Liberal Unfriendly Place: DuPage County, IL

DuPage County, Illinois, just west of Chicago, has a population approaching one-million people, and is one of the most knee-jerk reactionary areas of the Midwest, if not the US. DuPage County has, in recent times, always voted overwhelmingly for whomever was the most conservative presidential candidate, and no statewide Democratic candidate has carried the county in memory. They have, once or twice in the past few decades, elected Democratic candidates to county offices, but these have always been flukes, and none have ever been re-elected to a second term.

The National Rifle Association and the Ku Klux Klan are cheerfully accepted in DuPage, and, while they don't discuss it publicly, most area law enforcement officials are aware of several armed right-wing malitia groups who are active in the county.

The county seat, Wheaton, is all but ruled by Wheaton College, a fudamentalist evangelical protestant-run school, which was only recently defeated in its attempt to keep Wheaton "dry" by an electorate that was finally tired of being kept in the nineteenth century by this prudish, prohibitionist school. Wheaton College is, nonetheless, immensely proud of being the home of the Billy Graham Museum of Evangelical History. Wheaton, a very wealthy community, supports a population of several thousand African-Americans, but, surprisingly, Wheaton tolerates their presence. The reason for this is that Wheatonians are constantly in search of domestic help for their large homes, and they like having a source for these servants right in town - cuts down on absenteeism, don't you know! (This commuinty developed as a neighborhood for domestics in the nineteenth century, and remains so today.)

People in DuPage always like to talk about vote fraud in neighboring Cook County, but they won't discuss their own tricks: even though DuPage has the most up-to-date election equipment available, their votes are always the last to be reported on election night. This is so they can see how Republican candidates are doing, and finally send forward the proper number of "absentee" votes to save the day for the GOP. This has gone on for years, but has been ignored by the (Republican) Chicago Tribune and the (even more Republican) Sun-Times.

It's an area well to be avoided by anyone who isn't racist, sexist, homophobic, or anti-progressive!

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I am a resident of the conservative DuPage County, currently attending school in a somewhat liberal friendly town: Charlottesville, VA. However, I think it is a large stretch to say that the KKK is warmly welcomed. I remember when they came to Wheaton; their right to ignorance was respected, but there were many more protestors than Klansmen. The police are tough and strict, and perhaps racist. I sort of doubt that most are members of militia groups. Rather, they are under strict pressure to keep the all-white, all-rich, homogenenous suburbs (especially Hinsdale, Glen Ellyn, and Elmhurst) just that way. The defense of property values takes on hues of racism and closed-mindedness. But given that the county has a very educated population, most of the motivation for its conservative attitudes is economic. And correction: NEITHER the Tribune or Sun-Times are Republican. They are Democratic. That is why DuPage Daily Herald, a Republican newspaper, is a popular alternative for the conservative population of the county.

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Glad to see Du Page County, Illinois on the list of liberal unfriendly places. Outside of the deep south, I would say it is the most right wing, reactionary hole in the nation (except perhaps for Grand Rapids, Michigan). Though, I've never lived there, I visited it many times One of my mom's friends was born and raised in Wheaton in a Democratic family. Though in a tiny minority, her family was pretty outspoken; including displaying liberal/Democratic bumper stickers on their vehicles. Once, when waiting at a stoplight, a man got out of his car and walked right up to her front door. When she asked him what he wanted he just sneered and said "I just wanted to see what a DuPage County Democrat actually looks like!"

It's kind of funny that during the Presidential campaign last year, a guy robbed a Wheaton bank wearing a Bob Dole mask. Then again, considering how hard up Dole was for campaign $$$, it could have actually have been him!:) Oh, let me also correct the last entry. The Chicago Tribune is NOT Democratic; not at all. It endorsed Dole and Bush twice as well a James Edgar twice, Al Salvi and Richard Williamson. It only supports Democrats on a local level (since the GOP is nearly nonexistant in Chicago proper).

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Anyone who believes that the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times are left-leaning or Democratic newspapers simply isn't paying attention. As a previous writer commented, the Tribune has always supported conservative candidates, and, since the mid-1980s the Sun-Times has been worse. Both newspapers have consistently supported DuPage County's premier Congressman, Henry Hyde, the House of Representative's most reactionary anti-womens' rights Congressman, its most virulant foe of abortion rights and equal rights for women. Any person who thinks that either Chicago newspaper is not conservative, is obviously even more conservative. To be more conservative than the Tribune or Sun-Times borders on fascism! As for the comment that the DuPage County police are KKK or militia members, I never said that! The commentator is quoting other sources, many who believe that to be true. I merely said that police officials were aware of the tolerated presence of militias and the KKK. The previous writer should keep his sources straight, and not ascribe what he knows to be true to other writers!

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As a life-long Chicagoland resident, I thought I'd comment on DuPage County. About the most blanket statement you can legitimately make about it is that it's strongly if not staunchly Republican. But DuPage's Republicanism and conservatism is more nuanced and complicated than one might think. You really have to look at the county on a suburb-by-suburb basis to be fair, especially since the county has about 1 million residents by now (it had about 780,000 in the 1990 census).

I would say the following suburbs/communities are the most "notorious" for having the most hard-edged conservative views (all north of the I-88 East-West Tollway in northern DuPage): Wheaton, Addison, Elmhurst, and Wood Dale. Wheaton, as has been mentioned, is home the very conservative Wheaton College. While I won't go so far as to say Wheaton is racist, there was a recent incident which didn't surprise me that it was in Wheaton: a white woman recently pressured a dayschool program into testing a black boy HIV and strep throat after sharing a snorkel with her son. Thankfully the black boy's mother sued the program and/or community center involved and won (mainly because HIV test results can't be released). In Addison, a proposed tax-increment financing (TIF) district was found by a court to have discriminated against a Hispanic enclave. Elmhurst is home to Illinois House Minority Leader Lee Daniels, and the town is well-known for its conservatism. Wood Dale is home to the somewhat bomb-throwing Illinois Senate President James "Pate" Phillip. He was once quoted by the Daily Herald (a suburban newspaper from Arlington Heights in adjacent Cook County) as essentially saying that the reason the Chicago's bureacrats are inneffective is that there are many minorities among them. Responding to questions about bilingual education, he said in a very knee-jerk fashion "Let 'em learn English!". It should be noted that northeastern DuPage (where Wood Dale is) has one of the fastest-growing Hispanic populations in the Chicago suburbs, especially in Bensenville and Addison. As the Addison TIF episode shows, they haven't exactly been accepted.

Staying north of the I-88 East-West Tollway, there are still a few pockets that are still strongly Republican but at least somewhat tolerable. Roselle, at the very northern edge, is a middle-class sprawl-burb, but has a reasonably large Asian population. Glendale Heights, further south, is similar. Glen Ellyn, which is a fairly upscale suburb, is also strongly Republican, but also has an upwardly-mobile Asian population. Adjacent Lombard, which is more middle-class, is also not too bad. Glen Ellyn/Lombard's school district (known as Glenbard) is well known for a pretty good sized Asian student population, probalby the largest in DuPage. As early as 1980, DuPage's Asian Indian population was well over 1%, which was signficant back then in the Midwest when the Asian Indian population nationally was only about 387,000 (it's now well over 1 million). Working-class minorities might find it difficult to live in these areas listed above (for economic reasons if anyting), but middle to upper-middle class folks of most stripes should be able to fit in.

Northern DuPage has long been represented in Congress by Henry Hyde. Yes, he is quite conservative, but even liberals highly respect him for his gentlemanly demeanor and fairness. He actually voted in favor of the federal assault weapons ban, which caught a lot of flack in his district, including from fellow Republican Pate Phillip (the Illinois Senate President described above). Considering how conservative his district (the 6th) is, Hyde is about the best liberals can expect.

South of the I-88 East-West Tollway, you'll find the more moderate Republican areas, in suburbs like Naperville, Lisle, Woodridge, Downers Grove, Oak Brook, and Hinsdale. Except for perhaps the mayor of Naperville or superintendant of Naperville schools (can't remember who), who stated some strong "family values" views regarding the quality of life and schools there, most politicians from the southern third of DuPage have been a different kind of Republican than Pate Philip. Naperville has been named the most kid-friendly city of over 100,000. It also has a significant upwardly-mobile Asian population. Woodridge and Lisle are middle-to-upper middle class like Naperville, though perhaps not quite as upscale. Downers Grove is like a somewhat older, grayer, but equally pleasant, version of Naperville. Oak Brook is the glitziest suburb of DuPage, and will turn off just a lot of folks (especially liberals) for its massive houses in snooty gated communities that are temples to conspicuous consumption. Supposedly an African-American shopping for a home there was "steered" away, but Oak Brook's Asian population is as high as 15 to 20 percent. Hinsdale is quite upscale, but is well known for its understated elegance, similar to what you will find in North Shore communities like Wilmette, Winnetka, and Glencoe (and even Hinsdale residents have been known to resent neighboring Oak Brook for its garish ostentation - can you tell I really don't like Oak Brook?). Hinsdale is home to the 13th congressional district's new representative, Judy Biggert, a moderate pro-choice Republican. The 13th covers the southern third of Dupage, southwestern Cook County (areas like Lemont), and northwestern Will County (areas like Bolingbrook, which is next to Naperville, and has one of the few reasonably-sized black populations in the area at about 14%), and it is not surprising that Judy Biggert is much like the North Shore's congressman, John Porter (strong fiscal conservatism combined with moderate-to-liberal social views). A previous commentary properly noted that at least parts of DuPage (especially in the south, plus areas like Glen Ellyn) are really known more for economic, "property value" conservatism, and not necessarily hard-line, red-meat conservatism.

DuPage is certainly NOT liberal-friendly country. But there are varying degrees of liberal-UNfriendliness in the county. It is unfortunate that the only real minority that will be able to find an area to fit in are middle class-to-upper middle class Asians (Oak Brook residents have been known to try to play up the "diversity" of their area by reminding reporters and others of their upwardly-mobile Asian neighbors). Even then, some areas (like Roselle and Naperville) are better than others (like Elmhurst and Addison). Hispanics moving into DuPage, often of working class backgrounds, have not had an easy time (again, as the Addison TIF example illustrates). However, there is a critical mass of a Hispanic population in Bensenville, and is the base for the Hispanic Council and/or the Hispanics United of DuPage County. Unfortunately, Bensenville (historically the only real industrial working class town of DuPage), and to a lesser extent Addison and Villa Park, have gained a reputation for crime and gang activity. Blacks are few and far between in DuPage. The point is that avowed liberals will find it difficult to politically operate in DuPage, and culturally speaking, even in the most "progressive" areas of DuPage, the atmosphere is most "viable" middle-to-upper class whites and to varying degrees Asians.

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I live in DuPage County, Illinois and I must say that it is really horrible here. It's a very boring place to grow up. A lot of people in this area have their minds set on how things should be, and are not willing to open their minds to anything new. They are afraid to speak up and demand change. It seems as if once you come here, you are trapped by the right-wing philosophy. I hope younger generation growing up here will be able to bring about some change