American Arabs must fully engage in elections by voting
English: Downtown Chicago, Illinois at night. The small building on the left was demolished for Trump International Hotel and Tower (Chicago). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Samir Khalil, the director of the Arab American Democratic Club of Illinois discusses the roll American Arabs play in local politics and in elections. Khalil discusses the recent luncheon which hosted dozens of elected officials including Gov. Pat Quinn, Samantha Haddad Webb the candidate for 10th Ward Alderman in Chicago, and many other candidates for Cook County, Chicago and statewide office.
Khalil was the guest on Talk of the Town Radio hosted by Ray Hanania, former Chicago City Hall reporter for the Southtown and the Chicago Sun-Times from 1978 until 1992. Talk of the Town radio is broadcast every Friday at 4:05 PM CST Chicago time on WCEV 1450 AM Radio and also simulcast on www.YahalaVoice.com. It is rebroadcast on Yahala Voice on Monday’s at 11 am.
Khalil and Hanania discuss the failure of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel to include American Arabs in his administration and his destruction of the American Arab role with his predecessor Mayor Richard M. Daley. After his election, Emanuel gutted the Chicago Human Relations Commission, eliminated the Advisory Commission on Arab Affairs and refused to fund the 5th annual Arabesque Festival which began in 2007.
Hanania is the managing editor of The Arab Daily News www.TheArabDailyNews.com and also President/CEO of Urban Strategies Group media and public affairs consulting based in Orland Park, Illinois.
You can listen to the podcast by using the App below, or by downloading it to your iPod through iTunes. The downloads are free. The podcasts are a weekly segment hosted by the Arab Daily News online and Yahala Voice.
RAY HANANIA — Op-Ed writer, author, radio host, podcaster
Ray Hanania is an award winning political and humor columnist who analyzes American and Middle East politics, and life in general. He is an author of several books.
Hanania covered Chicago Politics and Chicago City Hall from 1976 through 1992 at the Daily Southtown and the Chicago Sun-Times. He began writing in 1975 publishing The Middle Eastern Voice newspaper in Chicago (1975-1977). He later published “The National Arab American Times” newspaper (2004-2007).
Hanania writes weekly columns on Middle East and American Arab issues as Special US Correspondent for the Arab News ArabNews.com, at TheArabDailyNews.com, and at SuburbanChicagoland.com. He has published weekly columns in the Jerusalem Post newspaper, YNetNews.com, Newsday, the Orlando Sentinel, Houston Chronical, and Arlington Heights Daily Herald.
Hanania is the recipient of four (4) Chicago Headline Club “Peter Lisagor Awards” for Column writing. In November 2006, he was named “Best Ethnic American Columnist” by the New American Media. In 2009, Hanania received the prestigious Sigma Delta Chi Award for Writing from the Society of Professional Journalists. He is the recipient of the MT Mehdi Courage in Journalism Award. He was honored for his writing skills with two (2) Chicago Stick-o-Type awards from the Chicago Newspaper Guild. In 1990, Hanania was nominated by the Chicago Sun-Times editors for a Pulitzer Prize for his four-part series on the Palestinian Intifada.
His writings have also been honored by two national Awards from ADC for his writing, and from the National Arab American Journalists Association.
Hanania is the US Special Correspondent for the Arab News Newspaper, covering Middle East and Arab American issues. He writes for the Southwest News newspaper group writing on mainstream American issues.