Running head: URBAN CITY - CHICAGO

Crystal McField
International College of the Cayman Islands
Seminar on Business and Society

Final Paper
BE 425
LECTURER: Dr. David Marshall
Date: August 26, 2016

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Abstract
This paper will examine urban transportation, urban government and urban communities
and the poor. I will begin by examining how the Mayor of Chicago and his team has built a one
stop shop to help small business owners access multiple agencies under one roof. I will also look
at urban transportation on the impact on society to modernize in the 21st century. This paper will
also give an overview of inner city communities and how one community outreach has impacted
society on the North side of Chicago in a positive way. Finally I will detail my experience while
in Chicago in Chicago and express my limitations.

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On May 17, 2016, the International College of the Cayman Islands led a delegation of
seventeen students, undergraduate and graduate on a seminar trip to Chicago, Illinois to extend
their insight and comprehension on the topic "Business and Society." For this seminar, all
students were given sub-topics in relation to this and had a choice to choose one topic of interest.
My topic of interest was urban societies and how transportation, government, communities and
gender equality and empowerment can influence the quality of life and sustainability of life
within these environments.
Seminars are held every quarter and are led by members of the faculty. For this particular
seminar, it was led by the president ICCI, Dr. David Marshall. The seminar consisted of meetings
with government officials, lectures by professors of universities in their respective subject areas,
and two community outreach outings.
Our first outing to City Hall, Chicago was on May 18th, 2016 where the entire delegation
had the opportunity to meet the Mayor of Chicago, Mayor Rahm Emanuel along with a photo
shoot. We were also able to meet Ms. Roxanne Nava, Chief Business Officer for the Department
Of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection. Ms. Navas section within the department deals
with licensing permits, consumer complaints, transportation, and cable permits for the City of
Chicago. She also spoke of the Mayors vision of making sole proprietorship hassle free and
efficient. The Mayor placed all departments which a business owner would need to visit to get
required permits and documentation in order to begin a company under one roof, City Hall, and
made the process efficient by allowing the person to deal with one officer instead of having to
visit numerous offices and different persons.

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Ms. Nava referred to it as a one-stop shop. Allowing Mayor Emanuels vision to come
to light has afforded business owners life and business life to become hassle and burden free to
an extent. The government also supports business ventures of small businesses wholeheartedly
and provides a number of services to enable a successful operation. The handouts given
highlighted nine key components to getting a business started, they are

Create a business plan

Finance the business

Find a location

Register the business

Permits & licensing

Employees

Community

Support start or growth

Contacts

All nine of these components are essential to any business and its development into a
successful company. These components are provided to small business owners by the City of
Chicago. As I have learned many entrepreneurs start their own companies because they cannot
find a job, they feel as they can offer better service or there is a desire to be ones own boss. One

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fundamental principle and highlight that I took away from todays meeting with Ms. Nava is that
one person vision can change the life of many.
Many small businesses hire the lower class of society and afford them to live better lives
which enhance our communities and neighborhoods. One prime example given was an artist
who opened a restaurant and decided to paint an alleyway to brighten the neighborhood and gain
attraction to his business. His vision brightened an entire community which incorporated schools
and neighborhoods which eventually became a business and has now spread to other States
within the region. The better a business strives the better the community becomes and its
surroundings stated Ms. Nava. (R, Nava, personal communication, May 18, 2016)
This statement demonstrates that businesses affect society in all matters and the
governments worldwide have established that the sooner we help small business grow the better
our communities will grow and become sustainable. Another highlight of the day and trip to City
Hall, we were allowed to watch a performance by a local group called The Remedy. This is
another initiative by the Mayor and his government to help communities thrive and small
business grows. As stated on the official website of Chicago city hall is equipped to advocate
for small business owners and entrepreneurs along with the implementation of procedures and
policies.
According to Anne Lawrence, author of business and society, stakeholders, ethics, and
public policy, there is a famous quote that is common in many journals for business executives
which challenge the assumption of responsibility is business has become the most powerful
institution on the planet. The dominant institution in any society needs to take responsibility for
the whole (Lawrence, A. pg. 48) This statement demonstrates that businesses affect society in all

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matters and the governments worldwide have established that the sooner we help small business
grow the better our communities will grow and become sustainable.
To reinforce this mentality and sentiment, an article written by Richard C. Longworth,
foreign correspondent of the Chicago Tribune, speaks of Engine Charlie Charles E. Wilson,
president of GM motors who lived by the motto whats good for the country is good for GM
and vice versa. (Longworth, 2015) This simply meant that corporate America understood that
what they did determined the livelihood of many workers and corporations who led the economy,
created jobs and sustainability for all to work and reach middle-class stature. The article further
explains that the lower-class black Americans were poor but not destitute and after the factories,
stockyard and mills closed many families were affected and the economy did not bounce back.
(Longworth, 2015)
Additionally, this article shows that if we develop a mindset that we have to work
together as a system with inter-correlating parts there will be a greater economy and businesses
will be able to hire from all social classes.
On Friday, May 20, 2016, the seminar class visited The Plant. I was very excited for this
excursion. We traveled on the Red Line train system, took public transport and walked two
blocks in an urban community to get to the facility. I was ready to see the greenhouses and how
they sustain their facility by using waste materials.
Plant Chicago is a non-benefit association set up in 2011 by John Edel. His organization,
Bubbly Dynamics, LLC, is the owner and administrator of, The Plant, a historic nourishment

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generation space intended to be a net-zero, shut circle framework in Chicago's Back of the Yards.
(Plantchicago.org)
The city of Chicago relies heavily on efficient public transport. The Chicago Transit
Authority, formed through state enactment, started operation in 1947. It is administered by a
seven-part board designated by the Mayor and is directed by the Regional Transportation
Authority. Serving the city and 35 rural areas, the office has a normal weekday ridership of
around 1.7 million. The CTA has nearly 1,900 transports on 127 routes. About 1,400 rail cars
work on eight routes, including service to O'Hare International Airport and Midway Airport. The
organization in 2014 finished a move to Ventra, a contactless passage installment framework.
(Wronski, et al, 2015)
In order to sustain and have a paperless, efficient and modern service the city of Chicago
has launched an app for all android and iOS softwares that will allow patrons to purchase tickets
to move to and from locations without having to wait in lines or purchase rides from the subway
representatives. (Wronski, et al, 2015) As our excursion led us to use public transport, I had the
opportunity of purchasing Ventra cards from the machine at the Red Line Subway terminal. With
the purchase of these tickets, included in the price was a bus ride after exiting the train station.
According to Richard Wronski and Jon Hilkevitch, reporters of the Chicago Tribune, this
move has been envisioned for years and a significant technological step that will move Chicago
into the 21st century. The paperless ticketing for 150,000 daily riders along with no lines or
waiting for purchases. The app provides door to door trip planning and is user-friendly.
(Wronski, et al, 2015)

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Regional Transportation Authority Director Leanne Redden tested the app personally on
her daily commute and had a conductor use her smartphone to tell passengers this is the future.
With this app, customers have access to all three Chicago-area transit systems, account balances,
and service data. Additionally, the app also permits users to purchase day passes in specific
intervals along with increasing or adding money to their cards instantly through a debit or credit
card. (Wronski, et al, 2015)
Regional Transportation Authority Director Leanne Redden tested the app personally on
her daily commute and had a conductor use her smartphone to announce publicly to passengers
this is the future. With this app, customers have access to all three Chicago-area transit
systems, account balances, and service information. (Wronski, et al, 2015)
The app also allows users to purchase day passes in certain intervals along with
increasing or adding money to their cards instantly through a debit or credit card. The application
will give "one-stop shopping" for users and may some time or another be used by promoters and
advertisers who could offer promotions and rebates to clients, Carter said. Clients will have the
capacity to block adverts, he included. In spite of the fact that application clients won't have to
convey paper month to month passes and 10-ride tickets, they should keep their cell phones close
once on board. That is on the grounds that riders will have to show the virtual ticket on their
gadgets to conductors. (Wronski, et al, 2015)
For the seminar group, we did not use this app to pay for our rides, we used the kiosk
machine at the subway station to purchase our Ventra cards, which gave us a subway ride and a
bus ride on each card. We used the subway twice on our trip to go to the North and South side of
Chicago.

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On Monday, May 21st, 2016 we were headed to use the red line once again. This time,
the seminar group was heading to North Chicago to help a community outreach program,
Cornerstone Community Outreach. Cornerstone community outreach offers temporary and
permanent housing for homeless people, families, and single parents with hopes of reconnecting
them to society and helping them to be able to sustain themselves and basic needs of everyday
life. Two main programs are Hannah house and Sylvia center.
Hannah house offers women with children and small couples with children housing.
Sylvia Family Shelter serves more than 130 ladies with kids, men with kids, between
generational families, and couples with kids. It is troublesome for single parents especially
fathers to stay with their youngsters when destitute, as there are not very many shelters which
cater to this. Two-parent and between generational families are regularly split up also, in light of
the fact that grown-up men are frequently not permitted to stay in a few family shelters. Sylvia
Center is pleased to bolster groups of all portrayals and offer shelter, support, and encouragement
to fathers, mothers with youngsters, and families with adolescents. (cco.org)
Our journey to Cornerstone Community Outreach Centre began with a train ride on the
Red Line to the North side of Chicago. The seminar class had mixed emotions about the day as
they were some resistance around going to a homeless shelter. The train ride was a scenic and
interesting one. We passed china town and saw that everything about the community was
Chinese. The street signs were written in Chinese along with the storefronts and buildings.
Everything had a Chinese signature and undertone behind it. I was very intrigued by this as I
have seen other china towns and none completely weaved with the culture. As we proceeded I
noticed that, as we ventured into the North side the train station began to look shanty and there

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were graffiti walls along with closed railways. Our stop came and as we disembarked I noticed
that train station was dirty and old. The walkways were made of timber and that only separation
from the road and the entrance was an old iron rotating gate.
It was amazing to see as we venture away from the city how the train stations began to
show great wear and tear. As we arrived at our destination we noticed a few people sitting in the
alley and hanging around. The seminar group was fortunate to offer our assistance to a four staff
team. We were able to assist in lunch prep as well as the good bag shopping.
Good bag shopping is a host of supermarkets, wholesalers, and other business to donate
assorted foods to the Centre and community members can come and pick through donations to
gather what they need. I was amazed to see an assortment of goods such as fresh produce, salads,
cereals, sodas, bread and canned foods available for all. I was very moved by a young fourteen
years old who volunteers at the shelter and also does his part to provide for his extended
household. His mother and grandmother are a product of their system and he stated that because
of his struggles he has self-motivated himself to finish high school and try to obtain a student
scholarship for a college outside of Chicago.
According to an article in the Chicago Sun-times, around 80 percent of individuals in the
Chicago metropolitan area, which is, 1.3 million individuals live under the poverty line in 2013
which was unaltered from 2012 results. For children, the poverty rate is significantly higher. One
in five children in Chicago lives in poverty. Chicago again ended up amidst the pack of
significant metropolitan zones, as far as the rate of individuals living in destitution. Of the 25
biggest metro zones, Riverside, California had the most noteworthy destitution rate, 18.2 percent,
and Washington, DC had the least, 8.5 percent. (sarahtr, 2014)

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This is further evoked by the Reverend Jessie Jackson, who wrote in the opinion column
of the Chicago Sun-times, August 8, 2016, Poverty, desperation in world class city. The article
speaks to the violence that Chicagos inner cities face along with their racial disparity and
poverty rates among households. In the article Reverend, Jesse Jackson gives the following
statistics
In West Garfield Park, the average per capita income is $10,951. More than 40 percent
of the residents live below the poverty line, with an unemployment rate greater than 25 percent.
In Englewood, the average per capita household income is $11,993. Forty-two percent of
households live below the poverty line, with an unemployment rate over 21 percent. In Fuller
Park, per capita household income is $9,016, with a majority 55.5 percent of households
living below the poverty line. The unemployment rate is 40 percent. Washington Park, North
Lawndale, Austin, Greater Grand Crossing, East Garfield Park the list goes on. (Jackson,
2016)
With these statistics, one can understand his concern and plight to raise awareness among
everyone and have changed or alleviated the racial wealth gap, poverty, and violence among
minorities. Another interesting comment made was that without a change in policy, by 2043, the
racial wealth among African American, White and Latinos households will double from 2013.
These numbers are alarming and raise concerns of inequality and social injustice. (Jackson,
2016)
I feel that with Community outreach centers such as Cornerstone there is hope within the
inner cities. I was elated to know that there are facilities that keep families together and give a
place of safety and not separate children from parents. Another highlight for me from this was

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watching how personal everyone was each other. The chef knew everyone by name the families
showed no partiality to anyone and there was no feeling of shame. It was a pleasure to see
corporate America stepping in to help and acknowledging social responsibility and doing their
part. According to Lawrence & Weber, strong relationships between businesses and the
community are formed by building healthy cohesive and collaborated partnerships. Communities
expect corporations to support programs and raise awareness of social conflicts. This shows
consumers and customers that corporations are committed to corporate citizenship. (Lawrence,
A. pg.402) With this partnership, business will increase profitability and social value.
Application of learning
This course has built awareness, gratitude, compassion, empathy and a desire to help
others. Before this course, I was not appreciative of the Cayman Islands and all the abundance
we have available to us. I was not aware of the different opportunities the government has in
place to help entrepreneurs bring their vision to reality. The government has also increased
budgets for their social welfare programs as it has now been highlighted by the number of
persons seeking assistance, obtaining assistance from the various programs to sustain their basic
needs of life. Upon my return to Cayman, I began inquiries into the various organizations that
help communities and families in their time of need. I have donated a number of children
clothing and shoes from my daughter's wardrobes to various charities and I have attended two
local organizations monthly meeting to see which group would fit me that I may join. Before my
Chicago experience/ exposure, I would tell my kids that I did not want them to be my age and
seek a tertiary education only to realize that there are colleges who set their programs to facilitate
higher learning to working adults. I have also learned that it is never too late to start anything.

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Life is never certain and everyone can face circumstances beyond their control; there is never a
perfect time, things happen at any time. One of my main goals is to become a part of an
organization that I can give back to the community and do my part in making someones life
better. Seeing the Mayors vision for Chicago and learning that there are similar programs within
Cayman one has to wonder why there is not more awareness around the services offered t help
people build their dreams.
Limitations
For the seminar trip to Chicago, I feel that there was not enough time to explore the
transportation system in depth. I was able to ride the public bus and the Red line. I was not able
to engage with locals to understand their views of the transportation system. Another limitation
for me was because of the time and having multiple outings in one day I was forced to pick
certain aspects of lectures that appealed to me and highlight on that. I do feel that this seminar
has opened my eyes and heart to homelessness, empathy, poverty, and social responsibility. With
my outings in Chicago, I feel that I have identified social endemics within Cayman and feel that
an organization such as Cornerstone should be mimicked to help the lower class.
Summary and Conclusion
This seminar has been my most gratifying experience to date, I have participated in other
seminars but this one hit home for me. Being able to learn first-hand how a major metropolitan
city engages in all aspects of social and corporate governance has been an eye opener. I have
learned to appreciate the Cayman Islands and all that I have afforded to me. I have also learned
how to be humble and satisfied with what I have as there are others in the world who would love

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to be in my shoes. This seminar has taught me to give back, smile with others and a simple hello,
how are you could change someones life. The main concept I will away with from this seminar
is never say never; push beyond what you think is your limit. Allow yourself to grow and
embrace change; with change comes knowledge and understanding which creates wisdom.

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References
Cornerstone community outreach. Retrieved August 6, 2016.
http//:www.ccolife.org
Jackson, J. (2016, August 8). Poverty, desperation in world-class city. Retrieved August 8, 2016
from http://chicago.suntimes.com/opinion/jesse-jackson-poverty-desperation-in-world-classcity/
Lawrence, A. & Weber, J. (2014). Business and society: Stakeholders, ethics, public policy (14th
ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill
Longworth, R. C. (2015, December 11). Can business end urban misery? Yes, with jobs.
RetrievedAugust03,2016,from http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/commentary/ctjobs-corporations-urban-problems-inersion-pfizer-perspec-1213-jm-20151211-story.htm
Sarahtr. (2014, September 18). More than 1.3million in Chicago metro area live in poverty.
Retrieved August 6, 2016, from http://chicago.suntimes.com/politics/more-than-1-3-millionin-chicago-metro-area-live-in-poverty/
Wronski, R. & Hilkevitch, J. (2015, November 13). New ventra mobile ticket app for CTA metra,
metra.

Pace

to

launch

Thursday.

Retrieved

August

6,

2016,

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-ventra-transit-app-20151113story.html

from