March 2006

The birth certificate or passport provision is not necessary to protect the Medicaid program from undocumented immigrants. Instead, it will hurt many defenseless citizens, mostly elderly and disabled minorities.

It has been a busy year for housing advocates in Springfield. Below is a summary of just some of the legislation the Shriver Center and other housing advocates are working on this year.

The federal banking agencies' final guidance to implement the recent changes in the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) regulations incorporated suggestions from community groups and CRA advocates.

Illinois spends about $2 billion a year on economic development, much of it justified with rhetoric about job creation and poverty reduction. But beneath the sheep's clothing, there lies a different story.

The small pool of banks that offer payday loans got a little smaller as three banks regulated by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) recently opted out of the payday loan business. They are the First Bank of Delaware, Republic Bancorp Inc. of Louisville, and County Bank of Delaware.

All those who propose to heal the ailing health care system in the United States should examine their proposals in light of Hippocrates' 2,500-year-old medical ethics code. Proposals should "be for the benefit of" patients and "not for their hurt or any wrong."

Asset building is a powerful and unifying framework to address the persistence of poverty. Illinois has enjoyed an encouraging environment for innovative asset-building and asset-protection policies for many years.

A new legal editor-staff attorney will join the staff of Clearinghouse Review: Journal of Poverty Law and Policy after the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law concludes its search this month. The position is half-time, and telecommunting is an option.