Louisiana Lt. Gov. Landrieu makes good on bet to Quinn, dons Bears jersey to help pack emergency food kits Chicago students join state officials on Food Depository conveyor belt

CHICAGO - Making good on a bet over the outcome of the NFC championship game, Louisiana Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu will don a Chicago Bears jersey Wednesday and join Illinois Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn and dozens of public-spirited Chicago high school students in packing emergency food kits at the Greater Chicago Food Depository.

The two Lt. Governors will perform their joint service project at 10 a.m. Wednesday at the Food Depository, 4100 W. Ann Lurie Place, in Chicago.

"As a Bears fan, I am delighted that Lt. Gov. Landrieu lost the bet," Quinn said. "But even more important, I am proud to join him in this opportunity to help hungry families in the Chicago area and bring public attention to the importance of community service and volunteerism, at home and all around our country."

            Landrieu, who had wagered on the New Orleans Saints in his home team's 39-14 defeat by the Super Bowl-bound Chicago Bears, will be supervised by Kate Maehr, executive director of the Greater Chicago Food Depository.  They will be joined by Food Depository staff and volunteers and students from Gage Park High School and Hubbard High School in Chicago, who are enrolled in service learning projects under the auspices of Lt. Gov. Quinn's Office.

Wednesday's service project also will draw volunteers from City Year, a national youth service organization offering young adults an opportunity to spend a full year serving their communities. Lt. Gov. Landrieu was a founder of City Year Louisiana, and like Quinn is also a strong advocate for school-based service learning programs.

"The American spirit of service is alive and well in Louisiana, and citizen service is helping to fuel the recovery of the Gulf Coast," Lt. Governor Landrieu said.   "We have declared 2007 as the Year of Service."

The volunteers will be working on the Greater Chicago Food Depository's emergency food box program, a partnership with the City of Chicago.  Each box will contain enough food to feed a family of four for a week. During Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, the Food Depository acted as a Midwest sorting center for the national network of food banks, shipping about 50 tons of food and supplies to the storm-struck Gulf states.

To support the initiatives of both Lt. Governors, Jack Moran, owner of Dugans on Halsted - a legendary Irish pub in Chicago - will present $2,500 each to Landrieu and Quinn.  Lt. Gov. Landrieu has earmarked the donation for the Louisiana Cultural Economy Foundation, a relief grant program for artists, chefs, musicians and other cultural workers devastated by hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Lt. Gov Quinn will forward Dugan's generous donation to the Illinois Military Family Relief Fund, created by Quinn to provide monetary grants to the families of active-duty servicemembers serving in the Global War Against Terror.

To thank the Chicago volunteers for their efforts to help the hungry, Landrieu will bring gifts of New Orleans King Cakes, traditional Mardi Gras treats. He also will promote his state's tourism industry by inviting  Illinois residents to "Come Fall in Love with Louisiana All Over Again." 

"I salute Lt. Gov. Landrieu for his strong commitment to community service," Quinn said.  "I am very pleased that these young students will have this opportunity to work beside Mitch on this service project and talk to him about their own experiences working to help the Katrina relief effort and keep Illinois' waterways clean and healthy."

After Hurricane Katrina, service learners at Hubbard High School, a public school on Chicago's South Side, adopted Bonnabel High School in New Orleans.  During the year-long project, Hubbard students raised thousands of dollars to help their peers in Louisiana. The students at Gage Park High School, a public school on Chicago's Southwest Side, participated in a service learning project focused on clean water and environmental issues. They also are working to raise student awareness about the dangers of global warming.

The State of Illinois has been a strong supporter of Louisiana's post-hurricane recovery. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, thousands of people displaced by the storm came to Illinois and received emergency housing and medical care with the assistance of state agencies.

After the storm, Gov. Rod Blagojevich deployed nearly 2,600 Illinoisans to help Louisiana respond, including 900 firefighters and more than 1,100 National Guard troops.  State of Illinois employees also donated more than $91,000 to the American Red Cross Katrina Fund.

      Thanks to the nationwide rebuilding effort, Landrieu said, the state is now looking forward to welcoming tourists, from Illinois and across the country.

       "Louisiana offers a unique brand of food, music, and culture that cannot be replicated anywhere else in the world," Landrieu said. "Our state is also known as the ‘Sportsman's Paradise,' and is the ultimate adventure destination for fishermen, hunters and outdoor enthusiasts.  I invite the people of Illinois to do what thousands have already done this year, and that is Come fall in love with Louisiana.  To book a trip log onto www.LouisianaTravel.com."

            To learn more about the Cesar Chavez Serve and Learn Program, please visit Lt. Gov. Quinn's website, at www.ServeandLearn.org.