From: alra@governance.net Subject: BIA Fails To Show Up For Zion Hearing – Outrageous Bureaucratic Behavi Land Rights Network American Land Rights Association Alliance Against Reservation Shopping PO Box 400 - Battle Ground, WA 98604 Phone: 360-687-3087 - FAX: 360-687-2973 alra@governance.net Web Address: http://www.landrights.org Legislative Office: 507 Seward Square SE - Washington, DC 20003 BIA Fails To Show Up For Zion Hearing – Outrageous Bureaucratic Behavior. Believe it or not, the Bureau of Indian Affairs failed to show up for the hearing on Monday in Zion, Illinois. That means BIA only held a hearing in Kenosha on the proposed Menominee casino, ignoring other local communities. The BIA ignored the people in Illinois and up toward Milwaukee in Wisconsin. You should know that Herb Nelson from BIA did call and apologize because no one from BIA came to the meeting. He said illness caused the problem. We thank him for that. But the reality is that the people in both Wisconsin and Illinois have not had their opportunity to address the agency that could do a lot of social and economic damage in their area. This must be fixed. Action items: -----1. Call Herb Nelson at BIA, (612) 725-4510. His fax number is (612) 713-4401. Demand that two additional hearings on the proposed Menominee Casino in Kenosha be set up in Lake County, Illinois and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The BIA e-mail system is not working. -----2. Call your Congressman at (202) 225-3121 to urge him to request two additional hearings. -----3. Call both your Senators at (202) 224-3121 to request two additional hearings. Whether they agree with you or not about opposing the Menominee Kenosha Casino, this issue is about process. You deserve to have a hearing in your area. You are going to be paying the bill for the social damage the casino will cause. -----4. Call the Interior Department to urge them to require the BIA to hold two additional hearings. The key person is George Skibine, You can e-mail him at george_skibine@ios.doi.gov; Phone: (202) 219-4066. Fax: (202) 273-3153 -----5. Call the BIA Regional Director, Terrance Virden, Phone: (612) 725-4510 -- Fax: (612) 713-4401 -- Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, One Federal Drive, Rm 550, Ft Snelling, MN 55111 -- Phone: (612) 725-4510) The Bureau of Indian Affairs is acting like they don’t care what you have to say. They need to hold an open and fair process. No matter how you feel about the casino, treating the people of Wisconsin and Illinois fairly is the key. The BIA has insulting your elected officials by not showing up at the hearing. The elected officials set the hearing up because the BIA failed to do its job and hold a hearing in Lake County. The Illinois border is only six miles from the proposed Casino site. The impacts of this Casino will be felt for many miles and its negative social consequences will affect many communities. You as taxpayers will have to pay increased taxes to cover these social costs. You should not be treated like second class citizens. Insist on fair treatment. Please forward this message as widely in Illinois and Wisconsin as you can. -- To unsubscribe from this mailing list; please visit http://governance.net and enter your email address.