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'''Atour Toma Sargon''', ({{lang-syr| ܐܵܬܘܿܪ ܬܐܘܿܡܵܐ ܣܲܪܓܘܿܢ}}) also referred to as '''Atour Sargon''', ({{lang-syr|ܐܵܬܘܿܪ ܣܲܪܓܘܿܢ}}) is an [[ |
'''Atour Toma Sargon''', ({{lang-syr| ܐܵܬܘܿܪ ܬܐܘܿܡܵܐ ܣܲܪܓܘܿܢ}}) also referred to as '''Atour Sargon''', ({{lang-syr|ܐܵܬܘܿܪ ܣܲܪܓܘܿܢ}}) is an [[Assyrian American]] activist and politician. She is the first ethnic [[Assyrian people|Assyrian]] to be elected to the [[Lincolnwood, Illinois|Lincolnwood]] Board of Trustees.<ref name="census">{{cite web | url = https://borderlessmag.org/2020/05/06/hard-to-count-assyrian-community-prepares-for-the-census-amid-covid-19/ | title = 'Hard-to-Count' Assyrian community prepares for the census amid COVID-19 | last = Younan | first = Ata | date = May 6, 2020 | website = Borderless Magazine | access-date = August 19, 2020}}</ref> |
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==Early life and education== |
==Early life and education== |
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Atour Sargon
| |
|---|---|
| ܐܵܬܘܿܪ ܣܲܪܓܘܿܢ | |
| File:Atour Sargon and Jan Schakowsky.jpg | |
| Trustee for Lincolnwood, Illinois | |
| Assumed office May 7, 2019 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Chicago, Illinois |
| Citizenship | American |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign (BA) Northwestern University (MA)[2] |
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Atour Toma Sargon, (Syriac: ܐܵܬܘܿܪ ܬܐܘܿܡܵܐ ܣܲܪܓܘܿܢ) also referred to as Atour Sargon, (Syriac: ܐܵܬܘܿܪ ܣܲܪܓܘܿܢ) is an Assyrian American activist and politician. She is the first ethnic Assyrian to be elected to the Lincolnwood Board of Trustees.[3]
Sargon is a first generation Assyrian American.[4] She grew up in Chicago before moving to Lincolnwood with her family at the age of 15.[1] She first attended Theodore Roosevelt High School in Chicago,[4] then transferred to Niles West High School. She earned a B.A. in political science at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign.
After graduating college, she worked as a legal assistant for a law firm in Chicago. She eventually married and had two children. She also went back to school, earning a M.A in public policy and administration at Northwestern University. Afterwards, she became the first vice president of Lincolnwood School District 74 Parent Teachers Association.[1]
Sargon's early interest in political activism first came from her parents, who she said volunteered to the local Assyrian community despite also working many hours. She briefly put her political ambitions aside due to her job, motherhood, and first vice presidency of the Lincolnwood PTA. In 2017, she was mentored by Illinois Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), who encouraged her to return to politics. She completed training in 2019 She was also encouraged by Illinois State Senator Ram Villivalam, whose successful campaign she volunteered with.[1][5]
Schakowsky also encouraged Sargon to attend training at the Illinois Women's Institute for Leadership Training Academy, a program that encourages women to pursue political positions.[1] She completed training with the program in 2019.[6]
In 2019, she ran for a position on Lincolnwood's six-member Board of Trustees on the Alliance for Lincolnwood ticket. The other candidates on the ticket were Craig Klatzco and Jesal Patel.[1] She and the other Alliance for Lincolnwood candidates were endorsed by the American Middle East Voters Alliance.[7] On April 2, 2019, she was elected to the Board. She was sworn in on May 7 of that year,[8] making her the first Assyrian to hold the position.[3]
She won the election with 1,435 votes.[9] This was seen as a large amount by Lincolnwood standards. The incumbent mayor at the time had received 1,167 votes,[10] and her fellow Alliance for Lincolnwood candidates received 1,329 and 1,328 votes respectively. Their three opponents on the Lifelong for Lincolnwood ticket received 849 votes, 847 votes, and 843 votes respectively.[11] She credited the political engagement of the Assyrian community as a reason for her landslide win. Many canvassing and outreach efforts for her campaign were organized by Vote Assyrian, an organization that aims to increase political engagement among Assyrian Americans.[10]
Aside from her prior support of issues pertaining to ethnic Assyrians, Sargon has taken up several other positions upon the start of her political career. As a trustee, she and others on the board proposed a meeting to discuss raising the minimum wage and changing sick time rules for workers in Lincolnwood in September 2019.[12] The meeting was eventually was approved and presented to the rest of the board for a vote in January 2020. She voted in favor of adopting Cook County's sick leave requirements in Lincolnwood.[13] She and two others also voted in favor of raising Lincolnwood's minimum wage beyond the wage set by Cook County. She was quoted as saying:
"The Village Board was presented with overwhelming data and information indicating the positive impacts that raising the minimum wage and having paid sick leave would have on the workers, public health and businesses in Lincolnwood. My vote and advocacy represent both my personal opinion -- that it is a moral obligation for us to raise the minimum wage, as well as the opinion of a majority of our community who have spoken loud and clear in favor of the Cook County Opt-In."[14]
She also supported the idea of having a workshop in order to explore the possibility of converting Lincolnwood into a council–manager government.[15]
In June 2019, she voted in favor of a proposal to restripe an area next to a business owned by her fellow trustee and Alliance for Lincolnwood member, Craig Klatzko. The measure itself was controversial due to the potential "negative message" of restriping an area close to a business owned by a village official. Mayor Barry Bass ended up casting the tie-breaking vote against the measure.[16]
Sargon and three other trustees voted against the construction of a video game café in Lincolnwood, citing public discontent, personal concerns about video game addiction, and the close proximity of the proposed café to religious institutions.[17]
In March 2020, she and several other board members met to discuss the potential implementation of new rules regarding face masks and coverings amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.[18] She supported the new measures, saying:
"We are not in the clear...there are states across the nation that reopened very quickly and have seen spikes and our state and our community have been able to get ahead of the curve but we’re definitely not in the clear yet."[18]
Sargon was involved with Assyrian activism before, during, and after the start of her political career. As a student at the University of Illinois, she became a founding member of the Assyrian Chaldean Syriac Student Movement.[1]
Aside from being the first Assyrian elected to the Lincolnwood Board of Trustees, Sargon is a member of the executive board of Vote Assyrian[4] and the advisory board of the American Middle East Voters Alliance PAC.[19] She is a proponent of Vote Assyrian's 2020 census project. The project encourages Assyrian Americans to fill out the 2020 census to get an accurate population count of Assyrians residing in the United States.[3] In an discussion with Borderless Magazine, she stressed the importance of the project, saying:
"Since the census is only every 10 years and because the numbers were so low in 2010, we knew it should take precedence and be a priority for us. Growing up in this country, [we have] opportunities and resources that our parents, being new to the country, didn’t know about. So it’s really incumbent upon us to make sure we get accurate numbers this year."[3]
In September 2019, Sargon, along with Senator Ram Villivalam and representatives from Vote Assyrian, addressed the public about the importance of civic engagement among the Assyrian American Community.[4]
In May 2020, she was a guest speaker at the Assyrian Student Association of Chicago's class of 2020 virtual graduation ceremony.[20]
In July 2020, she joined Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, and former Second Lady of the United States Dr. Jill Biden to represent the Assyrian-American community as a co-chair of the 19th Annual Ultimate Women's Power Lunch.[21]
Illinois Rep. Jan Schakowsky, also a Democrat, who has been active within her district's Assyrian community and her recent support of Atour Sargon, an Assyrian from Lincolnwood, in her successful bid for a local Board of Trustee position.
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