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Both the 1999 and 2000 fiscal years were very busy for the Council. We were successful in securing substantial grants to launch our juvenile justice initiative; we developed a corporate collaboration with Pepsi-Cola General Bottlers, Inc. to sponsor the Annual Neighborhood Awards Dinner for three consecutive years; we released the results from our citywide survey on youth crime; we expanded the Women of the Millennium project; and we continued our strong tradition of providing public education through the publication of One City magazine.
Each year, the Council has raised the public policy bar on juvenile justice and diversity issues. Each year, the Council has expanded its core group of corporate and community partners. Each year, we have encouraged all stakeholders to make a deeper commitment to creating a fair juvenile justice system void of institutional racism. And each year, we have challenged all those who believe in equality to boldly denounce all forms of discrimination. Luckily, most have answered the call and welcomed the challenge.
Over the next several years, we will face some trying times that will test our character as a city and a nation. This country’s growing diversity and the effectiveness of policy recommendations to manage the "browning of America," represent one of our greatest challenges—on issues ranging from education to transportation.
Will we utilize the human resources available to us or will we balkanize ourselves into mini-ghettos fighting for the crumbs of power while the pie gets sliced by the same people who have been holding the knife for years?
The Council believes that we must all work together through a common agenda. We may have some disagreements on how to solve the problems or address the issues, but we must all agree that the issues and problems need to be addressed. We must find linkages between business, community, government, education, and civic life. And simply put, that linkage is quality of life and access to opportunity. If we fail to provide a complementary measure of both, we lose—big time! And all the programs, political rhetoric, money, and well-meaning people won’t be able to help us.
Now, we challenge you, our policy and political leaders, philanthropists, civic and business leaders, and community advocates to vigorously support ideas and programs that address/promote access to opportunity; specifically, the opportunity for a decent education, the opportunity for a living wage job, the opportunity to purchase housing without fear of racial/ethnic harassment, the opportunity to be seen as more than a criminal or super predator, the opportunity to be safe in one’s home or community, and the opportunity to crash through the glass ceiling or rise above the sticky floor—in a phrase, the opportunity for a decent quality of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Sound familiar?
As usual, we thank you for your past support and look forward to working with you as we embark on our fourth decade of service to the city of Chicago.
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 Lucretia A. Bailey President |
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