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Monday, February 27, 2023

Bereavement Notice #Ward09

 This was just sent in an e-mail blast by the office of Alderman Anthony A. Beale.  The email announced the death of Vanessa A. Brown who had been Ald. Beale's chief-of-staff for 24 years. I will offer my condolences to her friends and family.



Tomorrow is Election Day #ChicagoElections #ChiMayor23

 If you have't early voted, tomorrow is the day to cast a vote for Mayor, Clerk, Treasurer, City Council, and those little known & new police district board council.

If you're looking for some last minute stories check out this round by via Capitol Fax.

And how about a video from FOX 32 regarding Tuesday's election. They speak with Max Bever of the Chicago Board of Elections [VIDEO]


Saturday, February 25, 2023

WGN: Breaking down Chicago early voting numbers #ChiMayor23

 

[VIDEO] On WGN Weekend Morning News there is a discussion with Steve Valles - co-director of Chicago Votes breaking down early voting numbers. I suppose the news I have seen have discussed to which candidate early voting benefits? Another aspect I've seen out there, is how long until we finally determine who won the 2023 mayoral race or at least who's in the mayoral runoff?

This discussion has been about how to energize young people to vote in this election. Also we hear that this is the first election where Cook County Jail is a polling location. So Chicago Votes has something going on with the inmates there.

Early voting is going on through next Monday and Election Day is next Tuesday February 28th. Have you all early voted yet? Do you plan to wait until Election Day?

Tuesday, February 21, 2023

So Lightfoot doesn't want people to vote? #ChiMayor23

 So at a rally over the past weekend the Mayor said that you shouldn't vote. Wait did we hear correctly? Well WLS-TV did the story on this. We can listen for ourselves. [VIDEO]


And then this morning some blowback as we've seen on WFLD-TV. So let's put this in text form she stated any votes not for Lightfoot from the South Side is a vote for Garcia and Vallas. And if you want them to determine your fate then don't vote and stay home. It's all about the soundbites. 

She must be worried about those two gents, but not as much about Brandon Johnson whom she has cut ads against. Anyway on to the FOX 32 report [VIDEO]

OK! She misspoke....I suppose I can accept that. Now it's just more evidence that her leadership is very undiplomatic.

One thing is likely talked about. The number of Black candidates in the race could dilute the Black vote and lead to either Congressman Garcia or Vallas to possibly win the mayoral race. Though I'm hoping that Chicagoans will not vote according to their race/ethnicity they vote for the best person to be mayor.

As of today we have a week to go before Election Day. Early voting will continue through next Monday. As you see in the FOX 32 report Mayor Lightfoot and her significant other had voted early on President's Day. Have you voted yet?

Saturday, February 18, 2023

Vallas denounces Florida Governor visit to Chicago area promoted by Chicago fraternal order of police #ChiMayor23

 

[VIDEO] Perhaps you may not know Ron DeSantis - he is in his second term as Governor of Florida. He will be in the Chicago area to speak with the Fraternal Order of Police. And now he's another quick bullet point in this race.

The leader of Chicago's FOP is named John Catanzara who's made many appearances on FOX News Channel especially after the issues of 2020. He's made some appearances for mayoral candidate Paul Vallas. And as a result the visit to this state by DeSantis has become a point of contention in this race.

Vallas was forced to quickly denounce DeSantis as you will see in the above story by our local FOX affiliate. You can read more about this from the Sun-Times.

Wednesday, February 15, 2023

Flyers for #Ward09 #ChicagoElections

 So far I haven't received any flyers from Cameron Barnes - whom I could call a very young upstart in this race. However I have two from Cleopatra Draper and three from incumbent Alderman Anthony Beale.

Let's start with Draper. She's hitting the incumbent Alderman Beale over a lack of grocery stores in the area. And I'm sure Beale will note the new grocery store coming to the Altgeld Gardens area and then let's not forget about Walmart which has a grocery section. 

Tuesday, February 14, 2023

NBC Chicago: What Chicago's mayoral candidates say about ending cash bail #ChiMayor23

 

[VIDEO] This was an issue that came up last year during the gubernatorial election in 2022 with the ongoing controversy over this state's Safe-T Act.

So we see all candidates who were part of the NBC 5 Chicago Mayoral Debate take a position on the issue of ending cash bail.

If you missed this debate you can check it out here through NBC Chicago which took place Monday night.

Saturday, February 11, 2023

Rainbow Push Mayoral Candidate Forum #ChiMayor23

 

[VIDEO] This forum was streamed on YouTube Saturday morning. You will see Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. speak to the audience although you mostly can't hear what he is saying in the beginning. You will also see the absence of Mayor Lightfoot though the other eight seven candidates for mayor were on the stage this morning.

CORRECTION 10:23 PM - another no show to this event was Willie Wilson.

And I must add Jesse Jackson retweeted this post. I had no idea he even uses twitter.

Friday, February 10, 2023

CBS 2: Crime take center stage at WTTW's 2023 Mayoral Forum #ChiMayor2023

 

[VIDEO] This aired earlier this week two days before the recent FOX 32 forum on Thursday night. This quick clip is probably a taste of what you will see later on. The bickering between candidates especially the shots Willie Wilson took at the Mayor. One notable absense, Congressman Chuy Garcia had been in Washington, DC for President Joe Biden's state of the union address.

If you didn't see the WTTW forum check it out below. [VIDEO]

Capitol Fax: Where does Paul Vallas really live #ChiMayor23

 I'd say this is more significant in this mayoral race than Paul Vallas' positions on abortion or even whether or not he's a Republican as opposed to being a Democrat. As Rich Miller says in this morning's post on his blog, "Vallas has been registered to vote in Chicago since 2018. These candidate residency requirements are not difficult to skirt. But he has some more explaining to do."

I suppose the question is from what I have already read, he moved into an apartment in Bridgeport perhaps about a year before running for mayor. The story is that his residence is in Palos Heights, Illinois although his wife currently resides in Palos Heights to care for her parents and mother-in-law.

Come to think of it, after his service as a congressman and White House chief-of-staff in Washington, DC didn't Rahm Emanuel have to face questions about his residency. Although in his case the home he owned in the city was rented out so that was the story back then. Many tried to keep him from even being on the ballot because of this back then.

Did anyone check on this before Vallas turned in his petitions?

FOX 32 Mayoral Forum #ChiMayor23

 

[VIDEO] There have been other mayoral forums this week which I have yet to share with you, however, this was the one that occurred on Thursday. All nine mayoral candidates including the incumbent Lori Lightfoot facing off against Mike Flannery and Scott Schneider. The duration is over an hour.

I must say there have been a number of mayoral forums which involve the incumbent. I feel as if that's a first, however, I'm starting to wonder if this shows how weak Mayor Lightfoot is. Did Rahm Emanuel face this much pressure in 2015 as he sought re-election?

Thursday, February 9, 2023

The Mayor on crime #ChiMayor23

 

[VIDEO] I wanted to share this ad you probably have seen somewhere - perhaps on TV or perhaps while watching YouTube. This ad touting Mayor Lori Lightfoot's accomplishments on policing and crime. I can believe that she has been taking a beating on the crime issue at least since 2020.

I like to save videos like this to a playlist, however, I can't save this one because this ad has been set to content made for kids. Interesting....

Then I found this article from April 2020 - at the time David Brown had just become police superintendent - via Block Club Chicago. I didn't know this, however, some detective areas had been closed down. In 2020 two of those areas that had been shut down had been re-opened.

That structure was slashed to three Areas — referred to as Areas North, South and Central — under Emanuel.

But Lightfoot revamped the former map, adding back Areas at 5101 S. Wentworth Ave. and 3151 W. Harrison Ave. All five of the old Areas return to their former names: Areas 1-5.

The three Police Areas were “too big” and weren’t “functionally working … as effectively as [they] could be,” Lightfoot said.

The restructuring had been in the works for months. The city rehabbed the two re-opened Area buildings that were closed and redrew their boundaries as part of the project.

With the changes, parts of the city hit hard by crime now no longer have to share resources and officers with as many other neighborhoods.

For example, the newly created Area 4 will focus solely on crime in the 10th, 11th and 15th police districts, which are in parts of the West Side that struggle with gun violence.

Now, detectives working out of the Police Areas will be closer to the neighborhoods where they work, which means it will be easier for them to work with witnesses and victims and they’ll be able to get to crime scenes quicker, Lightfoot said. She said it also means detectives will be able to collaborate more often with officers.

 Anyone out there thinks this reorganization has been helpful?

Meanwhile almost three years later during the mayoral race, it seems the latest news about David Brown is that he is on the verge of leaving. Lightfoot running for re-election had pledged to keep Brown as Superintendent if she wins another term. Polls seem to suggest it's not likely that she will win another term, however, if she does time to start looking again for another police chief.

Wednesday, February 8, 2023

WBEZ: Polls have Vallas, Lightfoot, and Garcia in a deadheat #ChiMayor23

Vallas, Mayor Lightfoot, Garcia via Sun-Times

Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s reelection battle is clouded in uncertainty, her chances of beating either U.S. Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García or former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas in a run-off appearing slim — and her prospects for even making it to the April election up in the air.

With the election less than three weeks away, three out of five voters disapprove of the job the mayor has done in her first term, more than half hold an unfavorable opinion of her and 71% think the city is on the wrong track.

Those are among the key findings of a WBEZ/Chicago Sun-Times/Telemundo Chicago/NBC5 Poll conducted last week.

All falling within the poll’s margin of error, Lightfoot, García and Vallas were essentially locked in a statistical dead heat when respondents were asked whom they would vote for if the Feb. 28 election were held today.

García led with 20%, followed by Vallas with 18% and Lightfoot with 17%. Businessman Willie Wilson trailed closely with 12% and Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson with 11%. Just 2% said they’d vote for activist Ja’Mal Green, and 1% chose either Ald. Sophia King, 4th Ward, or state Rep. Kam Buckner. Ald. Roderick Sawyer, 6th Ward, drew no support. Another 18% said they were still undecided.

h/t CapFax Isabel Morning Briefing - wait are those morning shorts making a comeback!  

Please don't forget early voting is ongoing now through Election Day on February 28, 2023.





Tuesday, February 7, 2023

Crain's: 50 aldermen may be 40 too many. Here’s why.

 I thought this was just going to be another article saying we need to cut the size of Chicago's city council. It goes deeper than that, the city does have home rule powers but never had a charter like other cities in America. Should Chicago have a city manager as opposed to the mayor being the city's CEO? Should there be At-Large Alderman which is utilized in places like Houston in this article? Are the staffs for Alderman too large compared to other American cities?

If you're an expert an urban policy or politics, this is an interesting piece to ponder about what solutions work for Chicago. What say you?

Saturday, February 4, 2023

WGN: 4 hurt after CTA bus crashes into currency exchange building in Roseland

 

[VIDEO] There have been some posts about this on instagram Friday night. I immediately was able to identify where this was once I saw it the Currency Exchange at 111th & Michigan. Just across the street from the former Walgreens that was once located there.

There was a bad accident from the eyewitness reports in the above story from WGN-TV there was a chase and a car tried to swerve around an oncoming bus. The bus hit the car and then crashed into that currency exchange.

Thankfully all injuries are considered non-fatal.

Thursday, February 2, 2023

Capitol Fax: Garcia to run TV ad quoting Vallas calling himself a Republican and saying “Fundamentally, I oppose abortion” #ChicagoElections

 Earlier in the year I had found a flyer possibly from Lori Lightfoot that accused Willie Wilson of being a Republican. However, we live in Chicago and this city is a Democratic city. For some perhaps uniformed voters it probably will cause many of them to veer away from the longtime city businessman and philathropist.

And then you get something like an ad from Congressman Chuy Garcia who is certainly favored to defeat incumbent Mayor Lori Lightfoot in this year's mayoral race. I'll share the video though I want to suggest reading up on the ad itself at CapFax before watching it. 

Basically in the ad below Garcia's campaign is taking aim at how former CPS CEO Paul Vallas identifies himself. Is he a Republican? I he pro-life? Well calling Vallas a Republican is a very easy swipe, however, the abortion issue will probably get someone's attention. However, I just wonder how relevant the abortion issue is to Chicago voters? [VIDEO]


The next question is whether or not the abortion issue is more relevant than the issue of crime or even education?

Wednesday, February 1, 2023

Block Club Chi: Longtime Far South Side Ald. Anthony Beale Faces 2 Challengers In 9th Ward Race

These are the three people who are running for Alderman in Ward 9.

Via Block Club Chi

And here is the start of the write-up:

Two hopefuls are trying to unseat one of City Council’s longest-serving members, aiming to bring new leadership to the Far South Side seat after more than two decades.

Cameron Barnes and Cleopatra Draper are challenging Ald. Anthony Beale in the 9th Ward race. Beale, first elected in 1999, is seeking his seventh term representing Chatham, Roseland, Pullman, Washington Heights, West Pullman and Riverdale.

Sonya Thompson Dorsey withdrew from the race in December after two residents challenged her signatures. Dorsey said she still plans to participate as a write-in candidate, she said.

The 9th Ward has seen increased development in the past several years, with new businesses like Lexington Betty Smokehouse and Culver’s. It’s also home to Pullman National Historical Park, which opened in 2021.

I see Barnes in this article wants to fight gentrification. Beale of course touts his accomplishments as the longtime incumbent in the 9th Ward. And then I really like this by Draper:

Draper’s goals are to revitalize the Roseland business district, bring better grocery stores to the area, improve housing stability and mental health facilities, fight “food apartheid” and tackle gun violence, according to her website.

“The goal is to revitalize the 9th Ward, the Far South region,” Draper said in a December YouTube video. “This is not just a singular race. This is to change and enhance the quality of life Black folks on the far South Side. We’ve been neglected for too long, and I’m not accepting another day to live in a food desert, a medical desert, transportation desert, child care desert. Where and in what form or fashion is that community?”

If elected, Draper also wants to bring essential services to South Michigan Avenue, create new and expand existing businesses and address public safety concerns, she said.

I'd like to see Michigan Avenue get some more investment. What's her plan?

Early voting has been going on since January 26, 2023 and will be going through election day February 28, 2023.