Connie’s love for the children of our community extends beyond the sweet treats of the Brown sCow Ice Cream Parlor.
Connie Brown’s family lived on our block. Our children attended Betsy Ross Elementary. We’d see each other for years at band concerts, PTO fundraising events, and grandparent breakfasts. Our village of Forest Park had a powerful community of involved diverse families filling its strong grade schools. Most families here have anxiety around the impending public high school situation.
Our small town feeds into the Illinois District 209, Proviso Township High Schools. A very large district with a reputation of subpar test scores and corrupt mismanagement of funds. We’d all like our children to maintain the community of friends they’ve built long into adulthood. Unfortunately this neighborhood every year splinters into many directions.
Each of my three sons had 8th grade classes that split to attend 27 different high schools. Yes, each of their graduation programs listed the schools the 8th graders would be attending. Each class went 27 different ways.
Connie worked to combat this public school problem through getting out the vote through a campaign “209 Together” to change the leadership in the school board. Each election brought a “209 Together” slate. And the campaign nearly always has come through with a victory in each election. And each slate battled many challenges when in office. While Connie never ran herself mainly due to running a business, her passion and voice for the children of our community with the 209 Together movement will forever be appreciated.
Connie’s 209 Together portrait was taken in front of Betsy Ross Elementary to celebrate her efforts to effect change for our high school situation for the children of our community. She knew only of the location and was honored. She brought the signs. Secretly I reached out to a couple members of the community to coordinate bringing children for the background of the image. Wearing her Brown Cow attire and red Rosie bandana, Connie stands firm on the road to help the children of the community to a better future.
Photographed August 2018