TODAY: #TraumaCenterNow Activists to Disrupt UofC Gala

Wednesday, October 29 -- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- #TraumaCenterNow!!!!!!

                   TRAUMA CENTER ACTIVISTS TO DISRUPT UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO $4.5 BILLION CAPITAL CAMPAIGN GALA
                                       PROTESTERS SAY: "NO TRAUMA CENTER, NO OBAMA LIBRARY!"

	What: Protest at invitation only dinner with senior admin, major donors

	Where and When: Pre-protest rally at University Church (5655 S. University) at 6:30pm
			Protest to start on 57th Street and University Avenue at 7:30pm

	Who: Trauma Care Coalition includes mothers, youth organizers, faith leaders, UofC students, labor unions

	Visual: 100 + protesters banging pots; banners reading:
		"$4.5 billion and no trauma center?" and
		"No trauma center, no Obama Library!"

Chicago – Members of the trauma care coalition, including mothers, UChicago students, South Side youth and faith leaders, will hold a protest on the evening of Wednesday, October 29th, to disrupt the gala launch of the University of Chicago's $4.5-billion capital campaign. The campaign launch will bring together senior UofC administrators, including President Robert Zimmer – the highest paid university president in the country, with a salary of over $3.4-million – and medical center dean Kenneth Polonsky along with members of the board of trustees and major university donors. Expected guests include members of the Pritzker, Crown, Neubauer, and Mansueto families. Federal Secret Service Agents have been spotted on the premises, sources indicate senior Whitehouse representatives will be in attendance. Senior representatives with ties to the University include: Michelle Obama, Penny Pritzker and Valerie Jarrett.

"On Wednesday we are going to make sure that President Zimmer and his wealthier supporters know that the South Side needs a trauma center," explained Woodlawn youth organizer and campaign leader Veronica Morris-Moore."We are going to let them know that it is not right or ok for the University of Chicago to be raising billions of dollars while refusing to provide life-saving healthcare for black and brown people on the South Side."

The UofC is vying to host the Obama Presidential Library. Given the President's roots and ties to Chicago, activists agree that a South Side location for his library makes perfect sense. But, they say that the UofC should only be the host site on the condition that the University also commit to opening a trauma center: “President Obama has tried to stop gun violence and create opportunities for young black men, meanwhile the University of Chicago sits in the center of a gun violence epidemic on the South Side and has shown that it does not value black life, by refusing to open a trauma center and save the lives of the young black men dying at their door.”

Protesters will gather at University Church at 6:30 for a preparatory rally, before marching to the UofC main quad with pots, pans and other noisemakers. The campaign launch gala will consist of an indoor program in the university's Mandel Hall, followed by an outdoor dinner on the quad. "We are going to try to make enough noise to make sure Zimmer's luxury dinner can't proceed as planned," explained UofC student and trauma center activist Joe Kaplan. "We know that the real fundraising Zimmer and Polonsky will be doing is going to be at the dinner -- and that's why we're planning to be there."

The gala launches the public phase of the University's "Inquiry and Impact" capital fundraising campaign, announced last May. The University plans to raise nearly $5-billion over two years. During its private phase. the campaign has already raised over $2-billion. Trauma center activists note that with this huge new influx of revenue, the UofC is particularly well-placed to bring a trauma center to the South Side: "The UofC themselves say that a trauma center would cost around $25-million to set up and $5-million to run a year. Now that they've already raised $2-billion, there's no way they can say they don't have the money to save lives," explained Kaplan.

The community’s demand for trauma care was sparked by the death of Damian Turner, in 2010. The call for trauma care is supported by new research by Dr. Marie Crandall of Northwestern Hospital on "Trauma Deserts" which shows that further distances and longer travel times to a trauma center increase the likelihood of dying.

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Background information:

“Chicago needs help, not Obama Library,” LZ Granderson, CNN.com
http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/21/opinion/granderson-chicago-obama-library/

“Doctors add voices to demand for UofC trauma center,” Chicago Tribune
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-doctors-add-voices-to-demand-for-u-of-c-trauma-center-20140522-story.html

“Activists protest university’s bid for Obama Library,” USA Today
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/05/11/obama-presidential-library-university-of-chicago-trauma-center/8898629/

“University of Chicago Alumni: No Donations Until Trauma Center Opened,” Progress Illinois
http://www.progressillinois.com/posts/content/2014/06/09/university-chicago-alumni-no-donations-until-trauma-center-gets-opened

“Why This Hospital Turned a 18-Year Old Away After He Was Shot,” The Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/20/university-of-chicago-obama-library_n_5359444.html