America is a country home to millions of restless people — all bent on seeking one thing: a better life, the American Dream. As Mark Twain once wrote, “There is no security in life, only opportunity.” Perhaps this is why many from abroad uproot themselves to immigrate to America and start a brand-new life. The parents of Samir Mayekar were some of these people. His father, Mr. Mayekar came to the US to attend graduate school and his mother, Dr. Mayekar is a physician who came to complete her residency. They then established their roots in Texas where Samir was born.
Samir’s parents and early childhood had a great influence on him. His surroundings and the people he interacted with all molded him into what he is today: a man passionate about public service. His passion partly stems from his gratitude towards the US. It was only because President Johnson and Congress amended the Immigration Act that his parents were able to immigrate to America and lead the life they do today. The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 opened up more opportunities to immigrate to the US, especially for people not from Northwestern Europe. After this act was passed, there was an increase in immigration from Asia and other parts of the world [1].
Another aspect was the environment in which he grew up. As he recalls his childhood, “When I was in high school, I grew up in Texas. And I faced an environment that wasn’t always the most tolerant. […] If you weren’t Christian or you were a minority, it just wasn’t an environment that embraced diversity. And I think that was when I first started getting into politics, because I believe that we should all be welcomed in society, and politics had a great deal to do with that.”
After growing up, Samir moved to Chicago. One of the main reasons was that Chicago was significantly different from Texas. While Texas, in general, isn’t as embracing of immigrants, Chicago is a very diverse and tolerant city, known for welcoming diversity and for being friendly to immigrants. However, that does not mean Chicago is perfect. There are many neighborhoods in Chicago, particularly on the South and West side, which have faced decades of neglect, especially in terms of investment. These neighborhoods are predominantly brown or black. Those born in these neighborhoods often do not have the same opportunities as wealthier neighborhoods. This unfortunate fact shaped Samir’s goals as Deputy Mayor of Economic and Neighborhood Development in Chicago from 2019 to 2023. He explained, “So for me, as deputy mayor, my focus was on making sure that all people in Chicago had opportunity. […] I very much focused just on bringing more investment to the South and West side communities to help create more opportunity for the people living there.”
Samir worked towards this goal in various ways, the chief of which is something called the INVEST South/West initiative, leading the project. Eventually, this initiative was able to mobilize over 2 billion dollars of investment for those communities that lack investment and, therefore, opportunity [2]. To achieve this, groups from multiple areas of public policy cooperated together. This included the government, businesses, and philanthropic organizations. The government contributed around 1 billion dollars to this initiative, while the private sector and philanthropic organizations contributed around 1.2 billion dollars. This highlights the importance of working with groups outside of the government to achieve a common goal.
Another way of ensuring and promoting equality in Chicago as a member of the city government was by addressing the issue of housing. By promoting more affordable housing for people, Samir and the city government aimed to further desegregate the city. Samir explained, “We changed our zoning laws in the city to create more opportunities for affordable housing in all parts of the city. This includes promoting affordable housing near public transit, such as near our train stops.” In the end, under Mayor Lightfoot, Samir raised the highest amount of funding for affordable housing compared to any previous mayor. They raised over a billion dollars. Samir attributes part of this success, once again, to cooperation with non-governmental groups, believing that advocacy groups and advocates can significantly contribute to the overall success.
These partnerships with groups and stakeholders outside the government open up opportunities and make reaching a common goal much more attainable. Advocates are one of these groups. Samir said, “I think advocacy groups can play a crucial role in shaping public policy. They oftentimes raise awareness on issues and policies that need change. I certainly engaged with many activists over the course of my time as deputy mayor.”
However, Samir also offers a major piece of guidance and advice: he emphasizes the importance of compromise. He believes that advocates must understand that while we all strive for the perfect policy, it is necessary to build a coalition to pass legislation. This means that addressing an issue perfectly in one attempt is often unrealistic. Samir reminds advocates that continuous progress is what matters. He says, “What’s important is not always trying to immediately achieve perfection, but always striving to make progress by getting something done. In the realm of public policy, demanding all or nothing often leads to achieving nothing.” He concludes, “You have to keep striving towards the future you want to see so that one day, that future can become a reality.” There are no words more fitting for a child of immigrant parents who gave up false security in pursuit of the unknown opportunities that lie ahead.
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[3]https://magazine.northwestern.edu/alumni/q-and-a-with-samir-mayekar/