Speaking at the panel discussion, "Economic Recovery and Urban Reinvestment":
Vicki Chou, dean of the UIC College of Education, Norbert Riedel, corporate vice president and chief scientific officer, Baxter International, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley and former Federal Reserve Bank CEO Michael Moskow.
Photos: Roberta Dupuis-Devlin/UIC Photo Services
9:34 a.m. Katz asks Daley: what are the obstacles to these ambitious plans?
Daley says: bureaucracy. He is concerned that college education will be out of reach for many young people with the economic crisis. He says the private sector needs to focus on job training and retraining for real jobs. It requires a reality check to get these people jobs.
Katz says: To summarize, this is about private sector growth; innovations at the local level -- new partnerships should inform national policy; and we must act in a global context.
Moskow says: we are in an environment of constrained resources. Cities are facing enormous fiscal challenges. We have to keep that in mind.
Katz thanks everyone for their participation. The discussion ends.
9:28 a.m. Katz turns back to Moskow.
Beyond health care and education, what other investments must be made? he asks.
He says why do people chose to live in Chicago instead of somewhere else? Education, cultural activities, beautification of the city, transportation system. These all make an urban area a desirable place to live. Private investment is important this, so city governments must make their cities attractive to business.
Katz: Rahm Emmanuel said: a crisis is a terrible thing to waste. So this is a time for change. But the stimulus is going through the old systems. Is there an area that cries out for national engagement:
Reidel: we have a real need to invest in education, especially in science and math. He doesn't see how we can remain competitive and maintain a competitive economy without a highly education workforce.
Baxter recently made a $5 million grant to the Chicago public school system, emphasizing science and math, making them exciting (instead of sports) and make teachers more engaged. Over the grant's five years we will be touching hundreds of thousands of students. It is imortant to think beyond the current crisis, to remain competitive for decades ahead.
9:26 a.m.: Katz says, so we need a structural change? He asks the mayor, do you think federal policy is aligned with this new outlook?
Daley says Obama understands that the federal govt must reinvest in infrastructure and human infrastructure.
He says summer vacation, in this century, is unnecessary and not thinking outside the box. He says Arne Duncan, new secretary of education, wants to think outside the box but at the federal level, change moves like a snail.
Children should be able to communicate with their teachers outside the classroom, too. In Chicago, we don't want to wait for another study. We want to ask: what is best for the student? Students are the key to the future.
9:22 a.m.: Katz asks Vicki Chou, dean of the UIC College of Education, about the need for improvements in education.
Chou says the U.S. has been pushing for higher standards in public education since the presidency of George H.W. Bush.
We've spent a lot of time on accountability, assessing whether our students are learning. People are trying to figure out, how do we know our students have learned anything? How do we know their teachers have taught them anything? How do we know the universities that train the teachers have trained them properly?
We need better ways to track students, from school to career.
We need to figure out how to create high quality classroom instruction: people who understand rigorous curriculum, how to do diagnostic teaching to figure out how to make instruction more effective. We need to pay attention, figuring out how to prepare teachers. Two-thirds of Chicago's teachers come from local colleges of education: leadership from the mayor down to the principals, need to ask, how do we improve learning?
9:18 a.m. Reidel also talks about research partnerships with Northwestern University in new products and technologies in nanotechnology, adult stem cells, Alzheimer's treatment and others.
He says these partnerships with Baxter are also with international universities. Therein lies the key to finding ways of revitalizing our economies in a sustainable fashion with cities leading the way, because most universities are in the cities. That's where we look to create new jobs for well-educated people.
9:13 a.m. Now Katz asks panelist Norbert Riedel: is U.S. ready to compete with the world?
Riedel has been corporate vice president and chief scientific officer of Baxter International since 2001.
He says we must have partnerships with business and universities to advance discovery from the laboratory to the marketplace. He travels the world and sees world-class institutions throughout the world. People are often concerned the business support of university research means universities will lose academic freedom. That's not the approach that is typically taken, he says.
He says Baxter International supports research and offers itself as an outlet for research innovations. A corporation can never harness the power of innovation by itself.
With our headquarters in Chicago, that makes the city particularly attractive for these partnerships. At UIC, he mentions the Technology Access Agreement, research into advance drug delivery devices and the Institute for Patient Safety Excellence (anti-counterfeiting, anti-tampering, analysis of medical device failure), plus UIC nano-fabrication facilities.
9:07 a.m. Katz asks Mayor Richard Daley: what does it look like from the ground up?
We see revenues going down drastically: sales tax, real estate taxes. As revenue goes down, you have to think outside the box in regards to government services. He believes it's much more serious -- the huge number of layoffs -- whats going to happen to all the new college graduates?
He thinks economic stimulus package should not allow one new government employee. Money supposed to go into local, state.
He thinks it will be 2012, 2013 before we come out of the economic crisis.
Home foreclosures will continue to increase, he says. That's why stimulus package, slowing down foreclosure trend, is needed.
He cites expansion of OHare Field, leasing of city assets; outsourcing more, cutting government spending. If we are asking private sector to rethink, government should do same. He compares federal government today to that of FDR's day.
Local government is changing drastically. He sees this as an opportunity to rethink what government should be in relation to its citizens, and its citizens to government. We are fortunate to have a huge business community; we are a global city. He fears America will be protectionist; we should not protect ourselves from cities around the world; these people here are our friends. We should never think of shutting our borders and blaming the rest of the world for this economic crisis.
9:05 a.m. He turns to Michael Moskow, former president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.
Moskow says: he wishes he could be optimistic. But all the industrialized countries have been affected by the economic downtown, including China. The worldwide nature of this is different than before.
Focussing on the U.S. economy: the cause of the recession was a several financial crisis, not typical of previous recessions. Deepest recession since the 1930s, and recovery will be longer and slower than ever before.
Credit will expand more slowly. Housing prices are declining; housing for average family is most important asset.
Consumer spending is declining in real terms: should be increasing 3%. Saving rates is up to 4 %. Sales tax revenues are down, which affects cities.
Federal Reserve and other banks have reduced interest rates. Congress and the president enacted the stimulus program: temporary help, but he emphasizes "temporary." Stimulus not a sustainable recovery: this must come from the private sector.
Unemployment rate is 8.5% and will get higher. Inflation isn't a problem now, but central banks will have to watch carefully.
FInal point: good news is, recessions always end. He can't say when, and it won't be a robust recovery, but we will move on.
9:00 a.m. He discusses the state of the economy and the disheartening statistics. But he says the American economy is highly concentrated in cities, and cities drive the national economy. The proposition that cities can lead the global economy is fact.
The forum can create a road map for cities to use in recovery.
8:56 a.m. Bruce Katz, moderator of the plenary panel, comes to the stage and introduces the panelists.
Katz is a vice president at the Brookings Institution and founding director of the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program.
He regularly advises national, state and municipal leaders on policy reforms that advance the competitiveness of metropolitan areas. He is the editor and co-editor of several books, including "Elevate Our Cities," "The Next Urban Agenda" and "The State of American Cities."
His articles have been published in major newspapers and he frequently appears on National Public Radio, PBS and CNN.
Before joining Brookings, he was chief of staff to Henry Cisneros, former secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the staff director of the Senate Subcommittee on Housing and Urban Affairs.
8:53 a.m. More cities represented at the forum:
Petach, Tikva, Israel
Prague, Czech Republic - Chicago sister city
Reykjavik, Iceland - 2-3 months of continuous sunlight
Shenyang, China - Chicago sister city
Vilnius, Lithuania - Chicago sister city
8:47 a.m. More cities represented at the forum:
Helsinki, Finland
Kuwait City, Kuwait
Kiev, Ukraine - Chicago sister city, U.N. named it "greenest city in the world"
Lahore, Pakistan - Chicago sister city, nicknamed "city in a garden" like Chicago
Manila, Philippines - one of world's "mega cities"
Medellin, Colombia - Colombia's second largest city
Moscow, Russia - Chicago sister city, one of world's "mega cities"
Nairobi, Kenya
Osaka, Japan - Chicago sister city, gourmet food capital of Japan
Paris, France - Chicago sister city, most-visited city in world
8:45 a.m. More cities:
Dubai, United Arab Emirates - one of fastest growing cities in world
Galway, Ireland - Chicago sister city
Glascow, Scotland
8:43 a.m. More cities:
Bogota, Colombia - initiated a car-free day
Busan, Korea - Chicago sister city
Cartagena, Colombia
Casablanca, Morocco - Chicago sister city
8:41 a.m. A moderator introduces the cities and representatives here at the forum today.
Athens, Greece
Bangkok, Thailand
Bejing, China
Belgrade
(cont.)
8:40 a.m. Daley has no doubt that cities will play a major role in recovery in the global economy.
8:36 a.m. Mayor Daley speaks.
Everyone in my family is proud that this event bears the name of Richard J. Daley. Last year at this conference, we were joined by mayors and other officials from Arab cities. It was the first time mayors in the U.S. and Arab world came together to discuss problems around the world, he says.
He welcomes mayors from 30 cities, who will also participate in the Global Cities Forum over the next two days.
8:38 a.m. He says President Obama and VP Biden recognize the role cities play in economic recovery, not only in the U.S., but around the world.
In this time of challenge, it has never been more important to be creative and open to opportunities, he said. Cities design and carry out programs to improve infrastructure, technology and education.
Much is happening at the local levels, he said. Mayors understand that cities need federal and state governments to invest in them. We are fortunate to have a president and vice president who both understand urban issues.
8:34 a.m. She welcomes Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley.
8:32 a.m. The chancellor thanks those who helped put the forum together, including Nora Daley Conroy and Lauren Daley, the Daley family representatives to the steering committees.
She also recognizes former UIC Chancellor Sylvia Manning.
8:30 a.m. UIC Chancellor Paula Allen-Meares welcomes the audience.
"The university is here largely because of the vision of the late Mayor Richard J. Daley. Decades ahead of his time, he recognized the vital importance not only of a college education, but of locating a public research university in the heart of his city.
"He envisioned a university truly connected with the city of Chicago ... A campus that would be committed to putting its research and intellectual capacity to the service of Chicago and the other great cities of the world.
"The annual Richard J. Daley Urban Forum has become what the Daley Family and UIC jointly envisioned: an international dialogue about the urban environment, designed to promote innovative solutions to challenges facing cities. By bringing municipal leaders, scholars, business leaders, authors and other experts from around the world here under one roof, we offer a platform for exchanges of information and ideas. Our aim is to enhance and enrich the quality of life in metropolitan areas around the world.
"In 2008, for the first time in history, more than half of the world's people lived in urban areas. This global democratic change contributes to the urgency and importance of the Urban Forum."
8:22 a.m. Paula Allen-Meares became
UIC chancellor Jan. 16.
As dean of social work at University of Michigan since 1993, she led the school to consistent rankings as No. 1 in the nation, raising its research profile and establishing interdisciplinary degree programs with law and public policy.
Under her leadership, the social work school at Michigan increased its endowments from $1 million to $42.3 million.
Dr. Allen-Meares’ research focuses on school social work, adolescents and their families, and social work education. Her books include Social Work Services in Schools, now in its fifth edition, with Korean, Japanese and Chinese versions.
She is a member of the
Institute of Medicine of the National Academies and a trustee of the New York Academy of Medicine.
Before becoming dean at Michigan, she was dean of social work at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where she completed her master’s and doctoral degrees in social work.
8:15 a.m. The first program, a plenary issues panel, will discuss "Economic Recovery and Urban Reinvestment." The panel will focus on the impact of national stimulus plans, and the effects of regional and local initatives on urban areas.
They will identify obstacles to economic recovery and strategies cities can use to reinvest for the long run in infrastructure, education and health care.
Speakers for the first session include moderator Bruce Katz of the Brookings Institution and panel members Vicki Chou, UIC College of Education, Michael Moskow, Chicago Council on Global Affairs, and Norbert Riedel, Baxter International.
8:05 a.m. The program begins at 8:30 with a welcome from UIC Chancellor Paula Allen-Meares and Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley.
8:00 a.m. UIC owes its status today as the Chicago area's largest university to the first Mayor Daley. As a state senator, he introduced legislation to establish a University of Illinois branch in Chicago. He was a driving force behind the construction of the permanent campus, which opened in 1965 just west of the city's downtown.
“UIC is the greatest legacy of my father," current Mayor Richard M. Daley said at the 2005 Urban Forum.
7:50 a.m. The first Daley Urban Forum at UIC was held in April 2005 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the late mayor's first inauguration.
Since then, the event has brought together public officials, business leaders, policymakers and scholars from all over the world to discuss the role of cities in solving the world's problems.
Previous participants have included former vice president Walter Mondale, former New York City mayors Ed Koch and Rudolph Giuliani, former treasury secretary Robert Rubin, U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy and retired CNN principal anchorman Bernard Shaw (a UIC alumnus), who will introduce VP Biden today.
7:42 a.m. Welcome to the live blog for the 5th Annual Richard J. Daley Urban Forum, held on the campus of the
University of Illinois at Chicago.
The forum will be blogged by staff members of the UIC Office of Public Affairs.
More than 2,000 people are expected at today's event, "Global Economic Recovery: Cities Lead the Way."
The Urban Forum includes three sessions: a panel discussion on "Economic Recovery and Urban Reinvestment," a "Global Town Hall Meeting" with mayors from nearly 30 cities all over the world; and a keynote address from Vice President Joe Biden.
12:13pm A study by CEOs for Cities found that education accounts for 3/5 of the wealth in cities. The Recovery Act is funding education, health care research, and higher educationin cities. Cities are hubs of healing.
12:13pm A study by CEOs for Cities found that education accounts for 3/5 of the wealth in cities. The Recovery Act is funding education, health care research, and higher educationin cities. Cities are hubs of healing.
