a series of disturbing racially motivated crimes in the capital city. Around the time of Williams’ noose hanging, the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus building was vandalized with the f- and n-words, and a man was arrested after accosting a group of teenagers at a supermarket by yelling racial epithets at them. Then, just hours after the unveiling of a monument to commemorate the 1908 Springfield race riot, another CWLP employee, Bradley Barber, was arrested for hanging yet another noose from a forklift at the utility’s garage on Groth Street.

Taken together — and the mere fact that Springfieldians have resorted to referring to the rope hangings as Noose No. 1 and Noose No. 2 — these events signal the need to confront racism with more than task forces and policy seminars.

Everyone knows that it’s time for Springfield to roll up its sleeves to do the hard work of ending racism. It’s just that nobody knows how. One form of anti-racism work that could serve as a model for CWLP and other Springfield organizations is an ongoing effort by the Dominican Sisters of Springfield.

In 2004, after determining that theirs was a racist community, the sisters established an anti-racism team, says Douglas King, a community volunteer chosen to assist with the project.

They used a training program designed by Matteson-based Crossroads Ministries, whose mission is to dismantle systemic racism through training of what are known as transformation teams. King, a 25-year Springfield resident, points out that the program focuses on institutions rather than individuals.

“Institutional racism causes us to be racist,” King says. “If you transform institutions, you’re going to be transforming people, people’s hearts, people’s minds. And once you do those things, ultimately you’re going to change the community that you live in.” Mike Williams would like to change hearts and minds at CWLP and throughout Springfield. But before he can do that, however, he knows he’ll have to change some peoples’ minds about Mike Williams.

Talk radio show callers have referred to Williams as a felon and he says he’s heard rumors that some local reporters have been digging into his past and phoning his family’s political enemies to dig up dirt. “I knew that if I did this, it was going to open me up to everything that I’ve ever done,” says Williams, who admits to having used and sold drugs.

But, he welcomes the criticism. “My past is an inspiration to a lot of people. Those things that I’ve done have made me the person that I am now. Not that I’m proud of what I’ve done, but I’ve learned from that.” Such attacks discourage other minorities, who may be experiencing racism while working for the city of Springfield, from coming forward, he says. “Why would you want to come forward knowing that nothing is going to be done about it, you’re going to be publicly attacked, and the media are going to dig up everything you’ve done wrong just to destroy your character and destroy you as a person, just to make you look bad? “Who would want to go through that?”

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