"No one in this room wants to see another child die on the streets of Chicago," Spicer told the Reclaim crowd. Kids "kill each other over a stare, a look, a single act of disrespect. No more! This campaign means life or death."
Most significantly of all, the Reclaim Campaign is not on the outside of Cook County politics and power. Two county board members and the representative of a third, along with Board President Toni Preckwinkle, were present at the meeting. All four expressed solidarity with the Reclaim agenda and agreed to co-sponsor a County Board resolution calling for its implementation. Three more board members sent letters of support to the campaign, which were read at the meeting. Oh rarity! This is politics shaped by the will of the people.
And so it begins. As the meeting ended, the music cut once more to the heart. We left knowing it's time to rescue our young. It's time to reclaim Chiraq.
Robert Koehler is an award-winning, Chicago-based journalist and nationally syndicated writer. His new book, Courage Grows Strong at the Wound (Xenos Press) is now available. Contact him at Email address removed , visit his website at commonwonders.com or listen to him at Voices of Peace radio.
- 2013 TRIBUNE CONTENT AGENCY, INC.
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
1
1
1
