| 6 | Friday October 17, 1986

At LSNA on Friday evening, I learned of a surprising development--earlier that day. CBS had called LSNA, asking for one of us to meet them at the playlot Friday afternoon, so they could do an interview. Anna Lilia was available. On the 5PM news, CBS re-ran the entire story from Thursday night, plus the interview with Anna Lilia, and a video shot that day at the playlot--featuring a young child coming down the slide. Too young to break her fall, she hit the concrete and cried loudly, in pain, right into the camera.

“Last night’s media was balanced,” said Joe Mariano. “But the media coming back today was a gift. They turned this into an investigative piece—the unsafe condition of the Chicago parks. That child crying told your whole story. You couldn’t ask for better publicity.”

“For the bus ride,” said Manuel, “we won’t get many residents, but that’s okay. Madison knows we produced 250 last night, and he knows the media saw it. If Madison meets with us, just the committee goes in. We all sit together, and remember: We must have total unity! Total unity! If you disagree with something, ask for a break so we can caucus. But only if it’s a critical point. And we never argue with each other in front of the Park District. We appear totally united in their presence. Can you live with that?” he asked, looking pointedly at Ernesto.

“Of course,” said Ernesto.

We role-played the meeting, then went home to watch the 10PM news where the entire 5PM segment was re-run, but this time Bill Kurtis’ conclusion was different from the previous night: “Madison said he was concerned about park safety, and said he was going to meet with the parents, and listen to them.”