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Shandra Martinez | The Grand Rapids Press

MLive.com

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Government success stories. In Illinois. Really.

The second- and third-largest governments in Illinois have begun to admit what the biggest one stubbornly will not: The era of ever more taxing, spending and borrowing has to end. The era of efficiently delivering essential government services has to begin.

Two recent votes on annual budgets for 2012 told part if only part of a Chicago story still in the early chapters:

‘The Angel Esmeralda: Nine Stories’ by Don DeLillo

Don DeLillo is chiefly known by his big novels of public life and the polluted underground streams that contaminate it. Libra deals with the Kennedy assassination and the conspiracy theories that swirl around it; Mao II, with a recluse writer dragged out into the world of terrorism; White Noise, shorter but more lustrous, with the era of nuclear menace. The great extended jangle of Underworld conflates the raffish intimacies of New York City with the world-corrupting specters that hang over them.

Now, with the publication of nine short stories that have appeared, largely unremarked, over the past 35 years, another facet of DeLillo is revealed. They gleam among the remarkable but often ponderous bigger works; they are larks flying among powerful birds of prey.

Success stories from SYS

Not all of the boys who end up at the SAYS facility go on to better lives. Schuyler Siefker, who has been with the St. Augustine Youth Services program since 1990 ,said that currently the children are discharged when they turn 18.

Some are well prepared for independent living; others are not. Siefker reflected on some of the successes:

? “One of my favorites goes back to when we were in operation for just a short while. The clinical team received some information about a young man who was placed in Miami. No one from North Florida would take him. The state Department of Children and Families wanted to move him closer to home and the placement worker requested that the SAYS staff give him a chance, which we did.

“He had been raised by a mother who had suffered from schizophrenia and taught him that everyone was out to get him, hurt and poison him. He was scared of everything and everyone, hid in the closet and wouldn’t eat. After some time and hard work on his part and the staff he started to trust and try new things. In 8th grade Mary Seymour, principal of Sebastian Middle School, nominated him as the Disney Doers and Dreamers recipient for Sebastian Middle School. He was named the winner and represented St. Johns County middle school students.

“One of my biggest honors to this day is when he asked me to be his parent at the awards ceremony in Orlando. This was a young man who prior to coming to SAYS had barricaded his past principal in her office. He was afraid to swim and he later became a lifeguard. He played in the St. Augustine High school Jazz band and went to Europe and Colorado to play with the school after getting over his fear of flying. He became the senior class president, worked in the community and took honors classes. Later he went on to UNF as a psychology major. The last time we spoke he was still going to college, working a full time job and working on his black belt in Karate in his free time.”

? “Recently a young man in middle school came to us because his adoptive mother needed some help. Her son was having issues at home and in school. He entered SAYS not really wanting to be there. After a short time he decided he was going to work hard and get back home. He had family counseling, individual counseling and within five months he was ready to go home. He is currently doing well at home, school and even involved in extracurricular activities at his school. He comes to visit every couple of months ‘just to say hi and thanks.’”

? “One young man came to SAYS as a teenager after being kicked out of several foster homes. His mother who had substance abuse issues gave him and his brother up to DCamp;F. He was a good looking boy — blond hair, blue eyes, smart, had leadership skills and had a great sense of humor. Unfortunately he was not very motivated and was not using all his talents and gifts. He had been at SAYS for sometime and his school progress was declining and it was apparent he was not going to graduate. After much discussion the Clinical Team felt it was in his best interest to have him leave and enroll him in Job Corps in Miami.

“This is not where the story ends. He remained at Job Corps long enough to get his high school completion. He enlisted in the US Navy when he turned 18. When he would call ‘home’ it was to SAYS. When he was on leave he returned to SAYS and St. Augustine. After the Navy he tried civilian life for awhile and then joined the Army where he did two tours in Iraq. He now lives in California where he has worked his way up at Neiman Marcus in the loss prevention department. He still calls ‘home’ and visits us for the holidays. He said us asking him to leave but not letting go was the best thing that ever happened to him. He hopes to be here this Christmas.”

? “One of the boys in our Little Boys House came to live with us because his mother was addicted to drugs and was severely neglectful. At age 7 he was the oldest and was put in charge of caring for the younger ones. At an early age he learned to change diapers, serve food to the other boys, and, as he said, “keep them safe”. After a year he was able to move to a foster home and continue visits with his siblings.

“I have many happy stories where boys have been adopted, returned to family or were able to move to foster homes after receiving care and treatment at SAYS. Unfortunately I also have so many other stories about boys who come to live with us and are never adopted and age out of foster care on their own,” said Siefker.

“At age 18, they must leave our facility. They are given a stipend from the state to stay in school but most do not. Most are not mature enough to be seniors in high school with an apartment and no one to guide them.”

Siefker believes that this has become a crisis throughout the country — foster care children aging out of the system and then not able to succeed.

“This is why the moment we secure the remaining funding for the new homes we will pursue our next dream to develop a supervised independent living program for those over 18 who still need help and direction,” she said.

‘Besa’ exhibit saves stories of Holocaust heroism

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In Albania, a country on the Balkan Peninsula, opening ones door to those in need is entrenched in an ancient code of honor called Besa. The word translates as to keep the promise.

Its a little known fact of history that, in this mostly Muslim country, not a single one of the more than 2,000 Jews from Albania, Greece, Austria, Italy and elsewhere who fled to Albania was handed over to the Nazis during World War II because of this creed.

Photographer Norman Gershman, a retired Wall Street investment banker now based in Colorado, and his friend and photographer Stuart Huck spent more than six years in Albania meeting, photographing and recording the stories of 60 families of those who helped save the lives of legions.

The result is a remarkable book, documentary film and traveling exhibit all of the same title, Besa: Albanian Muslims Who Saved Jews During the Holocaust. The exhibit is on display at the American Jewish Museum at the Jewish Community Center in Squirrel Hill. It includes 41 black-and-white portraits of Albanian Muslim individuals and families, arranged with their stories, which were at risk of being lost forever if not for the effort of the photographers.

The story behind this exhibit is that, from the highest political offices and religious offices to the farmers and craftspeople — the working-class families — every single class level participated in Besa, says museum director Melissa Hiller. There was not a single rebellion against this idea. There was not a single person who said, I am not going to be a part of this.

In one photograph, two men stand next to a wall at which their fathers, one a successful photographer and the other a humble shoemaker, were almost shot to death during the war for having harbored three Jewish refugees in their homes for more than a year. They were saved by a partisan patrol that shot and killed the German officer who was about to execute them.

In another, the son of a man entrusted with three prayer books given to him by a family he helped proudly displays the books before returning them to the family decades later.

And in another, a proud group of men surrounds a sign that reads: The Jewish Refugees of Solomon Adixhes and family drank from this nearby well while being sheltered by Ali and Ragip Kraja when being chased by the Nazis.

The story behind the sign is quite compelling. During the war, Solomon Adixhes, his wife and son Isak escaped certain death in Skopie, Macedonia, by bribing a guard and crossing at night over to Albania after the entire Jewish community in Skopie had been rounded up for transport to a death camp.

A courier brought them to the fathers of these men who were twin shoemakers. The times were difficult and dangerous for any family to harbor Jews, but they sheltered the Jewish family in their village near Shkoder from 1943 until the end of the war.

We sheltered the Adixhes family out of the goodness of our hearts, reads the placard next to the picture. We are all brothers and proud of our heritage. If need be, we would do it again.

Stories like that are what pull the viewer through this exhibit.

Hiller says that Gershman describes himself as a secular Jew and a student of Sufism, a mystical movement within Islam.

He believes that Islam is about beauty, poetry and calligraphy and believes its important to tell this story at a time when the portrayal of Muslims in the media is often negative, Hiller says.

Thats why, among the photographs on display, there is a picture of Haxhi Dede Reshat Bardhi, a Bektashi leader who, since the photograph was taken in 2006, has died.

For 15 years, he was the head of the worldwide movement of Bektashi. There are more than 7 million Bektashi in the world, including in the United States. The most liberal of Muslims, the sect derives from the Shia, and traces its heritage back to Imam Ali, the son-in-law of the prophet Mohammed.

At the time of the Nazi occupation, the prime minister of Albania was Medi Frasheri. He was a member of the Bektashi. He refused to release the names of Jews to the Nazi occupiers. He organized an underground of all Bektashi to shelter all the Jews, both citizens and refugees. At that time, nearly half of all Muslims in Albania were Bektashi. Frasheri gave a secret order: All Jewish children will sleep with your children, all will eat the same food, all will live as one family.

A photograph of a relaxed gentleman smoking a cigarette seems oddly out of place, yet the story behind it isnt. The man is the son of King Zog and Queen Geraldine of Albania. My father was the first and only Muslim king of a European nation, the placard reads. I was born in 1939, the year that Mussolinis fascists invaded our country. I lived sixty-three years in exile in Egypt, England and France. In 2002, I returned to Albania with my immediate family, including my son, Prince Inheritor Leka.

A year before this man was born, his father issued 400 passports to Jews, mainly from Vienna. These included the Oestereicher family, jewelers who designed the crown jewels for the royal family, and 13 members of the Weitzman family. All were welcomed to Albania.

When the Italians invaded Albania in 1939, they gave the Jews one year to leave, and they scattered to many countries. The placard goes on: My father told me that he chanced to meet the Oestereicher family again in London after their flight from Albania. They were destitute and asked my father for help. My father gave them back the very same crown jewels they had made for our family in Vienna.

Since returning to his country, this man, who goes by the name King Leka I, has yet to be accepted as king. The years of foreign occupation, communism and now a secular democracy have stripped Albania of its royal culture.

The exhibit is co-sponsored locally by the American Jewish Museum, the Pittsburgh Area Jewish Committee and the Holocaust Center of Greater Pittsburgh, and will remain on display till the end of the year.

Olympic great to share stories at Pacific

STOCKTON – As John Carlos stood on the 1968 Olympics medalists podium in Mexico City, his gloved fist raised above his head during the US National Anthem, his thoughts were not solely focused on the bronze medal that dangled around his neck for his effort in the 200-meter dash.

Carlos and his teammate, Tommie Smith, who also raised his fist to symbolize black power, focused their thoughts on a statement for the civil rights movement – one that would be captured in one of the most well-recognized photos in Olympic history.

The two men made the gesture in support of human rights across the globe. Australian Peter Norman, who won the silver medal, didnt raise his fist but wore a human rights patch on his sweatsuit. It was rare in that era for athletes to make a political statement. This one was broadcast worldwide.

Tomorrow: 6 stories to watch in Arizona

So you can stay ahead of the news, heres a quick look at some of the stories ABC15 will be keeping an eye on Thursday, July 21.

FINAL SHUTTLE LANDING
Space Shuttle Atlantis is scheduled to land in the early morning hours Thursday. This will be the final landing in NASA’s space shuttle program. 5:56am EDT, Kennedy Space Center, Florida.

NFL LOCKOUT
NFL owners and executives will gather in Atlanta on Thursday for a special meeting on the NFL lockout, with a possible vote on a deal. Meanwhile, the NFL Players Association may also vote on a deal Thursday. If the two sides cannot come to an agreement quickly, it will be impossible to keep the preseason completely intact.

BURGLAR IN BED ARRAIGNMENT
Jacob Nelson is set to be arraigned on a burglary charge after he was arrested for allegedly entering a home and trying to crawl in bed with a 14-year-old girl. 8:30am, Maricopa County Superior Court, Phoenix.

MESA JOB FAIR
The City of Mesa, Maricopa Workforce Connections, Maximum Arizona, will hold a job fair, focusing on customer service, sales, and administrative opportunities at 22 employers. 10am-2pm, Main Library, Mesa.

ARIZONA OPEN FOR BUSINESS
State legislators are encouraging businesses from neighboring states to move their operations to Arizona, trying to persuade them away from higher taxes on businesses in California. 10:30am, House Appropriations Hearing Room, Arizona State Capitol, Phoenix.

WELLS FARGO FOOD DRIVE
Wells Fargo will have collection bins at all of its community banking locations throughout Arizona for its annual summer food drive. The donations will benefit members of the Association of Arizona Food Banks.

Let’s tell Hampton’s true stories

We have an opportunity about six more days to note our opinion about a national park at Fort Monroe. And if we are successful at getting the park, we have an opportunity to let local people help tell the true stories of our history.

Today’s Top Stories in the Financial World

At The Motley Fool, we know our readers like to be informed, so weve rounded up todays most relevant news items all in one page. We hope you this midday edition interesting and useful.

Icahn treads on Clorox territory
Carl Icahn, one of Wall Streets most famous investors, is known for taking over companies and pushing them to change. Now hes going after Clorox (NYSE: CLX) with a proposed deal valued at $10.2 billion, or $76.50 a share in cash. However, unlike most of his other takeovers, Icahn urged Cloroxs board to seek a strategic buyer instead of taking his own offer. The activist investor acknowledged that his own fund lacks inherent synergies in offering to buy Clorox; if another buyer steps in with a higher price, Icahn could still profit, since he already owns more than 9% of the company.

Nonetheless, Clorox makes a perfect target for the hedge fund manager, since its getting squeezed by rising prices for its products raw materials. Despite this pressure, Icahn believes Clorox holds products that could be appealing for rivals such as Procter amp; Gamble (NYSE: PG) , Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE: CL) , and Kimberly-Clark — a suggestion that may shed some light on Icahns preferred fate for the company. Read more at The Wall Street Journal.

Citigroup beats analyst estimates
Following an unexpected quarterly profit increase by JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) on Thursday, Citigroup (NYSE: C) announced that its own profit rose by 24%, also beating analyst estimates.

Net income rose to $3.34 billion, up from $2.7 billion year over year. The gains came mainly from a 61% increase in revenue in Citis investment banking operations. Losses at Citi Holding, the unit with the most distressed assets, also fell, which helped profits to rise. Despite the good news, the bank still has many of its sectors reporting losses, amid added pressure from volatile European debt markets. However, the beginning of steady profit increases at major banks suggests improving stability in the financial system as a whole. Read more at Bloomberg.

Google going strong
Everyone knows that Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) is already one of the Internets giants — but it turns out that this giant still has even more room to grow. The company reported $2.51 billion in net income, or $7.68 per share, from $1.84 billion a year earlier. Though the bulk of that income still comes from selling ads through it search engine, analysts said its new ventures have taken the company to an even higher level. Despite its profits, Googles spending remains very high. That factor worries some investors, but it could help the companys long-term profit-driven products. Googles shares are up about 12% in afternoon trading. Read more at The New York Times.

Credit Suisse Group faces US scrutiny
Credit Suisse Group (NYSE: CS) announced that its the target of a US investigation involving Swiss offshore accounts for wealthy Americans. Customers have allegedly used these hidden accounts for fraud and tax evasion. The bank said it will continue cooperating with the US authorities; the announcement comes after four former Credit Suisse private bankers were charged for the same crime.

Officials initially began pursuing UBS AG for holding these types of accounts, and tax-evasion investigations have only intensified since. Experts said Credit Suisses inquiries will likely follow the model established in the UBS probe. Read more at The Wall Street Journal.

So there you have it — the top financial stories for this afternoon. Check Fool.com throughout the day for commentary on these and other stories. Also, follow us on Twitter, on Facebook, or through our email digests.

Piers Morgan Demands Apology for Accusation of Phone-Hacking Involvement

After clarifying he never hacked a phone or published stories based on the hacking of a phone, the Piers Morgan Tonight host continues to berate MP Louise Mensch on Twitter.