Cute. Ann Wiens in the New Art Examiner (April) recalls a discussion last year in which “the panelists were artist/activists whose work addresses ecology and the environment. An audience member asked where beauty fit into their work. After a long, uncomfortable silence one of the panelists said, ‘It really isn’t a concern. Is there another question?’”
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Yes, Chicago kids count, but can their advocates? “There was a 17% increase in the proportion of Chicago children living in poverty between 1979 and 1989….Child poverty increased in most community areas….These statistics give no immediate cause for optimism.” So says Voices for Illinois Children (VIC) in Chicago Kids Count: Community by Community Profiles of Child Well-Being, widely publicized in late March as part of a campaign to greatly increase state spending on schools, welfare, health care, and housing. But the numbers are not as clear-cut as VIC made them sound. Yes, the percentage of Chicago children living in poverty did rise from 28.5 to 33.3 during the 1980s. But the number of Chicago children in poverty declined during the 1980s (from 244,821 to 240,968). The number of Chicago families with kids in poverty declined during the 1980s (from 36,268 to 35,417). And the number of Chicago female-headed households in poverty declined during the 1980s (from 26,118 to 25,225). Which prompts a question for lobbyists: when trying to wheedle money from stingy suburban Republicans, do you tell the whole truth, or do you try to dazzle them with apocalyptic-sounding percentages?
Making amends in advance for Maxwell Street? UIC News (March 16) quotes counselor Jose Perales: “UIC had 50 Latinos in 1975. As of fall 1993, there were 2,015.”
