[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 16] [Senate] [Pages 23585-23586] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]REINSDORF STEPS UP TO THE PLATE FOR EDUCATION Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I rise today to call the attention of my colleagues to a column by Raymond Coffey which appeared in the Chicago Sun-Times on September 30, 1999. Mr. Coffey describes the efforts undertaken by Chicago White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf to improve literacy among children in Chicago's public schools. Mr. Reinsdorf is assisting Chicago School Board President Gery Chico and Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas in the implementation and financing of Direct Instruction, a program that uses phonics to teach reading in the schools. This summer, Mr. Reinsdorf also designated White Sox manager Jerry Manuel and rookie sensation Chris Singleton to sign autographs for all fans donating books to Target Literacy, a joint initiative by Target stores and Sox Training Centers that is seeking to donate a million children's books to needy kids. Mr. Reinsdorf has also worked with Mr. Vallas to provide free tickets to public school students who have distinguished themselves through their academic achievements. Mr. President, it is important to recognize individuals in our community who go beyond the call of duty to improve the lives of people who are less fortunate than them. Chicago can be proud of the winning efforts undertaken by Mr. Reinsdorf throughout the city. I ask that my colleagues join me in honoring Mr. Reinsdorf's charitable efforts by having Ray Coffey's column from the Chicago Sun-Times printed in the Congressional Record. The article follows: [From the Chicago Sun-Times, Sept. 30, 1999] Out To Prove Kids Can Learn (By Raymond Coffey) As his ``The Kids Can Play'' White Sox close out the baseball season this weekend, Jerry Reinsdorf himself gets my vote as one of the most valuable players Chicago kids have going for them. Though they played before mostly empty seats at Comiskey Park and drew little serious attention or respect, the rebuilding Sox did win more games than the hapless last- place Cubs who, thanks to the Sammy Sosa phenomenon, set an all-time attendance record. More significant than won-lost and tickets-sold records in my score book is what Reinsdorf, who never toots his own horn, is doing for kids. [[Page 23586]] Perhaps most valuable is the working relationship he has established with Chicago School Board President Gery Chico and CEO Paul Vallas in supporting and helping finance literacy programs in the schools. Reinsdorf has, as Sox director of community relations Christine Makowski put it, ``a genuine heartfelt belief'' that literacy is a survival skill without which inner-city kids cannot succeed in making their future. He has worked with Vallas on pushing a program called Direct Instruction--basically a way to teach reading in the schools via phonics. He volunteered to serve as Principal for a Day at Doolittle Middle School near Comiskey Park and regularly has dispatched Sox players to the school to talk with students about the value of education. When Vallas wants to recognize and reward students for scholastic achievement, Reinsdorf regularly arranges free tickets for him to bring sizable groups of kids of a ballgame. Chico and Vallas are in ``constant communication'' with Reinsdorf, Makowski says. ``They can call him anytime'' and get help on the schools. This summer Reinsdorf assigned Sox manager Jerry Manuel and rookie star Chris Singleton to sign autographs for all fans donating books to Target Literacy, a joint initiative by the Target stores and the Sox Training Centers for youngsters to donate a million children's books to needy kids. Reinsdorf takes a lot of media heat for the way he operates the Sox and his Chicago Bulls. And there is, obviously, some self-interest in what he does for kids in connection with his sports franchises and through the separate Sox and Bulls Charities. This season, the Sox gave away 35,000 free tickets, worth about $600,000, to such inner-city social welfare organizations as Boys and Girls Clubs, Mercy Home for Wayward Kids, Hull House and Maryville Academy. The tickets weren't selling anyway, but they went to kids unlikely to be able to buy them and also otherwise unlikely to get to see a big league game. Reinsdorf also has donated 3,000 autographed Sox items to charity raffles and auctions. Members of the current ``Kids'' roster have made 60 appearances before community groups. Through White Sox Charities, Reinsdorf also has distributed more than $3 million to nonprofit organizations, including $1 million to the Chicago Park District to refurbish and maintain 800 baseball diamonds. White Sox Charities also funds the Inner City Little League baseball season. And it has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for cancer research and treatment at Children's Memorial and Northwestern Memorial hospitals. Some 3,000 kids were offered baseball instruction this summer at 160 weeklong camps in the Chicago area and neighboring states. At Comiskey Park itself, before the Sox take the field, kids can get free coaching in batting and pitching cages inside Gate 3. As Makowski acknowledges, Reinsdorf and the Sox franchise hope the focus on kids will generate a new generation of baseball fans. ``We'd like to give them their first major league experience,'' she said. ``We want them to have fun.'' If they go home ``a Sox fan, so much the better.'' Even better, they might sometime soon see that indeed ``The Kids Can Play.'' ____________________