Assyrian Caucus looks to address challenges facing the community
By GRACE KINNICUTT
Capitol News Illinois
gkinnicutt@capitolnewsillinois.com
SPRINGFIELD – Illinois lawmakers have formed the Illinois Assyrian Caucus in an effort to help them understand and learn about challenges facing the Assyrian community and how to address them.
Sen. Ram Villivalam, D-Chicago, announced the formation of the caucus at a news conference in early March. The caucus has 18 founding members from the Senate and House, including 17 Democrats and one Republican. Villivalam will serve as co-chair alongside Rep. Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz, D-Glenview.
“I look at our role as a caucus as working with the community to ensure that their voice is heard and that they have a seat at the table when we have policy discussions,” Villivalam said.
Assyrians are a transnational ethnic group and are indigenous to parts of Iraq, Turkey and Syria. The United States is home to more than 600,000 Assyrian Americans with about 100,000 living in the Chicagoland area according to the Assyrian Universal Alliance Foundation.
According to the AUAF, the first Assyrians to settle in Illinois immigrated from modern-day Iran in 1889.
Atour Sargon, vice chair of the Assyrian Policy Institute, said the formation of the new caucus speaks to the growing influence of the community. It is a welcomed development, she said, in uplifting the voices of Assyrians and helping legislators understand the needs and priorities of the Assyrian community
The Assyrian Policy Institute is a nonprofit organization that advocates for the rights of Assyrians and other minorities throughout the Middle East.
In an interview with Capitol News Illinois, Sargon said the top priorities the API would like to see addressed are senior, immigrant and refugee services, the opioid crisis, and access to mental health resources.
Sargon said the API would like to see improved access to immigrant and refugee support services such as trauma response services for those who have survived traumatic experiences in countries Assyrians have fled. The group is also advocating for immigrant rights protections and improved access to citizenship.
To address the opioid crisis among young adults in the community, Sargon wants to establish programs to help prevent substance abuse and to expand access to support services for families.
“It’s a really taboo issue in our community,” Sargon said. “Providing improved access to resources can really help a great deal.”
She also said the API would like to have group social programs readily available for seniors who spend time alone at home while family members are working.
Another challenge that was noted during the news conference was Assyrians assimilating into the local community and learning English while trying to keep the language, culture and traditions of their home country.
“I think the hardest challenge that any immigrant faces when they are in this country is the balance of assimilating and learning the language, culture and traditions here,” Villivalam said.
Sargon said in interview that the API would like to see the Assyrian language offered as an accredited option at public high schools.
Sargon said the institute wants to see within the coming year the passing of Senate Joint Resolution 21, which would formally recognize the Assyrian Genocide of 1915 and the Simele Massacre of 1933 as a genocide. It would also declare Aug. 7 as Assyrian Remembrance Day.
“Assyrians have had a long history of being marginalized and denied representation, suffering executions and enduring political oppression,” Sargon said.
The Assyrian Genocide began in late 1914 and continued for more than a decade with the peak of the violence occurring between 1915 and 1918.
The Ottoman Turks and allied Kurdish tribes subjected hundreds of thousands of Assyrians to massacre, torture and cultural and ethnic destruction along with the destruction of villages and cultural heritage sites, and the assassination of Assyrian intellectual and religious leaders.
The massacres took place in various locations across modern-day Turkey, Iran and Iraq. An estimated 250,000 Assyrians were murdered during the genocide with a large number forced into permanent exile.
The Simele Massacre was committed by armed Iraqi forces and took place across more than 100 Assyrian villages, leading to the death of about 6,000 Assyrians. Inhabitants of 65 Assyrian villages were massacred, including 3,000 in Simele.
Illinois would be the fourth state to formally recognize the Assyrian Genocide.
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service covering state government that is distributed to more than 400 newspapers statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
Local News
Oak Lawn police target drivers who ignore stop signs
Spread the loveBy Joe Boyle Oak Lawn police are going to crack down on reckless drivers who repeatedly blow stop signs throughout the village. And police will begin enforcing those measures within the next two weeks. The subject was brought up during the Oak Lawn Village Board meeting June 11. Village Manager Tom Phelan said…
Volunteers from Brother Rice, St. Rita and St. Laurence help indigent on their final journey
Spread the loveBy Nuha Abdessalam Father Larry Sullivan, a director of Catholic Cemeteries of the Archdiocese of Chicago and pastor of Christ the King Parish, joined County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and spoke words of love, respect, and God at the 35th annual committal service at Mount Olivet Cemetery. The service on June 6 at…
Riot Fest abandons Chicago park for SeatGeek Stadium
Spread the loveBy Bob Bong Last year, Lyrical Lemonade moved its Summer Smash hip-hop music festival from Chicago’s Douglass Park to Bridgeview’s SeatGeek Stadium. Thousands of fans poured into the stadium at 7100 S. Harlem Ave. over the course of three days and, by most accounts, enjoyed the experience. Summer Smash returned to SeatGeek this…
Comings & Goings: Orland Park Summerfest returns this weekend
Spread the loveBy Bob Bong Back for a second go round this weekend is the Orland Park Area Chamber of Commerce’s Summerfest. The event combines a carnival, live music, an array of dining options and a car show, at the 153rd Street Metra Station location in Orland Park and will run from Friday, June 14,…
Repair Cafe this Saturday at Township of Lyons HQ
Spread the loveBy Steve Metsch Repair cafes have become quite the thing for the Township of Lyons. So much so that another repair cafe will be offered from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. this Saturday, June 15, at the township office, 6404 Joliet Road in Countryside. A repair café held in May was a smashing…
‘They didn’t have to kill my brother’ – sister of slain Bridgeview man
Spread the loveBy Steve Metsch Arturo Cantu should be celebrating two big events this weekend. He would have celebrated his 40th birthday on June 14. And, a sister said, he would have enjoyed Father’s Day on Sunday, spending time with family and his two young children. Instead, 10 family members and friends gathered in a…
‘You just learn to live with the pain’
Spread the loveStatus hearing in July for McCook murder By Steve Metsch The attorney representing a Chicago man charged with murdering a Blue Island man in McCook in February told a judge Wednesday there’s been “a significant and outstanding discovery in this matter.” Attorney Damon Cheronis made his comment before Cook County Circuit Court Judge…
Man shot in La Grange; suspect arrested in Stickney
Spread the loveBy Steve Metsch A man was shot Tuesday afternoon in La Grange, according to a news release received Wednesday from the police department. A suspect has been apprehended, the release said. The shooting victim remains in stable condition at a local hospital, the release said. La Grange Police, working with the Major Case…
Softball | Marist will play for state title for fourth straight season
Spread the loveBy Randy Whalen Correspondent Marist returned to the state title game for the fourth straight season with a 7-1 victory over Mundelein in the semifinals, held June 7 at Louisville Slugger Sports Complex in Peoria. The Mustangs (36-2) were making their first appearance at state since 1996. “We have a core group of returners,”…
Neighbors
Storm scrambles waste pickup in Palos Park
Spread the loveOn Wednesday afternoon, the Village of Palos Park was informed by Republic Services that waste pickup is cancelled in the village, and all other communities they serve, for Thursday, February 3, due to the continued closure of landfill sites from the hazardous winter conditions. Thursday waste service customers will need to hold their…
Archer Avenue may go green
Spread the loveSt. Patrick’s Day parade planned By Tim Hadac Organizers of Garfield Ridge’s annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade are hoping the Lightfoot Administration will give a green thumbs-up to the small but festive celebration of all things Irish. For each of the last two years, City Hall withdrew its support and denied permits based…
No injuries in basement fire in Orland Park apartment
Spread the loveFrom staff reports A basement fire damaged a four-unit apartment building early Sunday morning in Orland Park. The fire was extinguished quickly and damage was kept to a small area of the basement, although smoke filled the building. Officials of the Orland Fire Protection District said there were no injuries and the cause…
Worth hires new management for Water’s Edge Golf Course
Spread the loveBy Joe Boyle Even an impending snowstorm could not damper the mood of Worth Trustee Laura Packwood regarding plans for the village’s Water’s Edge Golf Course. Packwood, who is the head of the golf committee, said that Orion, a company based out of Kansas City, Mo., became the official managers of Water’s Edge…
Cook County residents eligible for spay/neuter discounts in February
Spread the lovePet owners can bring their dogs and cats to participating veterinarians throughout Cook County to receive a $40 discount on spay or neuter services in February. The Cook County Department of Animal and Rabies Control are offering the spay and neuter program during February – Spay and Neuter Awareness Month. More than 200…
Teen driver charged in crash that killed Alsip girl
Spread the loveBy Bob Bong A juvenile was charged by Palos Heights police Monday with reckless homicide and reckless driving in the December 27 crash that killed a 14-year-old girl from Alsip and injured six other people. Palos Heights police did not identify the juvenile because of the driver’s age. The driver was charged with…
Let us grow, let us grow, let us grow
Spread the love The weather outside may be frightful, but the learning at St. Sym’s is delightful, is the message implied in a bulletin board designed by third grader Olivia Hernandez. School officials said Olivia was given the opportunity to design the bulletin board as a reward for the kindness she shows at school. Catholic…
Cold weather, warm hearts
Spread the loveBy Joan Hadac Your correspondent in Clearing and Garfield Ridge (708) 496-0265 • joan.hadac@gmail.com Hi everyone. Welcome to February, the shortest month of the year, jam-packed with holidays like Lincoln’s Birthday, Washington’s Birthday–which are usually bundled together into Presidents Day–Groundhog Day, Mardi Gras, Ash Wednesday and Super Bowl Sunday. (Some of us just check…