The+Problem+Solvers

The Problem Solvers/ (100 points) Due Date: 6/4/2014 (tentative)

As we've witnessed throughout the course, societal problems are often difficult to deal with, and solutions appear impossible to find. In your final assignment, your group will attempt to come up with a workable solution(s) to one of the below problems, in hopes that it will improve our local area/state/country. To showcase your solution, your group will create a video/Powerpoint that:

1. Identifies the problem 2. Make clear why it is a problem 3. Identify the history of the problem 4. Proposes how the problem can be solved 5. Identifies two reasons that the plan may fail 6. Assess the likelihood of success for your plan, and why 7. Decides whether or not your group will pursue the solution.

In the video, each of your voices must be prominently featured. In addition, each group is responsible for a poster that will rally people to your cause. In coming up with your project, use at least seven different sources. __**WIKIPEDIA IS NOT A**__ **__SOURCE__! Citations will be done in MLA format.**

Choosing your topic will be based on how you do in the blackjack contest. The group that wins gets first choice; second place, second choice, and so on.

(Fourth Hour only): You will decide if you want to be placed as a solo, duo, or trio. Those who decide for duo/trio will be placed in the appropriate category, and will be placed together at random. People who choose to work on their own will get preference in selecting the topic. Point breakdown

20 points: Identification/history of problem 30 points: quality/thoroughness of solutions 20 points: critique/analysis 20 points: creativity 10 points: citations

You will individually be given only one warning to work for free. Second: 20% penalty Third: 100% penalty.

Please find below the following problems to solve. One per group.

1. Legalization of marijuana for recreational use in the State of Illinois.

2. Recreate the Riverfront Museum so that it becomes a tourist attraction that does not lose money. In this project you need to consider what is currently in the museum, and what you would do to change it.

3. Reinstatement of the death penalty in the State of Illinois.

4. Extracting the oil reserves in Southern Illinois through hydraulic fracturing ("fracking").

5. Allowing driverless cars/commercial vehicles to be used on Illinois roads.

6. Addressing the lack of a full-service supermarket in the southern part of Peoria.

7. Parents should be able to choose which public school the child attends, regardless of where they live.

8. The Federal Government should raise the minimum wage to $12.00/hr

9. The establishment of a minimum national income.

10. The City demolishes Taft Homes for the purposes of private development. If you decide on this project, you must have a concrete plan to relocate the residents of Taft, as well as plans for the old site.

11. The cost of college is rising, and the amount of national student loan debt is above $1,000,000,000,000.

12. Solve the issue of having more illegal immigrants/undocumented aliens in this nation. There are more people in this situation than live in this state.

13. The City seeks to have the Par-A-Dise Casino moved to the Peoria Riverfront.

14. The City seeks to have the LST 325 permanently moved to the Peoria Riverfront.

15. Construct a bid that will win the City of Chicago/State of Illinois the winning bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics.

16. Construct a bid that will win the United States the 2026 World Cup.

17. Considering that one of the best unified school districts (Dunlap) in the state is adjacent to one of the worst (Peoria), consider making all the schools in Peoria County part of the same school district.

18. Acknowledging its place as the economic/cultural center of the state, move the capital of Illinois to Chicago.

19. Address the lack of a four-year public college/university in the Peoria Metropolitan area.