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Chris Butler

What would you like to accomplish within the next 5 years?

In the next five years, I like to achieve comprehensive school funding reform in the state of Illinois. Beyond this I’d love to work with people of faith who are concerned about the state our society.

What do you think are the biggest issues facing your generation?

I think that one of the biggest issues facing this generation is a lack of a sense of community. We have adopted an very individualistic and selfish world view out of which grows a premise for every problem from community violence corporate fraud. We do not see other people as valuable to us, and that is very big problem.

What do you hope to learn from more established leaders?

If a leader is "established", he/she knows what it is to be in it for the long haul. Commitment, dedication, faithfulness and wisdom are some the key things that hope to learn from established leaders.

What do you think more established leaders can learn from your work?

I think it’s good for younger leaders to work with more established leaders on best practices. This is not a one way street, it’s a give and take relationship which helps make a smooth transition. The established leaders lends his time tested ideas and the younger lends his freshness and innovation. Somewhere in the middle of that sharing is transition of leadership from one generation to the other.

What is the most gratifying aspect of your work?

Organizing is gratifying because you get the opportunity to help people realize the change they hope for. From the parents trying to change a school, to the church combating drug distribution, to the statewide coalition working on school funding equity; helping people plan and execute strategy to bring about necessary, positive change is the most gratifying work I think I could ever do.

What are the biggest obstacles in your work?

There are always obstacles to any organizing work. I’ve had to struggle with apathetic people, language barriers, funding shortages etc. I think the biggest obstacle is the internal temptation to give up, burn out and shut down.

How do you work around those obstacles?

The way I work around that obstacle is to maintain my faith. The close relationship with and strong love that I have for Jesus Christ, will not let me give up on his vision for society. Therefore, I can and will never stop working for what is right.

What tools or resources do you need to help you continue your work?

(Not being the manager of the A+ Campaign, I couldn’t say what resources we need) However, personally relationships are extremely key to the work that I do. I think that expanding my network of friends would be most important to continuing in this work.

What advice would you give to younger folks wanting to impact social justice issues?

Believe in it. You can never make an impact in social justice if you don’t think a just society is possible. Develop hope. Hope is the thing that cast a vision for the work and philosophy of how to do it. Love people. If you love people enough, you will have to get into the work and as long as that love never dies, you’ll never give up.

Define leadership.

Leadership is the art of perceiving a need and mobilizing the resources to meet it.