Politicians must be proactive in encouraging their constituents to participate
in public policy decisions, says U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky. Schakowsky, Illinois’ ninth district representative, presented a
lecture on “Why Citizen Activism Matters: The View from Washington”
on May 29 at Northwestern’s Evanston campus. The lecture was part
of IPR’s Distinguished Public Policy Lecture series. Before an audience
of about 100 faculty, students, and community members, Schakowsky lamented
the lack of interest in public policy among U.S. citizens and offered
suggestions on how politicians can help increase citizens’ political
participation. Citing evidence of citizen apathy, Schakowsky pointed out
that one-third of U.S. citizens who are eligible to vote are not registered.
Among people ages 19 to 24, nearly 95% are not registered voters. Furthermore,
36% of African Americans, 69% of persons with disabilities, and 66% of
Hispanics also are not registered to vote. “Unless there is an intense
effort to increase political participation, the numbers will only get
worse,” Schakowsky warned. Even more alarming, Schakowsky said people from demographic areas most
effected by public policy, including racial and ethnic minorities and
the poor, are even less likely to vote or be politically active. She cited
research by journalist Barbara Ehrenreich, author of the book Nickel and
Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America. Ehrenreich worked at low-wage jobs
in retail, restaurants, and house-cleaning services to find out the reality
of living poor in the United States. Schakowsky said one of Ehrenreich’s
most startling findings was the lack of interest the author’s co-workers
had in the approaching 2000 presidential election. “These hardworking, low-income people who had the most at stake,
the most to gain from a government that would be more sensitive to them,
never even thought about the election, or at least not enough to talk
about it at work, and I suspect not enough to go and vote,” Schakowsky
said. “As a progressive congresswoman, I see their absence as a problem
for public policy. Their voice may make a difference.”
One reason for this disconnect between citizens and policymakers, she
said, is that “people think politicians aren’t them. And to
some extent that’s true.” Schakowsky cited figures showing that
29% of Congress are millionaires compared to only 1% of the population
and 66% have advanced degrees versus 1% of the population. The makeup of Congress is even more disparate. Of the 9,782 members who
have ever been elected to the House only 192 were women (62 serving currently),
107 African American, 72 Hispanic, and 15 Asians. Of the 1,232 elected
to the Senate, 31 were women (13 serving now), four were African American,
three Hispanic, and five Asian American. People also don’t get involved
because they don’t believe they can influence the outcome of policy
decisions, she said. Schakowsky heralded election campaigns as important opportunities for
politicians to invite their constituents to get politically involved.
Most of her campaign funds for past elections have come in small increments
from constituents who had never before been invited to support political
campaigns. For example, in her first campaign for Congress in 1998 she
raised more money from women than any other candidate. Schakowsky also described the “Chicago ’98 Campaign School,”
which has since evolved into a formal program in cities throughout the
nation. The campaign school brought 17 volunteers to Chicago and assigned
them the task of identifying 31,000 people who would vote for Schakowsky
— just the number of votes the new candidate had determined she needed
to win. The “students” found these voters by making door-to-door
visits and personal phone calls, then became responsible for ensuring
that the supporters actually went to the polls on election day. Schakowsky
won with 31,462 votes. Schakowsky said she first realized the impact ordinary people could make
in 1969, when she and six other housewives fought successfully to put
freshness dates on products sold in the grocery store. “We were convinced
that if we cared, all American women cared,” Schakowsky said. “And
we were right.” The six women visited stores, clipboards in hand, and inspected produce
for freshness. They dumped outdated foods into grocery carts and demanded
that the stores’ managers get rid of the items. The report the women
compiled from their visits captured national attention, and resulted in
freshness dating becoming a nearly universal practice in groceries. The experience changed her self-perception “from being an ordinary
housewife to being an ordinary housewife who could make a difference,”
she recalled. “It was empowering in a fundamental and enduring way.”
The congresswoman was also successful in improving customer service at
the Chicago office of the Immigration and Naturalization Service. In order
to draw attention to the difficult conditions immigrants face at the agency
that is supposed to assist them, she stood in line anonymously with immigrants
for several hours before being rudely turned away when she finally reached
the front of the line. “She’s been an outspoken advocate for the issues that she cares a lot about, and the issues are widespread indeed,” Northwestern President Henry Bienen said. “Although now a member of Congress, Rep. Schakowsky has not forgotten her roots as an activist.” |
