Latinos Make History Fighting City Hall

By: Paul F. CuadrosMore than 300 Latinos gathered in West Chicago Junior High School cafeteria May 27 to question newly elected Mayor Steven J. Lakics and Chief of Police Gerald S. Mourning.

For many, it was the first opportunity to meet with local officials; for the mayor and police chief, it was their first contact with the Latino community.

"I had my doubts about tonight," said Elizabeth Perez, as she stood with a microphone in the crowded cafeteria. "But I should never have doubted my people."

Mourning told the crowd that the police "have not done a good job, but we're working to improve. That's why we're here tonight." Perez translated his remarks in Spanish. "We don't think we're being effective unless we meet the needs of everyone in the community.

In 1990, West Chicago was 30 percent Latino, compared to 17 percent in 1980.

"There is a lot more opportunity here," said Julio del Real, an education coordinator at West Chicago Community High School. "We've been getting people for the most part straight from Mexico."

But del Real said that Latinos are afraid to call the police because of the language barrier and a mistrust of authority.

"In the Anglo community, if somebody looks suspicious they call the police right away, but in the Latino community they look away," he said. "The police are trying to bridge that gap."

Mourning said his officers recently took 10 weeks of cultural diversity training. "It's easy to misinterpret things unless you understand that culture," he said. And the department has hired three Latino police officers since 1990, including a detective.

Perez is one of two bilingual teachers at the school who organized the meeting. "They were going to do this for the Anglo community," Perez said. "I said, 'What are you doing for the Hispanic community? Chief Mourning said there was no way to reach them. I said 'Let me do it and watch.'"

At the town meeting a young Hispanic woman asked Lakics to build a youth center to keep kids out of trouble. The mayor said he would take down her name as a potential volunteer to work on the issue. He also promised to create a Human Relations Commission and appoint Latinos to it. "I think there will be good (Latino) representation on the commission."

Twenty-nine percent of West Chicago's Latinos have at least a high school diploma, compared to 85 percent of the town's non-Latinos, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. And only 1.6 percent have bachelor's degrees, compared to 17 percent of non-Latinos.

But Latinos have nearly the same median household income as other residents: $37,151, compared to $37,995 for non-Latinos.

"The community organizations that are starting up are putting pressure on government to increase bilingual staff," said Maria Valdez, an attorney with the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund.

"The town meeting made history," Perez said.

"The police and mayor now need to take the people up on the challenge, and the people need to take them up on their word."