Campaigning for State Representative Lisa Hernandez - 3/10/2012

           I just returned home from a day of campaigning for Lisa Hernandez. Hernandez is running for re-election in the 24^th District for State Representative. Being that this class is called Doing Democracy and this assignment is about observing the democratic process, I figured what is more democratic than campaigning.

I showed up to her office on W. Cermak in Cicero at 9:30am. Immediately when I entered, I was greeted with smiles and warm faces. I was offered coffee and donuts before I was even able to introduce myself. Needless to say I felt very welcomed. I looked around and noticed that most of the people there were workmen. I later found out that these men were plumbers that came out to support Hernandez because of her support for the workers union.

            I arrived with two other people representing the Tamms Year Ten (TY10) organization. Hernandez has been a great political ally for TY10 for years. As a way to show thanks/support to Hernandez and to encourage her continued support for TY10, we volunteered to help her campaign. After meeting Hernandez, I got a great since of the type of woman she was. She seemed very down to earth, and after learning about her stance on raising property tax and on politicians’ salaries, it sounds like she is very “for the people”. Last week, my friend Laura made numerous phone calls along side of Hernandez to the residents of her district. They informed people about where she stands on current issues, answer the questions people had, and spread the word about the upcoming election on March 20^th. This week we hit the streets and went door knocking.

We were handed flyers and clipboards, then supplied with a list of addresses and names. We were given a map of our area to cover, briefed on the door knocking process, and sent on our way. This all seemed very foreign to me, as I have not done this type of work before. I was nervous about ringing doorbells to strangers’ houses in an area I was not familiar with. I was concerned I would not having all the answers to peoples questions, or not be well received by the community. Thankfully I had two other people with me because they made the experience memorable.

Laura, Darryl and I packed in the car and headed to our designated area. We jumped out and immediately started knocking. At first a lot of people didn’t answer their doors, in which case we were instructed to leave a flyer and place a “NH” (Not Home) next to their name on our sheet. House after house we went to, our sheet began filling up with “NH”s. I kept thinking, “this isn’t hard, I barely have to talk to anyone”. Then someone answered.

When people did come to the door we first introduced ourselves, who we were representing, and handed them a flyer. We proceeded by asking if they had heard of her before and offered to answer questions. Next we described the petition we were encouraging people to sign for a policy Hernandez was trying to pass. It stated that if your property value decreased the county would not be able to raise your property tax. People were very receptive to this, as it seemed raising property taxes directly effected many of them. After they signed the petition, we reminded them of the up coming election and asked if we could count on their vote. If they said yes, placed a “+” next to their name on our list and asked if they would be interested in having a sign placed in their yard to show their support. I met many different characters today. I had a great time interacting and listening to the stories of the people. Each one was different and offered different insight into the policy issues impacting their lives. 

After checking off the names on the list we headed back to Hernandez’s office to drop off the results and describe our experience. The campaign manager was interested to hear how well people responded to us. He was excited to see the signatures we collected on petition and the number of people who volunteered their yards for sign placement. He thanked us tremendously and encouraged us to come back next week.

The democratic process is based on the people voice and frequently this is expressed through the voting process. The right to vote is something someone should not take for granted: it is one of the most powerful tools at our disposal.  The election process has many layers to it, but it is important that the people running for office (and their campaign) meet the people and hear their voices directly. 

Tamms Year Ten Meeting- 3/2/2012

           Tamms is a city in southern Illinois that is home to the state’s supermax prison. In a supermax men are housed in solitary confinement for no less than 23 hours a day. What started as one-year program facility, several men have been there since it’s opening in 1995: that is 17 years! The United Nations’ Human Rights Declaration has deemed long-term isolation torture.  While the supermax facility was a popular trend for “corrections” in the 80’s and 90’s, many states have closed these facilities due to their high financial cost. 

On the tenth anniversary of Tamms, SAIC alum Laurie Jo Reynolds (LJR) and others founded an organization called Tamms Year Ten (TY10). This group has been fighting for the closure of Tamms for seven years. On February 22, 2012 Mayor Quinn announced the purposed closing of Tamms Correctional Center. While this was a huge victory for TY10, the fight is far from over. The state of IL has a super strong workers union (AFSCME) and the correctional officers have come out swinging. Many politicians from southern Illinois (Senator Forbes, Representative Phelps, Ex Gov. Edgar, and Lt Gov Shelia) have also created a backlash of arguments against the closing.  These forces main concerns are the number of jobs lost (about 300) and the safety of the public (which is ridiculous considering none of these men would be released into the public, most would be transferred to Pontiac Correctional Center which was home to Illinois’ Death Row).

I just got home from one of TY10’s meetings and you could sense the excitement in the air. First thing on today’s agenda was organizing and TY10 just adopted an excellent tool for it called Base Camp. This program is an organizer’s dream because it allows you and your group’s members to post and keep track of events, meetings, assignments, campaigns, etc. LJR was a prominent voice of the meeting, partially because she was the most knowledgeable about the recent events taking place and also because she has lots of experience dealing with policy work and organizing.

Action is critical right now with closure proposal being announced. The closure is in no way guaranteed and everything could change in the blink of an eye. In order for TY10 to secure this closure, everyone is called to action. This task is more daunting than it may seem, the network of TY10 participants is huge and the spreadsheet of contacts is a mess. Once TY10 has found the active participants, there is a list of crucial events and projects almost a mile long: these include campaigning for politicians with excellent stances on criminal justice reform for this coming election, lobbying for the COGFA hearing to be held in the Chicago area instead of down state and organize a mass attendance of TY10 supporters, keeping pressure on our political allies to do the right thing in the House and Senate Appropriation Committee budget plan, and thanking endorsers and encouraging their continued participation during this crucial time. This is on top of the routine concerns of TY10 of corresponding with men in Tamms and their family members about their treatment, the Photo Project for Men in Solitary Confinement, and continued press on the horrendous human rights violations taking place at Tamms.

The great thing about LJR is her ability to create and open democratic space in which there is room for everyone’s voice to be heard. Her goal is not to dictate but to collaborate. She asks for volunteers for tasks and allows people to be in control of their participation. She has a great knack for playing off people strengths and creating an infectious movement towards action. Watching her orchestrate this meeting into roles for everyone, including herself, reminded me that although there can be a driving force in a group, that person alone can’t accomplish as much as the collective. 

Chicago Public School Board Meeting- 2/22/2012

             Last night I found out about CPS’s decision to go ahead with the 17 purposed school closings, fade-outs, and “turn arounds”. This shocked me because of the events and speeches I had witnessed earlier that morning at the CPS board meeting. I was convinced the board had to have heard the voices of these people.

            When we arrived we knew we were in the right place when we saw the crowd of picketers and protesters. This was going to be a heated board meeting because CPS had purposed actions on “low performing” schools.  While these actions follow the current trend of the mandated No Child Left Behind Act, the opposition was strong because of the majority of black and brown neighborhoods targeted, and the “apartheid“ like rhetoric these actions suggest. It isn’t enough simply look at test scores to access “low performance”; one must look at the causes of low performance. I’m convinced it is a lot more complex than the CPS board wants to believe.

            After waiting in line after line to get registered and go through security, we finally grabbed our seats in the overflow room on the 15^th floor. The room’s seats were filled, with standing room only left for those who didn’t arrive early enough. People who wanted to speak had arrived and signed up at 5 or 6 in morning for the meeting scheduled at 10, it didn’t start till 11.

            Once the meeting started, the president of the board spoke about current events, such as the amazing amount of money several military academies raised for homeless CPS students. Then the meeting proceeded with two guest speakers, one being none other than Rev. Jesse Jackson himself.  They spoke about their disgusts with the purposed school closings and demanded the board reconsider, a common theme held throughout most of the speeches to follow. 83 speakers we scheduled and each was to abide by the 2 minute time limit, only those registered were suppose to speak, although an reluctant exception was made for a student of one of the targeted schools.

            These speeches all came from the heart and were founded in facts, such as the research presented from the University of Illinois Chicago. Concerned people from all walks of life spoke: teachers, parents, community members, and students. Interesting facts were presented that completely dumbfounded me, such as CPS’s board is one of the only top down appointed school boards, not elected by the people. I was also appalled to learn about the hidden agendas of some of the board members that created a conflict of interest, or the fact that the funders for these “turn arounds” was not being disclosed to the public.

It seems as though the board meeting, and the board itself, is a faux democracy. When the board members profess to be working toward what is in the best interest for the students, but seemingly fail to really listen to the concerns of the people and work with them on solutions, this makes me lose faith in the process itself. It appeared that the minds of the board were made up long before the meeting, and there was nothing anyone could’ve done or said that would have changed their minds. The meeting seemed like nothing more than an event to pacify the people, and make them think they have a voice in the decisions that effect their children. But based on the meeting that I attended, this couldn’t be further from the truth.