The grim blocks of Altgeld Gardens appear to have changed little since a young community activist called Barack Obama first decided to help tackle the dire social problems there in the 1980s.
Rows of two-story brick buildings stretch over a snow-bound landscape, still driven by the poverty of Chicago’s overwhelmingly black South Side. Many buildings have boarded up windows; a sign of the drug wars fought here. Some homes are abandoned.
Support for Obama, who has gone from these rough ‘projects’ to running for the Democratic nomination in a bid to become America’s first black president, is rock solid.
Standing outside the school where she works as a janitor Natasha Brown, 36, is joyful at his run. "I think it’s wonderful. We need strong black men and he is such a positive role model. It gives kids at this school the idea that they can actually do what they want to do, even if they are from here," she said.
There is another Chicago, a very different world from the streets of Altgeld, where Hillary Clinton grew up.
The houses in Park Ridge are solid structures that line quintessential middle class suburbs. They mix styles from mock Tudor to mock colonial, and American flags are planted in snowy front lawns. Support for Clinton is also evident here.
"As a woman running, I think it is good. It is what is needed," said Kelly Shannon, 35 and a local housewife.
It is a study in contrasts. Unlike the Chicago that Obama saw – of black poverty and helplessness – Clinton’s Park Ridge suburban childhood was almost a 1950s sitcom cliché.
She went to Maine South High School in the almost all-white Park Ridge. She had a stern Republican father and a secretly Democratic mother. Dinner was always on the table at 6pm prompt.
The two neighbourhoods are even polar opposites geographically: Park Ridge is the first suburb on the city’s north-west border, while Altgeld’s streets are the last city blocks in the far South Side.
Yet despite their different experiences of Chicago, both candidates have used it on the campaign trail. Obama cites his work on the South Side as he speaks of America’s poor and the need for political activism.
By contrast Clinton talks of her solid, middle class upbringing giving her Midwestern values. It is a useful foil to any opponent trying to paint her as a liberal from New York out of touch with America’s Main Street.
With such strong local links, one might expect a close race in Illinois. But in fact the fight between the home state girl and Chicago’s favorite son is one-sided. Obama is set for a landslide in the state. Illinois’ political establishment has backed him; Chicago mayor Richard Daley even worked shifts at an Obama campaign phone bank.
"Obama is well ahead. His reputation here is built on local issues. Clinton is associated far more as a senator from New York," said Professor Kent Redfield, a political scientist at the University of Illinois.
In the last poll Obama led Clinton by a huge 55% to 24% and he is almost certain to sweep to victory here. But Clinton is not entirely without hope.
Illinois is the fifth-largest state in the US with a whopping 185 delegates. Her supporters have campaigned hard, including teams of her former classmates.
In Chicago’s wealthy suburbs, and in working class white areas, her message hits home. Even if Obama wins heavily, Clinton is still likely to pick up precious Illinois delegates.
One possible source of weakness is Obama’s links with controversial Chicago businessman Tony Rezko, awaiting trial in an Illinois jail.
The issue has been brought up by Clinton’s campaign to knock some of the tarnish off Obama’s public image. However, most experts believe it has little traction here. Illinois is notorious for dirty politics; "people don’t care that much about Rezko," said Redfield.
They certainly don’t in Altgeld. Obama’s campaign is a source of pride as one of their own making good, even if he was not actually born there.
That’s what Brown thinks as she prepares to sweep thick snow from the school’s paths on another bitterly cold day. "Hillary Clinton is a good role model too," she said "But she has not lived the life that we have lived. Barack has."
Even in Park Ridge, Clinton’s support is not exactly solid. Kelly confessed she is still a bit undecided on how to vote. "I like Obama too. I think he is a good candidate," she said.
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