Getting Up to Speed: McCormick 101

By
by Phil Zepeda, Director of Communications 

Growing up and spending most of my adult life in Chicago, I was very familiar with the McCormick Foundation, probably due to my interest in local philanthropy at a young age.

But now that I have the great fortune of working for this legendary organization, I’ve been able to hear about the rich life of our benefactor, Robert R. McCormick, and gain a better understanding of his contributions to our area – some monumental and others cultural.

For instance, it was McCormick who coined the term “Chicagoland,” with historians tracing its first use back to 1926.

McCormick led the effort to expand Chicago north of the Chicago River along Michigan Avenue. In 1918, the Chicago Tribune created an editorial platform raising attention about important civic improvement issues. His “Extend the Chicago Plan” was built off of Daniel Burnham’s city plan and promoted completing Michigan Avenue and building the Michigan Avenue Bridge.

Naming Chicago’s airport “O’Hare Field” was McCormick’s idea. An outspoken advocate for honoring the sacrifices of America’s veterans, McCormick spoke at the 1949 dedication that memorialized Naval Lt. Commander Edward H. “Butch” O’Hare, the Navy’s first flying ace of the 1940s.

While most of his fame came from his work as editor and publisher of the Chicago Tribune, McCormick was a prolific writer, authoring books on topics ranging from the Civil War to our First Amendment freedoms.

When most people hear McCormick, their thoughts may immediately veer towards Chicago’s McCormick Place. It was posthumously named in his honor as he was as a major proponent of bringing more conventions to Chicago.

But his legacy has influenced countless schools, communities and lives locally, regionally, nationally and internationally. As Director of Communications of the McCormick Foundation, it’s my intent to bring more of these stories to life and share how, even today, his influence to strengthen communities can be experienced in our everyday lives.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Home Visiting Helps Combat Effects of Toxic Stress in Young Children

By
Guest blog by Diana Rauner, President, Ounce of Prevention Fund & Gaylord Gieseke, Vice President, Voices for Illinois Children  The number of children at risk for the short and long-term effects of toxic childhood stress is growing dramatically. This was the dismal news highlighted in a policy statement released last month by the American Academy of Pediatrics and in a recent op-ed from New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof. Both cite new research that demonstrates that the cumulative effects of growing up in environments replete with violence, parental depression, chaos and other uncertainties can literally alter the healthy, normal development of a young child’s brain. These stressors can impede a child’s capacity to “power down” from the fight or flight reflex, which reduces his ability to manage his temper and emotions or show empathy to others. It can also lead to later drug and alcohol use, obesity, heart disease and even early death. But it doesn’t have to be th...
Read more

Preschool Attendance Matters

By
Image
by Stacy Ehrlich and Julia Gwynne  Nationally, there has been a great effort to increase funding for early education programs to increase enrollment of at-risk children into high-quality programs, such as Head Start. However, recent research highlights that once children are enrolled in preschool, they must also regularly attend to reap the benefits. A study conducted by the University of Chicago Consortium on Chicago School Research, in collaboration with Chicago Public Schools, found that preschool students who are chronically absent – meaning they miss 10 percent or more of enrolled school days – have lower levels of math, letter recognition, and social-emotional skills by the time they enter kindergarten than children who attend regularly. In the 2011-12 school year, 45 percent of 3-year-olds and more than one-third of 4-year-olds were missing this much school – equivalent to three weeks. Moreover, for a portion of these students, preschool is the beginning of a pattern t...
Read more

Tracing America's Painful Past Can Offer Lessons for the Future

By
Image
On Saturday night, staff from the Robert R. McCormick Foundation will be attending the DuSable Museum of African American History’s “Night of 100 Stars,” a benefit highlighting the amazing achievements of notable individuals, including artist and musician Chancelor “Chance the Rapper” Bennett, former World Food Program executive director Ertharin Cousin, and Lonnie Bunch, the founding director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington D.C. and former president of the Chicago History Museum. Lonnie Bunch also had a piece in today’s New York Times about a recent incident at the National Museum in whcih someone placed a noose near one of the museum’s exhibits. This follows instances of nooses being left elsewhere on the National Mall in recent weeks, and in other places around the country as signs of racial hate and intimidation. Bunch offers a powerful view into the continuing story of racism and bigotry in this country, as well as our uneven progre...
Read more