I am a newcomer to both blogging and to the ACLU of Illinois (http://www.aclu-il.org). However, I am not a newcomer to the city of Chicago. As a child I grew up during the golden age of basketball in this city, and watched as Michael Jordan seemingly inspired the city to greatness. I grew up 5 blocks from the field of Mark Grace, Sammy Sosa, and Andre Dawson. To this day I regularly attend Cubs games with my little brother and friends hoping that maybe this is the year.

But I have grown up with more than just Chicago sports. Over the last twelve years I have lived with my family in the Oak Park River Forest area just outside the city, where I attended Oak Park and River Forest High School (http://www.oprfhs.org). As the most diverse school in the Chicago land area, I benefited greatly from the many experiences and opportunities the high school had to offer. From working as a volunteer for PADS and Habitat for Humanity (http://www.habitat.org) to performing as a concert pianist, I grew vastly in more ways than one over my high school years.

This summer, as a junior at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (http://www.wisc.edu) majoring in political science with a focus on American government, I will spend my days working as an intern at the ACLU of Illinois' Chicago office. While I am new to activism, I have taken many eye-opening classes about the current world environment. These classes range from the intricacies of the American government system to the transitional justice of countries from totalitarian or authoritarian regimes to democracy such as Iraq.

As a child that was born and raised just outside the city of Chicago, I have become well aware of the many challenges facing not just this country but this city as well. With the dubious ranking of being the fifth most segregated city in the country (http://www.censusscope.org/us/print_rank_dissimilarity_white_black.html), challenges of inequality in our school system, prisons and courts have plagued a city that prides itself on its greatness. While working as an intern I hope to shed some light on these growing tribulations. However, I do need some help. If you have a tip for me, or a civil liberties issue you would like see covered, please leave a comment! I look forward to hearing from you!