-
Mr. Philip Barr and Mrs.
Janet Barr, Downers Grove.
Mr. and Mrs. Barr are an inspiration and breathe life into the citizenry
of Downers Grove. In addition to being active parents and participants
in their church, the Barrs founded the Citizen Alliance on Park Spending.
CAPS is a non-profit watchdog group created to oversee the fiscal
spending of the Park District.
CAPS was formed in response to the Park District voting to disregard
the majority of citizens who voted "No" on a referendum.
The Barrs have been instrumental in spearheading community efforts
to place both binding and non-binding referendums on the ballot, and
when concerned citizens thought it was time for a change in Park District
Board representation, the Barrs and CAPS supported two candidates
successful run for Park District Board.
This summer, the Barrs and CAPS collected over 4,300
signatures to petition the Park District to decrease the Park District
General Fund tax. The Barrs are an example of "practicing daily
democracy" through not only working at the grassroots level to
improve the civic life of Downers Grove, but by also by running for
public office themselves. Janet Barr is a School Board member of District
66 in her spare time.
Ms. Tony Parker, Lyons.
Ms. Parker has made "citizen advocacy" her hobby. She protected
her fellow citizens from potentially toxic residue by taking on a
local developer, by taking on the responsibility of informing and
monitoring the Illinois EPA to ensure the developer submitted a remediation
plan.
Ms. Parker was instrumental in gathering petitions to place a binding
referendum on the ballot to change the form of government is Lyons.
When the Village of Lyons tried to prevent the citizens from placing
a the referendum on the ballot to change the form of government by
clogging the ballot with village initiated referendums, Ms. Parker
expended her own funds to file a lawsuit on behalf of all of the citizens
of Lyons to remove the village referendums from the ballot in favor
of the citizen referendums. The court ruled in favor of Ms. Parker
and the citizens of Lyons.
Recently, Ms. Parker spear headed an effort to defeat a school referendum
and Ms. Parker started a local community group, Partners Against Waist,
(PAWs) to educate the community and address the proposal of an additional
Tax Increment Financing District in Lyons. All of this is only a sampling
of what Ms. Parker has been doing with her free time in the last year!
DuPage Peace Through Justice Coalition.
The DuPage Peace Through Justice Coalition is a diverse ethnic, racial,
religious and cultural organization united in their belief that war
is not the answer to terrorism. Perhaps you have seen DPTJC leafleting
at train stations in DuPage County or seen the DPTJC hanging peace
banners over the tollway. Or maybe you were one of several hundred
people in attendance at a peace rally organized by DPT J.
The commitment of DuPage Peace Through Justice Coalition members
to raise awareness, to promote discussion of nonviolent solutions
to terrorism, and to provide a public forum to present alternatives
to war has resulted in extensive community organizing, education,
and outreach. The Coalition provides countless informal opportunities
for individuals to learn about and become involved in the peace movement
by holding monthly community meetings, discussion groups, and video
nights. The Coalition has met with Representative Judy Biggert and
with the office of US Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert to discuss
US policies toward Afghanistan and Iraq, and to express opposition
to war. The Coalition also sponsored large public forums and community
actions to present alternatives to war and education on cross cultural
issues.
--HOME
--