Discussion with seniors lacks concern on threat to democracy
I looked forward to speaking to a group of senior citizens this week at the Shir Tikvah synagogue in Homewood, but I was disappointed by the questions group members asked.
The Shalom Over 50 group is a wonderful bunch of elderly folks who get together to share lunch and socialize. Jewish Community Centers of Chicago invites guest speakers. I have been visiting with the group since 2017, when it met at the former Temple Anshe Sholom in Olympia Fields.
We always talk about current events, and this time was no different. We had an hour, and I began by discussing recent local topics I have covered in columns. We wore masks and sat around a long table in a space the size of a gymnasium.
A show of hands revealed that about half the group lived in homes they owned, so we talked about property taxes. Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi reassessed properties throughout the Southland in 2020. Values shot up 17% overall, which dramatically drove down tax rates in many towns.
The increase in assessed valuations contributed to a 28% spike in revenues this year from tax increment financing districts. I briefly explained TIF districts and we talked about tax revenues and economic development in the region.
I told the group how federal funding helped small businesses survive the pandemic through the American Rescue Plan Restaurant Revitalization Fund approved by Congress.
A woman asked about problems in Rich Township High School District 227, where parents and teachers are concerned that a lack of discipline is contributing to violence and threats to safety.
I gave the group members credit for doing their homework. They were well-informed about local, state and national topics in the news. We talked about how climate change is affecting droughts and wildfires in the West and flooding in the Southeast.
Someone asked about the Facebook whistleblower who was on “60 Minutes” and who testified before Congress about how the social network is profiting off divisive speech.
We talked about Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx publicly fighting over a lack of consequences and accountability for gun violence.
Someone asked about shootings on Chicago area expressways. I agreed it was a serious problem and said I hoped license plate reading cameras would help Illinois State Police identify and arrest shooters.
We talked about crime for a while. Someone mentioned looters on Michigan Avenue in the wake of the George Floyd murder in 2020. Some expressed genuine concern for their safety.
One man asked about billionaire Ken Griffin’s criticism of Gov. J.B. Pritzker over deploying the National Guard. Griffin, the richest man in Illinois, uses his vast wealth to support Republican candidates and issues.
I said violence and crime were big concerns, but that it was also true that sometimes wealthy people pay for messaging that stokes fear and divides people. Here we where, talking about Griffin and violence in Chicago, but no one had mentioned the violent insurrection Jan. 6 at the U.S. Capitol.
I checked the time. We were 45 minutes into the hour. Here I was in a room with Jewish senior citizens. Many of them were old enough to remember the hardships of the Great Depression and World War II, and group members are asking questions not about Republican attacks on democracy, but GOP-fed criticism of Pritzker.
Pritzker, who is Jewish, led the fundraising campaign to build the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center in Skokie. I told the group I was disappointed that our time was almost up and no one had mentioned the Jan. 6 insurrection or ongoing Republican attacks on democracy.
GOP legislatures across the country have passed measures to restrict voting access. What’s worse, I said, are new state laws that give slim legislative majorities the power to overrule results of free and fair elections and allow lawmakers to declare a winner.
That’s not democracy, that’s fascism, and if you don’t see the similarities between 2021 America and 1930s Germany then our democracy is toast.
Yet news organizations barely seem to cover what should be the biggest story between now and elections in 2022 and 2024. Undemocratic interests more concerned about wealth and power will continue to distract people from the real news that matters.
Group members nodded their heads, and several said they agreed the violence insurrection was serious.
I don’t know how much of a difference I made, however. Perhaps some may think differently about current events for a short while.
But paid messaging, social media algorithms and relentless rightwing criticism of all things Democratic will persuade many voters to support a Republican Party that appears intent on dismantling our democracy.