February 13, 2001

Statement on Attacks on Asian American women in Dry Cleaning Establishments

The Asian American Institute is extremely concerned about the recent robberies and attacks on Asian American women during the past month. Three women working in dry cleaning establishments have been victimized in the Rogers Park, Lakeview, and Wicker Park neighborhoods. While it is unclear at this point whether it is the same attacker who is perpetrating these crimes, it is very troubling that the victims have all been Asian American women who were working alone.

For now, AAI has been in contact with the Illinois Asian American Hate Crime Network and the Chicago Police Department and plans on monitoring the situation as it develops. We urge that women working in these establishments or in similar situations take precaution by staying alert and reporting any suspicious activities. We would also like to express our concerned for the victims of these attacks and hope that they receive all necessary support.

For more information, please cross-reference these flyers
with the latest postings on the Cook County Sheriff's Website.

Asian American Community Action Alert!

********* Media Advisory *********

August 3, 2000

Contact: Bill Yoshino ,773.728.7170
Tuyet Le, 773.271.0899

ASIAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY RESPONSE TO ARREST OF SUSPECT IN ATTACKS

The Illinois Asian American Hate Crime Network will hold a press conference
this afternoon, Thursday, August 3 to discuss the Asian Amerincan community
response to the arrest of Mark Anthony Lewis, who police have identified as
the suspect in the series of attacks targeting Asian women.

Date: Thursday, August 3, 2000
Time: 2:00 p.m.
Place: 5415 N. Clark Street, Chicago

********* Media Advisory **********

July 20, 2000

Contact: Clarita Santos, 312/603.8726
William Yoshino, 773/728.7170

Asian American Response to Most Recent Attack Targeting Asian Women

An Asian American community meeting will be held on Friday, July 21 to
discuss the attacks on Asian women:

Time: 7:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Place: St. Peter’s Catholic Church (Auditorium)
8140 Niles Center Road
Skokie, IL 60077

The purpose for the meeting is to discuss safety/prevention and the Asian
American community response to the attacks including the most recent attack on a Japanese woman in Arlington Heights.

Participants in the meeting include Jerry Clarito, Filipino Civil Rights
Advocates; William Yoshino, Illinois Asian American Hate Crime Network;
Clarita Santos and Grace Hong, Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office; Lt.
Barry Silverberg, Skokie Police Department.

The event sponsors are Filipino Civil Rights Advocates, Illinois Asian
American Hate Crime Network, Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, Filipino
American Club of St. Peter’s Catholic Church.

********* Media Advisory **********

Contact: Ms. Pian Yue
Phone: 312-808-0280
June 22, 2000

SAFETY SEMINAR AT CHINATOWN SQUARE

Seminar will aim to give the Chinese community safety
prevention measures and information about the offender.
Presenters include the FBI and the 9th and 21st Police
Districts.

Co-Organizers: Bridgeport Ad Hoc Committee, Chinatown
Chamber of Commerce, Chinatown Square Association, Chinese
American Service League, Chinese Benevolent Association,
Global Radio, Hit Music, Ng Family Martial Arts Association,
Pui Tak Center

DATE & TIME: SATURDAY, JUNE 24,2000 AT 1:00PM - 2:00PM

PLACE: CHINATOWN SQUARE
on Archer Avenue across from Phoenix Restaurant
2131 S. Archer Ave.
(If weather does not permit, meeting will be held
at CASL Senior Housing Community Room,
2108 S. Princeton Avenue)

FOR INQUIRY:
Chinese American Service League
(312) 808-0280 Ms. Pian Yue
(312) 808-7250 Ms. Carmen Au
Pui Tak Center
(312) 328-1188 Mrs. Sarah Lau
Chinatown Chamber of Commerce
(312) 326-5230 Ms. Mylinh Tang
Chinese Consolidate Benevolent Assn
(312) 225-6198 Mr. Billy Moy

June 15, 2000

Learn Safety Tips from the Chicago Police Department, Cook County Sheriff's
Police, Cook County State's Attorney's Office, and the FBI Violent Task Force.

WHEN: Tuesday, June 20, 2000
WHERE: 6464 N. Clark Street (Auditorium)
WHAT TIME: 6:30 P.M.
WHO SHOULD ATTEND: All community members
Vietnamese and Chinese interpretation will be available.

For more information contact the 24th District Community Policing Office at
312-744-6321.

June 14, 2000

What You Can Do to Help

Community members are urged to attend a meeting with police officials from Chicago and Suburban districts on the recent sexual assaults against Asian American women.

Why:
Get an update from police officials on their outreach and investigative efforts

Pick up flyers to disseminate throughout your community to post and further disseminate. Available in Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indonesian, Tagalog, Thai, Vietnamese and Urdu

When:
Friday, June 16, 2000 4:30pm
(Officials are expected to address the community promptly at 4:30p.m.)

Where:
Japanese American Service Committee
4427 N. Clark Street
Chicago, Illinois 60640
Parking Available

For more information, contact
Marlon Esguerra at 773.271.0899 or
Bill Yoshino at 773.728.7170

June 14, 2000

To: Asian American Churches, Organizations and Institutions

Re: Sexual Assaults in Chicago and Northern Suburbs

The Asian American Hate Crime Network is extremely concerned over the series of sexual assaults and attempted assaults on Asian women in Chicago and the northern suburbs including, Chicago, Niles, Morton Grove, Skokie, Mt. Prospect, unincorporated Glenview and unincorporated Des Plaines. These assaults began in early April with the most recent incident occurring on June 12.

In an effort to better inform the Asian American community about these
assaults, we are enclosing a flyer which we strongly urge you to circulate
and post. The flyer also contains safety prevention measures and information
about a reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the
offender.

To date, the Illinois Asian American Hate Crime Network has met with the Cook County Sheriff’s Department and contacted several of the suburban police departments to urge them to place a high priority on these crimes by
heightening patrols, distributing information to inform the community and by
pursuing an aggressive investigation by cooperating with all the police
departments involved in the investigation.

We are also concerned about the victims of these attacks and women who may have been assaulted but who may not have reported the incident. If you know of a victim who may want counseling from a qualified Asian American counselor you can contact Tomoko Kunita at the YWCA of Metropolitan Chicago, 312/372.6600.

For information via the internet, contact the Asian American Institute
website at: www.aaichicago.org

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