A VIEW FROM THE SUBURBS

A suburban agenda? There's
too much diversity in this region

by Madeleine Doubek

Ah, the suburbs. That serene stretch of subdivisions with their rows of ranch houses and miles of shopping strips. That Utopian destination where there really is a chicken in every pot and two cars in every attached garage.

Right? Well, maybe. At least that's the stereotype. Too often, it has become the simple math, the shorthand used to dump a diverse population into a category we can all understand.

But consider Arlington Heights and Ford Heights. Both are part of "the suburbs." Both use the village form of government. But that's where the similarities end. Nestled among much larger suburbs in the southern metropolitan region, Ford Heights is a majority black community. Only 51 of its 4,259 residents counted in the 1990 census were white, Asian, American Indian or Hispanic. In northwest suburban Arlington Heights, only 3,946 out of 75,460 residents were nonwhite. In Ford Heights, the median home value was $38,200, according to the '90 census. In Arlington Heights, it was $169,100. In Ford Heights, the largest income category was comprised of salaries under $5,000 a year. In Arlington Heights, it encompassed earnings from $60,000 to $74,999. Get the picture?

Those communities are at opposite ends of the demographic spectrum, certainly, and nearly opposite ends of the suburban collar that rings Chicago. But there are many such differences. Sure, the suburbs are mostly white,

To suggest the suburbs all face the same concerns is as ridiculous as suggesting that East St. Louis shares an agenda with Bloomington.

mostly well-off. But to suggest they are all the same — and face the same concerns — is as ridiculous as suggesting that East St. Louis shares an agenda with Bloomington because they're both downstate.

Like several suburban legislators, state Rep. Jack Kubik, a LaGrange Park Republican, sees stark diversity within his own west suburban district. On the east end are the more middle- class, blue-collar communities of Cicero and Berwyn, "They see me as the government," Kubik says. "They see me as a way to solve some of their problems." Farther west are the more upscale communities of Riverside and Western Springs. "You don't hear as much from them. They don't see government as their partner in life much."

Suburban agenda? Some of us in the media made a big deal over that when the suburbs emerged as a political powerhouse and suburban residents James "Pate" Philip and Lee Daniels controlled the legislative levers for a few years in Springfield. But Kubik has a hard time even defining one for his district. "When I go into Berwyn- Cicero, crime is a major issue. Personal security is a huge issue in those areas. So is economic security. They're worried about their futures." On his district's western end, he says, "The quality of life is a big issue and environment tends to be a big issue" because of nearby reservoirs and sludge ponds.

Of course, issues related to O'Hare International Airport get statewide attention. In fact, Philip and Daniels, representing districts near the noise, threaten from time to time to assert control over Chicago-owned airports. But the noise is a concern in some parts of Arlington Heights, not in others. "You can go talk in [southwest suburban] Palos Park about airport noise," notes Daniels' chief of staff, Mike Tristano, "but no one will listen or care."

The debate over school funding also reflects the diversity of this section of the state. The conventional wisdom in many northwest suburbs is that shifting school funding from the property tax to the income tax would translate to a net tax hike for many upper-income residents. But that's not the case for all. The residents of Cicero can't afford to build schools fast enough to keep up with the growing Hispanic population. Yet Kubik says he can drive four miles, just over his district's border to Oak Brook, and watch parents in Mercedes- Benz sedans drop off children at schools with carpeted halls decorated with busts of historical figures.

Still, Kubik argues, there is some suburban common ground. "We're the ones who provide the dollars and get very little back," he says. "That probably defines the suburban perspective." But that may be about the only sure generalization to be made. "I've always said part of the problem in Illinois is we're a vertical state, not a horizontal one, and that makes governing much more difficult," Kubik says, referring to the state's diversity, north to south. "There's a hell of a lot of gray in this process."

Madeleine Doubek is political editor for the Daily Herald, a suburban metro newspaper.

Illinois Issues May 1998 / 45