Last month I posted about a Hillary Clinton claim that the town she grew up in, Park Ridge, Illinois, had been surrounded by farms and that she learned that hardships migrant workers faced while babysitting their children. Hillary made the statements while pandering, I mean, giving a speech, to a largely Hispanic crowd in San Diego.
While I suppose its possible her church's youth minister, The Rev. Don Jones, had the then-Hillary Rodham and some other young Methodists watch over some migrant kids a time or two, what I really questioned whether early 1960s Park Ridge was surrounded by farms.
Haloscan comments have been buggy of late, so the long thread is temporarily missing--but take my word for it, a spirited discussion followed.
I still stand by my belief that based on the age of the housing--I drive Park Ridge and the surrounding towns several times a week--plus my discussions with old-timers--that while there may have been a few farms near Park Ridge at that time, Hillary's claim is at best an exaggeration by the life-long New York Yankees fan.
However, there are still a few farms on the edges of Cook County, where Chicago--and Park Ridge is.
And I found one today in Hoffman Estates, as the picture above shows some health corn growing. As for corn, the expression is "knee-high by the Fourth of July." It's been raining a lot here lately, so in late June, this farm is past that point.
Will there be corn thriving there next year? Or will another townhome or office development claim a Cook County farm?
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corn 
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Hoffman Estates 
Hillary Clinton 
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2008 
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Northwest Chicago Suburbs
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