Getting ready for the Aug. 9 Chicago Carrotmob, a larger-than-life carrot is carried into Fox & Obel by volunteers Alana Clark (left) and artist/carrot-creator Jenny Tiner. Photo by Mark Campbell.

To help make those improvements a reality, Carrotmob stages what they call “reverse boycotts.” In one-day events, Carrotmob participants descend on a business of choice to purchase stuff. Although there is no contract, the business verbally commits to dedicating a portion of the money made during the “mobbing” toward energy upgrades.

Carrotmob Chicago is scheduled to descend on the Fox & Obel Market at 401 E. Illinois, near Navy Pier, this Sunday from noon to 6 p.m. The store has committed to set aside 50 percent of the business the mob brings in for efficiency upgrades. The Greater Chicago Food Depository will also be accepting donations from mobbers throughout the afternoon.

Laura Flanigan, co-vice president of action projects for the Net Impact’s Chicago Professional Chapter, is one of this Carrotmob event’s lead organizers. She answered a few questions about mobbing, consumer activism and what’s going on this Sunday.

Q: What process does Carrotmob use to select a business? And how was Fox & Obel chosen to be mobbed?

Flanigan: The idea came to us in conjunction with the Academy of Management Conference. The conference has the theme of green management this year. Doing a Carrotmob was a natural fit.

The process is, a volunteer Carrotmob team will identify an area of the community and then canvass a specific type of business within that area. It has to be an independent business, locally-owned, with enough capacity to get 100 people in and out of the store within an hour. It also has to be a store where you can spend a little bit of money or a lot of money, as to not exclude anyone from participating.

It’s difficult to dedicate money [to energy-efficient upgrades] when you’re a small business, so the focus is really on bringing the tools to smaller, independently-owned businesses to make it happen.

Businesses then compete with each other, so the one selected would have committed the largest percentage of funds from the mob to go towards improvements. The business does not pay any fee to Carrotmob to participate. The San Francisco group is actually having the neighborhood vote, so the community chooses the mobbed business.

Fox & Obel here in Chicago was willing to dedicate a portion (50 percent) of the proceeds from the event to make improvements. They also have a variety of price points and space so a large group of people can come in and support mob. That’s how they were chosen.

Q: What kind of improvements do businesses make with the dedicated funds?

Flanigan: It’s generally energy efficiency upgrades to reduce their carbon footprint. We just did an energy audit on Fox & Obel with the Illinois Smart Energy Design Assistance Center, which is affiliated with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and assisted by the state. That audit is being processed and will show which improvements should be made, such as lighting and refrigeration.

Q: How will you follow-up with the store once the event is over and people move on?

Flanigan: Our team will stay connected to the store and we’re going to be working with an energy contractor to do the work. We will actually see the work as it happens. We are in a position to stay connected and we’re hoping that relationship drives the accountability once the mob is over.

Q. What kind of turnout are you expecting this Sunday?

Flanigan: We’re hoping we get at least 500 folks into the mob. We want to send a clear message that Chicagoans care about and reward the companies that go above and beyond on their environmental commitment. We hope there will be lines out the front door all day.

Q. Are there any requirements for participating in the Carrotmob?

Flanigan: No, definitely not. For citizens to participate, it’s just showing up the day-of.

Q: What sets Carrotmob apart in terms of its activism?

Flanigan: It’s the closest thing to a win-win situation when it comes to environmental activism. Individuals don’t have to sacrifice in order to demonstrate their commitment and their values. There’s a lot of ways we can send market signals about our values, but we’re not necessarily sure if they’re being interpreted correctly. Doing something like this as a mob is always more effective. It’s an easy way to send a loud message. It just so happens that the company is being rewarded with a “carrot” rather than getting the stick. There’s a reason a business would want to participate and seek out participation in Carrotmob. If there’s only a way we can do this for the types of things we buy, not just from where we buy them. Maybe that’s the next phase of Carrotmob.

Q: A lot of environmentalists point to consumerism as being one of the root causes of our environmental problems today. How can Carrotmob reconcile that in its efforts?

Flanigan: One of the reasons Carrotmob has worked is because they’re supporting stores that offer things people need. We’re not talking about large chain stores. We’re talking about food and other necessities – about healthier food – Fox & Obel does try to support local and organic produce providers. That’s one way it’s reconcilable. But that question certainly isn’t lost on Carrotmob – the kinds of stores that work well with the Carrotmob model sell things people need everyday.

Q: Are there any other ways Chicagoans can get involved?

Flanigan: They can start their own mob. Anyone can do it. You don’t have to be affiliated with anybody to do a successful Carrotmob, you just have to get the word out and find a business that’s willing to commit.

This idea that Chicago seeks to be the greenest city in the world can only be supported by actual Chicagoans getting off their butts on a Sunday and demonstrating their commitment.

Writers, publishers, bookmakers and bookworms of all types will come together for food, drink, mingling, and to celebrate the darker side of writers’ lives – by trebuchet catapulting their rejection letters and literary works down the block.

From 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. tonight at Jupiter Outpost (1139 W. Fulton Market), the Chicago Underground Library will host its first ever “Science of Obscurity” event. All are welcome and admission is free to this official lead up to the Printers’ Ball, July 31 at Columbia College’s Center for Book and Paper Arts.

Local, national and international writers will also be stopping by to give some insights (serious, lighthearted and otherwise) into their work.

The Chicago Underground Library houses independent and small-press literary treasures from local authors. Books, magazines, zines, journals, newspapers, art books, broadsides and more call the Underground Library home.

ChicagoTalks sat down with Nell Taylor, the non-profit’s founder and director. Here’s what she had to say about today’s writers, getting her library off the (under)ground, and the Science of Obscurity event:

Q. How did the Underground Library get started?

Volunteers Brendan Denison (left) and Kimberly Sessoms catelogue the collection at the Chicago Underground Library. By Erica Christoffer

A. It was totally by accident in 2006. I had the idea for a little while. My boyfriend and I sent an e-mail to some of our friends to see if they wanted to get together at a coffee shop and talk about it. Well, one of his friends works for Gapers Block and posted it on that site, then the Reader picked it up and the Chicago Journal. We ended up with 40 people at our first meeting. It was a vote of confidence for what we wanted to do.

Later that year we moved into our first space in a coffee shop at Belmont and Elston, which has since closed. Like every non-profit, we had our ups and down and bumps in the road getting started. We moved into a temporary location, but there were problems with the building and things preventing us from promoting it the way we wanted to.

We moved in with AREA Chicago and InCubate into the current space (2129 N. Rockwell) back in December. We are kind of rebuilding from scratch again after moving around and being off the map for a while. But we had a shorter distance to go this time.

Q. What is your background and how did you become a lover of all things literary?

A. I went to Columbia College and was in the film and video program (2003 grad). I was interested in doing film archiving at one point. But I had always loved libraries and had worked in a library in high school. I was doing a lot of writing and drawing, but up to that point in time I wasn’t really feeling my own work. So, the library has been a good way, as a dormant writer and artist myself, to keep up with what’s going on. I’m sort of the Chicago literary cheerleader at this point.

Q. After opening up a second time this past December, did you noticed a difference in the Chicago media climate with so many more unemployed writers, freelancers and journalists, than after your initial opening in 2006?

A. It’s been really fascinating to me because when we opened in 2006, we called ourselves the Underground Library, but I really saw ourselves as trying to draw a bridge between the mainstream and the underground by selecting academic publications and longstanding independent publications as well as zines. At that point there really was more of an obvious distinction and more lines clearly drawn between the professional writer and the amateurs and the people who were underground by choice.

At this point, there has been a larger shift in culture due to changes in technology. I know a lot of people think it be stills the death of the professional writer with all the community and citizen journalism projects that have sprung up. But I think it presents more of an opportunity. What I see happening is that the culture of sharing and the proliferation of content that’s developed online has made people, in general, more accepting of non-professional and amateur content as something that’s viable and something that’s worth paying attention to. In some ways it might be harder to make a living at it. But there is no better time than now if your true goal is just getting your message heard and getting your voice out there.

We do try to follow the Internet model in terms of the breadth and depth of the variety of things we cover, rather than trying to make any kind of editorial or curatorial stances in terms of what we collect.

The Underground Library contains a variety of magazines, books and zines by local Chicago writers and artists. By Erica Christoffer

Q. Would you say the library is like a living Internet?

A. Yes, in a lot of ways. As I’ve grown with the project, and as loose as it is, and with as many problems as that’s caused, it’s allowed the project to work extremely well. We’ve come a long way in terms of our mission and who we serve and the best ways to serve them. It is much more driven by the theory of technology that it was in 2006.

Ideally, I’d like to see more of these local libraries created. I’m moving to Los Angeles next year and I’m starting one there. And if we can multiple ones going around the United States, you’ll be able to look very deeply into different regions and different community. We may aggregate through traveling exhibitions and research to show how movements have developed at a grassroots level, because we have all this stuff that would have otherwise thrown away.

Q. Can you give some examples of the kind of work you have in the library right now?

A. We have issues of the Chicago Review, the Journal of Ordinary Thought from the Neighborhood Writing Alliance, Fractal Edge Press, Poetry Magazine, Punk Planet – those are the kinds of things we have that people may of heard of.

In the middle realm of obscurity, we have zines from the 1980s that were made by people who are very successful writers now or critics. We have a lot of In These Times, Venus, Dumpster Land, Trading Punches with Grandma, zines that people of a certain generation from Chicago would know. We’ve got books of poetry, handmade art books, things made in small numbers where one or two copies exist. What binds it all together is its all Chicago specific.

We’re open 1-5 p.m. Saturdays at this point, but we do take appointments.

Local-centric works show history of grassroots efforts. By Erica Christoffer

We’re starting to do a lot more events now. We do a series called Orphan Works were we have people who aren’t writers – musicians, film maker, sound artist, graphic designers, visual artist – we have them reinterpret works from our collection. It gets them into a wider audience and shows that (the library) is not just a repository, but it can be even more of a living organism and encourage the production of new works. For something like that we bring out a “pop-out” library to the event so people can actually see it and lay their hands on it. We’re looking to start doing that at other events – for instance, someone who is giving a lecture on some sort of Chicago history – we can come and bring a series of books that relate to that and expand on what’s being discussed as a resource.

Q. Are you expecting a good turnout for Science of Obscurity tonight?

A. We are expecting a big turnout. I’m really keeping my fingers crossed because it was a combination of four different ideas we had for events. We have people participating all over the map. It’s a great way to do a literary event that’s more inclusive. We have a lot of people from the performance community or art community.

Q. How are you actually going to launch the books?

A. On a trebuchet. It’s going to be outside, and at the end of the night we’re shredding everyone’s rejection letters and we’re going to ball them up and launch them down the street as well. I’m really looking forward to it.

It’s I-GO Car Sharing, and the Rogers Park community has been savvy on this non-profit’s purpose for years.

“The Rogers Park community really reaches out to us because of the services we offer,” said Richard Kosmacher, I-GO’s business development manager.

I-GO offers Chicagoans an alternative transportation choice.  With more than 200 fuel efficient vehicles throughout the city, including 11 in Rogers Park, I-GO focuses on reducing carbon emissions and road congestion, while improving air quality and saving customers money.

Rogers Park boasts several I-GO locations such as the Citgo station at Sheridan and Touhy, where two cars are available for use.

“Most individuals who join I-GO are using public transportation to get to work, but they’re using I-GO for running errands and taking short trips around town,” Kosmacher explained.

The car sharing concept was launched in 2002 by the Wicker Park-based Center for Neighborhood Technology, a non-profit that develops environmentally sustainable strategies for urban living.

I-Go membership costs $50, plus a $25 application fee. (There is also a $25 annual renewal fee.) A number of driving plans are available; the standard plan starts at $6.75 per hour and $0.40 per mile, which covers gas and insurance. All-day rates start at $65. Once a driver signs up, reservations can be made on-line or over the phone. I-GO also offers business memberships and plans, as well as special rates for non-profits.

The Rogers Park Community Council (RPCC) joined I-GO in 2008. “I-GO is a perfect solution for staffers who don’t own cars,” says RPCC Associate Director Cathie Bazzon. She and co-worker Faye Walker (director of the Housing Action Program) typically use I-GO to transport clients to appointments and to attend professional meetings outside the city.

Roger Park ranks consistently among I-GO’s top five user neighborhoods, which Kosmacher calls “hugely successful.” The area has a good transportation infrastructure, but high density and limited parking—the perfect formula for I-GO.

And in this economy, Kosmacher says there’s more incentive to try I-GO than ever.  According to the organization’s research, the I-GO can save its members up to $4,000 per year in transportation costs.

“We’re very aware of our Rogers Park members and their needs and demands,” Kosmacher said.  “I think there are many people who have not only have gotten rid of their car, but are back to walking, biking and taking public transportation.”

I-GO has been feeling the economic pinch themselves, having to be more careful with expenses, Kosmacher pointed out.  “We’d like to see a stronger economy with stable gas prices.”

I-GO user Gemini Wadley swears by the car sharing program, estimating that it saves him as much as $700 per month. He got rid of his car four years ago.

“I feel like I’m doing some good for me and the world. It’s certainly saves me a butt load of money,” Wadley said.  He currently spends about $100 per month on I-GO and loves not having to worry about maintenance, or cleaning, for that matter.

An I-GO member waits to turn onto Lakeshore Drive in his reserved car.

“I mostly to go to the grocery stores in the area, Whole Foods, Jewel, Trader Joe’s, my dry cleaners on 22nd Street, my doctor appointments in Orland Park,” said Wadley, who lives in the Printer’s Row neighborhood. “If I have friends in town, I may use it for us to go to clubs – during the hours of midnight-6 a.m. its only $4 bucks. Just two years ago it was free during those hours, but $4 is cool.”

Roommates Genevieve Joyce and Corrine Mina live in the South Loop and started using I-GO soon after it first came to Chicago in 2002.  They have used the cars for day trips outside of the city, grocery shopping, picking up friends late at night, and to move.

“We needn’t worry about costs for overnight parking, insurance or gas because I-GO covers all of that,” Joyce said.

Mina added, “It’s just very convenient if you need a car for a couple of hours, or one day.”

However, one issue Joyce encountered while using I-GO arose out of the use of cameras at stop lights and signs.  Joyce said there is no way to protest such tickets with I-GO.

“You are merely supposed to pay the ticket and I-GO will not ask you whether you feel the ticket is justified,” she said.

I-GO’s fleet is comprised of low-emission fuel efficient and ultra fuel efficient hybrid cars, including the Toyota Prius, Honda Civic (standard and hybrid), Honda Fit, and Toyota Matrix, along with a few compact SUVs.  They also just introduced plug-in hybrids at their Downtown and South Loop locations.  Plans are in the works for additional cars in Rogers Park within a year.

In an effort to create an all-in-one transportation card, I-GO recently partnered with the CTA to offer a combined I-GO and Chicago Card.

“Anyone who cares about the wellbeing of our current environment and its future and anyone who is looking to reduce their stress levels – I-GO is the way!” Wadley said.  “Also, anyone [should use I-GO] who is tired of looking for parking and receiving mysterious parking tickets.”

For more information, visit I-GO’s website, www.igocars.org, or call 773-278-4446.  Businesses or non-profits interested in I-GO can contact Richard Kosmacher directly at 773-269-4011.

I-GO’s Rogers Park locations include:

May 22, 2009 – Same-sex marriage advocacy groups in Illinois are opting for legislation rather than litigation in their quest for the legal right to marry.

And as news spread earlier this month that Maine became the fifth state to legalize gay marriage, with New Hampshire not far behind, activists say they are hopeful these other states’ legislative decisions will influence the Illinois General Assembly.

“We see the states in New England, one after another taking votes on this. I think it sets a tone and shows people this is the direction of history,” said Rep. Greg Harris (D-Chicago). “I think some people will take that into account more than others as they look at their position and they look at how they want history to view them as public servants.”

Harris is the chief author behind Illinois’ civil unions bill (HB2234), Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Union Act, which is ready to be called for a House vote. However, with several new legislators and the looming budget deficit, Harris said he is still feeling out the potential votes. The bill’s third reading deadline was extended from May 8 until May 31.

“We’re going to work it in when the time is right,” said Harris, who is optimistic it will pass. “A vote like this is close one way or the other and it’s going to take a lot of work both in the House and in the Senate. This is not going to fly through with a 70 percent majority.”

Jeremy Gottschalk, attorney and president of the Lesbian and Gay Bar Association of Chicago (LAGBAC), said his group supports Harris’ bill.

“The important thing is to get the protections that civil unions offer,” he said, adding that it is a step in working toward equal marriage rights.

The main reason litigation regarding same-sex marriage has not made headway through the court system in Illinois is likely due to potential conservative judicial rulings, especially in the downstate region, Gottschalk said.

“It’s all going through the legislature now,” Gottschalk said. “I don’t know if it would go through the courts here.”

Someone would need to file for a marriage license and be denied, Gottschalk said. Then, they would have to sue the county clerk’s office for discrimination.

Logan Square residents and longtime couple John Pennycuff and Robert Castillo have been filing for marriage licenses in Cook County on a regular basis since 1991.

“We’ve always been denied,” Pennycuff said.

The couple met at a health club 18 years ago and have been together ever since. “For me, it was love at first sight,” Pennycuff said of his partner.

They originally married in San Francisco in 2004 when licenses were first granted in that city. They married again in San Francisco on June 25, 2008, after the state’s Supreme Court granted same-sex marriage rights.

“It will be through legislation [in Illinois]. We will get same-sex marriage faster through the General Assembly,” Pennycuff said, who agreed that potential conservative rulings have thwarted the issue in the courts. And if it is passed through the legislature, the law may have better staying power, rather than court rulings being overturned.

Pennycuff said civil unions are a good step, but not good enough. He supports equal marriage rights, first and foremost.

“With this, if something happens to Robert, I will be able to see him in the hospital without being denied access,” Pennycuff said. Civil unions would also guarantee the right to inherit, file joint state tax returns and certain state benefits. There are 1,138 benefits, rights and privileges related to marital status, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office.

Currently, Illinois law defines marriage between one man and one woman. The General Assembly put the law on the books in 1996, after Congress enacted the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which bars federal recognition of same-sex marriages and allows states to do the same. Forty-one states have Defense of Marriage Acts, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. But Illinois has not amended its Constitution to define marriage between one man and one woman.

In 2006, the Illinois Family Institute and Protect Marriage Illinois tried to get a non-binding constitutional referendum to define marriage on the ballot in Illinois, but many of the signatures gathered were thrown out by the State Board of Elections. In the end, they were short of the 283,111 signatures required.

David Smith, executive director of Illinois Family Institute, pointed to two election jurisdictions, Cook County and the city of Chicago, where problems arose with the ballots.

“It’s really subjective,” Smith said. “It was with the intent of hurting us enough to get off the ballot.”

To achieve a binding referendum on the ballot, the General Assembly would need to vote and pass with a three-fifths majority whether the measure would be put before voters statewide.

“Here in Illinois, I would argue that it is the most difficult state in the union to amend the State Constitution,” said Smith.

The groups have decided not to pursue another ballot issue in 2010. “It’s just not worth it,” Smith said.

Their hope, similarly to gay rights activists, is in the General Assembly

“We’ve had an amendment introduced in the state House for six years now,” Smith said, referring to the House Joint Resolution Constitutional Amendment (HJRCA02) sponsored by Rep. David Reis of Jasper County. However, it has never moved from Rules Committee.

“It’s really going to come down to a changeover of the elected officials in Illinois,” Smith said. “The answer is a political one.”

Specifically, he wants to see new leadership in both the House and the Senate, outside of Rep. Mike Madigan (D-Chicago) and Sen. John Cullerton (D-Chicago).

“We are an education organization,” Smith said. “We will do our best to educate people on the dangers posed by counterfeit marriage and the need for protecting natural marriage.”

Unthwarted by the passage of Proposition 8 last November in California, which overturned the state Supreme Court’s decision to legalize same-sex marriage, or by the 30 states that have ratified their constitution to define marriage between one man and one woman, marriage rights activists have been busy in Illinois.

Corrine Mina, Chicago chapter coordinator for Join the Impact, a LGBTQ advocacy group, said they have refined and strengthened their efforts since the election.

“After Prop 8, we had our first protest and didn’t really know what we were doing. We knew we were fighting for gay rights, but didn’t really know what that entailed,” she said. They educated themselves on the history of the movement and created a board of directors.

“The momentum right now is really great,” Mina said, pointing to Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont and Iowa, which all now allow or are close to allowing same-sex marriage. She also applauded the Oregon, New Jersey and, most recently, Washington State for providing civil unions.

The group has been lobbying lawmakers in support of Harris’ bill

“Right now civil union is all the talk, which is great, but definitely not enough,” Mina said.

This isn’t the first time Harris has introduced legislation impacting gay rights. He first introduced the Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act in 2007, which would provide equal marriage rights to homosexual couples. It was re-introduced again this year (HB178), but hasn’t made it out of Rules Committee.

Mina said with the Iowa ruling right next door, she hopes it will influence lawmakers in Illinois.

“I personally think lobbying and having to deal with the politics part of it is necessary,” Mina said. “I’m hopeful for it and I definitely think we’re going to have to fight hard for it.”

Harris said it’s inevitable that the other states’ decisions to legalize same-sex marriage will impact the Illinois General Assembly in some way. But just how great or profoundly is yet to be seen.

“I think over the long run it will be beneficial for all of society and democracy as a whole for these things to be done legislatively,” Harris said. “It’s a larger expression of the will of the people and an understanding that this is what the majority opinion on this subject is.

“I still think the New Jersey Supreme Court has a great line in their ruling: ‘The evolving ethos of a maturing society.’”

Feb. 9, 2009 – Governor Pat Quinn will be welcoming folks to the Governor’s Mansion on Thursday, February 12, from 3-6 p.m.

Governor Quinn wants the people of Illinois to join him at the people’s house on Lincoln’s birthday. President Obama, among others will be visiting Springfield and other state sites associated with Lincoln for the celebration of his 200th birthday.

This beautiful house has served as the official residence of Illinois’ Governors and their families since Governor Joel Matteson took up residence here in 1855. The Illinois Executive Mansion is one of the oldest historic residences in the state and one of the three oldest continuously occupied Governor’s Mansions in the country.

For more information, contact:

Carolyn Brown Hodge
Director of Rural Affairs
Office of Governor Pat Quinn
414 Stratton
Springfield, Illinois  62706
(217) 557-9469
cell (217) 836-6645

In Washington, D.C., the historic Ford’s Theater , site of Lincoln’s assassination, will re-open after 18 months, on the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln’s birth. There will be a week of public and private events honoring Abraham Lincoln’s life and legacy. Across from the theater, is the Peterson house, preserved along with the theater. Lincoln was taken across the street to the Peterson house, where he died after being shot by John Wilkes Booth. Native Chicagoans know that the bed upon which Lincoln died was moved from the Peterson home to the Chicago Historical Society (now Chicago History Museum) where it is still on view.

Other Lincoln’s birthdate events nearer to home include:

from Gapers Block
Abe Lincoln in Illinois @  City Lit Theatre presents a one-night only concert reading of Robert Emmet Sherwood’s 1939 Pulitzer Prize-winning play Abe Lincoln in Illinois in commemoration of Abe Lincoln’s 200th birthday. The show starts at 7:30pm at City Lit Theatre, 1020 W. Bryn Mawr. Tickets are $5.01 (the Lincoln bill plus the Lincoln coin), and are available online. Call 773-293-3682 for more information.

Tall Man of Destiny Exhibit at Chicago Public Library

Art lecture at Art Institute on “The Lincoln Image” by Hans Holzer.

DIY: Create your own tribute to President Lincoln, whose influence is strong again on the national scene because of President Obama’s affinity and respect for Lincoln and his work, by visiting Lincoln statues around Chicago .

Categories:
Art & Entertainment History & Preservation Public Statewide
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illinois lincoln pat quinn

Feb. 4, 2009 – Check out Windy Citizen

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Local Politics New Story Politics Public Techology
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Jan. 2, 2009 – Standing outside the Deluxe Diner on the North side of Chicago in Rogers Park, Peter Magai Bul towers over the people around him. An acquaintance from the neighborhood swerves around sidewalk pedestrians on his bike and affectionately gives Bul a nod, calling him "Manute Bol" as he passes.

At 6 feet, 6 inches, Bul doesn't quite reach the retired NBA star's stature at 7 feet, 7 inches. But they do have other things in common: They were both born in Sudan and they both fled the brutal civil war. Now, in the U.S., they both work as activists seeking to educate the community and create change in their homeland.

Bul serves as president of the Ayual Community Development Association. Maketh Mabior, a fellow Lost Boy and lifelong friend, described Bul as someone who always has a plan, someone who has the answer and someone who works extremely hard.

"He's somebody who would put himself on the line," Mabior said. "He makes himself busy every day. Sometimes I say, ‘Peter, you have to take a break.' The man is everywhere. He's like an ambassador."

Bul's actions reflect a need to create change. One of approximately 125 Lost Boys of Sudan living in Chicago, 40 of who live in Rogers Park, Bul's vision comes from an unbreakable bond with his fellow Lost Boys and those still in his homeland.

In 1988 war came to Bul's village in southern Sudan. He was 6 years old.

"You have Africans fighting Africans because they see difference in terms of religion. This is a religious war," Bul said.

Bul ran away with his mother and proceeded to walk for three months with other children from his village to Ethiopia. But along the way his mother's leg became infected and she could no longer walk. She rode on a truck carrying water back to Sudan. Bul continued on to Dimma, a refugee camp in the eastern part of the country.

He wouldn't see his immediate family again for 20 years.

Humanitarian groups estimate that the ongoing Sudanese conflict between the government-run Islamic military of the north and the non-Arab Africans of the south has killed nearly 2 million people and displaced 4 million people. The United States Committee for Refugees and Immigrants says that one in five of the southern Sudanese population has died since the war started in 1983.

The south suffered, not just military-wise; no development took place in southern Sudan, no investment, and little employment. Schools were not built and there are no clinics. People are unable to grow crops and starvation grew increasingly common. Of the children in southern Sudan, boys were either targeted for military recruitment or killed. Girls were taken as slaves.

The youngest of nine children, two of Bul's siblings died of illnesses before he was born. One of his older brothers fought in the southern rebel army. He now lives in Nairobi, Kenya with his wife. Bul's father died in 1991 in the war.

The vast majority of those who fled Sudan were between the ages of 5 and 12. They slept on the ground or in trees. There was no shelter, no infrastructure.

"We lost a number of children. Some died because there was no water and so forth," he said.

Bul lived in the Ethiopian refugee camp for four years.

"When it rained, you were only sleeping under a tree. Because you are sleeping outside, you get sick and you die. We saw hundreds of children die each day from hunger and disease," Bul said. "We were only children. This is not something you would forget."

The few adults present served as caretakers. Among the children, they selected their own group leaders, who divided the children into smaller groups and charged them with tasks. They would set out into the forest to collect wood. Some made small huts to sleep under. Others built fires and cooked for the group.

"Since we lost hundreds of children each day, and there were no adults to bury those children, you'd have to look within the group and send people to carry those dead bodies to the cemetery and bury them," Bul said.

Bul, who was a group leader, would report back to the adults on the status of the children – who was alive, who died, what they needed.

Because many of the children came from different villages, they spoke different Afro-Asiatic languages. There were even different dialects within those language variations. They learned to communicate with one another using hand gestures and teaching one another words.

In 1991, the refugees were forced to leave Ethiopia due to civil unrest. They returned to Sudan, but not before crossing the Gilo River at the Ethiopian-Sudanese border. Thousands of children died in that river because the majority of them didn't know how to swim.

It was only a few weeks after returning to eastern Sudan before the group left again, this time walking hundreds of miles to Kenya.

Bul lived in Kakuuma Refugee Camp in northern Kenya for nine years where they received aid from the U.N. and the Red Cross. He started school in 1993. Instead of going a week or more without food, now they'd only go a couple days without eating. The rations sufficed. They didn't worry about picking wild berries or hunting for meals – which often made children sick in Ethiopia.

"It was better than Ethiopia, but it was still a refugee camp. Many of the children still died from disease," Bul said.

A number of girls who made the journey were placed with host families in Kenya. The Lost Boys, as they came to be known, stuck together – they had become one another's family. They lived in the camp among other refugees from Congo, Ethiopia and Somalia. There was no work for adults. Some materials were provided for them to build common areas.

"We'd go to the community and help with building those houses," he said. "But it wasn't secure. The local people sometimes were attacking us because they were struggling, too. They didn't have food. So when we were given food by the U.N., sometimes at night they'd come in looking for something to survive."

There was never comfort, never a period of safety or rest for Bul and the other Lost Boys. A question crept into his mind: "Will these atrocities end with us?"

"I think when you live in that situation, seeing so many bad things, seeing children dying, children giving up, and you have been in that situation for a number of years – you don't worry about when your day comes. You're not even scared anymore," he said. "For me, I wasn't concerned with what I had to deal with each day."

His concern was with what children would have to deal with in the future. There were only between 12,000 and 16,000 Sudanese children left at that point out of the 27,000 who originally fled Sudan.

Bul could easily have been one of those who didn't survive, and he knows it.

He recalled becoming very ill on the trek to Kenya in 1992, so ill that he couldn't walk. They had a blanket that they used to carry dead bodies out to be buried. Sometimes they'd carry their sick in the same blanket. Bul didn't want to set foot in that blanket. He forced his body to keep going.

"I remember when we stopped, we were walking at night and people didn't want to be attacked. I couldn't walk and I didn't want to die with anyone. Some of the guys wanted to be with me. I told them to let me rest here," Bul said. The next day he was on the road by himself. He collapsed under a tree on the side of the road.

"I don't know when the ambulance came," Bul said. "Someone had told them there was someone under the tree. The next morning I woke up in the bed. I wondered, ‘Did they capture me?'"

Then the doctors came in and Bul learned he was in Kenya. A month later he was reunited with his group at the refugee camp. They thought he had died. His clothing had been given away to other people.

In 1999, the decision was made to bring 4,000 of the Sudanese refugee children to the United States. "We had to go through different interviews," Bul said. They chose boys who they believed would thrive best in America. He remembers the day the acceptance letters arrived at the refugee camp. The young men stood in a circle as the delivery person called out names. Some would pray before opening their envelope.

At the age of 19 after living in refugee camps for 13 years, Bul was one of the lucky ones chosen to go to the U.S. It was a bittersweet realization for Bul, who was happy he received the opportunity, but heartbroken that he was leaving the children he cared for.

In 2001 Bul became one of seven original Lost Boys to resettle in Chicago. His English was thick with a slight British accent. The boys had never been in an urban setting; never seen snow.

"Every time you met an American they don't want to talk to you because you don't speak English well. It was so hard to talk to them. I think that was the most difficult adjustment," Bul said.

Bul started attending classes at Truman College in 2002, majoring in political science and pre-law. He's now transferring to University of Illinois, Chicago. He got a job at a hotel and moved in with other Lost Boys in Roger Park. Things started coming together.

Yet Bul never forgot those he left behind in the refugee camp.

He began his work with the Ayual Community Development Association, a non-profit run by Lost Boys and American volunteers from all over the country. The group draws attention to the situation in southern Sudan and raises money to improve conditions and provide education for those still displaced. They have already built Pongborong Primary School in southern Sudan, fully stocked with books.

"By giving them the education, it gives them the opportunity to learn about Sudan itself," Bul said. "People don't have the knowledge. They don't have the opportunity to learn that this is a country with different backgrounds. This is a diverse country."

Mabior, who grew up in the same Sudanese village as Bul, made the trek to the refugee camps in Ethiopia and Kenya side-by-side with Bul. Their experiences have mirrored each other for 20 years. He, too, was a chosen Lost Boy who came to live in Chicago and works with the Ayual Community Development Association.

Bul has always been a leader, Mabior said, back in the refugee camps when he took care of other children and today as he organizes the community and speaks on the issues facing Sudanese people.

"Peter has a vision," Mabior said of his friend. "We are going to change things in our country."

In December 2007, Bul returned for the first time to Kenya and Sudan. He saw his mother for the first time in 20 years. "I was shocked that I could not recognize the village where I was born," he said.

Villagers voiced concern to him that if elections are not carried out properly next year in Sudan, then the war will continue.

"This is about equality. People should be given the opportunity to govern if they are capable," Bul said. "There is a little peace now; so many people in the refugee camps are going back."

For three months after making his homecoming, Bul said he could not talk about it. He was in shock, having seen the continued problems in his homeland.

In his head, though, he was planning – planning what he could do next to help. People are tired of war. Tired of refugee camps. They are ready for change.

Bul gave his word to support them. It is his lifelong commitment. His quest.

"We are the richest country in the world in terms of resources, but those resources have been misused. Then there is Sudan, one of the poorest countries in the world. We can use those resources to help them," Bul said. "Giving people the knowledge will help in the long term. Education."

"I have to do my best to help. I was there, I've seen it."

Bul helped coordinate the Lost Boys' Hope of Sudan Celebration, which will take place this Sunday from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Truman College, 1145 W. Wilson Ave. The event marks four Sudanese cultural events – the Lost Boys' birthdays, Sudan's Independence Day, the Sudanese New Year, and the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. Hosted by Chicago Bull Luol Deng, the event is free and will feature traditional Sudanese food. All donation will benefit the Lost Boys Scholarship Fund. For more information, visit lostboyschicago.com.

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Dec. 23, 2008 – Lauren Hasselson and Christy Fairbairn of Bloomingdale know they're up against a tough fight. The couple, who demonstrated against the approval of California's Proposition 8 in Downtown Chicago last month, plan to wed May 2 in a commitment ceremony. They want nothing more than their vows to be recognized under Illinois law.

Momentum has gained on both sides of this controversial debate since Nov. 4 when three states – Florida, Arizona and California – passed referendums against same-sex marriage.

Protect Marriage Illinois board member Peter LaBarbera said his group would like to see even stronger legislation enacted in Illinois.

His group is considering plans for a ballot issue in 2010 to amend the state's constitution to define marriage between one man and one woman, while state Rep. Greg Harris , an openly gay state legislator from House District 13 on Chicago's Northside, is working to get his civil unions bill advanced to a floor vote early in 2009.

"What I really hope is the people who became angry when [Proposition 8] passed in California will transfer that anger to political action in Illinois," Harris said.

Proposition 8, which passed with 52 percent of the vote, reverses a May court ruling that had allowed thousands of couples to wed in California. Gay marriage foes see it as a major victory across the country.

"I think the Proposition 8 protests are arrogant," said LaBarbera. "The issue was struck down." He also takes issue with gay activists calling opponents bigots and hateful. "That's just an insult."

LaBarbera, who also serves as president of Americans For Truth about Homosexuality , called same-sex marriage "a threat to religions liberty," saying he fears if it were legalized, churches would eventually be forced to perform same-sex marriages.

Corrine Mina, co-organizer of the Chicago Against Prop 8 rally held in November, said churches need not worry they will be forced to perform any ceremonies.

"[Gay couples] are not looking for religions groups to marry them," said Mina. "They're just looking for the rights married people have. Equal rights is the ultimate goal."

There are 1,138 benefits, rights and privileges related to marital status, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office . They include tax breaks, estate rights and government benefits, such as spouses receiving Social Security and Medicare.

"Instead of seeing it as a loss, this has given us a huge window of opportunity," said Fairbairn, 25.

She speculates that if Proposition 8 had not passed, same-sex marriage would have indeed been legal in California, but the issues would have remained quiet throughout the rest of the country. Now, she says, a fire has been lit under gay activists to fight harder for equal marriage rights, including in Illinois.

In 1996, Congress enacted the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which bars federal recognition of same-sex marriages and allows states to do the same. That same year, the General Assembly changed Illinois law to define marriage between one man and one woman.

Forty-one states currently have Defense of Marriage Acts and 30 states have ratified their constitution to define marriage between one man and one woman, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures .

In 2006, the Illinois Family Institute and Protect Marriage Illinois tried to get a constitutional referendum against same-sex marriage on the ballot in Illinois, but many of the signatures gathered were thrown out by the State Board of Elections because they were not filed under the correct election jurisdiction. In the end, they were short of the approximately 283,000 signatures required. They tried in 2008 but again fell short on signatures.

"To me, it says for most people in Illinois, this is not a big issue," Harris said.

Harris originally proposed a same-sex marriage bill – "Marriage Equality Illinois " – early in 2007. But after speaking with each and every one of the House's 117 other members, Harris expects more support among his General Assembly colleagues for civil unions (H.B. 1826 ) than for gay marriage.

Countering Harris' legislation, Rep. David Reis of Jasper County introduced a bill two years ago proposing a constitutional amendment defining marriage between one man and one woman. It hasn't moved from Rules Committee. "If it comes out of Rules, it will sail through the House," Harris said.

The tide of same-sex marriage could turn either way in the General Assembly next year, Harris said, but he's hopeful about his civil unions bill.

Massachusetts and now Connecticut are the only two states in the United States issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Rhode Island recognizes same-sex marriages from other states, and Oregon provides nearly all state-level spousal rights to domestic partnerships.

"We're here to win equal marriage rights right here in Illinois," said Andy Thayer, co-founder of the Gay Liberation Network , at the Nov. 15 Chicago rally. "Civil rights have never been won by people politely asking for them; they've been won by people demanding them.

Fairbairn said, "I think we have a really long way to go before we feel there is real progress made. Ultimately, the goal is to be legal across the country. But baby steps – there has to be compromise from both sides. Maybe county-by-county, maybe that's where it has to start."

Hasselson, who popped the question to Fairbairn on Jan. 22, her 25th birthday, hid the custom ring set with diamonds from her grandmother's necklace and stones from Fairbairn's mother's original wedding band, in a bag of Fairbairn's favorite treat – gummy bears.

"I pulled it out, and I held it there for a second. I said, ‘Are you serious?'" Fairbairn recounted of the proposal. Hasselson replied with, "I want to be with you forever." The couple is in the midst of planning a ceremony and reception with 130 guests.

"I tell myself its cool, I don't need a piece of paper to prove my love," said Hasselson. "But when I discuss it with others, it's hard; I'm not, but I am [getting married]."

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Dec. 5, 2008 – Karen Yang works at an import jewelry shop in Chicago's Chinatown neighborhood. She said the word among business owners is that times are tough and sales are down.

Just up the street from her, a woman behind a counter selling Oriental décor nearly breaks into tears over the slowing economy.

"No business for three months," she said, too choked up and embarrassed to give her name.

Will President-elect Barack Obama be their economic savior? That answer, in part, depends on where he takes the U.S. relationship with their homeland of China, experts say.

With increasing interdependence between the U.S. and China, the two countries will need to work together to confront the global financial crisis, said Sam Crane, Asian studies professor in the political science department at Williams College in Massachusetts.

"We rely on China holding our debt and they rely on us to buy their stuff," Crane said. "That basic arrangement, I believe, has to stay in place and not be weakened, or the economic crisis in both places could get worse."

The two countries have already taken separate strategies for dealing with the economic crisis. The U.S. has decided to pour $700 billion into buying up bad loans from the country's largest financial institutions. China recently revealed its plan to create a nearly $600 billion New Deal-style infrastructure building and job creation package over the next two years.

The tie that most closely binds the U.S. and China is China's purchase of significant amounts of America's $10 trillion national debt through low-rate, long-term bonds. Approximately one-quarter of the debt is owned by foreign countries, with China second only to Japan in holdings. In turn, China depends on Americans spending money on China's low-cost products to keep their economy booming.

"Imagine how working-class Americans would get by without access to relatively cheap Chinese products at Wal-Mart," Crane said.

But with the downtrodden economy, Americans are tightening up their wallets and China's growth has slowed from 9-10 percent annually to 7-8 percent.

This could have several implications for both countries.

"What it means for China, that slowdown, it creates a huge potential threat to social stability," said Clayton Dube, associate director of the University of Southern California's U.S.-China Institute.

Chinese citizens are more willing to demonstrate against the government than ever before, Dube said. If unemployment rises dramatically, especially among those who are already disenfranchised, it could lead to instability throughout the Chinese workforce.

"The Chinese are very aware that there have been winners and losers in this economic game," Dube said, as the gap between the rich and poor grows.

Unemployment is also a serious concern in the U.S., with the jobless rate reaching a 6.5 percent, a 14-year high. And spending is also down.

"I think it is important for Obama to resist the ‘blame China' crowd, those people who complain that China has ‘stolen our jobs.' The world economy is way more complicated than that," Crane said. "Perhaps in private talks with President Hu [Jintao] next year, Obama can make this explicit: We will keep our markets open to Chinese products, if China agrees to hold on to our debt."

The U.S.-China Institute published an analysis, "Obama and China," which was part eight in a series on the 2008 U.S. election. In a video report, reporter Mike Chinoy said, "The policies adopted by the next occupant of the White House will play a central roll in the question critical to the future of the entire world."

The report shows Obama criticizing China in campaign speeches for undervaluing its currency. But he is committed to free trade.

"We're going to try to facilitate trade and investment flows with a China that plays by the rules and try to block it when it doesn't," said Obama adviser Jeffrey Bader with the Brookings Institute in the USC report.

"If foreigners, especially East Asians — Chinese, Japanese and Koreans — stop buying U.S. Treasury bonds, we would face a much worse financial situation here," Crane said.

There is also the issue of product safety. If both the U.S. and Chinese governments expect the American public and the rest of the world to continue buying Chinese-made goods, updated regulations must be placed on products that leave China, Dube said.

And regulations can't be done through legislation alone, Dube added. There have to be monitors in place, helping China with upgrading their standards of inspection.

"Creating a constructive relationship, in general, could have beneficial effects across a range of issues," Crane said.

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For over a week, crews had been preparing Grant Park for what some have called "Obamapalooza," Barack Obama's election night celebration. By the morning of Nov. 4, the stage was set, tents were lifted, big-screens monitors were in place and Chicago was poised for the tens of thousands of supporters expected to attend.

Vendors lined the streets from Congress to Jackson, Michigan to State yelling sales chants, "Get your Obama T-shirts here, only $10. Buttons, 3 for $10." Some rally-goers browsed. Others, in the spirit of support, reached into their pockets. Many in the crowds moving toward Grant Park adorned their newly purchased street wears.

Rodney Gratton, a Chicago resident selling shirts with Obama in front of a presidential seal, said he gives half his profits to the Obama campaign. "It's a good feeling out here, being a part of history, being apart of change," said Gratton, who carried his merchandise in a duffel bag, as he was told he could not sell along Michigan Avenue.

Outside DePaul University, Christopher Whitaker handed out small slips of paper with reminders to vote. He moved to Chicago from Texas to work on the New Voters Project run by student Public Interest Research Groups. The non-profit focuses on student-led activism and has successfully led the nation's largest voter registration drive. "This is really the first year both campaigns have targeted the youth vote," Whitaker said. "If you engage the youth vote, they'll go out and vote." During the 2004 campaign season, the group registered a half-million new voters. Whitaker said he believes, once the numbers are counted, registrations will surpass that.

But many voters didn't need reminding on this Election Day. Polling places throughout Chicago had lines out the door. The Associated Press reported that an estimated 136.6 million Americans cast ballots, a record-breaking number based on 88 percent of the country's precincts counted.

Ald. Bob Fioretti (2nd) planned to visit all 56 of the polling places in his downtown ward on Election Day. Fioretti met first-time voter Ryan Minges, at the Spertus Institute polling place on Michigan Avenue. Minges, a Columbia College Chicago freshman and Texas native, said he voted for Obama. "I just like how he's not attacking [John] McCain," Minges said. "I also like his policies, especially the tax breaks for the middle class."

University of Illinois at Chicago forensics student Adrienne Irmer came directly to Grant Park from class Tuesday evening. She, too, voted for Obama, in the hopes he will raise funding for education. And hope she was not short of with her "Got Hope" T-shirt. "In the primaries, that was when I really decided who was for us and who was for these times."

Terms such as "historic" and "relevant" were spoken by the mouths of many walking outside the Grant Park gates. Non-ticket holders came down just to be part of the experience. Others were drawn to downtown Chicago to document the events of the day.

Wendy Maslanka and Joseph Phillips, both recent Columbia College graduates, mingled within the crowds, not so much to show support, but more to realize their independent projects.

Maslanka was working with Carrie Mae Weems, an accomplished photographer, to document Grant Park rally goers through fine-art photography. Maslanka decided to wear her American flag ring for the occasion, which she purchased following 9-11.

Phillips, a broadcast journalist, is in the midst of developing his own non-profit news online entity, SC News Media. He was conducting man-on-the-street interviews to post on YouTube.com. "I do this because I love it," he said, as he stood, microphone in hand, next to his tripod-mounted camera.

Also navigating his way through the crowds was Ralf Oberti, an international documentary filmmaker and cinematographer who was working on a piece for English Aljazeera.

Peering out into the large swarms of people, at the line for ticketed rally-goers, at families holding hands and friends dancing and cheering, it seems everyone had a story to tell. Everyone had a reason they were drawn to Grant Park. Everyone, it seems, stood out.

You couldn’t miss the large groups of muscular men in bright orange T-shirts walking down Michigan Avenue – members of the Laborers’ International Union of North America, which endorsed Obama for President. “Obama represents change for the better,” said Chicago resident and union member Juan Munoz (right) as he stood with fellow union member Ladislao Juarez. “The economy, turn it around, bring it back for the working class.”

Just down the road, another union had representation. But this one is on strike. Unite Here Local 1 has been picketing the Congress Hotel for five years, ever since the company froze wages and cut benefits to its service employees. “I think the people on strike support Obama because he’s been on this picket line twice with us,” said boycott coordinator Jessica Lawlor. “He seems like someone who would support working people.” Obama also promised to return to the union’s picket lines when elected, Lawlor said.

Alex Hunt, a junior at Missouri State University, flew to Chicago to attend the Obama rally as well as draw attention to a cause he supports. Through MSU’s Christian Campus House, a relationship developed with community members from Santiago Atitlan, Guatemala. Together they are building a hospital. Women from Guatemala handmade bracelets and necklaces with red, white and blue beads, which Hunt brought to the rally to sell. Their goal is $10,000.

As night fell on Chicago, the energy in Grant Park grew. Rally goers expressed themselves in different ways – some played music, others danced. One man walking with his family while carrying a camcorder, turned the camera on himself and said, “Forty or fifty years from now, I’ll be looking at this tape and say, ‘I was there.’”

Richard Ledford held an anti-war protest sign with members of The World Can’t Wait, a non-profit that does not agree with Obama’s defense plans in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

Ledford said he chose to support Green Party candidate Cynthia McKinney over Obama because, “we need an alternative choice, especially in this city.”

It was about 10 p.m. when word spread through Grant Park like wildfire.

One woman on her cell phone cried out in tears of joy to the masses, “It’s over! It’s over! Barack Obama is President!”

A thunder of cheers erupts. Drivers passing by honk their horns, while passengers hang out car windows. New has reached the rally, Obama will be our next president.

The celebration takes on full force.

Silence is only heard when Obama speaks. But his words ignite more cheers.

If ever there was a night to break-out-the-band on Harrison Street, this was the night.

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Oct. 31, 2008 – One of the first things state Rep. Greg Harris does in the morning is update his Facebook status.

"Greg Harris is [at] Chicago House bakery opening this am, community mental health meeting this pm, and Truman College Economy Forum tonight," Harris wrote just before 5:30 a.m. Oct. 21.

Like many Facebook users, Harris lets his "friends" know what he's up to. But as an elected official, Harris also uses Facebook as a new way to reach his constituents.

"I'm surprised at the number of constituents who found me," said Harris, a Democrat who represents Illinois' 13th District on Chicago's Northside, and who is running for election in one of the 118 House seats. "Who I hear from, I might not otherwise have contact with; they don't call the district office."

Harris is one local official who has jumped on the bandwagon of free communication through social networking websites, a tool proven successful for candidates seeking to connect with younger voters.

Christine Williams, a professor of international studies and government at Bentley University in Massachusetts, began investigating the impact of Facebook support on candidates' vote counts in 2006. Her findings show it's worth it for candidates to invest the time in Facebook pages.

"As for the effectiveness, we found that if a candidate had twice as many Facebook supporters as his or her opponent, it added a few percentage points to the vote share after controlling for things like money raised, media coverage, etc.," Williams said.

Williams found that Facebook presence impacted both the 2006 congressional races and the 2008 presidential primaries, especially in caucus states. And she said the relationship was strong in predicting the youth vote turnout.

For example, her data shows the more support presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill) received from Facebook members in each state, the better he performed in that state's nominating contest. After controlling for variables, the results show Obama's vote share increased by nearly 0.4 percent.

Facebook support had an even greater impact on Sen. Hillary Clinton's (D-NY) vote counts in the Democratic Presidential Primary, according to William's study, with an estimated increase of 1.1 percent.

Rep. Ruth Munson of Elgin, a Republican who represents Illinois' 43rd District in Chicago's northwest suburbs, started her Facebook page over a year ago because she was intrigued by the communication her children, now 18 and 21, had with their friends.

"It gives me an insight into young people and what they're doing," said Munson, a software developer. How else could she talk with friends in Ireland, South Korea and with an intern at her office at the same time in a single morning, she asked.

"I've always tried to find ways to hear what people have to say. Every resource we have to do that, we have to use," said Munson, who is in a heated race against Democrat Keith Farnham, who does not have a Facebook account.

Farnham's campaign manager John Valadez said they never thought about setting up a social networking profile. He also pointed out that profiles can be used for negative campaigning because it is offers a setting for people to post any information they choose.

Kim Martin, a political science professor at the Graham Center for Public Service at the University of Florida at Gainsville, said social networking sites could be an effective means for mobilizing young voters, who traditionally have a poor showing at the polls.

"Young voters want to feel like they have a connection to a politician. To do this, the politician needs to create an image that the student can relate to," said Martin, who is studying public officials' effectiveness in reaching young voters through Facebook. "If a student can see that a politician likes skiing or The Godfather, it really puts the candidate's personality into perspective."

Martin said state and local public officials have not been using Facebook as much as politicians at the federal level. The Obama campaign, she said, has been extremely active.

"My research partner and I speculate that if politicians were to utilize this medium, they could reach more voters than could be imagined," Martin said. "But of course, it remains to be seen whether those voters will actually get out and vote."

Harris, who is running uncontested this year, said about a quarter of his approximately 400 Facebook friends are in his Northside Chicago district. Munson has had similar success. But not everyone in the Illinois General Assembly has found social networking as useful.

Rep. Karen May, a four-term Democrat from the northern suburb of Highland Park also up for re-election next week, set up her Facebook page to reach younger voters and get the word out about the Clean Cars bill she sponsored.

"It has been of limited usefulness so far, perhaps because I don't have the staff to help manage it and give specific calls to action," May said. "I honestly don't think it has achieved my goal of getting students to contact their legislators."

Martin said it could take longer for state and local politicians to catch up to congressional members and others who've successfully used social networking, especially since young people are less likely to get involved in local politics.

However, she said public officials should keep in mind that 96 percent of the college students she polled have active Facebook or MySpace profiles. Utilizing those websites would be worthwhile.

"This is evidence that if you want to reach young people, this is where you should go," Martin said.

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Oct. 16, 2008 – They call themselves "Greens." They are left of center, environmentally progressive and despise the country's two-party political system. While this movement has long called Rogers Park home, it has quietly gained speed throughout the rest of Chicago.

They are the Green Party of Illinois. And with Rich Whitney's success two years ago collecting nearly 11 percent of the vote statewide as the third-party candidate in the gubernatorial election, the Greens broke the state's threshold of 5 percent that is required to be recognized as a major party. This makes it much easier for Green candidates at every level to get on the ballot in Illinois.

Now a record number of Green Party candidates — 60 across the state — are running at county, state and federal levels. Fifty of those are slated to be on  ballots in Cook County, nearly the number of candidates the Republican Party is running in Cook County.

"We're actually vying to become the second party in Chicago, and we're in a good position to do that," said Green Party spokesman Patrick Kelly.

Green Party candidates are the only challengers taking on Democratic incumbents in two state legislative races covering Rogers Park on the city's far Northside. In Senate District 7, Tom Durkin is taking on Sen. Heather Steans, and in House District 14, the Greens are running John Beacham against Rep. Harry Osterman.

"This whole thing is to give people a choice, which is not something you often get in Chicago," Kelly said.

Beacham, a three-year resident of Rogers Park and English teacher at Harper College, said the neighborhood community has embraced the Green Party as an alternative to the Democrats.

"What I want to do is try to reach as many people as possible," said Beacham, 40, who is also a member of the Party for Socialism and Liberation and is active with the ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) Coalition of Chicago. "I'm running to promote independent grassroots activism as a means to best accelerate the end of the war, stop the gentrification of Rogers Park and to support statewide healthcare."

Steans, the freshman senator in Illinois 7th District who faces Green Party candidate Tom Durkin, acknowledged the high number of Green Party candidates running this year.

"Whether that will continue," she said, "it's hard to tell. I think a lot of dissatisfaction with the current governor enabled that."

Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who won the 2006 election, has been accused of enabling pay-to-play politics and is under federal investigation.

But Durkin hasn't formed a campaign committee and hasn't raised the minimum $3,000 that would require him to file finance reports. In contrast, Steans raised nearly $120,000 in the first six months of this year.

David Fuchs, political expert and one of the original organizers of the Chicago Police Department's community outreach program CAPS, said he wouldn't be surprised if Green Party candidates who aren't actively campaigning still collect a significant number of votes.

The political "machine" under Mayor Richard J. Daley doesn't exist the way it used to, Fuchs said. Loyalty to the Democratic Party in Chicago continues, but many more people are taking a stand against corruption, Fuchs said, making the Green Party is a good alternative.

"There is a real culture in Rogers Park for civic activism," said Fuchs, who sees it as a carryover from the civil rights movement of the 1960s — an era when many activists began calling Rogers Park home. "Look at (50th Ward Ald.) Joe Moore. He's not a typical Chicago alderman, and he represents that attitude of Rogers Park."

David Fagus, 49^th Ward Democratic Committeeman said Greens have seen success only on the very local level. 

"I think that the Green party phenomenon in Rogers Park and the immediate surrounding area is attributable to the very liberal population we enjoy," Fagus said, speculating that might be where it ends, for now. "State representative and state senate races are too big for a local neighborhood collection of Greens to band together when you are talking 100,000 or 200,000 per district."

The Green Party is still a long way from being a mainstream political party, said Kent Redfield, political science professor emeritus at the University of Illinois at Springfield. Part of the issue, he said, is Greens largely attract a certain demographic: higher income, college educated and urban dwelling.

"If you're going to be a viable alternative to the Democrat or Republican Party, you've got to broaden your base," Redfield said.

Redfield said in U.S. history, third parties surged following situations of social hardship, such as after the Great Depression. But those third-party followings were soon enveloped by one of the two major parties.

Robert Rudner, 49th Ward Green Party Committeeman, co-founded the Chicago Greens in 1987. He called attention to the differences between Greens and Democrats, including, most importantly, he said, "an ecological point of view and an ecological lifestyle."

But Redfield said the Green Party needs more than then environmental card.

"If you're just an environmental party, nowadays everyone is an environmentalist," Redfield said.

Fagus believes the Greens have an opportunity to make an impact on issues, but said the political environment is not there for them to win over a Democrat yet.

Thomas O'Brien , Green Party candidate for Cook County state's attorney, said the Green Party is focused on building that long-term third-party foundation.

"The history of third parties has been compared to a bee — they sting and then die," he said. "The party must run candidates in as many races as possible to ensure that voters begin to recognize that there is a third option."

If the Green Party could get 5 percent of the votes nationwide this year, then the party could get access to federal matching campaign funds, approximately $85 million.

"Without the funds it will be hard for a Green candidate to win in high, population areas," O'Brien said.

The closest the Green Party has come was during the 2000 presidential election where Ralph Nader received over 2.8 million votes, 2.74 percent. Although he fell short of that 5 percent, the election did qualify the Greens for ballot status in many new states.

"I believe that as things are currently structured, there is little opportunity for the Green Party to win," Fagus said.

Kelly is optimistic the Green Party will continue on past this November's election as a viable third option.

"A lot of people over the past couple years have really embraced this green lifestyle. We as a party have been talking about that for a long time," he said. "I would encourage people to look at the candidates and really try to figure out who is going to be green when they're elected."

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Oct. 5, 2008

ST LOUIS -  It’s all about Sarah.

At what was expected to be one of the most-viewed vice presidential debates in history, Delaware Sen. Joe Biden and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin went toe-to-toe Thursday night at Washington University.

What sets this debate apart from vice presidential debates past? Palin and the undecided voter.

“We’re in an unusual year — the fact that [Palin] is a woman and particularly the fact that she is a woman in the aftermath of the Hillary Clinton campaign,” said Vincent Hutchings, an associate professor at the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research Center for Political Studies.

A poll conducted last month by the Associated Press found that 18 percent of would-be voters don’t know who they want to win Nov. 4th. When compared to this same time four years ago, undecided voters totaled only 4 percent.

Hutchings, an expert in elections, public opinion and voting behavior, said that traditionally, vice presidential debates haven’t impacted swing voters they way this year’s match up could.

While Washington University seniors and Obama supporters Kristine Agbayanbi from San Jose, Calif., and Jennifer Rogier of St. Louis, didn’t know what to expect before the debate, they left the arena Thursday night with a newfound respect for the Alaska governor.

“With all the hype surrounding both of them, I think they both did really well,” Agbayanbi said.

“Their back-and-forth dialogue was really intriguing,” Rogier said.

Hiral Desai, a Washington University junior from Chicago, was an Obama-Biden supporter before she walked through the doors of the debate arena. That didn’t change after listening to the candidates for 90 minutes.

“She impressed me a lot. I found some of her points valid for sure, but I’m still supporting Obama and Biden.”

For first-time voter Rachel Bauer, 23, of Eau Claire, Wis., the fact that Palin is a woman is not the cause of her indecisiveness. Bauer wants to hear more specifically what each side of the ticket plans to do to address the economy, turmoil within financial institutions and the downturn on Wall Street.

“I feel just because she’s a woman she’s getting a lot of attention, and I don’t remember that much attention being focused on the vice presidential candidates in the last election,” Bauer said. “It’s important that people listen to both sides and don’t just vote for somebody just because somebody else is.”

Eric Samuelson, 35, of Chicago watched the debates on television.

“The reason I’m so undecided is, I really want to hear something, and I don’t necessarily know what that something is — but I want them to tell me something they’re going to do that is going to make the next four years different than the last eight,” Samuelson said.

Samuelson said he was impressed with both Palin’s and McCain’s performances.

“I thought [Palin] showed a lot of knowledge on foreign policy and the economy,” said Samuelson. “I think Biden did an excellent job as far as attacking John McCain and not attacking Palin in any way.”

Samuelson was also impressed with Palin’s sociability when she asked Biden if she could call him Joe at the start of the debate.

“She’s got a certain level of charm just like Barack does,” he said.

While Samuelson plans to watch the two remaining presidential debates to help him who will win his vote, political science professor Michael Mezey at DePaul University in Chicago does not see this debate making a significant difference.

“There is no evidence that any vice presidential debate has ever had any impact on the election,” Mezey said.

“It’s all about perception,” Mezey said. “Nobody will remember the policy that was discussed — it will be personal impressions on the candidates.”

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Submitted on Sat, 03/22/2008 – 17:53.

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