2019 race for 9th Ward Alderman #Ward09

Recently I procured a flyer for Paul Collins who is running for Alderman in Ward 9. He seeks to challenge Alderman Anthony Beale in 2019.

Visit his under construction website at www.friendsofpaulcollins.com and he also has a FB page Paul Collins for 9th Ward Aldermen

Early voting for #Ward09

This was sent out via on Wednesday by Ald. Anthony Beale's office with regards to early voting.You can early vote at both Palmer Park on 111th & Olive Harvey College on 103rd. Refer to flyer below!

So who could win the mayoralty in 2011?

Block Club Chi on Tuesday told us about the eleven candidates who have already declared at least before the Mayor dropped out of the 2019 race. Even told us about how much money they have and Emanuel had the most by FAR! Problem is what good are those millions if he's not running for mayor again.

Anyway the Capitol Fax takes a look at who could jump in now that Emanuel is out of the running. And thankfully no Pat Quinn - I wasn't even aware he lived in Chicago - who was our former governor from 2009 to 2015. We know it's not attorney general Lisa Madigan who will leave her office next year as she's not running for re-election and she won't run for mayor either.

6th ward Ald. Roderick Sawyer is looking at it. And remember his father was mayor after the death of Harold Washington. Who knows whether or not he'd pull the trigger.

Finally Mayor Emanuel who was not only a former Congressman, but chief of staff to President Obama before becoming Mayor had this to say about who could be the new Mayor in 2019:

Emanuel told WGN radio host Steve Cochran he doesn’t think any of the 12 announced candidates for the fifth floor office at City Hall has the skill set to do the job, while getting in plugs for some of his own work.

“No,” Emanuel said when Cochran asked him whether the next mayor is in the race. “I don’t think so. And here’s the thing: The public knows that this is a very big job, and the mayor cannot be a one-trick pony. You can’t just speak on one issue. You got to do economic development, you got to do education policy, you got to be able to get money out of Springfield and Washington. You’ve got to have an ability to actually invest in our neighborhoods, transportation, libraries, schools and park system.”

“My view is … the list is not done,” he added. “It’s going to shake out for about a month, and then the voters will make a smart decision of who can fill that office. And what I mean by that is, you’re not going to shrink the mayoralty, and there’s got to be a mayor that actually fills this job.”

So the next mayor of Chicago isn't in the race yet. Just remember in 2011, Emanuel gets in the race and automatically he was the front runner and later the victor. Unfortunately the big names I'd like to see do it aren't jumping in...

Rahm Emanuel is out....

[VIDEO] Earlier in the day he was meeting students at a CPS school before announcing at a press conference that he won't seek a third term. He is out of the 2019 race, and this is something that I didn't see coming. I can only imagine what other political insiders think.

Here are two posts from The Sixth Ward about this development.

• Capitol Fax: Mayor Emanuel won’t seek reelection
•  2019 mayor's race without Rahm Emanuel...

Is there anyone running for mayor who would be great to replace Rahm Emanuel?

I also needed to share this CapFax post from yesterday. It shows a lot of speculation as to why he wouldn't pull the trigger.

How to find out who your elected officials are

[VIDEO] It's that time of year again. 2018 is an election year and then 2019 we vote for Mayor, City Clerk, Treasurer, & the Aldermen of course. Artistmac shows you where to go to find out who represents you and were to go to find out who's running where you live.

I'll give you two links that you'll know about in the vid anyway.

• Chicago Board of Elections
• Ballotpedia

Capitol Fax: Emil Jones explodes at Pritzker, “safe blacks”; Bishop Trotter disinvites; Staffer quits

In this campaign with the wealthy JB Pritzker as a front runner seeking to be the Democrat nominee for Governor against the also wealth incumbent Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner some long ago wiretaps have been heard from in campaign ads. This time however another wiretap from what I can tell never heard in a campaign commercial so far has caused a different more racial controversy.

On Tuesday at the CapFax the comments made in this wiretap where JB Pritzker calls then Gov. Rod Blagojevich - shortly before his arrest by the FBI on corruption charges that would see him removed from the office of governor. Pritzker & Blagojevich discusses who to appoint to Obama's US Senate seat & yes this probably wasn't long after Barack Obama has been elected President of the United States. The comments Pritzker made offends one of Obama's mentors former state Senate President Emil Jones Jr.

As you'll see when you click the tweet below, Jones isn't happy - it's also noted that Jones in fact supports another wealthy candidate Chris Kennedy for governor. I could attribute this to hurt feelings and even if it was only that Jones definitely plays the race card.

Fallout: Emil Jones explodes at Pritzker, “safe blacks”; Bishop Trotter disinvites; Rally canceled; Staffer quits https://t.co/SnhSX8FIyV

— Rich Miller (@capitolfax) February 7, 2018

Of course there is more to this. The chairman of the city council Black caucus Ald. Roderick Sawyer (6th Ward) offers a statement:

Finally let's get to this ABC 7 story further discussing this. At about 2:15 into this video Ald. Anthony Beale (9th ward) he absolutely takes umbrage to Pritzker's statements with regards to the Black community.

Allow me to pull this quote:

"This is a slap in our face, taking our community for granted, playing our community against each other, this is not the kind of leadership we need at this time," said 9th Ward Alderman Anthony Beale.

Now I wonder who Beale supports in the Democrat primary for Governor.

"Strategic gentrication"

Before writing about the story below, what I hope to post about later may be semi-related to this. The new distribution center for Whole Foods is now open for business and what will be posted later are ig posts & tweets related to this significant event. I believe this to be a great boost to the south side Pullman neighborhood where the center will be located.

That said, the post to be continued below is about a charge made last week by a gubernatorial candidate of "strategic gentrification". Of which to be fair there are those who are alleging this with the Whole Foods store that is currently open in Englewood at 63rd Street & Halsted. That said the question could be asked is Whole Foods Market a catalyst for change in a depressed neighborhood offering jobs and better food for an area or is it just part of a strategy of gentrification. You be the judge after you listen to Democrat gubernatorial candidate Christ Kennedy below - he seeks to unseat Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner who is seeking re-election

[VIDEO] The comments of Chris Kennedy - who's running in this year's Democratic primary for Governor and a nephew of the 35th President John F. Kennedy - made some comments that got people talking last week. He thinks that there is "stragetic gentrification" going on in Black communities and his evidence are closed schools and social services facilities. Needless to say as he accused Mayor Emanuel of knowing about this the mayor bristled under the suggestion.

Via Tribune:

Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Friday called Democratic governor candidate Chris Kennedy’s claim that the mayor is making Chicago “whiter” and wealthier a “hallucinatory” insult.

Emanuel said he’s “looking forward to ideas, not insults” in his first public comments since Kennedy on Wednesday accused him of leading a "strategic gentrification plan” forcing African-American residents out of the city.

“It is easy to cast blame and point fingers,” the mayor said. “Where are the ideas? Where are the solutions, real solutions to real challenges that make those challenges opportunities?”

Emanuel also quoted a Chicago Tribune editorial that was critical of Kennedy’s comments. “As the Chicago Tribune referred to it today as imaginary, hallucinatory,” he said. “I hope nobody ever describes any of my ideas that way.”
...
Emanuel on Friday said he was troubled by the city’s black population decline and said the factors behind the drop can’t be explained in brief television news segments. “Of course it troubles me, which is why we’re making an investment in the neighborhoods across the city of Chicago. That’s a longer discussion, that’s going to take longer than standing here and get snipped and cut up later when it gets produced,” he said.

Support among African-American Chicagoans remains a potential political weakness for Emanuel as he gears up for a 2019 re-election run.

Over at Capitol Fax an excerpt of a Kennedy press release:

Statement from Rebecca Evans, spokeswoman for Chris Kennedy:

Unlike JB Pritzker, who continues to remain silent to protect the political establishment, Chris Kennedy has the political courage to speak truth to power. He will stand up to anyone regardless of party, position or influence if it means standing up for justice, equality and opportunity for everyone in Illinois.

Chris Kennedy isn’t hiding behind $17 million worth of scripted TV ads. He will use his voice to stand up for what is right even if it’s calling out inconvenient truths that are hurting people of color in Chicago.

He has said from the start of this campaign that he wants to dismantle the structural inequities that exist in our government. He has put forward real solutions and plans on how we can do it. We must allow an elected school board, stop closing public schools, put an end to the discriminatory property tax racket, and fully address the civil rights violations described in the Department of Justice’s report on the Chicago Police Department.

Ah so two Democrats are at odds here. Rahm Emanuel isn't too thrilled with Kennedy's comments and it seems the campaign is going along with it.

#Aldertrack: Re-elect Anthony Beale for 9th Ward Alderman in 2015

[VIDEO] I missed this almost four minute video - produced by Urban Broadcast Media - from last year in the midst of last year's city elections. Alderman Anthony Beale made his case for another term as 9th Ward Alderman.

The Alderman paints a picture of a deserted area when he was first elected in 1999 to a much more thriving ward which includes a Walmart and a Methods plant at the Pullman Park Development. In addition to improvements to Gwendolyn Brooks College Prep High School. If he runs again in 2019 he can also add a Whole Foods Market distribution center in the Pullman National Monument community.

Sometimes, I wish he had more of a social media presence or at least someone around him that has a mind for this. He has an FB page that's often updated, he also has a twitter that he could use, and I would also dare say this video is posted to his YouTube account that could be utilized further. That is he could post a few more videos on YouTube although he needs not have to speak to the camera.

I recognize politics is as much a performance as anything. It would be cool if we saw someone from his office record his comments regarding the Whole Foods distribution center. The only way I found out he said anything is not through our local mainstream media, but through a neighborhood paper.

All the same, I can beg the question as to how effective this video was to re-elect Anthony Beale. How did this video get shared did the mainstream media see it and share it? Did it get much play in social media? Better yet did Aldertrack share it in the lead-up to the 2015 elections last year?

#alvarezisgone 2016 primary elections

via @toy4dst ig

Crossposted from The Sixth Ward

Not that I had been all over this, but aside from Donald Trump winning this state in his bid for the Republican nomination for President - the same with Hillary Clinton, btw. Also with longtime Congressman Bobby Rush beating his challenger Ald. Howard Brookins tonight. We have this.

I consider her response to a question about guns when Anita Alvarez first ran for Cook County State's Attorney. Her performance on 60 Minutes discussing Chicago being the false confession capital. And then the protests following the release of a video of a fatal confrontation with Laquan McDonald.

I share the pic above not only here but to our ig page just to share that someone is happy about Tuesday night's victory for the new Democratic nominee for State's Attorney Kim Foxx.

BTW, I have wondered people in other parts of the country and as it turns out suburban Cook County get those "I voted" stickers. Why don't we? DNA Info answers and unfortunately it took a few people to ruin it for everyone else as it turns out. :(

If you live in Chicago's 9th ward...

You may have received these palm cards from the Cook County Democratic Party in the mailbox which you are able to bring with you into the voting booth next Tuesday. One has a general listing for candidates the other one lists the judges you will vote for next week.

Introducing an after the fact 2015 elections page....

It was fairly recent that the Shedd School blog got the tag "a 'ninth ward' blog". At some point I decided that it was time to share the results of the recent 2015 elections with a page of its own. It's something that was finally done by lifting some of the info from a similar page over at sixthward.us.

The 2012 ward remap moved the 9th ward further north across the Bishop Ford (aka Calumet) Expressway to as far north as 87th Street. That means the former Shedd School building is now in the 9th when before the 2015 elections at least it was previously part of the 6th ward.

Things change especially political maps so now the emphasis of this blog has changed. The changes to be sure were gradual as I started to follow the campaign for 9th Ward Alderman at the end of last year. It seems there are always something to talking about in the 9th ward.

My hope is this blog - which I learned had gotten shared in an email blast of one of the community organizations - could be the start of others talking about the direction of this far south side community. It is not my goal to be anti-anyone, but hopefully we can start a true discussion of the direction this community should go.

One way to start it at least start talking politics and although the 2015 municipal election is over now is the time to start talking about 2019 and then the next remap. We may still talk about education stuff or even history of Bennett-Shedd schools as these are the most important institutions of the north end of the 9th ward. For right now, it's also about the direction of these communities.

BTW, I forgot about the election results post from the day after the February 24th elections. The numbers reflected there isn't much different from the final results from the 2015 elections page.

Those red light cameras...

Before the end of last month's municipal elections we haven't devoted much coverage to the mayoral candidates. In a field of four voters narrowed the race down to Mayor Emanuel and Cook County Commissioner Chuy Garcia.

I show this story from our local ABC affiliate regarding the mayor's decision to remove fifty of the city's red light cameras. Of course there are many who aren't feeling Rahm Emanuel who says he's just doing this because he's got a runoff next month and is looking for an edge.

I'll let you decide that and if this might cause you to swing your vote to Emanuel. I do recognize that somehow these redlight cameras have become one of the sore issues in this campaign.

Look no further than this mailer by Harold Ward when he ran for Alderman of the 9th ward.

Mayor Emanuel on Chicago Tonight

[VIDEO] I posted this to Sixth Ward last Saturday. On the February 26, 2015 edition of Chicago Tonight Mayor Rahm Emanuel talks about the run-off and other issues facing the city. Believe it or not since the start of non-partisan mayoral elections in Chicago in 1999 this is the first mayoral runoff.

On February 24, 2015 Cook County Commissioner Chuy Garcia was able to draw a runoff against Emanuel. Eventually I would like to do more posts on Mr. Garcia as I failed to do so during the course of the campaign.

Election for 9th ward alderman...

For the 9th Ward the 2015 election is in the books Ald. Anthony Beale wins another term. Here were the results as of last night from ABC 7 Chicago. Hopefully I will have results from different sources available in the future as well. May even set up a page similar to what exists at The Sixth Ward as something of an archive which includes the election results.

Ted Williams III interviewed on #Aldertrack

[VIDEO] So if I read the e-mail correctly, this is the last of the Aldertrack interviews with candidates for Alderman in 2015. And current series ended with Ted Williams running in the 9th ward. He had previously interviewed Michael LaFargue & Noonie Ward previously in the 9th. Unfortunately we never had a chance to see Foucher interview the incumbent Anthony Beale.

Well I hope you have watched those interviews and will make an informed choice in tomorrow's election. Anything said by Professor Williams would sway your vote for alderman?

9th ward mailers #Aldertrack

As we head into the final weekend of the 2015 municipal elections I would like to share with you two more mailers from Ald. Beale and opponent Ted Williams.
The first mailer is from Ald. Beale as he highlights his accomplishments which includes the recently announced Pullman National Park which has been considered political as President Obama presided over a recent ceremony at Brooks College Prep. Certainly this was a move to bolster the re-election of his former chief-of-staff Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

Also there's a mailer by Ted Williams that shows not oonly his background but also what he's dedicated to if he were elected Alderman of the 9th Ward.

Anything said by either candidate that would sway your vote on Tuesday?

LaFargue mailer #Aldertrack

This mailer for 9th ward alderman challenger Michael LaFargue was e-mailed to me recently. These flyers should be going out this week. Anything said here sway your vote?

BTW, I've been wondering when we'd start seeing pieces from him.

9th ward Alderman candidates forum

[VIDEO] I haven't been able to make a candidate's forum at all this year but at least CAN-TV provides footage for those around the city. You can join Aldertrack's e-mail list to see most of them.

All the same you can watch an hour of debate between candidate's Chicago's 9th ward from this past Saturday at Simeon High School. Was anything said by any candidate that could sway your vote?

Ald. Beale mailer part 4 #Aldertrack

This recent mailer by Ald. Anthony Beale highlighting his support for the reform of the red light camera program. He had been getting hit by his opponent Harold "Noonie" Ward for the red light camera tickets.

Ald. Beale mailer part 3 #Aldertrack

Slightly different mailer for Ald. Anthony Beale that the other two already posted. He highlights his support for various projects in the 9th ward such as the reconstruction of the CTA 95th terminal, city colleges' logistics hub, the Walmart and shopping center in Pullman, Method factory, and more affordable housing. Of course he highlights bringing to his ward new jobs with higher wages and fighting to raise the minimum wage.

Anything said in the flyer below sway your vote?