Latino Policy Forum Breakfast Outlines Illinois Latino Population Growth
Community leaders, public officials and policy analysts gathered at the glamorous Union League Club of Chicago on Tuesday Oct. 18 for the Latino Policy Forum breakfast fundraiser and policy briefing.
An event held to facilitate dialogue on the shifting population demographics of the United States and the state of Illinois, the Forum provided guests with a new issue of their data brief series, Statistics on Latinos (SOL), and outlined the implications of Illinois Latinos’ 121 percent state growth during the last decade.
“At a time when the word Latino is only synonymous with immigrant, the census shows us that 80 percent of the [population] increase came from U.S. born Latinos,” said Sylvia Puente, executive director of the Latino Policy Forum. “We are Latino, we are Illinoisans, we are American, and we are changing the fate of this state and this nation.”
According to SOL, at 16 percent of the population, Latinos are the second-largest racial ethnic group in Illinois and represent $44 billion in purchasing power, accenting their overall contributions to the social, political and economic life of the state and country.
“This community is now too big for America to try to succeed without it,” said Ray Suarez, senior correspondent of PBS NewsHour and keynote speaker of the event. “Our future prosperity is this country’s prosperity and if we don’t make it, it just won’t be us that are worse off for it but everyone will be worse off for it.”
As guests enjoyed their breakfast, Suarez stressed that although there has been significant progress for Latinos, there is still much more to improve upon. Case in point: Latino high school graduation rates. Though they have increased to 60 percent, they still remain lower than the American average.
“The challenges are many,” said Suarez. “Demographic, education, economic and cultural.”
As an aid to overcome these challenges, the new data brief series of SOL will be available to community leaders, urban planners, elected officials, journalists and anyone interested in seeking data on Latinos, providing a snapshot of the growth, influence and challenges of the local Latino community.
October 21, 2011 - 10:00 am
I was present at the breakfast and I enjoyed Ray Suarez’s speech. I felt the energy and enthusiasm of Suarez’s presentation. Yet, I also felt the quietness from the audience. Not sure if the information shared by Suarez just sadly confirmed that our youth still need a lot of financial assistance to get an education and move on to college. The economy for the Latinos is difficult and the state of discrimination compounds the situation. A Catch 22 situation. We Latinos are optimist of the present and future. Therefore, I am hopeful that as all Latinos work together; because this is Key, then things will turn around. When I see “Aqui Y Ahora” and “Al Punto”; see the commercial in Channel 44 and 66 regarding education; “es el momento”; I am very proud that we have come along and striving to a better place. Thanks.