We had an outstanding trip to Germany in late May!

Mark Fraley and Sue Giaimo of St. Catherine’s traveled to Frankfurt Germany to attend the Deutsche Bank Shareholder’s meeting and present Common Ground’s demands concerning Deutsche Bank’s involvement with the foreclosure crisis in Milwaukee.

On Wednesday, May 26th, they met with the German press and a member of the German Parliament in order to share our plight and gain international attention.  The next day, they attended the Shareholder’s meeting where they addressed the CEO, Board and Shareholder’s with two speeches about the poor state of homes Deutsche Bank holds in trust and our analysis, including a series of informational questions about Deutsche Bank’s relationship to these houses.   At this time, they also asked for a face-to-face meeting in Milwaukee with Deutsche Bank staff.

We are happy to report that Josef Ackerman (CEO of Deutsche Bank) responded.  He committed his legal staff for Deutsche Bank in New York to meet with Common Ground leaders in Milwaukee.  The time and date of this meeting is currently being worked out between both parties.

In addition, Common Ground received outstanding press for our effort, including:

A front page article in the “TAZ”, a Berlin newspaper
An article in the Financial Times Deutschland – the major German newspaper
 A 4-page article about Deutsche Bank’s involvement with foreclosed homes in Mind Der Spiegel – the major news magazine in German

We thank all of the leaders of Common Ground for their hard work and commitment to this campaign and we are excited to begin seeing some results!

On May 17 a group of Common Ground members from Waukesha County gathered to discuss concerns that have arisen over the last few months and to choose an issue to work on this summer. The group overwhelmingly chose an issue that was raised by our friends at the Food Pantry of Waukesha County regarding client accessiblity to their new location they will be moving to later this summer.

The concern is that pantry clients cannot fully access the new location by bus and by foot – there is no bus stop in front of the new location and there is no sidewalk on the side of the street where the pantry is located.

Before we begin to apporach those who are in position of power at the bus company and the city, we need to gather appropriate information on this issue.  If you are interested in helping do some on-the-ground or on-the-computer/phone research, join us on Tuesday, June 8 from 4 to 5 PM at 1301 Sentry Dr. (just off Sunset Dr. in Waukesha).

Click here for a link to an article in the Huffington Post about our trip to Germany and the Faces of Foreclosure campaign.

Mark Fraley and Sue Giaimo will be traveling May 24 to Frankfurt, Germany to present Common Ground’s demands concerning Deutsche Bank’s involvement with the foreclosure crisis in Milwaukee.  For the last six months we have been trying to meet with Deutsche Bank U.S. officials in both Milwaukee and Chicago. They have refused.  We are now going to the shareholders meeting in Frankfurt, Germany where we have been allotted time to speak.

On Wednesday, May 26 we will be meeting with Green Party representatives to gain more insight as to how to prepare for the shareholder meeting and the best way to put pressure on Deutsche Bank to meet with us face-to-face in Milwaukee.

Our meeting on Thursday, May 27 with Deutsche Bank shareholders will allow us to make our case, ask important questions pertaining to ownership and trusteeship and urge Deutsche Bank to work with us.

The week will also include other meetings, research and press conferences to help find potential allies in Germany, tell our story to the German press and help further our issue campaign by getting Deutsche Bank to commit to a face-to-face meeting.

Look for updates during the trip through the Faces of Foreclusre email.  If you have not signed up to receive these emails you can at Faces of Foreclosure

Read several articles pertaining to Common Ground going to Germany – bizjournal, and jsonline

Germans built Milwaukee, a German Bank is destroying it!

Commmon Ground’s Health Care Team is moving again.  The Team will meet on Thursday evening, June 3 from 7 to 8:30 PM at Wauwatosa Presbyterian Church – 2366 N 80th Street – one block north of North Avenue on 80th.  Leaders of the team recently met with Wisconsin Health Services Secretary Karen Timberlake to discuss the implementation of the new federal Health Care Reform Act in Wisconsin.  We will report on this meeting and the next steps for the formation of the Wisconsin Health Care Cooperative for small businesses, non-profits and the self-employed.  For further information contact the Co-chairs: Bob Connolly, Theresa Tobin, or David Quam

On Saturday, April 17 and Sunday, April 18 ,Common Ground held two neighborhood walks through the Sherman Park neighborhood.  We spoke with residents about:  foreclosed and abandoned homes, safety issues, areas in need of clean up, street, sidewalk and lighting issues.

We are using the information gathered to create our Sherman Park development plan for the Faces of Foreclosure issue campaign.

Fifty Common Ground leaders traveled to the State Capitol on April 7 to attend a hearing of the Committee of Financial Institutions in support of Rep. Jon Richards Foreclosure Accountability Bill (AB 816).  The bill, developed in response to the CG Faces of Foreclosure Campaign, requires the State of Wisconsin refrain from doing business with banks that have more than 100 homes in foreclosure.

To begin the public hearing Rep. Richards breifly explained the Faces of Foreclosure Campaign and introduced the bill to the committee.  After he spoke CG leaders delivered testimony to the committee:

Jenny Vellinga explained the background of the foreclosure crisis and CG’s involvement and goals.

Pastor Jason Butler told about his church’s ordeal attempting to purchase a foreclosed house from Wells Fargo in Sherman Park.

Joy Botts spoke about the impact of vacant foreclosed homes on the quality of life and property values in her Sherman Park neighborhood.

Mary Leach-Sumlin addressed the issues of property damage, speculators and rent-to-own scams.

Frank Finch III talked about the quality of life and houses destroyed beyond rehabilitation in the Sherman Park neighborhood.

Marecca Vertin, a Marquette University student, told about neighbors with young children who had to abandon their home, and about the condemned property next door.

Pastor Willie Davis spoke about the crime, vandalism and safety issues in the Amani neighborhood around his church.

Pastor Bobby Sinclair addressed the impact to the larger community and the legal and legislative actions being taken by cities and states around the nation to address foreclosure issues.

Pastor Joseph McLin shared his observations about the irresponsible actions of banks in the foreclosure crisis, and the impact of those actions on his congregation and family.

Throughout the hearing, the committee members, led by Rep. Jason Fields, asked thoughtful questions and offered insightful remarks.  The only testimony against the bill was presented by a representative of the Wisconsin Bankers Association, who advocated for other approaches to address the foreclosure crisis, none of which are contrary to the direction of CG

Since there were only two weeks left in this legislative session as of the date of the hearing, it is not clear if the bill would be released by the committee intime to go to the Assemby.  Nevertheless, the leaders who attended felt that the process had been a success.  The goals of the Faces of Foreclosure campaign had been well represented and received in a public forum.

Bob Connolly, co-owner of a small business, reacts to the health insurance rate increase he received for the company. Anthem rate increase letter

There was a Common Ground Delegates meeting held Tuesday evening , March 23 at Mount Mary College.

We received updates on the Faces of Foreclosure Campaign, Health Care Insurance Co-op and elected new Strategy Team members whose biographies follow:

Eileen Asbell - A native of Upstate New York, Eileen has been a member of St. Michael’s Congregation since moving to Milwaukee in 1985.  She has served the parish in a variety of paid and volunteer positions and is currently completing a three plus year commitment on parish council.  Her professional training and work experience is in education.  After spending ten years in MPS, she is now working with the 5/6 unit at Woodlands School.  She has been involved with Common Ground for over two years, serving on the Youth Jobs and Communications teams.  Eileen and her husband Paul live on Milwaukee’s west side and have two adult children.

Frank Finch III – Frank is the financial secretary for Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church .  He spent four years in the marine corp and is a Vietnam Vet where he served two years.  Frank worked fifteen years with the Milwaukee County Transit and two years with MPS as a psych service aide.  Frank is married to Sherry and has three children, Denzil, Joyce and Keith.  Frank has been a Sherman Park homeowner for 28 years.

Susan Giaimo - Sue is a political scientist at Marquette University, where she teaches and researches on comparative public policy and health policy in particular.  She has long wanted to use her knowledge and interests beyond academia to help the community she lives in.  She is a native Milwaukeean, though lived in other cities and countries for over a decade until moving back here in 2003.  She now lives in Wauwatosa with her husband and son.  Since her return, she has seen stark changes in the Milwaukee area – some good, some bad – and wanted to get involved with others interested in the community.  So for the past three years she has been a part of Common Ground through her church, St. Catherine’s Parish of Milwaukee.  Sue serves on the Common Ground core team at St. Catherine’s and the Common Ground health research committee.  But she would like to deepen her commitment to Common Ground to work with others on issues that matter to our members and our neighbors.   The Strategy Team would give her the chance to do this.

Jim Gramentine - Jim has been a member of St. Paul’s Church (Episcopal) on the near east side since 1987, though he lives in Mequon. At church he has served as junior and senior warden and chaired the outreach committee for several years, stepping down in June 2009 to concentrate on coordinating the Common Ground Core Team. Retired from a long career of teaching history and administration in independent schools, including University School of Milwaukee, he has in recent years been active in and chaired the board of the national Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation.

Dorota Pruski - Dorota has been active in Common Ground since graduating from Marquette in 2006, when she began a year-long internship working for the organization.  Not only has her involvement enabled her to pursue her passion for social justice, but it also led Dorota to St. James’ Episcopal Church, where she is an active member and current leader of the core team.  She has also participated in the IAF National Training, Common Ground U, and was co-leader of the initial housing issue campaign.  Dorota lives and works in a freshman dorm on Marquette’s campus, serving as a Residence Hall Minister.

Foreclosure Campaign

For information concerning our Foreclosure Campaign please go to our Faces of Foreclosure website. Faces of Foreclosure

Health Care

Plans are still underway for the roll out of the Common Ground sponsored Health Insurance cooperative for small businesses, non-profits, the self-employed and unions.  The timetable is to begin enrollment in April with the insurance effective in June.  Stay tuned for an announcement of the timetable for action.  If you have questions contact Bob Connolly at 414 272-0101 or Email

Sherman Park

The Sherman Park Common Ground Team will be holding a meeting with area neighborhood leaders, St. Joseph Hospital representatives and the Faith-based community at Wheaton-Fransiscan St. Joseph Campus on Monday, March 15th.  We will be setting the focus of the 2010 Spring/Summer Campaign in the Sherman Park area in regards to foreclosed and abandoned homes and general safety issues. Plan to join us from 6:30-8:00pm on Monday, March 15th.

Waukesha County

There has been a growing interest to build a Common Ground presence in Waukesha County and a team has been diligently working on this over the last few months.  They have conducted numerous listening sessions and several more are scheduled for this spring.  Through these listening sessions potential members, leaders and local issues are emerging.  As a way to continue to build on these efforts, and to report on what has transpired to date, Common Ground is holding a gathering for Waukesha County on Tuesday, March 16 from 7:00 to 8:30pm at St. Anthony on the Lake Parish (W280 N2101 Hwy. SS, Pewaukee) Directions 

For more information on what Common Ground is doing in Waukesha County, contact Heather Dummer Combs,  Email or 414-559-6608.

Friends of Common Ground

To date our Friends campaign has raised $163,000 from 57 donors.  Our goal is to get to $300,000. Some 30 potential donors are now being approached.  if you woudl like to contribute and join the campaign contact Bob Connolly at 414 272-0101 or Email