Chicago Tribune du lieu suivant : Chicago, Illinois • Page 2-1

SECTION 2 MONDAY CHICAGOLAND A fter the kid with the funny delivered the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic convention, folk who have even considered voting for a Democrat said they could vote for a Barack he ever decided to run for national office. Obama had just captivated the nation, suggesting that despite the many things that divided us, there were still far more that united us. It was OK to embrace America in the ideal. He said it was important not to pretend that the bad stuff would just fix itself; but change had to be rooted in the belief that anything was possible. He called this the politics of hope.

the hope of slaves sitting around afire singing freedom he said in his address. hope of immigrants setting out for distant shores. The hope of a skinny kid with a funny name who believes that America has a place for him too. The audacity of hope. the end, that is greatest gift to us, the bedrock of this Man, people were psyched.

Still, it hard to wonder whether the then soon-to-be senator from Illinois was really electable if he decided to run for president. Would those warm and fuzzy feelings translate into real votes? Obama announced his candidacy for president and soon it became clear that one group he had to win over was African-Americans. And not the knuckleheads who questioned whether he was black enough. Rather those who were concerned about whether a man of color (even one so impressive) could break this ultimate color barrier and ascend to the highest political office of the land. Indeed, the country craved change.

But was the one that shows itself during times of great for a president who a white man? Had George W. Bush busted the white-male-only model enough that America would be willing to elect a man of color or a woman to the job? Polls had shown Hillary Clinton doing rather well among blacks, in part because compared with Obama, she appeared to be the more viable choice. So, win last week in Iowa went along way toward making a lot of black people feel, well, hopeful that maybe Obama does have the juice. Iowa was huge in this regard. Yes, he had a crazy amount of money and a cadre of grass-roots organizers who helped paint their guy as the man with the ideas behind the ideals.

And, yes, he benefited from a record Democratic turnout that included first- time caucusgoers, young voters and very liberal Democrats, about one-third of female voters. (He fared far less well in the rural areas.) Knowing this, and that caucus system is unique with only about 10 percent of the voters participating, most people I talked to last week were inspired by win. They care that the stars align themselves the same way for him in other contests. They were simply basking in the glow. Some talked about what his win means to young black and brown people.

One friend said that although always told his son and daughter that America, you really can be anything you want to be if you work Now, that line has new meaning. Some people talked about what Oba- Iowa win said about the country. Not that America has shed its racism, but clearly the younger generation as afraid to embrace multiculturalism, or a man who is the embodiment of the same. Some suggested that maybe there are just enough more-seasoned voters who are simply tired of all of our divi- sions.Most people understand the reality of race in America and fooling themselves into believing Obama still has anything but an uphill battle. Tuesday in New Hampshire may cast this tale in a completely different light.

But a lot of folk believed they would never in their lifetime see anybody like Obama do anything like what happened Thursday in Iowa. That alone inspires a wellspring of feelings, not the least of which is hope. After Iowa, hope really not so audacious Dawn Turner Trice His win in Iowa went a long way toward making a lot of black people feel hopeful. By Jeff Long Tribune staff reporter As Keen Nyamwange marched silently on Sunday along North Wells Street in Chicago, his mind was on bloodshed thousands of miles away in his native Kenya, where a controversial election has spurred more than a week of violence. Nyamwange, 53, was also thinking about the disputed 2000 presidential election in the United States, when George W.

Bush took office amid accusations of flawed vote-counting. He watched heated political debate over that contest, learned about hanging chads with the rest of America, and saw the U.S. Supreme Court finally step in to help settle the dispute. difference is, there were no killings in the U.S.,” said Nyamwange, who has lived in this country for 20 years, but whose parents and other family members still live in Kenya. He was among nearly 200 people who gathered Sunday afternoon, many from Ken- ya and other African countries, to pray for an end to the carnage.

Last presidential election unleashed tribal violence across the east African nation, pitting the Luos people and others who support opposition leader Raila Odinga against Kikuyus and their allies who support President Mwai Kibaki, according to the Associated Press. With Kenya considered an ally in the fight against terrorism, the violence has damaged its image as a stable democracy, ob- PLEASE SEE KENYA, PAGE5 do pray not only for peace and reconciliation, but also for wisdom for the leaders of Mukila Maitha, president, United Kenyans of Chicago Tribune photo by Candice C. Cusic Narita Sharma, 12, was among nearly 200 people who marched outside the office of United Kenyans of Chicago on Wells Street Sunday in a vigil for peace in riot-torn Kenya. Nearly 200 pray for peace in Kenya Chicago vigil is silent, heartfelt By Bonnie Miller Rubin Tribune staff reporter The small pile of stuffed animals, soaking wet and leaning against a gazebo, was the most visible trace of the frenzied activity that thrust Plainfield into the headlines nine months ago. The gazebo, less than half a block from the home of Lisa Stebic, was where investigators convened, throngs of reporters and satellite trucks descended and prayers were offered for the missing mother of two.

Now, still a tattered we miss sign and a few candles strewn about. But except for the honking geese overhead, the street was eerily quiet. The news media compound migrated 8 miles to the north to Bolingbrook, where all Peterson, all the time. Whether about Stacy, who disappeared in October, or her husband, Drew, a former cop who is a suspect in the case. But in ways large and small, life in the quiet Plainfield subdivision is forever changed.

High-decibel investigations can touch off waves of repercussions. Careers are made and broken, parks are created, relationships unravel and scholarships send students to college who may not otherwise have had the opportunity. In Modesto, the back- to-back disappearances of Chandra Levy and Laci Peterson put the city on the media map. all that happened, the only thing we were known for was the Gallo said Patty Burnett, a legal secretary. mother lived near Laci Peterson, who vanished in 2002 and captivated America for the next two her husband, Left to fill void of the missing High-profile cases leave lasting mark on communities Tribune photo by Chuck Berman A teddy bear hangs at a gazebo in Plainfield where a search sign for missing mother Lisa Stebic is posted.

PLEASE SEE MISSING, PAGE2 By Barbara Mahany Tribune staff reporter Under misting skies, on a balmy January Sunday, beneath the terra-cotta brow of a boarded-up old bank where 87 pigeons roosted, the mourners came with nine loaves of bread, a sack of cracked corn and 200 black- and-white photocopied cards with a word, defined. A No. 49B Western Avenue CTA bus pulled to the curb, and the driver leaned forward in his seat and whispered his prayer, making a sign of the cross as he steered back into traffic. A Chicago beat cop, in her squad car, pulled up too. With tears in her eyes, she gave her blessing to the flurry of feathers and crumbs and an old friend, now gone.

They came, this little knot of friends and strangers, because the sadness that swelled their hearts, they said, could not be contained. Nor the yearning for a proper goodbye. They gathered around a weathered red fire hydrant along Western Avenue, just north of Lawrence Avenue, in Lincoln Square, to whisper words of thanks and scatter corn and bread crumbs for the tender- Tribune photo by E. Jason Wambsgans Perched on the fire hydrant that was once used by Joseph Zeman, Ginny Burns (left) and several others fed birds as part of an informal memorial Sunday in Lincoln Square. Neighbors bid farewell to Pigeon PLEASE SEE PIGEON MAN, PAGE5 Zeman At a memorial in Lincoln Square, mourners honor his life by feeding birds he befriended By Sara Olkon and Gary Washburn Tribune staff reporters Lou Parochelli spends his free time comforting soldiers at International Airport.

like hugging my said Parochelli, whose 24-year-old son, an Army specialist, is stationed in Iraq. On Monday, President Bush will present the 57-year-old retired bricklayer with the Volunteer Service Award for his work with United Service Organization (USO) of Illinois. Including overnight shifts, Parochelli has logged more than 1,200 hours since he began volunteering in April 2005. Parochelli said Sunday that he will ask Bush to remember the soldiers in his prayers. get choked up when I talk about the he said.

Bush comes to Chicago to discuss the No Child Left Behind Act, almost six years after he signed the sweeping education law that remains his signature domestic initiative. Bush and U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings are scheduled to visit Greeley Elementary School on the North Side. Bush also will meet with members of Olympic planning Bush set to honor soldier PLEASE SEE HONOR, PAGE5 USO volunteer to receive award Getting Around has the day off. Product: CTMETRO PubDate: 01-07-2008 Zone: ALL Edition: HD Page: 2-1 User: mmccann Time: Color:.