Obama’s Community Service Called Under Question

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June 8, 2008

Altgeld Gardens Resident Who Worked With Senator In 1980s Says He Is Exaggerating His Role

Some say Illinois Senator Barack Obama gave himself a little too much credit for his work as a community organizer. Obama’s past work in the troubled Altgeld Gardens housing project is a staple of his presidential stump speeches, and a significant part of his first book.

As CBS 2 Political Editor Mike Flannery reports, at least one resident who worked with Obama back then is unhappy with the senator’s recollection.

Hazel Johnson and her daughter Cheryl are disputing some parts of the version of events Obama tells. They do not, however, dispute that he worked hard at Altgeld Gardens and say they are supporting his presidential campaign.

“I like Obama. And I think he’s a young, bright and intelligent man, and I wish him all the luck in his endeavors,” Johnson said.

But, Johnson says in his book, “Dreams from My Father,” and in campaign stump speeches, Obama gets some things wrong about the months he spent working in Altgeld Gardens in the 1980s.

She and her daughter Cheryl produced a document, for example, showing Obama’s 1987 salary as an organizer in the development to be $25,000 – not the $13,000 he often talks about.

There is a very simple explanation for that, Obama’s aides say. He did indeed make $25, 000 in 1987, but he was initially hired in 1985 at a salary of $13,000.

And, they claim, Obama didn’t work cleaning up asbestos at Altgeld, but fiber glass, another environmental hazard.

They also dispute his version of an incident in which Obama claimed Altgeld Gardens residents beat on the car of a government official they were unhappy with.

“I think he portrayed us as barbaric that we ran behind CHA officials beating on the car, and that didn’t take place, because I was in that particular meeting” Cheryl Johnson said.

Still, a former Jesuit priest who hired Obama to work on the South Side said he has carefully read the senator’s book, and believes Obama’s account.

“I discussed every item of this,” said Greg Golluzzo of the Gamaliel Foundation. “Barack was working his tail off. Barack was in the community. There’s many young men who go to colleges who wouldn’t even have the guts to walk around Altgeld Gardens. Barack was there, in the community, talking to the people, sensing their passion, their anger and he wanted to create an opportunity for them to express that anger and resolve the problem.”

Johnson says that since all of this has come up, she thinks Obama should go talk to her.

One of the things that affected residents at Altgeld was Obama returned to the development with a “60 Minutes” crew — we will see if he wants to come back and meet with them.

Source: CHICAGO (CBS)

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