Income inequality is the unequal distribution of income and wealth across a society, concentrating wealth in the hands of a small few. The League of Women Voters addresses some contributing factors through existing positions on taxation, the ERA, money in politics, education, and housing—but has no formal positions on key drivers like minimum/livable wage, wage stagnation, declining union membership, or employment practices. As wealth (and the political power that comes with it) shifts from workers to the wealthy, ordinary voters become disenfranchised and disillusioned, while political attention increasingly serves corporate and wealthy interests—eroding democracy.
Join us for a presentation by Dr. Robert Bruno of the University of Illinois's School of Labor and Employment Relations, who will examine how economic inequality is affecting our democracy. His talk will be followed by a panel discussion featuring Professor Andre Guerra, Chair of the Economics Department at College of DuPage; Professor Maureen Heffern Ponicki, Chair of the Political Science Department at College of DuPage; and Frank Manzo IV, Economist at the Illinois Economic Policy Institute. *** The presentation will be recorded and made available after the event.
Sponsors for this event are the LWV of Glen Ellyn; LWV of Wheaton; LWV of Oak Park/River Forest; and the College of DuPage Civic Engagement Initiative.
Presenter:
Dr. Robert Bruno, Professor of Labor and Industrial Relations, University of Illinois
Robert Bruno is Director of the Labor Education Program and a Professor of Labor and Employment Relations, as well as the director of the Project for Middle Class Renewal in the School of Labor and Employment Relations at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Dr. Bruno has given expert testimony to the US House Committee on Education and the Workforce, as well as the Illinois House and Senate Committees on Labor and Commerce. He frequently comments on labor relations for both regional and national media and has served as a commentator for numerous newspapers.
Panelists:
Frank Manzo IV, Economist, Illinois Economic Policy Institute
Mr. Manzo is an Economist at the Illinois Economic Policy Institute. He has worked for the University of Illinois Labor Education Program and in the Federal Reserve system and earned a Master of Public Policy from the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy and an Advanced Certificate of Labor Studies from the University of Illinois Labor Education Program. His research interests include labor market analysis, economic development, infrastructure investment, the low-wage labor force, and public finance.
Maureen Heffern Ponicki, Ph.D, Professor and Chair, Department of Political Science, College of DuPage
Dr. Heffern earned her Ph.D. at the University of Illinois at Chicago and taught there as well as at Dominican University, and Wright College (City Colleges of Chicago). She has worked in the nonprofit sector in the fields of international and community development both domestically and internationally and has extensive experience at the grassroots and policy levels. Her research interests are primarily focused on urban resiliency and understanding how cities bounce back from economic shock, social capital, international development, globalization, and methods of social change. She currently serves as Chair of the Political Science department at College of DuPage.
Andre Guerra, Professor and Chair, Department of Economics, College of DuPage
Andre Guerra is a professor of Economics and Department Chair at College of DuPage, with more than two decades of experience teaching economics and public policy. His academic interests include income inequality, economic growth, and public finance. He completed doctoral studies in Economics at the University of Illinois Chicago, specializing in Public Finance and Economic Growth, and holds an M.A. in Economics and an M.P.A. with a specialization in Planning and Public Finance.