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The fringes on both sides of the political spectrum are drowning out the center, particularly in urban communities like Chicago where our traditions and values are being challenged by those who seek revolution, not resolution.
At the same time, people worried about the direction their community and society are taking, especially with very real challenges facing their families, have no organized outlet and few, if any, leaders to look to as they seek to counter the assault.
The Urban Center, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, focuses on building back the “center” within communities and leaders in and around Chicagoland and beyond by leading and engaging them on issues of importance to their communities and forcing accountability among the elected officials who represent these communities.
Coalition building, community organizing, and public action
Leader recruitment, development, and advocacy
Developing and promoting an issue-based “common sense” agenda and public policy
In order to succeed, a two-pronged approach is needed that compliments the work of The Urban Center, a 501-c3 organization with the aggressive political and fundraising agenda of The Urban Center ACTION, a political action committee. The Urban Center ACTION will seek to impact key political races, both locally and statewide, to secure and/or win over seats, and ensure the voice of the community and our agenda is respected and championed by elected officials at various levels of government.
Organized efforts on one extreme coming from such groups as the Chicago Teachers Union, the United Working Families Party, and its affiliated entities have access to a nearly unlimited budget to use for political activities, so it will be critical for The Urban Center ACTION to leverage its own network of interested donors to execute its political agenda.
Raising significant political dollars to support and sustain this work requires buy-in from like-minded individuals interested in supporting this common-sense vision and agenda. Deploying political capital will amplify the organization’s mission and presence and will help seed the growth of long-term champions of our cause necessary to push back against the unbridled progressive march.
As such, The Urban Center ACTION should lean on polling, election analysis, and other due diligence to regularly assess local and state opportunities to engage in political races and local issue conversations. The work of The Urban Center will lay the groundwork and organize emerging community leaders into public service. However, we don’t need to aspire to play everywhere at all times. Instead, we should aspire to have the capacity to impact races that truly matter and are winnable within and around Chicagoland.
With Chicago’s elected school board, Cook County State’s Attorney and other state and local elections coming immediately, The Urban Center ACTION’s candidate recruitment, development, and support activities must begin in earnest—ASAP. However, we should not make the mistake of assuming the progressive assault is relegated to the City of Chicago alone. It is not. It is quickly infiltrating the political landscape of suburban communities.
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If you are concerned about the direction your community is taking or where our “leaders” are taking us and believe you can lead others to a better place, take action and become engaged!
