What is a Community Organizer in Chicago?

McLeansboro Times-Leader reports:

A community organizer would make an appointment to meet with the owner of a small business, or with the president or other high officer of a larger business. The community organizer would always have done his homework. He dressed up in a Brooks Brothers suit, white shirt and conservative tie.

The meetings would always be cordial and very private. The community organizer would advise the company official of certain data. Sometimes the company would make a very generous donation to a civic group or sponsor some neighborhood activity.

Other times it would be brought to the company’s attention that a review of personnel records indicated that “not enough” people from a certain “sphere” were employed by that company and that that company did quite a fair amount of business in certain parts of the city. Lo and behold, some people then got jobs.

The company got a great write-up in the papers for their wonderful community spirit and civic mindfulness.

The Chicago Way.