"No trauma, no 'bama" is the slogan employed by angry activists who argue that reopening the University of Chicago Medical Center's trauma center should take priority over the construction of the future Barack Obama Presidential Library.
The trauma center closed in 1988, and there are no other centers to accommodate residents of the South and West sides, where the Huffington Post reports "a disproportionate number of shootings happen." Some residents must travel by ambulance for ten or more miles for treatment, a situation which has been linked to higher mortality rates in the Windy City.
Demonstrators organized a "die-in" at Hyde Park Academy High School on Tuesday night to make a point about the need for a trauma center. UC says its other services would be "compromised" unless it received help from regional partners to build the trauma center, and that the library bid is different because it would be funded by private donations and non-federal funds.
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Despite the opposition, the South Side site is still supported by many community leaders and residents, including Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
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