Syndicated radio host Warren Ballentine enters CPS food fight for Reggio’s Pizza
Thursday, June 3, 2010 at 10:19AM
Media personality Warren Ballentine
Warren Ballentine offers to ‘take it to the streets’ and help end the City Of Chicago’s disrespect of the Black community and help save 40 jobs at Reggio’s
During a second interview on Radio One's nationally syndicated Warren Ballentine Show (106.3 FM) June 1, the host, Warren Ballentine vowed to come to Chicago and "take it to the streets" to support Reggio’s Pizza, who is being forced to lay off 40 employees because Chartwells, a majority-owned, North Carolina-based, 14 billion dollar company, has dropped Reggio's from its eight-year sub-contract supplying its award-winning pizza to the CPS high schools and middle schools, by using the “Willie Lynch” approach.
With the Chicago Sun-Times article May 21, 2010 “Minorities missed out on $19M in city contracts in ‘08” and editorial on May 24, 2010 “Minority business program needs fixing” concerning the fraud, abuse and mismanagement of the minority contracting program, that cheats Black businesses and the Black community of its rightful share of city contracts.
Mr. Ballentine asked “Where are our Black leaders and Black politicians, who should be standing up against this ill-advised and possibly illegal activity in the area of public contracting?” To date, only Representative Connie Howard, Alderman Carrie Austin, Alderman Toni Preckwinkle and Alderman Ed Smith have spoken out in support of Reggio’s.
There's already a lot of pinned up anger in Chicago's Black community with high unemployment. Over 40 jobs are about to be taken from the Black community at a time of already desperately high unemployment. This could be the beginning of a long, hot summer in Chicago!
Thank God for Radio Host, Warren Ballentine, and his Truth Fighters, who have the courage to speak out about this discriminatory and grossly economically unfair issue in support of Reggio’s and organize a protest march to Chartwells and Chicago Public Schools headquarters.
Reggio's Pizza worker makes crust
Reader Comments (7)
That's what WE (SISTAS AND BROTHAS) HAVE to do 1st. Fight the WAR for OUR community together, because NO ONE knows how it feels to be BLACK (AFRICAN) N AMERICA...........WE'RE ALL WE GOT, & we MUST realize that in order to fix the once LOVING, RESPECTFUL, ALMIGHTY BLACK NATION!!!!!
On behalf of The Black Leadership Development Institute, BLDI and The Chicago Black Wall Street Project, we have taken a very public community activist roie in support of Reggio's pizza. !
i will help. we must stand up and take action instead of talking. we can not sit back and wait on the old system that said keep hope alive. these people are telling us that we will be what ever they allow us instead of us creating what GOD said we have the power to do 708-906-4494 cell . Silknclazzy@sbcglobal.net 2nd email.
This is the first I've heard of this situation, but I'm all for supporting Reggio's. The company has shown itself to be a great one, and we can't get ahead if we let them die.
What can I do to show my support?
I'm with you Warren. Name the place, time and date.
Chicago Public Schools Enact Poor Public Policy
What are you thinking Chicago Public Schools?
The Chicago Public School (CPS) Board approved a $61,000,000 contract with Compass/Chartwells and several of the companies that sub-contract to make up the minority participation mandates, are “pass-thru” companies and brokers. Reggio’s Pizza, the only African American manufacturer of any food product for CPS, was kicked off of the contract after eight (8) years and replaced with a pass-thru company by Chartwells. The negative effect of this action will require Reggio’s to lay off about forty (40) African American employees, at a time when the unemployment rate is between 20-25% in the African American community.
http://newsone.com/nation/warrenballentine/opinion-chicago-public-schools-enact-poor-public-policy/