Dear Mayor: Chicago Youth Talk to Our Next Leader

By Kevin Robinson in News on Dec 7, 2010 2:00PM

The Mikva Challenge, a local non-profit founded by former White House Counsel, Judge and U.S. Congressman Abner Mikva and his wife Zoe to help develop the next generation of civic leaders in Chicago, recently launched a website to "give Chicago's youth a space to share with mayoral candidates their issues, their needs, their opinions, and most importantly their vision for Chicago." Dear Mayor features primarily video of Chicago youth to share their thoughts about the upcoming mayoral election, political change and civic engagement, and what it means to them.

From encouragement for better funding for the arts to calls to take action to reduce violent crime in the city, Dear Mayor brings the voices of the next generation of Chicagoans to the candidates that are vying for our votes. And while many of the young Chicagoans featured in the letters, poems and videos on Dear Mayor will not be old enough to vote in February's upcoming election, this project affords them the opportunity to get involved in the election, and the issues.