Finally, about a half hour after the scheduled press time, reporters and camera crews were invited into the meeting—just as it was breaking up. There was no way for us to know what had actually transpired—who’d proposed ideas or who’d tried to cover their asses—but we were allowed to catch glimpses of Governor Pat Quinn, schools chief Barbara Byrd-Bennett, and state’s attorney Anita Alvarez as they walked out the door.
Other heavy hitters—including Mayor Emanuel, Cook County Board president Toni Preckwinkle, and police superintendent Garry McCarthy—stuck around for the cameras, lining up alongside Congressman Rush as he announced the formation of the “Working Group on Hope and Healing.”
Less clear is what the group is actually going to do. Rush said goals include creating jobs, rehabbing a vacant building down the street to use as a training center, and bringing a neighborhood festival to East 79th Street. But he said that will be worked out in the coming weeks and months.