| Minding
Our Business

2009 What I’ve Learned
My resolution for 2009 was that
I would attend every City Council
meeting. I may have missed one when
I was on vacation, but all in all I did
pretty well. I promised myself that I
would just watch and learn, without
standing up and asking questions or
making statements. I did pretty well
there, too; keeping my thoughts to
myself as much as possible.
So what did I learn? I learned that
very few citizens attend the meetings,
and even fewer attend on a regular or
even semi-regular basis. In a city of
nearly 25,000 I would think that there
would be a bigger audience. If 1% of
the population showed up that would
be 200-250 in attendance. There
wouldn’t be room for them all. It is
sad to realize that there is a number
smaller than 1%. People may say that
they watch the City Council meetings
on channel 4, and perhaps they do,
but what happens if you’re watching
and something raises a question in
your mind? You can’t stand up at the
end of the meeting and ask about it if
you’re not there. You could go down
to City Hall and ask later, or call your
alderman, but will you?
People stop in our store fairly often
and complain about the city and
what’s “really” going on, but they
don’t attend the meetings. Who does
attend? The mayor, the aldermen, representatives
from the police, fire, and
public works departments, reporters
from some newspapers, and in 2009,
me and a very small handful, maybe
10-15 of other citizens.
There are organizations that are closely
aligned with the city, and they do
not even send a representative. How
do these groups find out about what
is happening? Are they briefed later?
Is this where rumors of closed door
meetings start? I was astounded that
even political hopefuls do not attend
all, or at least most of the meetings.
What do they, or will they, base their
campaigns on?
The only time most people attend is
when they have a special interest to
promote, or they are fearful of something
that might happen. I understand
the logic behind this, but I can’t help
but wonder; would people feel this
same sense of urgency or panic if they
attended. I’ve raised a lot of questions
here, and I have few answers. I
can only urge those who read this to
resolve to attend at least two meetings
this year. You know, some Tuesday
night when there’s nothing on but Biggest
Loser and American Idol re-runs,
come down and witness Blue Island’s
own reality show.
This year, my resolution is to become
fluent in Spanish.
Look for me at City Council,
Candace Carr
CARR home-garden-holiday
13114 S. Western Ave
708-824-9171

Never doubt that a small group
of thoughtful, committed citizens
can change the world.
Indeed, it’s the only thing that has
-Margaret Mead
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