Great Cities Winter Forum

Posted by on November 21, 2003

[posted from CBO Service-Learning listserv]

University of Illinois at Chicago Marks 10 Years of ‘Urban Engagement’ with Tenth Anniversary Great Cities Winter Forum

Ten years ago the University of Illinois at Chicago held its first Great Cities Winter Forum, a highly anticipated “town hall meeting” that brought together hundreds of policy makers, academics, community activists and members of the nonprofit community to discuss a wide range of urban issues.

On Dec. 5, UIC hosts the 10th Anniversary Great Cities Winter Forum, “Where We Stand: Cities, Challenge and Change,” at Chicago Circle Center, 750 South Halsted St., beginning at 8:00 a.m.

“Over the past decade these forums have come to be known as Chicago’s town hall meeting,” said David Perry, director of the Great Cities Institute, which sponsors the event. “But that’s not entirely accurate since the discussions that take place have national and even international implications.”

Steve Edwards, an award-winning broadcaster and host of the popular Chicago Public Radio program “Eight Forty-Eight” will moderate the opening session. Panelists include William Barnes, research director of the National League of Cities, Chicago Planning and Development Commissioner Alicia Mazur Berg, Raul Raymundo, executive director of The Resurrection Project in Chicago’s Pilsen community and Cedric Herring, professor of sociology at UIC.

After the opening panel discussion attendees choose among seven concurrent sessions on topics ranging from a discussion of the No Child Left Behind Act to an in-depth examination of Chicago’s murder rate, led by a researcher who suggests that the homicide rate is tied to a dearth of affordable housing in the metropolitan area.

The luncheon keynote address address features The Honorable Wellington Web, former mayor of Denver, former president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors and the first African-American mayor of Denver.

You can register online at http://www.uic.edu/cuppa/gci/events/wf2003/index.html or call (312) 996-8700 for more information. Space is limited.

Sponsors of the Great Cities Institute Winter Forum include Chicago Metropolis 2020, the Richard G. and Carole J. Cline Endowment, LaSalle Bank, the National League of Cities and Chicago Public Radio WBEZ.