Located at 4816 N. Broadway St., the Uptown was built in 1925 by architects Rapp and Rapp, who also designed the Chicago Theater and Cadillac Palace Theater.  The Uptown was designated a Chicago landmark in 1991.

Jerry Mickelson, of Jam Productions Ltd., bought the theater in 2008 for $3.2 million. Mickelson owns several well-known Chicago music venues, including the Rivera, The Vic, and the Park West.

Before Mickelson, the theater had been in and out of foreclosure since 1994. Prior to that, through the late ’80s and mid-’90s, the Uptown was owned by Lou Wolf, a slumlord and convicted arsonist who was dubbed “Chicago’s worst landlord” in 1989 by Chicago Magazine.

Mickelson was contacted multiple times with questions regarding the Uptown’s funding issues, but would only comment via e-mail.

“I have been trying to fit all the pieces of the funding puzzle together to renovate the Uptown Theater and am making some progress, but it is a very long road that requires an incredible amount of due diligence,” Mickelson said.

Ald. Mary Ann Smith (48^th Ward) has been alderman of the 48^th Ward since 1989, just eight years after the Uptown closed its doors.

Doug Fraser, Smith’s chief of staff, said the theater’s renovation has long been a ward priority, but that the theater’s size is not ideal for most investor’s business models.

“It’s a tough nut to crack. It’s a big theater, it’s historical,” Fraser said.  “The perception is that this should be an entertainment district and the Uptown should be the anchor.”

Fraser said he foresees the theater being a huge benefit to the neighborhood, but the right combination of private funds and city money just hasn’t happened.

“No one will ever build anything like that again, so you can’t let it go. You just have to keep banging away at it until it eventually happens and that’s our approach,” he said.

John Holden, the former president of the Uptown Historical Society, said the alderman has dragged her feet when it comes to restoring the Uptown.

“Mary Ann, shame on her, it’s been in her ward, she’s been alderman 20 years. I know she’s always talked about wanting to get something going with the theater and nothing’s ever happened on her watch,” Holden said.

Holden said vast sections of the complex need repainting and extensive plasterwork needs to be redone both in the lobby and the auditorium. He also said the Uptown’s lobby used to be used for events and suggested that a restoration of the lobby would be a temporary way to get some use out of the theater.

“I’ve long contended to anyone that would listen that, you know, you could probably do something with the lobby and turn it into a fantastic banquet facility or something like that and maybe moth-ball the auditorium for some time,” Holden said.

Larry Wilker, president of TheatreDreams, has helped restore multiple large theaters, including the Playhouse Square Theater, the “world’s largest theater restoration project,” in Cleveland, Ohio.

Restoration on the Uptown is estimated at $40 million. Wilker said that is a gross underestimation.

“Oh, they’re way off,” he said. “You might do a partial renovation for 40 [million] but if you’re talking about restoring it to the way it looked the day it opened, with all the modern technology, I think you’re closer to $100 million,” he said.

In his experience with theater renovation, Wilker said typically a organization with connections to the theater takes responsibility for raising a combination of state, city and private funds to get the theater restored.

Wilker said the process usually happens this way because theater restoration is a tough investment sell.

“These things are not done as a for-profit venture because they’re not economic. You can’t make back $100 million, no matter what you’re doing there,” Wilker said.

Andy Pierce, a founding member of Friends of the Uptown, a volunteer advocacy organization, said he thinks corporate sponsorship, combined with privately raised funding, is the key to restoring the Uptown.

“You’ve got an owner who may have one or more corporate sponsors and or backers, and if it wants to, it can be the Nokia Uptown Theater or the Schwinn Bicycle Uptown Theater,” Pierce said.

But Wilker said corporations don’t typically sponsor theaters.

“The kind of dollars that are given to stadiums for sponsorship never happen to theaters because the stadiums have television coverage and the theaters don’t,” he said. While ample funding for the theater has yet to be secured, public interest is still high.

Andy Pierce noted that the Uptown Theater’s Facebook page currently has 7,612 members.

“Try and find another non-operating public theater that has over 7,000 friends on Facebook,” Piece said.

By comparison, The Chicago Theater, an operational theater, has 7,970 members on Facebook.

And John Holden said he still anticipates the day when he’ll be back enjoying a show at the Uptown.

“The environment for doing something at the Uptown is as good as it’s ever going to get,” he said. “Those of us who love the neighborhood and love old theaters are really holding out all hope that someday something comes together, but it’s been a long waiting game.”

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Nearly 30,000 crimes were reported in 27th Ward precincts between January and October 2010. More than one-third of these crimes were theft, armed robbery or battery, up 10.2 percent from last year and up 19.1 percent from 2005, according to the Chicago Police Department crime index.

“This bad economy has resulted in terrible job loss,” said Ald. Walter Burnett Jr., whose 27th Ward includes the Near North Side and West Loop neighborhoods. “Without enough jobs, people are turning to more and more petty crimes and burglaries to get by.”

“All I know is, I don’t feel safe walking down the street once the sun goes down,” said Ryan Tomassoni, a 25-year-old sales representative who has lived in the West Loop for two years. “And there’s no way I’m letting my girlfriend walk up and down these streets without me.”

Burnett’s plan to combat crime includes attracting new business to the area and working with local businesses to expand and create more jobs. If the community is mobilized to get involved, Burnett said, people won’t resort to crime when given more attractive alternatives.

“It’s like the dog chasing his tail,” Burnett said of often-repeat offense criminals. “We’re missing the beat by just locking people up all of the time.”

“We need alternatives to just police,” Burnett added. “We need to have programs and jobs for when they get out.”

Greg Walker, a 27th Ward resident and former Cook County prosecutor, isn’t so sure.

“I think we need more of a police presence and people realizing they will be held accountable for their actions,” Walker said. “I know it sounds generic, but it’s common sense.”

Although most people agree criminals should face consequences and jail time for committing crimes, some don’t believe putting more police on the street is the answer.

“You put a million police in the street on any given day, you’ll get a million arrests,” said Howard Ray, a police officer and 11th Precinct CAPS spokesman. “We need to change the laws.”

“These people have records when they get out,” said Ray of the difficulties released criminals face when searching for a job.

Although Ray agrees with Burnett’s plan to create more jobs and any skills-training programs for released convicts, he said it may be a good solution in theory, but in actuality, it falls short.

“They have families to support, and $10-per-hour isn’t going to do it. They just end up stealing or drug-dealing again, sometimes just to pay their lawyer.”

Ray recommends implementing a citywide “special conditional bond” where released convicts are confined to an eight-block radius from home and are subject to nightly curfews. If after two years their behavior and records remained clean, past convictions would not be used against them when applying for higher-paying positions for which they are now qualified after job training.

“The Chicago Police Department does a great job arresting people who get out in four hours,” said Ray. “We need to give the community a chance to get the upper hand to help themselves and the people freshly released from prison.”

“One robbery, one battery, one person selling drugs outside your home is one too much.”

But when you walk past the curtain that separates the front of the building from the back, you’ll come across what makes Logan Square Kitchen unique: a commercial kitchen with multiple small businesses working on their food products. Logan Square Kitchen holds possibilities for potential and current business owners and, thanks to an appeal made by Murray to Chicago’s Zoning Board of Appeals, it is here to stay.

Due to a conflict with the Chicago Department of Business Affairs, Logan Square Kitchen had its zoning classification changed in September 2009, Murray said, which could have caused her to lose her business license. After a year of attempting to appeal the decision, she had a hearing on Nov. 19, she said. A couple days after the hearing, she got a call from her lawyer stating that the Zoning Board of Appeals had made a unanimous decision.

“We got a courtesy call on the ruling on the 21^st of November … saying that the board was ruling in our favor,” said Murray. “So now we’re waiting for the letter.”

Logan Square Kitchen is one of three shared-use kitchens in Chicago, and allows people to rent out the kitchen on an hourly, daily, weekly or monthly basis. What makes Logan Square Kitchen unique over similar facilities is that it is green certified. In May, Logan Square Kitchen received the LEED Gold certification from U.S. Green Building Council.

“We’re certified with the second-highest rating you can get in green construction,” said Murray. There are only two other LEED Gold restaurants in the city of Chicago, and less than 120 LEED Gold or Platinum buildings in the state, she said.

A shared-use kitchen is a distinctive service that allows people to have access to a licensed commercial kitchen without having to own one themselves. “When you want to start a food business, it’s illegal to make food in your house yourself and sell it,” said Murray. “You have to prepare food that’s going to be sold in a health-inspected kitchen.”

Not only does Logan Square Kitchen provide opportunities to prospective business owners, it also provides services to current business owners. “Here you only have to pay for the amount of kitchen that you need or that you want,” said Murray. Being able to rent out the kitchen gives businesses flexibility, such as cake stores that specialize in wedding cakes, to use the kitchen when they need it, said Murray.

Some businesses even use Logan Square Kitchen as their main place of operations. “We’re here usually Monday through Friday for about six hours a day,” said Kris Swanberg, the 30-year-old owner of the Nice Cream ice cream company. Nice Cream has been renting out Logan Square Kitchen since June and has offices in the basement, said Swanberg. When she heard that Logan Square Kitchen may close down she was upset, but is “really pleased” to hear that the store is staying open.

“It [Logan Square Kitchen] is a really, really great asset to the neighborhood and to the community,” said Swanberg.

For those interested in starting a business in the food industry, visit Logan Square Kitchen at 2333 N. Milwaukee Avenue.

“We need to work with businesses to grow and create jobs,” said Ald. Walter Burnett Jr. of the West Loop and Near-North Side neighborhoods. “But in order for these businesses to do well, we need more access for both employees and potential customers.”

In a recent victory, and part of the Chicago Housing Authority’s ongoing Reconnecting Neighborhoods Program, the Chicago Transit Authority has approved a new stop on the Green Line at Lake and Morgan streets. However, the $38 million stop won’t be open for another two years, and many still see the need for more.

“The area needs transit, transit brings retail, retail brings people,” said Mandy Burrell Booth, assistant communications director at the Metropolitan Planning Council, a nonprofit organization partnered with the CHA whose key recommendation was to build the new Green Line “L” stop. “Communities thrive at transit stops.”

“Lake Street is the lifeline of the 27th Ward,” said Reggie Stewart, infrastructure specialist for Ald. Burnett’s office. “But right now there is no bus or ‘L’ to easily get to businesses there. And what we do have is too few and far between.”

There are an estimated 30,000 employees and 2,000 businesses spanning the Kinzie Industrial Corridor and the Fulton Market area in the 27th Ward.

However, with only one bus stop between the 800 and 1600 West blocks on Lake Street, and the nearest “L” stop over a mile away, access to these areas remains an issue. Public parking is also not a popular option as it is limited and can cost up to $24 per day.

What community leaders want to see are two more “L” stops, one at Damen and Lake, and one at Western and Lake, said Stewart.

The goal is to increase jobs and sales of businesses already in the area as well as attract new business. But economic development will remain stalled without transit feeding into the industrial corridor where jobs and employers currently are, said Stewart.

“The Kinzie Industrial Corridor is a central area to economic development,” said Steve DeBreppo, director of the Industrial Council of Nearwest Chicago, an employee-driven organization that advocates for local business with city and state officials.

DeBreppo said the potential for both businesses and clients to get back and forth to the area could be a huge factor in the community’s economic success.

“We’re close to the Loop,” said DeBreppo of the neighborhood’s ability to attract new business. “Business owners and customers could avoid paying the kind of prices that are just eight to 10 blocks to the east.”

One person who agrees with DeBreppo is Michael Keara, a 40-year-old West Loop resident new to Chicago who is looking to open a new tapas-style restaurant in the area, but is concerned over cost and accessibility.

“I would love to open my business here,” said Keara of the reasonable lease prices, which range from $14 to $20 per square foot in the neighborhood, 80 percent less expensive than those one mile east. “But when I jump on the train at Clark, and when I get off at the next stop at Clybourn, there are no people there, no retail, it concerns me.”

The Industrial Council of Nearwest Chicago and the CTA are currently applying to the federal government for more grants to increase transit stops on the Green Line, but the wait could be a long one.

“It might not happen quick,” said DeBeppo. “But we got one stop in the works, and we’ll keep pushing for more options.”

Born in Manila, Carla N. was 5 years old when her family brought her to this country. “Our papers haven’t been fixed, and I have been undocumented since,” she said.

Now 21, Carla N., who asked that her full name not be used, attends the University of Illinois at Chicago, where she is a senior studying art education and English.

Still undocumented, Carla said she worries about her future. She is one of many young immigrants who were brought to the United States while still children by parents who were looking for a better life. Like many others, Carla was disappointed when the House of Representatives passed the DREAM Act this week but was pulled from a vote by the Senate leadership on Thursday to avoid defeat. The DREAM Act is legislation that would create a path to citizenship for a special category of illegal immigrants, those who were brought to the U.S. as children.

Under the act, qualifying undocumented youth will be eligible for permanent residency if they enroll in college or serve in the military and wait for six years. They can then apply for full citizenship.

Like so many other young people seeking permanent status here, Carla is involved in many advocacy organizations such as Immigrant Youth Justice League (IYJL), Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) and the Asian American Institute.

“A lot of us are living in the shadows,” Carla said. “I knew I wanted to go to college; I was like a straight A student…but in my junior [year] I thought I wasn’t going to be able to go to college.”

Carla’s older sister went to a community college because she didn’t have the money to pay for a four-year institution and did not know how to apply to a university due to her legal status.

Carla asked her counselors, and they directed her to schools that were more lenient in their admissions policies. She applied at UIC but since she didn’t have a Social Security number, she had to apply as an international student.

Carla’s parents pay in-state tuition, but she can’t get government help such as loans or grants. She said all she can apply for are private scholarships.

In one more year, Carla will graduate, and she is hoping that she will have the opportunity to obtain residency to be able to work using her degree.

Many other young adults want to continue college but are afraid of what is going to happen when they graduate. Evelyn Perez, 24, a student and worker, said she got her residency when she was graduating from high school but that she feared her dreams would never come true.

“I live for my dreams. I always wanted to go to college and be someone in this life. I’m the first one from my family to actually go to college, and I’m very proud,” Perez said. “I can imagine what these kids are going through, and I really hope the DREAM Act will be approved.”

Perez said she has a cousin who is undocumented and she wishes she could help her because she knows she is struggling.

“She is only 21 years old. Her first language is English. She is American, all her family is here, and she can’t go to college because she can’t afford it,” said Perez. “She has a daughter and she works in a factory for the minimum wage; she is very smart and she wants to become a better person not only for herself but for her daughter.”

Perez said she doesn’t understand why Congress won’t pass the DREAM Act, since it is not the young immigrants’ fault they were brought here as dependent children. She said this is beyond an immigration issue and more like a human rights issue.

“The right to be able to help these kids to be educated — what if one of those kids is going to be the person that will discover the cure for cancer?” Perez asked.

Not everyone agrees with Perez.

Marco Garcia, 20, lives in Logan Square and was born in Chicago. He said the bill is not fair for all the immigrants who live in this country. He said there are older people who are hard workers who also deserve the opportunity to become legal residents, but they will not be covered by the DREAM Act.

“It’s either help everybody or help none because not everyone is in college or the army,” Garcia said.

Others oppose the DREAM Act as well.

An article posted by the PR Newswire, United Business Media, said the DREAM Act might reduce educational opportunities available to U.S. citizens.

The article said each immigrant who attends a public institution would receive a tuition subsidy of about $6,000 from taxpayers each year. According to the article, the DREAM Act will cost taxpayers $6.2 billion a year and since funds to attend college are limited, this will reduce U.S. citizens’ opportunity to obtain an education.

According to the DREAM Act website, the path to citizenship would include conditional permanent residency, which is similar to legal permanent residency. This would allow applicants to work, drive and travel as well as be eligible for student loans and federal work-study programs. They would not be eligible for federal financial aid such as Pell grants.

The requirements are: They must have entered the United States before the age of 16, must have graduated from a United States high school, or have obtained a GED or have been accepted into an institution of higher education, such as a college or university; must be between the ages of 12 and 35 at the time of application and must not have an arrest record.

This DREAM Act was introduced in 2001, said Catherine Salgado, director of communications of ICIRR. “We have been working. It’s an ongoing work generating support form different schools, Democrats and Republicans,” Salgado said.

She said ICIRR is working to get more support and joining events to create awareness about this issue.

“Every minute is important,” Salgado said. “The DREAM Act impacts every generation.”

Maria De La Torre, an admissions officer at Northeastern Illinois University, said when students apply to enter college, they need a Social Security number. Since they don’t have one, they have to answer the question by either writing zeros or nines.

De La Torre added that undocumented students can’t fill out an application for federal loans or grants because it is a federal document.

Jeff Hoker, 48, a resident and employee in Chicago, said the DREAM Act is like an investment, because immigrants grow up in this country and they are not going anywhere; therefore, educating them will make the country better.

“They are already here. They learned the language. They don’t know anything about the [country they left behind], they know this culture,” said Hoker. “I just think that it will be beneficial for everybody and humanitarian.”

The peddlers license and Chicago’s Park District policies that prevent artists from selling their art in public have destroyed street art culture in Chicago, according to Chris Drew, Executive Director of Uptown Multi Cultural Art Center. “Artists have more opportunities to survive by their art in traditionally repressive Moscow than we have in Chicago where the First Amendment is supposed to protect our speech right to survive by selling our art in public. Not one free open-air arts market exists in Chicago where artists can sell their work. None – zero – zilch!” says Drew. In Chicago, since 1994, street artists are required to get a peddler’s license, and are prohibited from selling their art “downtown.”

On Tuesday, Dec. 21 at noon, under the “L” train at State and Lake, Drew and some volunteers for the Uptown Multi-Cultural Art Center (UM-CAC) will give free art away as part of the Art Patch Project, and risk arrest in their effort to reclaim some downtown territory in the name of free speech.

What are "art patches?" Chris & artists at work

Drew contends that art is a form of free speech, and the small art patches he gives away or sells on the streets or through his website, Art-Teez, combine powerful statements expressed as art.

Before this law was enacted, artists were free to sell street art in any public place, and at many public demonstrations artists joined demonstrators to sell posters, T-shirts, and other wares, typically sporting political messages and slogans. What Drew is protesting in particular, is the way the law is enforced downtown. Corporations and private business owners can call the police to remove people who are exercising their First Amendment rights from their premises in Chicago’s downtown and Loop, if the protesters are artists. Beggars can beg, but an artist with a political message needs to buy a license to be present in these downtown public spaces.

Drew is attempting to get people to think about this through his Art Patch Project. Artists are invited to submit art to be printed on cloth by volunteers, who then give away the art patches to educate citizens. The art patches have images and messages about freedom of expression and other kinds of freedom.

The message the artists are trying to get out to the public these days is that the current laws about selling and giving away art in public are unfair. Drew says that “unconstitutional laws and policies in Chicago discriminate against artists who try to survive by selling art in public and to create enjoyable art scenes which enable the public to meet artists presently hidden in their midst.”

What may seem like much ado about nothing is being taken very seriously by Anita Alvarez, Cook County State’s Attorney. The State of Illinois is prosecuting Drew, who was initially arrested for selling art patches for $1 on State Street, but is being prosecuted now for making an audio-recording of his own arrest at the time.

In Chicago, it is illegal for the public to record the police in action, though in 47 other states this is legal. A policeman-turned-legislator got this law passed in 1994, according to Drew. The police can record the public, but if the public wants its own record of events, that is called eavesdropping. Rodney King and his attorneys might have an interesting view of that law.

Drew is getting some help. The ACLU is suing Cook County State’s Attorney in federal court for prosecuting Drew and others on wiretapping charges for audio-recording police in public. The ACLU is contending that it is legal to monitor police in public. Chris Drew faces to 15 years in prison because of this case, which may seem out of proportion with the initial violation of selling art for $1. Clearly, the public right to monitor public behavior of the police is coming into play in the case.

The Art Patch event on Dec. 21 will be a celebration of the winter solstice. It marks a slow rebirth when the sun begins to climb back toward us, the days begin to lengthen again and results eventually in the warmth of summer. The giving away of art is intended to gradually increase the acceptability of artists on Chicago’s streets and the rebirth of street art culture in Chicago.

The Art Patch Project is ongoing and will continue to add artists and designs until artists have attained their full First Amendment right to survive by selling art in public. The art-patches will be given away at public events and exhibited in a series of traveling exhibits planned for years to come. This long range project is designed to educate the public about First Amendment rights and our fight for expressive freedom in Chicago.

The goal of the Art Patch Project is to increase support for “common sense laws to make Chicago more friendly to artists through allowing artists to survive by selling art in public and to create enjoyable art scenes which enable the public to meet artists presently hidden in their midst,” according to Drew.

Drew writes that “During these difficult economic times it is important for cities to help their citizens survive and create their own jobs by increasing the freedom to use public space for legitimate public purposes. Allowing speech vendors their First Amendment rights makes great economic sense. The artist who makes a dollar spends a dollar. The arts encourage greater enjoyment from life increasing the attractiveness of a city. Tourists like to meet a city’s artists and want to discover its local character. Those who would ban artists from public spaces have a narrow vision of the City and do not demonstrate a concern for free-speech. Art has an important role to play in our society. Chicago can’t continue to force artists to be marginalized.” Come out on the solstice, Dec. 21st and see and judge for yourself.”

Here is contact information for Chris Drew
773/678-7545
773/561-7676
773/973-1863

http://www.art-teez.org/free-speech.htm
http://www.c-drew.com/

Tunney and Winner both filed as candidates with the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners by the Nov.22 deadline. Winner reported receiving 600 signatures and Tunney reported receiving 2,000 signatures.

Winner considers Tunney part of the city council’s old guard and criticized the alderman for not having a “ward night” where neighbors can meet the alderman face-to-face.

“I feel he’s out of tune. We’re a few months out (from the election), he should be out there,” said Winner in a phone interview.

That’s news to Tunney.

“I believe I’m relatively new (to city council). I’m hitting my stride,” said Tunney in a phone interview.

Tunney said that while there is no official ward night, his office is open six days a week.

“Every voice has been heard,” he said.

Tunney said some of his accomplishments the last four years were getting a state-of-the-art police station built at 850 W. Addison St. and donating 90 percent of Wrigley Field concert proceeds to Lake View schools.

“When I walk around, I think I’ve made a difference,” he said.

Bob Clarke, vice president of South East Lake View Neighbors (SELVN), said Tunney brings potential land developers to SELVN meetings and listens to SELVN’s input about approving liquor licenses for establishments.

“If SELVN doesn’t want it, he won’t give it to them,” said Clarke.

He said Winner hasn’t attended a SELVN meeting yet.

Winner said he does have a presence in the community and that would make him an effective alderman. He has lived in Lake View for 12 years and is the former president of the neighborhood group Lake View Citizens Council and a board member of the Lake View East Chamber of Commerce.

“We have to run the city like a business,” said Winner, who is president of DLW Business Consultants, a financial consulting firm.

Winner is against raising property taxes and said he would oppose any plan to do so.

“It cannot happen,” he said.

Other residents of the 44th Ward shared their concerns about crime.

Elliott Fredland, a 10-year Lake View resident, said crime needs to be kept low. Fredland is concerned about Police Supt. Jody Weis’ plan to shuffle officers to neighborhoods that have a high volume of 911 calls.

“The South Side needs more police officers, but what will happen to crime on the North Side? No one really knows,” said Fredland.

Winner agreed. He said while 44th Ward crime stats aren’t high, the area can’t afford to lose any more police officers. He said he would work with the police department and new mayor on this.

“You have to make the mayor aware,” he said.

Winner also discussed his plan to re-draw the ward’s police district lines. Currently the ward consists of two police districts: the 19th District is west of Clark Street and the 23rd District is east of Clark Street. Winner wants to cut off the district line from Clark Street to Racine Avenue, making Clark Street itself one of the districts. Winner said this will ensure the correct district officers are dispatched to the correct address. He said a 23rd District cop can get called to the 19th district and not be able to do anything.

Clarke said the next alderman has his work cut out for him. He mentioned the 1 percent budget cut for Streets and Sanitation in 2011.

“Maintenance and repairs will go down, there’s no money. It will be managing in a reduced environment,” he said.

Clarke referred to the city’s budget deficit, currently at $650 million, as a “train wreck.”

Winner laughed when he was asked why he wants the job of alderman.

“Because I’ve been a community activist and I want to bring the ward back to a grassroots level,” he said.

This is the third aldermanic election for Tunney. His first election was in 2003 and he was the overwhelming winner. Out of 10,125 votes cast, he received 59 percent of the votes. Rick Ingram received 23 percent of the votes and Dean Maragos 13 percent. Winner has never run for alderman.

The 2011 election will be held Feb. 22.

According to the Chicago Board of Elections, Brian White, executive director for the Lakeside Community Development Corporation; Ben Myers, a local developer and longtime Rogers Park resident; and Blane Roberts, who worked on 2007 aldermanic challenger Don Gordon’s campaign, all filed by the Nov. 22 deadline.

Moore said in light of the last aldermanic election — when Gordon forced a run-off vote, then filed a lawsuit against Moore alleging fraudulent voting practices — he has made considerable efforts to return the 10,000 calls and e-mails from constituents he receives annually.

“Elections have a funny way of making politicians sit up and take notice, and my close call in the last go-around told me I had some work to do and some fences to mend,” Moore said at a recent rally.

Myers says that, as an experienced developer, lawyer, and lifelong Rogers Park resident, he was most frustrated with Moore’s vote on the city’s controversial parking privatization measure.

“They blew a billion dollars,” Myers said. “Joe gave it to the parking meter people. Joe has hurt this city terribly.”

Moore was one of 45 aldermen to vote for the parking meter deal, which leased the city’s meters to a private company in exchange for more than $1 billion.

Moore has since said he regrets voting for the deal. Along with four other aldermen, Moore sponsored an ordinance calling for public hearings on the deal’s implementation.

More recently, Moore said he wanted to make clear his actual achievements for Rogers Park. Doing so would serve to increase communication between government and constituents, he said.

“I have learned that communicating what you do in government is almost as important as actually doing it,” Moore said at a campaign rally. “And in the age of the Internet, there is no excuse for any elected official not to provide free and open communication with his or her constituents.”

“Building a community is about much more than bricks and mortar,” Moore said.

Regarding community building, White says he likes the idea of the Howard Streetscape project, which aims to re-invigorate the area east on Howard from the El station to Sheridan Road by updating the street’s infrastructure. White said he was troubled by the amount of time it’s taken to implement.

“The Dept. of Transportation’s website says that 25 streetscapes have been done, but it doesn’t say how quickly it would be done,” White said. “There’s two questions: One, ‘How long does it take to get done?’ And the other question is, ‘Who are you building for, and who is going to be attracted to this area?”

Janet Attarian, project director for Chicago Dept. of Transportation said the plans for improving Howard Street’s infrastructure have been in development for 10 years, but that funding was only secured recently.

The Chicago Transit Authority requested funds from the Howard Paulina Tax Increment Financing district in 2008. The City of Chicago Dept. of Planning allowed the funds to be used after Moore secured an agreement from the organization.

Cook County aldermanic elections will be held in Feb. 2011.

“I’m running because we’re nowhere near cleaning up all the problems that we have in Chicago,” McDonough said. “It’s a train wreck. It’s going over the bridge, and it’s only going to get worse.”

McDonough, 50, now an investigator for the city of Chicago, said he believes hard work can create change. McDonough helped launch the probe into the city’s hired truck program in 2003, raising questions about the $40 million-a-year program that paid clout-heavy contractors, some with ties to organized crime, $40 an hour and up to do little or no work.

After news of the scandal broke, dozens of city workers were indicted. The FBI questioned Mayor Richard Daley for two hours about city payments to trucking firms.

Meanwhile, the Chicago Sun-Times reported that the trucking companies in the hired truck program had donated $800,000 to Daley’s re-election campaign. McDonough vowed to battle the 48th Ward incumbent, Mary Ann Smith, and other opponents, just like he battled corruption in Chicago.

“It’s going to be ugly,” he said.

The 48th Ward encompasses the Andersonville neighborhood on the city’s North Side, where McDonough grew up.

“The area is extremely wealthy,” he said. “We have a very wealthy ward. The Andersonville part is very well-to-do.”

McDonough is running his campaign like he would an investigation; he’s said he’s going after what he thinks is wrong.

“We have to put everyone back to work,” he said, saying many jobs are leaving the city.

He opposes the privatization of city systems and services and challenges Daley’s portrayal of Chicago as a green city. He also supports state pension reform and a more robust oversight of tax increment finance (TIF) funds.

McDonough talked about his role as a whistleblower and his active reporting job as the publisher of Chicagoclout.com, a website he and other writers use to publicize corruption in the city. He said he is the only investigator in the city who does his job.

“I have people arrested, brought to court, I enforce the rules and the laws, and I consider the opportunity that I have an honor and a pleasure, and I also do the best that I can,” he said. “I give 110 percent to my job.”

He said he only gets about two to four hours of sleep per night.

Although he said he is an unwavering watchdog, McDonough praised city workers and said the majority of city workers work hard.

“There are a lot of people who love our jobs when it’s 20 or 30 below and they say that there’s a broken water main and the water is two or three blocks down the street and you can’t feel your fingers, all of a sudden everybody quits, and it’s guys like us that take care of things,” he said. “I don’t actually do it because I’m an investigator, but that’s how I started with the city of Chicago.”

McDonough is one of eight children and the father of five. Noting that his work as a whistleblower has prompted critics to call him a “snitch,” McDonough said he is 6 feet, 2 inches and weighs 250 pounds. “You can say whatever you want about me, as long as you don’t touch me,” he said.

After he blew the whistle on the city’s hired truck program, McDonough was investigated by the city, a strange turning of the tables for him.

“That’s how the city works,” he said. “So when someone does try proving the situation in Chicago, they consider that a threat on what they have going. And there’s millions and millions and millions and millions of dollars of money floating all over the place and they don’t like people like me exposing what they’re doing.”

“I’m the lone ranger out there and it really gets old,” he said.

Standing alongside him as he talked about cleaning up the city’s image was David Hoffman — the corruption-fighting inspector general who often embarrassed Mayor Richard Daley by calling for new ethics rules.

Emanuel said he wanted to “change the culture” of corruption and cronyism at City Hall.

“People want to turn the page,” Emanuel said. “If I am elected, on Day One we’re turning the page. The tone you set at the top is very important.”

Emanuel’s campaign staff distributed a list of reforms in his proposed ethics package.

As mayor, Emanuel would require city employees to wait two years after leaving their city jobs before lobbying their former colleagues. He would strengthen the office of the inspector general, a job Hoffman once held, to extend oversight to the city’s park district and public buildings. The inspector general’s office would also get a bigger budget.

Emanuel said he would make the human resources department more professional and transparent. He also promised to strengthen the city’s board of ethics.

Emanuel pledged to stop accepting campaign contributions from city lobbyists. Under his ethics rules, everyone who participates in the zoning process — including aldermen — would be required to disclose their own or their family members’ conflicts of interest.

“I will sign an executive order on Day One to implement my ethics reforms,” Emanuel said.

Hoffman was asked if he was endorsing Emanuel by joining him in his call for ethics reform. He responded, “One step at a time. Endorsements are about politics. Today, for me, is about substance. We’ll deal with the future in the future.”

Emanuel, laughing, said, “Today is the second day of Hannukah. David will endorse me on the eighth day of Hannukah.”

Earlier this year, Hoffman was said to be considering a run for mayor. He finished in second place in the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate seat once held by President Barack Obama.

“Rahm’s public commitment to a tough and wide-ranging ethics plan has convinced me that, if elected, he will be a strong and effective mayor on reform issues,” Hoffman said.

By offering up his proposed ethics reforms, Emanuel strongly implied that City Hall has not been as clean and transparent as he would like. Nevertheless, he was careful not to criticize Daley, whose endorsement he is seeking.

“What I’ve proposed clearly would turn the page and bring a new era of transparency, accountability and end business as usual in city government. I’m about looking forward. I’m about setting standards,” he said.

Emanuel said that when he was elected to Congress in 2005, he introduced new ethics laws.

He also said that while he served in the House of Representatives, he put his proposed legislative earmarks on his website. He noted that his earmarks provided only for public improvements, such as programs for the Chicago Public Schools or upgrades in roads. “I never once requested an earmark to help out a private company,” he said.

Emanuel also said that when he left public service under the administration of former President Bill Clinton, he turned down lobbyist jobs and declined to write a book to capitalize on his time in the White House. Instead, he said, he went into the private sector.

Earlier this week, another mayoral challenger, Gery Chico, proposed banning no-bid contracts, eliminating the Board of Ethics and Office of Compliance and shifting their resources to a single inspector general who would be empowered to investigate aldermen.

Members of the Pro-Life Action League pray in low tones while clutching rosaries and offering fliers to the people who pass through the clinic’s doors. They make no effort to approach the women.

Corrina Gura, projects coordinator for the organization, has protested outside the near North Side clinic almost every Saturday morning for a year.

“[Women are] not warned going into it that [abortion] is a procedure that could really harm them,” said Gura.

Gura disbursed religious pamphlets aimed at dissuading women from getting an abortion. The leaflets outlined abortion malpractice lawsuits and the side effects of birth control.

The tactics used by Gura — which she calls educating the public — are considered by others to be insulting and invasive.

Max Rowser, a 27-year-old father of two, sat in the foyer of a family planning clinic near the intersection of West Washington and North Desplaines streets and recounted his experience with abortion protesters later that morning. As he and his girlfriend approached the clinic, he said, they were met with members of the Pro-Life Action League. They were much more combative than the North Side group, Rowser said.

“They said, ‘Oh you’re not going to be a stand-up guy, you don’t want to stand up for what you believe in?’ as if they knew what I was believing,” said Rowser. “I feel if a person made it this far, it’s not going to be too much you can do to stop them when they’re already at the door.”

According to the Alan Guttmacher Institute, an agency that tracks abortions and other women’s health procedures, about 1.3 million abortions are performed in the United States each year, making it one of the most commonly performed surgeries in the country. Some volunteers would like to see those number decreased.

Eric Scheidler, executive director of the Pro-Life Action League, said the goal of the organization’s “sidewalk counseling” is to offer help to women who seek an abortion. Scheidler said members of his organization are instructed to reach out to women with compassion and not to intimidate. However, others say methods used by the Pro-Life Action League resemble coercion rather than education or assistance.

“What if she was on the seesaw, saying maybe I should or maybe I shouldn’t? That’s all she needed to hear was the stuff that they were saying. We’d have been gone,” said Rowser about his girlfriend.

According to Scheidler, the main organization the Pro-Life Action League rallies against is Planned Parenthood. He referred to Planned Parenthood as “an outrageous force of evil in the world” and made the generalization that the decision to have an abortion is one “that almost no woman wants to make.”
Despite statements by its members that the Pro-Life Action League does not have religious affiliation, the website outlines the organization’s connection to the Catholic Church.

“The case I would make against abortion is based strictly on science and reason. Religion may have inspired me, but that may not be the case I’m going to make to people,” said Scheidler. He referred to abortion as an easy way out for doctors who find it difficult to care for a mother and fetus.

Lara Philipps, communications and marketing manager for Planned Parenthood, said the clinic requires and provides counseling for women considering abortion. During the counseling session, women are provided with non-biased medically accurate information to allow them to make the best decision for themselves, Philipps said.

“I think their actions are intimidating and do interfere with women’s access to critical health care services,” said Philipps about the protesters.

Crime is down 3.7 percent compared to last October, according to The Chicago Sun-Times, but Weis continues to be scrutinized.

“I think he has done a lot, but he’s not born blue,” said Deputy Sheriff Mike Coleman, a five-year veteran of the sheriff’s office. Coleman believes Weis is not respected because he did not come up through the ranks of the Chicago Police Department, but was hired from a federal agency – the FBI.

Weis served 23 years in various areas of the FBI on investigations of major gangs, domestic and international terrorism, organized violent crime, public corruption and white-collar crime. Coleman believes Weis’ appointment was justified because of his FBI credentials.

William Hudson Jr., a 30-year veteran of the Cook County sheriff’s force, thinks Mayor Richard M. Daley made a mistake in appointing Weis to the high-paying superintendent position over locals with greater tenure on the Chicago streets.

“There were other people with more knowledge and more experience than Weis,” he said.

Weis earns $90,000 per year more than Daley himself. Daley has justified Weis’ salary by saying he wears two hats: that of top cop and emergency officer.

A Chicago police officer for 18 years, who didn’t want his name used, said he “hates” Weis.

“He’s an outsider looking in,” he said.

At a luncheon in his honor, Weis said he wants officers equipped with better squad cars, weapons and radios. Nonetheless, hundreds of officers have taken to the streets demanding his resignation.

On Sept. 15, officers marched with signs demanding more manpower and protesting assault claims filed against officers. “Morale is low due to the lack of support from Superintendent Weis,” said Coleman, adding that officers are put in dangerous situations where they don’t feel safe protecting the community.

Weis was also criticized Aug. 28 when he met with gangs along with other law enforcement and community leaders. Weis sent a message to gangs that immediate law enforcement action would be taken against the gang responsible for the next homicide. As an alternative to crime, he offered job programs to help gang members leave the streets.

Some officers were critical of the meeting, but Weis’ FBI experience in other cities, such as Boston and Cincinnati, has proven meetings of this caliber work. According to Coleman, Weis arrested 60 gang members to show he meant what he said.

Coleman said that although Weis “is no Terry Hilliard,” Weis does seek advice from the well-respected former superintendent.

“(Weis) is not aggressive enough,” said Coleman. He referred to an especially bloody June weekend, saying “28 shootings would have never happened under Hilliard.”

Jesse Torres, a father of three children, called the violence “scary.” He believes crime has gotten worse since Weis has become the superintendent.

“This is America, not some third-world country,” he said. “All this crime should not be happening.”

Chicago’s murder rate was three times higher than New York’s in 2009, according to an analysis of FBI records by The Chicago Reporter.

“It seems like (Weis) does not care,” said Torres, who supported the call for National Guard troops to come to Chicago. Weis and Daley strongly rejected the idea, seeing it as an insult to the police force.

“I would love to come out of my house and see the National Guard standing on the corner,” said Torres.

The kids call it “spice.” Older users give it the more dignified and literal nickname: “synthetic.” It’s sold in three-gram packets at 30 bucks a pop. The label on the package says, “For fragrance purposes only. Not for consumption.” The label’s not exactly to be trusted; inside is an herbal blend sprinkled with a chemical compound designed to, when smoked, mimic the effects of THC. In fact, it’s much more powerful than THC. It may be “fake weed,” but it will really get you high.

Secrets Smoke Shop in Lakeview.

K2 has been on smoke shop shelves in Chicago since 2006. On Jan. 1, it will become illegal in Illinois, officially categorized as a controlled substance. It’s the first such ban on a substance since the state outlawed pure-form powdered Dextromethorphan (DXM, the ingredient in cough syrup that can make having a cold kind of fun) in 2007, and, most recently, in 2008, Salvia Divinorum, a plant with hallucinogenic properties. It’s not a new story: too many kids figure out how to get high on something, so state and local governments outlaw it. But the little-known secret about K2 is that it isn’t just kids using; in fact, most of its users are adults — many of them even government employees.

Many people like to get high — it’s nearly an axiomatic truth — and marijuana is the preferred recreational drug of choice (outside of alcohol and prescription meds) for the average, upright and functional citizen who longs for distraction from his or her oppressive existence. But “functional citizens” these days occasionally have jobs, and jobs sometimes require random drug testing, government jobs especially. And so, faced with the option of employment vs. smoking marijuana, many have gone the K2 route.

“Before I got hired on, I smoked weed from time to time,” said one CTA employee who wished to remain anonymous. “But with the random drops they give us, smoking weed…too risky. Once I tried K2, I realized it was the next best thing. You piss clean with it, too. I’m just gonna’ stock up before the ban.”

In these weeks preceding the ban, “stocking up” seems to be the key phrase for Chicagoans who, for one reason or another, have turned to K2 as their marijuana substitute.

“I warned all my customers to start placing their orders in November. There’s a lot of interest in buying in bulk,” said one employee at Pipes and Stuff, a smoke shop with locations in Wicker Park and Lakeview where K2 is displayed next to the register, as it is in most head shops where K2 is sold. “There’s definitely going to be a big rush leading up to the ban.”

Another employee at a popular smoke shop in Uptown acknowledged that his customers run the full gamut of adult professionals.

“We get nurses, army guys, government employees…anyone who gets drug-tested, really.”

The main draw for these unlikely users is the money-shot substance drizzled on the K2 herbal mix, the chemical JWH-018, named after John W. Huffman, the organic chemistry researcher who developed JWH-018 during the 1990s to aid in medical research. It didn’t take long for people to pick up on the recreational drug-use potential of Dr. Huffman’s work, and it was JWH-018 that was honed in on as the compound of choice for best replicating the THC high.

For users, the most attractive quality of JWH-018 and other similar synthetic cannabinoid compounds is the fact that it will not show up on any standard drug test. Among the first groups of people to realize the urinalysis-circumventing potential for such a drug were members of the Armed Forces. The military is now screening for the compounds commonly found in K2. Government and private institutions, thus far, are not, meaning that for now, K2 and its myriad variations are considered by many to be the closest substitutes for individuals who wish to enjoy a marijuana-like high, sans the risk of a pink slip.

Short term, the most commonly-reported effects of K2 Summit (the most powerful blend in the K2 lineup, which includes Blonde, Standard and Citron) include increased heart rate, paranoia, mild hallucination, and an enhanced appreciation of music (seriously). Sounds pretty familiar; the only thing missing are reports of intense late night White Castle cravings and ensuing hilarity (the drug reportedly does not induce appetite). The high is much shorter-lasting than your typical marijuana buzz, but much more intense: Many users report heavy trips well outside and beyond the realm of any marijuana high. The biggest single complaint is the taste: a mix between mud and cheap potpourri.

The long term effects, on the other hand, are the biggest problem with K2: namely, the fact that nobody has any real idea what they may be.

“People are taking a huge risk when they smoke this stuff,” Dr. Huffman said, when asked about people’s abuse of the chemical compounds created in his lab. “We really don’t know what the health effects might be.”

Scrolling through the K2-related posts on www.bluelight.ru, a community of often-times freakishly knowledgeable recreational drug users, one comes across an alarming 13-page mega-thread devoted entirely to one undesirable lingering K2 side effect in particular: severe, chronic headaches.

“I smoked it on only about five occasions total, the last two it totally took me to a bad place. The feeling is indescribable, but I remember I could only sit there with my hands on my face, my brain in intense pain, feeling as though it was just melting into itself. About a week later I started getting horrible headaches. They got worse and worse and worse, “ one user writes, setting off a deluge of sympathetic user comments.

It is for reasons such as this that at least one smoke shop will go unaffected by the ban, having never sold K2 to begin with.

“We miss out on a lot of money by not selling it, definitely. We’ve gotten 10-15 calls per day asking for it, on average, and it’s been going up in the past few weeks. Several people come in asking for it every day: government employees, military people, people on probation, people from all walks of life, ” said Seth Fox, an employee at Adam’s Apple in West Rogers Park, a smoke shop that refuses to sell K2 or any similar products.

“We’re just not willing to sell a drug that has never been scientifically tested on humans. ”

In the world of Chicago smoke shops, Sheldon Miller, the owner of Adam’s Apple, is something like The Smoke Shop Godfather: He’s been in the business for decades, and he won’t have any of his people dealing in synthetic drugs. For all the buzz about K2, the “deadly new legal marijuana sweeping the nation,” one might think that this sort of thing was a new phenomenon. But actually, legal drug substitutes have been sold on smoke shop shelves for years. Some may remember Wild Lettuce Opium, an opium-like extract from the plant Lactuca Virosa which was quite a big head shop seller back in the ’70s. In the ’90s came Salvia, before it too was banned in the state of Illinois. Slowly gaining in popularity right now — and still off the media’s drug panic radar — is Kratom, another plant extract with opioid properties. The one thing they all have in common: Sheldon Miller has refused to sell any of them in his store over the years. Although he was unavailable to be interviewed, Fox and his other employees had nothing but fervent praise for Sheldon Miller.

“He’s steadily resisted the temptation to get into any of that stuff. He could own a chain of stores by now if he had, but he’s just not a greedy person. There’s a school nearby, children play near here. He doesn’t want to sell anything that could be unknowingly endangering people’s lives,” said Fox.

Whether K2 really has been endangering people’s lives — some kind of highly toxic death herb, worthy of the government’s reefer-madness-like condemnation — or whether it is a relatively harmless marijuana substitute, as its users believe, one thing is certain: It sells in Chicago, especially right now. And come Jan. 1, Chicago smoke shops will be taking a big hit.

“The owners of other smoke shops tell us they’re profiting $10-$30,000 per month off K2 alone,” said Fox. “After the ban, they’re all going to be scrambling for the next JHW-018 substitute. But even after JHW-018 goes illegal, it’ll just go underground, anyway.”

Chicago has always been somewhat of an underground city, as the dusty Prohibition-era smuggling tunnels buried beneath it will eternally attest, a city with no shortage of opportunistic souls. And so, of course, the synthetic marijuana trade will go on the black market. The thing about the upcoming ban is that it only applies to JWH-018 and JWH-073, the specific compounds most often used in K2 and similar products. So it won’t be long before another THC-like compound is substituted, and another K2-like “herbal incense” is back on smoke shop shelves.

And so the government’s game of whack-a-mole will continue: Keep marijuana illegal, and up pops K2. Bat down K2, and up pops an alternative — an alternative which is usually more harmful than the original thing being banned. History has shown that if people want to get high, they will find a way, and that goes double for prohibition-resistant Chicago. Every K2-selling head shop is already inundated with bulk orders from users eager to exploit K2′s upcoming scarcity, and even non-selling shops are assailed by offers from enterprising individuals peddling homemade K2, since JWH-018 can be easily ordered online.

“We get people coming in from the neighborhood sometimes, trying to sell us pounds of synthetic marijuana they made in their basements ,” said Fox. “That’s another problem with people getting high off this stuff. It’s unregulated, so people have no idea what’s giving them that rush.”

The rush is on indeed, and, every day, as the ban deadline approaches, a search of “K2” on Chicago Craigslist’s for sale “General” forum brings up more and more ads such as this one:

“I noticed the news of the banning of synthetic marijuana in your state as of Jan 1. 2011. I have about 60 packs of 3gs a piece I am willing to sell for a low price. I have too much! Please contact me email or txt phone. Go Cubs!”

Alienation of the Sox fan demographic aside, one must admire her entrepreneurial instinct.

“Alderman Burnett is the best sponsor I have ever worked with on any project,” said Julie Dworkin, director of policy for the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless (CCH), one of 12 partners in the Sweet Home Chicago coalition. “He never gives up, no matter how uncomfortable it gets.”

“My stance on the issue is basic,” said Burnett of the ordinance he wrote back in March that is co-sponsored by 26 aldermen. “There’s a problem, there’s a need, and we have these funds that are suppose to help the community, let’s use it.”

If passed before the city council, spending on affordable housing will jump from a current level of 4 percent of annual TIF revenues, about $2 million of the $495 million collected in 2009, to 20 percent, or nearly $100 million. The new funding would be used to build new developments as well as buy and rehab properties left vacant or decaying due to foreclosure.

Neighborhoods with high concentrations of foreclosures, sinking property values and elevated crime rates would receive immediate relief. Ald. Burnett’s 27th Ward, spanning the West Loop and Near North Side of Chicago, is one of these areas.

With an average of 30 to 50 crimes reported on a daily basis in the 27th Ward, one of the highest in the city according to Everyblock.com, and 76 foreclosures, or one in every 216 housing units foreclosed on in just the month of October according to Realty Trac, the 27th Ward needs help.

“There is a tremendous need in this area,” said Louis Padial, community director of the Bickerdike Redevelopment Group, which has built both the Rosa Parks Apartments and the Harold Washington Co-Op affordable housing developments in the ward representing 1,000 units. “We are flooded with applications.”

When the partially TIF funded, $27.2 million Rosa Parks Apartments’ leasing office began to accept applications in West Humboldt Park last year, over 5,000 were received in just one day for 95 available units, said Padial. And the types of people coming were from all backgrounds and neighborhoods, he said.

“We had people from Wicker Park, Logan Square, Bucktown, areas you don’t traditionally think of,” said Padial. “It was an eye-opener.”

Padial said the Bickerdike Redevelopment Group wants to continue pushing for more development in the 27th Ward not just because of the need, but also because of the vast amounts of vacant lots sitting empty.

“The waiting list is huge,” said Padial of the application for current developments in the area. “We can buy this property for little to no cost and build on lots that have been empty for over 30 years; think of how many we could help.”

Michael Schnell, broker with @Properties who leases and sells units in the 18-acre Parkside of Old Town affordable housing development, where Ald. Burnett’s childhood home of Cabrini-Green once stood, agrees.

With an anticipated completion of 780 units by 2014, Schnell said the Parkside of Old Town is leading his office in number of contracts and leases in comparison to other developments all over the city.

“It’s a stellar location,” said Schnell of the project’s success. “And the affordable housing component [which Burnett requires for all development in his ward] doesn’t hurt.”

The ordinance is expected to come before the city council for a full vote on Dec. 8, with Ald. Burnett and the Sweet Home Chicago Coalition committed to seeing it pass.

“We need help,” said Burnett. “We’ve been working on this issue for over 10 years and it’s not going anywhere and only getting worse.”

“Everyone deserves a decent place to live.”

O’Donnell has been president of the Ravenswood Community Council for 10 years and a resident of the ward for 25 years. He has also been an active member of the 47^th Ward Democratic Organization.

The 47th Ward

“I was also president of the Welles Park Advisory Council, and I’ve been very active, so I feel comfortable fulfilling my public service and running for alderman,” O’Donnell said.

Ameya Pawar, an independent running for 47^th Ward alderman, said he was certain Ald. Schulter was aware of O’Donnell’s decision to run.

“Without a doubt. Nothing in this ward happens without explicit permission of the powers that be,” he said.

Both Schulter and O’Donnell’s names were on the petition filing list. Attorney and political columnist Russ Stewart said he interprets O’Donnell as a backup candidate in case Schulter decides not to run again.

“This is Schulter’s guy. This is one of his longtime allies and he wouldn’t be running unless Gene was fully aware of it,” Stewart said. “And he filed at the last possible moment, so there has to be some subterfuge.”

Stewart said he thinks this is an indication that Schulter will not seek re-election.

“There is probably going to be some movement of Schulter, perhaps to the [Cook County] Board of Review or some other major office,” he said.

O’Donnell said he had not spoken to Schulter about his decision to run.

Rob Rawls, a spokesman for Ald. Schulter, would say only that “Alderman Schulter has confidence that after the 2011 municipal elections he will still be alderman of the 47^th Ward.”

Rawls refused to comment on whether the alderman was aware of O’Donnell’s decision to run.

Ameya Pawar and Matt Reichl and Tom Jacks, the other three candidates vying for 47^th Ward alderman, filed their petitions on Nov. 22, the last day candidates were allowed to file. O’Donnell filed at 2:48 p.m. on Monday, just meeting the 5 p.m. deadline.

Matt Reichl, a Green party candidate who was just recently defeated by 5^th District Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Il), said he waited to file until the last day in order to give Schulter’s campaign less time to come up with a challenge.

Candidates can challenge each other’s petition signatures if they think the signatures are not valid or were obtained improperly.

“We expect more than likely we’ll have a challenge and we are prepared for it,” Reichl said.

Ameya Pawar is an independent who is also on the board of directors at Common Pantry, a food pantry in the 47^th Ward.

Sam Yanover, Pawar’s campaign manager, said the campaign has not run into any troubles with filing petitions so far and Yanover was confident that Pawar’s petition drive had yielded more than enough signatures to make the ballot.

“If they try to challenge us just for the heck of it, just to see if they can knock us off or try to drain all of our funds, the actual Board of Elections can come after that person or organization because that’s actually illegal,” Yanover said.

Some locals in the area agree that the economy is to blame for the slowdown, but one candidate running  for alderman in the 32^nd Ward– which also includes Wicker Park, Lakeview and Bucktown — blames the current alderman, Scott Waguespack.

“Scott Waguespack hasn’t allowed for smart growth within the ward, and that can hurt a community,” said David Pavlik, a Democratic candidate.

Pavlik, along with Brian Gorman, Bryan P. Lynch, Peter V. Diaz and Scott Waguespack, have filed their petitions to get on the Feb. 22 ballot.

Mary Markarian, executive director of the Roscoe Village Chamber of Commerce, said despite economical harsh times, development has slowed down in a good way since Waguespack defeated longtime incumbent Ted Matlak in 2007.

“Zoning isn’t flying through as quickly as it was under Matlak’s regime. Developers actually have to make appointments to sit down with Waguespack to discuss plans,” said Markarian, who supports his administration.

Waguespack said over-development in the ward was one of his biggest challenges in his first couple years as alderman.

“Development was out of control and a difficult situation to deal with. But we were able to get a handle on it to create a fair playing field for everyone,” said Waguespack.

Ted Matlak didn’t return phone calls.

Michael Root, a real estate broker at Root Reality in Roscoe, said business was booming while Matlak was in office because he helped change the zoning ordinances for building within the ward.

He said it used to be that business developers couldn’t build within a structure previously used for manufacturing, until Matlak changed the regulations so they could be used for condos and store fronts.

“ [The zoning change] helped small and big business growth. It helped Roscoe grow. Now, it’s difficult to get any kind of business going,” said Root.

Root said Waguespack came into office after the economy took a hit, and it wouldn’t matter who was alderman now because the development is slow in every ward, he said.

“Credit got killed. Banks failed. Developers got scared. I don’t think any alderman has any control over what’s happened, or what will happen in this ward,” said Root.

Jamie Simone, program manager at The Wicker Park and Bucktown Chamber of Commerce, said there are several vacant store fronts in Wicker Park and Bucktown still waiting to be bought, leased or rented.

She said the development setback in the ward has a little to do with the economy — or Waguespack.

“I think both have played into the development slow down. Whatever new development that goes past [Waguespack], he makes sure it makes sense,” said Simone, who said the commerce supports Waguespack.

Lisa Piemonte, owner of Lazy Dog Antiques in Roscoe Village, said Waguespack has an interest in smaller business development in the area and shows up every month to the Belmont Avenue business meetings — something Matlak never did, she said.

“I never knew who the alderman was, until he was already gone. That just goes to show you how little he was involved in the community,” said Lisa Piemonte, who has had her business in Roscoe for six years.

Pavlik said some parts of the ward have lost their character because of over-development from Matlak’s administration, but there has to be a ‘happy medium’ between the residents, businesses and developers within the community in an area at the center of the city’s gentrification.

“There is a common ground where we can sensibly develop a ward so that we have nice new homes and businesses, without losing the integrity and character of a neighborhood,” said Pavlik.

Gorman didn’t return phone calls.

Angry about meters. Photo by Rossaroni

Two candidates challenging Gene Schulter for 47^th Ward alderman cited the city’s privatization of the parking meters as a leading factor in their decision to run for alderman.

Both Ameya Pawar, a 30-year-old independent, and Matt Reichl, a 29-year-old who is seeking endorsement from the Green party, said the privatization of the meters was a mistake; Reichl said he would actually attempt to reverse the private deal.

With the deadline for petition filling for the 2011 municipal elections coming up this Monday, both candidates are campaigning door-to-door to get a sense of the issues in the 47^th Ward, which includes the Lincoln Square, Ravenswood and North Center neighborhoods.

Pawar, who is on the board of directors at Common Pantry, a food pantry in the 47^th Ward, said he wants to initiate campaign finance reform.

If elected, he said he will not serve more than two terms as alderman and he plans to cut his annual salary from $100,000 to $60,000. He also said he will not seek endorsements or donations from political groups.

“It’s unfortunate that the size of one’s campaign account becomes a deterrent for good public policy or public discussion. To me, that is emblematic of Chicago politics,” Pawar said.

He said one of his first priorities would be to create more transparency for residents of the 47^th Ward. He has already set up a free app, available through iTunes, called Chicago Works. The app allows Chicago residents to report problems and provide direct feedback to their aldermen.

Pawar also wants set up a ward council, which is a committee made up of community members who meet regularly with the alderman and discuss the issues facing the ward as well as reviewing city legislation. The 47^th Ward currently does not have a ward council.

Dick Simpson, who was alderman of the 44^th Ward from 1971 to 1979, had a ward council during his time as alderman. He said a ward council can provide direct feedback from the community, but that many aldermen don’t have one because it can be time-consuming to set up and because the aldermen don’t necessarily want to feel bound to honor the council’s decisions.

“It’s a way of getting a consensus and an agreement in the community that makes it much easier for the alderman to vote the will of the community,” he said. “More aldermen don’t have it because they don’t want to be hemmed in, as they think of it.”

Schulter said he believes transparency is important as well. Currently, the 47^th Ward’s website has a weekly newsletter and a link to a ward Facebook page.

Reichl, who recently lost to Rep. Mike Quigley for the 5^th District congressional seat, said his priorities if elected include updating Chicago’s transit system and shutting down TIF districts.

“What we’ve found is that TIF funds are basically toxic slush funds for the machine to obtain all sorts of power,” Reichl said.

Reichl said he will find alternative ways to generate city revenue without tapping into residents’ property taxes. He suggested a pollution tax for commuters coming into the city and a financial transaction tax, which would affect money traded in stocks.

In his 35 years as alderman, Schulter said he has brought many businesses into the 47^th Ward. He facilitated the Old Town School of Folk Music’s move into the ward in the mid-90s and  just recently announced plans for a $14 million privately funded renovation of the shopping center at Roscoe Street and Western Avenue.

Schulter said he works closely with the chambers of commerce and with the Retail 47 Committee, a 47^th Ward committee that works with commercial businesses in the ward, to keep bringing those businesses in.

“We’re dealing with some really hard economic times right now, but economic development is really very important to us,” Schulter said.

The city budget proposal currently includes a $3.4 million dollar proposal to cut Chamber of Commerce funding. The 47^th Ward would lose $200,000 in funding as a result. Schulter said he would not approve the budget with those proposed cuts included.

But Pawar said he worries that Schulter is not coming up with alternative solutions to budget problems like these.

“My reaction was, ‘Well that’s great. We need to protect small businesses, we need to make sure they can survive,’” Pawar said. “But you’re going to vote no on a $6.1 billion budget over $200,000 in cuts?”

Pawar recommended cutting waste out of other areas in the budget “so that you never even have to talk about cutting funding to the chambers of commerce.”

But Patricia Martinelli, executive director for the Ravenswood Chamber of Commerce, said Schulter has been very helpful to the small businesses in the ward, especially when the city budget cuts were initially proposed.

“He is a fighter for the chambers, because if we had lost the funding we would have closed our doors,” she said.

Featuring a green and reflective roof, state-of-the-art security, computerized crime-fighting tools, a physical fitness room, and a special room for community policing meetings, this new building, located at 850 W. Addison St., offers incentives not only to officers, but residents as well.

Deputy Alderman for the 44th Ward, Bennett Lawson, has said there are many benefits that come with the opening of the new station, including the fact that Lakeview residents will now be able to park on Addison Street, where a long row of police cars used to reside. Since a four-story parking garage was built to house the police cars that once sat on the street, residents as well as those who visit the Lakeview community will be able to use the 111 parking spots that were set aside to generate revenue.

“We’re very excited about it; we’ve been talking about a new station for 30 years now. The community is very pleased,” said Deputy Ald. Lawson.

While the Lawson has said that they are looking into repurposing the 80-year-old “Town Hall” station and possibly turning it into a landmark, one Chicago police officer who has served the 23rd district for 32 years believes the building would best be renovated into a retirement home, but feels that the force will lose a sense of intimacy once they move to the new building.

“I’ll tell you something you can’t see, and that’s the comradery that’s going to be lost because of the closeness and the smallness of the station, the coziness of the station. When guys come in off the street to wash their hands or process an arrest they sit around and talk with you and because of the sterile and openness of that [new station] that’s all going to go away,” said police officer Don Eichler.

Arlene Cozzi, who manages a high-rise building located four blocks away from the new station, believes the enormity of the new station will bring better relations between residents and the police.

“I think the new police station is better for us because it means there’s going to be more people able to go in that section. I saw through the window that they have all those tables and chairs and I think that’ll make the police more open to the people in the community,” said Cozzi.

The official opening of the station, scheduled for Nov. 22, will end the almost two-year wait for the $53 million building, which was funded by the Public Building Commission.

“The Public Building Commission builds municipally-owned facilities that provide cornerstones to communities and neighborhoods throughout Chicago, so we expect that the new police station will bring a state-of-the-art police station to the Lakeview community as well as an anchor for the community,” said Mimi Simon,  spokeswoman for the Public Building Commission.

McGhee, 48, said earlier this month in a street survey in the Back of the Yards neighborhood that gang activity is prevalent in the area. “It’s not as open as it was before, but it’s there,” he said.

McGhee grew up in Back of the Yards on the city’s Southwest Side, and his mother still lives there. He said pedestrians should be aware of their surroundings to avoid becoming crime victims.

“If you walk around with your purse hanging open and flaunting your jewelry, you’re asking for trouble,” he said.

McGhee was one of a handful of Back of the Yards workers and residents who agreed that the neighborhood is frequently plagued by gang rivalry. Most agreed it is not safe to walk around the area alone.

Despite residents’ worries about crime, Back of the Yards is not as crime-ridden as many other Chicago neighborhoods. The Austin area on the city’s far West Side recorded 1,945 crimes from Sept. 8 through Oct. 8, according to www.EveryBlock.com, a website that tracks crime in major U.S. cities. That total was the largest number recorded in any Chicago neighborhood during that time period.

Meanwhile, 707 crimes were reported in Back of the Yards during that same month, according to EveryBlock.

Some Back of the Yards residents said they have taken extreme measures to protect themselves.

“I do not feel safe because one year ago I was stabbed with a machete in the hand and forearm,” said 42-year-old resident named Jorge, who declined to give his last name. “Now I carry a weapon with me wherever I go.”

Maria Teresa, 50, said crime is more prevalent on weekends and worsens every summer. “You can hear a lot of shootings and someone always gets hurt,” she said.

Ald. George Cardenas, whose 12th Ward includes Back of the Yards, said in a phone interview, “We’re trying to make that neighborhood safer. But the high rate of poverty is a concern for us.”

The average annual income in Back of the Yards is $29,600, compared to $46,911 for the city of Chicago, according to www.city-data.com, a website that provides data on Chicago neighborhoods. More than 36 percent of the residents in Back of the Yards live in poverty, the website said, compared to 20 percent citywide.

The website also said more than 21 percent of the households in Back of the Yards are headed by single women, compared to 13 percent of the households in the city as a whole.

The number of non-English speaking households is very high in Back of the Yards. According to the city-data website, 21 percent of the residents of Back of the Yards do not speak English, compared to 9 percent in Chicago as a whole. The number of residents in Back of the Yards who never finished high school is twice as high as Chicago overall.

Cardenas said he hopes new development will bring more jobs and improve the standard of living in Back of the Yards. He noted that the Chicago Public School system is constructing a $100 million high school at 47th and Hoyne streets.

He also said the city is trying to develop Damen Yards Plaza, a shopping center that includes Food for Less and Burger King. “We’re trying to get more companies to move to the area,” Cardenas said. He said he is hoping Wal-Mart will open a store there as well.

The area is becoming more safe, he said, because of the greater police presence and more surveillance cameras.

“We’ve put the gangs on notice: They will not be tolerated,” Cardenas said. “We’re trying to hold the line against them. We don’t want to be overly optimistic, but we’re trying to do better for that area. We’re also trying to improve the sidewalks, streets and lighting.”

Although the crime in Back of the Yards is substantial, there are still residents who said they feel comfortable living there.

Enrique Avila, 79, has lived in Back of the Yards for 10 years. “I don’t think this neighborhood is really bad. It does have gang problems,” he said.

Some residents agreed that the police presence and surveillance have helped with crime and gang-related problems.

Chicago police officer Alonso Garza of the 9th District said thefts and burglaries are the most commonly reported crimes in Back of the Yards. He said this trend was partially related to the economic recession.

“Houses are broken into when no one is home,” said Garza. “They case the place and know when people are away all day at work. They look for vulnerabilities. They take things, especially electronic equipment like TVs. They take jewelry.”

Garza recommended residents use dead bolts on their doors. He also said residents should install bars on their windows to keep people from breaking in.

The Chicago Police Department has started many anti-gang programs in the past three years, according to Garza. “We’ve crippled the street gangs. Many members are in jail,” he said.

Gangs active in the area are Latin Saints, La Raza and 2-6, according to Garza.

“Those three knucklehead gangs — those are what we’re focusing on,” he said. “They’ve been fighting a lot in Back of the Yards. We’ve made numerous arrests. A lot of them are in jail.”

He said gang members usually stay busy selling drugs and causing disturbances. “We often find violence out of control, especially aggravated assault. We see them out there screwing around. We stop them and ask for their IDs. We put them on notice: ‘We’re here, so we see you. We know what you’re doing.’”

Gang members caught carrying a weapon without a permit are arrested, Garza said. He said arresting gang members is very “manpower intensive.”

The Back of the Yards is named for the Chicago Stockyards, which was the largest meatpacking plant in the country until the 1950s. The old gates to the entrance of the stockyards have been preserved.

Once home to Eastern-European immigrants, Back of the Yards is now home to a large Hispanic community.

The Back of the Yards Neighborhood Council is one of the oldest community organizations in America still functioning, according to the Encyclopedia of Chicago. Founded in 1939 by Saul Alinsky and Joseph Meegan, the council was dedicated to the motto, “We the people will work out our own destiny.”

The council set the pattern for what is known as the Alinsky school of organizing. An outside organizer would work with local leaders to create a democratic organization in which people could express their needs and gain improvements in their conditions, according to the encyclopedia.

Arena’s bid to become Chicago’s 45th Ward alderman got a boost from the progressive community as the Northside Democracy For America (NDFA) endorsed the businessman. Northside Democracy For America (NDFA) is the local chapter of Democracy for America (DFA,) an organization created in the aftermath of the 2004 presidential election.

NDFA endorses many candidates, but the group also “adopts” four candidates per election cycle. Three-fourths of NDFA members must approve of endorsement, and 90 percent of members must agree to adoption. The candidates who are selected get the help from NDFA volunteers and organizational support.

“Being endorsed by a volunteer-based organization such as NDFA is an honor,” Arena said in a press release. “But to be adopted by such an impressive group of dedicated, politically active citizens is a refreshing reminder of the amazing potential of grassroots community action in this municipal election season. I look forward to working with our NDFA liaison to make this campaign even stronger than we were yesterday.”

Josh Kilroy, Arena’s campaign manager, noted that DFA has supported reform candidates Forrest Claypool and Mike Quigley while declining to endorse Todd Stroger and incumbent Ald. Pat Levar.

The NDFA’s endorsement and adoption procedures are available from their website.

Related articles

• Interview With John Garrido, Aldermanic Candidate for the 45th Ward (chicagonow.com)

“This excessive regime is boring our kids,” Lewis told Huberman, referencing the 23 required assessment tests administered to students throughout the 170-day school year. “This mind-numbing load on teachers and administrators is sucking the souls out of our schools.”

“A teacher that is not engaged is what sucks the life out of our schools,” replied Huberman. “The testing wouldn’t even add up to two days.”

Lewis said the tests are resulting in a “loss of collaborative spirit” among teachers and students, and that their continued use “only hurt and maim people.”

Huberman replied that the tests are “meant to empower teachers” by providing insight on each child’s strengths and weaknesses. The test results allow teachers to adjust homework assignments accordingly, thereby “improving collaboration,” he said.

After several minutes of argument during which the two interrupted each other mid-sentence, CPS President Mary B. Richardson-Lowry intervened, suggesting that they find a time to discuss possible solutions and bring them back to the board for future discussion.

“I trust the two of you can do that,” she said.

Although Huberman insisted the tests are necessary to ensure a quality education, some experts disagree.

Dr. Donald R. Moore, founder and executive director of Designs for Change, a 33-year-old organization dedicated to researching and developing reforms for urban schools, says there are basic flaws in Chicago’s use of standardized tests.

Moore said the steadily increasing number of required tests in Chicago’s public schools take so much class time to prepare and administer that teachers are pressured to teach what is on the test rather than focus on a curriculum resulting in lasting educational success.

“It limits the flexibility and creativity of teachers,” said Moore. “We found the more they obsess about the test, the less we find long-term achievement among students’ grades.”

Not all teachers agree with Lewis and Moore, however.

Rashida Restaino, a middle-school teacher at Providence Prep in Englewood for the last five years, said incorporating standardized questions into homework assignments has proven successful with her students. It teaches them study habits, critical thinking, reading comprehension and data analysis skills necessary to do well on both the tests and in class, she said.

“It might be more work on you as a teacher taking the time to generate these kinds of assignments,” said Restaino. “But it’s going to benefit the kids in the long run, and if you aren’t in it for the kids, you might as well consider a different career.”

CPS spokesman Frank Shufpan said the follow-up meeting between Huberman and Lewis is pending based on both of their schedules.

“They’re obviously both very busy people,” he said.

With all 197 precincts reporting, Suffredin, a Democrat, won nearly 68 percent of the vote. LaFianza took 27 percent and Milkowski garnered about 6 percent.

Suffredin said in his upcoming term he wants to make it clearer how long trustees on an independent health board can serve. He said he also expects Cook County Board President-elect Toni Preckwinkle to push for increased budget transparency.

“I expect Toni Preckwinkle, when she presents her first budget, that there will be a lot more materials available and people will be able to really understand how this budget was put together,” he said.

The controversial 2008 sales tax increase proposed by outgoing Board President Todd Stroger has been another issue for Suffredin. While he originally voted for the sales tax, he said he now wants to repeal the remaining half-cent of the increase.

“I voted for it so that I could get the independent health board and try and stabilize the government and take the place where the biggest $287 million shortfall had been generated by Todd Stroger’s incompetence,” he said. “It was never intended to be permanent.”

But LaFianza argued that it was inappropriate for Suffredin to vote for the increase regardless of whether his support was linked to the creation of the new health board.

“There just was no need for that tax increase, under any circumstances,” she said. “That kind of reform should not have been tied to a tax increase.”

LaFianza said she was uncertain the repeal of the remaining tax increase would be a priority for Suffredin.

“That’s up to him and Toni Preckwinkle. Based on their track record, there’s no guarantee they will,” she said.

Preckwinkle has already said she doesn’t foresee a repeal of the sales tax increase in her first year of office, citing a Civic Federation report that places Cook County’s budget deficit at $285 million.

The report recommends repealing the remainder of the sales tax. If the tax is repealed in 2011, the report predicts the budget deficit will approach $300 million.

Aside from the sales tax issue, Suffredin said he would continue attempting to secure health care for undocumented immigrants. He said obtaining federal funding is key to that reform.

“It’s going to have to be federal dollars because there is absolutely no way local government can afford to provide the health care for this large a group,” he said.

When asked how he thought Cook County residents would react to aiding undocumented immigrants using federal money, Suffredin said he does not expect it to be a popular decision.

“I think I have a duty to point out that this is a problem. Right now within the community there are large numbers of undocumented people and they’re saying to each other, ‘The only place we can go to get health care is county,’” he said. “I know it’s unpopular and I know this is going to be something that’s difficult to put together.”

Suffredin said the number of people seeking health care from Cook County has increased 8 percent in the last several months.

Dr. Quentin Young, a Cook County health expert, said that statewide in 2009 there were 1.9 million people without health insurance, up 250,000 from 2008.

He said it’s hard to say exactly what percentage undocumented immigrants contribute to those without health care.

“It’s not too precise. It’s thought to be 20 percent of the uninsured. It is difficult because undocumented immigrants tend to conceal their status,” Young said.

Sulfer-processing plant at the Port of Stockton in Stockton, Calif. Photo from http://californiaaerialphotography.blogspot.com.

“I would like to be educated on sulfur,” Commissioner George W. Migala said before voting in favor of the project. “So that in the future, if something unusual were to happen, I would not regret my vote that I may make today.”

If ultimately approved by Chicago City Council, Savage Services Co. will use the land to operate, store and ship sulfur by boat and truck to cities across the United States and internationally.

Jason Sanders, environmental director for Savage, said the liquid-based chemical would be solidified into a pellet-form byproduct– primarily used as a fertilizer–at the refinery site to make for easier storing and shipping.

He said the process of solidifying sulfur, or prilling, would not affect the environment, and said the company has applied for air and water permits from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.

“We will have some storm water discharge from our parking lot, so we’re working with [EPA] to get that permit as soon as possible,” said Sanders.

EPA would not confirm or deny any application from the Savage Services Co.

Jim Nelson, water specialist for the Association of Illinois Soil and Water Conservation Districts, said if the sulfur pellets were to fall from the boat or somehow get into the storm water run-off, it could cost harm.

He said often times, the water being used to cool the pellets at these types of refineries is water directly from the river, and if not treated correctly can affect the surrounding marina life.

“Keeping [sulfur] out of the water would be the key. The safety precautions on the barge, or whatever they’re using to ship this product, would be my main concern,” said Nelson, of the non-profit conservation group.

Nelson said there are two types of water pollutants, non-point and point source pollution. Non-point pollution is water run-off from agriculture, and point pollution is caused from industrial and sewage treatment plants, in this case sulfur, he said.

Savage has the nation’s largest sulfur terminals and facilities in Galveston, Texas, and Tampa, Fl.; with the capacity to receive over one million tons of liquid sulfur annually, and distribute 10 million tons.

Ed Ivey, Savage general manager, said the company’s dependency on the river was crucial in deciding the location for the plant.

He said the river would make for easy access from Lake Calumet to the Mississippi River and virtually anywhere else in the country.

“It’s definitely cheaper to ship the sulfur pellets, as opposed to trying to distribute the liquid sulfate. And the river allows us to access all Mississippi ports,” said Ivey.

Ivey said this location would bring business and jobs to the Midwest region; Ten jobs would be created at the Chicago location, including two full-time positions and up to five truck-driving jobs.

Ivey declined to say how much the facility will cost to erect.

Savage has a similar processing facility where they store and prill sulfur located in Donaldsonville, La., and serves the southern part of the United Stated.

After the meeting, one commissioner said she had received a lesson in chemistry, a subject she never particularly cared for.

“I never did well in high school chemistry, but I sure did learn a lot about sulfur today. I think [Savage] has potential,” said Commissioner Doris B. Holleb.

Peter Strazzabosco, spokesperson for zoning and land use planning, said a date for the project to be considered by the Chicago City Council to vote on the proposal hasn’t been set.

While it is unclear if Murphy’s third four-year term will include a vote in favor of the controversial Stroger sales-tax hike, she did have positive words for the measure.

“That one-penny sales tax is what kept this government afloat,” Murphy said before Wednesday morning’s Cook County Board of Commissioners meeting. “We were solvent when all the governments around us were falling [into debt.]”

Murphy’s comments come as the board must grapple with a projected $285 million deficit in Cook County’s $3 billion budget, which Murphy said should be Board President-elect Toni Preckwinkle’s main concern.

Early on in her bid for election, Preckwinkle stated she would remove what’s left of the contested sales tax, though in recent weeks she’s said the rollback of the half-cent tax may need to be delayed until 2012. Murphy agreed it’s not likely to happen soon.

Murphy also favors the proposed South Suburban Airport, which has a tumultuous past as it was once both spearheaded and later declared dead by now lame-duck Chicago Mayor Richard Daley in 1992.

Murphy’s defeated Republican opponent, Sandra Czyznikiewicz, opposes the airport and said the county should work on improving Midway and O’Hare before “we even consider another airport.”

“Where do you want to put it and how many homeowners do you want to dislocate in order to accommodate a new airport?” she asked during a phone interview last week.

While election night saw much of the nation turn from blue to red as Republicans took control of the House of Representatives and Democrats lost their majority in the U.S. Senate, here in Illinois all but one out of 11 Democrat incumbents seeking reelection won.

While gaining two new Democrats, the board lost both a Republican and an independent. The board now has three reelected Republican commissioners.

Murphy won her South Suburban district — which includes parts of Lansing, Steger and Oak Forest — for the third time since 2002 with 65 percent of the vote over Czyznikiewicz’s 35 percent.

According to official numbers from the Cook County Clerk’s website, in 2006 a total of 76,852 people voted in the 6th district election; 81,479 voted this year.

Four years ago, Murphy got 56,814 votes while this year she garnered 53,058. Czyznikiewicz earned 28,421 votes.

Murphy said she was nervous about this election because of rising support for Republican candidates nationwide.

“The difference was those extra 6,000 people who came out voting against my party, or me,” she said, referring to the difference in the number of voters who cast ballots between this year and 2006′s election.

The new and reelected county commissioners will be sworn in Dec. 6, five days after the county begins its next fiscal year.

“This Senate seat has just returned to its rightful owners, the people of Illinois,” said a Kirk spokesman.

Over 500 Kirk supporters cheered as the results started pouring in at the Westin Hotel in Wheeling. Kirk led Giannoulias 48 percent to 46 percent, with 97 percent of precincts reporting.  The Democratic challenger soon after conceded.

“We are 800 miles from any ocean, but a tsunami just hit the heartland,” said Kirk.

The bitterly contested race has deeply rooted symbolism due to the fact that former Gov. Rod Blagojevich recently faced criminal charges for allegedly trying to sell the vacant Senate seat after the 2008 presidential election.

Kirk exclaimed to the crowd of euphoric supporters that Illinois is going to “reclaim our state as the honest Land of Lincoln.”

Kirk is considered moderate and, for many, is the ideal candidate to represent the Republican Party in these trying times. In his remarks, he addressed the fact that there needs to be sanctions against Iran and noted he is interested in adding a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution.

“I stand here tonight as a fiscal conservative, a social moderate, and a national security hawk,” Kirk said.

“It was a vote for fiscal responsibility, for spending restraint, for lower taxes, to put our economy back to work, to support the troops, to defend our allies…a vote for thoughtful independent leadership,” he said.

The sea of Republican supporters relished in the victory as the Zion Benton High School Junior ROTC presented the colors. Kirk’s pastor opened the evening’s remarks by praying, “Through his leadership, the strong will be renewed.”

Illinois Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno (R-Lemont) also praised the evening’s champion, proclaiming, “Mark Kirk is the man for this job.”

Kirk is in his fifth term representing the 10th Congressional District of Illinois. He is a member of the commanding House Appropriations Committee, Co-chairman of the GOP Tuesday Group and the founder of the bipartisan House US-China Working Group.

The newly-elected senator thanked those individuals who assisted on the campaign and highlighted his faithful family and friends. Kirk quipped that he was confident that his father and stepfather were both watching the results from heaven — his father tuned into MSNBC and his stepfather glued to Fox News.

“I’m ready to roll up my sleeves and get to work,” said Kirk.

Kirk announced his candidacy for U.S. Senate on July 20, 2009 and won the Republican primary vote on Feb. 2 with 56.6 percent. Historically, no candidate has ever received more than 20 percent.

Kirk’s campaign hit several rough patches along the way. The Navy Reserve officer was forced to apologize for embellishing his military record; including claims he came under enemy fire while serving overseas and that he was the Navy’s “Intelligence Officer of the Year.”

The Giannoulias campaign suffered throughout the election as well, with the collapse of his family’s Broadway Bank and questions about financing he provided to alleged criminals as a loan officer.

“Alexi and I discussed having a beer after this thing is over,” said Kirk.

Kirk extended an invitation to Giannoulias to meet Wednesday night at the Billy Goat Tavern in Chicago.

Kirk graduated from New Trier High School and attended the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico as well as Blackburn College before earning a B.A. from Cornell.  He respectively obtained a Masters Degree from the London School of Economics and a law degree from Georgetown.

Kirk has voted with the greater part of the Republican Party 88.4 percent of the time during the existing Congress, but said he supports “independent leadership.”

Surrounded by his large family and frequently fighting back tears, Giannoulias said, “You know how emotional I am, so no more calling out ‘I love you.’”

“We will never forget what this campaign was about: putting people first, always, always,” he said. “My parents told me that if you lose, you always maintain your dignity.”

Giannouliasspoke proudly about his parents and his two brothers. He said they have had “a rough year” but they “never lost their dignity and class and have always been fighters and always held their heads up high.”

He may have been referring to his family’s work at the failed Broadway Bank, the community bank founded by his father, who was an immigrant from Greece.

Giannoulias’s race against Kirk drew national and international attention, since the seat was previously held by President Barack Obama. After Obama resigned from Senate seat, former Gov. Rod Blagojevich was caught on tape by federal agents allegedly trying to extract promises of jobs or cash in exchange for the seat.

In polls leading up to election night, Giannoulias and Kirk were neck-a-neck, with Libertarian Party candidate Michael Labno and Green Party candidate LeAlan Jones trailing far behind. Jones won 3 percent of the vote on Tuesday.

Since the beginning of the election, Giannoulias tried to distance himself from his father’s bank on the city’s North Side. Kirk consistently tied Giannoulias and the bank to suspicious loan agreements with convicted mobsters.

Giannoulias received even greater criticism following a debate with Kirk on MSNBC’s “Meet the Press,” in which Giannoulias repeatedly dodged questions over when he quit his job at the bank.

During the televised debate, Kirk accused him of lying about when he left, citing his tax returns for 2008, which suggest he continued to work there. Giannoulias previously stated he left the bank in 2006.

Questions about Broadway Bank were also raised when the inspector general of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. announced the agency would release its report about the bank’s failure after the Nov. 2 election. Broadway Bank was closed April 23.

Giannoulias said his bank issued loans to many borrowers and he was not privy to all of the information about the loans.

Despite concerns raised over his family’s bank, Giannoulias has received an outpouring of support from notable Democrats, including President Obama.

On Saturday, Obama held a rally in Hyde Park to energize the Democratic base. He compared the country to a car that has been run into a ditch by Republicans in the previous administration.

Obama saved Giannoulias’ introduction for last on his list of prominent politicians in attendance at the rally saying, “Treasurer and soon-to-be Senator Alexi Giannoulias is here.”

Giannoulias ran on the Democratic platform and supported the federal health care reform law, LGBT rights, reforming the No Child Left Behind law.

Standing before hundreds of cheering fans at 1 a.m. Wednesday in a Chicago hotel ballroom, Quinn said he had a lead of only 9,100 votes, or .03 percent, out of more than 3.3 million ballots cast.

The Chicago Tribune reported Wednesday that 98 percent of the state’s precincts had been counted. Quinn and Brady each had 46 percent; meanwhile a trio of third-party candidates won a combined 8 percent, the Tribune reported.

Ballots in more than 200 precincts across the state had not been counted, more than half from Chicago and suburban Cook County, which likely would lean toward Quinn, the Tribune said. But Brady’s camp cautioned that “thousands” of other forms of votes — such as absentee and military ballots — had yet to be counted.

Brady took the stage in a hotel in Bloomington to assure supporters that the fight was not over. “We’re going to make sure every vote counts,” Brady said. “We’re going to work through this quickly. I want to say thank you to all of you and now it’s on to victory.”

The race was close all night, as Quinn pulled to an early lead with results coming in quickly from Chicago. Brady gained on the governor, however, when votes were counted from the suburban collar counties around Chicago and Downstate — the base of Brady’s support.

According to the Tribune, Quinn piled up a 4-to-1 ratio in Chicago, where turnout was estimated at around 52 percent. Quinn needed a city turnout of more than 50 percent, and he got it, the Tribune reported Wednesday.

Quinn claimed victory for himself and his running mate, Sheila Simon, the Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor.

“I’d rather be ahead than behind,” said Quinn. Laughing with the crowd, Quinn added, “It looks like another landslide victory is headed our way.”

Quinn also lent his support to a recount. “We want to make sure every vote is counted. We totally agree with that. But when all the votes are counted, we’ll end up on top.”

Quinn promised to “reform Illinois from top to bottom.” To chants of “Quinn, Quinn, Quinn,” the governor said he wanted to “make sure everyone in Illinois has a decent job.”

Quinn took over for former Gov. Rod Blagojevich when he was ousted from office nearly two years ago after being charged with a number of corrupt activities, including allegedly trying to sell President Barack Obama’s former Senate seat. Since then, Quinn has been dealing with a $13 billion state budget deficit and a stifled economy.

Brady blamed Quinn throughout the campaign season for not improving the job market and making Illinois a more business-friendly state. Brady proposed slashing taxes by 10 percent while Quinn called for an increase in income taxes to close the budget gap.

Unemployment in Illinois hovers at 9.6 percent.

Quinn also committed many blunders during his campaign, frequently forcing him into a defensive position. In August, he announced that his chief of staff, Jeremy Stermer, was resigning after it was learned that Stermer had used his government e-mail account to send campaign messages. At about the same time, Quinn announced he was not retaining the state’s inspector general, making it look like retaliation for the public outcry over Stermer’s e-mail messages.

In October, Quinn faced further embarrassment when he announced a deal with the state’s largest public employee union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. The governor promised the state would not lay off any public employees until mid-2012; in return, the union promised $50 million in cost cuts for the state. Then the union came forward with a $450,000 campaign contribution, opening the way for the GOP to suggest a deal between the governor and the union. Quinn and the union denied any suggestion that the donation was made in exchange for Quinn’s promise not to cut jobs.

At an event hosted by the River North Business Association on Oct. 20, Brady told attendees that this is the “worst possible time to raise taxes.” However, Quinn blasted Brady for not wanting to raise the minimum wage, saying he did not represent working people.

According to Rasmussen Reports polls dating back to March, Brady has held 43 to 50 percent of the vote, while Quinn received 35 to 40 percent.

It remained a tight race for the two top contenders that came with hordes of negative campaigning and political mudslinging.

Quinn ripped Brady throughout the campaign season for not paying federal income taxes, owning a Porsche and a vacation home in Florida and for opposing Obama’s health care reform bill.

Quinn’s campaign spokeswoman, Mica Matsoff, said Brady was “too extreme for the people of Illinois.”

She noted that Brady opposes abortions, even in the case of rape and incest. Brady opposes gay marriage and is a strong supporter of gun ownership and the Second Amendment.

The Brady campaign responded by saying the campaign is not extreme and it “reflects American values and the values of millions of people in Illinois.”

Throughout the campaign, Brady also made note of Quinn’s controversial decision to implement an accelerated early release program for Illinois prisoners that allowed inmates to spend only minimal time behind bars. Quinn said the plan was an effort to save money. He later acknowledged it was a mistake that failed to protect public safety.

Photo by Angela Weaver

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan claimed her widely expected victory Tuesday night, saying she was “very thankful and very proud to be given another opportunity to serve.”

“I am proud of this work and the work that I’ve done to bring more jobs to our state,” she said to a crowded room of cheering supporters.

It was the third win for Madigan, 44, who was the state’s first female attorney general when she won in 2002. The Chicago Tribune reported that Madigan won with 69 percent of the vote against 21 percent for her Republican opponent, Steve Kim.

“Knowing that I can make a difference in the lives of so many people every day is why I entered public service in the first place,” Madigan said. “I chose a career in public service because I wanted to be in a position to help others. But help is a two-way street, and I appreciate your help.”

Madigan interrupted her victory speech to hug her husband, Pat. “Without Pat, I would not be standing here tonight,” she said.

Madigan’s oldest daughter, Rebecca, danced around on the stage, drawing many laughs from the crowd.

Madigan had no legitimate challengers in the 2010 election. Kim, the strongest among Madigan’s opponents, trailed Madigan by 48 points in the last pre-election poll.

In fact, the strongest criticism that Madigan faced during this election cycle was that she chose not to run in either the gubernatorial or U.S. Senate race.

Madigan first won in 2002 when she beat her Republican challenger, Joe Birkett, by a 3 percent margin. She ran again in 2006, winning in a landslide decision and pummeling Republican Stewart Umholtz by a 47 percent margin. Prior to serving as attorney general, Madigan served in the Illinois House of Representatives from 1999 to 2003, representing the 17th district.

Madigan’s father, House Speaker Michael Madigan, has served in the Illinois House of Representatives for 39 years. Her father’s personality and reputation, and, more importantly, accusations about alleged corruption and wrongdoing, have long shadowed his daughter.

During Madigan’s 2002 campaign for attorney general, she was repeatedly forced to answer questions regarding her father. Her opponents also insinuated that her father had used his political clout to assist her campaign.

Madigan has since become known as a rising star in Illinois politics and was listed by Politico.com as one of the five most likely successors to President Barack Obama’s former U.S. Senate seat. Then she announced last year that she would not run for the seat. She was also listed in a 2008 New York Times article that included her in a list of potential female presidential nominees.

Madigan, a wife and mother of two, said when she made her decision not to run for governor or senator that she felt it was in the best interest of her family and the state for her to continue doing her job as attorney general. She said the constant travel from Illinois to Washington that a senatorial job would require would be detrimental to her family.