Dear Friends and Colleagues,

With so many exciting projects underway at the Great Cities Institute, and the growing network of individuals and organizations involved or interested in our work, we are pleased to welcome you to the first issue of GCI MONTHLY. Highlighting various items each month, this new briefing paper will keep you up-to-date on GCI projects and upcoming events, providing you with "news you can use".

If you have timely information that you would like to share with others in the GCI community, please drop us a line at gcities@uic.edu or 312.996.8700. All the best to you.

David Perry Professor and Director	Lauri Alpern Associate Director

…Of Note

Information Technology (IT) Workforce Study Identifies Opportunities for the Chicago Region
A wide range of employers, educational institutions and IT professionals were interviewed for a study to identify labor market needs and trends in the IT sector, and recommend strategies for increasing access to IT employment in the Chicago region. Conducted in partnership with the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL), preliminary findings indicate:

• IT professionals are in scarce supply in the Chicago region,
• Chicago is behind other regions of the United States in creating a strategic response to IT workforce needs, and
• If Chicago is to be effective in responding to labor force issues in IT, it must create a broad regional strategy.

Contact: Davis Jenkins, Director, Workforce Development Partnership Programs, 312-996-8059, davis@uic.edu

Assessing the Economic Impact of Undocumented Workers in Chicago
The UIC Center for Urban Economic Development (UICUED) is undertaking a large-scale survey of immigrants living and working in the Chicago metro area. More than 50 community organizations, social service agencies, churches and educational institutions are administering the survey that examines the impact of legal status on employment and earnings, occupational mobility and spending patterns. The project is being conducted in partnership with the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights and is funded by the Woods Fund of Chicago.

Contact: Chirag Mehta, Economic Development Planner, UICUED, 312-355-0744, cmehta3@uic.edu

Strengthening Education of Cultural Heritage
The UIC Collaborative Learning Network, under the direction of GCI Faculty Scholar and Communications Professor Jim Sosnoski, is an organization of researchers who are utilizing instructional technologies to build a virtual representation of their varied cultural heritages. The Virtual Harlem Project, directed by Bryan Carter at the University of Missouri , is collaborating with Professor Sosnoski to construct a virtual reality model of Harlem, N.Y., as it existed historically in the mid 1930s in order to deepen students' understanding of the Harlem Renaissance. Virtual Harlem has been used in courses at UIC, and in Missouri. Professor Sosnoski is presently reaching out to UIC Neighborhoods Initiative partners to discuss interest in adapting the model to a Chicago context.

Contact: James Sosnoski, Professor, Communications, 312-996-6559, sosnoski@uic.edu
The project website is http://caee.net:30888/caee-uic/index.html

Community Technology Centers Address the Digital Divide
Recently funded by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Community Affairs (DCCA), the UIC Neighborhoods Initiative has collaborated with Gads Hill Center in Pilsen and Westside Employment Education Center on the Near West Side to develop Community Technology Centers (CTCs). The mission of these CTCs is for participants to use technology as a tool to improve each community organization's current programs and services to the community and to provide new and improved Internet access and connectivity for community residents' participating in programs at each organization.

Contact: John Mudd, Program Coordinator, 312-996-8700, jmudd1@uic.edu

Suder School Health Clinic Expands To Address Mental Health Issues
Responding to concerns of parents from the Henry Horner Homes on the Near West Side, the UICNI Community Health Division is expanding the existing school-based clinic at Suder School with programs to address youth mental health service . The new program offers non-traditional and prevention-focused approaches to behavioral health, such as those offered through the School of Kinesiology, which focus on responsible behavior, self-management and conflict resolution. The effort also includes a therapeutic anger/stress management program utilizing Tai Chi and similar approaches.

Contact: Cynthia Barnes-Boyd, Director, UIC Neighborhoods Initiative, 312-996-7963, cboyd@uic.edu

People
Welcome back to the more than 40 GCI Graduate Research Assistants!

We would also like to welcome the new Great Cities Institute Faculty Scholars for the 2001-2002 academic year: Alicia Adsera, Economics, Kheir Al-Kodmany, Urban Planning and Policy, Sharon Collins, Sociology, Marcia Farr, English and Linguistics, Deborah Fausch, Art History, Nilda Flores-Gonzalez, Sociology and Latin American Studies, David Jordan, French History, Beth Richie, Criminal Justice/Gender and Women's Studies, and James Sosnoski, Communications.