UNFILTERED WITH PUBLIC OFFICIALS: WHERE YOUTH ASK THE QUESTIONS
In 2015, Sabrina Hart joined Ladies of Virtue, which empowers young women to become confident and purposedriven leaders. Sabrina says, “What I love about Ladies of Virtue is that they help African American girls like me strive towards success!” Here, she interviews Alderwoman Maria Hadden, of the 49th Ward.
•••• SABRINA: A lot of youth and young adults may not be familiar with you. Who are you and what are your intentions for the city of Chicago?
Maria Hadden is a Chicago Alderwoman and community activist, now serving the city’s Far Northside 49th ward. In 2019, she defeated a 28-year incumbent Joe Moore.
The interviewer, Sabrina Hart Hadden’s far Northside ward includes Rogers Park, which is well-known for its racial, economic, and ethnic diversity – and its residents’ many years’ of activism to keep it that way!
ALD. HADDEN: I’m a Columbus, Ohio native. For 16 years, I’ve lived in Chicago. Since 2004, I’ve lived in Rogers Park neighborhood, 49th Ward. My formal education focused on civic engagement, pro-democracy, and uplifting community voices in decision making. Also, I support locals in organizing around housing issues. How will we be able to move past the protests and rioting? How will we do better so people won’t feel like they have to steal because they want to be heard or out of necessity? What we saw previously [in history] and are seeing now is simple but not easy. People are protesting, rioting, and demanding change. One of the big questions is will the government in Chicago listen this time. My colleagues and I see that and we know people want to have a sense that they are heard. With the lack of quality healthcare, how can Chicago Aldermen help people grieving because they’ve lost someone due to COVID? We should be expanding our healthcare throughout Chicago. I am a member of the COVID Recovery Task Force. We are committed to supporting Chicagoans impacted by this pandemic. I don’t know a lot about the Public Insurance option but I wonder what that would look like in Chicago. This pandemic has shown us how important it is that we have healthcare.
