The Heart & Soul of Chicago TM JANUARY 2020 Celebrating REE 24 Years of Service F to the Community SSaannddyy HHaarrtt RReecceeiivveess MMiikkvvaa LLeeaaddeerrsshhiipp AAwwaarrdd State Representative Rita Mayfield, Sandy Hart, President - Lake County Board, Former State Senator Susan Garrett, and Lauren Beth Gash - President- Founder, 10th District Democratic Organization. See story on page 11 Mary Ross Cunningham Achieves Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday for County See story on page 7 Toys For Tots Serve Over 7,000 Kids, Volunteers Make The Difference Chi Eta Phi Sorority of Nurses were among the volunteers. See story on page 15 Page 2 Chicago People’s Voice January 2020 nor in the State of Illinois history. e year 2019 Carolyn Jean Pope announced that she is retiring as the entrepreneur of closed out a decade of Pope’s Florist and moving to Atlanta. Pope’s Florist is one of two African the 21st Century with American owned floral shops in Lake County. Real Men Grill introduced hopes for a new year of a County Wide cook-off of African American Men. Renee Whitehead cel - expectations as we as a ebrated 30 years as one of Lake County’s few female barbers. society and as human- On a sad note for newspapers and the newspaper industry, more than kind advances forward 100 local and regional newspapers folded due to competition from the in - into the future. Many ternet, fewer ad sales, and loss in readership. According to the Associated of us lost loved ones, Press, more than 1,400 newspapers/ magazines / publications have gone friends and family out of business over the last 15 years. e most notable of these were Ebony members and we cher - and Jet magazines which were a staple of the African American Community ish our memories and for about 70 years. the contributions that On the national level, President Donald Trump was impeached by the they made to our lives. United States Congress and awaits a trial by the U.S. Senate to determine Notably, we lost the if he will be removed from office. On the initial survey, there were about following: Actress 22 high profile individuals who were running for President on the Demo - and Tony Award cratic ticket. ree, considered to be very long shots, filed petitions to run The E.Reed Report winner Diahann against Trump as Republicans. Finally, my favorite new song released in 2019 was a simple but pas - 2019 Carrol, 84, to breast sionate tune by H.E.R – H.E.R. on Austin City Limits “Make it Rain”. In cancer; Nobel Lau - A Year In Review that song, “make it rain” are the only lyrics leaving the passion and the rete Toni Morrison, music to drum up visions of what the hearers see and feel as she sings. To died of pneumonia at 88; Filmmaker John Singleton (Boyz In the Hood) me, it is a song asking for God to refresh our land and our lives, through dies at 51 from a stroke; CEO of Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson, 60, the simple and natural cleaning process of rain. Like a nice cleaning snow, dies in his sleep; Congressman John Conyers of Michigan dies at 90; Con - it is sometimes nice to chill out, observe the beauty of God’s creations and gressman Elijah Cummings dies at 68; Baseball player Frank Robinson dies start all over again. As Tom Hanks quoted his mother in Forest Gump, at 83; and Author Ernest Gaines dies at 86 (e Autobiography of Miss sometimes you have to put the past behind you and move on. Jane Pitman, A Lesson Before Dying). My wish for each of our readers is that each of us will have a cleansing Isabelle Buckner died at the age of 86. She was former Principal of the experience in 2020. I hope that we release the bad, the sad, and the for - Carmen Buckner Elementary School in Waukegan. Civil Rights Activist, gettable experiences of the prior year. I pray that we may hold on to the Singer and Pastor, Rev. Clay Evans died at 94. good, learn from it, hit the reset button and start all over again. ere was tragedy that turned to triumphant in the miracle of Curtis As the great Al Green once sang, in 2020, I wish you Peace, Love and Hannibal who received a double organ operation Mother’s Day weekend, Happiness. a Heart and Kidney transplant. George Moore, Sr. was named Father of the Year by the Chicago Peoples Voice. Chief George Bridges, Jr. received the Rising Star Award by the Illinois Association of Park Districts. Brandon Ewing was named President of the Waukegan Public School District Board, being the youngest African American board president at 26. Mayor Leon Rockingham, Jr. was named President of the Illinois Mu - nicipal League. Chase omas, college student, ran and won a seat on the Board of Trustees for the Lake County Regional School Board. Judge George Bridges, Sr. was appointed to the Illinois Appellate Court. Rev. An - thony Conley received the CLC Harambee Award. John Idleburg won as the First African American Sheriff in the County’s history. He was also named the 2019 Most Influential African American of Lake County. Julianna Stratton became the first African American Lieutenant Gover - Chicago Peoples Voice Chicago Peoples Voice ChicagoPeoplesVoice.com The Heart & Soul of Chicago tm Lake County, Illinois Edition PO Box 1038 • Waukegan, Illinois 60079 847-473-550E1 -mail: [email protected] January 2020 Chicago People’s Voice Page 3 Trinity AME Church Choir Celebrates Christmas with Waukegan Housing Authority e Trinity A.M.E. Church Choir, under the direction of Robert lighted audience. Pictured are the Church’s Pastor, e Reverend Janice Presley, celebrated Christmas by singing holiday carols and ministering Brazil Cummings, Kittie Harden, Resident Council President for Harry through music to residents of two Waukegan Housing Authority facil - Poe Manor & Board Commissioner, and Ernestine Smith, Resident ities. e event was a free annual Holiday Dinner prepared for Housing Council President of Ravine Terrace and Celeste Rodney, Director of Authority residents. e Trinity A.M.E. Church sang several classic Human Resources for the Waukegan Housing Authority. Christmas songs ending with a melody of holiday favorites to a de - Waukegan, Beach Park, Wadsworth, North Chicago & Gurnee Page 4 Chicago People’s Voice January 2020 Bonny Mayfield Celebrates 60 Years Alderwoman 4th Ward, North Chicago, Bonny May - field celebrated her 60th Birthday with a small gath - ering of family and friends in mid-December. Sitting down from left to right are Angela Taylor-Cooks, Greg Parker,Linda Moore and Judy Langston. Standing from left to right are Dave Silverman,Victor Barrera,Carl Evans, Bonny Mayfield Mayor Leon Rock - ingham, Jr., Margie Levy and Maxine Ashcraft. January 2020 Chicago People’s Voice Page 5 Choose to Vote by Mail The in the March Primary OCKHART-WHITE EPORT L January 2020 R WAUKEGAN, Illinois – Severe winter weather could A communique of the Community Action Partnership of Lake County prevent you from going to your voting site on Election Day. Lake County Clerk Robin M. O’Connor is encouraging The Gift of Giving Lake County registered voters to vote by mail, including students away at school, traveling snowbirds, and those who beyond the holiday season will be out of town on Election Day. is option allows any help registered voter to receive and mark a ballot from the com - or many people, the holiday them fort of his or her own home F season is a time for giving with pre - and charity toward those less scrip - or have a ballot sent to a tem - fortunate. But the changing face of tions or porary alternate address. poverty means many charitable ges - vitamins tures have become less than effec - for their Mary Lockhart-White It's simple to vote by mail. tive. children. Executive Director Complete the short, required Increasingly, today's underpriv - A lot ileged are members of the working of work - application form and return poor. In Lake County and sur - ing poor don't have coverage for it to the Lake County Clerk’s rounding counties people are turn - doctor visits or prescriptions, or office before noon on urs - ing to food pantries when they're their coverage may come with a financially swamped. For many, you high deductible. Often, their chil - day, March 12. can't reduce rent, heating and util - dren go without medicine or vita - ity costs, so if you can save $40 on mins. If their doctor prescribes an groceries, that's a wise use of lim - antibiotic for a simple infection, ited resources. Some of the working that can tap their entire cash re - poor are so dependent on emer - sources for a month with one visit. gency food sources that it's not so Donating a pharmacy gift cer - emergency any more -- it's normal. tificate to the food pantry may not What a financially strapped fam - feel as fulfilling as giving a bag of ily may need more than food, are groceries, but it enables the family the day-to-day essentials not avail - to spend their disposable cash on able at emergency food banks and other things. ey can use coupons pantries. at the grocery to stretch their What they can't get at food budget but prescription medicines pantries are things like laundry de - don't go on sale. tergent, disposable diapers and in - e challenge of the holidays is fant formula which is desperately to avoid trendy holiday gifts, and to needed for families. So, if you give think practically for families living gift certificates for those types of on a limited budget: electric blan - items, you can really help a family's kets, flannel sheets, backpacks and finances -- not just at Christmas, school supplies.