Ms. Deborah Schultz (Carol Stream):
Ms. Schultz has bravely asserted her rights as a concerned
taxpayer, citizen and parent to keep important issues regarding
the local school board before the public. She has often faced
indifference, intimidation, and hostility but these attitudes
have not dissuaded her determination. She has been a leader
to other concerned parents by her willingness to speak up
at public meetings, to question authority, to exercise her
right to petition, and to help start a small grassroots organization
to let the public voice be heard on a number of issues. Ms.
Schultz has encouraged citizens to not just focus on a single
issue, but to sustain a pattern of participation in community
affairs. Her article, "When Censorship Prevails, Democracy
Fails," recently appeared in the Spring 1998 issue of
"Everyday Democracy," the Center's seasonal newsletter.
Mr. Richard O'Hara (Downers Grove): Mr. O'Hara has
been an active champion of environmental causes. He has served
his community as Treasurer of Neighbors for Open Space (the
campaign committee that helped pass the successful $75 million
bond referendum of the DuPage Forest Preserve District); as
an organizer for the Conservation Foundation; as an advisor
to the Pierce Downer's Heritage Alliance; and as an appointed
member of both the DuPage Environmental Commission and the
Downers Grove Park District's Natural Areas Advisory Committee
concerning the management of Belmont Prairie and Lyman Woods.
Mr. O'Hara is also an elected member of the School Board for
Elementary District 58 serving Downers Grove.
Mr. Jack Richman (posthumously, by his mother Marcella
Richman) (Wilmette): Mr. Richman was an indefatigable opponent
of government secrecy and pesticide spraying in his community.
In 1996, Mr. Richman turned his personal crusade against chemical
spraying into an informed community campaign by starting the
North Shore Citizen Coalition Against Adulticiding (NSCCAA)
to protest the use of toxic chemicals in the thirteen municipalities
served by the North Shore Mosquito Abatement District. Mr.
Richman was a champion of open government, frequently protesting
closed or eliminated public meetings and the enforced curtailment
of public participation in the democratic process. In the
face of personal harassment, he mobilized a number of citizens,
environmental experts, and activists to work for a policy
that considered the dangers of pesticide spraying in regard
to the development of cancers physical malformations and respiratory
problems as well as to the preservation of the total environment.
In light of his good works and untimely death, the civic group
has been renamed the "Jack B. Richman Environmental Coalition."
Mr. Porus Dadabhoy (Downers Grove): Mr. Dadabhoy is
a tireless civic contributor on a number of issues including
violence prevention, voter registration, airport reform, clean
elections and campaign finance reform, and the promotion of
whistleblower laws and the rights of immigrants. It is hard
to encounter Mr. Dadabhoy without his ever-present clipboard
and petition on any number of issues for which he has tried
to increase the public voice and direct participation in reforming
failed public policies. Through his dedication to democratic
principles, Mr. Dadabhoy has made participation and the attendant
processes more accessible to thousands of immigrants and citizens.
Mr. Dennis Hamm (Addison): Mr. Hamm is a citizen-at-large.
He is a member of the Board of Hispanics United of DuPage
County and a consistently constructive contributor to a number
of citizen causes from STOP (Send Township Officials Packing),
and Citizens for Airport Reform (C-FAR), to the Campaign to
Free the Tollways Steering Committee and voter registration
drives. He is the volunteer leader that every organization
and every citizen group wants to have on their side for his
willingness to help in any way possible from changing light
bulbs to drafting petitions to being fearless in speaking
up for the underdog in myriad public forums. His contributions
to advancing justice in his community are noteworthy on multiple
fronts, especially because they demonstrate sustained civic
habits and systemic participation.
Mr. Jack Koenig (Deerfield): Mr. Koenig is a superb
and relentless community organizer. He has organized more
than 76 disparate organizations and civic groups into an alliance
designed to make a difference. The Impact Alliance, which
he chairs, has made their muscle felt on a number of issues
throughout the state. Mr. Koenig has burnt up the fax lines
and has filled the email inboxes with his action alerts and
his general notices about upcoming civic events and issue
updates. His regular publication -- Grassroots America, keeps
thousands of people informed about the good works of a number
of organizations and multiple issues. Mr. Koenig is an inspiring
example of building systemic bridges on myriad issues and
across the political spectrum.
The Hispanic Council (by Mr. Luis Pelayo, President
and Founder) (Bensenville): The Hispanic Council was founded
in 1987 by its President and Founder, Mr. Luis Pelayo. The
Council's mission is to "assist and educate the community
in order to improve their standard of living." The Council
has been a vocal opponent of the unjust application of reform
laws that target immigrants and frequently comes to the assistance
of thousands of striking workers and families needing assistance
throughout the region. The Council has been a dynamic force
in increasing public capacity for participation by conducting
voter registration drives, by providing citizenship and leadership
seminars, and by establishing a hotline and reputation for
immediate and effective advocacy. Their creative application
of resources, from using a mariachi band to drown out the
Ku Klux Klan, to using radio to mobilize the community, has
been an inspiration to all community groups.
GAIN (the Government Accountability and Information
Network) (by Frank Portillo, Joan Portillo, Ray Baranak, Peggy
Haggerty, Joe Clark and Jack Koenig) (Oak Brook): GAIN is
dedicated to making Illinois the safest place to live, work
and play in America. GAIN is an organization that has evolved
first from a mission and then a strategy to use the airwaves
and the Internet to provide greater access to the public voice
and public information. This new organization is determined
to address the root causes of violence and social problems
in our communities through education and information dissemination.
In addition to hosting a weekly radio program, the group was
instrumental in helping to push for the passage of state legislation
to ensure electronic access to Illinois laws and lawmaker
records on the Internet.
Pilsen Neighbors Community Council (by Ms. Teresa
Fraga, President) (Pilsen): Pilsen Neighbors has been an organizing
catalyst since 1954 in the Pilsen community. This multi-issued,
multi-institutionally based grass-roots organization had been
a tireless leader in building public capacity to address the
most pressing issues of the community. In this past year,
Pilsen Neighbors has organized community leaders, businesses,
and citizens to protest against the planned tax increment
financing district that threatens to bring rising taxes and
gentrification that has been opposed by the neighborhood for
nearly three decades. In numerous public hearings, marches,
protests, tax forums, leadership meetings, and radio and television
appearances, the people of Pilsen have turned out -- hundreds
at a time -- to protect their interests, and because of the
skillful and sustained organizing work of the Pilsen Neighbors
Community Council. The Citizen Initiative Awards were first
presented in 1997 and are distributed each year at the Citizen
Advocacy Center's anniversary civic festival. For information
about past recipients or the nomination process, please contact
the Center at (630) 833-4080. # # #
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