Zoyla

I grew up here in the streets of North Chicago. I attended what was once known as North School, and is now Evelyn Alexander. I also attended Novak-King… Neal… and the high school. In October 1993, the teachers decided to go on strike... I ended up graduating high school in Waukegan. 

I was a Miss Goody Two-Shoes; the firstborn of five. When I got out of school, mom would call me: “Okay, you're home. Start cleaning the beans. Start prepping the meat, blah, blah. Make sure your brothers are doing this and that.” I was just focused on that, you know? The daily chores. Once both of my parents got home, we would be allowed to go outside for a little bit. And right before the lights went on, we knew that was a sign to go home. But you know, we’d be so involved in playing and all that– but my dad had a whistle. Everybody in the block knew it. And I mean, it was just like, "Dude! That's your dad! Hurry up!" And we would hurry home. Everyone knew his whistle.

After high school I went to Robert Morris College in Chicago, to study business administration. I was actually the first one in my family to attend college, but when my dad lost his job, I could see his frustration. I said, “you know, I gotta do something.” I loved school. That was my goal. My dream. But I got a job. My aunt worked at Cherry Electrical [Products] and I started working different jobs there. 

Later, I started working for a temp agency. Typing, data entry and stuff like that. It was then that I started working at [Marjorie P.] Hart School. Eventually, the principal there hired me full time as the Attendance Clerk, and then the Secretary there trained me to take over her job. When they closed Hart [in 2012], I moved over to Yeager– which is a charter school now. I was there four years and they moved me to Forrestal Elementary School, and then from Forrestal, I ended up here at Evelyn Alexander. I’ve worked for the school district 20 years, now.

How have things changed since you went to school and grew up here?

For one, I’ve had a lot of students that were children of my fellow classmates. You see a kid that’s a certain way, and I think “Well you know, I remember his mom being this way, or her dad being that way, so…”

It used to be that all the kids would just take over the street and play kickball and baseball and whatnot. Everyone was looking out for you. “Hey, did your mom call you? Better hurry home!” Stuff like that. And I'm not talking just about Hispanic families. Everyone. You don't see that anymore. They just look at you like: who are you? 

You got a little emotional talking about some of those memories from your younger years.

Well, first of all, my dad's not alive anymore. We lost him four years ago– it’s just those childhood memories. Like I said, him whistling for us– and everybody knew my dad. Memories of just being able to run up and down the streets everybody saying “hi.” My dad was a family man, he was a pillar for us. Right down the street, his sister moved and bought a house there too. When, he passed, it was like, what are we gonna do? That's kind of what I miss here now in North Chicago. We don't have that family environment anymore.

When I say “This is North Chicago,” you say…?”

Our kids.

With me working in the school, I hear all these different things; “our windows got shot,” police activity and this and that. I don't recall that much stuff going on when I was younger. But sometimes, people want to hear what they want to hear. And maybe they’ve always seen North Chicago with bad perspective. 

I remember I was in Libertyville getting my nails done, and there were two ladies getting their pedicure. I'm over here, and they're over there, and I can hear “Oh my god, did you hear about North Chicago…?” And so I was just listening in, and when I finished, I paid the guy and I said to them, “You know, North Chicago is really not that bad. It really isn’t. And you know, I was raised there. North Chicago.” Then I said, “I’m actually more afraid of locations like this, where they talk about us, about what they really don't know about. Have a great day, ladies.”

What was it that activated your pride of North Chicago to where you just had to respond to their gossip?

I could have walked away, but I tell my kid: “You can't really speak up on something that you don't know about.” So if you don't know about North Chicago like I know, please, don't talk about it!

And what do you know about North Chicago now, in the present?

With all the new changes– and there are new changes– I have faith that North Chicago will once again be the old North Chicago I remember. I see it growing.

This conversation has been edited and condensed.