The Henry George School of Social Science, Chicago, Illinois

Getting into the habit of thinking — Introducing Progress and Poverty

One of our graduates observed that our Progress & Poverty course “helped me get into the habit of thinking, and not just accepting things.” If you’d like to gain that habit, or even if not, you might enjoy discovering some important ideas with Introducing Progress & Poverty. For folks who have the day off on Monday, October 10, we have a presentation at 2:00 in the afternoon. For everybody, we’ll also do this at 6:15PM the same day, as well as subsequently on November 9 (5:30PM), December 8 (6:00PM), and next year on January 12 (6:00PM). Our conference room is at Signature Offices, in Chicago at 333 S. Wabash #2700. The presentation is free and without obligation, but building management requires that you preregister by sending us an email or phoning (312/362-9302). Be sure to provide your first and last name, email address, phone number, and which session you’d like to attend.

Introducing Progress and Poverty outlines the way the economy works, including the main causes of persistent poverty, and proposes a remedy that seems to have worked wherever it has been even partially tried. It’s also an overview of our ten-session Progress and Poverty basic course which starts January 12.

This initial session is free. If you choose to enroll in Progress and Poverty, you’ll be asked for a $25 registration fee and given course materials.

Introducing Progress and Poverty

We’ll present Introducing Progress and Poverty 1 PM Sunday August 21 2022 ( Rogers Park Public Library, 6907 N Clark St, Chicago Illinois) and 6:15 PM Thursday September 15 (333 S Wabash Ave #2700 northeast corner of Van Buren St, Chicago Illinois) as the first session of the 10-week Progress and Poverty course. Please note that the September 15 presentation has been rescheduled from an earlier date.

This initial session is free. If you choose to enroll in Progress and Poverty, you’ll be asked for a $25 registration fee and given course materials.

If you plan to attend our Thursday September 15 session (6:15 PM at 333 S Wabash Ave #2700 northeast corner of Van Buren St, Chicago, Illinois), please note that building management REQUIRES THAT YOU SIGN UP IN ADVANCE SO THEIR SECURITY GUARD WILL HAVE YOUR NAME ON THE ADMISSION LIST. You can do that sending an email message

To: events@hgchicago.org

or calling 312 362-9302. Please provide your full name, email address, and cell phone number.

Class schedule for Fall 2022

Henry George School will be offering two class during Fall 2022.

Introductory course
Progress and Poverty
classic version
6:15 PM Thursday
September 8 till November 17

Advanced course
The Science of Political Economy
6:15 PM Tuesday
September 6 till November 15

Both classes will be held at

333 S Wabash Ave #2700
Chicago, Illinois

To enter the building, you must register. Please send an email message

To: events@hgchicago.org

with your full name and email address in it, and your cell phone number.

You may also call 312 362-9302 and provide us with your full name, email address, and cell phone number.

Celebrate Henry George Day in Evanston Illinois September 5 2022

Image of Lune Aqueduct (Lancaster, UK) from the collection of Graham Hibbert (CC BY-NC-SA )2.0

Friends of the Henry George School will gather again in Evanston Illinois to celebrate the birthday of Henry George. He was actually born September 2, 1839, but getting together on Labor Day, Monday September 5 2022, will be more convenient for most working people. Due to local solar conditions, we’ll start around 3 PM, continuing until more-or-less dark around 7 PM.

All graduates, students, prospective students, volunteers, and other supporters of the Henry George School are invited. It’d be great if you want to bring food or drink to share, but that’s not required. But please do let us know you’ll be coming. While we’ll have grillables and other edibles, water and beer, it’ll be helpful if someone volunteers to bring a bag of ice, some soft drinks, etc. Also email if you have any questions.

To: events@hgchicago.org

Business phone: 312 362-9302

Please let us know that you’ll attend.

Funding opportunity from the Robert Schalkenbach Foundation

Robert Schalkenbach Foundation is accepting applications for “original research that carries the ideas of 19th century economist and social reformer Henry George into the 21st century and beyond.” Their current areas of interest include:

The relationship between infrastructure spending and economic rents, including estimates and suitability of future economic rents as a source of funding for infrastructure spending;
Gentrification and displacement as influenced or mitigated by property taxes (effects of land value or split-rate taxation are of particular interest);
The impact of climate change on land value and government finances based on property and land value.

Maximum funding amount is $10,000 (plus you get the prestige of having received foundation funding), and the application deadline for the current round is December 17 2021. More information is on their site.

Let us know if you’re coming for Henry George Day in Evanston Monday, September 6

Image credit: Don Barrett CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

We missed last year due to ‘demic and other disruptions, but this year we’ll gather again to celebrate the birthday of Henry George. He was actually born September 2, 1839, but we gather on “Labor Day” as that’s more convenient for most working people. Due to local solar conditions, we’ll start around 3 PM, continuing until more-or-less dark around 7.

Political Economy Book Club reads Love & Hate in Jamestown

Replica of Discovery — 2015 replica of Discovery, one of Jamestown’s transatlantic ships. Photo by Cotton Puryear, Virginia National Guard Public Affairs. CC BY-NC 2.0

Returning to live meetings after the ‘demic interruption, HGS’ Political Economy Book Club is reading Love & Hate in Jamestown: John Smith, Pocahontas and the Start of a New Nation. Numerous copies of this 2005 book are available at Chicago Public Library and many suburban libraries, as well as inexpensively from various sources. Meeting will be Wednesday, September 22, at 6PM, at our Signature Offices location, 333 S Wabash #2700.

This meeting is free to attend, but you must reserve in advance (preferably using our Eventbrite link) to assure space is available and to clear building security. Email us if you have any questions.

Chicago Tribune housing inequity articles

Chicago Tribune used the fact that John Oliver did a segment on housing discrimination the July 25 2021 episode of Last Week Tonight on HBO as a hook to get people to read their own coverage of inequity in housing and property tax assessment.

The effects of disinvestment in Chicago’s Black and Latino communities

Research linked to:

South Side native combats redlining with Woodlawn Pointe

Chicago real estate industry looks at ways to end racial bias

Stories linked to

Flashback: A Chicago family defied a racist real estate covenant. The backlash and legal fight inspired ‘A Raisin in the Sun.’

Has Illinois been able to reverse its worst-in-the-nation budget trends?

Adam Schuster, director of budget and tax policy, Illinois Policy Institute

Video from Zoom Webinar

Illinois has some of the nation’s top pension debt and decades of irresponsible budget-making. Another session of the General Assembly has come to a close. Were legislators able or willing to make progress in finally addressing these decades-old long-standing issues, or were they once again swept under the rug and put off for future? Is what happens in Illinois a bad lesson for your state’s government?

Please join Adam Schuster, director of budget and tax policy of Illinois Policy Institute for a sober analysis of the state’s budget future, in an always lively and fascinating discussion.

Zoom Webinar presented by Henry George School of Chicago and Council of Georgist Organizations
When: 7 pm EDT/6 pm CDT, Tuesday, June 15, 2021
Please request an invitation to participate in the Zoom Webinar here.

Alternatively, you may attend this event in person at the Henry George School at Signature Offices, 333 S Wabash Ave #2700, Chicago, Illinois. You must let us know that you will attend in person by sending an email message to events@hgchicago.org with your name, phone number, and email address.

Video and a document referenced in the presentation:

Madigan: Power. Privilege. Politics.

Illinois Forward 2022: COVID-19 makes pension reform imperative to protecting taxpayers, services for vulnerable Illinoisans