Chicago is widely known as the place that gave the nation Barack Obama, America’s first African American president. Yet in Friday’s section of the New York Times, the Chicago News Cooperative‘s Don Terry reports that the race for the presidency of the Cook County Board has the city’s black political community in turmoil. Todd H. Stroger, the current president of the board, is African American and the son of John H. Stroger, a local political icon who was elected as the first black board president in 1994. His son succeeded him in 2006, and backed an increase in the sales tax that made the Cook County levy the highest in the nation, generating plenty of revenue but also making Mr. Stroger vulnerable to a challenge by those unhappy with the tax hike.
Two other African Americans have joined the race, raising the prospect that they could split the black vote on Primary Day February 2 and allow the lone white politician in the race, Terrence O’Brien, president of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, to win the seat. Mr. Stroger charges that a loss could plunge Chicago’s black community into a power vacuum, removing from its control a huge budget of $3 billion and more than 25,000 jobs. Nevertheless opposition to Stroger is widespread. “The black community is in serious trouble,” one potential voter told Terry.
In his column, the CNC’s James Warren tells readers of an effort here that could counter Chicago’s reputation as “Beirut by the Lake,” a legacy of the city’s fractious political wars that characterized City Council politics in the 1980s. The initiative, One Chicago-One Nation, is designed to promote the integration of Muslims with broader local communities. With 400,000 Muslims in Chicago area, Warren says Chicago could become a model of cooperation for the nation.
CNC’s Jessica Reaves tells of the latest soldier in the city’s war against illiteracy, Ava Zeligson, whose infectious enthusiasm lures volunteers to the organization’s drive to teach reading throughout the metro area. Operating out of a renovated Schwinn bicycle factory in River North, Open Books now has an army of some 3,000 volunteers. Reaves tells readers of the CNC’s pages in the Times how they did it and also shows everyone how to volunteer.
Wonder why the World Cup won’t come to Chicago in 2018 or 2022, even though the city was considered a shoo-in for the honor? CNC City Hall bureau chief Dan Mihalopoulos gives readers the back story about why civic leaders withdrew from the competition to host the widely popular soccer games. And Lori Rotenberk tells us who is pulling the strings of local puppets in “Pulse,” where the CNC keeps its journalistic fingers on the rhythms of the city.
Overall, CNC writers give Chicagoans unique insights into the city in the pages it writes exclusively for the New York Times Midwest edition.
I hope you have a great reading experience.