Cafe Society will be meeting at the Chicago Cultural Center's Fifth Floor Millenium Park Room on Wednesday, January 18

Anders Lindall, from American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Council 31 will be our guest speaker. 

From Kids need libraries on Monday in Letters to the Editor

As a Chicago Public School teacher for the past 22 years, I am convinced that shuttering public libraries on Mondays is a disastrous decision that should be reconsidered. Chicago school students need as much time and as many safe places as possible to study and learn. What the mayor and other cost-cutters may not understand is that we have over 10,000 homeless students in Chicago Public Schools. We have many more thousands of students who have places to live but do not have access to computers and a wide range of books beyond the classroom. Public Libraries serve as a first line of defense in a democracy. Rather than limiting library hours, Chicago should be looking to expand them.

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Cafe Society will be meeting at Ron's Barber Shop 

A member of the National Lawyers Guild Chicago Chapter will be our guest speaker. 

From "Obama Signs Defense Bill Despite 'Serious Reservations'" by Michael McAuliff

"Indefinite military detention of Americans became the law of the land Saturday, as President Barack Obama signed a defense bill that codified that authority, even as he said he would not use it. The National Defense Authorization Act states how the military is to be funded, but also includes a number of controversial provisions on arresting and holding suspected terrorists, which at first drove Obama to threaten a veto. He retreated from that threat after Congress added provisions that took the ultimate authority to detain suspects from the military's hands and gave it to the president…."President Obama's action today is a blight on his legacy because he will forever be known as the president who signed indefinite detention without charge or trial into law,” said Anthony Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union."

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Day laborers in Albany Park have been occupying the only spaces open to them in the area for years while searching for work: street corners. Meanwhile, the coffee roasters of the Chicago Coffee Confederation have been occupying unused spaces like empty garages and backyards for close to a decade in order to bring great tasting fair trade organic coffee to the people while supporting the work of organizations like the Latino Union. The coming together of these two forces in Cafe Chicago is paving a new road towards economic self-determination and transformation.

Join us for this special Café Society conversation with members of the Albany Park Workers Center that promises to be heavy on dialogue and refreshments! Plus, Ami Saraiya and Anna Soltys will perform their original song "Sweet Chariot" inspired by and about day laborers.

Cafe Chicago coffee beans, by the pound, will be available for purchase for your holiday pleasure.

Reservations are required, reserve your spot here.