Women Against The Machine

I attended the Women Against The Machine conference at the Jane Addams

Hull-House Museum, which was on the campus of the University of Illinois at Chicago. The setting was the perfect place for these women running for

alderman to reflect on the hardships in the community. Jane Addams was the

founder of the Hull House, Chicago’s first homeless shelter, in 1856. Addams responded to the need of her community and took initiative to build a place for those struggling in Chicago to live, eat, and earn an education.

These women are responding similarly to the needs of their communities. Each candidates emphasized not being a “rubber stamp alderman,” but described most incumbents as such.  Instead, they intend to be more active about reading initiatives and proposals. Some candidates were running against each other in the same district, but what was interesting was that they still showed support for each other.  One of the candidates in particular, Dianne Daleiden, made it clear that, “It’s about time women create and political agenda in Chicago”. This made me curious as to what the political atmosphere is really like in Chicago. How many high offices do women hold in this city? My guess would be not a lot because there aren’t any “Men Against The Machine” conferences that I know of.

These women seemed deeply moved and excited about the possibility of holding a position where they could make positive change within their ward. Many of these women came from humble backgrounds, which provided a stark contrast to the fast-paced, high-stakes machine that is Chicago politics.  Drawing from their own experiences, what each woman had in common was their goal to improve education and housing in their communities. In closing, Jane Addams once said, “America's future will be determined by the home and the school. The child becomes largely what he is taught; hence we must watch what we teach, and how we live.". This quote seems to really reflect the goals of women in Chicago. A goal that has lasted over one hundred years in this city.  

My Promised Land

Last fall, my history class, Middle East: Past and Present, recently hosted an open book discussion about Ari Shavit’s “My Promised Land”.  One of our principle guidelines was to always refer to the book, rather than our own opinions.  The problem with this is that the book is biased itself.  We did our best to keep the discussion purely objective, and it mostly worked out that way.  

The discussion kicked off with about twenty five people in the Harris Center, which seats roughly a hundred people.  Us students, as well as Mr. Conlon, were lined up to face the seats, as we were the discussion leaders.  It initially started slow.  Only a few people were willing to break the ice, but more people chimed in as the discussion went on.

I decided to take this class because I had little prior knowledge about the subject, especially Israel, unlike many people I go to school with.  Our discussion made its way from the book itself to peoples’ personal experiences, which was very interesting to me.  We had teachers from Parker, Latin, and the University of Chicago, as well as people who had been to or lived in Israel, which provided a wide scope of opinions.  It felt like we strayed from our rule of sticking to the book as the discussion went on, but we eventually reminded everyone to do so, which is a testament to how controversial the subject is.  Despite how far Israel is from Chicago geographically, it was interesting to see how people in my own community felt about the subject.

Still, there was conflict between attendees.  Even those that shared beliefs about Israel and Ari Shavit’s book disagreed with each other.  That just goes to show that maybe there is not a correct or absolute possible resolution to this conflict.  As the discussion came to a close, I felt a little more knowledgeable about both the academic subject and the people that I lived around.  I think Ari Shavit’s “My Promised Land” may have taught me more about objectivism than it has about Israel.  

Lyle Logan’s Anti-Defamation League Award

On December 2nd, I attended a dinner hosted by the Anti-Defamation League to present the Americanism Award to Lyle Logan, the Executive Vice President of Northern Trust Corporation.  The Anti-Defamation League has been working for 100 years to stand up to anti-Semitism, bigotry, and discrimination, and the Americanism Award is given to a person who exemplifies these ideas.  I first met Lyle Logan when I was in preschool, but took a 13-year hiatus from the city of Chicago, and do not remember much about him.  The fact that he was honored with such an award filled in a lot of the blanks about his character.

While we ate dinner, numerous people addressed the crowd of about 300 to attest to Lyle’s accomplishments.  What stuck out to me was Lyle’s activity in the community.  To say he is involved in his community is simply an understatement.  Lyle has served on the boards of Children’s Memorial Hospital, Roosevelt University, National Public Radio, City Year Chicago Advisory Board, Chicago Communities In Schools, The Public Education Fund, The Spencer Foundation and The Field Foundation.  It is evident that Lyle genuinely cares about the well-being of his locale, especially since he grew up in the city of Chicago.  

The Anti-Defamation League’s slogan is “A World Without Hate,” and few others live by these words more than Lyle.  The thing about Lyle is that he defaults to a stern, yet soft expression when he isn’t talking.  It makes him approachable, especially when he starts conversing and smiling.  He is never negative and always supportive.  Did he earn the Anti-Defamation League Americanism Award? Absolutely.  His demeanor tells you all you need to know.

There is one primary lesson I took from my experience, and that is that a world without hate might actually be possible.  Organizations like the Anti-Defamation League, awards like the Americanism award, and people like Lyle Logan make it possible to be a little more optimistic about the future.  Lyle makes it seem like it is his civic duty to enrich the community that he lives in.  It is those people and organization that will lead us into a post-hate world.

Auburn-Gresham

Last October, my classmates and I were divvied up and bussed out to various parts of Chicago.  My group was taken to the Auburn-Gresham Community on the south side of Chicago.  We arrived at the Greater Auburn-Gresham Development Corporation, which, according to their mission statement, “works to foster and promote revitalization of the low-to-moderate income communities of Auburn Gresham, Englewood, Greater Grand Crossing and West Chatham.”  The students were herded into a room with a SmartBoard, which our host, Carlos Nelson, gave a presentation from.  Local community leaders that attended Perspectives Charter School helped with the presentation.  

Carlos was primarily concerned with educating us about both the challenges and successes of his neighborhood.  Auburn-Gresham has one of the 20 highest crime rates of Chicago’s 77 neighborhoods, and deals with a 25 percent unemployment rate.  However, the Greater Auburn-Gresham Development Corporation has successfully lobbied for more affordable housing in the community as well as an additional CTA stop in the neighborhood.  The presentation concluded, and orange juice and donuts were waiting for us outside the meeting room, which was definitely the best part of trip.

We departed the Greater Auburn-Gresham Development Corporation building, and Carlos took us on a tour of a few blocks of the neighborhood.  We walked by historic Brick Two-Flat houses, which were built by the original inhabitants of the Auburn-Gresham neighborhood back in the early 1900s.  During our tour, a very friendly man with a suspicious bottle in his hand approached the group and began chatting with us.  He had many interesting insights about the neighborhood, as well as his experiences in prison.  Eventually Carlos managed to get him to leave, following which he proclaimed he was “On his way to the liquor store, anyway.” After our friend left, we found ourselves outside the historic St. Sabina church.  The St. Sabina church as a whole has been an active contributor in the community for decades.  

Overall, my experiences in the Auburn-Gresham community has helped me tackled important questions such as the meaning of community.  I feel like I have a better understanding of my surroundings in general.