Great cheer as our team was able to meet with County Cork visitors in the lead up to their delegation to the St. Patrick’s day parade on Saturday. This years theme is Workers Rights and Tim Drea of the Illinois AFL-CIO is the Grand MarshallThis year's Chicago Downtown St. Patrick's Day, March 11, 2023. And some from Sunday's Southside parade. Before that we met with County Cork Visitors. Details below. Mary Harris Adler and Joe Hill Adler in the stroller joined the march with us. We met these folks a couple years ago at the parade and are delighted they joined us again with their children. Photo credit: Joe Rathke We Shall Rise! Photos by Charlie McBarron Photos by Charlie McBarron Photos by Charlie McBarron and Maya Shenoy Photos by Joe Rathke and Charlie McBarron Filmed by Charlie McBarron The Irish American Heritage Center also had a float featuring Mother Jones (Brigid Duffy and elements of the display from our exhibit at their center . Photo Credit: Charlie McBarron and Suzy Brack Photos of Irish American Heritage Center Float which included SAG_AFTRA singers. Brigid Duffy and Suzy Brack, who were part of our recent play Table For Two are here! Photos by Suzy Lynn Petriccio. Then on Sunday, Mother Jones was part of the Southside parade with Roofers Local 1. Photo by Michael Womack Photo by Michael Womack Photo by Michael Womack Earlier in the week our team was able to meet with County Cork visitors in the lead up to their delegation to the St. Patrick’s day parade on Saturday. In Center is Cork Mayor Danny Collins. Others in the image include Kevin Byrne, Chicago's Consul General to Chicago and the Midwest, Cork Concillors and Statue and Museum board members, Rosemary Feurer, Stephanie Seawell-Fortado, Sheila Gainer, Margaret Fulkerson, Brigid Duffy, Bill Fraher. This years theme is Workers Rights and Tim Drea. left, of the Illinois AFL-CIO was the Grand Marshall

We've been waiting to announce this officially for too long. Our statue/sculpture of Mother Jones will be placed at Chicago's historic Water Tower. There have some negotiations and some wrinkles . But we did it, indeed. Chicago's Water Tower is the most iconic old Chicago site in the city, and one of the most visited. Yet the park around it is small, intimate. This sculpture will signal that Chicago is a union town, that immigrants and working class built the city, and that we are part of a tradition of struggle. It's taken us a long time to get here. We started fundraising with only a proposed location, and you had faith that we would come through. We accomplished this by organizing. The protests over statues and memorials in the city put new policies into place through the Chicago Monuments Project. We had to revise our tentative agreements with the city. One element was agreeing to a new vetting process for artists to submit proposals. Our new schedule calls for the final artistic renditions to be completed by this summer. After that, it will be just a short time. The official name of the project is Mother Jones "We Shall Rise". The completion of the project will be a joint effort of the MJHP and the Chicago Monuments Project. We will never forget that you donated without a definite location. Keep the faith, we said. We need your help to fulfill our fundraising targets. We still have a ways to go. The time to donate is now! The Water Tower and Mother Jones The Water Tower survived the Great Chicago Fire, just like Mother Jones. The tower was being built when Mother Jones returned to Chicago after she lost her husband and children to yellow fever. After the Great Fire of 1871, Mother Jones found a new purpose by becoming part of Chicago’s multi-ethnic immigrant-based labor movement. The site is still a place that protests are launched. When asked how she came to identify as an agitator against the conditions of the poor and oppressed workers, she replied “I first began to think of it after the Great Fire of Chicago, when I saw all the relief which had been sent the distressed did not reach the source for which it was meant.” She began to read, think and act. By 1900, she was widely known as Mother Jones, a fearless labor organizer. But Chicago remained her base all the way up until the year she died, when she hoped to return there to be honored by working class Chicagoans. The sculpture will now represent labor history, women’s history, the history of immigrants, and the long struggle of people before profit. It will be the first sculpture of Mother Jones. It's long overdue, we say.

co-authored with Charlie McBarron; Photos courtesy Charlie McBarron Hundreds packed the Erin Room at Chicago’s Irish American Heritage Center on November 13, for the world premier of Larry Kirwan’s one-act play, A Table For Two at The Dill Pickle. We were at capacity for this event. The audience reception was fantastic. The play imagines a meeting of early 20th century labor icons Mother Jones and Big Jim Larkin at a Chicago pub in 1919, The conversation is about the struggle for worker's rights and an end to child labor, but it’s both funny and bittersweet, as Larkin pines to return home to his family in Ireland and Jones continues to grieve for her family, which was wiped out by a yellow fever outbreak. Veteran Chicago actors Brigid Duffy and Will Casey played Jim Larkin and Mother Jones, respectively, while Suzy Brack played the waitress at the event. The play came to life after two visits to Chicago Irish consulate events. About a year ago, we were honored to be invited to a meeting with Ireland's Ambassador to the U.S. Dan Mulhall. Seeing our statue committee member Brigid Duffy, who has played Mother Jones for our project, he quipped, "We should put on a show where you play Mother Jones and I play Big Jim Larkin!" Shortly after that meeting, Brigid was one of the attendees at the premier of the Broadway-bound Paradise Square, and she mentioned the proposal to Larry Kirwan, who conceived that show. Kirwan generously agreed to write the one-act play . Brigid did the work of bringing together the actors with director Kay Martinovich. What a team, and a great combination Will Casey and Brigid made. A well-deserved enthusiastic standing ovation followed. Great performances by quintessential professionals. We gratefully acknowledge their work, and the approval of Actors Equity for producing this as a non-profit production. Learn more about the Dill Pickle and other background history to the play in the playbook, below. We also had bonus performances by Gavin Coyle, who started us off with a powerful There is Power in the Union, and then a masterful version of Larry Kirwan/Black 47's The Day They Set Jim Larkin Free. Brian Weddington brought a virtuoso performance as A. Phillip Randolph. I had suggested a speech by Randolph from 1919, and then he took it, adding touches that brought it to life and were relevant to the present. It was stunning and brought another standing ovation. Weddington & Gavin performances were arranged by Bill Fraher, a statue committee member. The program was a fundraiser for the campaign to erect a statue of Mother Jones in her adopted hometown of Chicago. The statue has beep approved by the City of Chicago and the work on the statue its expected to begin in 2023. At the event, we announced the new location, to wild cheers of the audience. Here is the playbook, where you can take a closer look at the talent and background of the performers and learn more about the talent that brought this staged reading performance together. We wish to thank the Irish American Heritage Center for providing this venue to us. A special shout out to Meg Ryan and specifically the contributions of Martin Quirk. We thank all those volunteers listed who helped us make this happen.

Donate to the Mother Jones Heritage Project Support our Projects with a tax-deductible donation. We are a 501-c-3 non-profit. Donate to the Mother Jones Chicago Statue Campaign Target Amount: $200,000 (75,000 to go as of 3/21/23) Checks: Mother Jones Statue Fund, 630 Joanne Ln DeKalb IL 60646 DONATE through Flipcause Donate to the Mother Jones Heritage Project Target Amount: $750 for the Indiana Marker Checks: Mother Jones Heritage Project, 630 Joanne Lane, DeKalb, IL 60115

Mother Jones Chicago Statue Campaign Why a Mother Jones Statue Donate to the Statue Campaign Meet our Team Learn More About the Statue Why A Mother Jones Chicago Statue ​The government of Ireland seeded this project with $36,000 grant. We need to raise a total of $200,000. Please give generously. We have applied for locations on Wacker, near Michigan, but have not officially been granted a permit. We have support from Alderman Brendan Reilly for this project. Imagine, "Let's meet at the Mother Jones statue!" There are hardly any sculptures of women historical figures in the city of Chicago. Let's put this iconic Irish immigrant refugee and founder of the American labor movement--the Mother of the working class--on a statue in the city she called home. Make a Tax Deductible Donation to the Statue Campaign We are a 501-c-3, so your donation is charitable. ​ Target amount: $200,000 Donation Form send checks to: Mother Jones Statue Fund, Wintrust Bank, 4343 W. Peterson Avenue, Chicago IL 60646 DONATE Meet our Donors Complete Endorser and Donor List Checks: Mother Jones Statue Fund, Wintrust Bank, 4343 W. Peterson Avenue, Chicago IL 60646 ​ Checks with correspondence: send to Mother Jones Statue Fund, 630 Joanne Lane, DeKalb, Illinois, 60115. Donate to the Statue Campaign Meet our Sculptors Meet our sculptors, Kathleen Farrell and Kathleen Scarboro, whose work will convey the power of Mother Jones. Learn about their approach and past projects. Meet our Honorary Co-Chairs Daniel Mulhall, Ireland's Ambassador to the United States Cecil Roberts, President of the United Mine Workers of America Sarah Nelson, President, Association of Flight Attendants-CWA Terry O'Sullivan, Laborers' International of North America ​ Meet our Statue Committee Members Meet our Sculptors

Donors - Chicago Statue Campaign Thanks to all who have donated and endorsed the Mother Jones Chicago statue project. We are half-way there! Add your name today. See our Endorsers Donate to the Statue Campaign Kevin Byrne, Ireland's Consul General to Chicago and the Midwest "A Mother Jones statue will stand as a fine testament not only of the contribution that Irish women have made to America but also the great contribution of all immigrant women to this country, a story that often goes untold." ​ Donors ​ Mother Jones Legacy ​$10,000 & above ​Government of Ireland Chicago Teachers Union with members match ​Roofers Local 11 Painters District Council 14 ​ History Makers $5000 level ​Bricklayers ADC1 Chicago Sprinkler Fitters Local 281 Chicago Federation of Labor Int'l Union of Bricklayers & Allied Trades ​ ​ Fight for the Living $1000 and above ​Ernestina Padilla i n honor of Lotty Blumenthal & Geri Baginski Brigid Duffy Gerace Helen Ramirez-Odell Mary Lou Edwards Anonymous CTU Women's Rights Committee In honor of David J. Rathke United Mine Workers of America ($2000) Illinois Education Association Staff Organization Eugene Debs Foundation Plumbers Local 130 Dowd, Bloch, Bennett, Cervone, Auerbach and Yokich Chicago St. Patrick's Day Parade Committee Dolores Connolly National Staff Organization ​ Justice Warrior $500 and above Saul Schniderman Bakers Union Jeanne Graham Hector Arrellano Timothy Gilfoyle Raymond O. Wicklander Anonymous Paul Bailey Carpenters Chicago ​ Sons & Daughters of Mother Jones $250 & above ​ Margaret Fulkerson Coalition of Labor Union Women David Prosten Working Women's History Project Patricia O'Brien Jacqueline Kirley Marcus Rediker Julia Nowicki Helen Elkiss Sheila Durkin Kenny & Becky Osborne Barry Bennett ​ ​Working Class Hero ​$100 & above ​Carl Rosen Blythe and Associates Shari Paul Leah Humes Sue Walton Sandra O'Donnell Zeese Papanikolas John J. Vespo Theresa Boyle Stephen Jones Donald Marcus Taru Spiegel David Johnson Noel Beasley ​Harold Rosenthal Stephen Goldberg Rosemary Trump Virginia Ayers Susan Strauss John Enyeart James Tibensky In memory of Gary Puleio Eileen Durkin Ellen Skerrett Byrne, Brennan and Richards Family Ellen Garza Acknowledging and honoring Chicago's women organizers and activists is crucial to our identity. Jeana Brown Women do because Mother did. Christine George ​Sue Sebesta Christopher and Bernadette Murphy Dan Durkin Gemma Doyle Michelle Frenette "From a proud Sangamon State Labor Relations program alumni" Paul Bailey Kevin Cullina Betsy Kraft Jim and Janet Fennerty ​ ​ Trailblazer $50 & above Shannon Zalinski David Jablonsky George & Rhonda Milkowski Kassandra Tsitsopoulos "Long live Mother Jones and female union members!" Norine Gutekanst Michael Savoir Robert Bloch William Hassett Nicholas Bode James Schaudt DB Hunt in honor of Elliott Gorn John Powell Susanne Paradis Ivana Krajcinovic Joanne & August Ricca David Richardson Rita Alfonso LaBarbera Julie Quirin Colleen White John Zurzaw Joan S. Jacobs Phyllis Magee Donald Morris Marion Sirefman Kathleen Carey Bernie Eshoo Kathleen MacMillan Helen Smith Linda Bonner ​ ​​Grassroots $25.00 & below Judith Dever Phillip Dortsch Jennifer L. Johnson Carlene M. Blumenthal Amanda Scampini Mary Ann Trasciatti anonymous Jerry & Irene Adler Stephanie Cummings Collins Lois Evans * * This donation is by LuLu LoLo whose campaign "Where are the Women? in 2015 highlighted the lack of monuments to women in NYC David Band Robert Stauffer Karl Knobler Patricia A. Wright Robert Lehrer Diane M. Dorsey ​Martin Mikinas Michael Zielinski Louis Wolf Kenneth DeBay Elizabeth Hastings Henry Ooten David Tarlo Ed Pickford Bonnie Shapiro Marissa Koziar Ann F. Hoffman Dr. B Iverson Dean Doberstein Bruce Trigg "Pray for the dead and fight like hell for the living! " I am honored to support this effort in the memory of this great woman. Stephen Mitchell Deborah Pope Deborah Montgomery Anna Johnson Stuart Walsh Madalyn Kenney Angela Just Sunti Segrave-Daly Endorsements Donors - Amount Undisclosed Elliott Gorn "Because, as Upton Sinclair wrote, ". . .wherever she went, the flame of protest has leaped up in the hearts of men, her story was a veritable ODYSSEY of revolt."