During the Chicago Urban League’s 2011 Summit, Mayor Richard M. Daley addressed the importance of education. Following is an excerpt from that address:
“Many people are afraid of China.
I’m not afraid of China. If you’re a competitor, you want to have competition.
… We have to build our cities. We have to build our regions. We have to say that America can compete, and we’ve competed in the past, present and the future.
What we look at today, Chicago is the center of transportation for goods, service and, of course, knowledge. And we’re situated perfectly in the middle of the country.
Since I’ve been mayor, I’ve heard the call of the business community to improve education. The greatest gift that I can give any child is a good quality education.
Education doesn’t belong just in the school. It belongs in the home, the church, the communities.
Anybody can be politically correct. If the child isn’t doing well, we have to have the courage to say, ‘How can I help that child? How can I help that family?’ You just don’t turn away and say, ‘Well, it’s going to be there.’ ”
Urban Prep takes all the young men who are African American in their community, and they work with them. After four years, every one of those men — [for] the second
year in a row — are going to college. Some people don’t believe it. How could these young people from Englewood, young men, African American, they are not supposed to succeed. They’re going to college. This is the second year in a row, and they’re going to college, and right down the street from their [old] school. Ask them what their graduation rate is. What are they doing with more money than Tim King’s [Urban P
rep] school, and they are not fulfilling their responsibility?
I am not blaming all the teachers, but isn’t enough enough? Is anyone upset that we have failure coming out of our public school system?
I am a public servant. I am not entitled to anything. I am not entitled to pensions, health care or a bigger salary. I am a public servant, and that’s what we have to tell every local, state, county and federal person that works in government. You are a public servant. You don’t work for Mayor Daley or Governor Quinn.
You work for the taxpayers of this country, of the state, the county and the city.”
Photo: Bernard Williams
