Hillary Clinton to visit hometown Park Ridge in October, take questions from students

Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will be back in her hometown of Park Ridge next month to help the city's historical society preview its upcoming "Trailblazing Women of Park Ridge" exhibit.

Clinton will answer questions from Maine East and Maine South high school students in front of an audience of middle and high school students during the Oct. 11 event at the historic Pickwick Theater in the city's downtown.

A new documentary film, "Dare to Dream," chronicling the former first lady's experiences in Park Ridge will premiere at the event. The film is based on interviews conducted by Park Ridge Historical Society members in 2016 and 2017, with the assistance of Maine South and East student volunteers, for the oral history project "Growing up with Hillary."

Students, faculty and school administrators will occupy 500 of the Pickwick's seats for the Oct. 11 event. School administrators will select the students who will participate.

The remainder of the free tickets will be available to members of the historical society. To join the Park Ridge Historical Society, visit www.parkridgehistorycenter.org/support-history-center. After joining, members will receive an invitation to reserve two free tickets to the event.

The "Trailblazing Women of Park Ridge" exhibit is scheduled to open at the Park Ridge History Center, 721 N. Prospect Ave., in the spring of 2020. It will examine the local roots and upbringing of Clinton and three other notable women: Clara Barck Welles, founder of the Kalo Arts Crafts Community House in Park Ridge and the first president of the 20th Century Club of Park Ridge; Hannah Solomon, an ardent advocate of women's suffrage, founder and first president of the National Council of Jewish Women and president of the Illinois Industrial School for Girls; and Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, also called Mother Cabrini, founder of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.