Jon's Bio:

I began my career at the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources initially preparing engineering plans for wastewater treatment plants but ended up managing the Federal-State environmental assistance programs. From there I went to the Council of State Governments, a state-sponsored think tank that provides policy input to state governments. Finally, I went to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency first as head of Public Affairs and Community Relations, then as Deputy Director of the Water Division, And finally as head of the Office of International Activities running the U.S. environmental assistance program for post Soviet Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. I was tapped by the US Ambassador to Denmark to become the first regional Environmental Attache serving all the embassies in the Nordic-Baltic region. After retiring, I went to work at the Book Stall in Winnetka, managing the store for a number of years until recently when I dropped back to simply being a bookseller...a job I truly enjoy

Jon's Talk:

I propose to talk about three books: The first is It Can't Happen Here a novel written by Sinclair Lewis in 1935; second I'll talk about Fascism by Madelein Albright; finally, I'll talk about Strangers in Their Own Land by Arlie Hochschild. Sinclair Lewis' novel, written in the 30's is a cautionary tale about the fragility of democracy and the possibility of fascism taking hold. Albright's book looks at what fascism is and isn't, the conditions under which it flourishes, and a look at the threat it poses to American democracy. Hochschild is a Univ. of California - Berkely sociologist. Not surprising, she had little contact with the far right and wondered what was it that they were after. She spent 5 years in the rural conservative South learning what these "forgotten " Americans are angry about and what they value. 

The three books form a nice point - counter-point around an issue that should be of concern to all Americans.

I think the choices get to your desired end of looking at the concerns of liberals and conservatives in this period of increasingly divisive politics.As I'll attempt to show, the grievances of both the left and the right are legitimate and that the values of each are not dissimilar. Both want a better more just America but what that means is often a matter of dispute.

• They were able to pass the Gun Dealer Licensing Bill through the House and the Senate, but it was vetoed by Gov Rauner. They are hopeful that Gov Pritzker will sign it as soon as he is in office, unless it needs to go back through both houses first. That procedure is being evaluated. They are more confident that it could pass both houses as they now have, after 18 years of grass roots advocacy, a supermajority in Illinois.
• In Chicago, violence interruption organizations like CeaseFire have been very effective in changing the mindset of violent offenders. She described the progress as “dramatic” in high risk neighborhoods.
• A law has taken effect in Illinois called the Firearm Restraining Order (a so-called “red flag law”) allowing family members or friends to ask law enforcement to legally remove firearms for 6 months from an individual that they feel is at risk of committing a violent crime.
• A second law that has taken effect requires a 72-hour waiting period before purchasing a firearm, up from 24 hours.
• Progress has been made in Lake County, with more elected officials that support gun safety legislation.

• Surrounding states have lax laws, Wisconsin and Indiana most notably, allowing gun traffic across state lines.
• Too many federal officials are “owned” by the gun lobby. While it may take time, these officials need to be voted out of office if they are financially supported by those organizations.
• While progress has been made, “cultural change takes decades”. Change begins at the local level, then state, then federal. She suggested that progress has been made at the state level.