Cook County's 'Public Health Heroes League'

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Apr 04, 2024 View in browser   By Samantha Latson and Shia Kapos Presented by  Happy Thursday, Illinois. It’s National Public Health Week, a time to showcase the many contributions of public health. Stop by the Hideout tonight to hear state Sen. Robert Peters talk about the state of progressive politics. Tickets here TOP TALKER Animated characters in the Public Health Heroes campaign, launched by the Cook County Department of Health. | Cook County Department of Public Health/Public Health Heroes League The Cook County Department of Public Health recently debuted the “Public Health Heroes League,” an animated graphic novel campaign that aims to educate the public on the resources the department provides. On their website, viewers are drawn to an array of characters mirroring diversity in the Department of Health. Only these heroes aren’t dressed in capes adorned with shiny armor, but depict everyday heroes — wearing lab coats, scrubs and suits. POLITICO spoke with Dr. LaMar Hasbrouck, the COO at the CCDPH, to learn more about the campaign. Here's some of the conversation, edited for length and clarity. What’s your main goal with the Public Health Heroes League campaign?  What I want to see is a transformation of the knowledge level and understanding of what we do — but also an engagement with us because we have a lot of tools to reach out to folks in various ways. We want to build relationships outside of chaos, outside of outbreaks, outside of catastrophe. So, when there’s an outbreak, we have a good relationship, we can move at speed — and most importantly — we have the trust. It’s a fun way to introduce ourselves to the community, and it's really meant to be kind of an evergreen campaign to make sure folks understand we’re here. How did you and your team pick which issues to tackle, and will others be addressed? We drafted about 12 different scenarios. We ended up producing three of them, one being the introduction to the characters and then two others on tobacco and measles. We chose them based on the criteria of what could be an easily translatable story in a very short vignette and what would folks resonate with or react to, while showing the spectrum of the diversity of things we do. Because of time and resources, we were only able to develop three, but we hope to develop more going forward. Why was it important for diversity to be represented in the campaign? We pride ourselves as having one of the most diverse health departments in the country. About 40 percent of our staff are Black, Indigenous and people of color. The national benchmark is about 18 percent. We wanted to make sure we reflected the diversity of our staff and the residents we serve. And we also wanted to make the point that there is excellence through diversity. The creativity just kind of came together because we understand that folks seem to be captivated by action characters. How can programs like yours fight health inequities in Black and brown communities?  Well, it starts with trust. If you're not a trusted messenger, service provider or public servant, then whatever you have in your bag of tools is not going to work because there'll be skepticism. We saw a lot of that with vaccine hesitancy and other things in the community. It also starts with authentic and sustained engagement with the people you're serving. Humility is very important because we have a level of expertise, but the community residents have a different level of expertise: their lived experience. We have to leverage both of those. And we have some restoration to do, given our history of not being as engaged and as not being as involved with the community. THE BUZZ — Chicago Public Media lays off 14 staffers, citing financial troubles: The parent company of WBEZ and the Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Public Media, announced layoffs on Wednesday, citing economic struggles stemming from a decline in listeners and donors. They plan to cut nearly 15 percent of the 62 unionized content creators at Chicago’s National Public Radio, according to WBEZ’s Dave McKinney, and four jobs in “business roles” at the Chicago Sun-Times. The layoffs clash with the recent launch of a “state-of-the-art studio at WBEZ’s Navy Pier office and follows a double-digit-percentage pay increase for Chicago Public Media’s top executive,” by McKinney. — Chicago Public Media axes WBEZ's podcast unit and Vocalo: “Layoffs at Chicago public radio station WBEZ-FM/91.5 will result in the termination of the podcast department and the end of Chicago urban alternative station Vocalo Radio, the union representing employees at the station announced,” by Crain’s Corli Jay.   A message from Archer Daniels Midland: Growing demand for low-carbon fuels means carbon capture technologies are critical for our state's aviation, manufacturing, and agricultural industries. Learn how Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) can provide an economic boost for downstate communities, strengthen Illinois industry, and advance our state as a leader in America's decarbonization efforts. Read more.   WHERE'S JB No official public events. WHERE's BRANDON At Quinn Fire Academy at 7:55 a.m. for the Chicago Fire Department Badge Ceremony — At Chicago Urban League at 9:30 a.m. to give remarks at the Here to Work Roundtable event — At Malcolm X College at 6:25 p.m. to speak at the Faith Leader’s Summit & Resource Fair. Where's Toni No official public events. Have a tip, suggestion, birthday, new job or (heaven forbid) a complaint? Email  skapos@politico.com   Access New York bill updates and Congressional activity in areas that matter to you, and use our exclusive insights to see what’s on the Albany agenda. Learn more.     THE STATEWIDES — Illinois lawmakers consider measure to criminalize AI-generated child porn: “At a House committee hearing, lawmakers debated a measure that would prohibit the use of AI technology to create child pornography, regardless of whether it involved real children or fake images that evoke obscene imagery,” by the Tribune’s Jeremy Gorner. — Lawmakers question Pritzker’s plan for new early childhood agency: “Gov. JB Pritzker’s plan to consolidate the state’s early childhood programs into one new cabinet-level agency ran into tough questions this week during a House budget committee hearing,” by Capitol News’ Peter Hancock.   A message from Archer Daniels Midland:   CHICAGO — Johnson’s failed ‘Bring Chicago Home’ referendum gets boost from unlikely source: “At a news conference announcing subsidies to adapt downtown office buildings for residential and commercial use, developer Quintin Primo III touted creation of a fund to reduce homelessness, which was rejected by voters in March. ... ‘If we want to solve a problem like homelessness ... you’ve got to pay for it,’” Primo said, by the Sun-Times’ Fran Spielman. — Opinion: Why progressives keep losing the battle to tax the rich: “The way campaigns explain progressive taxes to voters needs to be overhauled,” writes comms specialist Isabelle Dienstag in the Tribune. — Attorney General Garland in Chicago, announces $78M in new anti-violence funding: “Garland, a Chiago native, cited the substantial progress made nationwide since gun violence peaked during the pandemic, including a 13 percent reduction in homicides in Chicago over the past year and even more substantial reductions in cities like Detroit, Baltimore and New Orleans,” by the Tribune’s Jason Meisner. — NASCAR’s Chicago street race will close downtown streets starting in June: “The July 6-7 race will require 19 days total to set up and tear down,” reports Block Club’s Kelly Bauer. — Mayor Brandon Johnson’s ex-chief of staff joins private security firm that hires Chicago cops, by the Tribune’s Alice Yin. — Off the record: The University of Chicago’s Institute of Politics fellows program has a long-standing policy to keep its discussions with students off the record. So former Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s off-the-record discussion Wednesday with students about working with the media wasn’t anything to get worked up over as we did. Every seminar by every fellow for years has been off the record.   SUBSCRIBE TO GLOBAL PLAYBOOK: Don’t miss out on POLITICO’s Global Playbook, the newsletter taking you inside pivotal discussions at the most influential gatherings in the world, including WEF in Davos, Milken Global in Beverly Hills, to UNGA in NYC and many more. Suzanne Lynch delivers the world's elite and influential moments directly to you. Stay in the global loop. SUBSCRIBE NOW.     THE NATIONAL TAKE — Biden’s not changing Israel policy after deadly strike on aid workers, POLITICO’s Alexander Ward — Colleges are lawyering up to avoid becoming the next Harvard, POLITICO’s Hailey Fuchs — Biden and Trump cruised in Tuesday’s primaries. But both showed signs of weakness, POLITICO’s Steven Shepard   A message from Archer Daniels Midland: Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is a proven climate solution, and Illinois is a national leader in this technology. Investment in CCS means economic growth in downstate communities and rural areas across the state, providing funding for infrastructure, creating job opportunities and revitalizing towns across the state. Learn why policymakers should embrace CCS.   HAPPY BIRTHDAY Former Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran, Illinois Policy Institute President Matt Paprocki and PR pro Molly Mitchell. -30-   Follow us on Twitter Shia Kapos @shiakapos   Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook  |  Playbook PM  |  California Playbook  |  Florida Playbook  |  Illinois Playbook  |  Massachusetts Playbook  |  New Jersey Playbook  |  New York Playbook  |  Ottawa Playbook  |  Brussels Playbook  |  London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters Follow us

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