The NEIU community is a diverse group of students and faculty. Some individuals embody that diversity singularly. Matthew Podgorski, NEIU student and faculty member, is just one such example.
As a political science major, Podgorski graduated from NEIU in 2002, and went on to Pepperdine University’s Graduate School of Public Policy in Malibu, California. After completing a one-year assignment working for the San Diego city government, Podgorski worked as a senior manager for Kraft Foods. Currently, Podgorski also serves as an adjunct professor at NEIU teaching political science.
Taking his passion for political science to another level, Podgorski founded a non-profit political organization called Action Illinois, which strives for good and honest government. Action Illinois started with a small number of Podgorski’s close friends and family only to unexpectedly multiply within months.
Shortly after founding Action Illinois, Podgorski began to pursue his interest in eliminating pollution in Chicago and the pollution of the city’s water system. While still teaching at NEIU and working at Kraft, Podgorski announced his candidacy as the Democratic Commissioner of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation for the district of Chicago.
With the help of “Friends of Matthew Podgorski,” a group of volunteers that supported him and his views on environmental politics, Podgorski raised funds to begin his campaign. Within a few months, the number of supporters grew and Podgorski’s “Friends” collected over 10,000 signatures, which placed him on the February 2008 ballot. Now, the number of Podgorski supporters range in the thousands, including some well known Chicago and suburban politicians such as Bernard Stone, Alderman of Chicago’s 50th Ward, and the Democratic Club of the 50th and 2nd Ward. Although Podgorski was not elected on Feb. 5, he received over 130,000 endorsements including one by the Chicago Sun Times.
This level of recognition in the local political arena has provided Podgorski with the opportunity for future political endeavors. It has also afforded Podgorski’s students at NEIU the diversity and depth of experience they can learn from.