9th ward action...

[VIDEO] Before I note once again the two candidates forums today, I wanted to share with you this recent video from 9th ward candidate Michael LaFargue. He is hoping to take the Alderman seat of current Alderman Anthony Beale.

LaFargue - currently President of the West Chesterfield Community Association - does a video featuring his background. He also features some of the other community activists and business owners of the 9th ward.

This includes Eddie Davis of Bass Furniture - 11431 South Michigan Avenue - who commented on the shopping mall that we recently noted here. The shopping mall that was once located at 115th/Michigan was demolished during the course of the last decade. Davis claimed the closure and demolition of this mall has hurt other nearby businesses.

It's a long video of roughly 15 minutes. Anything said in this video sway your vote?

Todays candidate forums for 9th ward candidates

• Chesterfield Community Council 9th Ward candidate forums at 11 AM
  McDade Classical School
  8801 S. Indiana
  Noted recently on this blog

• NAACP candidates forum with 9th Ward candidates scheduled for 1 PM
  Simeon High School
  8147 S. Vincennees
  Also noted on this blog

9th Ward candidates forum on Saturday #Aldertrack

This coming Saturday is proving to be a very packed Saturday for those of us who are following the 2015 elections. If you're following the 9th ward race there is another forum later on Saturday at 1 PM sponsored by the NAACP.

• The Chesterfield Community Council (CCC) will host the
  "9th Ward Aldermanic Candidates Forum"
  on Saturday, February 7, 2015 at 11:00 a.m.
  at McDade Classical School,
  8801 South Indiana
  The moderator will be Curtis "AC" Green, Radio Personality, 106.3 fm /1390 am Radio.
  All are welcomed.
  

NAACP 2015 candidates forum

Also on Saturday the NAACP forums will be later that afternoon at Simeon High School - 8147 S. Vincennes Ave.- and these forums will include candidates for wards 6, 9, & 21. Candidates from ward 9 will kick off the festivities starting at 1 PM. This event was advertized at The Sixth Ward last month and the flyer is below for this event.

New Ald. Beale mailer #Aldertrack

We recently received this Beale flyer in the mail. It's similar to the last one, but makes slightly different points from the first one.

Also please don't forget about the DCP 9th ward forum at Progressive Church - 26 E. 127th St. - on Satuday at 2 PM.

Does the flyer below persuade you to give Beale one more term as 9th ward Alderman?

9th ward: Video on demand

[VIDEO] Recently Harold "Noonie" Ward was interviewed by Aldertrack's Mike Fourcher as he interviews the many candidates for Alderman around the city. He has also interviewed another candidate for 9th ward Alderman, Michael LaFargue.

BTW, I also found this "attack ad" from the LaFargue camp. It doesn't strike me as a good idea, but I'll let you be the judge of that. [VIDEO]

Is there anything in either video that would sway your vote for 9th ward Alderman?

9th Ward: Bulletin newspaper photo page of Rosemoor forum

The recent candidates forum hosted by the Rosemoor Community Association held this last Tuesday. This page from the Bulletin has been distribuing in my e-mails so it's worth sharing on the blog. You will see leaders of Rosemoor along with 9th Ward Ald. Beale, and Ted Williams III, and Michael LaFargue on this page.

Click for larger resolution

DCP 9th ward candidates forum Saturday

The Developing Communities Project is hosting a candidates forum on January 31st, 2015 at 2 PM. It will be held at Progressive Church located at 26 E. 127th St. For more details refer to flyer below.

Mailer in the race for 9th ward Alderman

Received this mailer for 9th ward Alderman Anthony Beale recently. It touts his accomplishments and his future goals for the ward. There are pictures of himself during a groundbreaking for an athletic center and the opening of a new store. He mentions new grocery stores, however, Harold "Noonie" Ward has been hitting him on that fact. Although Walmart does sell groceries even if it's not considered a grocery store.

If you have any mailers to scan and share with us feel free to e-mail, Facebook, or Tweet us.

Wards 9, 17, & 21 candidates forum Trinity Church

We may have known about this for a while now but tomorrow at Trinity United Church of Christ a candidates forum for wards 9, 17, and 21. This information was emailed to us today.

• 9th, 17th and 21st Ward Candidates Forum
  Trinity United Church of Christ
  400 W. 95th Street - Sanctuary
  Chicago, IL 60628
  
  Sunday, January 25, 2015
  2:30pm to 4:45pm

If anyone has any candidate events we should know about feel free to e-mail us, tweet @thesixthward, or post to our Sixth Ward FB page.

VIDEO: Ted Williams for 9th ward Alderman

[VIDEO] If you subscribed the daily e-mail newsletter from Aldertrack you saw this video by candidate for Alderman Ted Williams. He discusses his background - especially as a professor in the City Colleges of Chicago - in addition to his future goals if elected Alderman of the 9th ward.

BTW, Aldertrack kind of opined on the video as apparently it was shot horizontally vertically. They even shared this hilarious video regarding "vertical video syndrome". You'll laugh, but if you - the reader - ever ran for Alderman in the future I do hope that you would produce a more professionally done video. Professor Williams seemed to barely have a enough space for himself in the frame.

ALSO, Gaper's Block years ago did a post about videos related to races for Alderman. I'm looking for it and when it's found will be posted here as an illustration.

Is anything that Williams said that would sway your vote for him in the 9th ward?

EDIT: I forgot to note that next Friday Williams will host a meet & greet also posted in this morning's Aldertrack daily e-mail

• Ted Williams, III (9) will hold a meet and greet Friday, January 30 at 6:30p at his campaign office, 11625 S. Michigan Ave. 

Russ Stewart on the race for 9th Ward Alderman

Russ Stewart analyzes the races for Alderman in the south side wards and says the Mayor is going to send resources to his favored candidates. So this is what he says for the races in the 9th ward.

9th Ward (Far South Side): After losing a 2013 bid for Jesse Jackson’s congressional seat, incumbent Anthony Beale’s stature nosedived. He faces seven opponents, the most credible being Michael LaFargue. It will be Rahm to the rescue in a Beale-LaFargue runoff.

I will refer you to The Sixth Ward blog for a list of candidates for the 9th Ward.

ALSO, I have read Stewart over the years for his perspective on local politics. Only real political junkies would know of him since he doesn't write for a major paper. He's primarily a columnist for a community paper on the northwest side of Chicago.

Rate the video: Harold "Noonie" Ward for Alderman 9th Ward

[VIDEO] I'm sure we'll be posting a number of videos between now and election day next month from the many Aldermanic candidates in wards 6, 9, and 21. Last month we posted 9th Ward Ald. Beale's appearance on CAN-TV's Political Forum where he answers various questions affecting the 9th ward and the city.

Today we post about one of his challengers Harold "Noonie" Ward. This is essentially a campaign ad showing various shots around the 9th Ward. We see Altgeld Gardens, DuBois School, and even drive into Pullman with this video. This video is mainly taking shots at Ald. Beale.

Also, Mr. Ward notes that the 9th Ward is the only city ward without a major grocery store. So I suppose he doesn't count the Walmart in Pullman?

BTW, this video was noted by Chicagoist on Wednesday:

 This one is worth a look: it has high-production values, a moody tone and a damning indictment of an incumbent alderman that makes this a must-watch. That the rest of the city has a window into this race, via this video, makes it all that more interesting.

All the same what do you think of this video? Would you vote for Mr. Ward? Do you agree with some of the points of this video?

This video is via Aldertrack who in addition to a "racing form" which you can purchase from them you can also subscribe to daily email giving you various updates for election day 2015.

Crossposted from The Sixth Ward.

9th Ward Alderman on CAN-TV "Political Forum"

[VIDEO] You know I wish I was more in tune to what's going on the CAN-TV call-in program Political Forum. Now that we're in the midst of municipal election season we're probably going to find plenty of incumbents willing to come onto this show to tout their positions on important issues and their accomplishments.

Last Wednesday December 3rd it was Ald. Anthony Beale's turn to talk about "jobs, raising the minimum wage, cab regulations, red light cameras, and more".

I haven't yet had the chance to watch the video above but everyone who reads this blog is more than free to discuss their thoughts on this appearance. The map of the 9th ward which you have seen here from time to time is shown below.

DNA Info: Morehouse College Graduate Seeks To Become Chicago's Youngest Alderman

Corey Hardiman by DNA Info Wendell Hutson

I wrote about this young man this past March when he brought a group of students from his alma mater - as a graduating senior at that point - to the south side of Chicago for a spring break service project. Now he wants to unseat 9th Ward Alderman Anthony Beale and DNA Info profiles the recent college graduate:

"I know people may think I am too young and inexperienced and that I won't be able to raise enough money to put fourth a good fight but that's what they said (in 2008) about President Barack Obama," Hardiman told DNAinfo Chicago Monday. "If he was able to do it then so can I."

The aspiring politician, who is a member of Salem Baptist Church, said he is scheduled to speak at 6 p.m. Monday to residents at the Altgeld Gardens public housing complex on the far South Side, which is part of the 9th Ward.

"I am going to speak to residents to let them know their opinion matters to me and I want to hear their concerns regardless if they are a registered voter or not," Hardiman said. "Ever since I graduated from high school I have always wanted to enter politics to make a difference in my community."

In 2010 after graduating from George Corliss High School as a Gates Millennium Scholar, where Beale is also an alumnus, Hardiman predicted at Mayor Richard M. Daley's annual interfaith breakfast at U.S. Cellular Field that he would run for mayor after finishing college.

"Well, maybe I was aiming too high at the time," Hardiman said. "But I certainly think it is a realistic goal."

Among the biggest issues facing the ward, Hardiman said, is public safety, education and economic development. While he praised Beale, 46, for "finally" getting a Walmart store in the ward, he said much more needs to be done on an economic level.

"If we could get President Obama's library to the far South Side that would create unlimited opportunities economically," Hardiman said. "Gone are the 'ma and pa' businesses in the 9th Ward and we need to bring back those small, family-owned businesses."

Here's an FB page if you wish to follow his campaign for 9th Ward Alderman.

LSC elections & thoughts on the state of education

Monday and Tuesday are days for LSC Elections. Monday was LSC election for elementary schools and Tuesday are such days for the high schools.

It was my intention to post the above flyer over the weekend unfortunately it seems I kept running into a snag with regards to posting it online whether through Blogger or the FB page. Anyway if you're living at least in the Roseland Heights or West Chesterfield area you may have found this in your screendoors or mailboxes. Sharon Banks-Pincham represents the community on the LSCs for both Gillespie Elementary and Harlan Community Academy.

Hopefully you were able to be informed of the LSC elections on Monday and were able to vote. Hopefully you're able to vote on Tuesday for LSC members at your local high schools.

Speaking of education, on Monday Rich Miller of the Capitol Fax ranted about the state of education in Illinois. Many of us are concerned about the state of education in Chicago especially for the K-12 set. So he starts out with a piece comparing charter schools with the neighborhood public schools and states:

Obviously, there’s very little difference here, which will cause some to scream “Then why do we need charter schools at all?”

I make no apologies for disliking the industrial education model. I prefer choice. I think people ought to have choices.

And, like with neighborhood schools, not all charter schools are meh. Some are quite good. Sometimes, experiments fail. We shouldn’t be afraid to experiment. What’s needed is an overall improvement in all schools.

 And then more food for thought. Miller opines about CPS CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett stated aim of ensuring 100% of graduating CPS students to be college-ready or college-bound:

First of all, that’s just not true or else lots, lots more would be done to improve the schools. Secondly, this over-emphasis on taking tests (with the resultant uproar over what are likely quite meaningless results) and driving kids to attend college is philosophically wrong-headed, whether in Chicago or the suburbs or Downstate.

* Don’t get me wrong here. I do not think kids should be discouraged from attending college, but why saddle a student with tens of thousands of dollars of debt just for the sake of having a so-so degree from a so-so university?

Why not foster the development of more high schools, charter or otherwise, that focus on tech/trade careers? Do you know how much operating engineers make?

* When a system’s entire focus is “100 percent college-bound” you’re not giving students nearly enough choices. Period.
...
Teach them to be good citizens. Teach them how to comprehend language and to do math. But give them choices in how to get there.

What direction do you think education policy should go?

Shedd School on election day...

Shedd School was a polling place during the mayoral election last month. I would've taken more pictures outside but there were people standing around, prolly campaign volunteers to maintained a distance marked by some blue cones. Inside the blue cones campaign activity was prohibited.

As I walked around on that Tuesday I decided to go by Bennett School and possibly take some pictures. There were people standing around oustide of that school and I also didn't feel bold enough to take a picture.

BTW, Shedd School is located in Chicago's 6th Ward (Ald. Freddrenna Lyle who's in a run off) while Bennett School is located in Chicago's 9th Ward (Ald. Anthony Beale who prevailed over his opponents). Believe it or not Shedd and Bennett aren't that far away from each other. What separates the 6th and 9th Wards is the Calumet (Bishop Ford) Expressway. Even then both schools are a block off the expressway.

The campaign signs outside of Shedd

Signs in front of Shedd's playset

Signs on a neighboring block outside of Shedd