Member Memo

The other side of Mayor Daley... and most other speakers.

    It's always fun when you see a side of a speaker that you had no idea existed. That happened for me when Mayor Richard Daley discussed his proudest accomplishment. A longtime-Chicago-resident friend asked me to ask the Mayor that question. When he replied "education", I was surprised.

    He has such a list of accomplishments, besides being repeatedly elected mayor in one of the best cities in the U.S. The bid for the Olympics (including an athlete job training element the Olympic committee branded "unfair"). "Converting" Meigs Field to a public garden -- with some resistance. Working with Chicago City Council power brokers Ed Vrdolyak and Ed Burke. Keeping Chicago one of the few cities in the U.S. with miles of public park along a beautiful lakefront. Attracting large corporations to increase local jobs and tax base. Privatizing the parking meters and the skyway. But Daley stepped past all that and cited education.

    According to warnings from his political advisors, taking responsibility for the Chicago School System would be the end of Daley's political career. Poor graduation rates, a huge budget deficit and a teachers' union that was basically Democratic certainly stacked the deck against him. Well, the teachers' union part was right. Daley admitted that the only union that votes solidly for him is the one that includes his brother as a member. The ones that vote against him include the teachers. However, eliminating the partisan-elected school board and appointing members who could run the schools more efficiently has created progress.

    Something more about the quality of the man -- the fact that Daley even came to deliver the speech says something about his commitment. As we know now, his wife's illness was so severe that their daughter's wedding was moved up from January to the day after the Mayor spoke to your Club. Would you or I travel away to another state the day before a daughter's wedding, leaving a terminally ill wife, to deliver on a commitment made months ago? Richard Daley said he'd be here to speak, so he came.

    So many times Club speakers surprise us. They reveal a side of themselves that the national media (and especially scripted television broadcasts) never let us see. Sometimes that surprise is pleasant. Sometimes it is a disappointment. (I still list one speaker I introduced as the world's #1 insert your favorite derogatory noun. It was a very unpleasant surprise because I had to sit next to him on the dais.)

    Then again, that's the beauty of your Club. We're not a Republican club or a Democratic club. And we certainly don't have the problem Congress has in not listening to the other side. Your Club is dedicated to being informed, on a wide variety of topics, by people who strongly believe in their position. It may not be my or your personal position. (In fact, many aren't.) But hearing them speak with no media filters gives us a broader understanding of our position... ultimately far better than 99% of the country.

    Often the speakers that exceed my expectations, one way or the other, make that evening one of the more memorable ones. I guess that's why I chuckle when someone says, "Why do you invite all those (insert your most despised opposite opinion)." We invite people of influence because they are available at that time. Those serving in office often aren't available. But primarily we invite a wide range of speakers so their thoughts can help each of us clarify and improve our own position on significant topics. I appreciate that.

I hope that you do too, and that's why you are a member.

Perry Ballard, Club Secretary