More ward remap news the Latino caucus proposes their own map

 Want to see what the City Council Latino caucus proposes I will share with you this link from WTTW. It almost looks like the current map though some major differences. For example ward 34 would go further north and the ward 17 is expected to have more of a Latino population under this new proposal.

Allow me to share more from the Chicago Tribune:

The Latino Caucus chairman, 36th Ward Ald. Gilbert Villegas, insisted his group simply “followed the data” in drawing the lines. And he acknowledged this map is a jumping-off point to start negotiations with colleagues, particularly those in the 20-strong Black Caucus who don’t want to give up any seats in spite of Black population loss.

“The bottom line is, it has to start somewhere,” Villegas said. “This is our start. We’ve been communicating with our colleagues. And we’ve been talking to them, mapping with them, working with them to try to get to a point, those that want to work with us.”

The South Side 17th Ward, currently a majority-Black ward represented by Black Ald. David Moore that includes parts of the Auburn Gresham, Englewood and Marquette Park neighborhoods, would be pushed west into the heavily Latino Marquette Park and Chicago Lawn neighborhoods. That would make Moore, a two-term alderman who’s running for secretary of state, the odd man out.

“That won’t fly,” Moore said. “You come over there and try to pull out a Black ward, they won’t be able to get majority support for that.”

...

The Latino Caucus also proposes moving the Far South Side 34th Ward — now represented by veteran Black Ald. Carrie Austin, who’s under federal indictment — into the North Side.

Another ward is needed near downtown because of the exploding population of young professionals now living in that part of the city. And the population loss in heavily Black South Side neighborhoods makes it the place to remove a ward, Villegas said. The 34th Ward currently includes parts of the West Pullman, Morgan Park and Roseland neighborhoods.

...

The remap process is contentious under the best circumstances, as various Chicago constituencies try to increase or maintain their power in the council and incumbent aldermen scratch and claw to protect their seats in favorably drawn wards.

This year the atmosphere is particularly charged, as the census revealed a change in the city’s racial dynamic.

Data showed Chicago’s Latino population went up by more than 40,000 over the past decade. That group now represents nearly 30% of the city’s residents, making them Chicago’s second-largest racial and ethnic group.

The city’s Black population fell by almost 10% in the same time, with a loss of nearly 85,000 residents. Black residents now make up nearly 29% of the city’s residents.

Here's is the Latino Caucus proposal.

I hope to see what the City Council's Black Caucus will come up with. Will they be able to preserve some of their representation on Chicago's City Council?

Remember that bust of President Lincoln

Speaking of Englewood remember that Lincoln bust that was in Englewood that made national attention last year. Even shared a segment to Tucker Carlson Tonight on FOX News which I will also show here. [VIDEO]

Locally Ald. Raymond Lopez (Ward 15) brought the apparent vandalism of that Lincoln bust to the world's attention last year formerly located at the corner of 69th & Wolcott and lamented this act. Back in 2009, I had shared a basic history of this bust which at one point was near a business specifically a gas station. Though now, there isn't a business on that corner that could protect and care for this landmark.

Lately, the Chicago Tribune has an update on this bust which after the vandalism was removed by the city for safekeeping.

Here’s what happened: The bust of Lincoln was removed last August by the Chicago Department of Transportation, at the request of Ald. Ray Lopez of the 15th Ward. Though the statue is located in the 17th Ward, Lopez said he stepped in “only after it became obvious that nobody but myself was concerned about the health of this statue.” (The 17th Ward alderman, David Moore, did not respond to multiple requests for comment.)

Lopez contacted the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, which contacted CDOT for removal. He said he became concerned after the statue was vandalized twice last August: A resident called to say the statue was painted black; soon after, it was set on fire. (Lopez said the vandals used tar and roofing paper.) “It was around the time of the Charlottesville (Va. white nationalist) marches. A lot of hate-filled things were said, and I’ll be the first to admit this statue had seen a lot of wear and tear — of youthful indiscretions — but two acts to happen about that same time? It just felt like something else happening.”

He offered no evidence of who might have vandalized the statue, and though no one has since been arrested for the vandalism, or claimed responsibility, Lopez noted that nearby Marquette Park had been a stronghold for Illinois Nazis. He wasn’t comfortable leaving the statue on 69th, vulnerable to more attacks. He told the Chicago Sun-Times in August that President Donald Trump’s (widely condemned) response to the violence in Charlottesville had emboldened white supremacists; Lopez sent a letter to Department of Cultural Affairs Commissioner Mark Kelly, concerned that, as left-leaning groups called for the removal of Confederate statues, right-leaning groups could seek revenge on monuments to the Great Emancipator. Soon after, the bust at the corner of 69th and Wolcott was removed, without ceremony or a timeline for when or if it might be returned.

This is a pretty good and long article. It further discusses the history and who placed this bust on 69th Street. It also illustrated the changes in the neighborhood over the years with "white flight" to it's current status today. If anyone is expecting the bust to come back to its original location got some bad news for you.

The statue will never return to 69th and Wolcott.

Its eventual home is the West Englewood Library.

Should you care to remember Philip Bloomquist’s legacy the way it was, before its eyes were blackened and body scarred, visit 69th and Wolcott on Google Maps. An old street-view image is still there, the bust cracked and ghostly. “This doesn’t need to be a loss,” said Vergara. “Maybe what comes out of everything is a new memorial. Let the neighborhood replace its Lincoln, with something that lends an identity, and gives that corner a new meaning. Then the story continues, and Lincoln was never lost at all.”

Lincoln will remain in the Englewood community as for that now vacant spot where his bust now stood, there's an opportunity. If the community want another work of art at that location what should it be. Could be reflective of the people who live there or their historic figures? Better yet perhaps we can create a sculpture of Black Panther and strive to make that area a real life version of Wakanda.

Here's a street view of the bust where it once stood.

DNA Info: Spike Lee's '#Chiraq' Block Party Gets City Permit After Alderman Relents

There was supposed to be a block party near St. Sabina on Memorial Day weekend to mark the start of filming for Spike Lee's Chiraq. It was cancelled due to the weather, but we also learned that the newly inaugurated 17th ward alderman had held up a permit for this event expected to be held today at 2 PM:

Ald. David Moore (17th), who had blocked a city permit for Spike Lee's block party in a dispute over the director's choice of "Chiraq" as the title of a film he's making in Chicago, has dropped his objection to the Saturday event.

Moore signed the block party permit on Fox32's "Good Day Chicago" Friday morning. He said that he chose to wait until he had heard from the community.

"I spoke to the residents yesterday; they gave me their concerns," he said on Fox32. "Some of them strongly objected to the name, but said, 'David Moore, we want you to proceed with the block club party.' And that's why I'm here today to sign off on that."

St. Sabina Church, 1210 W. 78th Place, had plans to host the block party even if Moore didn't approve. On Thursday, the Rev. Michael Pfleger wrote on Facebook that "the block party will go on. With homicides up and shootings up, who is coming to a block party is the issue [?] Give me a break!"

A request for comment from Pleger wasn't immediately returned.

The title of this film really has a number of people up in arms still. Either way I heard that the noisiest Alderman - Will Burns - his ward had some scenes in Lee's latest joint:

More than 500 extras all dressed in white were sworn to secrecy and packed into the General Jones Armory, 5200 S. Cottage Grove Ave., on Monday morning for filming.

The exact plot of Lee’s film remains a mystery — some speculate it’s a musical comedy about women withholding sex to try to stop violence on the South Side, a modern “Lysistrata” by Aristophanes.

Now I really can't wait for this movie. :)

Mayoral results by Ward (6,8,9,17,21)

Here are the mayoral results according to the wards we generally cover.

The mayor had about 43-42% of our communities' vote (slightly lower than the citywide average). Jesus Garcia and Willie Wilson were very close between 22-27%), with Dock Walls and especially Bob Fioretti (who had an office on 79th street near Calumet) doing relatively poorly.  The full results, from which the following are from, are located at http://www.chicagoelections.com/en/wdlevel3.asp?elec_code=10

Ward	Votes Cast	RAHM EMANUEL	%	WILLIE WILSON	%	ROBERT W. FIORETTI	%	JESUS ''CHUY'' GARCIA	%	WILLIAM WALLS, III	%
6	10225	4341	42.45%	2399	23.46%	476	4.66%	2347	22.95%	662	6.47%
8	13198	5718	43.32%	2896	21.94%	546	4.14%	3181	24.10%	857	6.49%
9	11586	5001	43.16%	2775	23.95%	500	4.32%	2561	22.10%	749	6.46%
17	8570	3425	39.96%	2272	26.51%	318	3.71%	2057	24.00%	498	5.81%
21	12621	5330	42.23%	3087	24.46%	496	3.93%	2815	22.30%	893	7.08%

We may try to post a breakdown by precinct (as available from The Chicago Board of Elections website) in the near future, so see which precincts favored which candidates.

What was the talk of your neighborhood?

Election results - and a few thoughts/questions

Here are the results, as of , with at least 96% of precincts reporting in . Those in a runoff are in bold. Winners are bold and underlined.

Alderman 6th Ward

46 out of 48 precincts (95.83 %)

RODERICK T. SAWYER	5,541	55.99 %
RICHARD A. WOOTEN	2,605	26.32 %
BRIAN T. GARNER	1,750	17.68 %

Alderman 9th Ward

50 out of 51 precincts (98.04 %)

ANTHONY A. BEALE	7,108	62.55 %
MICHAEL E. LAFARGUE	1,793	15.78 %
HAROLD ''NOONIE'' WARD	1,159	10.20 %
THEODORE ''TED'' WILLIAMS	1,304	11.47 %

Alderman 21st Ward

52 out of 54 precincts (96.30 %)

MARVIN MCNEIL	1,747	14.10 %
JEFFREY BAKER	681	5.50 %
HOWARD B. BROOKINS, JR.	5,161	41.67 %
JOSEPH C. ZIEGLER, JR.	1,234	9.96 %
DORIS LEWIS BROOKS	1,450	11.71 %
PATRICIA A. FOSTER	1,273	10.28 %
KEN LEWIS	840	6.78 %

And for a few wards neighboring our main focus:

Alderman 17th Ward

41 out of 41 precincts (100.00 %)

GLENDA FRANKLIN	3,000	36.14 %
DAVID H. MOORE	4,413	53.17 %
JAMES E. DUKES	887	10.69 %

Moore narrowly lost a runoff last election.

Alderman 8th Ward

55 out of 56 precincts (98.21 %)

MICHELLE A. HARRIS	8,866	68.63 %
FAHEEM SHABAZZ	2,043	15.82 %
TARA F. BALDRIDGE	2,009	15.55 %

Michelle Harris is the incumbent.

------

And the Mayor's race:

Ward

Votes Cast

RAHM EMANUEL

%

WILLIE WILSON

%

ROBERT W. FIORETTI

%

JESUS ''CHUY'' GARCIA

%

WILLIAM WALLS, III

%

Total

458824

208176

45.37%

48582

10.59%

33907

7.39%

155485

33.89%

12674

2.76%

Question: will McNeil get support from the Chicago Teachers Union and/or work with Garcia's campaign?

=======

Any surprises for you, the reader? Your thoughts and analysis?

In a separate post, we'll break down some votes by ward (at least for Mayor).   Details are now up (as of 11:35pm) at http://www.chicagoelections.com/en/wdlevel3.asp?elec_code=10

Wards 9, 17, & 21 candidates forum Trinity Church

We may have known about this for a while now but tomorrow at Trinity United Church of Christ a candidates forum for wards 9, 17, and 21. This information was emailed to us today.

• 9th, 17th and 21st Ward Candidates Forum
  Trinity United Church of Christ
  400 W. 95th Street - Sanctuary
  Chicago, IL 60628
  
  Sunday, January 25, 2015
  2:30pm to 4:45pm

If anyone has any candidate events we should know about feel free to e-mail us, tweet, or post to our FB page.

Tribune: Aldermen turn up heat on CPS' bond deals

Ald. Thomas by Chris Walker / Chicago Tribune

I was amazed to see that Ald. Latasha Thomas of ward 17 is leading this charge. I'm wondering if her leaving the city council at the end of her term has anything to do with this:

The Chicago City Council’s Education and Child Development Committee will hold a hearing to examine Chicago Public Schools’ borrowing practices, committee chair Ald. Latasha Thomas said Wednesday.

Eight aldermen signed a resolution calling for the hearing in the wake of a Chicago Tribune analysis of the school district’s foray into auction-rate debt. Leading the effort is 2nd Ward Ald. Bob Fioretti, who plans to run against Mayor Rahm Emanuel in the Feb. 24 mayoral election.

The Tribune found that CPS' 2003-07 issuance of $1 billion in auction-rate bonds, paired with interest-rate swaps, could cost the district $100 million more than traditional fixed-rate bonds would have.

"They were gambling with our children’s future," Fioretti said Wednesday in an interview with the Tribune.
...
Thomas said she had yet to see the resolution but was willing to explore the issue at committee level. Thomas, unlike Fioretti, typically sides with the mayor on major issues.

No hearing date has been set.

Sun-Times: 17th Ward Alderman won't seek re-election

 

While the 17th Ward isn't exactly one of the wards we're covering for next year, this was an interesting development for one of the neighboring wards. Ald. Latasha Thomas will NOT be running for re-election next year:

Ald. Latasha Thomas (17th) said Saturday she won't seek reelection next spring to the Chicago City Council seat after more than 14 years representing her South Side ward.

A lawyer with degrees from the University of Illinois and DePaul University, Thomas was first appointed to the seat representing Englewood and Auburn Gresham by Mayor Richard M. Daley in 2000 and won re-election four times.

Thomas, who chairs the council's education committee, didn't give a reason in the written statement announcing her decision to step aside.

While little was mentioned of her future plans, we did a blog about this possibility. Although at that point Ald. Thomas still hadn't decided what she was going to do in 2015.

It was noted that one of her opponents - Glenda Franklin - had scored the support of Father Michael Pfleger who is the pastor of St. Sabina. Ald. Thomas claims this wasn't a factor in her decision.

So what's going on over there in Ward 17???

Ward 17 Chicago

In an article from the Sun-Times where we learned that a member of the Daley family - Patrick Daley Thompson - is interested in running for Alderman of the 11th ward, I also learned that a nearby Alderman is unsure if she will run for re-election. That came up because in order for Mr. Thompson to run for Alderman that means incumbent Ald. Ed Balcer has to retire himself and he now had to answer - as he does in this article - whether or not the Daley family simply pushed him out.

Now in relation to this, we learned that Ald. Balcer wasn't the only one who's expected to retire and therefore not run for re-election next year. And then at the end of the article I discover that Ald. Latasha Thomas of the 17th Ward is unsure what her future plans will be.

Since she discussed this with the Sun-Times, I decided to find that article and it was earlier this month that she discussed her plans. A former aide plans to run for Alderman of the 17th and the man who challenged her in 2011 and forced a run-off back then seems to be in full campaign mode. As a matter of fact you may find him in the FB group Chicago's Chatham Connection.

In that article she denies that the decision by Father Michael Pfleger to endorse her former aide factored in whether or not she wants to run again.

DNA Info: New Walmart Will Address Lack of Grocery Stores In Auburn Gresham

http://www.walmart.com/

So there was a groundbreaking nearby for another Walmart store in the area yesterday. We did a brief post about that on the FB page after it was advertised by the R.A.G.E people:

By year's end Shirley Bryant could have a grocery store in walking distance from her Auburn Gresham home.

That new grocery store is a 42,942-square-foot Walmart Neighborhood Market store at the corner of 76th Street and Ashland Avenue.

"I can't wait until Walmart opens. I won't have to go a long way to find a grocery store that sells everything I eat like fruit, vegetables and choice meats at prices I can afford," said Bryant, a 33-year resident. "For seniors like me that's important."

A Tuesday groundbreaking was held for the new store, which could be completed by December. Officials with Wal-mart Stores Inc. said the Walmart opening will create 130 new jobs.

And this of course is certainly a good thing:

The presence of a Walmart store could also put pressure on other local businesses to do right by the community, said state Sen. Jacqueline Collins (D-Chicago), whose district includes the store site.

"I literally live less than two blocks away from here. I hope that this new Walmart store puts all those convenience stores that do not hire people from the community but sells drug paraphernalia on notice," Collins said. "Those businesses need to get their act together if the want the community to support them."

WBEZ: Committee releases CPS school repurposing plan

What to do when schools are closed and they just sit vacant? It appears now is the time to figure that out:

The public bidding process for closed Chicago Public Schools buildings will start this spring.

A committee appointed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel has released a report advising the district on what to do with its dozens of shuttered buildings. There are 43 empty school buildings because of last year’s sweeping round of closures. The report didn’t come up with a plan for each school. Instead it set parameters for the district to repurpose the buildings.

The committee says possible building uses include churches, urban farms, housing and community centers.

“One of the key pieces here is community involvement in an active role. Many proposals will be encouraged to really get the community behind their proposal before actually making the proposal,” said committee chair Wilbur Milhouse, who owns an engineering and construction company.

Many of the buildings are in troubled neighborhoods that have high foreclosure rates and vacant land. Milhouse said some schools will be easier to sell than others but all the sales will go into one fund. The money would help facilitate finding purchasers for those properties.

The article also lists the members of the advisory committee which includes Ald. Latasha Thomas (17th Ward). She represents a piece of Englewood and they're interested in the repurposing of these many vacant school buildings. R.A.G.E. has even written a "white-paper" on the subject.

If you have a vacant school building in your neighborhood, what would you re-purpose it for?

Chicagoist: Rahm Emanuel Booed At South Side Basketball Tournament

[VIDEO] Well, I understand that booing politicians is something of a tradition here. In fact when the Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup last June at a rally Gov. Quinn was booed by Blackhawks fans. So what happened with the Mayor at a basketball tournament at St. Sabina Parish could be a sign of that.

However if you want to read into it, St. Sabina is a predominantly Black community and is home to the controversial Father Michael Pfleger. And thus this quote from Chicagoist: "Next, there's the tenor of Mayor Emanuel's actions toward the African-American community itself, which can be best described as an amazingly wrongheaded exercise in biting the political hand that feeds you."

Of course there are many issues facing the residents of the South and West sides of the city and most importantly Mayor Emanuel's most significant voting block who propelled him to victory in 2011. I'm sure many haven't forgotten the school closings and of course crime & safety is still an issue at the forefront for many.

Anyway, I don't want to read too much into that moment. The Mayor probably isn't popular in some parts of the city, however, it doesn't help that no one is visibly stepping up to face him in 2015.

50 Wards: 17th Ward’s Mary Harris prays for Englewood comeback

I noted this series in a post from June 3, 2012. Yesterday, WBEZ talks to a 17th Ward resident Mary Harris about living in her community. She's seen all the changes and it went from good to bad and she still hopes for a comeback. And she's doing her part at least:

Her personal experiences with government have been less than satisfying. Harris says she tried to buy the empty lot next to her home, but when she asked the alderman for assistance, she never heard back.

“So what do I do?” she says. “For about 25 years I’ve been cleaning it. I lawn-mow it – my son, and…before him I did it. I keep it clean.”

Hmmmm, that quote makes you wonder? Is the Alderman blowing this lady off? Is there anything the city can do to place this property under her ownership?

Crain's: Where Chicago's vacant homes are

I just wish there was a way to find more data about the vacancies in many of our south side communities:

Not surprisingly, South Side neighborhoods that have been hit hardest by the foreclosure crisis and recession have the highest concentration of vacant properties. North Side lakefront wards, including the 44th Ward in Lakeview, 48th Ward in Edgewater, and the 43rd Ward in Lincoln Park, were at the bottom of the list, each with fewer than 20 vacant buildings.

The data cover more than 6,000 vacant properties that were registered with the buildings department as of last month. Though homes account for most of the vacancies, the data also include commercial properties.

The neighboring 17th Ward with 358 eads the city with the number of vacancies. Another south side ward the 34th has 352 vacancies.

Solutions to this problem includes forcing mortgage companies to register properties under foreclosure and mortgage companies must also maintain these properties. Violators who fail to do so are fined. Another solution is a county "lank bank" that would purchase and sell vacant properties.

What do you think of those solutions? Are there any other ideas on the issue of vacant properties?

Hat-tip Curbed Chicago!

Council’s Black Caucus Elects New Chair - Chicago News Cooperative

Council’s Black Caucus Elects New Chair - Chicago News Cooperative

Ald. Howard Brookins (21st) of the neighboring edges out Ald. Latasha Thomas (17th) to take the chairmanship of the city's Black Caucus:

The City Council’s black caucus has elected Ald. Howard Brookins (21st Ward) as its new leader. The caucus met after Wednesday’s council meeting and unanimously selected Brookins, said Ald. Walter Burnett (27th), the former chairman of the group who stepped down in March.

Brookins was chosen over Ald. Latasha Thomas (17th), who was reportedly considered the front-runner. Thomas did not immediately return calls for comment.

Brookins said his goals as caucus chairman include increasing the number of black-owned businesses that receive city contracts, preventing a loss of African-American representation on the council as a result of the remapping of the city’s wards, and pushing for a plan to reallocate police resources from low-crime areas to high-crime areas.

Time Out Chicago: The ward debate in Englewood

This article about Aisaha Butler's R.A.G.E organization out of Englewood talks about what that organization is doing as far as ward redistricting. Alderman-elect Sawyer was the only person able to come on record to talk about the problems of Englewood:

To Asiaha Butler and the other members of RAGE, Englewood’s political pot is bubbling. The question is: Do too many aldermen spoil the broth? A combined 3.1 square miles, Englewood and West Englewood are split among six wards: the 3rd, 6th, 15th, 16th, 17th and 20th. But a bigger problem, according to Butler: There is not one aldermanic office in the neighborhood. Residents say this is a symbol that none of the aldermen wants to take the lead in tackling the neighborhood’s problems. RAGE members are calling for redistricting that would reshape Greater Englewood into just two wards.

Englewood has been in political flux this spring: Of the 14 aldermanic seats contested in the April 5 runoff election, five were in wards that include parts of Englewood. RAGE held three candidate forums leading up to the February elections, with five of the incumbent aldermen and 28 out of 35 challengers attending. None of the incumbents agreed to support RAGE’s redistricting proposal, Butler says. Incoming 6th Ward Ald. Roderick Sawyer, the only nonincumbent to win a seat, says he might discuss redistricting with the other aldermen. At press time, he had not yet decided where to locate his office.

“I will serve the needs of the whole 6th Ward,” says Sawyer, the son of former Chicago Mayor Eugene Sawyer. “I realize Englewood might have more needs than some other areas.” He listed neighborhood cleanup and job training as primary focuses, with the idea
that jobs are the key to crime reduction.

Ald. JoAnn Thompson (16th) and Ald. Latasha Thomas (17th) didn’t return repeated requests for interviews. Ald. Willie Cochran (20th) and Ald. Pat Dowell (3rd) did respond, but interviews couldn't be scheduled by press time. At the March 31 RAGE meeting, Ald. Toni Foulkes (15th), showing off her scuffed sneakers, says she prides herself on spending time in West Englewood. “Look at my feet,” she says. “I get down and dirty.”

“When you start something new, you need to clean up and see what you have,” Sawyer says. “There’s so much debris in Englewood, people need to start picking things up. The residents of Englewood need to partner with me. I’m just one person; I can’t do it alone.”

Run off election round-up

We start with this item from the Chicago News Coop. They talk about the mailings against challenger Roderick Sawyer. First however the lay of the land:

It’s up to voters living in the 6th Ward to decide whether to re-elect their veteran alderman, Freddrenna Lyle, on Tuesday, but plenty of people outside the South Side ward will try to influence their decision.

Ms. Lyle is a longtime ally of organized labor groups that did not back Mr. Emanuel’s election as mayor. She also has the endorsements of Mr. Emanuel and business groups that have feuded with the unions.

Roderick Sawyer, her challenger, said the incumbent had been compromised because she was beholden to too many groups with conflicting interests.

“You can’t serve two different masters,” said Mr. Sawyer, who won 25 percent of the vote in the February election to finish second among six candidates and force the runoff.

Ms. Lyle, who received 45 percent, said she did not worry about the possibility that someday she would face pressure from her backers to pick sides on City Council votes where not all of them are in agreement. She said Mr. Emanuel told her he understood that she was not always going to vote for his agenda when he promised to support her campaign at a meeting after the February election.

We already know about the mailers attacking Sawyer, I need to post some so that you know what I'm talking about. Still this is how much money the SEIU and the Mayor-elect campaign committee is spending:

A political fund created to help the mayor-elect’s endorsed candidates in the runoff has spent more than $35,000 to aid Ms. Lyle, state records show.

The Service Employees International Union, which did not endorse Mr. Emanuel, has donated at least $68,000 to her campaign since October, but also has spent tens of thousands on mailings attacking Mr. Sawyer.

While the mailings from Mr. Emanuel’s political committee focus on Ms. Lyle’s record, the service employees’ mailing criticized Mr. Sawyer for owing back taxes and for what it claimed was his support of video gambling. Mr. Sawyer said he was paying off the delinquent tax bills and denied supporting video gambling.

Oh yeah the back taxes mentioned in a few of the SEIU's recent mailers.

Mayor Daley Announces Walmart To Build Six New Stores In Englewood, Chatham, Pullman And West Loop Communities

Mayor Daley Announces Walmart To Build Six New Stores In Englewood, Chatham, Pullman And West Loop Communities

[VIDEO]The link above is a press release from the City of Chicago. The link within the brackets is of a video of Mayor Daley who gave a speech at 76th & Ashland - according to Crain's - who urged citizens not to wait 6 years for jobs.

Wal-Mart unveiled plans to build stores at several locations on the south side including two Wal-Mart Supercenters @ 111th St. & Doty and 83rd St. & Stewart. Well we already know about those.

Also a Wal-Mart Express store @ 83rd & Stewart and 71st & Western. We at least already know about a Wal-Mart Express coming to 83rd & Stewart at the Chatham Market Shopping Center.

Finally we already know about a Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market to be located @ 76th & Ashland where Mayor Daley hosted this press conference which unveiled more plans for a Wal-Mart.

BTW, this Defender article talked about the 6th Ward race and got a comment about Wal-Mart from Ald. Lyle:

Walmart Stores Inc. plans to open a store in the neighboring 21st Ward this summer at 83rd Street and Stewart Avenue. But Lyle predicts a Walmart store would hurt small businesses in her ward and she is working with those businesses to help them remain competitive and open.

OK, would very much like to hear more about the plan to help those smaller businesses compete against Wal-Mart. If not just from Ald. Lyle, also from her challenger Roderick Sawyer. The Chatham Market Wal-Mart is coming.

Looking for more Wal-Mart posts look here!

Wal-Mart plans 2 more S. Side stores - Chicago Sun-Times

Wal-Mart plans 2 more S. Side stores - Chicago Sun-Times

Wal-Mart expansion continues on the South Side at there will be a Wal-Mart "Neighborhood Market" to be located at 76th & Ashland. Also expected is a smaller Wal-Mart convenience store (prolly an "Express" store like what is to be opened at Chatham Market in the near future before the Wal-Mart "Supercenter" will open) in the same West Englewood area.

The Sun-Times noted that the "Neighborhood Market" would be located in the 17th Ward, home of Ald. Latasha Thomas who is currently in a run-off campaign to retain her city council seat.

Hey what's a "Neighborhood Market" anyway?

Neighborhood Market is a mid-sized format for city neighborhoods, a condensed version of the big-box Wal-Marts. The company previously has announced plans for a Neighborhood Market in the Presidential Towers apartment complex in the West Loop.

In other news Wal-Mart seems poised to expand in Chicago's North side in the Lakeview community as per this article from CBS2Chicago via Curbed.

Council’s Black Caucus Chairman Resigns

According to the Chicago News Coop, Ald. Walter Burnett (27th), has resigned his position as Chairman of the City Council Black Caucus. Two of our neighboring Aldermen are mentioned to replace Burnett:

Aldermen Latasha Thomas (17th) and Howard Brookins (21st) touted themselves as possible successors Wednesday. Brookins won re-election in last month’s general election. Thomas is fighting to retain her seat in the April 5 runoff election against former 17th Ward Democratic Organization field director David Moore.

“I would love to do that,” Brookins said of leading the City Council’s black caucus. “We need to focus on some issues of key importance to the African American community, namely the paltry number of contracts that African Americans and minorities are getting out of the city.”

Brookins said he also wants the next leader of the black caucus to focus on fundraising for caucus members so they won’t have to rely as heavily on outside groups for campaign contributions.

“It could make key members independent of everybody—the mayor, the unions, special interests, so we can truly work in the interests of the communities we represent.” Brookins said.

Ald. Thomas didn't have a quote in the article but also stated that there should be a focus on city contracts for minority businesses.