Altgeld Gardens’ High Hopes for President Barack Obama

Altgeld Gardens’ High Hopes for President Barack Obama
Altgeld Gardens resident Tyrone Nelson. Photo by Richard Cahan.
Altgeld Gardens’ High Hopes for President Barack Obama
Altgeld Gardens resident Tyrone Nelson. Photo by Richard Cahan.

Altgeld Gardens’ High Hopes for President Barack Obama

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One Chicago community we come back to experienced joyous highs and violent lows these past couple of years. In November 2008, when he was just at the start of his transition from candidate Obama to President Obama, Chicagoans were bursting with expectations. And the place where Mr. Obama worked as a community organizer got special attention. Altgeld Gardens in the far South Side is the most remote of Chicago’s public housing developments. Reporter Linda Paul and photographer Richard Cahan visited this community after the election, in November 2008. Residents’ concerns mirror those of many Americans-pollution, crime and finding a job. But on the day Richard and Linda were there, it was all about the future, and hopes for the new President. 

Listen to the complete original story and check out photos from Richard Cahan and Linda Paul’s first visit to Altgeld Gardens.