By: Brenda B.
This summer as part of my youth internship at LVEJO I worked with the Public Transit campaign. I have got to say I definitely did not know what to expect. It was the first time I had worked on that specific campaign so I had a lot to learn. The main priority for the summer was to get in touch with politicians to see how we could meet the sufficient funds that are needed to put the much needed 31st Street CTA bus back in service. CTA says that they do not have money to put this route in service, but through the JARC program we have gained the opportunity to put the proposed route in service temporarily if we can meet the sufficient federal funds. If the funds were not met by a certain date the grant money from the JARC program would be lapsed, luckily LVEJO was able to renew the grant.
The plan was to get in touch with all the representatives whose wards would be along the proposed 31st Street route, but most importantly we wanted to sit down with them individually to talk about the route and get their support. When it came down to the phone calls I would usually get a secretary that answered the phone and had no clue what I was calling about, some resulted in no answer, others were simply too busy to hear me out and told me to call back or email them. What I learned from that experience is that you have to keep bugging your politicians if you want an answer. They are more likely to listen if you meet with them in person and present the issue/concern. After days of contacting all the representatives to set up a meeting with them individually, we got replies from Dena Carli, Congressman Gutierrez, and Representative Hernandez. I was fortunate to have been able to attend the meeting with Representative Hernandez. Overall she was all for the route and gave us her support because she used to live in Little Village with her mother when she was younger and she expressed some of the many ways the route would benefit the community she serves. Talking to someone who understands the needs of communities was pleasant. We need politicians to envision the benefits this proposed route would bring to their communities and get the support of the people who live in the communities along the route. Having the support of at least one politician is a good start but we need the support of many.
