Crystal Palmer and Keith Jackson named "Community Heroes"
Many people in the West Haven neighborhood already know about the hard work of Crystal Palmer and Keith Jackson. On Wednesday March 26, the whole city learned of their neighborhood improvement efforts when they were honored as two of 30 “Community Heroes” in Chicago and recognized by a Chicago City Resolution that passed unanimously on March 12th.
The Community Heroes were presented with their honors during an evening reception at the “Getting It Done: New Tools for Communities” conference which highlights the accomplishments of the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) of Chicago’s New Communities Program (NCP). NCP is a comprehensive effort to improve the quality of life in 16 Chicago communities.
In each of the communities, heroes were chosen by the local NCP lead agency and its partners.
"I see sustained enthusiasm, real commitment, and significant progress in improving communities," said Jonathan Fanton, President of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. "The New Communities Program is proving resilient in the face of larger economic forces and remains ready to seize unexpected opportunities. Indeed, Chicago’s comprehensive approach is spreading to other cities and attracting investments from new sources."
The heroes are featured on the NCP web site at www.newcommunities.org and in a booklet published by the New Communities Program. They also were recognized by the Chicago City Council in a resolution introduced by
Alderman Ed Burke (14th), Alderman Daniel Solis (25th) and Alderman Toni Preckwinkle (4th).
The resolution reads, in part, “Community heroes take on the arduous task of building their community and work valiantly to create opportunities for the preservation, growth and sustainability of their neighborhood.”
West Haven has two Community Heroes: Crystal Palmer and Keith Jackson.
Crystal Palmer
has spent nearly a decade advocating for Near West Side residents. As a case manager at Near West Side Community Development Corporation, Palmer serves as a liaison between public housing residents and the Chicago Housing Authority, Illinois Department of Human Services and other government agencies. She organizes job fairs and health fairs for residents. As a West Haven resident, president of the Henry Horner/West Haven Local Advisory Council, and secretary of the Horner Resident Committee for the past three years, Palmer has helped implement the Horner consent decree, a federal court order that cleared the way for Horner to be redeveloped into a mixed-income community.
Keith Jackson
is a lifelong resident of the West Side who once played lead trombone in the Duke Ellington Orchestra. After tiring of the grind of touring the world, Jackson returned to Chicago to begin his life’s mission: organizing people in communities of color to realize self-empowerment. He has spent a quarter-century as a community organizer for the Chicago Area Project and now serves as president of the Chicago Institute for Community Organizing. In those roles, Jackson helped create the Horner Association of Men, an organization that helps former public housing residents find jobs—sometimes through Jackson’s own cleaning service. More recently, he helped launch a computer lab for kids at the Major Adams Academy, formerly part of the Horner Boys & Girls Club.
“We know that community development wouldn’t be possible without individuals like these, and we want to recognize them for all the work they’ve done,” said Andrew Mooney, Executive Director of LISC/Chicago.
The New Communities Program is supported by a major grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation with additional support from: Bank of America, Chicago Bulls, Chase Foundation, James W. and Kay Mabie, Living Cities, Polk Brothers Foundation, State Farm, Steans Family Foundation, Louis R. Lurie Foundation, The Annie E. Casey Foundation, The Atlantic Philanthropies, The Chicago Community Trust, The Lloyd A. Fry Foundation, The Partnership for New Communities, The Joyce Foundation and University of Chicago.