Last Sunday in Bolingbrook, IL a cross section of Nigerians gathered at the residence of Sir Jeff and Lady Ada Uju to listen to Dorothy Brown explain to them, not just why she is running to become President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners, but moreso, why the Nigerian community should make her their choice.
In listening and taking notes, I found Mrs. Brown to be very articulate. She clearly brings a lot to the job. Besides spending the last nine years as the clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Mrs. Brown also brings the following experience to to this campaign. She has been a CPA since 1977. She is also a lawyer and was called to the Illinois Bar in 1996. She understands what needs to be done to keep County businesses strong and close enough to the people to understand how to protect citizens’ rights. As the County Clerk for the last nine years, she understands the effective way for government to interact with businesses and the citizens.
Dorothy Brown is one candidate in the County President race who can truthfully say that she understands what the less privileged people of Cook County are going through because she comes from very humble beginnings herself.
She has over twenty years experience working for corporate America – starting at the bottom and rising significantly through the ranks. During the last nine years she has worked in government to make life better for Cook County residents. Unlike the current County Board President, if elected, Mrs. Brown will take over the office on her own merit and not as the daughter of some well connected politician. This is significant because it means that she has to fight hard to earn our votes. No political machine is going to shove her down “Our Throats.”
Also significant to the Nigerian community is the fact that in her nine years as Clerk of Cook County, she has demonstrated a track record of not only hiring Nigerians, but also retaining the ones who were there before she was elected.
It is the opinion of this magazine that with such a record, qualified Nigerians with interest in working for the County government can be sure that they will be given a fair chance at getting jobs that they qualify for in the Cook County government.
It should not be taken lightly, the fact that under the present County President, a few Nigerians in top County positions lost their jobs to less or similarly qualified people whose only advantage was that they had close ties to “peopler in high places.”
If elected, Dorothy Brown will need knowledgeable, independent votes among the county commissioners. Chicago’s Westside and immediate west suburbs of Oak Park, River Forest and Forest Park have one such person in Nigerian Born Ade Onayemi who is running for Cook County Commissioner. If he is impressed by her, his will be one independent, progressive vote that will help the new county president work towards a complete makeover of county government. I’ve known and admired Ade Onayemi and his work in Oak Park and in Chicago’s Austin communities for many years. My children attended Oak Park schools during his tenure as board member and eventually board president of the highly acclaimed Oak Park Schools. Ade has a public career as an elected school board member, and as an education activist on the West Side of Chicago. A resident of Oak Park, his architectural firm is in the Austin area of the west side. That combination of public and private careers combine to position Ade Onayemi as a man who has spent his career listening to people, building coalitions, solving problems and making difficult choices. Those skills, coupled with integrity and political savvy, make for a combination we must encourage as Nigerians.
For all Nigerians living in Yemi’s district of the West side, Oak Park, River Forest and Forest Park, we at African LifeStyles encourage you to tell every Nigerian you know of his candidacy. Also, tell all your non Nigerian friends to go out and vote for this Nigerian who has done us proud for so many years in that area of Illinois. This is an opportunity to take a Nigerian county wide in Illinois.
Last Sunday in Bolingbrrook, IL, a cross section of Nigerians gathered at the residence of Sir Jeff and Lady Ada Uju to listen toDorothy Brown explain to them, not just why she is running to become President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners, but moreso, why the Nigerian community should make her their choice. In listening and taking notes, I found Mrs. Brown to be very articulate. She clearly brings a lot to the job. Besides spending the last nine years as the clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Mrs. Brown also brings the following experience to to this campaign. She has been a CPA since 1977.
She is also a lawyer and was called to the Illinois Bar in 1996. She understands what needs to be done to keep County businesses strong and close enough to the people to understand how to protect citizens’ rights. As the County Clerk for the last nine years, she understands the effective way for government to interact with businesses and the citizens.
Dorothy Brown is one candidate in the County President race who can truthfully say that she understands what the less privileged people of Cook County are going through because she comes from very humble beginnings herself.
She has over twenty years experience working for corporate America – starting at the bottom and rising significantly through the ranks. During the last nine years she has worked in government to make life better for Cook County residents.
Unlike the current County Board President, if elected, Mrs. Brown will take over the office on her own merit and not as the daughter of some well connected politician. This is significant because it means that she has to fight hard to earn our votes. No political machine is going to shove her down “Our Throats.”Also significant to the Nigerian community is the fact that in her nine years as Clerk of Cook County, she has demonstrated a track record of not only hiring Nigerians, but also retaining the ones who were there before she was elected.
It is the opinion of this magazine that with such a record, qualified Nigerians with interest in working for the County government can be sure that they will be given a fair chance at getting jobs that they qualify for in the Cook County government. It should not be taken lightly, the fact that under the present County President, a few Nigerians in top County positions lost their jobs to less or similarly qualified people whose only advantage was that they had close ties to “peopler in high places.”
If elected, Dorothy Brown will need knowledgeable, independent votes among the county commissioners. Chicago’s Westside and immediate west suburbs of Oak Park, River Forest and Forest Park have one such person in Nigerian Born Ade Onayemi who is running for Cook County Commissioner. If he is impressed by her, his will be one independent, progressive vote that will help the new county president work towards a complete makeover of county government. I’ve known and admired Ade Onayemi and his work in Oak Park and in Chicago’s Austin communities for many years. My children attended Oak Park schools during his tenure as board member and eventually board president of the highly acclaimed Oak Park Schools. Ade has a public career as an elected school board member, and as an education activist on the West Side of Chicago. A resident of Oak Park, his architectural firm is in the Austin area of the west side.
That combination of public and private careers combine to position Ade Onayemi as a man who has spent his career listening to people, building coalitions, solving problems and making difficult choices. Those skills, coupled with integrity and political savvy, make for a combination we must encourage as Nigerians.
For all Nigerians living in Yemi’s district of the West side, Oak Park, River Forest and Forest Park, we at African LifeStyles encourage you to tell every Nigerian you know of his candidacy. Also, tell all your non Nigerian friends to go out and vote for this Nigerian who has done us proud for so many years in that area of Illinois. This is an opportunity to take a Nigerian county wide in Illinois.
