Photo montage of Rahm at Wicker Park incident: Kenzo Shibata.
– By Matt Ginsberg-Jaeckle as posted on the Mental Health Movement’s Facebook page.
Mental Health Movement members Debbie Delgado and Matt Ginsberg-Jaeckle just confronted Rahm face-to-face about his mental health clinic closures. Rahm was about to address a small room of developers and residents at the Wicker Park field-house. 3 years after he closed half of Chicago’s public mental health clinics, he may have thought the issue had gone away. But then Debbie, sitting in the front row, a few feet from the mayor, stood up to tell her story. She told of losing her son to gun violence.
She told him how her other son was holding him as he died. She told about how the city’s Northwest Mental Health Clinic in Logan Square saved their lives, helped her and her son deal with the PTSD and depression.
Then she asked why he took that clinic away from her. Why he closed a clinic and now a bar sits in that space. Why he closed five other mental health clinics. Why he thought she would be able to travel an extra hour past three cemeteries to get to the clinic she was supposed to be transferred to without having an anxiety attack on the way. Why he has left her with no options. Why he has left her with her son closed in, barely leaving the house anymore, refusing to see a new therapist since Rahm Emanuel took away their clinic.
After trying to keep his cool, he told us that he would speak to us after the event in a separate room. There, we saw the Real Rahm.
Now off camera, Rahm’s voice raised, his demeanor changed, in no time he was shouting in Matt’s face, nose-to-nose “YOU’RE GONNA RESPECT ME!”
He corrected Rahm’s faulty statistics, saying that no, psychiatric services were not expanded, that in fact the city cut $2.3 million by closing 6 clinics and only redistributed $500,000 of that to private clinics and that those clinics have only seen a couple hundred additional people, whereas 3,000 people are unaccounted for since he announced the closure of those mental health clinics.
The Real Rahm accused Debbie and Matt of “creating a circus in there,” to which we responded that two close friends – Mental Health Movement heros Jeannette Hanson and Helen Morley – had lost their lives because of his decision to close their clinics, that there is nothing humorous to us about what we did in there, that we had tried since months before the clinic closures to meet with him, that Helen (who was looking at Rahm from Debbie’s t-shirt) had shouted to him “If you close my clinic I will die” only to die a month after he ignored those shouts.
When Rahm told Debbie he is going to have the new Commissioner of Public Health personally find her a new mental health clinic to go to, she said “this isn’t about me, this is about all of us, about the movement, about the south and west sides of the city that don’t have mental health now. Don’t try to just fix my situation, re-open all of our clinics.”
He had his PR guy take our number and left, unable to respond. This is the Real Rahm. Calm and collected in public, raging angry and self-defensive behind closed doors.
The only people in the room were two PR staff, two body guards, us and the man that closed half of Chicago’s public mental health clinics – Rahm Emanuel.
Fred Klonsky 
It sounds as if Rahm too has a desperate need for mental health care. Did he also scream at his victims: “I’M NOT CRAZY!!!” ? Someone should at least recommend to Hizzoner Rahm that he needs an extended period of counseling to deal with sociopathy.
No doubt is stems from trying to govern a few million greedy, self serving liberals in rat nest of a city! 🙂
Norman, first work on stringing together proper sentences, and then work on your logic. 👎
Let me guess … you’re a “christian”…
Yeah, because your Tea Bagger party has been AWESOME in its advocacy for funding mental health programs. HAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!
You can take out the liberal comment. What is a liberal any way. I hunt I own a gun. DO I like big rich Johnson around me or my family. No. Its great Rauner showed Rham how make money. Let’s show them both taxpayers are done
with tax abusers like them.
This story sounds so made up and why would Rahm seriously be stupid enough to say that to someone. This sounds like a complete setup. I know the Mayor has a reputation but come on…..sounds like bs to me and something put out by the chuy folks…
Shelly, Rahm’s people issued a statement after the event confirming he did in fact say it…its in the Tribune now.. not a set-up
You obviously know nothing about Rahmbo. This is exactly something he would do. He’s a thin-skinned bully who thinks anyone not rich should STFU and do what he says.
The mental health clinics really were closed. It really does affect real people.
He said not nice things about Karen Lewis. So, I can believe the article.
You need cinematic proof that Rahm looses his temper? Really? Do you also need video verification that the sun comes up in the east each morning?
Rahm’s trying s-o-o-o-o hard to behave himself.
This is the mayoral version of the marshmallow test.
TEN MINUTES! TEN MINUTES!
Except he’s got FOUR WEEKS!
He ain’t gonna make it.
Rahm Emmanuel got to go…vote for The PEOPLE’S Mayor Chuy Garcia.
Very sad, and of course major media owned by the 1%ers put their heads in the sand. Some day the thing that this 5th floor city hall squatter does may affect them or a family member, maybe then they will pop their ugly heads out
What a bunch of crap. the two mentioned were rude, insolent, an unfair to the rest who were in attendance
Right, because when you’re being oppressed, you should always quietly wait your turn to discuss it calmly and rationally.
Especially when non-millionaires and non-billionaires are rarely deemed worthy of Rahmbo’s time.
Oh, did they rub you the wrong way? Why on earth would the death of a child because the mayor closed their life-line to services cause them to be angry? No wonder you were offended by their – what did you call it – “insolence.”
Actually, her child died because she lives in Southside Chicago; it’s her remaining son who was being treated at the center for the effects of seeing his brother die.
As for being rude to the other attendees — it actually sounds like they were. He was there for a different reason, and maybe the other people in the audience had something just as important to them that they wanted to address with the mayor, and they couldn’t because the meeting was hijacked. (I only note they were rude to everyone else in the audience — I’m not including Hizzoner there, because I really don’t care about that.)
elladeon:
And how often do “the people” get to address Rahmbo? Probably hardly ever. Are you a millionaire? Why do you cover for him so much? What has that clown done for you?
She did not live on the South Side, she lived in Logan Square, get your s@#t straight if you want to talk. Watch the video, then talk. Have friends die because of a mental healthcare remedy that would only cost $3,000,000 per year, then talk (while the new DePaul stadium gets 55 million in tax breaks alone). To put this into perspective, this is out of a yearly city budget of 8.896 BILLION. To the average American family with an income of $69,821, the cost to keep the mental health clinics open for one year would come out to $23.55. So look at the city budget, then talk.
Anon,
These people tried to set up meetings with the necessary people to discuss this issue..they were repeatedly snubbed. Ever try to go up against the city? It can be very difficult, especially in a situation like this. This city / country needs a bit more disobedience..in fact, a lot more disobedience..Transparent process is going away quickly..first under Daley and continuing under Rahm. It’s the same in the National level… I’m proud of these folks for having the balls to say enough is enough…excellent.
Must be easy to run a city that’s $63,000,000,000.00 in debt. That’s $83,000.00 per household. It must be easy to try to lure businesses to a city with a reputation for un-friendly regulations and high taxes. I mean, businesses don’t have a choice where they locate, right? Oh, wait. They do have a choice. I mean, why not just levy taxes on all the folks I don’t like, right? The 1% wouldn’t move somewhere more friendly to their needs, right? And besides, even if they do move, who cares? Chuy says it’ll be all gravy once he’s elected. If you’re mentally ill, all you’ll have to do is give Chuy a call and he’ll invite you up to the 5th floor of City Hall and he’ll braid your hair and let you tell him the sob story that is your life. He’ll make it all better. Once Chuy’s in office he won’t have to worry about the crushing debt facing the city because, well, because he’s Chuy! People’s Mayor!!! Everything will be rainbows and unicorns!!! Nah, the de-industrialization that has been eating away at the fabric of the city will magically disappear and all the mental health clinics will magically re-appear with hundreds more added just for good measure and everyone will be able to live there with 6 hot meals a day and back rubs!!! Vote Chuy! The People’s Mayor!! We have nothing to worry about. If we just think nice thoughts we’ll be cool. Love will find a way!!!!
It’s far from the first time Rahm’s done this, where he promises to meet with groups but reneges on the promise, and then requests to deal with them privately.
He’s done that to community groups about police brutality and black community groups. He recently did it to Asian American groups and it was covered by NPR. He did it to Latino groups and suffered for it this past election.
I love one exchange his office gave to one of these groups: “He can meet with you after the election.” The response given back was, “Well, we can vote for him after the election, then.”
It’s far from the first time Rahm’s done this, where he promises to meet with groups but reneges on the promise, and then requests to deal with them privately.
He’s done that to community groups about police brutality and black community groups. He recently did it to Asian American groups and it was covered by NPR. He did it to Latino groups and suffered for it this past election.
I love one exchange his office gave to one of these groups: “He can meet with you after the election.” The response given back was, “Well, we can vote for him after the election, then.”
MWB – if we’re so deep in debt, can you tell me how it is that we can afford to finance a basketball stadium for a private religious college? How it is that we can revamp the Riverwalk (yet again)? How it is that we can keep giving away perks and goodies to corporations?
Are the no prisons….Are there no workhouses.
Anony, best campaign phrase for Chuy to use! I am constantly thinking this–not only w/regards to Emanuel, but to all these oligarchs out there pretending to be legislators. i.e., “public servants,” in addition to those Waltons, Kochs, etc. Yes, there definitely ARE prisons (&–correct me if I’m wrong–I understand that IL has the highest number of incarcerations of any state (or is it the highest number of people of color incarcerated? No matter–it is utterly shameful & disturbing!) AND–is the prison system not being privatized, as well?! More ka-ching for the 1%, more misery for the rest. Finally, let’s not forget the school-to-prison pipeline.
BS if there is no other way (it sounds like they waited 2 YEARS) to talk to this rat-faced bast–d then I say he deserved what he got.
As far as inconveniencing the people who came to this “event” maybe they needed their collective eyes opened to what he’s doing.
Reblogged this on Public Secrets and commented:
Oh, my. Mayor Rahm is not happy. Probably sees his reelection chances breathing their last gasp. And the people who confronted him should check their mail in the next few days for a dead fish…
Rahm wears the mask. The little dancer, hiding behind his little painted fan. A carefully choreographed magical ballet. Now you see him. Now, poof! He shouts, swears, and bourrees out the back door. Who WAS that masked man?
I wonder how much it’s costing us to pay for Rahm’s flacks. Why are we taxpayers forced to fund the very people who are being paid to lie to us? Would someone FOIA him, please?Rahm should be forced to pay for his own PR department.
At some point, I believe that Rahm will have to deal with the horrible results of his decisions. I hope it’s sooner than later. Unnecessary and unfair school closings affecting the lives of thousands of underserved children, unconscionable closing of essential mental health facilities, wasteful use of resources and utilization of unqualified personnel through favoritism. He’s been a disaster for Chicago. Hope Chicago can see past his reign and campaign of smoke and mirrors.
Silly peasants! Conservatives have been telling you for years, in fact decades, that the Democrat/Leftist masters only want your votes, not your opinions, and certainly not any of the problems from your trivial, meaningless little lives. Of course, you called them haters, racists, and any other nasty name your masters put in your mouths. This is what they think you deserve for slavishly voting them into office year after year.
Now shut up and mind your places.
Except Rahm is a Conservative. He’s only a Democrat because he could never get elected to office in Chicago as a Con.
No.
That is so bizarre I can’t even work up snark.
Just, No.
Right. Because Bill Clinton is a conservative. Because Obama is a conservative. You know, you’re not much better than the “conservatives” who are to the right of Ghenghis Khan. Do you think its a cake walk to manage a city that has seen 60 years of de-industrialization? Do you think its easy to manage a city that exists in a globalized business environment where capital flows from London to New York, Chicago, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Frankfurt at the speed of light? Where business can pick and choose where they locate based on a race to the bottom? Sure, you may hate the people who work at the various exchanges; you may hate the folks who build and/or manage the businesses that must compete regionally, nationally, globally but they pay taxes. Do they try to minimize their tax burdens? Yes. So do you if you pay any. So do I. Who will pay for those mental health clinics? The schools? The schools hadn’t been re-aligned for 50 years. The demographics of the neighborhoods had gone through wholesale changes over that period in time. Do you think running a 125 year old school building is free? Cheap? I love people who say they want and respect a politician willing and able to make the “hard choices” — as long as they don’t affect me in any way shape or form. Hey, Chicago isn’t facing the very real possibility of bankruptcy. I mean, we’re only $63,000,000,000.00 in debt. That’s only $83,000.00 per household. Assuming of course that every household pays taxes. Nah. Lets elect the guy who will tell us everything is cool. We’ll tax the shit out of everyone who is making money in this city. We’ll tax the bejeesus out of everyone who tries to start a business. I mean, business folks are just so square. Lets go to Squirrel Hill and smoke a jay. There’s nothing to think too deeply about except maybe some cool House music.
MWB:
What makes Rahmbo a Democrat or Progressive? Giving shady deals to his campaign donors? Giving sweetheart deals to private colleges? Closing needed mental health clinics?
Reblogged this on Casual Bedlam and commented:
A lot of us have been ready for a new mayor for a while. This sounds like it was a super shitty situation for all involved. The thing that really scares me about this is that we can make so much progress over time while working with a mental health professional who gets to know us and gets to know our issues intimately enough to alleviate them. If you take away someone’s therapist, you’re making that person start at square one, and much of the progress they made will be stalled while they waste time, money and energy getting in sync with a new therapist. Our city’s mental health resources are pretty austere as it is, so, once you find the right person to treat you – which can be challenging for anyone anywhere – having that person taken away from you can totally wreck your shit and have tragic consequences. Rahm’s leadership is garbage. -LB
Meant to add: Thanks for the post, Fred! Let me know if you’d rather I take down the reblog for any reason.
How much money does a therapist charge? Where is that money coming from? Why don’t the therapist do the people a solid and not charge for their services? That would be pretty cool. I mean, it seems pretty hard-core for someone with the kind of specialized knowledge a therapist has to charge someone for trying to help another human being, right? What about all the people who work in the clinic? Why they do the mentally ill a solid and do the job for free? Illinois is spending half-a-billion dollars on mental health. Illinois is $127,000,000,000.00 in debt. We have the worst debt rating in the country. We’re dead last out of 50 states. Do you know how much taxpayers are spending just to service that debt? Where would YOU advocate cutting? How much would YOU raise taxes? Now…once you’ve targeted THOSE programs you don’t believe to be necessary, what do YOU think the ramifications would be? Raise taxes MORE on businesses? Do you think its that hard for a company to move its operations to Indiana? Ohio? Iowa? Kentucky? Georgia? New York? Wisconsin? Michigan? Do you think any of that matters? No? Why don’t the therapists and doctors and nurses, and others in the mental health offer their services for free? You know, help a sister out. Seems pretty uncool not to.
“Where would YOU advocate cutting?”
Well that’s easy. Corporate goodies.
Besides, it doesn’t all have to come from cutting. How about revenue? What about a progressive tax?
How about stopping all the glad-hand parties? How about where does all the money go when it gets to the city level…who’s minding the accounting for all of this?
Look to Detroit for city officials pocketing money and the accounting department looking the other way.
MBW how about accountability for all the funds coming in and checks and balances?
Haven’t we seen our Federal government spending money like drunken sailors on shore leave in some foreign port?
You know what, maybe you can volunteer some of your valuable time and money to help someone out…why pick just Therapists to shoulder your burden?
After all, aren’t you all in the Chicago boat?
i’d consider cuts in the criminal justice system, modeling proposition 47 in California, which passed, to: “reclassify drug and theft crimes that involve less than $950 from felonies to misdemeanors.” Money went to schools, which well, the good lord himself knows how Chicago’s school issues are going to be resolved, but more funding couldn’t hurt. As a digression, I was furious that teachers got debt forgiveness and anyone else who is just as good of a citizen – but chose to pursue a different career path – didn’t. The teachers have a better career with decent pay, and job security, than almost anyone else for that matter (and i’m the child of two teachers). I’d have to research though if that money was from the state or federal level. Returning to the topic of cuts in the legal arena, states have similar programs, such as the Public Safety and Offender Accountability Act in Kentucky. The system of incarceration, release, repeat, which is how it works for the majority of people who become incarcerated, is expensive. The jails are overcrowded and people are being placed on house arrest. If the mental health clinics were improved (let alone addressing the socioeconomic gap that perpetuates crime), instead of cut, we may see a reduction in crime and therefore also free up money currently spent housing murderers, rapists, or even just drug addicts. The cops waste time, targeting people who, for example, sell marijuana on craigslist and issue parking tickets if you turn off your GPS while driving (they appear to be texting), and I read about shootings every time I grab a RedEye. Not to mention… how many officers are we paying who are corrupt? I wonder how many beats are under investigation.
I’m sorry. I lost track about a third of the way down when you did the gratuitous slap at teachers.
Hey Fred. If you did get through one-third of my comment, you maybe noted that I actually bring up teaching for the first time in my comment as as the “payoff” to adopting models such as Proposition 47 in California, because these redirect funds towards improving school systems. I said, after siting the aforementioned proposition:
“Money went to schools, which well, the good lord himself knows how Chicago’s school issues are going to be resolved, but more funding couldn’t hurt.”
I would be interested in how this demonstration of passion for seeing the school systems improve could be perceived as a “gratuitous slap in the face to teachers.”
Hey Fred. If you did get through one-third of my comment, then the first time I actually bring up teaching is when I suggest the state follow models adopted by other states. My example was California’s recent passing of proposition, which freed money up to improve the education system. I expressed my concern as well for the problems Chicago suffers from in the education arena. Here are my actual words:
“Money went to schools, which well, the good lord himself knows how Chicago’s school issues are going to be resolved, but more funding couldn’t hurt. ”
I fail to see this as “a gratuitous slap at teachers.” I actually see this comment coming from a person who cares more than average people do about the education problems in Chicago. Did you get far enough into my post to read that both of my parents are retired teachers, who worked in their districts for upwards of 30 years. My father taught in the Chicago Public School system his entire career (I remember all the strikes as a child…) and my mother in the special education department in the suburbs.
My issue – which I sited as a digression – is with loan forgiveness. I studied English/Writing/Marketing… and I am to this day paying off a loan in a field with grueling hours, horrid competition, and very little job security. By comparison, teachers enjoy far more job security, shorter hours, and great benefits such as holidays and summers off. This is no slap in the face to teachers. It’s inarguable fact. And I know it from firsthand experience living with teachers as parents.
Debt forgiveness implies that the person who at 19 years of age, decided to be a teacher, by comparison to for example, someone who declared English or Sociology as a major, somehow has superiority as a good person, and in fact, that just is not the case. There are teachers who molest students and there are people who do not teach, that demonstrate wonderful citizenship.
Furthermore, and this is also inarguable and sadly, a fact, teachers make more money than I ever have, and have more job security, thereby making it easier for them to pay off their debt than other people who are still paying the price for a higher education. Teachers are not objectively elevated by comparison to others who took loans for higher education, there’s no fairness there! That said – life isn’t fair.
What if there was no loan forgiveness? Maybe the money spent on loan forgiveness could be redirected to improving things for teachers (and students) in a more meaningful way than eliminating a monthly bill payment.
My mistake was to engage in political discourse. I long ago gave this up.
Which segues to my sign off, which is this. The liberal party is killing itself, because of their inability to organize, their inability to deploy effective rhetoric, along with their tendency towards extremism as a tactic (ex. Michael Moore).
I think the liberal party could be quite a bit more potent if they valued their cause more than their pride, and ditched the snide behavior. If you Fred, take the time to read the rest of my post, I hope you see that it comes from a genuine place of caring about society, with my idea for possibly making improvements, and I apologize if you thought I was simply administering a gratuitous slap in the face to teachers. ‘Twas not my intention.
Take care Fred, and for sure keep on fighting for the teachers. I admire the work you do in Evanston, best of luck.
Gratuitous slap: ” As a digression, I was furious that teachers got debt forgiveness and anyone else who is just as good of a citizen – but chose to pursue a different career path – didn’t. The teachers have a better career with decent pay, and job security, than almost anyone else for that matter (and i’m the child of two teachers). I’d have to research though if that money was from the state or federal level.” This is simply not supported by any evidence.
And if all that service were given away for free, what are those professionals supposed to by groceries with, pay rent with, buy gas with? Your thinking suggests you are poor, and want free stuff because you lack money to buy what you need.
Was there any video of this? Or are we not quite that lucky? Either way, this is great reporting.
Here is the video
So good to see NineFingers realize that the end of his one term is upon him !
Reblogged this on Human Rights Honduras and commented:
Rahm’s neo-liberal agenda is devastating health care in Chicago. Much like in Central America where everything has been or is being privatized, there are no quality clinics or hospitals and nothing for those with mental illnesses. Rahm was one of the major authors of NAFTA which decimated much of Mexico and later the same agenda was unleashed with CAFTA-DR. Now Chicago is going the way of a developing country where the elite get richer, the middle class dwindles, and the poor die from curable diseases.
Chicago: Rahm’s Truman Show. This is his reality sleeve. If you can’t see it, it’s not there. Mental illness? He’s eliminated mental illness by closing the clinics.
Struggling students? Got rid of THEM by closing the schools.
Low graduation rates? Get ’em outa here! Send ’em all to options schools.
I think its BS. Major media wouldn’t be able to wait to share this. You went to the meeting to disrupt – mission accomplished. And as usual, there are two sides to every lie. And while he isn’t doing everything I personally care about, right now, he doesn’t have a contender in Chuy that is going to make Chicago any better.
terriedc:
Why would the media cover this? They’re all owned by corporations. Do corporations care about their workers? Do they want an informed populace? Of course not!!
I was there in the second row– Rahm was absurdly polite and respectful to the extent that I was taken back at his kindness- This lady could have made her point in 2 minutes, but instead pontificated for 9 minutes, continually interrupting every answer the Mayor gave-
Furthermore, after realizing this woman would not back down and being respectful of the WickerPark Groups time, he met with her out side the room, after addressing the group-
I have no political affiliation to the Mayor, but was empirically embarrassed for Matt Ginsberg-Jaeckle and more so after reading this hilarity of a story-
Maybe if people could get a private meeting with the mayor, they wouldn’t have to ask their questions at a public meeting. Ordinary people can’t get a private meeting with this mayor. They can’t afford it.
You’re one of his millionaire donors?
One wonders what kind of deals were made behind the scenes for those properties once the clinics were closed.
They did get a new bar though didn’t they? I’ll bet between the lease and the licenses Rahm will consider that a better idea, than a Mental Health Clinic that might keep people off the streets looking for drugs to make things better.
“she will die if they close her clinic”. Isn’t that a bit extreme? Also, blaming her son’s condition on a health clinic’s closing? That doesn’t at all seem truthful to me. There are many free group therapies, sliding scale personal therapies or they can even pay for private therapy. Is all this Rahm’s cross to bear? These seem to be extremists who take satisfaction in blaming Rahm or someone else if Rahm is not mayor for their issues.
Helen Morley did die.
Little changes that seem insignificant can be significant to a person being treated for mental illness. Missing medication or even changing a Doctor is huge. I knew a man who would go off like a bomb if his cell wasn’t painted sky blue. Play with peoples lives by cutting mental health services a big mistake !!
Extremists? So Rahm is “centrist”? What does that mean? He’s in the pocket of the super-rich?
He’s in his and the Democrat pocket. Look at my left hand while my right hand steals your savings.
Seriously, you need to get this stuff on video, otherwise it’s like it never happened. Rahm is too powerful to be taken down by a mere story, because the press will cover for him. You can’t cover up video.
Well guys, I don’t care too much about all this stuff, but I just want to say one thing about Rahm. He is totally screwing the city. Have you guys seen the pension? He has had four years to do something about this and all during his term I haven’t heard so much as a mumble about it. Chicago’s credit has been downgraded twice under his term. I think everyone knows that we can’t let this keep happening. I don’t care what Rahm says the other guy will do, we know exactly what Rahm has done and that is drive our city into a bigger financial hole.
Wondering where the money goes just yet? Start seriously looking…I’ll bet you’ll find some missing in some interesting places.
Also, it shouldn’t matter if the people were rude–I haven’t heard of many–if any–legislators reacting to public feedback in this way. Anyway, I truly believed–from the TV commercial–that we would be getting a kinder,gentle Rahm–one who would NOT tell a CTU President, “F*** you!” One who would NOT send someone a dead fish!
(Wait–oh, yeah–Chris Christie–& caught on tape! { I think a LOT of money is/will be wasted on his presidential run}).
Reblogged this on kentmcdanielwrites.
This is slander and I suggest you take it down before you are sued. The video of the entire event is on YouTube there was no such things said. You should seriously stop. Figures this is coming from a teacher. CTU has their money lining Chuy’s pockets can’t trust ANY politicians.
He is rambling and never included anything this woman had asked him about. He tells jokes and rambles and when “pinned” he has to almost go back to the beginning of his speech because he’s not that fast on his feet. He never answers! He talks about accomplishments in Congress (way past) and can’t say a thing about anything he is doing except making “playgrounds”. Glad he’s not my Major.
Wow, so if it’s not on video, it didn’t happen? Hope Rahm is paying you well for that PR.
Did you read the part where it happened after the meeting in a private session with Rahm?
And if all that service were given away for free, what are those professionals supposed to by groceries with, pay rent with, buy gas with? Your thinking suggests you are poor, and want free stuff because you lack money to buy what you need.
Oh oh, Rahm, Nero fiddled while Rome burned; Rahm screams while Chicago closes down! Who will respect you?
rahm is just a punk, hope the people of Chicago are watching him now!
This guy is crazier than a blogger with “mono-polar” depression, who can’t win a case and can’t find a job. THAT’S PRETTY CRAZY!
What do you expect from a guy whose father was a terrorist from the Irgun gang. They blew up hotels in Palestine
If Rahmbo had tried to “rahmbo” me, he would have been put in his place on this issue.
That’s a great contribution to the forum.
@gman.What does it benefit the forum, since that is obviously a concern of yours, to publicly insult another person? At the same time, it shows your ignorance for the etymology of the term “rahmbo” and lack of aptitude for humor used in tandem with a rhetorical device to make a greater point that im personally “mentally ill” and this is not a wide direction made by an ill-informed mayor who seems to know nothing about the improvements needed to mental health care in his governance. If you are man enough to speak like an a*hole to me publicly in an effort to??? Im not even going to speculate. I just ask you to be a real man and either discuss with me privately what I was trying to say, or apologize publicly. You don’t want people who are mentally ill and getting deteriorated treatment to hate you, trust me.
Wanna get me started on why I left the thought dangling v. a complete sentence? That’s to intimate that I would be so furious that is do things that I can’t commit to writing. And frankly just tell me when and where and we can take this outside. Im now going untreated for my mental illness and am probably smarter than you, Im “mentally ill” so without treatment I could really who knows but back up your waste of words or shut up. You know, the comment was quick bc I was multi-tasking to make sure as many people were informed to try to get this crook out of his seat. I hate you.
I made some typos and I can’t find the comment but blog owner feel free to proofread it!
“You gonna respect me”
WHEN?
To think that any politician has the individual in his sites is absurd. We better stop fighting and start supporting each other because things are only going to get worse. Self sufficiency is the answer. Live simply, grow a garden, eat healthy, keep your monies local, barter and pay cash. The too big must fail…
All: For another perspective of what happened at the meeting itself, the Wicker Park Committee has issued the following statement:
The Wicker Park Committee very much appreciated having Mayor Emanuel come to our March meeting. Although Mr. Garcia was invited, his staff couldn’t commit in time, and he is scheduled to come to our April meeting, on April 1st.
As a committee, we were disappointed that two members of the audience – Ms. Delgado and Mr. Ginsberg-Jaeckle, who are not members of the Wicker Park Committee – imposed on the rest of the participants by interrupting Mr. Emanuel’s initial comments and launching into a ten minute, rambling discourse on Mr. Emanuel’s mental health stance. The disruption was clearly staged, including videotaping their entire confrontation. They also ignored several requests to wrap up their comments, sit down or leave by the Wicker Park Committee Board and by Park District security.
Mayor Emanuel handled their confrontation very professionally & graciously, and agreed to meet separately with Ms. Delgado and Mr. Ginsberg-Jaeckle, in spite of their disruptive tactics.
This is sad commentary from the peanut gallery. Can’t anyone put their politics aside just for a moment and address this issue with civility? Emotions are getting in the way of reason here, folks.
Can those 2 deaths be truly attributed to the closing of clinics truly the family members? I understand their emotions, but with all due respect their statement is ridiculous.
In California, We elected TWICE a mentally ill – BI-POLAR DEPRESSIVE to Secretary of State, arguably one of the most important positions in government.
She was absent MORE than she was there. Reports have her missing for WEEKS at a time smearing feces on the walls of her office and living in a “crack den” trailer park.
Voters are routinely LIED to. Who you think you are electing isn’t always who you are.
Weak. My rhetoric major is worth paying off.
There absolutely is evidence of increased job security, better fringe benefits, and higher pay, for teachers than people with bachelors or master’s degrees in liberal arts at the present time. but you can be the one to look at the data. i just shared my personal “digression.” i actually spent some time trying to find out how your use of “gratuitous” is in any form able to be construed as correct based on the term’s definition, and there is just no way that it is the right diction for the context. Furthermore, suffixing it with “slap” makes me hope you didn’t teach anything in the verbal arena! What did you teach? why only 28 years? you can make this private if you want. Also – the mayor ought be closing the mental health clinics because it may be the truth that bad mental health care is worse than none. well, the truth is he should seek to improve them – but if that’s not happening, why keep open facilities that may worsen the conditions of sufferers’ of mental illness? i clearly suffer from one, to keep writing to someone who treats me disrespectfully.
No disrespect. Just disagreement. But we are done with this.
On Tuesday 3/11 the Mintal Health Movement held a demostration/press conference on the fifth floor of City Hall in response to the mayor’s attitude and the public mental health clinic closings , see the In These Times story on that press conference aWeb Only / Features » March 11, 2015
After Rahm Emanuel’s Alleged Explosion, Mental Health Activists Demand Respect
Activists say the mayor has yet to reckon with the effects of his mental health clinic closures.
BY Maya Dukmasova
Until Delgado and Ginsberg-Jaeckle’s confrontation with Emanuel, mental health care had remained on the periphery of the mayoral campaign and advocates have been attempting to draw officials’ attention to the dire need of psychiatrists at the remaining city clinics for months.
A week after coming face-to-face with what activists say is Rahm Emanuel’s crueler, more aggressive side, advocates from Chicago’s Mental Health Movement gathered at City Hall demanding “respect” from the mayor.
On March 3, Mental Health Movement members Debbie Delgado and Matt Ginsberg-Jaeckle confronted Emanuel during a neighborhood campaign stop in Wicker Park. Delgado stood up in front of the gathered audience and related her experience with the Northwest Mental Health Clinic. After losing one son to gun violence, she and her other son received what Delgado described as invaluable support at the city clinic, which closed in 2012. Ginsberg-Jaeckle filmed the encounter.
While Delgado told part of her story, she and Ginsberg-Jaeckle were nearly escorted out of the meeting by the mayor’s staff. Mayor Emanuel began responding by saying that “to govern is to choose” and quickly pivoted to speak about neighborhood playgrounds. Later in the meeting, he referenced his own congressional actions on mental health parity but never publically addressed the clinic closures.
After the public meeting, Emanuel spoke with Delgado and Ginsberg-Jaeckle in a brief, closed-door meeting. Ginsberg-Jaeckle described what happened next.
“He started getting angry, his voice was completely different. He said, ‘You guys were clowning around in there. Now we can get to the real issue!’ I said we didn’t consider this clowning around,” he said. “We’ve lost people that we’re close to because of these closures. He got about an inch away from my face, shouted three times: ‘You’re gonna respect me!’ ” The incident came only days after the Emanuel campaign rolled out an ad trying to soften the mayor’s image, showing him speaking in a soothing voice and admitting that he can “rub people the wrong way or talk when I should listen.”
Yesterday, Ginsberg-Jaeckle and other members of the Mental Health Movement, a group of clients from the city clinics as well as mental health advocates from around Chicago, demanded Emanuel’s respect right back. About 35 people gathered on the fifth floor of City Hall, in front of the entrance to the Mayor’s office, and held up red letters spelling out R-E-S-P-E-C-T while singing a rendition of Aretha Franklin’s “Respect.”
The activists asked the mayor to consider the impact of the clinic closures on low-income Chicagoans living with mental illnesses. In a series of speeches, former clients of closed clinics and current clients of those that remain open spoke of the value of these services.
Speakers N’Dana Carter, Diane Adams, Linda Hatcher and Andrea Moore have recounted their stories on many public occasions and have become spokespeople for the lived experience of losing a mental health safety net. In times of personal crisis, they all said they found support and reliable healthcare at the city clinics—while also saying they have seen two friends die soon after their clinics closed.
“[Emanuel] demands respect but he gives none,” Carter said. “We [want] this to be a city where everyone can live. Keeping the services of public mental health clinics available to everyone helps people live.”
Darrius Lightfoot, a youth organizer for Southside Together Organizing for Power (STOP), recounted the lack of treatment for his traumatic experiences in Woodlawn, one of the city’s poorest and most violent neighborhoods on the South Side near the University of Chicago. “I lost my brother in 2010, I lost many friends before then. I have seen my friends’ bodies lying on the sidewalk, without breathing, eyes open, rolled to the back of their heads. People who I knew for seven to 10 years, I seen them on the sidewalk dead. I seen them laying there in blood.”
Woodlawn was where one of the city’s oldest and most highly-attended clinics closed in 2012. (STOP led an occupation of the clinic that year which led to 23 arrests.) “I have not had the chance to go in there and say, okay, I might have an issue. Maybe I would have to go get diagnosed for PTSD or any other kind of illness,” Lightfoot said. “I’ve seen so many people die, and I’m pretty sure a lot of youth my age, younger than me, have that same story.”
Debbie Delgado, who has also shared her story at multiple public gatherings, did not come to the event.
“Debbie’s now having nightmares about Rahm Emanuel screaming and following her,” said Ginsberg-Jaeckle. “She just had a panic attack today. I’ve been on the phone with her all day long. She might be hospitalized right now. She was going to an emergency room right away to see if she can get extra anxiety medication. These are the real consequences that people are living through.”
Until Delgado and Ginsberg-Jaeckle’s confrontation with Emanuel, mental health care had remained on the periphery of the mayoral campaign. Advocates have been attempting to draw officials’ attention to the dire need for psychiatrists at the remaining city clinics for months.
On November 12, members of a consumer group from the North River Mental Health Clinic gathered at the Department of Public Health to ask for the immediate hiring of a psychiatrist at their clinic. When Dr. Sylvia Santos retired from her full-time position as a psychiatrist there last July, clients were left with one month’s worth of medications. They then had to refill their prescriptions elsewhere. Some resorted to visiting the emergency room.
On that occasion, CDPH press officer Brian Richardson rebuffed the advocates. They headed to the mayor’s office to ask for an audience with Emanuel. After speaking outside the office, the advocates were met by Emanuel’s press aide Chloe Rasmas. She accepted their letter and copies of all the emails the group had already exchanged with the health department related to the disappearance of psychiatric services.
To date, five of the six remaining mental health clinics are served by three psychiatrists, none working a full five days per week at any location. The Englewood clinic has no psychiatric services at all.
On Tuesday, Rasmas again came out to see the advocates, though this time she did not share business cards with her name on them.
“He sends his henchmen—he doesn’t have the courage” to speak to the group, remarks Carter. “That’s why he shouldn’t be mayor. He doesn’t have the courage to do the hard things. He gives us a business card with no name on it.”
When the Mental Health Movement filed Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests with the Health Department, they say they discovered that Emanuel’s $2.3 million mental health budget cut did not lead to the expansion of services, as the mayor has asserted.
“Of that $2.3 million, he took $500,000 and gave it in small grants to private providers,” explained Ginsberg-Jaeckle. He says that information from city documents released through FOIA requests have not revealed how many city clinic consumers were able to receive mental health services from the private providers. Since the day Emanuel announced the clinic closures, he says, the city’s mental health client rolls were reduced by 3,000.
“To say that you’ve expanded anything is just a boldfaced lie,” Ginsberg-Jaeckle said. “Private providers are not substitutes for the safety-net services of the city clinics.”
To make a point of what it would cost to re-open the six shuttered clinics, advocates signed cards with two pennies taped to each. “We’re going to give him money to help him open and fund the public mental health clinics,” Carter said as she handed off the pennies to Rasmas. By the Mental Health Movement’s estimations, it would cost just two cents per taxpayer per week.
Rasmas could not be reached for comment.
As the advocates continued to sing, chant and share their stories with the gathered press, no one else came out to greet them from the Mayor’s office. Six police officers in bullet-proof vest milled about in front of the door, and staffers rushed by without glancing over at the crowd, shouting call-and-response style, “What do we want? Respect! When do we want it? Now!”
Maya Dukmasova
Maya Dukmasova is a writer based in Chicago. She runs a blog devoted to public housing issues and a second one for her daily street photography. Her articles and translations have appeared in Harper’s, Jacobin, the Chicago Reader, and the Chicago Tribune. Follow her on Twitter: @mdoukma
t:http://inthesetimes.com/article/17731/mental_health_activists_rahm_emanuel
I have been keeping track of the mayoral and aldermanic debates and forums. Here is my latest list:LATEST LIST OF MAYORAL DEBATES/FORUMS:
MAYORAL:
Monday 3/16 6-7pm/Live Televised Mayoral Forum, NBC-5 (in English)/Telemundo (Ch. 44.1 in Spanish), co-sponsors are: University of Chicago’s Institute of Politics and Harris School of Public Policy. The forum will be at the NBC Tower Studios,no audience.
To submit possible questions to be asked:Organizers from UChicago and NBC 5 will consider questions submitted in advance of the forum via social media at @nbcchicago on Twitter and NBC Chicago’s Facebook page. Select social media users’ questions will be chosen for inclusion in the live debate.
NEW: Wednesday 3/25 6-8pm, doors open at 5pm,Chicago State University, Jones Convocation Center, 9501 S. King Drive., Hosted by the Department of African-American Studies and CSU Students, Moderator: Charles Thomas of ABC7Chicago, Free parking,For more information, call (773) 995-4422 or csu.edu
Thursday 3/26 Fox-32 Televised Mayoral Debate, Time/Location TBD, Time should be on the schedule/known soon
Sunday, 3/29 3pm, Purcell Hall, 4300 West Washington Blvd. ,Sponsored by West Side NAACP, Likely to be posted on CAN-TV (No additional details yet, Debate is not posted on Westside NAACP web page or Facebook page yet)
Tuesday 3/31 7-8pm Televised Mayoral Debate, WTTW/Chicago Tonight, Location likely WTTW Studio (Debate is not listed on Chicago Tonight Calendar yet)