Happy Indigenous Peoples Day!
Today people across the country celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day, a moment to reflect on the history and on the present-day lived experience of first peoples in Chicago, Illinois, and across North America.
Indigenous history is woven deeply into our community. Of course, it starts with the very name of our city, derived from the word for a wild onion in the local Miami language. Right here in our neighborhood, indigenous culture has left its mark everywhere you turn. Milwaukee Avenue runs diagonal to the grid because it was originally a major Native American trail. And Portage Park gets its name from the indigenous portage routes used to transport boats between the Chicago and Des Plaines Rivers, part of a vast portage system that connected the waterways of the area to the Great Lakes.
The mass murder and displacement of indigenous people is a tragic facet of our nation's history that too often goes ignored. By bringing this holiday to the foreground, leaders hope to make that history more widely known, and to celebrate the many ongoing contributions of indigenous people to the American way of life.
This morning, I'll be celebrating the day with artists, community leaders, and indigenous organizations at Pottawattomie Park. I'd encourage you to think about how you might celebrate the day. You might plan a visit to the Mitchell Museum in Evanston. You might check out this terrific 6-minute documentary, "Chicago Has Always Been Indian Country." Or you might read through this toolkit from IllumiNative to learn more about Indigenous Peoples Day.
One footnote: as you might guess from my last name, I'm of Italian descent on my father's side. A small but vocal community of my fellow Italian-Americans is upset by the change from Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples Day. Why Italian-Americans should honor Christopher Columbus — who never set foot in the present-day United States, and blundered around Caribbean islands murdering and enslaving the natives for the Spanish crown — is beyond me. We've made tremendous contributions to this country. Let's pick a hero who reflects our values! We don't need to celebrate genocide to honor our heritage.
Enjoy the day, and stay in touch—
Will
FALL FAMILY HEALTH FAIR
Stop by our Fall Family Health Fair on Saturday November 5th at Koz park for a variety of free health services for the whole family! 🍁 🩺
Free Health Services:
✅ Flu shots
✅ COVID-19 vaccines & booster
✅ Blood pressure checks
✅ Prescription drug recycling
✅ HIV and STD testing
✅ Dental checks for kids under 18 and more!
Free Family Fun:
🎨 Free face painting
📸 Free family portraits
🖌 A community mural painting project
☕️ Free coffee & hot chocolate
🎁 Free raffle prizes, and other free giveaway items! ✨
Questions? Contact our office at (773) 853-2570 | will@repguzzardi.com
Job Fair
In celebration of Latino Heritage Month, my office will be partnering with other elected officials to host a Job Fair, open to all residents.
We are partnering with local businesses and community organizations to provide community residents with current job opportunities, job readiness programs, and family resources. We are especially promoting increased representation of the Latino community in state and local governments.
We encourage you to be resume ready!
COOK COUNTY PROMISE OPENS
Cook county is launching a $500 a month guaranteed income program. Through this program the county will provide no-strings-attached $500 monthly cash payments to 3,250 Cook County residents for 24 months.
Applications close on October 21st.
Individuals are eligible to apply for this program if:
They live in cook county
Are 18 years old or older
Have a household income below 250% of the Federal Poverty Level (you can check that here)
You can apply regardless of immigration status