2018 year in review

2018 is just about over, and it seemed to move fast too. As we look back at the year that was we look forward to the year that will be 2019. Here are some important stories we noted on this blog and other news in general that we hadn't followed.

Brian Sleet R.I.P.

Wow! This one caught me off guard!

Mr. Sleet was a young man who is another who when I came to 6th ward events in the capacity of this blog also greeted me with a handshake and a smile. I also found him to be very approachable. I've seen that he was very passionate about tackling the issue of Chicago's sixth ward.

He was a candidate for ward 6 alderman in 2011 and once that election was over served as the chief of staff to Ald. Roderick Sawyer. Then he left that position to be a campaign manager for current state's attorney Kim Foxx and also was an advisor to 4th ward Alderman Sophia King. He was a consultant for Kivvit.

BTW, his passing has been noted in the media with this Sun-Times article and I heard about it on the radio this morning. Also search for Brian Sleet on twitter and you will find a number of tweets paying tribute to him.

Condolences to his family and his many friends.

 

Red Eye: Chatham residents stand up for community in wake of violence

Via The Chicago Neighborhoods

So three of Chatham's future leaders are quoted in this article from the Red Eye. Unfortunately Chatham has been in the news unfortunately for various incidents of gun violence in recent years. The most recent incident occurred on 79th Street and resulted in the death of a CPS special education teacher.

In any event three people you should know in that piece. You should know Jahmal Cole who wrote this great book about Chatham titled The Torch of Decency, Rekindling the Spirit of Civic Organizations. And of course recently he's been hosting events often holding court at the Whitney Young Branch of the public library. He believes the issues of Chatham involves a lack of role models and intends to do "positive loitering" to help Chathamites take back their community.

There's also one of the founders of Fleck's Coffee - Zuli Turner - who says that Chatham isn't a lost cause. Not only does she own the coffeehouse located @ 343 E. 79th St, she also owns and operates a daycare center Young Achievers Academy @ 520 E. 79th St. I'm sure many of us would agree with that sentiment.

Finally Alderman Roderick Sawyer's chief-of-staff Brian Sleet who gave a great real estate advertisement for Chatham:

Brian Sleet, chief of staff for Ald. Roderick Sawyer (6th), whose ward includes Chatham, said crime is confined to a few blocks. "The majority of Chatham is still a very safe, very positive area," he said.

Challenges for Chatham include lack of food options and transit-oriented development. The neighborhood needs a facelift because it looks the way it did in the 1950s, but the vibrant storefronts are now gone, Sleet said.

"The community is not under siege. It's really a great location. While there are some actual challenges, the majority of Chatham has a lot of good things going on and is moving in the right direction," Sleet said.

 As for Mr. Cole you should check out his new project My Block*My Hood*My City lately he's been visiting city parks - referred to ask 12 Parks in 12 Weeks - as part of this project. Recently he's been to Cole Park which in recent years has also been the site of a few incidents of gun violence.

Also check out this infographic from Red Eye some statistics about Chatham. Also be advised that while the community area is a vast swath of area, the neighborhood itself is much smaller than depicted in the infographic as in general the boundaries are from roughly 75th Street to 87th Street north & south and Cottage Grove to the Dan Ryan east & west.

Who else might be interested in replacing Bill Beavers...

A friend of the blog recently pointed this out to me from the Sun-Times article I linked to on Friday. Sometimes I miss things that are in front of me!

Two other names surfaced as possible replacements on Friday; both of whom are tied to Ald. Roderick Sawyer (6th). Sawyer acknowledged that his cousin, Ken Sawyer, and his chief of staff, Brian Sleet, are among those angling to replace Beavers.

Beavers’ replacement will be by appointment, based on the Democratic ward committeemen’s vote, which is weighted according to voter turnout in Beavers’ last election.

JP Paulus stated that some portions of the 6th is embedded within the 4th District. That means if Rod Sawyer wants his chief of staff to get the position that will mean he may well already got a vote there. Although let's remember the votes are weighted and that means:

Ald. Howard Brookins (21st), chairman of the City Council’s Black Caucus, will cast the largest number of weighted votes as 21st Ward Democratic committeeman. Brookins told the Chicago Sun-Times on Friday that he does not yet have a favorite to replace Beavers.

So time will only tell who will be the favorite. I'm so curious if any other potential candidates will step forward.

Also the Tribune noted:

Ald. Howard Brookins, 21st, who had the most votes in 2010, will serve as chairman of the committee, which will include nine committeemen, said party Executive Director Scott Cisek.

Ald. Michelle Harris, 8th, whose ward had the second- most votes, will be vice chairman.

County and Democratic Party officials believe Beavers was out as commissioner upon the guilty verdict, and that’s the assumption on which the party is proceeding. “We want to have the new board member appointed by the next meeting” on April 17, Cisek said.

Chicago aldermen on Twitter - RedEye Chicago

A recent issue of the Tribune's Red Eye talked about Chicago Aldermen using Twitter.

Alderman Sawyer  and his chief of staff, Brian Sleet, were featured in the story.

Chicago aldermen on Twitter - RedEye Chicago

(Unfortunately, the photos and comments were NOT published online -- only in print!)

UPDATED: 6th Ward Service Office Changes

Added some new information to this post first written on May 16, 2011. Added are the office hours to Alderman Sawyer's service office. Some of this information was announced at the recent GCA meeting with Ald. Sawyer and Chief of Staff Sleet - Levois

Alderman Rod Sawyer

From Worlee's blog, Concerned Citizens of Chatham:

Effective 5/17/2011 the 6th ward service office will relocate to

463 1/2 E. 83rd Street (83rd and Eberhart),
Chicago, IL 60619

Office Phone
773-635-0006

E-mail
6thWardChicago(at)gmail.com

Facebook
6th Ward Chicago

Twitter
http://twitter.com/#!/6thWardChicago



Office Hours
Mon-Thursday 9am-5pm
Friday-Saturday 10am -2pm
Closed Sundays.
Evening hours will be scheduled in the future.



The new staff of the 6th ward is as follows:


Chief of Staff Brian Sleet

Roderick Sawyer - Alderman

Brian Sleet - Chief of Staff

Jasmine McCalpin - Aide

Candace Briggs - Aide

Craig Davis - Aide (part-time)

Paul Bryson - Supervisor, Streets and Sanitation



OPPONENTS BACK SAWYER IN SIXTH WARD RUNOFF

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Kenneth Sawyer (312) 420-6443

OPPONENTS BACK SAWYER IN SIXTH WARD RUNOFF

As Roderick T. Sawyer, candidate for Sixth Ward Alderman, heads into the April 5 runoff election, he has received the endorsement of four former opponents: Brian Sleet; Cassandra Goodrum-Burton; Sekum Walker, and Richard Wooten.

“We have a common goal and that is to help improve the quality of life for 6th Ward residents. Receiving the support of the other candidates in the February election, is one more crucial step in uniting the 6th Ward, and bringing real reform to the Chicago City Council. By improving education, economic development, and access to city services ,we will promote a cleaner, safer, and stronger community."

Aldermanic Objection list

Here are the the upcoming objections for 6th ward aldermanic candidates. It can be found here from the Chicago Board of Elections.

The list includes the following info:

1. Case Number (Links do not include recapitulation sheets)
2. Objector(s)
3. Candidate
4. Office
5. Ward/City
6. Hearing Time
7. Location
8. Hearing Officer

=========
11-EB-ALD-059 Denise Smith Cassandra

Goodrum Burton

Alderman 6th Ward 400 pm

12/15/10

Building’s Lower

Level Conf. Room

Frank A. Tedesso

-------

11-EB-ALD-060 Vinona Summers Bobby Joe Johnson Alderman 6th Ward 500 pm

12/13/10

Building’s Lower

Level Conf. Room

Frank A. Tedesso

-------

  

11-EB-ALD-067 Vinona Summers Sekum Walker Alderman 6th Ward 400 pm

12/16/10

Building’s Lower

Level Conf. Room

Frank A. Tedesso

-------

11-EB-ALD-068 Denise Smith Burundi Davis Alderman 6th Ward 400 pm

12/13/10

Building’s Lower

Level Conf. Room

Frank A. Tedesso
-------

11-EB-ALD-069 Denise Smith Brian E. Sleet Alderman 6th Ward 200 pm

12/13/10

Building’s Lower

Level Conf. Room

Frank A. Tedesso

Candidate Brian Sleet Fundraiser

September Fundraiser for Brian E. Sleet for 6th Ward Alderman.

Wednesday September 15th at Red Kiva

Brian Sleet is running for Alderman of the 6th Ward

Brian Sleet is announcing his candidacy for the position of 6th ward alderman.

A quick look at elections.illinois.gov did not show a committee formed as of June 30, and thus, no funds (officially) raised by that date.

From an e-mail sent from the campaign of:

You are cordially invited to attend the kick off reception for the Sleet for Alderman campaign. Learn more about SLEET’s plan to bring real change to the city of Chicago and what you can do to help. Join us to work for the hard working middle class families in the 6th Ward and throughout Chicago.

Tuesday, 8/10/10

Rumba

351 W. Hubbard

6 PM - 8 PM

Minimum Suggested Donation : $50

Please make checks payable to :

Friends of Brian E. Sleet

PO Box 19322

Chicago, Illinois 60619

Questions? Email : Sleetfor6@gmail.com

Link to Facebook Invite
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=114870531897149&ref=ts

FB Page of Flyer :
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=231844&id=134843456548997&ref=fbx_album

Join Team Sleet with the Chicago Cares Serve-a-thon

From one of our local residents, Brian Sleet

The Chicago Cares Serve-a-thon is both the largest day of community service in Chicago and the largest fundraiser for Chicago Cares. Join thousands of volunteers from companies, churches, alumni groups, fraternities, block clubs, neighborhoods and families to paint a brighter future for Chicago children. It is now in its 17th year.

We'll help students succeed as we beautify Chicago school classrooms, libraries and playgrounds! In just one day, Serve-a-thon volunteers transform schools into wonderful, vibrant places to learn and grow. The Serve-a-thon is also the largest fundraiser for Chicago Cares, and money raised through this event makes it possible for us to create, manage and lead 215 volunteer projects every month.

Sixth Ward and Chatham resident Brian Sleet has started his team, "Team Sleet" to help out. You can join or donate to Team Sleet or any Chicago Cares Team at http://chicagocares.kintera.org/serve-a-thon2010/teamsleet

Bets wishes for Team Sleet!

We encourage others to send us your good news by e-mailing us at thesixthward (at) 1chicago.net