- Minorities make up a growing portion of Du Page County's population but remain politically underrepresented as candidates. Only one black candidate is seeking a city council seat out of 380 total candidates. - Reasons cited for lack of minority political involvement include concerns about racism, lack of time/skills, and preferences to work within community organizations instead of seeking office. - Some minorities also move to Du Page for the same reasons as whites - good schools, housing, and stability. This can decrease emphasis on racial identity and minority political organizations. - Increasingly, class may become a more defining factor than race for some middle- and upper-class minorities. Large minority populations in some areas may increase political cl

1. --'-.~->"--------
Ou Page minorities quiet on political front
Iy Debran Rowland ' ballol. thaI keep ~mc minority members usual poIitiaU circl~, he said.
Though the latest a:nsus fig,Irt:S" W~ Cannon, a bI;oc~ rcti~ . .out of politics in Du Page, some . "MIUlY of the p«:ople I know ;ue For some llispnnia, then: is a
lOW the number of blacks His. adminIstrator for Fermllnh, IS observe" say, 1"cy suggest, how- ~ry ncll--e in the:!e types of OfWln- Inck of Ihe time :lnd :<kill., ncOOed
iz.alion,," 5:'id Smith, who is acti~ 10 become ~ctively involved in
;lnies and Asians living i~ Du seeking . an at·large council ' SClt in . ever. thal .there ~ a more co~mo!", ' politics, according to Jnvier R~ ­
' ~ge ",orc Ihan doubled in the' Aurora, which 51r.iddl~ the Du · ~n: Like. whIles, many mlOon- iri Ihc local chapter of Ihe
bAdan. He is cultuml lIIT.,ir.> coor-
11 dccaclc, Ihey rcm:1in all but Page-Kane County line and is the tIes movaJ to pu rage for n::;lS()ns NAACP And is III Inrn~ II the
prcdominanlly black church he dinator nnd former prc~idcnl of
lulil iC:lUy invisible as CUldidatcs in most typically "urlmn" city in the other th:Tn po""o.
nu"icipal elcctions. areJI.eo the Kane Counly siclc or: Ort Smith, a rcsc:m:h chcmist atlen<U in Wllealon. thc 5-year-old . Hi~pnnic Ta~k
Force of Du PlIgc, f'Clh;ops til<:
A survey or C1I1didntcs inoolO the line, a blaclc c.mdidate is run-" who movaJ 10 Lombllrd with his Smith say~ he recognizes the
only Hisp;mic polil ital ~1It1 civic
here is only one black candidate niog unopposed in a newly cmtted tamily in 1970 10 be nean:r his need 10 pmhblack is.sue3 into the
?
" ~king a City Council seat and largely bilielc ward and a Hispnnic . job, SIIYS blacb onen opt .10 get political fon:front in Du Pap:, but organillltlOn in the county.
·.vcr l/!an ;I handful ·of Mians and "'dc:~anic appointee is seekins involved in politic! behind Ihe he $1)3 he's not int=tcd 10 run- "Time is one . of ollr bi"est ·
prOOIems," !laid ROlbrnlnn. ·'lhe·re.
II~p"nles among the ot.her 380 ning for olfto:.
1
election. . . sa:nes iltltcad of Weing II vi5ible
' ~nUldates for offices .ransm8 rrom Concernl about hostile rcac-· role. Onen, such work is done "Some peoplc like th .. t ~rt or
... a lot or ;nlc:~I, bul for tlte
profts.'lion;1l., there i. lilllc time. ;
. 'r~ry board trustee to m3yo~ or lions, r.tcism or being hranJcd" throu~ community or fra'ernnl thing," he s;ud. "But it is just nol
,1;"Ige prt:Sldcnt on the Apnl 2 "radical'" are among thc ractors organizations thal fall outsick the . my btlg of lea. '" .
And for the peoplc who :Ire h/uc<
s« rnlitlo, by Debran Rowland PR. 10
r
Hci&hlS, lYhere Filipinos ea,ily
~
I
"I've faced II lot or hnr:t.mncnl,"
outnumber other minority &ro"p~ s.id . Moy. uDul being i"volved In
The rea.,ons · :are similar, IIccord- .. Ind two of lhe vilt.se', trustee.! politio is lin idea of bcl(lng;nll. It's
Politics, by Debran Rowland by Debran Rowland
I
ing to Peter Laylo, e~ecu"ve direc- . ne -Filipino. Rose Tosino, who
o
!'ein~, eJecled 10 be a first -cia" til-
tor or Asian Hum:an Service3 of I ,ylll elected to the board Iwo yean " nen.
r
Chiago.. I ago, b not · seekins re-election in Cannon, Ihe Aurora nldermanic
. . . "It is mostly time,." he said. I April while the second incumbent,
~Contlnatd from pll~e I "Out sometimes lhey don't 'want I JJen F1ljnrdo, is running ror Inolh-
. ClIndidllte who U Opro5illg incum-
1 benl Jim Meisch, saId, "'I IIln nol
I
c'otJar, they don't gel so involved 19 dirty their nlmes in politio. II r 1:1'. term., Robert-TOlentino;- an ac- .. /
running IS a black candidn'e. nut
btcause . they think, 'I'm not pre- ;tIro depcmbon the lUnd or PCI)- · live member of the Filipino com- ;
I ' I black alderman I eouk! pro-
pnrcd to particip:ale aJ fully and as
thorou&J!ly aJ 1 should because of .
P'c." muriity, is seelclnl Tosino's seal.
"They ~nl 10 serve their com-
.
! or
vide !Orne lhe proddin!! it misht
Asians, such III Ihe Vietnamese, ~
'0
· take 10 let some issues outlh(:re
.. Jhe lack of langua~e and leader- who came 10 Ihis counlry IU rer. munil y," slIid Cecilia Slrlas, an or-
: 'ship de~lopmcnt skIlls.' " · of concern the black communi-
~ces escaping political pc:r3eCUlion ficer 0 the West Suburb Philip- ty." ~
. ". The counly's Hispanic popula- In their own homeland~, lire uned- pine Civic Group. "But it is
But issues such lIS cqunlity and
tion ' has doubled to more Ihan
34,000 since 1980. The .black
UC:lted a~ul ' the polilic:tl system
here ' lind WlIry of becomina in-
. difficult 10 do."
"Many of UI are' two-parent
~rorm Ihal have. led.!o !,oliticil lr>'
.. Involvement by m,"on"c~ In most
'population has just aboul doubled, volved, Laylo said . ramilia lYhere both of us wort," urbln lrell' in the PAsl dOli·' nce-
to more than 15,000. The overall : i'But there is In IIwlIkening Mid Fajardo. "Politic:! lakes a lot · enlrily Ipply to minorilics who .By Debran Rowland
popul .. tion of Du Pase incre:ascd . now" amona some Mian elhnic ' of lime."
from 6.53,3J.5 to 1111,666, accord- . grou~, he said, with Filipinos Ip- "For s<>me Asians, il is I feelinl
ing the recently released census j>e:mna to take the lead. of 'I've got it lood, don't bother
figures. . Their 'numben tend 10 be more me:" snid Ken Moy, ' I member
Despile an incrc:tSe in numben conccntraled in specific Du P;tlle of the Du Page County BOllrd. His
rrom 18,206 to 38,93 I in the wI County areas such 3S GJend:ale plrenl, ame to Ihe Uniled Stllt!:!
dec;'lde. Asian trends in Du Pllge rrom OIinl in the I92Os, and Moy
p,?lilio. mirror Ihose of blacks and says he is Ihe only Asian ' to be
16'8-
J'h~plln'c:!, . eleCled 10 I countywide office in '1.['
the sllte. j
rYl>;t

2. can afTord the choice of moving to By Debran Rowland processes to watch will be in the Some, he lclcnowledled. doin individual commun!ties, politics
Du Page County, accordinl . to louth suburbs, neas like South maintlin a low profile 01.lt of con- is oneil intertwined WIt!' the ' nced
Paul Green, director of the lnsti- Holland, that have been predomi- cern that political involvement for support, IS ~II IS ~ con-
tute for Public Policy at Gover- nantly white but in the heltt 10 ., could result in a "ndical" label. cern!n, the IUrvival or their cul-
nors Stllte University. )'arS are likely to see an inOUIt in " Ieadin, to problems at work or ture.
"Du Page County ofTers those blacks and minorities," Lewis wd. with neighbors. , Rabadan said that since there
blacks many of the things they He a,n~ed that ,middle- a!1d Cannon concedes he', been arc: reJa~vdy large Hi.p~nic popu-
have always, ""~,nted-Io?d uppcr-d~ss ,blacb mlght,n~! lx: In- ' worldng hllrd to run a campaiJ11 lallon. In.the Benscnville, Wood
~chool5, houSJnl, Green laid, -- terestecJ, m.l!'voIYCmCDt.m . ~y~! lhlt ' td:ea ' the' opportunlt1 tOi , Dale, AddISon and Carol Stream
Many of them moved here for -black' political", orglnJulJons In "show Ihal solid political leader- I~. that is where the task. foro:
the same fUSons ~ . ol~er people. the ~uburb!. whIle thear numbers ship is colorblind,"
. bepn efforts to OI'1BJUU civic Ind
And they want stability. .. rematn relatively few. KI . he .....,. . H' • informational cll.55eS to help new
Th e economic f:act ors th at Ied
' ") n genera, ) t h In k many t dema be
I· ' t 0 says uoltves IspanlCS, ,
poI't''':'''1 I ct'lYe Imml"n.nts'
" en more I lUll
some blacks to relocale ,'" pu mlddle- and. upper-~laS5 ~!ac~, thin blacks in Du P ~use r
1&
") would Sly in the next rive
Page, and look to other ,"slltu- don't nettSsanly perceIve utlhty In '", ' . a~e 0 . 'II .
lions for leadership, also appear to an overtly black political organiu- dille.ren~ In .relocatlon patterns ~,you, WI ,see more or&amu-
be fon:ing a change in the tone lJ' "Lewi 'd and their larger numbers, lion of HISJ'I!OIC!! Ind. then !,",aybe
,, on, s sal , " more partlclpltlon In politics"
and, approach of blac~ political Of- Some blacks Ire stIli ,reeted Thour.h blacks tend 10 be 1la!1- R bada 'd. '
ganllatlOns, Green saId. with sU5Jlicion and might decide ter~ thr,oUKhout Du, Pale. Hls- • n sal "
"The" Question is, 'When does to steer clear or politics '10 ensure , panICS, like many ASIan group", Moy says ,the WIlt mIght be ten ,
class become ,more important than a level of acceptance, according to have generally tended 10 Kttl,e, In yean for AsllnS.
race7' .. he Slid. Bernie Kleina, director of the about hair a do~n communItIeS. "I would yy in ' Jhe next 10 to
J ames Lewis, · director of re- HOPE Fair Housing Center in As. result, he Slid, they !!lake ,!P I S years, you are goin~ to see
search and planning for the Chica- Lombard. a larger pe~nl-';'~e of resldent,s In more involVement by AlIllns, be-
go Urban League, says il is un- Echoing Green's oomment about some mU,;!I,C1palltles IUld are ,I'.' a Cluse these people', children are
clear whether the Iraditional why minorities move to Du Patte better position to leverage pohllcaJ . going 10 want Ihinp," Moy said.
political movements spawned in Kleinll sRid, "They ar-e bllSically clout. In rt:tum for sU('POrt , II Ihe "They can't all be doctors, Then ..
many lJlaclc urban churches will or seeking lntnQllilily, Most ue not b~lIo' bo,. rrom non-HispaniC can- think so"!e or the _is.'lJes of equah-
can be transrerred to suburbia. interested in doing anything rndi- dldates, Iy and fa/mess Mil bea:i!lIe more
"I think the moH interesting cal," .;., . RalJadan ~id that, for Hispanics importanl." By Debran Rowland