Citizen Week of Oct. 31, 2018
| Vol. 2 | No. 12 | www.thechicagocitizen.com
SUBURBAN TIMES WEEKLY
In 1889 when Matteson was incorporated it had 500 residents. Today, according to census data, it has 19,009 residents and 78 percent are black. Photo credit: Wendell Hutson
SOUTH SUBURBAN MATTESON CHANGING FOR THE BETTER Up until two years ago, Sheila Chalmers-Currin was a longtime resident of south suburban Matteson, but today she is the village’s mayor and its biggest advocate for change. SEE PAGE 3
ART SCENE
Artprice and Artron Have Just Created an 'Art Media Mogul' PAGE 2
TRAVEL
Friendsgiving dinner at NOELLE, part of Tribute Portfolio PAGE 2
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POLITISCOPE
Voter suppression, a southern tradition, still flourishes today PAGE 4
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NEWS
Jane Elliot Visits South Suburbs To Discuss Race and American Bias PAGE 7
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2 | CITIZEN | Suburban Times Weekly | Week of Oct. 31, 2018
ART SCENE Artprice and Artron Have Just Created an 'Art Media Mogul' After seven years of collaboration, cultural exchange and regular trips between China and Europe, the two founders and presidents of Artron and Artprice, WAN Jie and Thierry Ehrmann (who are exactly the same age and share the same commitments), share the same vision of the Global Art Market and the same passion for Art within the context of a loyal and mutually respectful friendship. This long and infallible relationship has allowed both groups to work extremely quickly without cultural barriers to build an "Art Media Mogul". By analogy, it's exactly as if Baidu and Google were merging their respective knowledge. Artron is the world's largest printer of art books with more than 60,000 books and auction catalogues and a total publication volume of 300 million a year. Artron.net is the most respected brand in the Chinese art world. Artron is celebrating his 25th anniversary. Established in 1993, Artron Art Group celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. Artprice is the world leader in Art Market Information since 1987 with 4,500,000 members in its databanks with information from 6,300 auctioneers, and publishes a
Artprice and Artron have just created an “Art Media Mogul.” Photo Credit: PRNewsfoto/Artprice
constant flow of art market trends for the world's principal news agencies and approximately 7,200 international press publications. Artprice gives access to the world's leading
Standardised Marketplace for buying and selling art. Recently, at Artprice's head office in Lyon, France, Artron CEO and founder, WAN Jie,
along with his staff, and Artprice CEO and founder, Thierry Ehrmann, along with his staff, signed a historic agreement between the two groups.
TRAVEL
Tribute Portfolio Hotels Launches 'Friendsgiving' Packages
Friendsgiving dinner at NOELLE, part of Tribute Portfolio.
Tribute Portfolio, Marriott International's newest collection brand, is known to bring together characterful hotels with vibrant social scenes that create a sense of belonging for global travelers and local residents alike. And now, the independent hotel brand will offer a playful Friendsgiving package at participating U.S. hotels – reimagining traditional Thanksgiving celebrations with a hint of wit and whimsy among friends. Celebrating the spirit of comradery in creative communities around the country, the Tribute Portfolio brand's Friendsgiving package will offer overnight accommodations; a communal culinary experience with an unexpected twist on traditional Thanksgiving staples; throwback board games and classic cocktails that will set the stage for the music to play a little louder and friends to linger a little longer into the night. "With 28 hotels opened and growing, Tribute Portfolio has struck a chord with travelers who have an insatiable appetite to collect independent experiences and connect with local communities," said Jennifer Connell, Vice President, Brand Marketing & Management, Tribute Portfolio Hotels. "This Friendsgiving package is a light-hearted way to showcase our hotels' captivating design, vibrant social spaces and sincere service in a way that brings together travelers and locals as well as friends and family." Each participating hotel will center its experience around locally-inspired culinary feast. Guests visiting The Wick in Hudson can expect menu items like www.thechicagocitizen.com
turkey porchetta with giblet gravy, local heirloom tomato goat cheese tarts, crisp chicken liver pate, maple-roasted acorn with spicy pecans and pumpkin gingerbread tiramisu with a mini candied apple and cider donuts. Guests of Noelle in Nashville will enjoy marinated spaghetti squash salad with pumpkin seeds and ricotta, whole roasted chicken with savory leek dressing, whipped sweet potatoes with brûlée marshmallow fluff and pecan pie with lemon-mascarpone crème fraiche, as well as signature cocktails like Blade and Bow Kentucky Bourbon with amaro, Giffard Banane du Brésil and Saigon cinnamon syrup. Tribute Portfolio aims to attract travelers looking for fresh experiences that reflect their own individuality. From boutique resorts like Inn at Rancho Santa Fe in California, to urban locales such as Apollo Hotel in Amsterdam, each Tribute Portfolio hotel creates spaces that foster a sense of community. On the horizon, Tribute Portfolio is expected add more than 10 new hotels to its portfolio in U.S. cities, including Asheville, Charleston and Savannah as well as international destinations, including Rotterdam, Helsinki and Cartagena. The Tribute Portfolio brand's Friendsgiving packages are bookable now through December 1st 2018 at Marriott.com/friendsgiving. Rates begin at $229 at the Wick Hotel in Hudson, NY; $399 at Noelle in Nashville, TN; and $563 at La Posada de Santa Fe in Santa Fe, NM. For more information about the brand, please visit: www.tributeportfolio.com.
CITIZEN | Suburban Times Weekly | Week of Oct. 31, 2018
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COMMUNITY
South suburban Matteson changing for the better Continued from page 1 BY WENDELL HUTSON Contributing Writer
Up until two years ago, Sheila Chalmers-Currin was a longtime resident of south suburban Matteson, but today she is the village’s mayor and its biggest advocate for change. Mayor Currin moved to Matteson from Chicago in 1983 just as so many other families did looking for a change in their lives. “Matteson is a good place to raise children,” said Chalmers-Currin, a wife and mother. “It is a place where you can live, shop and work.” Despite the village recently losing major retailers like Carson’s and Target, Chalmers-Currin said that has not stopped new businesses from coming to Matteson. Pete’s Fresh Market is set to open a Matteson store in 2019. Other developments underway include a 75-unit, assisted living facility for seniors; 306 new homes at the Brookmere complex and a Sam’s Fulfillment Center, which replaced the shuttered Sam’s Club store. And a Nov. 15 town hall meeting is set to discuss plans for redeveloping the former Lincoln Mall, which closed in 2015. “Lincoln Mall was a ‘cash cow’ back in
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The village of Matteson is located off Interstate 57 whose residents include U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly (D-IL). Photo credit: Wendell Hutson
the days. It was the place to go to if you wanted to do some serious shopping,” recalled Chalmers-Currin. “It had a variety of stores including major retailers and everybody came to Matteson to shop. People need to understand that retail did not just leave Matteson. More people are shopping online and retailers are closing their stores nationwide as a result.” One business Chalmers-Currin said she is not opposed to bringing to Matteson is a casino. “Too much money from Illinois is being spent in Indiana because of the casinos there,” said Chalmers-Currin. Continued on page 5
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Longtime Matteson resident Sheila Chalmers-Currin is halfway through her first term as mayor of Matteson, a south suburb rebuilding its economic growth. Photo credit: Wendell Hutson T:10.75”
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4 | CITIZEN | Suburban Times Weekly | Week of Oct. 31, 2018
POLITISCOPE GEORGIA, LIKE MANY SOUTHERN STATES, HAS SUPPRESSED BLACK VOTERS EVER SINCE THE 15TH AMENDMENT GAVE AFRICAN-AMERICAN MEN THE RIGHT TO VOTE IN 1870. THE TACTICS HAVE SIMPLY CHANGED OVER TIME.
Georgia election fight shows that black voter suppression, a southern tradition, still flourishes Mississippi dropped from 22,000 to 12,000 – a mere 2 percent of eligible black voters. Political violence – including the 1955 attempted assassination of voting rights activist Gus Courts and murder of George W. Lee – accompanied the legal restrictions, showing the cost of black political independence.
BY FREDERICK KNIGHT
Georgia’s Republican Secretary of State Brian Kemp has been sued for suppressing minority votes after an Associated Press investigation revealed a month before November’s midterm election that his office has not approved 53,000 voter registrations – most of them filed by African-Americans. Kemp, who is running for governor against Democrat Stacey Abrams, says his actions comply with a 2017 state law that requires voter registration information to match exactly with data from the Department of Motor Vehicles or Social Security Administration. The law disproportionately affects black and Latino voters, say the civil rights groups who brought the lawsuit. As a scholar of African-American history, I recognize an old story in this new electoral controversy. Georgia, like many southern states, has suppressed black voters ever since the 15th Amendment gave African-American men the right to vote in 1870. The tactics have simply changed over time. DEMOCRATS’ SOUTHERN STRATEGY With black populations ranging from 25 percent to nearly 60 percent of southern state populations, black voting power upended politics as usual after the Civil War. During Reconstruction, well over 1,400 African-Americans were elected to local, state and federal office, 16 of whom served in Congress. Loyal to President Abraham Lincoln, whose Emancipation Proclamation sounded the death knell for slavery, black Americans flocked to the Republican Party. Back then, it was the more liberal of the United States’ two mainstream political parties. Southern Democrats fought back, using both violence and legislation. White paramilitary groups like the Ku Klux Klan and White Leagues threatened black candidates, attacked African-American
Frederick Knight
voters, pushed black leaders out of office and toppled Republican governments. After establishing single-party control over the South, white Democrats in the late 1800s instituted a poll tax, making voting too expensive for former slaves and their descendants. “White primaries” excluded blacks from choosing candidates in primary elections. These attacks proved effective. Between 1896 and 1904, the number of black men who voted in Louisiana plummeted from 130,000 to 1,342. After North Carolina U.S. Rep. George White retired, in 1901, the South would send no African-Americans to Congress until the 1972 election. VOTER SUPPRESSION IN JIM CROW MISSISSIPPI In the early 20th century, many black Americans voted with their feet, migrating north and west. Around the same time, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal – which instituted racial quotas in hiring for federal public work projects and included policies aimed at reducing inequality – was shifting northern black voters’ allegiance to the
Democratic Party. Black voters in northern cities began putting African-American Democrats into congressional office. But they did not give up on the South, pressing the Supreme Court to reaffirm voting rights in the 1944 case Smith v. Allwright, which prohibited white-only primaries. But black voter suppression remained deeply entrenched in the South. Several states required new voters to complete literacy tests before they could cast a ballot. In the 1880s, 76 percent of southern blacks were illiterate, versus 21 percent of whites. Strategies for excluding black voters evolved along with federal law. In reaction to Brown v. Board of Education, which in 1954 overturned “separate but equal” segregation laws, Mississippi in the same year modified its poll test. It asked voters to interpret a section of the state’s constitution, authorizing county registrars to determine whether the applicant’s answer was “reasonable.” Virtually all African-Americans, regardless of education or performance, failed. Within a year, the number of blacks registered to vote in www.thechicagocitizen.com
FIGHTING FOR THE VOTE Activists were not deterred. The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and the Congress of Racial Equality continued to wage grassroots voter registration campaigns and fight for official representation in the Democratic Party. In 1964, a new political party, the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, was founded to welcome “sharecroppers, farmers and ordinary working people.” The Freedom Democratic Party elected 68 delegates to attend the 1964 Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City, New Jersey, hoping to transform the all-white Mississippi delegation. Trying to broker a deal, national Democratic leaders extended Mississippi’s Freedom Democrats two nonvoting atlarge seats at the convention – a minor concession that led most white Mississippi party members to walk out in protest. Freedom Democrats rejected the two seats as tokenism, holding a sit-in on the convention floor in Atlantic City to highlight the lack of black political representation. BLACK VOTERS MAKE GAINS Over time, the civil rights movement sparked a political shift that dramatically changed the U.S. electorate. The 24th Amendment outlawed poll taxes in 1964, abolishing a major barrier to black enfranchisement in the South. Literacy tests, too, were restricted, under the 1965 Voting Rights Act. The Voting Rights Act also established federal oversight of voting laws to ensure equal access to elections, particularly in the South. By the early 21st century,
African-Americans constituted a majority of the registered Democrats in Deep South states from South Carolina to Louisiana. They turn out in high numbers and have been key voters for getting Democrats into office in the conservative-dominated South. VOTER SUPPRESSION TODAY Over the past decade, Republican lawmakers have chipped away at the last century’s advances, enacting voter ID laws that make it harder to vote. Claiming they seek to deter election fraud, some 20 states have restricted early voting or passed laws requiring people to show government ID before voting. Voter identification laws have hidden costs, research shows. Getting a government ID means traveling to state agencies, acquiring birth certificates and taking time off work. That puts it out of reach for many, a kind of 21st-century poll tax. Federal and state courts have overturned such laws in some states, including Georgia, North Carolina and North Dakota, citing their harmful effect on African-American and Native American voters. But the Supreme Court in 2008 deemed Indiana’s voter ID law a valid deterrent to voter fraud. Perhaps most damaging to black voters was a 2013 Supreme Court decision that weakened the Voting Rights Act. Shelby County v. Holder ended 48 years of federal oversight of southern voting laws, concluding that the requirement relied on “40-year-old facts that have no logical relation to the present day.” Current events show that voter suppression is hardly a thing of the past. From Georgia’s voter registration scandal to gerrymandered districts that dilute minority voting power, millions may be shut out of November’s midterms. Frederick Knight is an Associate Professor of History at Morehouse College.
CITIZEN | Suburban Times Weekly | Week of Oct. 31, 2018
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NEWS
South suburban Matteson changing for the better Continued from page 3 “I think ultimately a casino will come to this area even if it’s not in Matteson.” Aside from the economic rebuilding taking place in Matteson, longtime residents like Jamal Richardson and his wife Patricia said they continue to live in the village as empty nesters because it supports their lifestyle. “Our children have finished college, gotten married and are off living their own lives,” said Jamal, 64. “Now it is time for us to live the way we want without having to make anymore sacrifices other than for ourselves. Matteson is a quiet place to live especially for older people who do not want all that hustle and bustle you get living in Chicago.” Other reasons for living in Matteson, said Patricia, are the public schools, low crime rate and the social atmosphere. “After work I can go have dinner and drinks at a nice restaurant, I can get my hair, nails and feet done, grocery shop or anything else I desire
In 1889 when Matteson was incorporated it had 500 residents. Today, according to census data, it has 19,009 residents and 78 percent are black. Photo credit: Wendell Hutson
and I don’t have to leave Matteson to do it,” said Patricia. “How many people can say that about where they live? A lot of times you have to leave your community for goods and services because it is not available where you live, but that’s not the case if you live in Matteson.” The village is conveniently located off Interstate 57 and is also near other south suburbs, such has Tinley Park, Country Club Hills, Chicago Heights, Frankfort, Olympia Fields, and Richton Park. Matteson residents include U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly (D-IL), whose district
About 80 percent of Matteson residents are homeowners, according to its Mayor Shelia Chalmers-Currin, who said economic growth continues in the south suburb with a waiting list for some new homes under construction. Photo credit: Wendell Hutson
includes Matteson. “There are a lot of great people that live in the village and I’m proud to be a resident,” said Kelly. Matteson has a population of 19,009, according to census data, and 78 percent of its residents are black. The shift in demographics began in 1996 when 48 percent of the population was black for a village once 84 percent white in 1984. However, a change in demographics to mostly blacks from
white residents, in some ways could hurt Matteson economically, explained Percy Scott, executive director of the Chamber 57, a nonprofit that promotes and supports the growth and development of local communities. “African Americans are known to shop outside their communities whereas ‘general’ markets typically don’t,” said Scott. “But Matteson (still) has one of the highest household incomes in the region regard-
less of demographics. Matteson is a family community.” Much like the mayor and Scott, Matteson residents said they would recommend the village to anyone looking for a good place to live and raise a family. “There are senior and youth activities available in Matteson and the village is very safe,” said Jamal. “And there’s plenty of housing choices too. That’s why I love living in Matteson.”
6 | CITIZEN | Suburban Times Weekly | Week of Oct. 31, 2018
CITIZEN ON THE GO
Highlights From Lori Wilcox, Bloom Township Committeeman Birthday Celebration And Fundraiser
Left to Right: Cook County Board President Toni Preckwikle, Water Rec. Donna Miller, unidentified guest and supporter, Sen. Toi Hutchinson, Committeeman Lori Wilcox, Rich Township Highway Commissioner Calvin Jordan, unidentified supporter, State Rep. Robin Kelly, Cook County Commissioner Deborah Sims and Representative Debbie Meyers-Martin.
Carolyn Palmer Griffin, Sen. Toi Hutchinson and Rep. Robin Kelly
Calvin Jordan, Donna Miller, Toi Hutchinson, Lori Wilcox, Robin Kelly and Joey Stanford
Lori Wilcox surrounded by supporters at her Birthday and Fundrasing event held recently.
Pictured with Lori are her fundraising committe alone with her event chair Marva-Campbell Priutt.
Rep. Debbie Myers- Martin, State Rep. De Luca, Committeman Lori Wilcox and State Rep. Nicholas K. Smith. All Photos Provided by Gene Sparing
www.thechicagocitizen.com
CITIZEN | Suburban Times Weekly | Week of Oct. 31, 2018
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NEWS
Jane Elliot Visits South Suburbs To Discuss Race and American Bias BY KATHERINE NEWMAN
The Youth & Family Services Department of Thornton Township recently hosted Jane Elliot, at the South Suburban College Performing Arts Center in South Holland, to speak about conscious and unconscious bias and to give a message on equality and ways to overcome racism. Jane Elliott is an internationally known teacher, lecturer, diversity trainer, and recipient of the National Mental Health Association Award for Excellence in Education. Elliot gained notoriety, shortly after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s was assassinated, when she devised the Blue Eyes/Brown Eyes Exercise which famously labels participants as inferior or superior based solely upon the color of their eyes and exposes them to the experience of being a minority, according to information provided on Jane Elliots professional website. “We decided to bring Jane Elliot to Thornton Township because she is a dynamic woman who brings an interesting perspective that people need to hear,” said Dr. Jerry Weems, director of youth and family services at Thornton Township. “The community has responded well to us bringing global speakers like Jane and Dick Gregory.” Thornton Township Supervisor, Frank M. Zuccarelli, collaborated with the Youth and Family Services Department, the Human Relations Commission, and the Faith, Dignity, and Respect Initiative to sponsor this forum on Race and Bias. Elliot very light-heartedly discussed many of
Jane Elliot (pictured) recently visited South Suburban College to speak about conscious and unconscious bias and to give a message on equality and how to overcome racism. Photo Credit: Provided by Thornton Township
the experiences in her life that have made her ask questions about the role that race plays in people’s day to day lives, the way that race and religion are connected, and the way that people are perceived because of their race. “The only reason I got away with doing the Blue Eyes/Brown Eyes Exercise in my classroom in Iowa the day after Martin Luther King Jr. was killed was because I am a white woman and the only reason people ask me to come talk to them today is because I am a white woman. If a black man would say the
things that I say, he would never get hired “It is important to have these open conversations about conscious and unconscious bias. We can’t shy away from these important discussions because that’s how we can grow as a nation and grow individually,” said Ernst Lamothe Jr., communication manager at Thornton Township. While Elliot kept the tone of the entire event very light, she hit on some very real topics including how highly Americans regard certain physical features over others.
“We all need to realize that we assign power in the United States of America on the basis of physical characteristics of which we have absolutely no control. We assign power on the basis of height, skin color, gender, and age. That is ridiculous. I know 10-year-old black girls who understand more about race than I will ever be able to learn but they don’t have the power to stand up to a teacher that is making racists statements,” said Elliot. To learn more about Jane Elliot visit www. janeelliot.com.
National Organization Gifts Mortgage-Free Home To South Suburban Veteran BY KATHERINE NEWMAN
A Welcome Home ceremony was recently hosted for Army Specialist Marcus Moore who is the recipient of a customized mortgage-free home in Steger, IL thanks to Building Homes for Heroes. The home was specifically designed for Moore who suffered an injury while serving overseas that led to permanent damage in his ankle. Building Homes for Heroes is a national organization that supports the needs of severely wounded or disabled soldiers in the United States Armed Forces. The organization strives to build or renovate quality homes and gift mortgage-free homes to severely injured veterans nationwide, according to a press release announcing the Welcome Home ceremony. “Building Homes for Heroes began in 2006 and our founder was actually at ground zero during the 9/11 attacks. There was a big surge of enlistment immediately following that and a lot of what he noticed was that as our veterans were coming back, they were thankfully being welcomed with open arms but there was not much more than that happening,” said Daniel Del Fava, Building Homes for Heroes project manager on the Steger home. Building Homes for Heroes designs homes for veterans based on the nature and severity of their injury along with how it impacts their day to day life. Whether the gifted home is a brand new building or a customized renovation, all of the homes that are awarded to veterans are mortgage-free.
One of the ways that Moore’s new home was customized to better accommodate his needs is through the installation of a state-of-the-art YORK heating and cooling system that was donated by Johnson Controls. Moore’s ankle injury sometimes limits his mobility and with this new Wi-Fi-equipped heating and cooling system, he will be able to control the temperature of his home from anywhere in the house. Building Homes for Heroes currently has homes in 30 different States across the country, according to Del Fava. Many of their renovated homes, like Moore’s home in Steger, have been donated to the organization by JP Morgan Chase Bank. “We have a wonderful partnership with JP Morgan Chase Bank. They are donating 1,000 free homes to veteran assistance organizations and we are one of those organizations that they selected,” said Del Fava. To be considered for a renovated mortgage-free home from Building Homes for Heroes, interested veterans must first submit an online application. “There are three main criteria that we look for, the applicant cannot own a home or land, they would have been honorably discharged, and they would have been injured after Sept. 11, 2001. Those are the first three criteria that allow them to apply for our program and in the application, they select the homes in our inventory that they would be interested in,” said Del Fava. To learn more about Building Homes for Heroes and to view their current inventory of homes visit, www.buildinghomesforheroes.org. www.thechicagocitizen.com
Army Specialist Marcus Moore (pictured with his wife) was recently welcomed into his new mortgage-free home in Steger, IL that was gifted to him by Building Homes For Heroes. Photo Credit: Building Homes for Heroes
8 | CITIZEN | Suburban Times Weekly | Week of Oct. 31, 2018
*To be eligible for the down payment assistance of 3% of the home’s purchase price, up to $3,600, the property must be in one of the following eligible states: MI, IN, IL, KY, TN, OH, WV, NC, GA, FL and either located in a low Income Census Tract or borrower must meet the low income limit threshold based on the qualifying income per FFIEC website. Down payment assistance may be taxable as income and reported to the IRS. Consult your tax advisor. Not available with all loan products. Loans subject to credit review and approval. Prices and programs subject to change without notice. Fifth Third Mortgage Company, 5001 Kingsley Drive, Cincinnati, Ohio 45227, 1-877-841-7511, an Illinois Residential Mortgage Licensee. Licensed by the Department of Business Oversight under the California Residential Mortgage Lending Act and by the N.J. Department of Banking and Insurances. Fifth Third Mortgage Company d/b/a Fifth Third Mortgage Company Incorporated and licensed by the New Hampshire Banking Department. Fifth Third Mortgage is the trade name used by Fifth Third Mortgage Company (NMLS #134100) and Fifth Third Mortgage-MI, LLC (NMLS #447141). Fifth Third Bank, Member FDIC. Equal Housing Lender.