Business
and Professional People for the Public Interest (BPI) of
Chicago
Polikoff-Gautreaux
Fellowship
Website: http://www.bpichicago.org/jfi.html
Deadline: October
12, 2007
Important
Notes: Please see BPI
website for more information
on their program areas
Eligibility: Must
have recently completed a JD or MA/MS in public policy or
related field; demonstrated interested or experience in one
of BPI's program areas; accomplished oral and writing skills;
strong academic record; creativity, initiative, and flexibility;
and a demonstrated ability to work effectively with a variety
of constitutent groups, organizations, politicians, and business
leaders.
Description:
The Polikoff-Gautreaux Fellowship, initiated in 1999, offers an invaluable opportunity
for a new lawyer or policy analyst to develop skills in preparation
for a lifelong career of public interest advocacy. The Fellow
will be actively engaged in BPI's substantive program work.
The fellowship term is one year, renewable for a second,
beginning in Summer or Fall.
The Fellowship was created to honor Alexander Polikoff who
served as BPI's Executive Director for 29 years, and Dorothy
Gautreaux, the public housing activist who gave her name to
Polikoff's most significant lawsuit. Polikoff's impact on public
interest law and social justice issues has been profound. Through
the Gautreaux lawsuit, Polikoff has helped thousands of public
housing residents live in non-segregated communities throughout
the Chicago region and has changed the face of federal public
housing policy. The Gautreaux precedent has inspired similar
remedial housing programs across the country.
In a typical day, a BPI attorney or policy analyst might do
any of the following:
- Draft a motion to allow for the
construction of public housing within the context of a
new mixed-income community
- Interview teachers and school
administrators about policies and practices that challenge
the development and long-term
sustainability of smaller learning communities
in Chicago
- Conduct research for ground-breaking
exclusionary zoning litigation to increase the supply of
affordable
housing
throughout the
Chicago region
- Meet with municipal officials
and state legislators to advocate for the creation and
preservation
of affordable housing for
low- and moderate-income households.
Fellows will receive a salary of $42,000 with full medical
and dental coverage. Debt service on law school or graduate
school loans for the duration of the Fellowship may be available,
based on need. Send
applications to: see website above; do not send
to the Office of Special Scholarship Programs
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