6th ward officials on garbage pick-up grid plan...

[VIDEO] 6th Ward Alderman Roderick Sawyer & 6th ward streets & sanitation superintendent Paul Bryson discuss the new garbage pick-up grid plan proposed by Mayor Emanuel with Jay Levine on CBS2. Got wind of this via @6thwardchicago on Twitter.

This analysis at the Chicago Reader was touched upon by Roderick Sawyer in the video. He wants someone at Streets & San to be accountable to him. It's the same way for other Aldermen:

Logic has not always been part of the equation here. Streets and San currently designs its garbage collection routes to align with ward boundaries, which of course are drawn for political reasons—to protect incumbents, to slice up the pie among racial and ethnic groups, to ensure certain people or businesses are represented by certain friendly aldermen. Wards are often gerrymandered down to the block.
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Aldermen who support the current system say it ensures accountability—they say that when residents have a problem with garbage pickup, they can call their aldermen, who can call the streets and san ward superintendent.

Then here's more over at NBC Chicago's Ward Room:

As 22nd Ward Ald. Ricardo Munoz pointed out, “housekeeping is one of an alderman’s main roles. Aldermen needed control of a sweeper, because if the streets are dirty, the alderman, not the mayor, gets the blame.

Back to the Reader with this retort!

In their defense, it’s hard to look at the way power has been concentrated at City Hall for most of the last century and dismiss anything that provides a check on mayoral power.

On the other hand, there are plenty of ways aldermen could provide a check on mayoral power, such as serving as the legislators they’re supposed to be. They haven’t exactly run with those opportunities.

Ouch! If they changed the system would we still blame our Alderman if the trash didn't get picked up?