordable Housing
Health Care for All is Needed — No Exceptions
April 16, 2019
By Nicole McLaughlin
During the month of March, faith leaders and community members of diverse race and faith backgrounds gathered for weekly vigils at Indiana’s Statehouse. Our “Families First” platform consisted of a fair democracy to make voting easier for working families, a caring economy where we take care of each other in hard times, restorative justice to prevent mass incarceration and health care for all. We encourage everyone to join us.
Access Health Care for All is Needed — No Exceptions
South Bend Should Revisit Tax Incentives on New Downtown Office Building
April 15, 2019
By Michael J. Kruk
In fairness to taxpayers and those competing in the downtown district, the mayor and the council should revisit all the incentives originally given to the developer of “The Barnes and Thornburg Building.” It seems much has changed from what was originally presented to them back in 2017. Any incentives given should reflect this new reality.
Access South Bend Should Revisit Tax Incentives on New Downtown Office Building
More at Stake than Money in South Shore Relocation
August 15, 2018
By Linda Wolfson
Where should the South Shore Train station be relocated? Choice of the Honeywell site provides development potential not only for an area long in need of revitalization, but for a significant portion of our city. It is the best choice not only because it is the least expensive but because it addresses the urgent need for economic equity and the closing of South Bend’s racial wealth divide.
Access More at Stake than Money in South Shore Relocation
Redouble Efforts to Pass Hate Crimes Law
August 9, 2018
By Darryl Heller
Could 2019 be the year that Indiana changes its indefensible status as one of only five states that does not have a hate crime law on its books? As the director of the IU South Bend Civil Rights Heritage Center, I have joined with others, including the LGBTQ Center and the Jewish Federation, who understand the importance of making a clear and unequivocal statement that intolerance is unacceptable anywhere, especially when directed at minority groups who have experienced historic oppression or marginalization.
Access Redouble Efforts to Pass Hate Crimes Law
Too Many Nuclear Close Calls
August 4, 2018
By Wanda Mangus
The Michiana Peace and Justice Coalition opposes the use of nuclear weapons. Any use would have catastrophic consequences everywhere in the world, destroying large cities, killing millions and leaving large areas of contamination for hundreds of years. In an article dated Jan. 16, 2018, Pope Francis states that he fears we are on the brink of nuclear war.
Access Too Many Nuclear Close Calls
A People’s Perspective of the State of Our Union in South Bend
January 20, 2018
By Darryl Heller
A year after being sworn into office, the promise by the President to make America great again has not materialized. In fact, America has diminished in the eyes of the world and in its commitment to the most vulnerable of its citizens. We, the members of the Michiana Social Justice Coalition, feel that it is necessary to restate our commitment to unity, inclusion, and justice by hosting The People’s Inauguration II.
Access A People’s Perspective
South Shore, Chamber: Get on Board!
December 3, 2017
By Marty Wolfson
The South Shore and the Chamber of Commerce are still pushing for a plan to reroute tracks that will destroy homes in the Ardmore area and cost $25 million. But the community has come up with a reasonable plan to shorten the commute, to preserve homes in the Ardmore neighborhood and to save taxpayer money. It is time now for the South Shore and the Chamber to get on board.
Access South Shore, Chamber: Get on Board!
The Labor Question Today
By Dan Graff
“Occasional Musings on Work, the Politics of Work, and the Work of Social Justice”
A blog by the Director of the Higgins Labor Program. Check this website for new postings:
The Labor Question Today
GOP Tax Bill shifts Resources to the Rich
November 24, 2017
By Marty Wolfson
The tax bill recently passed by the House of Representatives is an outrageous transfer of money to the wealthy and to large corporations. Rep. Jackie Walorski, in an oped in the South Bend Tribune, tries to have us believe that the tax bill really helps ordinary families. She does so by selectively citing aspects of the bill and ignoring parts of the bill that contradict her claims.
Download GOP Tax Bill Shifts Resources to the Rich
A Plan for the South Shore that will Shorten the Ride to Chicago and Keep the Ardmore Area Intact
September 18, 2017
By William O’Rourke
A plan for the South Shore: create a new train station on unused Honeywell parking lots. This will take 10 minutes off the commute to Chicago, save homes in the Ardmore area, improve the nearby neighborhood, and even save some money. The airport stop will continue to function, for those very few people (if any) who fly in and immediately want to take the train.
Access A Better Path to Improve South Shore Ride Experience
Holcomb’s Plan Unhealthy for Indiana
September 17, 2017
By Cheryl Ashe
Recently, Governor Holcomb petitioned the federal government to be able to change the rules of the Healthy Indiana Plan (HIP) to require some Medicaid/HIP recipients to work or do work-related activities in order to qualify for care. This will cause even some disabled people to lose their health insurance and wind up in the emergency room.
Download Holcomb’s Plan Unhealthy for Indiana
Black Males Face Systemic Challenges in South Bend Schools
June 25, 2017
By Jorden Giger
Black boys are disproportionately affected by the school-to-prison pipeline, a set of policies and practices that push students out of schools and toward the criminal justice system. The leadership of the South Bend School Corporation, by inadequately addressing this issue, is systematically failing black boys.
Download Black Males Face Systemic Challenges in South Bend Schools
Immigration Beliefs and Economic Reality
May 6, 2017
By Marty Wolfson
Many well-meaning people support the immigration policies of the Trump administration in part because they have been persuaded of certain beliefs about immigration. However, these beliefs do not always square with legal and economic realities.
Access Beliefs Don’t Equal Reality
Why Public Education is important and School “Choice” is not a Choice
March 20, 2017
By Darryl Heller
In invited remarks to the Board of the South Bend Community School Corporation, Darryl Heller argues that public education must be defended against those in the school choice movement who wish to destroy it. At the same time, public education must be improved by ending the disproportionate treatment of black and brown children and the school-to-prison pipeline.
Download Darryl Heller SBCSC Remarks – 3-20-2017
County Ordinance Would Benefit Local Workers, Taxpayers
October 16, 2016
By Robert Kruszynski, Jr., and Diana Hess
The Responsible Bidder Ordinance places a priority on utilizing local businesses and workers. It encourages a highly trained and skilled workforce who are then qualified for higher skilled, higher paying jobs.
Access County Ordinance Would Benefit Local Workers, Taxpayers
South Bend Must Do More to Lead on Police Issues
September 8, 2016
By Darryl Heller
The City of South Bend and the SBPD must prioritize resources that confront systems of oppression. Doing so would mean recruiting more minority and women officers and reopening a public discussion on instituting some form of community oversight of the police department.
Access South Bend Must Do More to Lead on Police Issues
Is the $15 Minimum Wage Too High for Indiana?
May 28, 2016
By Joe Carbone
Raising the minimum wage in Indiana would boost our state’s economy and enable workers to care for and support their families.
Download Is the $15 Minimum Wage Too High for Indiana?
Meeting the Needs of All Students
April 27, 2016
By De Bryant and Darryl Heller, with the assistance of Stuart Greene and Terri Russ
The school board needs to re-examine its priorities to place education and learning front and center, not punishment or surveillance.
Download Meeting the Needs of All Students
How to Strengthen South Bend Schools
February 20, 2016
By Stuart Greene
A new school superintendent should have demonstrated success in addressing problems that have long plagued the school corporation, such as disproportionality in discipline. The school board should provide data on these problems and hold parent-community meetings to increase community participation.
Download How to Strengthen South Bend Schools
Struggling Hoosiers Deserve Higher Wages
December 17, 2015
By Katie Luotto and Dan Graff
The Indiana legislature should raise the state’s minimum wage and repeal the laws preventing local communities from establishing local minimum wage and other worker protections.
Download Struggling Hoosiers Deserve Higher Wages
A Blind Spot on Race and Justice
November 17, 2015
By Darryl Heller
Racism and injustice are problems for all of us. All people, including white people, need to speak up to combat these problems. Download A Blind Spot on Race and Justice
The Health Status of St. Joseph County, Indiana
November 16, 2015
By John Hagen
An analysis of six years of health data for St. Joseph County. Download The Health Status of St Joe County For the full report, see the Resources section of this website.
Coming to Terms with HistoryJuly 16, 2015
by Darryl Heller
The Director of the Civil Rights Heritage Center at IU South Bend reflects on the lowering of the Confederate flag in South Carolina and the continuing problem of white supremacy in South Carolina and the nation. Download Coming to Terms with History
The Persistence and Perception of Crime
May 23, 2015
By John Hagen
An analysis of crime data for the City of South Bend. Download the full article here: Download The Persistence and Perception of Crime
Fix Indiana’s Unfair Tax System
May 15, 2015
By Marty Wolfson
An observation from volunteer tax preparation: low- and moderate-income taxpayers often get a refund on their federal taxes, but owe on Indiana taxes. Why that is and what to do about it. Download the full article here: Download Fix Indiana’s Unfair Tax System
Bad policy
May 4, 2015
By Cheryl Ashe
http://www.southbendtribune.com/news/opinion/viewpoint/viewpoint-bad-policy/article_acd66ece-6c91-5f98-bec8-7fe8ca4eef1e.html
A decision by Gov. Pence will result in 65,000 Hoosiers losing SNAP (food stamp) benefits beginning in July 2015.
No business at County Council level
March 18, 2015
By Diana Hess
http://www.southbendtribune.com/news/local/viewpoint-no-business-at-county-council-level/article_b36a1970-36e5-51c4-acd4-7c2385b5407c.html
We should ensure that women have access to a full range of affordable and easily accessible reproductive health care. The “Patient Safety” ordinance does not do this.
Working hard, still falling behind
March 13, 2015
By Marty Wolfson
Download VIEWPOINT_ Falling behind
Forty-five percent of households in South Bend do not earn enough to meet their basic needs, according to a new report commissioned by the Indiana Association of United Ways.
There’s no place like home
February 28, 2015
By Regina Williams-Preston
http://www.southbendtribune.com/news/opinion/viewpoint/viewpoint-candidate-says-there-s-no-place-like-home/article_671b5ed8-c081-5b90-aea9-845f9079bbd5.html
Residents must participate in and benefit from neighborhood development on the City’s west side. They must be allowed to live in their neighborhoods after revitalization.
Voting centers are a solution in search of a problem
December 29, 2013
By John Hagen
http://www.southbendtribune.com/news/opinion/viewpoint/viewpoint-voting-centers-are-a-solution-in-search-of-a/article_9f639140-707b-11e3-9aa5-0019bb30f31a.html
Consolidation of precincts into fewer polling places is a viable alternative to vote centers.
What I learned about vote centers
December 28, 2013
By Teresa Marcy
http://www.southbendtribune.com/news/opinion/viewpoint/viewpoint-what-i-learned-about-vote-centers/article_fbfa943c-6fb1-11e3-86f7-0019bb30f31a.html
We need a system that encourages people to vote instead of making it more difficult. The vote center plan needs serious revision if it is to be accepted.
Let’s pledge to do better by our working families
September 2, 2013
By Tony Flora
http://www.southbendtribune.com/news/opinion/let-s-pledge-to-do-better-by-our-working-families/article_e61d1e7e-13c1-11e3-89bd-0019bb30f31a.html
Ways to help working families: create jobs, strengthen Social Security and Medicare, and require corporations and the wealthy to pay their fair share of taxes.
Raising the minimum wage is the right thing to do
September 1, 2013
By Marty Wolfson
Download Raising the minimum wage is the right thing to do
Raising the minimum wage is economically sound and will improve workers’ lives.
Adding Portage Prairie to TIF wouldn’t help rest of city
August 15, 2006
By Marty Wolfson
If the Redevelopment Commission adds Portage Prairie to the Airport TIF district, it should also add LaSalle Square. All areas of the City of South Bend should be included in the city’s prosperity.
Download Portage Prairie Oped