Newsroom
If you have media questions or if you would like to speak with
Shriver Center experts, please contact Joanna
VanderWoude, Media Relations Associate at 312.263.3830 ext. 253
(office) or 219.644.8216 (cell).
Poverty Scorecard 2007
A downloadable version of the Scorecard is available here.
To listen to Sen. John Edwards talk about the importance of the Scorecard on the teleconference release call, please click here.
Shriver Center Press Releases
Members of Congress in States with Highest Poverty Least Likely to Support Anti-Poverty Measures:Sen. John Edwards Endorses Poverty Scorecard (March 11, 2008)
Shriver Center Hires New Vice President of External Affairs (Jan. 17, 2008)
Low Income Tenants Sue City of Joliet for Race Discrimination (Dec. 26, 2007)
Shriver Center Honors Those Who Care (Dec. 4, 2007)
House SCHIP Bill Would Triple Illinois Health Funding (Sept. 26, 2007)
Shriver Center Asks Potential Leaders' Positions on Poverty (Sept. 11, 2007)
Rita McLennon Accepts Position at Prestigious New York Legal Assistance Group (Sept. 6, 2007)
Ensuring Success in School Act Signed by Governor (August 30, 2007)
For archives of Shriver Center press releases, click here.
Shriver Center in the News
Payday Loan Law Loophole Swallows Borrowers Whole, Chicago Tribune (May 13, 2008)"Often people who wrack up pay day loans 'don't know how to play the game. They don't know they are getting into something bad,' said Dory Rand of the Chicago-based Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law, which has provided economic counseling for consumers over the years."Click here for pdf.
CHA Votes to Expand Resident Work Requirements, Chicago Tribune (May 1, 2008)
"'The big problem with applying work requirements to traditional public housing is that it's the housing of last resort," said William Wilen, director of housing litigation for the Chicago-based Sargent Shriver Center on Poverty Law.'Click here for pdf.
CHA Board Approves New Rules for Public Housing Residents, Chi-Town Daily News (May 1, 2008)
"'If it [CHA work requirement document] was board-approved today, it should be public to everyone,' Walz says. 'Transparency is to the CHA's advantage.'"Click here for pdf.
CHA Critics Say Work Rule Might Violate Child-Welfare Law, Chicago Tribune (April 9, 2008)
"Wendy Pollack, director of the Women's Law and Policy Project at the Shriver National Center on Poverty Law, said the recent economic slowdown and loss of jobs only add to the difficulties many of these single parents face."Click here for pdf.
Area Apartment Rents 'Out of Reach,' Chicago Tribune (April 8, 2008)
"William Wilen, director of housing litigation for the Chicago-based Sargent Shriver Center on Poverty Law, said the shortage is reaching a precarious stage. 'More and more families are losing their homes,' he said. 'That puts additional pressure on the already inadequate supply of affordable housing. Thousands of families are on the cusp of homelessness.'"Click here for pdf.
Health Care Reforms: Adopt Proven Tactics for Boosting Enrollment, Des Moines Register (March 25, 2008)
"Most Iowa children are already covered, so Iowa does not have far to go to cover all kids. Leaders of this initiative are very impressive, and there is tremendous consensus to finish the job. Disagreements over details, such as whether to require parents to acquire coverage for their children, seem unlikely to derail the main job of establishing the coverage and rolling it out. Yet this requires specific actions, like those taken in Illinois, that Iowa has yet to do." -John BoumanClick here for pdf.
Poor Score, Editorial in Houston Chronicle (March 23, 2008)
"No one has to accept the Shriver Center's results at face value, but the Scorecard does provide a wealth of information that can be put to good use by anyone who believes Texans ought to do a better job of reducing the great poverty in our midst."Click here for pdf.
Build Right Programs to Insure All Iowa Kids, Des Moines Register (March 20, 2008)
"His [Gov. Rod Blagojevich] vision resulted in the state's All Kids program, which offers health insurance to all children, regardless of immigration status or family income. Illinois also aggressively marketed and advertised the program to get children signed up. 'The state adhered to the marketing principle that people need to be exposed to something seven times,' said John Bouman of the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law in Chicago."Click here for pdf.
Two Hyde Park Congressmen receive A+ rating for votes, Hyde Park Herald (March 17, 2008)
"Two Congressmen who represent Hyde Park earned an A+ on the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law's "Poverty Scorecard 2007: Rating Members of Congress."Click here for pdf.
Senators from Poor States Rank Low on "Poverty Scorecard," U.S. News and World Report (March 13, 2008)
"An analysis released this morning by the Shriver Center showed that in 2007, members of Congress from states with high rates of poverty were "less likely to support anti-poverty measures than other members of Congress."Click here for pdf.
Shriver Center Releases Poverty Report Card, Chicagoist (March 11, 2008)
"The Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law, a Chicago-based organization that 'leads the poverty advocacy community through a bold advocacy agenda,' released a scorecard yesterday that rates congressional votes on significant 2007 poverty-related legislation."Click here for pdf.
Vt. Lawmakers Get A+ for Poverty Voting Record, Rutland Herald (March 11, 2008)
"Poverty has not been an attractive issue for politicians to talk about in recent years, but the 2005 hurricane tragedy in New Orleans made people realize 'we had taken our eyes off the ball for a few years,' according to John Bouman, the president of the Shriver Center, which released its report on Monday."Click here for pdf.
Poverty Report Card Released, Chicago Public Radio (March 10, 2008)
"Dan Lesser, an attorney with Shriver, says the report was done to raise public awareness. LESSER: We think it's very important to fairly evaluate the performance of every member of Congress. Our intent is to circulate it widely."Click here for pdf.
For archives of Shriver Center in the news, click here.
Shriver Center Position Statements
S.1348 Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007
Measuring Poverty: On the Federal Poverty Level
Letter to our Potential New Leaders
Children's Health Coverage is Next Up for Congress
Shriver Center Experts
The advocates at the Sargent Shriver National Center On Poverty Law are respected as experts in a wide range of issues that affect low-income individuals and communities. To read more about each advocate’s area of expertise, click on their short bios below. Bios are in pdf form.John Bouman
Dan Lesser
Wendy Pollack
Dory Rand
Margie Stapleton
Kate Walz
William Wilen
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(312) 263-3830 (voice); (312) 263-3846 (fax).