FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
C.W. Chan, Chairman, Coalition for a Better Chinese American Community (312) 933-7373
Theresa Mah, Policy Consultant, CBCAC (419) 297-1232
CBCAC Speaks Favorably of MALDEF Map Proposal
Chicago, IL, January 4, 2012 – The Coalition for a Better Chinese American Community, an advocacy coalition working for the empowerment of the Chinese community in the Chicagoland area, stood alongside representatives of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF) representatives this morning as the group unveiled their map proposal for municipal redistricting in Chicago.
CBCAC Chairman, CW Chan, said, "CBCAC appreciates MALDEF's recognition of Chinatown as a ‘community of interest’ in its proposed map with a ward consisting of a 44% Asian American Voting Age Population.”
Mr. Chan, a respected community leader who has been involved in several redistricting cycles over the decades, stated: “CBCAC has a long history of collaborating with MALDEF and most recently we worked closely together in the state legislative redistricting process. This relationship is further enhanced by our common conviction of fair and equitable redistricting and our shared belief that among ethnic minority communities, an open redistricting process would ensure that the gain of one group is not achieved at the expense of another."
Working with a broad, multi-racial coalition of community-based organizations, legislators, and ethnic coalitions, CBCAC was successful in achieving an important victory in the legislative redistricting process last year. In addition to helping to pass the Illinois Voting Rights Act of 2011, CBCAC was also able to secure the remapping of 90% of the Greater Chinatown Area population into a single state legislative district where it had previously been fractured into four.
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The Coalition for a Better Chinese American Community (CBCAC) is a project of eight major service organizations in the community. CBCAC’s mission is to empower Chinese American communities in Greater Chicago through organizing, civic participation, education and coalition building. CBCAC’s members are: Asian American Institute www.aaichicago.org; Chinese American Civic Council; Chinese American Service League www.caslservice.org; Chicago Chinatown Chamber of Commerce www.chicagochinatown.org; Chinese Mutual Aid Association www.chinesemutualaid.org; OCA Chicago Chapter www.ocachicago.org; Pui Tak Center www.puitak.org; and Southeast Asia Center www.se-asiacenter.org.
