“Poor people in Milwaukee have responded to the loss of steady employment by starting thousands of new, mainly ‘off-the-books’ businesses,” according to a new report by John Hagedorn, a professor of criminal justice at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Among those businesses are car repair, house painting, child care, haircutting, street vending, and–the most profitable–selling drugs. “What I found was a very deep adherence to mainstream values of success and in wanting to get ahead by whatever means they could do it. What I saw were people motivated by the same things you and I are motivated by, trying to figure out what to do. But they had a different set of opportunities available to them.”
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“I have seen mink on the Upper North Branch” of the Chicago River, writes Laurene von Klan in the “River Reporter” (Summer), newsletter of the Friends of the Chicago River. “Twice. And young snapping turtles–never a grown one, but I am sure they are there, posing as logs. In the heart of the Loop I have seen kingfishers. They perch under the bridges. Boating on the South Branch with board member Grant Crowley, I watched hundreds of fish jump as the boat accelerated….This time of year the carp are spawning. Go see them at the Diversey Avenue Turning Basin. They are big and captivating.”
Maybe they know something you don’t. Latinos who are naturalized citizens voted at a higher rate than U.S.-born Latinos in November 1996, reports “Politico” (August 24)–53 percent to 42 percent. This is surprising because as a rule younger, poorer, less-educated citizens (which naturalized immigrants tend to be) are less likely to turn out.
