Illinois Governor Pat Quinn is set to name four people to serve on the board of Chicago State University. One of them, Julie Samuels, ran for Lt. Gov. as a Green in 2006 and is currently the vice president of the state party. The Chicago Tribune says that the Green Party is “a group Quinn undoubtedly would like to tap as he runs in 2010 for the state’s top job.” The ambiguous wording of this phrase and meaning of the appointment could be a combination of good and bad for the party – this is a sign of the state party’s growing legitimacy in the political arena, but could also be a way for Governor Quinn to keep them out of his (and other Democrats’) way in his bid for re-election.
Either way, hopefully the new board members, including the Green, will help to raise the school’s very low graduation rates and improve the quality of education there.
Very HlpfulHow Do You Do that? ,
Very Educational, eVry Good,
This is good news for the GPIL, even though this won’t affect them supporting the Governor in the election.
Samuels can use this position as a spring board for a serious run for office–perhaps State Senate of US House.
Whether or not there are political motivations, this is a great opportunity for Samuels and the Greens. Members of the Green Party and other third parties need to seek appointments to boards and committees to gain experience, knowledge, and standing for future runs. Running for city council as a library board member instead of a local activist will get you further along.
Julie will be a competent and hard-working trustee. Congrats!
Her position is actually Vice Chair. I don’t know where the Tribune got “Vice President” but I’ve found that reporters often screw up party titles, even though they are listed on our web site.
I personally think Julie is an excellent choice for this position, and I’m glad Gov. Quinn appointed her. Chicago State has been abused for too long by Democrats with clout. A good example of what happens when politics runs a university, the state legislature recently passed funding for a new satellite campus for Chicago State that the university’s president didn’t know about or ask for. In fact, the first he’d heard about it was when he read about it in a newspaper. The school has horrible outcomes, and yet, they’re going to build a brand new satellite campus for it, without having any kind of strategic plan in place?
I hope Samuels can bring some independence to the leadership of Chicago State…it is desperately needed.
Local Green Parties have their own rules. In Suffolk County, there is one Chair.
A side note:
As a woman who used to be in the Green Party, any rule or pattern can be soured. Sometimes, unscrupulous greens call for “Male and Female Co-Chairs”, so that instead of having one, proportional representation election for the position, they get to have two, separate races. That way everyone gets to feel like they are being kind to women–giving a set-aside chair. But, in fact, they can now have two, separate races, where the majority gets to pick both chairs (a man, and a woman loyal to the majority). Instead of benifitting from the purpose of Co-Chairs and IRV, which would be that two different factions get represented in the leadership. And, also, having a “male/female chair” makes sure that two women never lead a committee. It makes sure that women can’t take over or something…
Just some Green Party trivia…
Not to nit pic too much, but I thought the Green Party did not have chairs and vice chairs or presidents and vice presidents in favor of “Co-conveners”?
I realize that most of the report above came from a newspaper, which very well could have been in error. Or do the local Green chapters have their own rules?
PEACE
This is great news for the nation, Illinois, and the Green Party.
Thanks for the story.