Gail Schechter
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On the Blog Post Election Reflection: Local Elections Matter
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On the article Caucus Party Needs to Open Its Eyes: Crime is a 'Reality' in Skokie
Gail Schechter
7:14 pm on Monday, February 18, 2013
ReplyInstead of parsing out numbers, we need to acknowledge that the issue of which we as Skokie residents should all be concerned is a diminished sense of community. We have a heterogeneous community and that's something to be proud of. But it also means that it takes effort on all our parts to get to know our neighbors. It may be easier to fear strangers but all of us suffer when the cry for more police and more fences overcomes the social impulse. To its credit, the Village voices pride in this diversity and is recruiting new leaders. I look forward to the day when the leadership in Skokie fully reflects the ethnic, age, and economic diversity of our suburb, We all love Skokie and want to see it thrive. Talk to the parents who visit the ELL Parents Center on Kenton. Here's what one young immigrant mother wrote as part of a writing project, and her strong feeling comes through the tentative English: "I enjoy living here. I feel comfortable because of the beauty, nice people, and a good environment makes excellent emotions."
I would suggest to Skokie candidates and incumbents alike that all the ingredients for a healthy community are already here: our residents. All of us, regardless of whether we are renters or homeowners, newcomers or old-timers, disabled or independent, native born or immigrants, young or old, living as single parents or in multiple generations, and in which neighborhood, don't need more police. We need to be treated - and treat each other - with respect.
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On the Blog Post Stopping Violence: What Fair Housing and Public Health Have in Common
Gail Schechter
11:03 am on Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Fear of the "Other" comes from ignorance. In the case of suburbs and neighborhoods, where people live only with people like themselves -- whether by choice or lack thereof due to few resources or racial steering -- they risk losing their capacity for empathy, becoming numb as they are more and more cocooned in their own realities. Whether poor or rich neighborhoods, predominantly Black or Latino or Asian or White, that isolation and boredom -- especially where there are no jobs or other viable options for our youth -- breeds a despair that, if not addressed, makes violence its only relief. In addition to the excellent study that Jennifer cites above, check out "Divided We Fall: Gated and Walled Communities in the United States" (http://www.asu.edu/courses/aph294/total-readings/blakely%20--%20dividedwefall.pdf): "Gated communities manifest a number of tensions, between notions of civic responsibility and exclusionary aspirations rooted in fear and protection of privilege; between the trend toward privatization of public services and the ideals of the public good and general welfare; and between the need for personal and community control of the environment and the dangers of creating outsiders of fellow citizens." It's time to wake up, North Shore neighbors, and do the work of building communities of connection.
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On the Blog Post Letter to Editor - re: Yard Sign Vandalism in Winnetka
Gail Schechter
2:03 pm on Thursday, October 11, 2012
ReplyJen, this neighbor's letter is deplorable. A real community, as theologian Jean Vanier has written, "is for people and for their growth; and in fact, its beauty and unity come from the radiance of each person in their truth, love and union with others.” Instead, I hear evidence of the opposite of community, one that "is committed to itself – to appearing perfect, stable and secure” and forgetting about supporting its people. I see no justification whatsoever for mean-spiritedness from the letter-writer on Oak.
If there's a silver lining at all, it should be a signal to Village of Winnetka leaders that there's a need for modeling civility and mutual respect among all. President Tucker did a commendable job last year at contentious meetings on affordable housing to admonish all in the Board room to show mutual respect. I'd like to see that extended to all within Winnetka's borders.
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On the Blog Post Letter to Editor - re: Yard Sign Vandalism in Winnetka
Gail Schechter
2:02 pm on Thursday, October 11, 2012
ReplyJen, this neighbor's letter is deplorable. A real community, as theologian Jean Vanier has written, "is for people and for their growth; and in fact, its beauty and unity come from the radiance of each person in their truth, love and union with others.” Instead, I here evidence of the opposite of community, one that "is committed to itself – to appearing perfect, stable and secure” and forgetting about supporting its people. I see no justification whatsoever for mean-spiritedness from the letter-writer on Oak.
If there's a silver lining at all, it should be a signal to Village of Winnetka leaders that there's a need for modeling civility and mutual respect among all. President Tucker did a commendable job last year at contentious meetings on affordable housing to admonish all in the Board room to show mutual respect. I'd like to see that extended to all within Winnetka's borders.
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On the Blog Post An Open Letter to Governor Quinn
Gail Schechter
10:35 am on Friday, March 23, 2012
Very thoughtful commentary, Jim. At least there is no place where "animosity" against affordable housing is unanimous. I think that if the state is serious about treating all communities equal in terms of setting a minimum percentage of affordable housing, then the state also needs to give these towns some customized leeway in meeting that goal -- while standing absolutely firm on the goal. For better or worse, there needs to be a stick along with the carrot precisely because, as you say, "there will always be a minority of well to do who will segregate themselves." As Michael Ignatieff writes so astutely, "The pathos of need, like the pathos of all truly verbal claims to the justice or mercy of another, is that need is powerless to enforce its right. It justifies an entitlement only if the powerful understand themselves to be obliged by it."
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On the article Updated: Winnetka Votes Down Affordable Housing Referendum
Gail Schechter
2:05 pm on Wednesday, March 21, 2012
ReplyOfficial statement of Interfaith Housing Center of the Northern Suburbs regarding the Winnetka referendum:
Yesterday, 2,030 Winnetka voters voted No and 692 voted Yes on a referendum worded by the Winnetka Home Owners Association: “Should the Village of Winnetka expand our existing Affordable Housing Plan?”
The question is, what direction does this provide the Village of Winnetka with regard to affordable housing? The answer is none at all. Winnetka voters received not one iota of information in advance of the election about the nature of the “existing affordable housing plan,” the definition of affordable housing or proposals for expansion. Moreover, the referendum, as a policy issue, is non-binding by state law. Winnetka continues to have an affordable housing plan on file with the state of Illinois. Nothing has changed.
Objectively speaking, a relative handful of Winnetka voters took part in a primary election that mattered mainly to one party, and hence was innately skewed. In the voting booth, this unrepresentative sampling of village residents encountered a vaguely written referendum issue, presented without history or context. The results prove nothing about the state of opinion in Winnetka as a whole regarding the desirability of affordable housing. We are confident that in a general election – involving wide village turnout, in-depth prior debate, and a fairly and substantively worded proposal – the results would be dramatically different. -
On the Blog Post African Americans Remain Few in the Northern Suburbs
Gail Schechter
6:47 pm on Friday, February 17, 2012
Thank you, Mr. Danziger, Jayarvarman, and Mr. Leming. I too would like to know how increased racial diversity in Winnetka would cause harm.
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On the Blog Post African Americans Remain Few in the Northern Suburbs
Gail Schechter
6:44 pm on Friday, February 17, 2012
ReplyIf you are interested in becoming a volunteer Housing Discrimination Investigator for the Interfaith Housing Center of the Northern Suburbs and helping to investigate a complaint or audit the housing market, please contact us. We provide training. Testing is a method of investigating discrimination that has been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court (Havens Realty Corp. v. Coleman: http://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/455/363/case.html). Thank you!
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On the Blog Post African Americans Remain Few in the Northern Suburbs
Gail Schechter
6:40 pm on Friday, February 17, 2012
Reply2. Discouraging Comments
A matched pair of testers inquired with an agent from a noted firm about an ad for a single family home for sale in Highland Park, found on Craigslist. Both testers were able to view the unit. Both indicated interest in looking at homes in the Highland Park area; however, the variable (African American) tester was asked if he was sure he wanted to live “way out” in Highland Park even though both testers were equally relocating from out of town to jobs within 10 miles of the suburb.3. Differential Treatment (more information given to control tester)
A matched pair of testers was assigned to inquire about a single family home for sale in Winnetka with a real estate agent from a noted firm. The home for sale was found online at the firm's website. Both testers indicated they would be interested in learning more about other homes for sale that were similar to the initial ad. The control (Caucasian) tester was shown the initial property assigned and given many listing sheets for other homes in the area. The variable (African American) tester was shown the initial property and given information for that property, but only a list of other properties in the area for sale, not listing sheets with information about each property.
Gail Schechter
9:05 am on Thursday, April 18, 2013
Readers: Vote last week? Why or why not?