Your Turn

Voters implore candidates to see the 'larger picture'

By JOAN BEAUBAIRE and BARRY RUNDQUIST
"It's kids killing kids." That was one of the messages the Illinois Voter Project heard over and over again when it convened 13 focus groups this summer to identify the most critical problems facing Illinois. Last month, the words rang loud and clear as 11-year-old Robert Sandifer's gang- and violence-filled life ended with an execution-style murder under a Chicago viaduct.

While crime led off the list of concerns voiced by citizens, it was only a piece of the story, project participants said. They described the issue as part of a much larger picture and recognized crime as only a fragment. To solve crime problems, they said, you need to address education problems, job loss, and family and community breakdown.

Citizens see their problems woven together at multiple levels. They prefer to address them in a connected fashion rather than individually, rejecting quick-fix sound-bite solutions as mere Band- aids. They are more interested in long-term plans that develop a strategic attack on core issues.

The Illinois Voter Project did its focus group research in June to clarify what issues are important to Illinois citizens, define how they should be addressed and determine what constituents want to hear from candidates. The research is part of a year-long effort to increase citizen participation in the November election.

The project is a joint undertaking by the League of Women Voters of Illinois Education Fund and the University of Illinois at Chicago. As the candidates in this election choose their policy issues and roll out their rhetoric, it's clear from focus group reactions that much of the current political agenda doesn't coincide with citizens' visions. Citizens see the causes of crime, educational failure and job loss as interconnected, and they expect candidates to acknowledge these relationships. "We are hearing the same things over again.... The candidates are bickering and discrediting each other instead of addressing the issues," one participant commented.

Citizens want to see a political agenda that creates economic stability for families and individuals, and family structures that protect children. It needs to provide safe environments for living, learning and working and include a school system that concentrates on educating students to become successful adults rather than serving as replacement parents.

At the center of their concerns is the breakdown of families and neighborhoods caused by job loss and economic insecurity, crime and poor schools. They want solutions that address all these problems, not just parts of one. If a community is plagued by poverty, crime and ineffective schools, they want long-term policies to tackle the problems on multiple levels.

Consequently, promises to build more prisons or create more boot camps just don't cut it with citizens looking to save the Robert Sandifers in their midst. As one said: "What I would like to hear from candidates is more prevention instead of reactionary laws, policies and programs. To be honest, this isn't going to happen in two to four years. This is going to take a very long time ... maybe 10 or 20 years. You can't redevelop inner city neighborhoods in the time of their term."

It's not just a case of letting government fix everything. One said: "We can push our government to do something and set up a program, say, to invest in youth. Or we can walk out our door and find our sons and tell them to gather up 10 friends to go play basketball. ... For me, my faith lies in the people taking a certain action ... picking up a piece of trash in [their] front yard as opposed to lobbying whoever their congressman is to effect these major plans. It's a matter of community."

The time may be right for developing new ways for politicians and citizens to dialogue. Citizens expect politicians to "come down" and talk to them directly. They want leaders who will be visible in the community so they can fully understand neighborhood problems. Most importantly, they want to form partnerships with government and business to solve the problems.

The message was clear. There will be more children killing children unless political leaders recognize and address the underlying causes of crime and trust the people to endorse complex solutions. They can understand more than soundbite solutions, and they are demanding leaders who will take the political risks needed to start long-term, comprehensive strategies that address the interrelationships among society's problems. Unless they hear candidates willing to do this, once again many will tune out of an election process. 

Joan Beaubaire and Barry Rundquist are directors of the Illinois Voter Project. Beaubaire is a consultant to the League of Women Voters of Illinois and coordinated candidate debates and town meetings in the 1990 and 1992 elections. Rundquist is professor and chairman of Graduate Studies in the Department of Political Science at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Their project is funded through grants from the Joyce Foundation, the Pew Charitable Trust, the Chicago Community Trust, the MacArthur Foundation, the New Prospect Foundation and the Fel-Pro Mecklenburger Foundation.