We The People Media/Residents’ Journal takes a look at Barack Obama during his years in Illinois.

President Barack Obama announces the new Department of Health and Human Services director at the Chicago Hilton Hotel after the November 2008 General Election. Residents' Journal Photo by Mary C. Johns.

President Barack Obama and Education Secretary-nominee Arne Duncan in late 2008. Residents' Journal photo by Mary C. Johns.

President-elect Barack Obama, Vice President-elect Joe Biden and Education Secretary-designate Arne Duncan in late 2008. Residents' Journal photo by Mary C. Johns.

Barack Obama at a presidential debate sponsored by the AFL-CIO at Soldier Field in August 2007. Residents' Journal photo by Mary C. Johns.

Natasha "Sasha" Obama holding a campaign sign during her father's 2004 bid for the U.S. Senate. Residents' Journal photo by Mary C. Johns.

Editor’s Note: The following article was written by a youth reporter who is a graduate of the Urban Youth International Journalism Program.

Editor’s Note: This article was written slightly before the national election.

The Obama cave: October 30, 2008, 566 W. Lake St. You go down the stairs in the dark. Then you see a bright light and the Obama cave is there, with its many rooms, Obama signs and the word “Obama” everywhere.

The supporters show their love by coming in, signing up, and making phone calls to get other people to vote for Obama. Some go door to door. Everyone is there: the young and the elderly. They work there day and night from days to weeks, just to make sure that they get your vote and others. Eighty to 200 people come and help out every day. These were some of the people who took part in the campaign: Kate Samuels, Andy Kitaeff, Rodney Washington and Dough Stevensin.
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Editor’s Note: The following article was written by a youth reporter who is a graduate of the Urban Youth International Journalism Program.

Piotrowski Park, on 31st Street in Little Village, is cool. On Oct. 28, there was a program for youth voters or for young people to get involved in voting. These are some people who helped to organize this: Denise Olivares, 17, Jose Vera, 17, and Paulina Camacho, 23.

Olivares said, “This program is to encourage youth to get involved in voting and get their votes. Also to get people to vote soon and keep the youth in mind. This program talks about the issues, issues that youth have or that are going around the community.’’ Then I asked her, “If you were old enough, who would you vote for and why?” She said, “I’d vote for Obama because his policies are more for the people and a positive change.”
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Editor’s Note: The following article was written by a youth reporter who is a graduate of the Urban Youth International Journalism Program.

Whether Democrat, Republican or Libertarian, whichever party you call your political home, they all celebrated Illinois’ native son Barack Obama’s victory.

The biggest party in Washington DC history took place on January 20, 2009. The inauguration of Barack Obama made history, since he was elected the first African American president of the United States.
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This reporter was recently forwarded a press release which focused on the problem of homeless veterans recently discharged from active duty. The Jan. 5, 2009, press release was issued by the Illinois chapter of Volunteers of America indicated that “Nationally, over 200,000 are homeless on any given night in this country and more than 500,000 are homeless at some point during the year.” Erica Foreman, a community relations coordinator for Volunteers of America, said: “The lack of affordable housing – that is a big problem in Chicago and nationally, leaving many veterans in America homeless.

“A lot of people don’t realize how many homeless veterans there are. It is obscene. “There has never been affordable housing or sufficient job opportunities for these veterans. Volunteers of America has come up with its own affordable housing program that should be launched in 2010 on Madison and St. Louis on Chicago’s West Side. I think our communities should really get involved and contact local aldermen and governmental officials.”
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The co-chair of the Obama-Biden Presidential Transition Team urged the US Congress to delay the conversion from analog television to digital broadcasting because of “major difficulties” they discovered in the preparation for the transition.

John Podesta wrote a letter addressed to the chairmen of the committees at the US House of Representatives and the US Senate on January 8 asking for a delay in the so-called DTV transition, scheduled right now for February 17, 2009.
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President-elect Barack Obama Friday described President George W. Bush’s efforts to stave off the financial collapse of the nation’s automakers as a “necessary step.” Speaking at a press conference in Chicago at which he announced four more candidates to his Cabinet, Obama said “Today’s actions are a necessary step to help avoid a collapse in our auto industry that would have devastating consequences for our economy and our workers.

“With the short-term assistance provided by this package, the auto companies must bring all their stakeholders together – including labor, dealers, creditors and suppliers – to make the hard choices necessary to achieve long-term viability.
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Today, President-elect Barack Obama nominated former U.S. Sen. Tom Daschle as secretary of health and human services and named him the director of a new White House Office of Health Reform.

In his dual roles, Daschle will not only implement Obama’s vision at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, but also have the responsibility of leading health care reform. During a morning press conference at the Chicago Hilton and Towers, Obama said Daschle will be “the White House’s voice on this critical issue.”
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Editor’s Note: Today is Human Rights Day, and due to the time restraints in obtaining direct comments from President-elect Barak Obama in a timely fashion. I have decided to placed the below Statement from him regarding Human Rights Day in its entirety. The information was provided to Residents’ Journal and other news publications by the President-elect’s Transition Team Office.

“When the United States stands up for human rights, by example at home and by effort abroad, we align ourselves with men and women around the world who struggle for the right to speak their minds, to choose their leaders, and to be treated with dignity and respect. We also strengthen our security and well being, because the abuse of human rights can feed many of the global dangers that we confront — from armed conflict and humanitarian crises, to corruption and the spread of ideologies that promote hatred and violence.

“So on this Human Rights Day, let us rededicate ourselves to the advancement of human rights and freedoms for all, and pledge always to live by the ideals we promote to the world,” said President-elect Obama.

The Republicans and the Democrats are battling it out over Social Security. While everyone agrees Social Security must be reformed, Democrats deny there is a crisis, as alleged by President George W. Bush.

The President’s Pitch
President Bush has said that Social Security faces a $10 trillion unfunded obligation to beneficiaries. Trustees of the Social Security program have projected that by 2018 the program will owe more in annual benefits than the revenues generated by the payroll tax. They also say the program will be bankrupt by 2042.

In the 1950s, there were about sixteen workers paying for every Social Security beneficiary. Today there are about three, and eventually there will only be two workers per beneficiary, according to the President.
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