PSL candidate addresses College of Complexes

Heather Benno, the Party for Socialism and Liberation candidate for state representative in Illinois, District 40, spoke before an audience of more than 40 people at the weekly forum of the College of Complexes on May 3.

Heather Benno, PSL candidate for state representative in Illinois, District 40

Benno discussed the campaigns of PSL presidential candidate Gloria La Riva and vice presidential candidate Eugene Puryear, as well as her local campaign and that of John Beacham, who is running for state representative in Illinois, District 14. Both Benno and Beacham will appear on the ballot as the Green Party candidates.

Benno, an Iraqi-American activist, is an organizer in the anti-war movement and the immigrant rights movement. She is a volunteer organizer of the ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) Coalition in Chicago. Benno is also an immigrant rights attorney.

Illinois Assembly District 40 is on the Northwest side of Chicago, and includes both the Albany Park and Irving Park neighborhoods. Albany Park, Benno’s home neighborhood, is the most diverse neighborhood in Chicago according to U.S. census data.

Benno’s remarks on the cost of the war for both the Iraqi people and the people of the United States were very well received. She pointed out that bringing the troops home now would greatly improve the lives of working people in both countries. She spoke about participating in the May 1 immigrant rights march and explained the PSL’s call for full rights for all immigrants. Her talk emphasized the right of return for Palestinians and exposed the racism behind the attacks on Rev. Wright.

The audience was particularly interested in her explanation of the significance of a woman and a Black man running for president and the fact that the Democratic and Republican candidates both reflect the needs of the ruling class.

The College of Complexes has organized weekly forums since 1951. It bills itself as a weekly free speech forum and “The Playground for People Who Think.” Each week, speakers representing diverse points of view present their ideas. It is much like an indoor version of the speakers’ corner in Hyde Park in London and the similar tradition of Union Square in New York City from the late 19th century until the late 20th century.

The forum also marked College of Complexes’ annual May Day celebration. Every year, the College performs excerpts from a play about the Haymarket martyrs, “Cell 29.” This play showcases the words of Albert Parsons, August Spies, Adolf Fischer and George Engle from their jail cells and on the gallows. The four were hanged on trumped-up charges of encouraging the throwing of a bomb at a workers’ rally supporting the eight-hour workday on May 4, 1886. Albert Parson’s last words, “Let the voice of the people be heard,” is the inspiration for the College of Complexes.