During this season of Thanksgiving and holiday cheer I’d like to take a moment to share a Christmas memory of when times weren’t so good for my family and I could hardly imagine a future as a State Senator.
In June 1976, when I was 16 years old, my Dad, finding it difficult to make ends meet, decided a career change was in order. A serious and talented lyric tenor by training, he thought breaking into the music industry might improve our fortunes.
So, we left Springfield, in search of work. We traveled to St. Louis, Dallas and, then, back north landing in Schaumburg, by fall. There, my Dad continued his attempt while my mother and I waited tables at a nearby hotel. By Thanksgiving, however, we found ourselves evicted from our apartment.
We decided to journey to Florida in hopes of finding work during the tourist season. However, despite our best efforts, that Christmas we found ourselves flat broke in a Tampa motel. It was the year Santa left no presents because, as we told my five-year old sister, “He just didn’t know where to find us.”
With tips earned on New Year’s Eve, we decided to return to Illinois. We drove north into a winter storm trading personal belongings in exchange for gas along the way. Aggravating matters, the heater on our 1967 Plymouth Fury gave out. Shivering, we arrived in Elgin where we turned to Hanover Township for assistance where we were provided a box of dry goods and a voucher for a stay at the Jo-El Motel.
Later in January 1977, my stepfather’s unemployment arrived and we rented an apartment on St. Charles Street. My sisters and I enrolled in U-46 schools. Later that year, my parents, under the strain of financial hardship and years of emotional turmoil, separated and divorced. My mother, three kids in tow, had to accept food stamps and public aid.
Years passed and we got back on our feet. I was able to work my way through college, law school and a stint in the Navy. Through hard work and a hand up by others I became an attorney, a father, a State Senator, and now, maybe, some day soon a Congressman.
I have two wishes for the people of Illinois during this holiday season.
First, I wish for them to know that never in the long history of our nation has there ever been any economic hardship or uncertainty about our future that we, as a people, have not been able to overcome. Coming together, we get through difficult times. And when we do, we are stronger and, economically, more prosperous than ever before.
Second, I wish for the people to remember that creating a nation that allows a young man to rise out of poverty and to the highest levels of our government doesn’t happen by accident. It happens by electing men and women who fight every day to make sure that we as a people are willing to give that young man and his family a hand up.
That’s why I am running for Congress and I hope that you will join me in the New Year to make this wish a reality.
Happy Holidays and God Bless,
--Mike Noland
Illinois State Senator
Democrat for Congress (IL-8)
Mike is an Illinois State Senator, first elected in 2006. He has been one of the most progressive members of the Senate and is running for Congress in IL-8 as a populist Democrat focused on economic recovery, ethics reform, and fighting for universal health care. You can follow him on Twitter @noland4congress or learn more about him by visiting www.nolandforcongress.com
