The Sixth Ward

FOX Chicago Sunday on Remap

noreply@blogger.com (Levois) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 10:30:00 PST

An excuse to remind you of the Greater Chatham Alliance meeting coming up this weekend. Click this link for more details as one of the items on the agenda is the ward remap.

[VIDEO] Ald. Bob Fioretti of the 2nd Ward was on last week's edition of FOX Chicago Sunday talking about not only how his ward was drawn up north in the form of a Salamander (he holds up a map of the new 2nd ward) but perhaps even a strategy for a future lawsuit against this remap. Mainly that such a lawsuit would be an equal protection argument that this new map "rips apart communities" and also there are more people in white majority wards (at least 10% more) than there are in Black wards (that's not one person, one vote).

In addition I want to offer one more tidbit. 23rd Ward Ald. Mike Zalewski's ward is largely Polish and he himself is the only Alderman of Polish descent. Unfortunately to accomodate the need for more Latino seats and maintain as many Black seats as possible his ward would turn mostly Latino in the remap:

“I am willing to compromise, and our ward was at about 47 percent Hispanic before the map was redrawn,” explained Zalewski. “I was willing to go up in the 50’s and I had no problem with the first map. But since then, every time another version is brought up, I’m expected to give up more. I’m just not going to do it.”

Zalewski is referring to the aldermanic remap that is a result of the last census, which indicates a larger percentage of Hispanic residents. While the white population has remained somewhat stable, African-Americans have seen a sizable drop in city residents.
...
While Zalewski’s 23rd Ward would see a jump in Hispanic representation just over 60 percent, he said his opposition to the remap controversy has nothing to do with race.

“Back in 1995 when I came into office — and your paper wrote about it back then — the (Chicago Lawn Police) 8th District was out of whack with the ward. It is geographically too big. This latest map presents the same problems,” he said.

Zalewski adds that the 23rd Ward boundaries are unique.

“The way the 23rd Ward is configured is that we border several suburban communities — Bedford Park, Summit and Forest View for instance,” he noted. “Each neighborhood has its identity like Clearing, Garfield Ridge and West Elsdon. All that will be lost.”

I got this article from strannik's blog that has been a very good read about the remap process. As you can see Zalewski was unwilling to go along with the dismantling of his ward which has a significant Polish population. He had little problem with taking in more Latinos in his ward but by all accounts didn't want to have to give too much up. He made this prediction:

“When this is finally agreed upon, the map will not go into effect until May of 2015,” said Zalewski. “So, right now, I’m not agreeing to any map. Believe me, no matter what happens, there are going to be lawsuits.”

It makes you wonder who else amongst the Aldermen who voted no are talking lawsuit. Not that the individual Aldermen will file, but if they see it coming something is on the horizon somewhere.

In which case you can challenge the odd shape of the new 2nd ward on the near north side and the population variances of the wards under the newly adopted map. There would be more people in many of the mostly white north side wards of Chicago than in the mostly Black south side wards.

Again we shall see and time will tell!

Gentrifiers vs. anti-gentrifiers...

noreply@blogger.com (Levois) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 05:40:00 PST

Megan McArdle writes for The Atlantic on issues of business and economics. She takes a timeout to talk about the issues of her Washington, DC neighborhood.

Many of the urban planning debates that take place in DC are in fact proxy battles over gentrification. Almost no one on either side ever actually voices the core conflict, which is that the poorer, mostly black current residents do not want gentrification to force their community out of their affordable and centrally located homes, and the newer, mostly white residents want the sort of services (and property values) that materialize when a neighborhood gentrifies*--and that the presence of one community is an obstacle to the goals of the other.

Since no one wants to come right out and say this, the debate focuses on procedural issues: noise, parking, safety, "respect to the community".

Basically, the gentrifiers spend a lot of time arguing in favor of new bars and restaurants; the current residents spend a lot of time arguing that they aren't needed. Both sides argue--and may even genuinely believe--that this is a purely principled argument over, say, the procedural mechanisms for distributing liquor licenses, but this is pretty transparently not the actual motivation. In my own neighborhood, many of the people who had argued forcefully in favor of licensing Shaw's Tavern seem to have neatly switched sides when the applicant was Full Yum Carryout, a sort of Chinese-hybrid takeout place that caters almost exclusively to the area's black residents.

(Before you ask, I am against liquor licenses on principle, but if we must have such a regime, I believe that the regime should follow the "shall issue" principle that governs dog tags and fishing licenses.)

If you follow these debates long enough, you end up hearing a lot of the anti-gentrifiers argue that they too, want services--just not bars and restaurants, or so many bars and restaurants. This has always struck me as a little bit odd because they're sort of vague on what services they do want. Grocery stores are a big favorite--but my neighborhood, Eckington, now has two large, well stocked supermarkets, and I doubt that the density would support much more than that. Everyone seems to love dry cleaners, and drugstores (but we have a fair number of those, too). Beyond that, it's not been clear to me what people had in mind when they complained that all the bars and restaurants would prevent the development of needed retail.

It actually goes on to talk about those neighborhoods that were decimated by 1968 riots - that is the riots that erupted after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. That's true of plenty of neighborhoods around the nation not just Washington, DC and not just Chicago. The article made note of how many people who no longer have the old bricks and mortar retail in some neighborhoods are more likely to rely on Amazon.com or other online retailers to be able to procure their goods and services.

You might ask how would this relate to our neighborhoods on the south side of town. Well in Chatham specifically I have noticed a lack of cohesiveness as far as businesses that they wish to attract. Still some comments seems strictly rejecting but without noting what businesses they would like to attract.

Perhaps the dynamics in DC is a little different than here, but the rejection is certainly there! Do you have any thoughts on this?

REMINDER: Next GCA Monthly meeting on Jan. 28 to talk about the remap

noreply@blogger.com (Levois) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 11:20:00 PST

GCA January 2012

JP already posted about this last Friday when there really was snow on the ground. Here's an actual flyer that was recieved from the Greater Chatham Alliance last week. It will take place at 8000 S. Michigan from 11 AM to 2 PM. Will you be there to take aim at the ward remap?

Mayor Emanuel visits Chatham again

noreply@blogger.com (JP Paulus) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 05:39:00 PST

The Chicago Citizen posted this story.

(Photo Credit: Brooke Collins, City of Chicago).

Chatham business owners convened Thursday for a roundtable discussion with Mayor Rahm Emanuel at the QBG Foundation (QBG), 806 E. 78^th St.

The mayor visited the Chatham community several times while on the campaign trail including a stop at Izola’s Restaurant during a neighborhood listening tour to learn what Chicagoans wanted in a mayor. He explained that his visit last week carries the same momentum.

“I came to Chatham during the campaign, and I’m here again, because I want Chatham, and places like Chatham, to have the same type of growth, investment, and opportunity as we see downtown,” said Emanuel.

You can read it online at the link above or pick up a copy of the newspaper in several locations.

Thanks to Strannik_REB45 for sending us a Tweet on the link. Larissa Tyler of the QBG Foundation and Citizen Newspaper also posted the news on Facebook.

I am wondering -- did the Mayor know that the restaurant he visited was closed? Does he even care?

Walmart opened today in West Chatham!

noreply@blogger.com (JP Paulus) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 11:24:20 PST

And I (JP Paulus) was there. So here's my story (more personal rather than journalistic)

Simeon High School's marching band gave an opening performance. They then promptly marched across the street to their school. (They weren't missing any school time)

My pastor, Dr. D. Darrell Griffin of nearby Oakdale Covenant Church gave the opening convocation.

Keith Richards, Chatham Walmart's General Manager

Alderman Howard Brookins spoke (thanking many people, though no one from the Chatham Community that I was aware of), as did General Manager Keith Richards (no not THAT Keith Richards), and a couple of others.

The ceremony was quickly over and people started shopping.

As with all new stores, the shelves were clean, the food was fresh and people were friendly. They were extra friendly due to my daughter Faith (1 year old and smiling the whole time). And the neighborhood residents who were there were the ones who were already excited about having a Walmart nearby.

Several news organizations were there, including Medill News Service (Northwestern University's journalism school). We will post the video when its ready.

Because those who opposed Walmart these past few years obviously weren't interested in shopping there (and protests at this point would not change a thing), I actually gave the argument against Walmart that I feel the community has expressed.(This was for the Medill story), Let us know if you feel that was an accurate representation of the Walmart opposition.

You can also expect a story from Anita Padilla of Fox Chicago news. ABC7 was there as well, and apparent myself and Faith were on the 11am news.

I also shared with several Walmart executives my concerns that the quality of the store might go down in the months to come, as it has in Evergreen Park. They of course assured me that the quality would remain, but to contact Keith Richards if there was a problem. However, when i left the store today, I saw several loose shopping carts in end of the parking lot, just like I see every week in Evergreen Park.

What are your thoughts on the subject? Don't forget to vote in our Facebook poll as well.

ABC 7's story...

WGN TV's story, which included a comment from the owner of a food mart at 79th and Vincennes.

Alderman's daughter recieves state tuition waiver...

noreply@blogger.com (Levois) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 13:00:04 PST

This was brought to my attention on Monday so I figure this is something (hat-tip Capitol Fax) worth posting today.

In state Rep. Robert Rita’s legislative district — which covers a swath of Chicago’s south suburbs and part of the city’s far South Side — just one out of 10 people has a college degree. The daughter of Ald. Anthony Beale (9th) — a friend and political ally of Rita — is being given the chance to buck those odds and earn a degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign tuition-free courtesy of a coveted “legislative scholarship” handed to her by Rita.

That four-year freebie to the state’s flagship state university is valued at nearly $37,000.

It’s the latest in a string of cases in which the children of political insiders have been given one of the two four-year scholarships to a state university that each Illinois legislator gets to award every year to students who live in their district. Legislators also can split the scholarships, giving a partial tuition break to as many as eight students a year.

Beale and Rita (D-Blue Island) have close ties. Beale has endorsed Rita for re-election in the past, calling him a “strong” ally. Beale’s wife works for Rita. Dana Beale is a part-time, $400-a-month legislative aide at Rita’s district office who, until recently, was also making $76,684 a year working for Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White. And Rita has contributed more than $20,000 to the alderman’s election campaigns over the years.

Beale, who makes $110,556 a year as a Chicago alderman, says none of that put his daughter, Taylor Beale, at the head of the line when Rita was deciding which students would get four years of free college tuition.

“She filled out the application, submitted it to the state rep and received the scholarship,” says Beale.

He describes his 21-year-old daughter as a good student who earned the tuition waiver on merit.

There have been attempts within the last year to eliminate these perks which it has been contended by many was abused by state legislators. For example these waivers - or scholarships - have often been given to the children of other politicos around the state.

Worlee over at Concerned Citizens of Chatham tore both Ald. Beale and Ald. Michelle Harris to shreds recently:

To the demise of some of my neighbors, the one they will have to deal with is a genius. Alderman Anthony Beale, a smart gentleman who is only in office as the result of riding the coat tails of Jesse Jackson Jr. and Rev. James Meeks. Mr Beale is a friend of education and economic development. Mr. Beale has supported the academically failing high school Corliss and he also supported the academically and financially failing elementary school of his mentor James Meeks. He fought tooth and nail against the opening of Kwame Nkrumah academy, the best performing elementary school in his ward and was indifferent about Gwendolyn Brooks College Prep, a selective enrollment high school.

His position on economic development is just as stellar. He let his mentor Meeks close down stores in Roseland they deemed "problems" but have yet reopened anything leaving vacant storefronts. Also, he stalled developers on a project to redevelop 115th Michigan after they tore down the mini mall standing there. He stalled to allow his mentor to attempt to bully his way into the development. Now years later you have several acres of weeded lots. So what will he do with strong community organizations such as Chesterfield Community Council, West Chesterfield Community Association and Roseland Heights Community Associations who have all vowed to make his life miserable. What will he do with top performing elementary schools Mcdade Classical, Burnside Scholastic, and Harlan High Schools. What will he do to support up and coming Chicago State University? On economic development will he hinder the Imani Village project like he did Kwame Nkrumah because his mentor is not involved?

Now on to Alderman Michelle Harris, who got elected because the residents of the 8th ward believed she would lead like her late aunt Lorraine Dixon. Boy were they mislead. No economic development to speak of. A major area of land that has been vacant for years and prime for redevelopment has and continues to stay vacant. All of the schools in her ward are under performers. So why would she elect to pick up several residential blocks in Chatham? She and her cohorts have always made negative comments toward Chatham residents and now she has to represent some. So this is the payback that residents of the 6th ward have to deal with because we would not bend down and praise the new Messiah Walmart and their sponsor and calling out African American Alderman who took gambling lobbyist money.

There is a lot to be written about the remap and the other Alderman who will eventually preside over the various parts of the remapped 6th Ward. Of course that's assuming a court challenge to the recently concluded remap doesn't pan out.

Walmart to open in West Chatham tomorrow, Wednesday, January 25!

noreply@blogger.com (JP Paulus) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 09:16:58 PST

The new Walmart Superstore will open tomorrow, Wednesday, January 25 at 7:30am.

It has been a long & contentious 6 years. We have heard many opinions on this Walmart, and we have posted several times on the subject.

Is it the Anti-Christ which will destroy our local economy? Or the Messiah that will completely revive it? Or do you have an opinion somewhere in between?

Let us know!

We also have a Facebook poll to tell us how you feel.

State Representative Connie Howard had already weighed in:

Constance A. Connie Howard

I am pleased that the facility will provide employment opportunities for area residents.

Please vote and comment!

6th Ward neighborhood leaders interviewed regarding remap...

noreply@blogger.com (Levois) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 07:27:00 PST

[VIDEO] West Chesterfield President Michael LaFargue and Roseland Heights President Clevan Tucker were interviewed recently by Medill Reports. At the blog we got a heads up about it last week before the remap vote had taken place and it was noted on the West Chesterfield FB page. They talk about the remap and how it would affect those to neighborhoods and their issues with how the process has gone forward. As a matter of fact this interview took place on the day of the remap vote in the Chicago City Council!

I do wish there was a YouTube version of this story.

Tribune: 4 charged in attack on CTA bus driver on South Side

noreply@blogger.com (Levois) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 09:36:00 PST

Photo by ctabusphotographer

"Knucklehead alert!!!"

The youths then got on the bus and attacked the 26-year-old driver, hitting him in his head and body with their fists, said Chicago Police Department News Affairs Officer John Mirabelli.

A Grand Crossing District Tactical Unit was in the area and heard a call reporting a fight on the 71st Street bus and responded to the scene, Mirabelli said.

When the team arrived, they took two of the youths into custody. Two others fled the scene but were quickly caught, Mirabelli said.

A 43-year-old witness who was on the bus was able to identify all four of the culprits, who are 17 and 13 years of age, Mirabelli said.

Darius Love, 17, of the 700 block of East 90th Place, was charged with misdemeanor battery and one count of felony robbery, Mirabelli said. Anthony Williams, also 17 and of the 7200 block of South Evans Avenue, was charged with attempted robbery, he said.

I wonder what they were trying to do. Was this a robbery or did these troubled young men thought it was funny to assault a man doing his job?

According to this article the 13 year-olds weren't identified because they're juveniles. The two 17 year-olds are expected in bond court today. Also the CTA wasn't immediately able to comment on how these youths were able to shut down the bus or any further details about this crime! I would really be curious about how they know to shut the bus down!

Chicago Tonight: Ward remap...

noreply@blogger.com (Levois) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 07:13:09 PST

[VIDEO] Probably nothing new here. This aired on Thursday night long after the City Council vote. It was noted that the city council could vote on putting this map into effect in the near future instead of waiting for the next city election which would be in 2015. There is no clear legal precedent that determines when a new map goes into effect according to to our new friend strannik on his blog recently.

ALSO, just ran across this page at the Chicago City Clerk which has all the data files and maps for the recently passed remap ordinance. It's worth studying as at the time of Thursday's vote this information wasn't immediately available. I got my eye on the demographic data especially (you will need Adobe Reader for .pdf files).

BTW, Greg Hinz noted on his blog Thursday that

However, the map does so by packing voters into mostly white North and Northwest side wards with populations of 55,000 to 56,000 residents, while stretching the black population into South and West Side wards with populations generally of 51,000 to 53,000.

Each ward is generally supposed to have around 53,912 people. In order to approve this map, they probably had to draw wards with varying populations.

Chicago City Council: Anthony Beale

noreply@blogger.com (Levois) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 09:00:06 PST

I had sat on this posting for a little over a full month. So now it's time to trot it out since the remap of the 6th ward has come to pass. Even with that in mind I see a new opportunity for this blog. Another community to cover the good, the bad, and the ugly. Time will tell! :P

Those of us who might be drawn into the 9th Ward now is the time to get to know Ald. Anthony Beale. Our local NBC affiliate has the 411 on Ald. Beale.

Background: Ald. Beale did not graduate college. He worked at AllState insurance as a technician, but also maintained involvement in public service. He has been a long time member of action committees like the Redevelopment of Roseland Area board and the Rosemoor Community Association. He is also Vice President of the United Block Club of Roseland and President of 1000th Street of Prairie Block Club of Roseland. Beale also serves on the board for the Rainbow/Push Coalition- a Jesse Jackson Sr. organization.

The Ward: Roseland was once a thriving, highly-populated area with a wide diversity of people. Located on the far south side, the area today is mostly African American, but is struggling economically and with gang related violence. The Roseland neighborhood was one of the areas on Mayor Rahm Emanuel's food desert list, because of its lack of available fresh food retail options.

The Office: In 1999, Beale was one of the youngest alderman ever elected. His youth didn't deter him from quickly gaining the chairmanship of the prestigious Police Committee under former Mayor Daley. He called for more police on the streets and reduction of requirements to become a police officer. Beale also proposed a ban on liquor license sales in the ward and created a business advisory board to pre-screen potential business moving to the area. He was key to establishing a Walmart store in the Pullman area. He also revived Little League and hosted the 2007 Little League State Championships.

You can visit his website at http://www.ward09.com or his FB page.

Here's how the new 9th Ward looks under the remap. Unlike the new 6th ward map I marked this one accordingly with a big red 9!

ALSO, the West Chesterfield Community Association plans to invite Alderman Anthony Beale to their February 4th meeting and to all future meetings. If this is to be inevitable the time is now to get some goodwill going here.

It hits me though, while it may not be entirely possible to attend all remap hearings that have been held. At the same time if there was a certain amount of apprenhension about these changes he should've been at some of these remap hearings himself. The two I had attended back in October and then in November he was at neither. Not a good look IMHO, but that's the past and now is now!

Brookins Clears Ballot Hurdle - Chicago News Cooperative

noreply@blogger.com (Levois) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 15:00:03 PST

Brookins Clears Ballot Hurdle - Chicago News Cooperative

Ald. Brookins was certainly a player in the ward remap that was recently concluded in a session of the Chicago City Council. It was a map forwarded by his Black Caucus that the current map is based on. It looks like after mostly negative stories that would see him kicked off the ballot for re-election to 21st Ward Democratic Committeeman, he may be able to stay on the ballot after all.

Ald. Howard Brookins can remain on the March primary ballot for 21st Ward Democratic ward committeeman, a Chicago Board of Election Commissioners hearing officer determined today.

The election board will now vote on whether to uphold the decision.

Brookins’ position on the ballot was put in danger earlier this month when an examination of his nomination papers found he did not submit enough valid signatures from registered voters in the South Side ward. The examination found Brookins, the incumbent committeeman, was about 100 signatures short of the 939 minimum.

Burt Odelson, an attorney for Brookins, on Tuesday submitted more than 100 valid sworn statements from voters whose signatures were tossed out after the preliminary examination. The hearing officer said the statements showed Brookins submitted a sufficient number of signatures.

Brookins, the chairman of the City Council’s Black Caucus, had been preparing to try to retain the party post with a write-in campaign.

“I’m happy I won’t spend extra dollars on a needless write-in campaign,” Brookins said.

Two other incumbent Alderman running for ward committeemen around the city are off the ballot. One was removed and the other dropped out of the race in their respective ward committeeman races. Even though being a Democratic committeeman is a volunteer posting it does confer a certain amount of prestige and opportunities for those who seeks those positions.

Greater Chatham Alliance postpones meeting until January 28

noreply@blogger.com (JP Paulus) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 23:15:54 PST

Greater Chatham Alliance is postponing tomorrow's scheduled meeting due to the snowstorm. The meeting wil take place next Saturday, January 28, at 11am at St.James Lutheran Church, 8000 S. Michigan.

The re-map will be a topic of discussion.

Contact the Greater Chatham Alliance for details = 8202 S. King Drive, P.O. Box 507 , Chicago IL 60619 *** 773.635.6500 *** gcahonor@sbcglobal.net

The new ward map...

noreply@blogger.com (Levois) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 11:05:25 PST

I wanted to find a decent picture of the new map, but have been unable to find one. I did find this interactive map from WBEZ however you will probably have to scroll around to see all the new ward boundaries.

This is how the new 6th Ward will look. It looks like the 8th Ward now has the blocks west of Cottage Grove between 83rd & 78th Streets. And then a thin strip along 87th Street and then south towards about 89th Place between St. Lawrence and Langley.

Progress Illinois: Chicago Ward Remap Could Still Face Lawsuit

noreply@blogger.com (Levois) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 09:57:23 PST

Here's the justification:

[36th Ward Ald.] Sposato, who tried to delay today's vote, says a parliamentary maneuver to force the vote could also factor into any legal action.

The map does satisfy legal requirements regarding the 1965 Voting Rights Acts that guarantees equal representation to racial minorities. There are 18 majority Black wards, 13 majority Hispanic wards, and two Hispanic "influence" wards.

However, the map might not meet the most basic rule of representation: One person, one vote. Some wards on the far South Side have almost five percent more than the 53,912 median ward population – some on the far North Side have almost five percent less than the median.

The Mexican American Legal Defense Fund (MALDEF) and other groups released their own maps to be considered by the Chicago City Council. These maps more closely adhere to “one man, one vote” and could set in motion a lawsuit against the city.

Several advocacy groups could be party to these lawsuits, as they were disenchanted with the final map.

Theresa Mah, policy consultant for the Coalition for a Better Chinese Community, says it is too soon to know if her organization will join a potential lawsuit. But Mah is adamant that the compromise map does not effectively represent Chicago's growing Asian population. "I can't really say that our concerns were heard by anyone," Mah says. "The [compromise map] splits Chinatown into five wards."

What about this parliamentary maneuver?

[2nd Ward Ald.] Fioretti and Sposato, their political survival threatened, tried to “postpone the inevitable,” as Sposato put it, by exercising the right of any two aldermen to delay consideration of any matter for one meeting.

But Emanuel’s forces used an obscure parliamentary maneuver to prevent the delay — by ruling that matters directly introduced to the City Council can’t be postponed.

They were that determined to put the divisive issue to rest and to prevent the hard-fought deal from unraveling.

I'm pretty sure however that they were determined to push this through when it was found that this map could possible withstand a lawsuit. Back to the Progress IL article:

Aldermanic fears of a lawsuit were partly allayed earlier this week when American University professor and redistricting legal expert Allan Lichtman said that the map could withstand a legal challenge. Lichtman, though, did say that aldermen would need to prove that these population variances were designed to protect Black and Latino voters.

Designed to protect voters or other members of the city council?

For now it seems many people have to accept it on the surface. Deal with the cards that have been dealt, however, listening to some of the talk.

BTW, a lawsuit could cost between $20 to $30 million. Who knows if this this map couldn't avoid a lawsuit? We do know now that they drew a map that could avoid having the citizens of Chicago to decide a map.

Burnside Academy pivotal in School De-Segregation

noreply@blogger.com (JP Paulus) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 22:32:54 PST

The Burnside Scolastic Academy's Parent Advisory Council shared this article yesterday which highlighted Burnside's pivotal role in the civil rights struggle.

We are including the whole thing,as the Suntimes is installing a paywall which may deprive some readers of access.The link of the article is here. they also have "online extras" here.

Tony Burroughs, outside of the Burnside School 650 E. 91st Place, where 50 years ago the first demonstration against Chicago Public Schools system of segregated and unequal education took place. Friday, January 13, 2012.
Brian Jackson~Sun-Times

It was a pivotal moment for Chicago’s racially separate and unequal Chicago Public Schools system.

But for then 12-year-old Tony Burroughs, the three-week sit-in by African-American parents and students at Burnside Elementary School — 50 years ago this month — was life-changing.

“Historians tend to look at the big picture,” says Burroughs, now 63 and a noted genealogist and author.

“You don’t hear a lot about the small sparks to the fire that ignited the Civil Rights movement. This spark ignited protests against the ‘Willis Wagons’ [portable classrooms] and eventually led to the 1963 citywide boycott of the Chicago Public Schools where 250,000 students stayed home,” he says of the incident that began on Jan. 2, 1962.

Spearheaded by the Burnside Parent Teacher Association — primarily its president Alma Coggs, member Zenia Gray, and Burroughs’ mother, Mary Ellen Burroughs — it fueled the school desegregation movement of the ’60s.

And the protests that followed, according to Chicago Urban League papers the University of Illinois Chicago Library holds in its Special Collections, in turn “focused the city’s attention on racial segregation and inequality, created a new militancy among many Chicagoans, and set the stage for the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s decision to move his wing of the national civil rights movement to Chicago in 1966.”

READ THE WHOLE THING!

Anyone have any thoughts or memories?

Official Statement from Alderman Sawyer on ward re-map vote

noreply@blogger.com (JP Paulus) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 19:25:16 PST

Here is the official press release from Alderman Sawyer, posted on his website at http://www.6thwardchicago.com/(not affiliated with this blog or our domain, http://www.thesixthward.us/

ALDERMAN SAWYER VOTES NO ON THE CHICAGO WARD REMAP

Over the objection of Alderman Roderick T. Sawyer (6th), the Chicago City Council passed the new ward map 41-8. “Unfortunately this is map, despite numerous public hearings, was not one that the public was able to review and provide input” Alderman Sawyer said. “The communities of the 6th Ward made their opinions clear in the meetings that existed; unfortunately the city council chose to fully disregard the concerns of my community. This map only benefits a few self-serving Alderman, not the City of Chicago, and definitely not the Citizens of the 6th Ward. Nonetheless, I remain committed to the communities of the 6th Ward and I look forward to bringing our new residents into the family.”

Under the revised 6th Ward map, the communities of Chesterfield, West Chesterfield and Roseland Heights have been removed from the ward. The 6th ward now loses 2 public parks, its top performing elementary school and a high school. These neighborhoods are a traditionally high voting area and this move greatly affects the voting strength of one of the city’s traditionally highest voting wards.

“There are numerous problems with the process. There was blatant disrespect for the outcome of the last election as certain individuals were determined to disregard the well stated preferences of their community and allowed rules to be broken in the process,” Alderman Sawyer continued. “I left with an agreement on my map, with particular boundaries that, while not perfect represented what I worked for, only to receive a call this morning to find that my map had been unilaterally changed with no notice to me. This was done in spite of the fact that such an action is in clear violation of the rules set up to govern this process. There is no way that I could support such egregious actions that disrespected so many of the people who sent me to office, but it is a wake-up call about the priorities of certain individuals and exactly what they think of our community.”

Alderman Sawyer concluded, “Today, when you look at the aldermen who were disenfranchised, the city council sent the residents of Chicago a clear message; if we don’t like who you elected, the concerns of your community will be ignored. For someone who has spent his entire life in Chicago politics, I can honestly say I have never seen such little regard for the voters of this city.”

For Immediate Release
For More Information Contact:
Lesley Chinn lrchinn33@gmail.com
(773) 746-9044

Alderman Sawyer votes no on re-map, but it passes anyway

noreply@blogger.com (JP Paulus) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 19:26:24 PST

From Alderman Sawyer's Facebook page (sent via Twitter) on January 19, 2012 @ ~ 11am

I voted No on the map 41-8 #ChiCouncil

So though our alderman voted against it, it passed anyway (40 alderman were needed to make it happen).

Did any non-aldrmanic citizens get a chance to see the map before it passed?

What are your thoughts, and how does it affect us? Any way to appeal it?

Edit -- Here are some comment updates on the Facebook post . In addition, Chief of Staff Brian Sleet will send us an official statement in the near future to the blog, and we will post it as soon as psossible.

JP Paulus Thank you for taking the courageous stance. i wish just 2 other alderman had the guts to do so. Was the new map even available to the public to view before the vote???
about an hour ago · Like.

Kenny Williams Why did you vote no?
about an hour ago · Like.

JP Paulus Another question -- how does it affect the ward now?
about an hour ago · Like.

Darlene Perkins Tribue ‎18African American Wards, 13Hispanic, 2Asian,17White. Fioretti voted out out of his ward. It passed.41 to 8 according to ABC news. Is this correct?
about an hour ago · Like.

Alderman Roderick T. Sawyer ‎Kenny Williams I voted no because the process was completely disrespectful to me and to our residents.
10 minutes ago · Like.

Alderman Roderick T. Sawyer ‎@Darlene yes that is correct... JP we still were not given a full picture of the ward but a part of chatham was removed at the last second.
8 minutes ago · Like

Alderman Sawyer added these tweets ~ 2pm today

Alderman Roderick T. Sawyer I have been, and remain, a public servant and if you need service, I am still available to you.
Like · · @RoderickTSawyer on Twitt · 6 minutes ago via Twitter · .

Alderman Roderick T. Sawyer I want to be clear, despite the vote on this map, I still represent the traditional communities of the 6th Ward and welcome my new residents

Also, Joe Lake on Facebook (of the Chicago Chatham Connection group) provided a link to the City Clerk's office regarding the legislation. There is a pdf attachment that includes a wordy description of the borders, and a vague map that gives you a general feel, but it is difficult to see exact streets, and how this affects ward block-by-block

New aldermanic wards for one-third of Chicagoans - Chicago Sun-Times

noreply@blogger.com (Levois) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 09:11:41 PST

New aldermanic wards for one-third of Chicagoans - Chicago Sun-Times

As early as Thursday or next week probably at the latest, an estimated one-third or more of Chicago residents will be living in a new ward.

They’ll be in two wards, actually, one old and one new, thanks to a ward redistricting plan that an alliance of aldermen will try to push through the City Council today.

The new boundaries don’t really go into effect until after the city election in 2015, but the practical effect is more complicated.

As in the past, some aldermen will want to start serving new constituents right away to build goodwill for the next election. Others may prefer to dance with the voters who brought them. The result is some residents may find themselves with two aldermen vying for their affection while others will have trouble finding anyone to pay attention to their concerns.

You say you’d like to know which ward will now be claiming you as a resident?

That's what I'm sure the residents of West Chesterfield, Roseland Heights, and Chesterfield are wanting to know.

There was supposed to be a city council meeting at 10 AM today, however, so far as I type this post it has yet to commence. Perhaps they're still working on getting those 41 votes and continuing to move lines around. We shall see!

Ward map vote tomorrow...

noreply@blogger.com (Levois) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 18:00:41 PST

I found this comment at the Ward Room blog from our local NBC affiliate. JP Paulus would agree:

Can the media EVER get it right? The REFERENDUM in 1990 did NOT cost the taxpayers $20 million dollars. What cost the $20 million was the challenge to the map. Whatever map wins here, either by Aldermanic vote or referendum, could cost $20-$30 million if challenged in court. If these maps go to referendum (which they should - Let the people decide!) the cost would be less than $100,000. Still a cost, but the people are allowed to decide, not a group of Aldermen in a back room worried just about themselves. The media's misinformation is pushing us away from a referendum and the people having THEIR say (since the "public hearings" are a sham).

If you want to watch the festivities of this vote tomorrow it will start at 10 AM. This is a special session of the Chicago City Council, and I'm sure most of you will want to be there to express your opinion if you're able. If not able to attend a city council meeting there's always the streaming video courtesy of the Chicago City Clerk! Just remember that the council will consider ALL remap proposals filed so far with the city clerk.

BTW, that Greg Hinz seems to have an idea as to whether or not this map will succeed in the City Council tomorrow morning:

But council leaders are working really hard on Alderman Michele Smith (43rd), whose Lincoln Park neighbors are upset about the map and have the money to fund a legal challenge. Sources report she's been offered a map that keeps more of the ward together than the prior proposal, although it still will have 3,000 or 4,000 more residents than new African-American wards.

Council leaders also are trying to reel in Alderman Bob Fioretti (2nd), whose Near South Side turf would be sliced and diced several ways but whose house might be put into a new, mostly white ward stretching north and west as far as Roscoe Village.

Right now, Messrs. Mell and Emanuel need 41 aldermen to approve their map to avoid a referendum fight over dueling maps. Mr. Mell says he thinks he'll have the votes Thursday, and I'd say that's likely, though not certain.

Then we'll see what the lawyers do.

And yet no idea as to how this map would look other than that it's based on the MBC proposal.

Brookins’ petition battle shows ward politics aren’t what they used to be - Chicago Sun-Times

noreply@blogger.com (Levois) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 08:07:19 PST

Brookins’ petition battle shows ward politics aren’t what they used to be - Chicago Sun-Times

Ald. Brookins (21st) has a hearing today regarding the objections to his petitions. He could be in danger of getting kicked off the March 2012 ballot:

At 8:30 Wednesday morning, Brookins will go before the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners at 69 W. Washington to do some serious battle.

If he wins, he’s on the ballot. But right now? He’s kicked off.

Amazing.

Brookins, a nine-year veteran — seasoned as he is — couldn’t come up with enough signatures of registered voters in this city’s second-most-populous ward to qualify to run.

“Nobody has an organization anymore,” observed one City Hall election veteran in modest disbelief on Tuesday.

In Brookins’ case, all he needed were 939 bulletproof signatures. Though he submitted 1,300 names — more than the minimum — by the time his political nemesis, Bruce Crosby, was done challenging those petitions, Brookins was 103 signatures short. Some who signed, it turned out, weren’t really registered voters. And some printed their names rather than wrote them longhand — a potential disqualifier.

Even Brookins’ attorney, Burt Odelson, seems surprised.

If Odelson’s name is familiar, it should be. He’s the veteran election lawyer who challenged Rahm Emanuel’s residency and right to run for Chicago mayor a year ago. Emanuel, it should be noted, filed 90,000 petition signatures when only 12,500 were required.

“The rule of thumb,” said Odelson by phone Monday, “is that you have at least twice or three times the minimum.”

This Carol Marin piece starts off with the idea that the internet and electronic devices have replaced the time honored practices of going door-to-door and pounding the pavement for votes are about "as exotic as a typewriter". No doubt that being able to communicate on the web is important for candidates on any level but they still have to be out there with the people on the streets or their front door. It was also noted that Brookins was busy on the ward remap which is nearing it's conclusion.

All the same this piece notes the importance of having an organization of some sort. Does this mean Brookins simply didn't have the ability to have an army of workers in his ward not only getting all the signatures he can, but also to vette the signatures he does have?

Potential vote on new ward map coming but possibly delayed...

noreply@blogger.com (Levois) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 23:14:14 PST

Tribune:

Mayor Rahm Emanuel has called a special City Council meeting Thursday to consider a new map of the city’s 50 wards, but the aldermen leading the effort to reach a political compromise said the final vote may not come until early next week.

A parliamentary maneuver to put off an immediate vote can be invoked by just two aldermen, Ald. Richard Mell, 33rd, noted Tuesday. If that happened, another meeting would be called for early next week, he said.

Mell spoke after the third of four public hearings on competing proposals put forward by the Black and Latino caucuses and their respective allies. No mention was made of the special meeting, and no details about the compromise taking shape were presented.

Not a lot of transparency in this.

BTW, read Worlee's thoughts! He doesn't think anyone in the 6th Ward will be happy with whatever the finished product would look like. This has turned into a frustrating process!

ALSO, there are two more ward remap hearings coming up this week.

Increasing graduation rates, job one at city colleges

noreply@blogger.com (Levois) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 16:34:09 PST

While the blog has largely been focused on the remap, that doesn't mean we can't take a brief look at other issues affected our community.

For example, I'm going to share an article from Inside Higher Education about the Chicago City Colleges. For those who are truly into the education system in our city, this probably isn't news to them. They're probably keeping a serious eye on this as well.

So how bad are graduation rates at City Colleges?

The 7 percent number cited by Emanuel is the graduation rate metric used by the Department of Education, which looks at full-time, first-time students over a period equal to 150 percent of the time it would take to earn a credential – 3 years for an associate degree. That rate lags far behind the national average of 22 percent for public, two-year colleges. But only 35 percent of the 127,000 students who attend City Colleges count toward that graduation measure, because many have studied elsewhere or enroll only part-time.

Shortly after arriving, Hyman called for a closer look at the system’s performance. The resulting research tried to be more representative of the student population. What they found wasn’t pretty.

When part-time students are included, the graduation rate bumps up a tick to 8 percent. And when time to degree is doubled, to six years, still only 13 percent of City College students make it to graduation.

Any way you cut it, the system has a problem with completion. More than half of degree-seeking students (54 percent) leave City Colleges after just six months, and only 16 percent of students transfer to four-year institutions.

The chancellor is hardly shy about touting unflattering numbers. Transparency, she says, is also part of the reinvention.

Improving graduation and transfer rates won’t be easy, in part because of the preparation of students who come to City College. More than 90 percent need remediation, and 36 percent are under the poverty line.

Read the whole thing when you get a chance!

Via Newsalert!

Remap progress???

noreply@blogger.com (Levois) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 20:56:45 PST

It appears the city council may be able to produce another ward map. Hopefully this map will be seen at this week's remap hearings before the City Council will take a vote. It's all about their votes!

Anyway here's what was at stake:

“There’s no more debate on the number of wards Hispanics would get. It’s 13. And the number of [Hispanic] influence wards is two. The Black Caucus would get 18. The 20th Ward would stay on the South Side. They’d keep everything they’ve got except the 15th Ward, which would become a super-majority Hispanic ward,” Solis said.

“The only real issue now is will this map get struck down because of the deviation” from the benchmark that every ward have 52,900 residents.

Victor Reyes, a consultant to the Hispanic Caucus, said the original map filed by the Caucus included a deviation of four percent. The compromise raises it to ten percent.

Hispanic majority wards are at least 60 percent Latino, influence wards 35 percent to 40 percent, and super majority wards, at least 65 percent.

If you're not happy about the proposed map, it looks like they're working to insure that it won't be challenged in court:

But, Solis said, “We need a clear and coherent narrative that, not only we understand but the public can understand of how this map will be defensible to a legal challenge. We just want him to have a further conversation with our attorney, Mike Kasper, since he went through this” when legislative and congressional maps were drawn to coincide with the 2010 U.S. Census.

Burt Odelson, an attorney representing the Black Caucus, insisted the compromise is on solid legal ground.

“All the case law throughout the United States is that, if it’s below ten percent [deviation] with good reason, then it’s an acceptable map,” Odelson said.

“Good reason means pursuant to the Voting Rights Act and trying to make wards with a population that will be able to elect a minority — whether that be Latino or African-American.”

A national redistricting expert approves of this new ward map as well:

For weeks, the council’s Black Caucus and its allies and the Latino Caucus have pushed their own versions of a new ward map. On Monday, aldermen heard from Allan Lichtman, a consultant the council hired for the remap process.

Lichtman told council leaders that a modified proposal first submitted by the Black Caucus and its allies could withstand a legal challenge. But the American University professor and redistricting expert witness said aldermen would need to show that population variances among wards were designed to protect African-American and Latino voters and preserve racial harmony, aldermen said.

Approval by Lichtman was the key condition set last week by Ald. Daniel Solis, 25th, Latino Caucus chairman. If Lichtman also can find legal justification for other map quirks — including the odd shaped of the proposed 11th Ward — the Latino Caucus would sign off on the plan, Solis said.

Some expected changes in this map:

The Chicago Sun-Times reported last week that a last minute boost in the Hispanic population of the Southwest Side’s 23rd Ward — from 54 to over 60 percent — could seal a remap deal.

Incumbent Ald. Mike Zalewski (23rd) remains adamantly opposed to the changes, but his vote may not be required. The compromise could attract the 41 votes needed to avoid a remap referendum — with or without Zalewski, sources said.

“I assume they’re just gonna go ahead and pass a map with as many votes as possible. But nothing has changed as far as my position,” Zalewski said Friday.
...

In addition to Zalewski, the new map would endanger incumbent Aldermen: Jim Balcer (11th); Nick Sposato (36th) and Bob Fioretti (2nd), whose home would not be located in his newly-redrawn ward.

Aldermen Toni Foulkes (15th) and Joann Thompson (16th) would be thrown into the same ward, meaning only one of the two incumbents could survive.

The main concern is how the 6th Ward will fare under this map. If only there was a way the public can view this map before it's voted upon, finally!

Future ward remap hearings

noreply@blogger.com (Levois) — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 21:13:06 PST

Well three more two of them to be held during the course of the day at the City Hall Chambers. Found this courtesy of Don't Remap the 19th Ward fb page.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012
City Hall Council Chambers, 2nd Floor
121 N LaSalle Street
Chicago, IL 60602
1:30 p.m.

Wednesday, January 18, 2012
North - Grand High School Auditorium
4338 West Wabansia
Chicago, IL 60639
6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Thursday, January 19, 2012
City Hall Council Chambers, 2nd Floor
121 N LaSalle Street
Chicago, IL 60602
10:00 a.m.

Information via chicagoredistricting.com

ALSO the city council is expected to meet on January 18th although since remap hearings are clustered around that date it's unclear if they're even going to vote on a new ward map next Wednesday!