Chicago: My Kind of Town, My Kind of Conference
Pictured: Downtown Chicago
Photo Credit: Rick Guidotti for Positive Exposure
By: Rick Rader, MD, Editor-in-chief, HELEN
In 1964, America’s top crooner Frank Sinatra released a hit song declaring that Chicago was “my kind of town.” There are hundreds of reasons why anyone who knows Chicago could say the same thing. For me personally, it’s the fact that there are more than 2,000 hot dog stands in the city; more than the number of Burger King, McDonald’s, and Wendy’s restaurants in the city combined.
Congrats to the AADMD Conference Planning Committee who selected the Windy City for this year’s meeting. Chicago’s other nickname doesn’t get the same recognition, but perfectly aligns with the AADMD’s mission. The City of Big Shoulders–that, in essence, is what the AADMD is all about.
“For over 22 years we’ve demonstrated that we have big shoulders.”
They had to be big enough to overcome the challenges, obstacles, and discriminatory practices that we found to be in abundance by the medical and dental community. In addition to the needed strength afforded by these shoulders the other need was described by Sir Issac Newton: “If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants.” And it’s bittersweet to recount those AADMD members who are no longer with us and to thank them for helping us to see further.
In addition to the hot dog stands there are several other Chicago touchpoints that call out to me and serve as great connections to the 2024 AADMD Conference.
There are many inventions that came from the city of Chicago that have been great influences in my life. Where would I, or any of us be without Crackerjacks, zippers, pinball machines, spray paint, softballs, and the remote control.
The first controlled nuclear chain reaction that eventually led to the atomic bomb and nuclear energy occurred under the stands of Stagg Field at the University of Chicago in 1942. I reference this because the growth, influence, and significance of the AADMD has clearly been a model of a chain reaction. Our ability to energize the similar molecules that bind us with like-minded national and international organizations has served as the fuel rods to create the fission that leads to promising practices.
Pictured: The story of how Chicago defied the odds and pulled off one of the greatest engineering feats in U.S. history. Photo courtesy of WTTW.
And talk about a city with influence. In 1850, Chicago reversed the flow of the Chicago River to stop city waste from flowing into Lake Michigan, which to this day is still used for city drinking water. The reversal caused the city’s typhoid death rate to drop by 80 percent. Nothing like being a leader of a task force and waking up to a yellow sticky note reminding you that today’s the day to “reverse the flow of the Chicago River.”
Pictured: The Society for Human Rights Charter. Photo courtesy of The Legacy Project Chicago.
The first gay rights organization, the Society for Human Rights, was founded in Chicago in 1924. So hats off to being a leader in advocating for the rights of stigmatized populations.
We can be confident that the AADMD Conference Planning Committee will be providing an abundance of milk and cookies in between sessions. We can thank the city of Chicago for having the world’s largest cookie and cracker factory right here. Who reading this can’t relate to cookies made by Nabisco.
A word to the wise: When you’re out and about enjoying Chicago’s Deep Dish Pizza, be sure to remember to tip the waiters. Seems that in 1918 over 100 waiters were arrested for poisoning bad tippers in Chicago. Just saying.
And lastly Chicago is home to the first and largest urban medical district in the United States. And the city is often called the medical center of the US due to its large numbers of medical schools and hospitals. About one-fifth of all doctors in the US have received all or part of their medical training in Chicago. We hope the efforts of the AADMD have in some small way influenced the way these clinicians (physicians and dentists) care for (and about) patients with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
As Elwood Blues declared in “Blues Brothers”, “It’s 108 miles to Chicago. We’ve got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes– it’s dark and we’re wearing sunglasses.”
So welcome to Chicago, my kind of town and my kind of conference.