43rd Ward Democrats - Michele Smith Committeeman

Women in Politics - Chicago Style - what a great meeting!!

2011-11-10T15:14:00.000-08:00

We had a great turnout at the 43rd Ward Democrats "Women in Politics - Chicago Style" forum on Tuesday at the Lincoln Park Library - and an even better conversation. Our amazing guests (Anita Alvarez, Cook County State's Attorney; Kari Steele, candidate for commissioner of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District; Pat Reynes, Majority Council Director at EMILY's List; and Alyx Pattison, attorney at Katten Muchin Rosenmann LLP, representing Illinois Institute for Women in Leadership) each have very different experiences and perspectives, and shared their motivation to get involved, their challenges, their rewards, and their views on what women bring to the political process. We talked about lessons learned, and lessons to be learned - and what these current and future leaders are doing to make women's voices and impact more powerful in the future.

A good amount of the discussion from the panelists and the comments from the audience focused on money - the need to raise so much of it in order to compete, and the impact that has on government. A lot of us are really concerned about the impact of the recent Supreme Court decision that in effect makes huge corporations equal to everyday people, and how that's opened up a flood of money backing very non-progressive causes and candidates. It's wonderful to see our senior senator from Illinois fight back on this issue - click here to learn about Dick Durbin's proposed constitutional amendment.

Find out about the wonderful work EMILY's List and Illinois Women's Institute for Leadership are doing at their websites: EMILY and IWIL.

Thanks to our panelists and constituents who made this such a great event!

Weighted Vote for Slating in the 8th Judicial Sub-Circuit

2011-10-16T15:26:00.000-07:00

CHAIR: WARD 42- JOHN CORRIGAN - 9,229 votes, 18.37%
VICE-CHAIR: WARD 43- MICHELE SMITH - 7,650, 15.22%

WARD 2 – ROBERT FIORETTI - 4,227 votes, 8.41%
WARD 3- PAT DOWELL - 681 votes, 1.36%
WARD 11- JOHN DALEY - 215 votes, 0.43%
WARD 25- DANIEL SOLIS - 671 votes, 1.34%
WARD 27- JESSE WHITE - 1,318 votes, 2.62%
WARD 32- JOHN FRITCHEY - 2,464 votes, 4.90%
WARD 40- PAT O’CONNOR - 2,103 votes, 4.18%
WARD 44- TOM TUNNEY - 6,841 votes, 13.61%
WARD 46- TOM SHARPE - 7,208 votes, 14.34%
WARD 47- EUGENE SCHULTER - 924 votes, 1.84%
WARD 48- CAROL RONEN - 6,701 votes, 13.34%
WARD 49- DAVID FAGUS - 19 votes, 0.04%

TOTAL 50,251 votes, 100.00%

Meeting Notice for the 8th Jucicial Sub-Circuit Selection Committee

2011-10-10T09:54:00.000-07:00

Meeting Notice for the 8th Judicial

Sub-Circuit Selection Committee

of the Cook County Democratic Party

Sunday, October 23, 2011

3:00 p.m.

Ann Sather’s Restaurant

909 West Belmont Ave, Chicago

*************************************************************************************

All Judicial candidates seeking to be endorsed by the Democratic Party in the 8th Judicial Sub-Circuit should provide a resume, statement of candidacy and bar ratings to Committeeman John Corrigan no later than 5 p.m. on Wednesday, October 19, 2011. The documents should be transmitted in one or more of the following ways:

By email to 8thsubcircuit@gmail.com

By Fax to 866-260-0420; or

By Hand Delivery or Mail to John Corrigan,

42nd Ward Democratic Committeeman,

20 South Clark Street, Suite 2900, Chicago, Illinois 60603.

***********************************************************************************

Candidates should plan on addressing the 8th Sub-Circuit Judicial Selection Committee on October 23rd for 5 minutes or less.

The meeting is open to the public. If you have any questions, please contact John Corrigan at 312-573-0042.

43rd Ward Friends and Neighbors - A Fundraiser for Michele Smith

2011-10-10T09:50:00.000-07:00

Honorary Host Committee

Hon. Mike Quigley Hon. Michael Alvarez Hon. Charles Bernardini

Hon. Sara Feigenholtz Hon. Debra Shore Hon. Ann Williams

and 43rd Ward Friends and Neighbors

invite you to a fundraiser for

Michele Smith

as she launches her reelection campaign for 43rd Ward

Democratic Committeeman

John Barleycorn

658 West Belden Avenue, Chicago, IL

Thursday, October 27, 6 to 9 p.m.

Dinner buffet and open bar

$5000 Sponsor $1000 Host $250 Supporter $100 Friend

Individual $35 ($40 at the door)

$20 Student ($25 at the door, must present student ID at check-in)

Click here to RSVP and order tickets on line. Or, pay by check (payable to Michele Smith for Committeeman) - mail the check to:

2527 N. Lincoln Avenue, Chicago, IL, 60614.

You may pay by check or credit card at the door.

Contact Mary@ChiDemsWard43.org to RSVP, or call 773-661-2133

Paid for by Michele Smith for Committeeman. A copy of our report filed with the State Board of Elections is (or will be) available on the Board's official website, www.elections.il.gov, or for purchase from the State Board of Elections, Springfield, Illinois

Congressman Mike Quigley is asking for a donation of up to $2,500 per election. Congressman Mike Quigley is not asking for funds from corporations, labor organizations, or other federally prohibited sources.

Petition Party Breakfast

2011-10-10T08:19:00.000-07:00

Petition Breakfast Party

Join Us Saturday, October 1

Dear Friend,
The 43rd Ward Dems are hosting a petition breakfast party Saturday, October 1, 10:30 a.m., at the 43rd Ward Democratic Party office at 2527 N. Lincoln.
Join us for sweets, bagels and cream cheese, orange juice and coffee before we hit the streets.

After breakfast we'll collect petition signatures for our favorite Democratic candidates, including Mike Quigley (Congress), John Cullerton (State Senate), Ann Williams and Sara Feigenholtz (State House), and Michele Smith (43rd Ward Committeeman).

We'll re-group back at the office at 2:00 p.m. for snacks, as our thanks for helping out in this important process.

We will have a notary on site to certify the petitions you collect.

Meet Your State Representatives

2011-10-10T08:16:00.000-07:00

Meet Your State Representatives:

What's Going On In Springfield?

Monday, September 26

6:00 - 8:00 p.m.

St. Vincent de Paul Center

2145 N. Halsted

Chicago, IL 60614

You are invited to an evening of discussion with the state legislators who serve the 43rd Ward and the north side of Chicago:

Senate President John Cullerton (6th District)

Senator Annazette Collins (5th District)

Representative Arthur Turner (9th District)

Representative Derrick Smith (10th District)

Representative Ann Williams (11th District)

Representative Sara Feigenholtz (12th District)

How about that State budget? Casinos? Social Services? State Taxes? Roads?

Now's your chance to hear from YOUR state legislator and get your questions answered .

Note: Parking is FREE at the St. Vincent de Paul Center.

Enter on Webster.

Questions and RSVP: 773-661-2133, or MKKoczorowski@aol.com

State Rep Sara Feigenholtz Hosts a Town Hall Meeting on July 5th

2011-07-02T07:57:00.000-07:00

State Representative Sara Feigenholtz
Town Hall Meeting

Tuesday, July 5
6:30 PM
Center on Halsted
Hoover-Leppen Theater
3656 N. Halsted

Join State Representative Sara Feigenholtz for updates on legislation and the FY12 state budget. Share your thoughts on the issues that affect you and Rep. Feigenholtz will use your input to more effectively represent the North Side's needs and concerns.

Questions and RSVP: 773.296.4141 or tiffany@staterepsara.com

VOTE!

2011-04-02T18:20:00.000-07:00

Election Day is April 5th

Polls Open at 6 AM

Please Vote!

Lincoln Park Hospital Public Meeting - Tuesday, November 30th!

2010-11-28T08:05:00.000-08:00

Ald. Daley and the City of Chicago Department of Zoning and Land Use Planning are hosting a community meeting for the public to review and comment on the latest proposal for the redevelopment of the Lincoln Park Hospital property.

Tuesday, November 30th
7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Lincoln Park High School
2001 N. Orchard
(North end of building - entrances closest to Oz Park)

In my last Newsletter, I detailed the proposed plan, how it has changed and the community view that commercial use is not appropriate at this location.

I am particularly concerned about retail development in the ward. If we cannot fill existing vacancies, I feel it is reasonable and prudent to at least question the creation of more retail space.

I believe the community process has been very effective in this instance, as is clear from the fact that the developers have come up with an amended plan based upon public input.

The neighbors most directly affected by this development, many of whom I heard from since our last newsletter, are overwhelmingly opposed to commercial development at this location. You can read more about the public response to this latest plan in the most recent Skyline newspaper.

Of the neighbors who have contacted me directly, here are some examples of their responses:
"Any commercial use at this site would add significantly to congestion and safety concerns"
"No, no, no to the large grocery store"
"We are congested enough"
"As it stands...this plan will do permanent damage to our beloved area"
"This planned development is inconsistent with the decades-old neighborhood planning that has made Lincoln Park a nationally celebrated neighborhood"
"I am not in favor of any plan that would include a large grocery or retail store at Lincoln and Webster"
"No commercial on Webster"

The original plan, still the only plan on file with the City, is based on a B3-2 zoning and would allow for much more commercial development - up to 75,000 square feet of commercial space.

Please come out and join with your neighbors on Tuesday, November 30th at Lincoln Park High School. Let your voices be heard.

Detailed Analysis of Revised Proposal for Lincoln Park Hospital

2010-11-10T09:22:00.000-08:00

To repeat some background from a previous newsletter , the Lincoln Park Hospital site contains 42 city lots and, based on the underlying residential zoning for the surrounding area, would support up to 330 units of housing – a mix of single family homes, townhomes, and 3 and 4 story apartments.

The revised proposal, based on plans posted on the Lincoln Central Association site , would contain:

• 120 residential units in a twelve story building
• 40 units in a 55’ high building on Grant
• A 20,000 square foot store (more on this later), and parking garage with 255 spaces
• Over 95,000 square feet of medical and professional office space – leaving this leaves the building on Geneva Terrace as office space, instead of the originally-proposed senior housing.

The Commercial Portion

The community has been strongly against creating a retail corridor on Webster. In response, the developer has proposed that just one store would be built in the existing parking garage: a 20,000 square foot grocery store.

The new Apple Store on North Avenue is 6,500 square feet. The proposed store is more than three times that size. Will this really be a “walkable” type of store, when the principle amenity of the site is 255 parking spaces? Common sense tells us that this is a “destination” type of grocery store, bringing not only residents, but many others who will drive to the store.

We know that there are 750,000 square feet of vacant retail in our area already. Should we take this occasion to create a new retail center in a different area, surrounded by townhouses and an historic district? Further, take a look at this drawing from the developer’s presentation. It shows , to scale, the size of the delivery trucks that will be coming to Webster Ave. The backing up of these trucks alone will stop traffic on Webster. And the new customers coming to the stores and offices will further congest this residential street.

The plan adds a truck loading docks on Webster just to the west of the main garage door. Plus, there is a new garage door on the north side at the very east end of the tower building. All of these moves are contrary to the prior agreements with neighbors (the idea previously was one garage door as far west as possible to minimize noise and congestion in the neighboring residential area). And while we always have to be careful pushing strollers, this does create a truck and car intensive use just east of Oz Park.

Ultimately, more and different retail is possible on the site. According to the draft ordinance, the “underlying zoning” for the site would be “B2-3.” B2 zoning permits the following uses:

Elderly housing
Restaurants
Banks
Food and Beverage Retail sales, with liquor sales as an accessory use
Offices
Medical
Hair Salons, Nail Salons
Dry Cleaners
General Retail Sales – groceries, pharmacies, clothing, etc.
Children’s Activities Facility

The proposal, as drafted, does not prohibit retail on Grant or on the north side of Webster, and our zoning code makes no differentiation among the uses listed above.

There are no size limitations on any single business in this kind of district up to 25,000 square feet. So, although the proposed plan limits the store in the parking garage to a single 20,000 square foot store, the “underlying zoning” would permit stores, and more than one store, in the buildings across the street.

The Overall Density of the Site

Just to give you an idea of the scale of this development in contrast to the immediate neighborhood, the proposal contemplates up to 395,487 total square feet of development, almost one third more than if the site was entirely residential. And it packs 170 new houses on a block that today contains fewer than 10 houses.

What does the “-3” in “B2-3” mean? The “-3” stands for limits on density, height and bulk.
In a “-3” area, all development is measured the Floor Area Ratio (FAR), which is 3. That means that the total square footage of all development is three times the lot size. That means that the total square foot of the retail, residential, office and parking on the site is allowed to be 3 X 131,829 sq. ft = 395,487 total square feet of development. This is huge and is the largest FAR allowed.

Parking rules for “-3” zoning is: “None for first 10,000 square feet then 2.5 spaces per 1,000 square feet.” That means for a 20,000 square foot store, there would only have to be 25 parking spaces. This proposal has over 225 spaces, which initially sounds ample. However, this is a double edged sword. It means that the development could support much more retail and be completely legal under the code.

What About the Future?

Under our city’s zoning code, if a planned development is initially approved, no further approvals are needed to change the planned development if “the development involves only reuse of an existing building and the building’s height is not being increased.” Therefore, even if the current developer claims that the development will have “only” one store, there is nothing that the community could do in the future should an additional store or stores be installed on the site. This is all the more apparent because the development indeed contains enough parking under our city code for more than one 20,000 square foot store.

But, fundamentally, the issue is: should there be retail and office space on this site? The area has transitioned to residential uses over the decades, and the proposed use of Webster would add multiple loading and access drives (over 150 linear feet of curb), which is not compatible with low density residential use. At the same time, we know that the large Children’s Memorial site, on Lincoln Avenue, a commercial street, will be developed soon.

Our alderman, Vi Daley, has said, to date, that commercial use here is not appropriate. What do you think? Let me know.

The Residential Portion

The developer’s plans show a twelve story building, under the claim that this would be no higher than the current building. The twelve stories are achieved by adding two floors to the building to match the height of the current utility tower on the hospital. The mechanical penthouse is not currently visible from the street, as would be these 2 additional floors. Instead, the developer adds his own mechanical penthouse, increasing the height even further.

The Height of the Building

Under the city’s zoning code, any building over 110’ is considered a “tall” (hi-rise) building. This building would be 152’ 5” high, before mechanicals, backing immediately over historic homes on the same blocks. In addition, the bulk of the buildings would be expanded substantially from their current configuration.

In contrast, in a B2 district, which the developers state would be the “underlying zoning,” the maximum height for residential space over commercial space is 65 feet, which better reflects the character of the surrounding area. These contradictions do make it seem like the developer is trying to have it all.

The Number of Units

While the developer’s fact sheet only shows 160 units, the zoning they seek would allow them to build up to 330 units. 1

Summary

It seems as though this development is a large scale, mixed use development, in sharp contrast to the low rise residential that entirely surrounds it – a two story townhouse development to the south, and 3 and 4 store houses to the north. Do you think it is appropriate here?

1 Although the fact sheets states that the number of proposed residential units is 160, the number of residential units allowed is based on the “minimum lot area” per unit, which is 400 square feet per unit for “-3” zoning. To figure out the number of units, you take the total area of the development (131,829 sq. ft.) and divide by 400 sq. ft. = 330 units. In other words, even under the “revised” proposal, the developer could build 330 units – perhaps convert the office building on Geneva Terrace to housing later? This would be a major change to the development and would seem to require full planned development procedures.

Election Day Tuesday November 2nd!

2010-10-29T06:42:00.000-07:00

Your Vote Really Counts on Tuesday

Now, more than ever, it is important to make our voices heard and speak out to protect our rights! To ensure that, 43rd Ward Democrats have endorsed Pat Quinn for Governor and Alexi Giannoulias for Senate along with other progressive candidates. (See our Endorsements). Governor Quinn has a long history of standing up for a Woman's Right to Privacy and Choice without restriction. We also need to protect our Senate and House Majorities.

Toni Preckwinkle, for County Board President, has always distinguished herself as a progressive leader and Forrest Claypool, for County Assessor, stands as a voice for reform in his race.

The consequences of sitting this election out are dire. The Republican slate is filled with politicians who are out of touch with our times. Bill Brady disrespects women and their abilities. Not only does he oppose a Woman's Right to Choose, even in cases of rape and incest, but Brady has voted against equal pay for equal work and is in favor of lowering the minimum wage. On the local front, as well as the national, we simply cannot afford inaction.

Volunteer with 43rd Ward Dems on Election Day

Have you got any time to spare on Election Day, November 2nd? A couple of hours will help. Can you drive folks to the Polling Place? Answer phones? Help deliver lunches to our Election Judges?

The polls are open from 6:00 am until 7:00 pm. Please contact us at michele43rd@gmail.com if you're available any time during the day.

Rally with
President Obama!

Midway Plaisance Park
1130 Midway Plaisance North
Chicago, IL 60637

Saturday, October 30th
Doors open: 4:30 p.m.

The event is free and open to the public. Tickets are not required. Space is available on a first-come, first-served basis.

For security reasons, please avoid bringing bags to the rally if at all possible -- you should expect airport-like security. No signs, banners, or laptops are permitted.

Rally for Choice!

2010-10-22T12:21:00.000-07:00

Rally for Pat Quinn
Stop Bill Brady and Protect Our Rights!

Co- Hosts:
43rd Ward Democrats
Personal PAC

Monday, October 25th
6:00 pm
2527 N. Lincoln Avenue

Featured Speaker:
Terry Cosgrove - President and CEO
Personal PAC

Please RSVP at:
rallyforquinn@gmail.com

43rd Ward Democrats endorsed Pat Quinn for Governor. Now, more than ever, we must put our feet to the street and back our endorsed candidate. Pat Quinn has a long history of advocating for women. Pat supports a Woman's Right to Privacy and Choice without restriction. Pat stands firmly against salary discrimination based on gender and is committed to protecting victims of domestic violence.

Bill Brady is opposed to a Woman's Right To Choose and believes that even women who are the victims of rape and incest should be denied their reproductive rights. He has repeatedly voted against insurance coverage for pap smears and mammograms. Bill Brady will put the women of Illinois at serious risk. He even supports Lowering the Minimum Wage, impacting millions of working women.

There's Too Much at Stake!

Become an Election Judge!

2010-09-20T09:58:00.000-07:00

The 43rd Ward needs more election judges for the November 2nd Election. There is no better way to learn about the political process and it is a paid position. Please contact us at michele43rd@gmail.com if you're interested in applying or call us at 773-661-2133.

Shop the Steeple!
St. Paul's Rummage Sale
First Ever St. Paul's Rummage Sale
This Saturday, September 18th
8:00 am - 2:00 pm
2335 N. Orchard St.
To find out more, to donate items or to get directions go to:
www.stpaulsrummage.com

They're making rummage joyful at St. Paul's.

43rd Ward Democrats

43rd Ward Democrats will remain fully operational but will no longer be operating out of 2527 N.Lincoln Avenue. You will still regularly get our Newsletter and we will keep you informed on all the issues, especially on all the news you need to make informed decisions in the upcoming November election.

You can look forward to getting information about the judges running for retention who will appear on the November ballot, a Women Against Brady rally in October, precinct work and leafletting for our endorsed candidates and numerous opportunities to volunteer for 43rd Ward Democrats. We will be calling upon you to help out on Election day - Tuesday, November 2nd!

Continue to contact us at 773-661-2133 and we will continue to work for progressive, fiscally responsible candidates. 43rd Ward Democrats, and its membership, remains alive and well!

43rd Ward Democrats Endorse Claypool!

2010-09-02T08:07:00.000-07:00

I have been approached by many members of the community, and many of the voting members of 43rd Ward Democrats, in regards to what should be done about Joe Berrios in his race to be County Assessor. As you will recall, 43rd Ward Democrats did not endorse him in the Primary. We endorsed Ray Figueroa, a man with highly respected progressive credentials.

The alternative would be for 43rd Ward Democrats to endorse someone with a proven record of reform, someone in line with our mission of electing progressive candidates to office. That person is Forrest Claypool and he is running as an Independent.

I called upon the Voting Members of 43rd Ward Democrats to step outside party boundaries and consider an endorsement of Forrest Claypool. I felt that by doing so we actually uphold what is best in our party and send a clear message that "business as usual politics" are not acceptable to us. Nor should they be acceptable to the Democratic Party we want to support and and help shape.

Over the past week Voting Members have cast their ballots - Yes or No - to endorse Forrest Claypool for County Assessor. The final tally of votes on Monday, August 30th resulted in an overwhelming majority vote for endorsement of Forrest Claypool for Cook County Assessor. We are proud to support him.

The Cook County Assessor's office determines your property taxes. We need the Assessor to be a person of the highest integrity, who will eliminate the conflicts of interest which so plague our local government. We hope you learn more about this important race, and join with the 43rd Ward Democrats in electing Forrest and the Democratic candidates who are running in November.

Look What We've Accomplished!

2010-09-02T08:03:00.000-07:00

Since I was elected Democratic Committeeman of the 43rd Ward in February 2008, I have accomplished many things beyond the scope of a Committeeman’s designated responsibility to run elections. I have kept to my personal mission of educating and informing the voters of the 43rd Ward and increasing voter turnout to a greater extent than has ever been done in the past . We have introduced candidates for office, as well as elected officials, directly to the voters more than any other ward organization, and kept you informed about matters of local and national importance.

In 2010:
• I’m keeping you informed about important developments in the Lincoln Park Hospital development controversy and building public support to keep future development residential
• Our Candidate Fair introduced voters to more than 55 Candidates running for local and statewide offices in the February Primary.
• Our 43rd Ward Democrats endorsed progressive independent candidates for the February Primary. We did thorough research to help you elect the most qualified judges and other candidates in races that receive little press coverage so you could exercise an informed vote.
• On Election Day, we increased voter turnout by 1600 more people than in the late mid-term election in 2006, a 26% increase.
• Our comprehensive research showed how judges are actually selected in Cook County. I took you behind the scenes of the Democratic Party and told you how slating works.

In 2009:
• Over 300 people (and much of the city’s media) covered our County Board President Candidates Forum, moderated by Andy Shaw, former network political reporter and head of the Better Government Association.
• We introduced Candidates for Illinois State Treasurer, State Comptroller and County Metropolitan Water Reclamation District to the voters at our Meet the Candidates Event.
• The 43rd Ward Democrats’ Candidates Forum in the 5th Congressional District Special Election attracted a crowd of more than 700 people.
• Our Hear from Your Elected Officials event, featuring Congressmen Danny Davis and Mike Quigley and State Representatives Sara Feigenholtz and John Fritchey, allowed constituents to get direct answers from their representatives.
• I cast the deciding vote in the Democratic Party slating session to ensure that the 5th Congressional District Special Election race would be an open primary, leaving the decision to the voters of the district instead of party bosses.
• I took independent stands in Democratic Party matters involving slating.
• Our community meetings introduced 43rd ward voters to newly elected Congressman Mike Quigley and newly appointed County Commissioner Bridget Gainer.
• Over 200 people attended our very successful Second Annual Unity Fundraiser.
• Our Petitioning Event gave volunteer support to 18 local and statewide races and put volunteers in direct contact with candidates and campaigns.
• We hosted successful phone banks to support health care reform.

In 2008:
• I hosted the 43rd Ward Democrats First Meeting where Anita Alvarez, Democratic Candidate for State’s Attorney, was introduced to voters.
• Voter Registration - We registered more than 1,000 new 43rd Ward voters.
• Judge Recruitment – We filled more than 150 Democratic Election Judge slots with a record number of 43rd Ward residents as judges.
• First Annual Unity Fundraiser - The evening was a tremendous success and brought together elected officials and residents from all over the ward.
• You went with me to the Democratic Convention in Denver for an on-the-ground look.
• Our packed Rally for Obama generated 100 students and longtime residents to volunteer to make phone calls, go door-to-door and go to Michigan and Wisconsin to help elect Barack Obama.
• New Ward Office – opened at 2527 N. Lincoln Avenue.
• Our First Election Day – we increased the number of 43rd Ward residents serving as election judges by 100% and a huge number 43rd ward volunteers helped make the day run smoothly.

I Got My Share...

2010-08-31T10:48:00.000-07:00

... of vegetables, that is. I've been a farmers market shopper as long as they've been in the neighborhood. I've committed myself to healthier cooking and eating and recently learned about Community Supported Agriculture "shares."

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) directly links consumers and farmers. Members make an up-front payment at the beginning of the growing season that contributes to the farm's operating budget. In return, members receive a weekly share of the farm's produce. Sounded like a great way to get me to eat more vegetables and try some new things.

I got my share from Growing Home which is a farm with a unique mission: providing job training for homeless and low-income people in Chicago through organic agriculture. Plus, its office is in the 43rd Ward, right on Clark Street.

Growing Home operates three farm sites, a ten acre farm in Marseilles (Illinois), plots at 58th and Ashland and 51st and Laflin on the South Side. All are certified organic.

I signed on in late May for a full summer CSA "share," and you can see from the photo what beautiful produce I've been getting. I simply pick it up each week from the Green City Market.

Most of the farmers at the Green City Market offer CSAs. Click here to find a list the farmers who offer CSAs in the Chicago Area, just look for "GC" for farms that deliver at the Green City Market.

Cool Fun for a Hot Summer Weekend!

2010-08-31T10:38:00.000-07:00

Lincoln Park Arts & Music Festival

Saturday, July 31st and Sunday, August 1st
Saturday - Noon to 10 pm
Sunday - Noon to 9 pm
On Racine between Fullerton and Webster
A gate donation of $7 goes to benefit the
Lincoln Park Chamber of Commerce

Food, Music and Fun in the sun!

Second Annual Chicago Luxury Ice Cream Festival

Friday & Saturday, July 30 & 31
7:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum
2430 N. Cannon Drive

25 Micro-Creameries, Chefs, Contests and More!

$25 - to purchase tickets go to:
www.chicagoicecreamfestival.com

"We're not referring to your garden-variety, frozen dessert concoctions. We're talking about decadent masterpieces bursting with flavor, dreamed up by some of Chicago's most exciting pastry chefs."

Movies In the Park

City Slickers
Saturday, July 31st
7:30 pm - 10:30 pm

The Oz Park Advisory Council presents City Slickers for a fun night at the movies in the park at sunset.

A perfect summer evening!

Join in to Help Haiti!

2010-08-31T10:35:00.000-07:00

Lincoln Park Market has partnered with Park West Community Association to provide survival kits to St. Damien Hospital in Haiti.

St. Damien is a 120-bed free pediatric hospital in Tabarre that cares for more than 200 patients each day. When patients are released from the hospital, they are sent home with a special one-month survival kit that contains basic items to sustain a discharged patient for a month.

With your help, Park West and Lincoln Park Market can pack and ship at least 250 kits to Haiti this summer.

It's easy for you to donate or contribute your time:

Make a Direct Donation. Each kit costs $50, so you can sponsor a kit or give whatever amount you feel you can. Checks should be made out to Friends of the Orphans and can be dropped off or mailed to Lincoln Park Market at 2500 N. Clark Street.

Join me at the Packing Party. Join in this Saturday, July 17th at 10:00 am at Lincoln Park Market (2500 N. Clark) to help pack Survivial Kits. To join in, sign up at the store or email bruce@lincolnparkmarket.com. Please indicate the number of adults and children in your group.

If you have any questions please contact info@parkwestcommunity.com or bruce@lincolnparkmarket.com.

I'm Running

2010-07-12T11:05:00.000-07:00

. . . or rather, racewalking, the Chicago Marathon, for charity, and I need you to help me finish the race and meet my goal!

I've certainly learned that there are some things in life that require consistency, dedication, and persistence. One of them is exercise, of which I have not been truly a fan. But since I've taken up racewalking with my club, Chicago Walkers, I've become more fit and have reached some personal goals.

I've never done a marathon - until now. To help keep me motivated throughout the summer, I have dedicated my race to raise money for Rock For Reading, a local non-profit that leverages the power of rock to promote literacy throughout the Chicago area.

Learning to read and write for academic purposes begins at a very young age. Kindergarten through third grade is devoted to learning to read. Beyond third grade, children are transitioned to using reading to learn. Without those skills, their access to information becomes limited. Furthermore, children from low-income families who don't engage in conversation regularly at home enter the fourth grade at a deficit of 8,000 words versus their middle-class peers (Snow, C., Harvard Education Letter, July/August 2005). That is a 60% achievement gap!

Rock For Reading raises awareness about these atrocities of illiteracy as well as provides grants and book donations to agencies and schools serving both children and adults. To learn more about Rock For Reading, check out their website at www.rockforreading.org.

Please show your support for literacy, and my 26.2 mile challenge, by donating to my marathon fundraising campaign. I need to raise $1000. To reach this, consider donating at the marathon level of $26.20 or $1/mile, or more! Of course you are always welcome to give the amount that works best for you. You can donate here.

We Were A Hit!

2010-06-29T09:29:00.000-07:00

The 43rd Ward Democrats marched well at this year's Pride Parade. We even got coverage on the Channel 7 News Report on the parade. You can check us out at minute 43 (how lucky!) and again just a little bit later.

Our Pride Flag!

Perhaps it was our incredible enthusiasm and perhaps it was our new "Living Pride Flag" that so charmed the crowds and the cameras! If you'd like to be a part of our "flag" next year, just sign up at michele43rd@gmail.com.

The Pride Parade is a wonderful expression of community togetherness and a celebration of equality for all.

Michele Led the Way.

Thanks to all the volunteers who marched along with us and thanks for all the good wishes we encountered along the route. It was great fun!

A Recap of our Forum on Retail Development in Lincoln Park

2010-06-25T09:49:00.000-07:00

Here are more details about our panel discussion "The Future of Development in the 43rd Ward."

I called the meeting because I believe the we all need to understand the issues underlying the development problems in the ward. Specific topics of concern:

What about those vacant stores? I counted them. Right now, there are 182 vacant stores in the Lincoln Park area, encompassing 785,000 square feet of space. Here is a list. You can see my 5 minute presentation on those vacancies here.

At the forum, our panel of experts explained why we have all these vacancies and together, we began to get the community involved in finding a solution to the problem. What we learned is, that while some of the problems in retail are of course a results of the economy, the overall picture is far more complex. Here are the key findings:

- Lincoln Park in general is overbuilt in terms of retail. According to our panelists, there is today more existing shopping space than can be supported.

- Most retailers look for proximity to other similar retailers, be it restaurants, clothing stores or other space. Retailers also love density, be it of people or cars. But Lincoln Park has 4,000 fewer families than it had in 1970. We all know many blocks in the neighborhood where traditional three flats were demolished in favor of single family homes. Those fewer families provide a much smaller base for neighborhood shopping. The closing of employers such as the hospitals will further reduce the number of customers for local merchants. We need to bear this in mind as we plan for the future.

- Clark Street has the most retail vacancies around, 32 in a five block area. While there are many property owners on Clark Street, one Dr. Jerry Winkler, formerly of Chicago and now of Los Angeles, is the dominant landlord, owning over 40 storefronts. Our panelists were in agreement that this landlord is a cause of the emptiness of Clark Street. I've concluded that the number of vacancies in his properties has had a cascading effect on our community, discouraging other retailers because of the lack of other businesses. Further, as population in the ward has shifted west, Clark Street may be less attractive for major businesses, but is still important for neighborhood shopping.

- The vacancies on Armitage Avenue are the result of the boom in real estate in the last decade, not the current bust. Speculators bought up the existing successful storefronts, doubled the rents and forced out the local merchants in hopes of bringing in national tenants. These shouldn't be the focus on Armitage, given the competiton from Clybourn, and frankly, suburban shopping. Panelist Diana Epstein explained that there needs to be a balance between local retailers and large chains - but that the community really must support its local retail.

Having said this, all our panelists agreed that Lincoln Park is the most desirable part of the city for retail, and is sought after. In that case, what needs to be done to get the retailers back? Don't we need a plan?

Here's what we proposed:

Community involvement. Panelist Larry Bennett of DePaul stated that research has shown that development in which the community is deeply involved leads to better decisions for that site.

Community action. I am forming a Task Force on Development, focusing first on Clark Street - we'll come up with plans for community action to restore our street. Our 43rd Ward community includes many talented citizens, with ideas from legislation to alliances. Some of the ideas that came up in the forum included: allying with DePaul to provide "incubator" space for new business on Clark Street, creating tax penalties for leaving space vacant, pushing for incentives to help small businesses vs. large city incentives for national chains, and creating temporary uses for vacant space. Sign up to join or get information on the task force at http:///.

Our neighborhood is poised on the brink of its greatest change since gentrification began - and I want you to be educated as to the issues so you can participate in making Lincoln Park the best urban neighborhood in the country.

Neighbors Write Letter to the Plan Commission

2010-06-22T08:17:00.000-07:00

A group of Lincoln Park neighbors have drafted a letter to the Plan Commission stating their strong opposition to the developer's plan for Lincoln Park Hospital. The letter is presented here below:

May 24, 2010

Chicago Plan Commission
Planning and Policy Division
Zoning and Land Use Planning
121 N. LaSalle St. #703
Chicago, IL 60602

Attn: Ms. Linda Searl, Chairman

Dear City of Chicago Planning Department,

We understand that the owners of the former Lincoln Park Hospital site will be meeting or have met with your department to seek approval of a plan for development that has already been roundly rejected by both the community and our alderman, Vi Daley. They are proceeding with their application to the City of Chicago in spite of the following:

• A dozen or so meetings between the developers and neighbors (and our Alderman) where the opposition has been overwhelming--especially from the most affected neighbors and those neighbors in the Mid-North Historic District.

• A petition signed by over 500 neighbors (form of petition attached)

• A strong letter of opposition by the Mid-North Association (attached)

• A January 12 community meeting attended by 300 community members, and overwhelming in opposition to the plan, even with some modifications. Representatives of the Planning Commission present at the meeting heard the objections very clearly to the developer’s proposal.

• Our alderman’s letter to neighbors (attached) and statements at the January 12 meeting voicing support for the neighbors’ position--including three previous legal agreements that restricted development at the site.

We believe the attached letter from the Mid-North Association neatly describes the community’s objections to the plan.

The site is surrounded on three sides by the Mid-North Historic District and a park. It is a residential oasis and Landmark area characterized by three and four story buildings, walkable streets and of course, historic facades. The size of the Lincoln Park Hospital is out of place in the community, and several lawsuits were necessary to restrict its development.

In short:

• The site is completely inappropriate for retail development, and abundant property exists in Lincoln Park to accommodate the proposed stores, even if desirable

• The proposed development is much too dense for the neighborhood, putting 330 units in an area that would support, for example, 42 single family homes or 84 townhouses

• The proposed development would increase traffic and congestion in an already crowded area. The developer’s claimed assertions about traffic at the hospital are inaccurate; the hospital has not been in full operation for 25 years.

• The proposed development robs the neighborhood of open space promised under prior community agreements and is not consistent with the residential zoning of the surrounding neighborhood.

Finally, the developers have also proven themselves to be bad neighbors. Since the community rejected their original proposal, they have fenced off a service driveway long used by the community and City of Chicago garbage and emergency vehicles. They have fenced off a lot dedicated as open space by a prior community agreement, and have closed the garage that they claim would be open for public parking rental even as part of their current proposal.

We request the opportunity to meet with you to discuss our concerns and express our vehement opposition to the developer’s plans.

Thank you for your support.

Very truly yours,

See attached list of neighbors

Cc: Heather Gleason
Sara Sheehan
Alderman Vi Daley
Hon. Richard M. Daley

Vacant Retail Space in Lincoln Park

2010-06-05T09:12:00.000-07:00

I have researched vacant retail space in Lincoln Park and have found 783,533 square feet of vacant already standing space, plus 1,218,458 square feet of available land for development, for a total of almost 2 million square feet of available ground floor retail.

To see see all the data, please go: here

You should see along the top tabs that say Development Opportunities, All Vacancies, Clark Street Vacancies and All Clark St. Retail Properties. Simply click on the tab for the information you would like to see.

Analysis of the Developer’s Proposal to the Plan Commission Regarding the Lincoln Park Hospital Site

2010-05-27T06:58:00.000-07:00

As you know, on January 12, 2010, the community rejected the plans presented by the developers of Lincoln Park Hospital. The concerns: retail development in the midst of our historic district, too high and too dense buildings.

The hospital site is what is called a “planned development.” It is not governed by the usual zoning of the area, but is a special type of zoning. Currently, the hospital is zoned for medical uses only. This means that the developers have no right to use the site for anything else. Any change from this zoning requires a plan approved by the City of Chicago Planning Department AND an ordinance from City Council that requires a plan approved by the City of Chicago Planning Department AND an ordinance from City Council.

To give you a feel for the size of this development, it is 131,829 square feet – just over 3 acres. That’s 42 city lots – on which, in previous discussions, the developers have indicated they want to put 330 residential units (for perspective, the Belden Stratford has 300 apartments) 40,000 square feet of office space and over 50,000 square feet of retail. Compared to the surrounding neighborhood of historic single family homes, two-flats and townhouses, that’s just too large.

Notwithstanding this opposition, the developers have recently submitted an application to the Chicago Planning Commission seeking approval for even MORE DENSITY and MORE RETAIL than they told us at the community meeting. I’ve analyzed their proposal, and want to give you the facts.

The Retail Component

At our community meeting, the developer told us that they wanted to build a 19,500 square foot grocery and a 13,500 square feet pharmacy while removing parking spaces from the garage. That was bad enough.

The plan submitted to the Planning Commission offers no details on the amount of retail, square footage. But the developer’s proposal does say that:

“The uses of the Property permitted pursuant to this planned development shall include (a) medical and related uses, (b) residential dwelling units including, without limitation,
dwelling units on the ground floor; and (c) all uses permitted in the B3-2 Community
Shopping District, including, without limitation, residential support services.”
What does that mean?

Under the City of Chicago Zoning Code, the purpose of a “Community Shopping District is to accommodate a very broad range of retail and service uses, often in the physical form of shopping centers or larger buildings. . . . Development in B3 districts will generally be destination-oriented, with a large percentage of customers arriving by automobile. Therefore, the supply of off-street parking will tend to be higher in B3 districts than in B1 and B2 districts.”

“The B3 district is intended to be applied to large sites that have primary access to major streets. It may also be used along streets to accommodate retail and service use types that are not allowed in B1 and B2 districts.”
In fact, under the B3 zoning, while almost all shopping center uses are permitted, housing is a “special use” requiring a zoning approval. Here’s what’s allowed:

Colleges and Universities
Restaurants
Banquets and Meeting Hall
Banks
Food and Beverage Retails sales, with liquor sales as an accessory use
Undertakers
Offices
Medical
Hair Salons, Nail Salons
Dry Cleaners
General Retail Sales – groceries, pharmacies, clothing, etc.
Video Arcades
Residential Storage Warehouse
Auto Supply/Accessory Sales
Auto Sales or Rental
Motor Vehicle Repair Shops
Catering
Entertainment Venue up to 999 seats

Moreover, there are no size limitations on commercial developments in the B3 district up to 75,000 square feet. So, if the developer’s plans don’t go exactly right – a big box store could be coming to Webster Street! And further, the developers seek the right to this zoning in the entire development – so there could be stores on Webster, Geneva and Grant.

But wait, there’s more. In a B3 District, the following types of signs are allowed: free standing, marquee, projecting and neon signs. And the maximum permitted total sign size is 4 times the frontage, or 1500 ft, whichever is less. Flashing and video signs are generally permitted.
In sum, this is a dramatic overreaching by the developers, and a violation of the previous community agreements which stated that use of the property would be consistent with residential (R-5) zoning.

The Residential Component

The developer had originally told us that the want to make an “adaptive reuse” of the hospital tower with about 120 units, put a senior rental residence on Geneva Terrace with about 170 units, and townhouses on Grant.

The developers, however, they have proposed a 150' tower building (12 stories above grade) which is both taller and broader than the existing building, and an 81 foot building on Grant and Geneva, which would appear to allow seven-story building on Grant. The original planned development and the various lawsuits with the neighborhood allowed only 10 stories above grade in the tower, six stories on Geneva, and five stories on Grant. The plans show a 75 foot, six-story building on Geneva Terrace, and the existing building on Geneva is six stories. The building on Grant is to be torn down and replaced, and an 81 foot building would appear to allow another story. Bear in mind, the surrounding zoning for this area allows a maximum height of 45 feet.

As for the two lots on Webster next to the hospital (one of which is the current driveway and other is vacant), they state that the will build R-5 housing, which violated community agreements that the space be kept open.

They state that the number of units would be based on the minimum lot area per unit in RM-5 zoning, which is 400 square feet per unit. Under these limitations, you divide the total area of the development (131,829), divide by 400 = 330 units. In other words, if this entire site were residential, they would be able to build 330 units. As I’ve already stated, the site (both sides of the street, garage included) could hold 42 single family homes, or 82 townhouses, or 42 three flats, or some combination of homes, townhomes, three-flats and apartment buildings. You get the picture. I doubt the community would oppose such a development.

In an RM-5 area, development is also limited by something called the Floor Area Ratio (FAR), which is 2. That means that the total square footage of residential units is twice the lot size. This is to mandate room for yards and front, back and side setbacks. So, as a totally residential development, they would be limited to 263,658 square feet. Again, think of 42 houses of 6000 square feet each (that’s big! – but that’s what is allowed – look at the non-landmarked area); townhouses, and three-flats and four story apartment buildings. As most of the houses in the landmark area are smaller than this, we could argue whether even RM-5 zoning is appropriate for this site.

The next lower classification RM-4.5, has a minimum lot area of 700 square feet per unit, which would allow 188 units and an FAR of 1.7, which would allow a total of 224,209 square feet of housing, or 42 single family homes of 5335 square feet, or townhouses, apartments, etc. You can see how these classifications make a difference.

Here, however, the developer wants to build all of those units on one portion of the site, and put commercial development on both sides of Webster, AND a 300+ space parking garage.
Indeed, The developers also seek “residential support services,” which are “Commercial uses provided primarily to serve the needs of residents in large, multi-unit residential buildings (more than 50 units) or residents within the immediate area,” including restaurants, financial services, food and beverage stores, offices, personal services and general retail sales. But these stores are allowed in R5 residential areas as a matter of right (think of stores on the first floor of high-rises). So the developers are asking for two ways to have commercial space in this development.

Final point – the so-called “adaptive reuse.” As far as we can tell, nothing will be retained from the original structure of the hospital tower except the steel studs. And we now know that they want to add two stories to that structure.

Plus, they want an exemption from the requirements for front and rear setbacks that would otherwise apply to a RM5 district. Thus, the developers want to put all these housing units in our neighborhood with none of the amenities for open space and yards that the rest of the neighborhood enjoys. Instead, the plans show a so-called “green roof” over the garage, which is actually just the backyard space for the units that is built over the underground parking. In some parts of the city, a having a green roof gives the developer permission to build more units, but I do not see a provision in the code for this neighborhood. Perhaps the developers intend to argue for a similar FAR “bonus” for this so-called green roof.

Parking Issues and the Garage on Webster Issues

The drawings of the garage building on Webster are unclear. There appears to be an entrance to a parking garage, a corner large retailer and the rest are either facades, townhouses, or something. There is no description. But as we have already explained, the developers seek authority permission to build large retail with companion shopping. In addition, there will be increased height to the parking garage and parking on the roof, which violates a 1972 and 1986 community agreement, and what they told the community during the community meeting. Parking on the roof will allow parkers to see into the homes surrounding the garage.

The developers state that they will provide only the minimum number of parking spaces required by law. Under the zoning for B3-2 districts, for retail sales, there has to be 2.5 spaces for each 1000 square feet. So for a 20,000 square foot store, they need only provide 50 spaces! Recall that the developers said they wanted to put parking for the senior residences in the garage as well. The code requires .33 spaces per unit. So all they would have to put in is about 40 spaces under their original proposal.

Under the code, the developers would also need 200 spaces for non-elderly housing (one per apartment). While the developers told the community that they would install these spaces underground the development, parking in this area is already limited, and these minimums are no where near adequate. In addition, the garage parking will no longer be available for to the neighborhood and those visiting the local businesses and restaurants.

Further, garage entrances are added and others moved closer to the existing residences, creating new noise problems. The plan adds a truck loading dock on Webster just to the west of the main garage door. Plus, there is an new garage door on the north side at the very east end of the tower building. All of these moves are contrary to the prior agreements with neighbors (the idea previously was ONE garage door as far west as possible to minimize noise and congestion in the neighboring residential area).

Open Space Issues

As proposed, there is essentially no open space in this proposal. The developers seek relief from front, rear and side setbacks for the large residential spaces, and commercial spaces have very limited setbacks.

Where Are We Headed in the 43rd Ward?

2010-05-23T21:17:00.000-07:00

Are You Worried About All the Empty
Storefronts On Clark? Or Wells? Or Armitage?

Are You Concerned About Proposed Development at the Children's Memorial Site?
Wondering What's Happening at Lincoln Park Hospital?

Join Us for a Panel Discussion:
"The Future of Development in the 43rd Ward"
Monday, June 7th
6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
St Vincent DePaul Center
2145 N. Halsted
(indoor parking available - enter on Webster)

Hear from Our Panelists:
Michele Smith - 43rd Democratic Ward Committeeman-
Presenter and Panel Moderator
Larry Bennett - DePaul University Professor and
Urban Development Expert
Stan Nitzberg - Mid America Group,Consultant on Block 37 and Adjunct Professor, DePaul University
Diana Epstein - co-founder of Local First Chicago and former Armitage Street business owner
Monee Fields-White - Crain's Chicago, Senior Reporter - Retail and Local Economy Beat

Please RSVP at:
developmentpanel@gmail.com

For more information call 773-661-2133
http://www.43rdwarddemocrats.blogspot.com/

Look What We've Accomplished!

2010-05-11T20:43:00.000-07:00

Since I was elected Democratic Committeeman of the 43rd Ward in February 2008, I have accomplished many things beyond the scope of a Committeeman’s designated responsibility to run elections. I have kept to my personal mission of educating and informing the voters of the 43rd Ward and increasing voter turnout to a greater extent than has ever been done in the past . We have introduced candidates for office, as well as elected officials, directly to the voters more than any other ward organization, and kept you informed about matters of local and national importance.

In 2010:
• I’m keeping you informed about important developments in the Lincoln Park Hospital development controversy and building public support to keep future development residential
• Our Candidate Fair introduced voters to more than 55 Candidates running for local and statewide offices in the February Primary.
• Our 43rd Ward Democrats endorsed progressive independent candidates for the February Primary. We did thorough research to help you elect the most qualified judges and other candidates in races that receive little press coverage so you could exercise an informed vote.
• On Election Day, we increased voter turnout by 1600 more people than in the late mid-term election in 2006, a 26% increase.
• Our comprehensive research showed how judges are actually selected in Cook County. I took you behind the scenes of the Democratic Party and told you how slating works.

In 2009:
• Over 300 people (and much of the city’s media) covered our County Board President Candidates Forum, moderated by Andy Shaw, former network political reporter and head of the Better Government Association.
• We introduced Candidates for Illinois State Treasurer, State Comptroller and County Metropolitan Water Reclamation District to the voters at our Meet the Candidates Event.
• The 43rd Ward Democrats’ Candidates Forum in the 5th Congressional District Special Election attracted a crowd of more than 700 people.
• Our Hear from Your Elected Officials event, featuring Congressmen Danny Davis and Mike Quigley and State Representatives Sara Feigenholtz and John Fritchey, allowed constituents to get direct answers from their representatives.
• I cast the deciding vote in the Democratic Party slating session to ensure that the 5th Congressional District Special Election race would be an open primary, leaving the decision to the voters of the district instead of party bosses.
• I took independent stands in Democratic Party matters involving slating.
• Our community meetings introduced 43rd ward voters to newly elected Congressman Mike Quigley and newly appointed County Commissioner Bridget Gainer.
• Over 200 people attended our very successful Second Annual Unity Fundraiser.
• Our Petitioning Event gave volunteer support to 18 local and statewide races and put volunteers in direct contact with candidates and campaigns.
• We hosted successful phone banks to support health care reform.

In 2008:
• I hosted the 43rd Ward Democrats First Meeting where Anita Alvarez, Democratic Candidate for State’s Attorney, was introduced to voters.
• Voter Registration - We registered more than 1,000 new 43rd Ward voters.
• Judge Recruitment – We filled more than 150 Democratic Election Judge slots with a record number of 43rd Ward residents as judges.
• First Annual Unity Fundraiser - The evening was a tremendous success and brought together elected officials and residents from all over the ward.
• You went with me to the Democratic Convention in Denver for an on-the-ground look.
• Our packed Rally for Obama generated 100 students and longtime residents to volunteer to make phone calls, go door-to-door and go to Michigan and Wisconsin to help elect Barack Obama.
• New Ward Office – opened at 2527 N. Lincoln Avenue.
• Our First Election Day – we increased the number of 43rd Ward residents serving as election judges by 100% and a huge number 43rd ward volunteers helped make the day run smoothly.

.

Exciting Neighborhood Events

2010-04-23T09:48:00.000-07:00

Celebrate Earth Day at Lincoln Park Zoo
Thursday, April 22
10:00 am - 12:00 noon
Café Brauer at Lincoln Park Zoo (2021 N. Stockton Drive)
This is the Zoo's fifth annual Science Celebration, showcasing student projects that demonstrate how the zoo and the Chicago community serve as a living laboratory.

Green City Market - Indoor Market
Saturday, April 24th
8:00 am - 1:00 pm
South Gallery Notebaert Nature Museum
2430 N. Cannon Drive
"Say Cheese!"
Special cheese vendors will be featured at one of the last indoor markets of the season. Chef demonstrations will be held at 9am, 10am and 11am.

"Vintage 338 - A Wine Bar"
The location may seem familiar...
yes, it's the site of my former campaign office. But, boy has it changed! Come sample a variety of Spanish, Italian and French wines and have a bite at this great new business. Specializing in Southern European Street Food -sandwiches, salads, small plates and more. Located at 338 W. Armitage and open every day from 4:00 pm.

My Personal Lincoln

2010-04-16T09:46:00.000-07:00

I turned 55 this past Friday, Lincoln's birthday. Lincoln died at 54, which brought to mind the old joke (by Tom Lehrer) that "it is people like that who make me realize how little I have accomplished. It is a sobering thought for example, that when Mozart was my age, he had been dead two years."

We remember Lincoln for is his accomplishments in his 5 short years as President. But for me, it is interesting that Lincoln dropped out of politics at one point, returning only in middle age.

Lincoln decided on a career in law and politics quite young - he ran for State Representative here in Illinois at 23, winning when he was 24. He served in the Illinois State Legislature (already known in the 1830s as a pretty wild place, where Lincoln once climbed out a window to help prevent a quorum) , and then for one term in the U.S. Congress.

But after one term in the U.S. Congress, Lincoln dropped from the political scene and concentrated on his law practice to earn money for his family. He only returned in his forties, "aroused" as he put it by the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act (which, he argued, would allow slavery in any territory), and in a few short years, became a national figure, and then, President.

Scholars now say that it was the totality of Lincoln's experiences - as a politician, an attorney, as a struggling business owner - that made him so able a leader.

I started my career as a federal prosecutor because I thought it was a good way to make a difference and serve the public. Other life experiences - working for a troubled company, personal troubles, and the like, followed. I might have wished to have entered politics earlier in my life. But I have to say that only those life experiences - as a prosecutor, as a lawyer and as a mother - could have given me the judgment, strength and empathy that I think a public servant should possess.

So perhaps middle age is the right time for anybody to pursue her dream

Did the 43rd Ward Make a Difference?

2010-04-16T09:39:00.000-07:00

You bet it did. I've analyzed the results from last week's election, and I am proud of our results.

1600 more people voted than in 2006, a 26% increase over the last primary election. And that made a difference:

THE 43rd WARD HAD THE GREATEST MARGIN OF VICTORY FOR TONI PRECKWINKLE ANYWHERE IN THE CITY OF CHICAGO - 73.3%. City wide Toni received 46% of the vote. We made a critical difference in providing her a victory over those parts of the city that voted for less independent and progressive candidates.

Future State Representative Ann Williams also won the highest margin of victory here in the 43rd Ward- 62% - making a critical difference in her victory.

Judges: The 43rd Ward voted for the highest qualified judges by a wide margin, helping to bring to victory Judge Jim Epstein, future judge Terry MacCarthy, and Judge Ray Mitchell.

And many great candidates - David Hoffman, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Jonathan Goldman and Ray Figueroa - also received their highest margin of victory here. Higher turnout might have carried the day for some of them.

If you want more specifics on the races, check out http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103023825474&s=3626&e=001EzQ74jR22SybKUqoLNyGX_MqFiYqsDaX-rCB0qJCC0wEE_A2i6Ay5qW3nEeENgJRWBWC4lKahJmvRguqhd4vo3aSJzPJxmPXEEKyTKS_cqInYIhYA38eHdmqbKHXhkgO.

Even though the news reported that voter turnout percentage was low, that is because we have an almost historically high number of registered voters due to the Obama race. If we can increase turnout from the 7600 that did vote in this election, we'll really make a decisive difference in the way our city, county and state is governed.

I hope that you see that your vote, and the 43rd Ward's votes, makes a difference in steering our government towards more independent, progressive candidates. Thank you for your vote, and I hope you join us the next time we have a primary election.

43rd Ward Democrats Official Endorsements

2010-01-09T18:00:00.000-08:00

Our Democratic Candidate Fair was a tremendous success - more than 50 candidates participated and we thank you all. And thanks to the 43rd Ward residents who attended. Our members voted after the session, and here are the official 43rd Ward Democrats endorsements for the upcoming election. Please forward this to your friends and bring a copy with you when you vote.

U.S. Senate
David Hoffman

Governor
Pat Quinn
Lieutenant Governor
Terry Link
Attorney General
Lisa Madigan
Secretary of State

Jesse White
Comptroller
Raja Krishnamoorthi
Treasurer
Justin Oberman

Congress 5th District
Mike Quigley
Congress 7th District
Danny Davis
State Central Committeewoman, 5th District
No Endorsement

State Central Committeeman, 5th District
No Endorsement
State Central Committeewoman, 7th District
Karen Yarbrough
State Central Committeeman, 7th District
Danny Davis

State Senator, 13th District
Kwame Raoul
State Rep 5th District
David Schroeder
State Rep 10th District
Jonathan Goldman
State Rep 11th District
Ann Williams
State Rep 12th District
Sara Feigenholtz
Metropolitan Water Reclamation District
Todd Connor
Mariyana Spyropoulos
Kari Steele
County Board President
Toni Preckwinkle
County Clerk

David Orr
County Sheriff
Tom Dart
County Treasurer
Maria Pappas
County Assessor
Ray Figueroa

County Board Commissioner 2nd District
No Endorsement
County Board Commissioner 10th District
Bridget Gainer
Judge of the Appellate Court, First District (McNulty vacancy)
James Epstein
Judge of the Appellate Court, First District (O'Malley vacancy)

Thomas Hogan
Judge of the Appellate Court, First District (South vacancy)

Sebastian Patti

Judge of the Circuit Court, Full Circuit (Berland vacancy)
William Hooks
Judge of the Circuit Court, Full Circuit (Bronstein vacancy)

Terry MacCarthy
Judge of the Circuit Court, Full Circuit (Dolan vacancy)
Linda J. Pauel
Judge of the Circuit Court, Full Circuit (Hayes vacancy)

Ray Mitchell
Judge of the Circuit Court, Full Circuit (Kelley vacancy)
John Patrick Callahan, Jr.
Judge of the Circuit Court, Full Circuit (McCarthy vacancy)
Daniel Gallagher
Judge of the Circuit Court, Full Circuit (O'Malley vacancy)
Thomas Lyons
Judge of the Circuit Court, Full Circuit (Riley vacancy)
No Endorsement

42 Democratic Candidates, Time to Meet Them Face-to-Face, Free Indoor Parking...

2010-01-09T17:55:00.000-08:00

...And You're Invited!

Candidate Fair
Tomorrow
Saturday, January 9, 2010
10:00 am - 12:00 noon
St. Vincent De Paul Center
2145 N. Halsted

Free, Warm, Underground Parking Available - Enter on Webster!

Please RSVP, if possible, at michele43rd@gmail.com .

Meet and talk with 42 of the Democratic Candidates who will be on the ballot in the February 2nd Primary.

Invite Your Friends and Neighbors!

Candidates Attending (thus far):

Governor
Dan Hynes
County Board President
Toni Preckwinkle
Dorothy Brown
Treasurer
Justin Oberman
Robin Kelly
Comptroller
Raja Krishnamoorthi
Clint Krislov
David Miller
U.S. Senate
David Hoffman
Jacob Meister
Lieutenant Governor
Rickey Hendon
Scott Lee Cohen
Terry Link
Congress 5th District
Mike Quigley
Congress 7th District
Darlena Williams-Burnett
Jim Ascot
State Central Committeewoman, 7th District
Karen Yarbrough
State Rep 5th District
David Schroeder
State Rep 10th District
Annazette Collins
Eddie Winters
Jonathan Goldman
State Rep 11th District
Ed Mullen
Ann Williams
Dan Farley
State Rep 12th District
Sara Feigenholtz
Metropolitan Water Reclamation District
Todd Connor
Mariyana Spyropoulos
Barbara McGowan
Stella Black
County Sheriff
Sylvester E. Baker
County Board Commissioner 2nd District
Desiree Grode
County Board Commissioner 10th District
Bridget Gainer
Judicial Candidates
Sebastian Patti
Diann Marsalek
Arnette R. Hubbard
James R. Epstein
Thomas L. Hogan
Linda J. Pauel
Joanne F. Fehn
Terry MacCarthy
John Patrick Callahan
Sandra Ramos

What Do the Candidates for County Board President Say About Abortion?

2009-12-28T19:00:00.000-08:00

O’Brien: “We all have our own personal beliefs. As Andy said, I’m a practicing Catholic. However, I do have a public statute to uphold and as I have told the people around this county, that I can decipher between church and state. I will not interrupt any services that are currently being provided at the county with relationship to a woman making a choice. I feel that that decision is between a woman or a patient and their doctor. With the Stupak amendment, I will continue to make sure that there is funding available for those particular services to women who so chose to do that and make that decision between them and their doctor. . . . My personal beliefs are not brought into my public life.”

Brown: “I am pro-choice and so I would not do anything to affect what is occurring at Cook County Hospital at this present time. I was a little disappointed that at the last minute the House had to do the compromise in order to get the conservative democrats to vote for the health care bill. And I would hope that possibly that when the bill goes over to the Senate that they would be able to rewrite that portion where the individuals that get - use the public option actually can continue to get abortions as well. So I’m a prochoice person and of course I would be - ensure that we continue to provide that service at Cook County Hospital.”

Preckwinkle: “I’m a strongly pro-choice Democrat. I have been my entire life and it’s important to understand that the abortion services that are offered at County Hospital now are modest in relation to what the possibilities are, I mean frankly. And I think this is something where we need to look to expand these services and regularize them rather than simply maintaining the status quo. Abortions at Cook County Hospital I think are $50. They are the most reasonable abortions in the area. And we ought to be providing that resource to women who make that choice as reasonably as possible. And I think that it’s important to remember that we need to be committed to this whatever the Supreme Court decides about choice. And we’re in a position where it’s uncertain the direction of which the Supreme Court is going. But we have to make that commitment locally that we’re going to provide these services for women who desperately need them.”

Questions Asked of each Candidate for County Board President

2009-12-28T18:57:00.000-08:00

At our October candidate forum, moderater Andy Shaw asked each candidate a specific question about their past record. Here they are:

Shaw asked Brown, “You’ve been called to task for having people on your staff circulate petitions, show up at campaign rallies donate to you with presents or cash. How do you square this with a claim that you are for “professionalism over politics?”

Brown: “I will stack my record of ethics and reform up against anybody.” “I met with all 2300 employees … and I made it very clear that they do not have to donate to me or anyone else.” With regard to the allegation that petitions were passed on county time, she said, “No one to my knowledge . . . People are dropping lies out there and I’m dealing with those lies. “

Shaw asked O’Brien: “You run the water reclamation district and you’ve had a successful private sector business. . . . The MWRD has a list of 500 significant industrial polluters and on that list are some that are clients of one of your companies. How can you work at a company that helps companies that help perpetrate dirty water?”

O’Brien said he was a partner in K-Plus and a minority shareholder in other entities. “No impropriety [has been found] in relationship with any dealings with the Water Reclamation District.”

Shaw asked Preckwinkle: “The perception is that you started as a fierce critic of the Olympics but the sense was that as this race harkened that you backed off your criticism of the Olympic bid considerably.”

Preckwinkle replied, “I’m the one person who is most likely to be on the other side of the mayor. . . . It became quite clear to me early on that this was one of the three items that the mayor would consider part of his political legacy. The first being educational reform, the second being CHA transformation, the third being the Olympics. So given that fact I decided that I would try to work hard to get the best deal I could for the constituents that I represented. I make no apologies for that.”

Where do the Candidates for County Board President Stand on the Independent Board for the County Hospital System?

2009-12-28T18:53:00.000-08:00

O’Brien: “I would like to see it go another year and a half before we do an evaluation. Some people want to keep them as a permanent board. I want to keep them, but on a contractual basis, maybe every three years, so the board and the taxpayers can evaluate what their doing and how they’re doing it.”

Preckwinkle: “We need permanent, permanent independent governance of our health care system to separate it from the patronage and political influence which has crippled it in the past. We have that independent governance now. We need to make it permanent.”

Brown: “I do believe that Cook County Hospital system is such a large organization . . .and I believe that there needs to be an independent oversight of the hospital. We would, I would look at the, with the commissioners of course, the current board and see if that is the type of format that’s necessary. But I do feel that having that independent, separate oversight, because we can’t - Generally, there was a committee, I believe, that was, or one or two commissioners that had that responsibility. But that, that is just not enough. I believe there needs to be that independent oversight. So I would be looking to continue it in some way form or fashion some kind of independent oversight of the Cook County health and Hospital system.”

Michele’s comment: The Independent Board governing the County Hospital is critical to increasing the quality and decreasing the cost of the hospital system. The possibility of returning the system to political oversight should be completely unacceptable.

Where do the Candidates for County Board President Stand on The County Sales Tax

2009-12-28T18:45:00.000-08:00

Preckwinkle: “I will eliminate the tax incrementally over my term.” Preckwinkle wants to do it incrementally because “when your income goes down you have to cut expenses, but you want to do that responsibly.” On getting more government funding for the county: “That you take federal money or when you take money from state programs you have to be accountable. You have say what you used the money for and who you hired and the county has had the policy, frankly, unspoken, of not wanting to be accountable to outside entities for they way they spent their money so they didn’t apply for it. Now this is ridiculous because it could take the burden off of our local taxpayer.”

“Health care advocates … say that the county doesn’t apply for lots of money that’s available from the federal government to provide health services and I think it’s because of this historical reason.”

O’Brien: “My intention is to repeal it the first day I get in office. Because what happens is if you extend it over a long period of time you start becoming dependent on the use of that particular revenue. I think what needs to be done is it needs to be repealed and there needs to be an audit of all the operations throughout the county . . . purchasing, labor and other personnel matters. … We have to take a look at everything up and down
across the board.

Brown: “We need to strategically lower the sales tax while finding additional revenue. . . .What I would do is . . . similar to what I did as Clerk of the Court. I created a revenue increase initiative task force upon taking office. And that task force looked at every non-tax revenue that was available . . . .” “We have a lot of assets that could be advertised on.

Michele’s comment: The sales tax has just been cut ½ of a percent, so we are halfway to a total repeal. But I favor studying the operations of the County to see how best to reduce costs

What Does the Community Want at Lincoln Park Hospital?

2009-12-21T06:13:00.000-08:00

My newsletter last week describing the proposed redevelopment of Lincoln Park Hospital drew an awful lot of comments. Here are some of the comments:

People who live near the hospital said:

“I support your position regarding Lincoln Park Hospital as a resident in this district and as an individual who was a member of the medical staff of the hospital for 54 years.”
“I am in complete agreement with you.”
“I am concerned by the building of a 12 story condo building in the heart of Lincoln Park.”
“I am opposed to any taller structure in our area.”
“I am interested in keeping the neighborhood with the neighborhood feel.”
“I would not like to see a high rise condominium complex and retail center built on the site of the former Lincoln Park Hospital.”
“I am adamantly opposed to any retail on Webster.”
“Webster east of Lincoln is a charming Lincoln Park residential neighborhood and it should remain that way.”
“I am against a high rise development or the development of a shopping center of any sort.”
“I moved to Cleveland Ave. 25 years ago -- since then, I have not been able to add one brick to the front of my house. And now the powers that be may allow a high rise residential building to be constructed only one block away?”
“It is insane to be building more retail and high rise buildings in this environment. Let me know what I can do to fight this.”
“I definitely oppose the retail plan.”
“It sounds terrible.”
“There is no need for large retail in that neighborhood.”
“I agree that the retail scheme being proposed seems very inappropriate, let alone that it ignores zoning.”
“I am concerned about this potential zoning disaster.”
“I am opposed to the plans for Lincoln Park Hospital.”
“I would like to voice my strong opposition to adding retail shops to the property at Lincoln and Webster. The LAST thing we need in this area is additional retail shops.”
“I am a concerned neighbor.”
“I think this is a terrific letter.”
“I am absolutely opposed to the current plan set forth to built retail and large scale condominiums. Aside for aesthetics, my major concern is about added traffic and congestion in an already congested area.”
“I am one of the original settlers on Geneva Terrace, since 1963. I have lived through many of these fights and I know how powerful we can and have been when we work together.”
“We STRONGLY support your position on the redevelopment of Lincoln Park Hospital. The last thing we need is more retail on Lincoln.”
“We are very interested in joining the opposition.”

Other Lincoln Parkers said:

“My husband and I wish to convey our concern for the retail plans that would drastically change the nature and character of the neighborhood.”
“I, as a resident in Lincoln Park for over thirty years, am very opposed to any high rise condo building and retail shops where Lincoln Park Hospital is now.”
“This is really the most wrong time ever to build new retail spaces - especially in this neighborhood.”
“I for one am opposed to more retail and hi-rise condos in the area – traffic is already a nightmare and it would change the feel of the neighborhood in a negative way.”
“I agree with your recent email!!!!!”
“I agree with you totally about the site and the proposed usage and I have met individually with one of the potential developers and expressed my concerns. Please keep me informed as I am very much opposed to the current plan.”
“I have been a resident of Lincoln Park since 1974. I own several properties in the area and think enough development is enough.”
“My Husband, and myself have fought long and very hard to keep the nature of our neighborhood
as intact as possible.”
“Let me know how I can help defeat this current retail/condo development plan for the Lincoln Park hospital site.”
“Please keep me informed about what we can do to preserve the residential low rise character of the neighborhood.”
“No malls in Lincoln Park Hospital area.”
“I am very concerned about the redevelopment.”
“We agree with the tenor and substance of your email on the subject of redevelopment at Lincoln Park Hospital.”
“Excellent e-mail re: Lincoln Park Hospital’s problematic growing plans. We’re behind you & in agreement that the plan should be redrawn to fit the landmark area of low- rise homes and townhouses.”
“We don’t need another high rise and especially more (soon-to-be shuttered) retail spaces. The impact of Children’s Memorial will be huge on our neighborhood as well. I’m OK with new building that is in keeping with the neighborhood.”

I received only three comments that were somewhat favorable:

The Webster retail will be “2 units no larger then 15,000 each. The remaining of the retail will be on the north side of the street on Webster and Geneva Terrace.”
“I do like the idea of adaptive reuse e.g. affordable apartments and/or senior apartments rather than a tear-down of that asbestos laden fortress. (Augustana Hospital went down with NO safeguards, no plastic).”
“Lincoln Park needs a mega business/retail infusion. So before we shun significant retail development in an existing commercial corridor that has built in parking, we should carefully consider the significant downside implications of our hair trigger preservationists.”
If you haven’t commented before, please comment here!

What's Going On At Lincoln Park Hospital?

2009-12-21T06:10:00.000-08:00

Our neighborhood is about to undergo its greatest change in 50 years. Lincoln Park Hospital, a 3 acre site, is already vacant and has been purchased by a developer, and Children's Memorial, two blocks away, is closing in 2012. What is built on these sites will have a tremendous impact on our community - and we need to get it right. The current plan being put forth has already met with substantial community opposition. Here's the background and what you can do about the proposal.

There has been a small hospital on the corner of Geneva and Webster for a century. Even then, the neighborhood was residential, with small shops and bars along Lincoln and Larrabee. In the 60s, the city designated the area around the hospital a "conservation area" and later designated it an official city historic landmark district. In the 70s, the commercial area on Larrabee was demolished and developed into the Walpole Point townhouses, as part of an overall plan to make the area residential.

The current hospital tower was built in 1972, over the opposition of then-Alderman Bill Singer and after a lawsuit by the Mid-North Association tried to stop it because the proposed hospital violated the residential plans for the neighborhood. The neighbors especially opposed the parking garage because Webster Street had always been low-rise residential - three flats and single family. More suits followed each time the hospital wanted to expand. The neighbors eventually were able to limit the height of the hospital tower and the parking garage, and received other concessions.

Today, the landmark Mid-North historic district and townhouses surround the hospital. But a developer wants to build two large (total 50,000 sq. ft.) retail stores on Webster, put retail on Geneva Terrace, enlarge the parking garage for those stores, and convert the hospital into a twelve-story condominium building with 330 units. After all, the developer argues, the tower and garage are already there. Why not reuse them - even if that ignores the underlying low-rise residential zoning of the land, the historic agreements with the community, and the impact on a quiet residential neighborhood?

Our community has fought long and hard to save its historic residential character and not let it be overrun with high rises, retail malls and traffic. We have invested in our historic homes because we value the look and feel of this community. If a high rise is allowed at Lincoln Park Hospital, what will be the impact a block away, at Children's? And we don't need even more retail in our neighborhood, especially large stores. There are 46 empty storefronts within several blocks of the Lincoln Park Hospital.

It boils down to this - it may be hard for neighbors to fight building a hospital, but DARN if we have to let someone take advantage of concessions given to a hospital to build a high rise and a strip mall in the middle of an historic district.

If you don't think the community can make a difference, you are wrong. Augustana Hospital stood on the property between Sedgwick, Lincoln and Dickens. When it closed, a builder proposed two high-rise apartment buildings. The neighbors fought back and achieved the very successful Pointe townhouse complex. And another group of neighbors stopped the development of a huge indoor auto mall on Wells Street just two years ago.

There are neighbors already organizing to put the community's voice front and center in this dispute, and I support them. If you are concerned about this potential zoning disaster, please contact me at michele43rd@gmail.com and email sanedevelopment@aol.com if you want to be kept informed about what your neighbors and neighborhood associations are doing.

Let's support sane development in our community.

Press Coverage of 43rd Ward Candidates Debate

2009-11-16T10:20:00.000-08:00

Todd Stroger's failure to appear for our candidates forum yesterday became the focus of the media coverage of the event. Unfortunately, that masked the excellent conversation among our moderator, Andy Shaw of the Better Government Association, and the candidates Dorothy Brown, Terrance O'Brien and Toni Preckwinkle. In a later post, we'll discuss the substantive differences among the candidates.

Download a podcast of the forum (which lasted a little more than an hour) at Chicago Progressive Talk.

But for today, here are links to the press reports:

ABC 7 Chicago
WGN TV Chicago
Fox News Chicago (I'm interviewed!)
Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Tribune
Chicagoist
WBBM Newsradio 78
Lincoln Park Now
Chicago Current
Chicago Reader
The Living Room
Chicago News Bench

2009-11-13T19:24:00.000-08:00

PROPOSED REMODELING AND REUSE OF
LINCOLN PARK HOSPITAL

Richard Zisook and Michael Supera now own and propose to re-develop all of the existing hospital buildings, including the Lincoln Park Hospital buildings on the north side of Webster (running north all the way to Grant Place) and the parking garage on the south side of Webster. They propose the following changes and new uses:

Parking garage

Remove second floor and reconfigure structure for a ground floor drug store on the west side and a hi-level grocery store on the west side, containing a total of approximately 32,000 square feet of retail space.

Re-clad the exterior of structure with brick, and extend the height of the parapet wall (top level) by 4 feet. There would be parking on the roof.

Trucks making deliveries to the drug store and grocery and picking-up garbage would back in and out of a newly-created driveway running from the east side of Lincoln Avenue into the west (Lincoln Avenue) side of the garage.

Hospital Building along Geneva Terrace

Remodel hospital building along Geneva Terrace, between Grant Place and Webster, plus portion of building on Webster between corner building and hospital "tower", and convert to rental senior citizen's housing, with approximately 330 units in all.

Convert first floor on north side of Webster to commercial use, with a number of small shops.

New driveway from Webster would provide all access for parking, deliveries and garbage pick-up to the entire complex. Parking to be underground.

New façade to be installed.

Hospital Tower

Remodel existing tower and convert to120 for-sale condominium units. Presently projected prices around $500/ sq. ft. Parking to be underground.

New façade to be installed.

Existing driveway and small "park" area to east of Hospital Tower

To be converted into two, for-sale residential lots.

Existing utility buildings on south side of Grant Place

To be demolished and new, for-sale housing to be built. Exact type of building and height limitations under discussion.

Candidates Forum with Andy Shaw!

2009-11-13T13:17:00.000-08:00

43rd Ward Democrats Host Candidates Forum

Todd Stroger, Toni Preckwinkle, Dorothy Brown and Terrence O’Brien to Appear at DePaul Forum with Moderator Andy Shaw

Sunday

November 15, 2009
1:00 pm – 3:00 pm
DePaul Student Center
2250 N. Sheffield Avenue

Andy Shaw – former Political Editor oSunday, November 15f Channel 7 News and current Executive Director of the Better Government Association will moderate a lively discussion among the Democratic Candidates for President of the Cook County Board.

Candidates who have confirmed their appearance:
Todd Stroger
President Cook County Board
Toni Preckwinkle
4th Ward Alderman
Dorothy Brown
Clerk of the Circuit Court
Terrence O’Brien
President, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District

Democratic Committeeman Michele Smith and the 43rd Ward Democrats are hosts of the
County Board President Democratic Candidates Forum moderated by BGA President Andy Shaw.
The 43rd Ward Democrats is an independent Democratic organization
committed to promoting socially progressive, fiscally responsible Democratic candidates.

The event is also co-hosted by the DePaul Democrats, the DePaul University Political Science Department, the Better Government Association and WCPT AM & FM - Chicago’s Progressive Talk Radio.

All are welcome. Admission is free. Doors open to the public at Noon.
Attendees are asked to please RSVP, if possible, at countyboardforum@gmail.com to help accommodate the expected large turnout.

Public Parking Available: 2335 North Sheffield
Public Transportation Red, Purple and Brown Lines:
Exit at the Fullerton station

The BGA and County Board Candidates Forum

2009-11-13T13:10:00.002-08:00

I'm thrilled that we will be hosting a debate for the candidates for Cook County Board President on November 15.

As we know, this is the critical race that will decide our sales taxes, property taxes, and the provision of county services - like our judiciary, prosecutors, jail, County hospital and forest preserves.

So I'm doubly thrilled that the 43rd Ward's own Andy Shaw, former star reporter from ABC7 News, and now the executive director of the Better Government Association, will be moderating. I asked Andy to referee this debate because I believe very strongly in the mission of the BGA - and I think you might too.

To quote Andy, "The debate in the 43rd Ward offers voters and taxpayers an excellent opportunity to see who, among the Democratic candidates, is truly committed to eliminating the 'corruption tax' we all pay when government is run for the benefit of the politicians and not the public. And who is dedicated to restoring FAITH in government, which is an acronym for Fairness, Accountability, Integrity, Transparency and Honesty. That's the Better Government Association's mission, and we're eager to see who shares it." I very much agree.

We all know that serious investigative reporting is threatened by the cutbacks in our local papers and newstations at this time. Now more than ever we need a watchdog group like the Better Government Association.

Find out more about the BGA and think about joining. You may even decide to send a contribution.

What I Learned

2009-09-21T10:49:00.000-07:00

I'm proud to report on our first Meet Your Elected Officials Event, held on September 2nd at the St. Vincent DePaul Center. A full crowd heard from Congressmen Danny Davis and Mike Quigley and State Representatives Sara Feigenholtz and John Fritchey.

Rather than report on what each said, I'm going to share what I learned and my impressions from the evening. Today I'll just talk about health care.

If the participants in the room are representative, the 43rd Ward strongly supports national health care reform and the so-called "public option." Federal, state and local impacts from reform are closely linked. As Rep. Davis said, 20,000 more people with health care means 20,000 people who are relying less on the "free" healthcare from Cook County Hospital. While the County treats Medicaid patients, a huge amount of people receiving care are working people who lack any health insurance because they earn too much to get Medicaid. And Rep. Feigenholtz told us that health care is the largest part of the Illinois budget, and because of the downturn, more people are losing their jobs, their healthcare and putting more strain on State-funded hospitals, including putting more people on Medicaid which is 40-50% funded by the state. So, if we want to help our local and state agencies, we should support the national effort.

I also learned that cost-effective strategies are not wholly employed, thus costing us more money. Rep. Fritchey told us that, like it or not, we are funding the uninsured today: because they are forced to go to emergency rooms for care - the cost for this is $1100 per taxpayer today. Universal coverage would lower this cost because the cost of primary care is far less than receiving care in emergency rooms. Rep. Davis told us that community health centers, which he pioneered, and which bring primary care to poor, rural and migrant communities serve about 18 million nation-wide today. As part of a national health care fix, these centers should be expanded to serve about 60 million people - and save costs. Rep. Feigenholtz told us that budget pressure to fund programs that get a federal match puts huge pressure on great programs that save money - like the Illinois Community Care program, which provides in-home assistance to seniors to keep them in their homes instead of forcing them into nursing homes, saving taxpayers about $30,000 a year per person in these programs.

Where do our representatives stand: All of our speakers strongly supported the President, including the public option to increase competition with the insurance companies. Rep. Quigley tutored us on the political realities of the situation that while we have a majority Democratic House and Senate, many are so-called "Blue Dog" Democrats, that is, Democrats from conservative states. Gaining their support for a wide-ranging plan has proven difficult.

What can WE do?

Make your voice heard while bringing others on board for Health Care Reform. Join us for our second Health Care Phone Bank on Tuesday, Sept. 22 at our office, 2527 N. Lincoln, from 5-8 pm. 43rd Ward Democrats again teams up with Organizing for America to speak with our neighbors. Sign up or call us for details at 773-661-2133.

Thanks for your support.

Volunteer in Democratic Campaigns!

2009-08-27T17:16:00.000-07:00

It's petition season and these campaigns would be happy for your help getting signatures. We will also be having a number of Petitioning Parties in our office before the November 2nd deadline. If you want to collect signatures to fulfill the Voting Member requirement we will be notarizing petitions at those times.

Governor
Pat Quinn – incumbent Governor http://www.quinnforillinois.com/
Dan Hynes – Illinois State Comptroller http://www.friendsofdan.com/

Lt Governor
Terry Link – State Senator, Lake County Democratic Party Chairman http://www.blogger.com/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/Temporary%20Internet%20Files/OLK3BA5/www.link30.org/html/biography.html
Art Turner – State Rep., 9th District, Deputy Majority Leader, Illinois House of Representatives http://www.turnerforillinois.com/

Treasurer
Justin Oberman - 43rd Ward Resident and former U.S. Dept of Transportation official www.obermanforillinois.com
Robin Kelly – Chief of Staff, Illinois State Treasurer, former State Rep. 38th District, Political Science Professor http://www.robinfortreasurer.com/

Comptroller
Raja Krishnamoorthi – former Deputy Illinois State Treasurer, former issues director, Obama for Senate http://www.rajaforillinois.com/
David Miller – State Rep, 29th District, practicing dentist in underserved communities http://www.davidmillerillinois.com/

US Senate
Alexi Giannoulias - Illinois State Treasurer www.alexiforillinois.com/
Cheryle Jackson – President, Chicago Urban League http://www.ourcampaigns.com/CandidateDetail.html?CandidateID=211746
David Hoffman - http://www.hoffmanforillinois.com/

Congress 5th District
Mike Quigley – incumbent http://www.quigleyforcongress.com/

State Representatives
Ken Dunkin – incumbent State Rep., 5th District http://www.repkendunkin.com/
John Fritchey – incumbent State Rep., 11th District http://www.blogger.com/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/Temporary%20Internet%20Files/OLK3BA5/www.fritchey.com
Sara Feigenholtz – incumbent State Rep., 12th District http://www.sarafeigenholtz.com/

State Senators
John Cullerton – incumbent State Senator, 6th District, Majority Leader, Illinois Senate http://www.senatorcullerton.com/
Mattie Hunter – incumbent State Senator, 3rd District http://www.blogger.com/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/Temporary%20Internet%20Files/OLK3BA5/www.ilga.gov/senate/Senator.asp?MemberID=1065
Kwame Raoul – incumbent State Senator, 13th District http://www.blogger.com/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/Temporary%20Internet%20Files/OLK3BA5/www.kwameraoul.com/

County Board President
Dorothy Brown – Clerk of the Circuit Court http://www.friendsofdorothybrown.org/
Danny Davis – Congressman, 2nd District http://davisforpresidentofcookcounty.com/
Toni Preckwinkle – Alderman, 4th Ward http://www.tonipreckwinkle.org/

County Clerk
David Orr – incumbent Cook County Clerk http://www.blogger.com/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/Temporary%20Internet%20Files/OLK3BA5/www.davidorr.org/

Metropolitan Water Reclamation District – 3 races
Stella Black – real estate valuation and tax appeals consultant
Todd Connor – business consultant and former investigator with Illinois Inspector General http://www.toddconnor.org/
Mariyana Spyropoulos – incumbent Water Reclamation Commissioner, lawyer http://www.mariyana4cleanwater.com/

County Board Commissioner 10th District
Bridget Gainer – incumbent Cook County Commissioner http://www.bridgetgainer.com/

43rd Ward Democrats - Membership Requirements

2009-08-27T09:20:00.000-07:00

The following is an excerpt from the By-Laws of the 43rd Ward Democrats:
Section 1. A Member of the 43rd Ward Democrats shall be any person who supports the principles of the 43rd Ward Democratic Party organization – electing progressive, fiscally responsible Democratic candidates; running fair, well staffed elections; providing educational and relevant information to our voters; motivating and working towards higher voter turnout in the 43rd ward - subject to certification (and decertification) of the Executive Board

Section 2. A Voting Member of the 43rd Ward Democrats shall be entitled to vote in Ward endorsement sessions called by the Committeeman if the member has met the following criteria:
1) A voting member must be registered to vote within the 43rd Ward.
2) A voting member must have attended at least one non-endorsement Ward Meeting in the nine months prior to the vote in question.
3) A voting member must have met the Volunteer Requirement in the last year prior to the vote in question. This requires the member to have participated in or accomplished at least two of the following:
a. Served on an Official Committee or as Precinct Leader of the 43rd Ward Democrats.
b. Volunteered a minimum of 2 hours for an Endorsed Candidate or, when no endorsement has been made, a Democratic candidate listed by the 43rd Ward Democrats Executive Board.
c. Worked an Event for the Organization by helping with planning, set up, sign in and clean up.
d. Volunteered on an Election Day in some capacity for the 43rd Ward Democrats.
e. Volunteered for an Initiative or Referendum approved by the 43rd Ward Democrats.
f. Volunteered at a Community Event staffing tables, gathering signatures or registering voters on behalf of the 43rd Ward Democrats.
g. Volunteered in the 43rd Ward Democrats Office or doing office work in some capacity.

The Executive Board may approve other activities suitable to fulfill the Volunteer Requirement.

Meet Your Congressman...and More!

2009-08-27T09:15:00.000-07:00

Please join 43rd Ward Democrats for a truly exciting
and informative evening.

Our Honored Guests
Congressman Danny Davis
Congressman Mike Quigley
State Representative Sara Feigenholtz
State Representative John Fritchey

When & Where
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
St. Vincent De Paul Center
2145 N. Halsted

Mysteries Revealed: Becoming a Judge in Cook County

2009-08-27T09:08:00.000-07:00

As Democratic Committeeman of the 43rd Ward, one of my duties is to sit on the committee to "slate" judges and county-wide offices - deciding who will get the official endorsement of the party. So I figured I'd better learn what it's all about before the slating session for the February Primary which takes place on September 10th and 11th.

It turns out that becoming a judge is a very complicated process, and not well understood. It took quite a bit of detective work before we could figure it out and explain it here and in the next couple of newsletters. Read on. . . . So you want to be a judge, do you? If you're an attorney in Cook County, there are three ways to get on the bench.

One: You run for election. There are two paths to get elected: one is to run county-wide - there are 98 seated county-wide judges -and the other is to run in your "subcircuit." In the early 1990's Cook County was divided into 15 subcircuits, or defined geographic areas, where voters elect judges who reside in that specific subcircuit. The idea was to promote greater diversity on the bench. The entire 43rd Ward is in the 8th Subcircuit, where there are currently ten judges.

So you just throw your hat in the ring, right? Wrong. You can't run against an incumbent judge. Once elected, sitting judges do not run for re-election county-wide or in their individual subcircuit. They run for Retention, county wide, every six years. (You've seen that endless part of the ballot where you vote yes or no). Judges are retained if they get 60% of the vote. They are rarely, if ever, removed by the voters. (More on this is a future newsletter.)

Since you can't run against an incumbent, you can only run if there is a "vacancy." When a sitting Judge does not seek retention, retires or resigns, a vacancy is created in that Judge's name. Right now, there are seven vacancies listed for the county-wide judges. There are also Subcircuit vacancies listed, but there is no vacancy in the 8th Subcircuit at this time.

Having to run for a specific vacancy means that if there is more than one vacancy - either county-wide or in a specific subcircuit - you have to figure out which one to run for. The practical result is that candidates often circulate petitions for all, or a number of, the vacancies, and at the last minute, pull all but one set (you can't leave all the sets active, because under the law, you can only run for one office at a time).

Complicated? Yes. But wait, there's more.

Normally, your petitions for the judge are due Nov. 2, 2009, the same date as all other petitions for elected office. But judges get a special extended filing period. If a vacancy is declared at the last minute, between Oct. 12 and Nov. 2, 2009, a person can file petitions by November 23, 2009 and still get on the primary ballot for judge.

So, even if there is no vacancy right now, an alert candidate will keep an eye (and ear) on the rumor mill. Someone could announce their retirement before November 2, and if you are quick, you could still get your petitions in.

So if you want to be a judge, are your chances over if there is no vacancy by November 2? Nope.

Two: Get Appointed First, Run Later. Remember, you can only run if there is a vacancy. But what happens if a judge retires, resigns, or fails to seek retention after November 2, 2009? Under Illinois law, the judge has to announce whether is he is going to seek retention no later than six months before the next GENERAL election. That means if a judge resigns, retires, or does nothing by MAY 2, 2010, 3 months after the Primary, that creates a vacancy.

What happens then? A vacancy created after next February's primary is filled by appointment by the Illinois Supreme Court. The person appointed serves out the departing Judge's term until the next Primary election in 2012 when he will have to run for election to fill the vacancy of the Judge he replaced. That person has the advantage of incumbency, which, while not a guarantee, is certainly a help.

So that's it, right? You run, or you are appointed to fill a vacancy and run in the next election. No - there is a third way to become a judge.

Three: Become an Associate Judge. There are 146 sitting "associate judges" now in Cook County. They can serve in exactly the same courts as the other judges (except they cannot try felony cases, unless authorized by the Supreme Court) but they earn about $10,000/year less than full circuit court judges, Associate judges are elected by the other sitting circuit court judges, and are up for "re-election" by the Circuit Court judges every four years.

Case closed - but we just hit the highlights. It's not easy to become a judge, and we have a mixed system of appointment and election. But you notice, in all of this, I haven't talked about whether potential judges are qualified or not, or how slating works. Stay tuned for future newsletters for the answers to these mysteries, and my recommendations for reform.

2010 Primary Election - Petitions Hit the Streets!

2009-08-04T09:47:00.000-07:00

Candidates for various offices - County, State and Federal - are beginning to gear up for the 2010 Primary Election. Nominating Petitions for these offices can now be circulated, begining today, August 4th, 2009.

Passing petitions is a time consuming task requiring a lot of door-to-door work from the candidates and the volunteers working with them. While there are very specific signature requirements for a candidate to successfully make it onto the ballot, those signing the petitions sometimes make mistakes - they are registered to vote in another state, they give an old or incorrect address, or other such errors. That is why candidates routinely collect twice, or even three times, the number of signatures required so that they can be assured of having enough "good" signatures.

We are listing the Signature Requirements for the Democratic Candidates seeking to be nominated in the 2010 Primary so that it will be clear that Petition Circulating is a big undertaking.

For United States Senate, Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State, Comptroller and Treasurer: At least 5,000 signatures but not more than 10,000.

State Senator: 1,000 signatures.

State Representative: 500 signatures.

Cook County Offices:
County Clerk, Treasurer, Sheriff, Assessor, County Board President: 8,147 signatures.

County Commissioner District 2: 316 signatures.
County Commissioner District 10: 319 signatures.

Member of Board of Review of Coook County: 5,022 signatures.

Commissioner of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District: 7,981 signatures.

Supreme Court Judge (1st Judicial District, if vacancy occurs): 3,417 signatures.

Appellate Court Judge(1st District, if vacancy occurs): 3,417 signatures.

Circuit Court Judge (County Wide, if vacancy occurs): 3,268 signatures.

Subcircuit Court Judge (8th Subcircuit, if vacancy occurs):500 Signatures.

It Matters.

2009-08-03T13:29:00.000-07:00

The Illinois campaign finance reform legislation passed in June includes a provision that State political parties will not endorse candidates for statewide office during the next primary season. Pundits claimed that Gov. Quinn demanded the deal so that Mike Madigan couldn't use State party money to support his daughter, though others said it was a political deal for other purposes. *

But we could also look at this as a temporary reform of the primary process - when the party "slates" a candidate, that candidate is the official party candidate, even when there is a primary. You may recall that in our recent Congressional special election, I voted for an open primary, where no candidate would get the nod as the official candidate of the Democratic party.

So, in the face of new restrictions on raising money, which at the outset tends to favor incumbents, we could look at this provision in the law as a means of leveling the playing field a bit, at least at the statewide level.

And that is what I argued at the July 14 meeting of the Cook County Central Democratic Committee when it was proposed that since the state party would not endorse candidates for Governor, Treasurer and the like, the Cook County Democrats should. I suggested that allowing the Cook County Democrats to endorse candidates seemed a circumvention of the state law.

Rising in defense of the measure was Committeeman Todd Stroger (Cook County Board President) who said that the state legislation was "stupid" and that we should endorse statewide candidates "because that's what we do."

Committeeman Mike Krelov from the North Shore announced he thought both Stroger and I were right: he thought the state law was a bad idea, but he also thought that the proposal was a circumvention of the spirit of the state law - so he was going to vote no.

In defense of the measure, I understand that many other county Democratic parties (and Republicans) are adopting similar measures. Plus, the finance restrictions don't start until 2011 (after the next election).

All I know is, the measure was adopted by voice vote, so I can't tell you who in addition to myself voted against it.

It does matter when you question the status quo and stand for principle.

What do you think?

What a Swell Party We Had!

2009-08-03T13:20:00.000-07:00

The 43rd Ward Democrats Second Annual Unity Fundraiser was an enormous success! It was a delightful cool summer evening outside and standing room only inside. Thanks to each of you who attended and helped make this a night to remember.

A very special thanks to our gracious hosts Shirley Weese and Donald Young for inviting us into their lovely home.

The crowd was entertained by the sharp musical satire of the Chicago Bar Association's Road Show performers.

We also want to extend Special Thanks to:
Dilly Lilly Flowers - Christine Gorman
Sugarplum Catering - Richard Mott
Catering ◊ Chocolate - Jay Shindler
Leona's Restaurant - Sam Toia
Basil Leaf Café - Sean Tehrani
House of Glunz - Christopher Glunz
Milito's - Tony Milito
Lincoln Park Market - Bruce Longanecker

Many of our local elected officials served as hosts along with numerous friends in the 43rd Ward community.

This is a tremendously important time for the Democratic Party, including those of us in the 43rd Ward. As we approach next year's state-wide elections, with a Primary in February, we are at a real tipping point in Illinois politics. We can make real change at a county and state level.

Thanks to all of you who gave so generously at our Unity Event.

You Are Invited...

2009-06-30T13:20:00.000-07:00

Second Annual 43rd Ward Democrats Unity Fundraiser

Michele Smith, Committeeman

Thursday, July 9

6:00 pm - 8:00 pm

At the Historic Home of Shirley Weese and Donald Young

626 W. Arlington Place

Political Satire byThe Chicago Bar Association's"Christmas Spirits" Road Show

Co-Chairs

Diane Graham-Henry and Tom Hall · Henry FeinbergHon. Marty Oberman · J.B. Pritzker

Bill and Laura Wangerin, Jr.

Our Honored Hosts

Hon. Charles Bernardini, Hon. Forrest Claypool, Hon. Annazette Collins, Hon. John Cullerton,
Hon.Vi Daley, Hon. Sara Feigenholtz,
Hon. Bridget Gainer, Hon. Brendan Houlihan,
Hon. Jim Houlihan, Hon. Mattie Hunter,
Hon. Dan Hynes, Hon. Lisa Madigan,
Hon. Dawn Clark Netsch, Hon. David Orr,
Hon. Larry Rogers, Jr., Hon. Peg Roth,
Hon. Debra Shore, Hon. Bill Singer
and Hon. Larry Suffredin

Sponsors

Eugene Chesrow Burt Lewis

Please RSVP http://www.actblue.com/page/43rdunity.

Tickets: $50

Friend $250
Host $500
Sponsor $1,000

Co-Chair $2,500

You may also contact michele43rd@gmail.com
or call 773-661-2133

Important Membership Meeting!

2009-05-20T11:51:00.000-07:00

Save The Date
Tuesday, June 2nd
6:30 PM
Lincoln Park Library
1150 W. Fullerton
(parking available)

Guest Speaker:
County Commissioner Bridget Gainer
Representative for the 10th District
Please RSVP to michele43rd@gmail.com

Learn about all the ways you can get involved with the
43rd Ward Democrats:
Membership
Volunteer Opportunities
Help with Voter Registration
Become a Precinct Leader
Be an Election Day Worker
Become an Election Judge

Change We Can Believe In - Right Here in Illinois.

2009-05-20T11:47:00.000-07:00

If you supported Barak Obama for President now is your time to help make change happen here in Illinois.

Just as we were celebrating the election of our new President, we suffered the humiliation of having our Governor removed from office for alleged corruption, and we endure the almost daily reports of mismanagement in many of our local governments. The reason this has happened is that, for a long time, some people here at home didn't really follow our politics in Illinois. And that happened in particular, right here, in Lincoln Park, Old Town and the Gold Coast - the 43rd Ward. For example, last November, over 30,000 people turned out to vote for President Obama in our ward - a voter turnout of 82%. But in our last series of State elections, only 24% of voters came out in our ward.

We can change all that. Start by joining us for an exciting evening:
Important Organizational Meeting
Tuesday, June 2nd
6:30 pm
Lincoln Park Library
1150 W. Fullerton

Guest Speaker: County Commissioner Bridget Gainer
Representative for the 10th District
RSVP to michele43rd@gmail.com

The 43rd Ward is the only ward in the entire city of Chicago that never voted for Rod Blagojevich (other candidates carried the ward in his previous elections). Imagine the change we could make in our State, our County, and our City if our voters here in the ward turned out in the way we did to elect President Obama.

Those of you who volunteered to elect President Obama know how to do it - you walked precincts and made phone calls into communities.

We're going to give you the same opportunity to help elect progressive Democrats right in your neighborhood - to organize parties in your own homes. Turn the vote out in your block and your own precinct - using the same tools you used in the Obama campaign.

You can join a larger effort here in Illinois that is committed to reform our State, County and city. Learn how on June 2nd - or email me at michele43rd@gmail.com.

Mike Quigley's Replacement on the County Board?

2009-04-08T13:26:00.000-07:00

We pick a new County Commissioner on April 11.

On April 11, the Democratic Committeemen who servein Commissioner Quigley's 10th district will meet to select his replacement. I'm one of those committeemen, so I get to vote.

There are a number of folks thinking about putting their hat in the ring, including me. Thus far, most interested people have been meeting informally with the committeemen. As soon as these names become "official," I'll give you the list.

Here is the process.

"The Democratic Cook County Board District Committee for the 10th District of the Cook County Board of Commissioners will meet on Saturday, April 11, 2009 at 10:00 a.m. at Truman College, located at 1145 W. Wilson, Chicago, IL, 60640, for the purpose of organizing and appointing a person to fill a vacancy in office caused by the anticipated resignation of Cook County Commissioner Mike Quigley."

Those people interested in filling Commissioner Quigley's seat on the County Board will give a presentation to the Committeeman and answer their questions. This meeting is open to the public and I encourage you to attend and hear from these individuals, including me, about how they intend to serve and what their qualifications are.

You must apply by April 9.

If you are interested in applying, you must follow this process: "Any person interested in appearing before the Committee to be considered for appointment must submit: (1) a current resume; and (2) a completed Statement of Economic Interests form. The Statement of Economic Interests form is available at the office of the Cook County Clerk, 69 W. Washington, Suite 500, Chicago, IL, Zip Code 60602, or through the Clerk's website: http://www.voterinfonet.com/sub/disclosures.asp."

There is a deadline for submitting the information to be considered by the Committeemen: "Submissions must be made to the office of the Cook County Democratic Party, 134 N. LaSalle, Suite 1420, Chicago, IL 60602 no later than 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 9, 2009." You will not be considered if you don't apply.

The Committeemen will deliberate in private after the public presentations have been made. As I told you in a previous post, the winning candidate must get a majority of the weighted vote of the committeemen.

So, what do you think? Tell me at michele43rd@gmail.com

What Happens Next?

2009-04-08T13:17:00.001-07:00

Cook County Commissioner Mike Quigley has been nominated for Congress, what happens next?

1. We have to get Commissioner Quigley elected to Congress.
While we believe Commissioner Quigley will be elected handily, the Republicans have nominated a very far right candidate. We must make sure their candidate is defeated.
Help turn out the vote for Mike and build our ward organization by being a precinct leader for the April 7 election!

Early Voting has begun. You can vote March 16th - April 2nd, Monday - Saturday, 9am to 5pm, at:
Lincoln Park Library,
1150 W. Fullerton
Chicago Election Board, 69 W. Washington, Lower Level

You can get more Early Voting information or check your Voter Registration and find your polling place for April 7th.

2. We have to select a new Cook County Commissioner - and I want to hear from you!

Under Illinois law, vacancies are filled by the vote of the committeemen in that district who are of the same party as the office-holder. That means that the Democratic Committeemen who serve in Commissioner Quigley's district will select his replacement, who will until Commissioner Quigley's term expires in 2010.

I'm one of those committeemen, and I'll explain how it works. Each committeeman gets a "weighted vote." The weighted vote equals the total number of votes Commissioner Quigley received in November 2006, when he was last elected. Now you know why voter turnout is critical - it determines my weighted vote.

Here's how the votes break down:
Vote for Quigley
Ward in Nov. 2006
32 1208 John Fritchey
39 3629 Randy Barnette
40 5527 Pat O'Conner
41 210 Mary O'Conner
43 10786 Michele Smith
44 12923 Tom Tunney
45 217 Pat Levar
46 12013 Tom Sharpe
48 12545 Carol Ronen
49 1463 David Fagus
50 2384 Ira Silverstein
Total 62,905
31,453 Needed to win

As you can see, there are several combinations of committeemen's votes that can result in the needed votes.

The vote will not take place until after Commissioner Quigley resigns his seat to take his place in Congress, though there is a procedural meeting on March 20. I will be asking for a public meeting to hear from interested candidates.

Bear in mind that the appointment by the committeemen is no guarantee of keeping the seat. The person who gets the nod will have to campaign for election in 2010 - and potentially have to fight a primary challenge.

I'd like to know who you think might be a good successor to Commissioner Quigley. You've probably read a lot of names in the blogs and newspapers. Let me know by what you think by replying at michele43rd@gmail.com and tell me what ward you live in. If you don't live in the 43rd Ward, please let your committeeman know as well.

I look forward to hearing from you.

5th CD Candidates Forum Packed!

2009-02-01T16:33:00.001-08:00

Over 500 people attended the 5th CD Democratic Candidates Forum at DePaul on Super Bowl Sunday withat least another 100 people listening outside the hall! 11 candidates for the Congressional seat vacated by Rahm Emanuel were heard from. The event was hosted by the DePaul College Democrats and presented by IVI-IPO. the Northside DFA and the 43rd Ward Democrats.

We needed a long table to seat all the candidates! To learn more about the candidates, you can click through to the links on the right of this page or you can go to http://www.illinois5th.com/. The forum was broadcast live on 820-AM Chicago's Progressive Talk Radio (commentary by veteran political reporter Dick Kay) and was recorded by CAN-TV, which will air the forum on February 22 at 9 am on CAN TV21, February 24 at 9:30 am CAN TV19, February 27 at 1:30 pm on CAN YV21, March 1 at 2:30 pm on CAN TV21 and on March 2 at 8:00 am on CAN TV19.

43rd Ward Committeeman Michele Smith with the forum moderator Lynn Sweet, Washington Bureau Chief for the Chicago Sun-Times.

News Reports

Progress Illinois - with sound clips!
Chicago Reader
Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Tribune
Citizen journalist captured the comments live!

Candidate Forum!

2009-01-22T15:38:00.000-08:00

5th Congressional District Candidates Forum
Sunday, February 1, 2009
1:00 pm - 3:00 pm
DePaul Student Center
2250 N. Sheffield
multi-purpose room

Moderator: Lynn Sweet, Chicago Sun-Times
Washington D.C. Bureau Chief

The event is presented by DePaul Democrats and co-hosted by 43rd Ward Democrats.

In the interest of fair and open government, 43rd Ward Democrats have supported an Open Primary and are committed to providing a platform for all candidates who have announced in this race - all 15 of them! The list on the right includes all Democratic candidates who have filed petitions to be on the ballot for the March 3rd Primary.

The Reader's Ben Joravsky writes about the event.

43rd Ward Dems Witness Change...

2009-01-20T20:40:00.000-08:00

We celebrated today as Barack Obama took the oath of office. What a thrilling year it's been for the new 43rd Ward Democratic Ward organization. We had an Inauguration Party and over 100 people watched the ceremonies and cheered on our new President. Here are some of the faces that made our victories and accomplishments possible. Each person was asked to say how they felt on this historic day. We hope you'll add your voice to theirs! [To turn off the music, which is built into the slide show tool, click on the speaker. To see what each person said, move your cursor over the image.]

It's An Open Primary in 5th CD!

2009-01-12T12:32:00.000-08:00

The Committeemen of the 5th Congressional District met for a slating session this past Saturday. The meeting was convened to hear from potential candidates and decide whether or not to officially endorse one of them as the Party candidate.

As I indicated in my last post to this blog, in the interest of fair and open government, I am in support of an Open Primary and committed to providing a platform for all candidates who have announced in this race.

So, I am pleased and proud that in my first slating session as Democratic Committeeman of the 43rd Ward I was able to cast my vote for an Open Primary and that it carried the day!

According to Lynn Sweet of the Chicago Sun-Times:

"Michelle Smith, the new committeewoman of the 43rd Ward, argued with O'Connor about his suggestion that "...as committemen we 'shirk our responsibilities' by supporting an open primary."

"I disagree," she said, noting that Barack Obama never would have been slated to be the Democratic candidate for president, she said.

"I don't know if we're shirking our responsibilities if we fail to endorse someone," she said. "I wonder if we are embracing our responsibilities to build involvement and to revitalize this party. I am quite concerned that should we choose on just three days' notice to slate a candidate, we will turn off the voters.""

Read Lynn Sweet's complete coverag of the slating session at: http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2009/01/omg_open_primary_for_rahm_eman.html

5th Congressional District Race

2009-01-05T13:50:00.000-08:00

The date has been set. The special election for Illinois' 5th Congressional District seat will be held on April 7, 2009, with a special primary election to be held on March 3. This election is to fill the seat of Rahm Emanuel, incoming Chief of Staff to President-elect Barack Obama.

We have come into office as the 43rd Ward Democrats pledged to fair government, openness and transparency. We, therefore, support this open primary and are committed to providing a platform for all the those candidates who have announced their run for this seat.

We will be providing contact and event information for each candidate and keep the community up to date and informed as the petitioning begins and we learn more about each candidate's stance on the issues important to Progressive Democrats.

We are committed to hosting a public forum for voters in the 43rd Ward so that we can all be educated about the candidates in this very important race.

The candidates who have thus far filed with the FEC are listed on the right.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-05T13:45:00.000-08:00

Thanks to all of you, I was elected Democratic Committeeman of the 43rd Ward in February 2008. We've accomplished a lot.
43rd Ward Democrats:

Registered more than 1,000 new 43rd Ward voters.
Delivered the 5th highest voter turn-out in the city!
Filled more than 150 Democratic Election Judge slots with a record number of 43rd Ward residents as judges.
Introduced Anita Alvarez, Democratic Candidate for State's Attorney, to the ward at our first Membership Meeting.
Sponsored trips for Obama to Michigan, Wisconsin and Indiana and hosted phone-banking volunteers for Obama at our new HQ.
Ran a highly successful Election Day with dozens of volunteers who drove judges to the polls, delivered lunches and answered phones.
Hosted our First Annual Unity Fundraiser with Peg Roth, the former 43rd Ward Committeeman, as our Honorary Co-Chair and over 150 people in attendance.
Held a Rally for Obama co-hosted by DePaul Democrats, Students & Families for Obama and the Obama Campaign where over a hundred students and longtime residents volunteered to make phone calls, go door-to-door and go out of town to help elect Barack Obama.
Opened our New Ward Office - at 2527 N. Lincoln Avenue. It's proven a great spot for Democrats to gather. Come visit soon!

Save The Date!

2008-11-20T09:34:00.000-08:00

Please make plans to join us for the 43rd Ward Democrats Holiday Bash and Obama Victory Celebration! Mark your calendar and put it in your Blackberry. We need your help ushering in the Holidays and celebrating the change we all worked hard to bring to the world!

Date: Sunday, December 7th

Time: 1:00pm until 4:00 pm

Location: 2527 N. Lincoln Avenue

RSVP at michele43rd@gmail.com

or call us at 773-661-2133

What’s Next for Children’s Memorial Hospital?

2008-11-19T14:57:00.000-08:00

I wanted to share my notes of the recent community meeting held at St. Vincent DePaul Center regarding the Children’s Memorial site.

Alderman Vi Daley and the City of Chicago Planning Department hosted the meeting to introduce Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum, Inc. (HOK), a well respected land use and architecture firm, who apparently will be leading a four month investigation into potential uses for the Children’s Memorial site.

Here is the link from Alderman Daley’s website describing the firm.
http://www.chicago43rd.org/index.aspx?loc=2&dbx=224&sub=1

Todd Meyer, HOK principal, led the meeting and explained that the scope of work for which HOK was retained is as follows:
Market analysis
Historic Structure analysis
Site Analysis
Refine Initial Conceptual Recommendations

Meyer showed a site map and commented on its excellent proximity to transportation, shopping, schools, open space, especially highlighting its proximity to DePaul University and its expanding campus, as well as Lincoln Elementary.

These characteristics make the site extremely valuable from a market and an urban planning perspective. HOK posed some questions:

Could there be some civic open space, indoor or outdoor?
Could its position on the street be taken advantage of to benefit the community?
The site in in the line of the expansion to date by DePaul. Could it part of the expansion of DePaul?
Or perhaps local elementary schools?

HOK and the City reviewed the site’s zoning, noting that it is a planned development (PD158) zoned only for hospital use at this time. It was acknowledged that given the size of the site, it would need to be a planned development. This means, in practical terms, that the eventual developer would have to negotiate the zoning with the city.

HOK emphasized that their role was NOT to actually design the site, but to review the situation and present a range of options that would be feasible; to give a road map of what is possible.

They have a four month timeline, with a possible 3 or 4 community meetings to receive input. Children's has not even begun to market the property, according to the consultants.

HOK introduced the following as their team:

Alderman Daley and her staff
City of Chicago Department of Planning
HOK
Economic Research Associates (ERA) has been retained to assess the market value of the property.
Metro Tranportation has been retained to assess what traffic and access demands any redevelopment would put on the community
Granacki Historic Consultants has been retained to consult on the historic aspects of the site http://www.historicpreservationchicago.com/index.html
Flowers Communications will handle public relations for the project

HOK emphasized that they had no preconceived notions for the site and wanted input.

The following questions and comments were put forth:

What guarantees will the community have that an eventual developer will comply with any recommendations that come out of the study?

A representative of the Jane Adams Senior Caucus reminded the audience that several precincts in Lincoln Park had passed an “inclusionary housing ordinance” requiring a certain percentage of units in any development be set aside for affordable housing and asked Alderman Daley for her support. Alderman Daley said she would consider it.

It was noted that five neighborhood groups bordered on Children’s because the hospital blocked access through the neighborhood and it was suggested that Burling Street and Kemper be reopened to reestablish the street grid in that area. There was serious opposition to this suggestion.

It was suggested that a strong “community benefits agreement” be enacted as part of the planned development to ensure that the developer is bound to provide specified public benefits.

Other suggestions from the floor:
Relocate the Lincoln Park Public Library to the site Expand Lincoln Elementary
Create affordable housing
Locate a grocery store or hotel on the site
Implement communications upgrades
Create a mixed use “community crossroads” with open space, public meeting space, housing, hotel, etc.

Former alderman Marty Oberman noted that, in his experience, the market price approach will always favor the so-called “highest and best use”; that is, one that maximizes the financial return to the owner. That would likely be a big residential high rise. Thus, if this is truly a plan to benefit the community, the plan should drive the price of the property, the price should not drive the plan.

Another participant asked, “How can this work? Children’s wants to maximize their revenue. So does the city.”

Many questions, including my own, centered around community involvement in and building community support for the eventual plan. While the HOK process included some community meetings, it did not appear that community members would be “rolling up their sleeves.” How will true community concensus be achieved.

There is a possibility of putting in an office in the neighborhood where people could get and give information. Alderman Daley also promised a website about the process

Several people also expressed concern about the demolition process and asked for assurances that demolition would take place safely and without the release any toxic waste.

I asked that the recently shuttered Lincoln Park Hospital be put in the planning process. I also suggested that the Steering Committee should have community members - residents and business owners - included. We have a wealth of knowledge in the 43rd Ward, with many architects and planners in our midst.

Alderman Daley replied that she hoped she did not have to wait until 2012 to resolve the use of Lincoln Park Hospital and that she had already spoken with the owner, who was considering converting it to senior housing.

I for one, believe there should be strong community involvement in this process and would like to call for a working Steering Committee to oversee and observe the process over the 4 months designated.

We Did It!

2008-11-14T10:24:00.000-08:00

Congratulations! Here's to all of you who volunteered, served as Election Judges, made phone calls, went on trips out of state and stood in long lines to cast your vote! Victory is sweet and came as the result of hard work and a willingness to believe that we can change the world!

We had an 80% voter turn out in the 43rd Ward with 5,000 newly registered voters! We had more election judges who reside in the 43rd Ward serving in our polling places than ever before! We opened a new campaign office that was soon bursting with Obama-mania as we hosted phone banking. And the 5th Congressional District had a higher number of volunteers who went out of town for Obama than anywhere else in the country!

We hoped we could, we believed we could and....We Did It!

Con Con - Pro Or Con?

2008-10-25T21:51:00.000-07:00

Con Con - Pros and Cons

Monday, October 27th, 7 pm

On November 4th you'll be asked to vote on whether or not Ilinois should have a Constitutional Convention. 43rd Ward Democrats would like to give you both sides of the issue. It's the first thing on the ballot and it deserves our attention.

Join us at the Schmidt Academic Building, 2320 N. Kenmore, room 254, on the DePaul campus for a debate on the issues surrounding the Convention on Monday, October 27th at 7 pm.

Lt. Governor Pat Quinn and Greg Pierce of United Power for Action and Justice will be speaking for the Convention and a representative of Alliance to Protect the Illinois Constitution will be speaking against the convention.

RSVP or questions at michele43rd@gmail.com.

Chicago Tribune says "Vote Yes."

The Illinois League of Women Voters says "Vote No."

New Ward Office Bursting With Obama-mania!

2008-10-25T16:06:00.000-07:00

The new 43rd Ward Democratic Party office at 2527 N. Lincoln Avenue was bursting at the seams this Saturday as more than 50 people showed up to make calls for the Obama campaign!
We need you! We're sending people to Indiana and Michigan. We're making calls day and night. Call Rakhael at 312-806-8888 0r email rross@obamafd.com. Who were some of the volunteers on the phones?
Beatrice Muchman, 75, from the Gold Coast, said "I'm here because I need to DO something and it's more inspiring to do it with others. I want to help get Obama elected before I have a nervous breakdown!" Gary Alexander, 43, from Lake View, is an actor and he's spending his Saturday with us because "I want to make sure Obama wins and wins BIG." This is Gary's first time volunteering for a candidate. Christine, 30, from Lincoln Park, says "I'm here to support Obama because his message has been amazing and inspiring and I'm thrilled to be part of the campaign." Christine has never volunteered for a candidate before. THANK YOU so much, Beatrice, Gary and Christine and the hundreds of other volunteers who have passed through the doors of the newly opened 43rd Ward Democratic Party office. This is just the beginning of a vigorous, people-powered politics for our community!

Debate Watch Party With 43rd Ward Dems Oct 15!

2008-10-11T11:11:00.000-07:00

Join us on Wednesday, October 15th for a Debate Party with 43rd Ward Democrats!

Bring your friends and join us at The Grand Central, 950 W. Wrightwood, for the last of the Presidential Debates on October 15th. The debate starts at 8:00, so get there a little early to save your seat! $10 buys you a drink and snacks during the debate. It's more fun with friends!

We Open New Ward Office!

2008-10-11T10:33:00.000-07:00

Join us in our new ward office at 2527 N. Lincoln Avenue!

There's lots to do for the Obama Camapaign. Come by any day from 12pm to 5pm and in the evenings from 5pm to 9pm to make Phone Calls for Obama! Contact Rakhael at 312-806-8888 0r email rross@obamafd.com.

COMING UP :Saturday, October 18th: Go To Michigan for Obama!

You can make a difference door-to-door in Michigan on October 18th. The Obama Campaign also needs you there on November 1st, November 2nd and on Election Day! Contact Shanti Singham at 773-343-2103 or at ssingham@williams.edu for more information and to sign up!

What A Swell Party We Had!

2008-09-13T10:01:00.000-07:00

The 43rd Ward Democrats First Annual Unity Fundraiser was an enormous success! Despite the downpour outside, it was standing room only inside. Thanks to each of you who attended and helped make this a night to remember.

A very special thanks to our gracious hosts Bob and Eudice Fogel for inviting us into their lovely home and to Peg Roth, our former 43rd Ward Democratic Committeeman, who served as Honorary Co-Chair of the event. Stunning floral arrangements were provided by Dilly Lily - one of our local 43rd Ward businesses.

Many of our local elected officials served as hosts along with numerous friends in the 43rd Ward community. Please take a moment to look at our Unity Event Photos to see the full range of our 150 attendees.

This is a tremendously important time for the Democratic Party, including those of us in the 43rd Ward. The success of our Fundraiser makes it possible for us to continue organizing for the November election. It ensures that we will be able to continue our voter registration drive and implement a precinct operation that will turn out the vote in November. It means continuing to make phone calls and making trips to Michigan to turn out the vote there for Barack Obama. It means we can truly make a difference in this most important race for the White House.

That's why we came together for this Unity Event and that's where you can help. To volunteer in the election effort please contact me at michele43rd@gmail.com.

Live From The Democratic Convention!

2008-09-07T13:22:00.000-07:00

Day One:
Desperately Seeking Credentials, or Networking Gone Wild!

I arrived in Denver early Monday after only a few hours sleep. After dropping off my suitcase, I spent the day with a friend who is a veteran of conventions. First order of business? Get me a credential so that I can watch the convention tonight!

As I am not a delegate, I have to get new credentials every day of the convention. My experienced friend said to get credentials we have to talk with everyone who might have access to them - party officials, large contributors, and political figures and see if any of them has an extra.

The Illinois Democratic Party is having a lottery to allocate their excess credentials. I put my name in, and we move on. Along the way, I chat with all the people I know - in no particular order, Com. Mike Quigley, State Rep. John Fritchey, Peg Roth, State Sen. Kwame Raoul, my old collegue from the U.S. Attorney's Office Sheldon Zenner, Debra Shore, Jesse White, Jesse Jackson, Jr., Ald. Bob Fioretti, Ald. Danny Solis, Rep. Luis Guitierrez, Sandye Jackson, and many more. We took off for the Ritz, then the Hyatt, the Comfort Inn, back to the Marriott, back to the Hyatt. . .

Finally, about 3:00, credentials appear for me. I'm an "honored guest" of the Democratic National Committee. But boy do my feet hurt!

Finally, we entered the Pepsi Center - and bedlam. My so-called "honored guest" passes were great, but by the time we got there, the place was well over capacity. Up in the bleachers, we were urged to sit on the floor of what I believe was a maintenance catwalk, with nothing more than a 2 foot railing separating us from a long drop to the convention floor. Finally, after a stint of sitting on the steps of the balcony, a seat opened up, and I got a bird's eye view of a magnificent speech by Edward Kennedy, with a full demonstration of support by the crowds of delegates on the arena floor.

Later, we got into a skybox (free hotdogs) to watch Michelle Obama deliver a speech that the delegates on the floor carefully listened to, and enthusically endorsed. Spirits are high.

Day Two:
Women's Day

I thought I had a source of credentials for the day, so I decided to take in a few of these meetings. First up - the Women's Caucus of the Democratic Party. Not truly a meeting, the caucus was a rally of about a thousand women, listening to many prominent Democratic women, including for example, the President of Planned Parenthood, officials of the Democratic Party, and a few television celebrities - Eva Longoria ("Desparate Housewives" and Fran Dresser ("The Nanny") - who are both active in women's issues.

Frankly, after a while the speeches seemed sort of the same ("We need change! We need Barack Obama!) while the spectators cheered and shook tamborines (furnished on each chair courtesy of Lifetime Television). But I sat up straight and listened to businesswoman Sheila Johnson, one of the founders of BET, as she called it straight on the issues of race, sex and age in this campaign. "Women hate negative campaigning . . . We have the power to bring back honor the political process." After dropping in for a buffet by another organization, I moved on to the main women's event of the day - a rally sponsored by Emily's List.

Again - thousands of women in a room (no chairs!), with speeches from incredible women. My favorite - Barbara Mikulski, the first woman elected to the Senate without inheriting the seat from a husband. I remember Barbara Mikulski as a Congressman in 1974, when I was a student intern on the House Subcommittee on the Environment. Mikulski worked hard on those issues, and then walked down the hall to serve on the House Judiciary Committee to impeach President Nixon. She is fiery and passionate. She is very very short and well, stout. She said when she decided to run, she was told "This isn't the way a Senator looks." Well, she remarked, this IS the way a Senator looks. The crowd cheered, and I felt better.

When Hillary Clinton appeared, the place erupted. Ellen Malcolm, the founder of Emily's List, was a chair of the Clinton Campaign, and had already made a passionate endorsement of Barack Obama. Hillary, in a preview of her speech last night, told the crowd "all the hours of work and doors you knocked for me, I want you to do the same for Barack Obama."

The Emily's List event ended at four. I walked back to the Marriott to drop off the buttons, pamphlets and posters accumulated during the day and then marched off to the Denver Performing Arts Center for a reception hosted by Mayor Daley. By the time I got there, the food was all gone (and that reception started at 4:00). But I ran into more people I knew - Aldermen Richard Munoz (nursing a broken foot), Bob Fioretti, State Rep. Barbara Currie, former State Rep. Judy Erwin, and many others.

To avoid a repeat of Monday, many left early to trek over to the Pepsi Center and get in line, where I met Sun-Times columnist Lynn Sweet. And then onto the convention and that great speech by Hillary Clinton. We have to get Barack Obama elected.

Day Three:
All Politics is Local

I haven't yet reported that each day of the convention starts with a breakfast for the Illinois delegates and an hourlong meeting, chaired by Mayor Daley. The Mayor and others address the delegates and the rest of us "hanger-oners" watch or kibbutz in the back of the room.

But today was an amazing experience. We heard from Senator Durbin, Congressmen Bobby Rush (recovering from cancer), Danny Davis (who represents part of the 43rd Ward), Governor Blagovich and finally, Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr.

As everybody knows, politics down in Springfield are - well - complicated. And troublesome right now. The message of every speaker on the panel was unity - between Hillary and Barack delegates, and among Illinois politicians.

I wish I could report all the terrific remarks and stories. I admire a good political speech and today was filled with them. But Jesse Jackson, Jr. topped it off. You may have already read reports about this in the papers or on the evening news.

Frankly, part of the reason I came to the convention was to meet many people I had not had the opportunity to meet. Rep. Danny Davis graciously spent a few minutes with this newcomer, and I have chatted with a large array of local Democrats (many from the Ward) - Marilyn Katz, Cynthia Kobel, Aldermen Tom Tunney and Joe Moore, Water Commissioner Patricia Horton, and many others.

But I was most amazed by the young reporter I met while talking to someone. He mentioned that he lived in the Ward, and finally admitted that he was a high school student from Lincoln Park High School covering the convention for Pioneer Press. I was so proud - I invited him to our 43rd Ward event on September 4.

I don't mean just on the convention floor - I mean everywhere. Speaker Madigan hosted a reception for Illinoisians at Coors Field. There was more food and drink that I can imagine. Buses to the event from the hotel were sponsored by Peabody Coal Company. Thought you would like to know.

And I just got back from the Illinois delegation's party sponsored by Speaker Jones, State Senator Mattie Hunter (who represents part of the 43rd Ward), and others. I was so fired up from the proceedings on the floor tonight - incredible speeches by President Clinton, Joe Biden and the roll call - that I just wasn't tired.

Day Four:
From the Precinct, to the Ward, to the Nation

Attending this convention has benefited our Ward in so many ways - I have met public officials who are interested in our ward, and met fellow Democrats from whom I am learning.

But more directly, after the morning Illinois caucus, I stopped in for a seminar called "Precinct First" for a seminar on precinct organizing. Here were some progressive Democrats from Denver, teaching a Chicagoan how to organize a precinct. Of course, we think we know it all, but these guys are organizing precincts in places you can hardly find a Democrat. I picked up some nice materials that I'm sure we'll incorporate into our precinct organizing training.

In a terrific turn of credential olympics, my friend Mary gave me her "special guest" credential while she got a better one. That allowed me to sit in the 100 section of Invesco Field, which if you know football stadiums, is right below the skyboxes. The rest of the day was spent getting to and attending the incredible day at the stadium. We took shuttle buses from downtown. People with community credentials (that is, public tickets) were not allowed on the shuttle buses and had to walk from public transportation (like parking at McCormick Place for a Bears game).

Mary and I stood in line behind State Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie and State Senator Julie Hamos, and it took us a long while to realize that we were standing behind actress Jorja Fox, who is on CSI and played Secret Service Agent Gina Toscano on the West Wing (you know, the one who protected Zoe Barlett). I had to take a picture.

When we arrived, we learned Congressman Jan Shakowsky had already spoken. Then followed a succession of Colorado politicians, a salute to Martin Luther King (yesterday was the anniversary of his "I Have a Dream" speech), and many many other politicians and musical interludes - Sheryl Crow and Stevie Wonder each did two numbers. But most remarkable was the text messaging. The Obama campaign asked people to text in their name and city and flashed them on the screen (did anyone see the "43rd Ward Democrats - Chicago" that I texted?). What a tremendous strategy - they collected 30,000 text messages - meaning 30,000 cell phone numbers for the campaign.

At a couple of points, teams of orange t-shirted volunteers appeared in the aisles, distributing the American flags and posters that you saw being waved.

As I watched speech after speech from politicians local and national, some that were terrific and others not-quite-so and then heard the combative and moving speech by our nominee, Barack Obama, I realized that every person on that stage was just a person, an ordinary person, who for some reason wanted to do something, make a difference. I hope I can, too.

First Annual 43rd Ward Democrats Unity Fundraiser!

2008-08-20T10:23:00.000-07:00

The 43rd Ward Democrats are having a big party...and You're Invited! Please join us on Thursday, September 4th from 6:00 pm until 8:00 pm at the home of Bob and Eudice Fogel at 554 W. Eugenie. Many of you may know this lovely home as "The Elvis House".

The event promises to be great fun and it's a time to meet and catch up with other 43rd Ward Democrats. This is certainly a time when there is lots to talk about.

The money we’re raising will go to support the 43rd Ward Democrats so that we can continue programs like voter registration, selecting and training election judges, hosting informative public programs such as candidate forums, renting office space for volunteer programs and running a smooth election day so that everyone can exercise their right to vote.

Please join us. For more information about the event and to RSVP and pay for tickets go to http://www.actblue.com/page/43unity .

Obama Campaign Needs our Help!

2008-08-20T08:54:00.001-07:00

I don't have to tell any of you just how important the election is in November. We have a real chance for progressive change in our country. Change takes work. The Obama Campaign has a lot going on and you can help out. The following are opportunities to volunteer for change:

Tuesday, August 19: Organizational Meeting 6:30 pm at The Holiday Club (4000 N. Sheridan Road)

Wednesday, August 20: Cell Phone Bank at Ann Sather (anytime between) 5:30 pm and 8:00 pm

Thursday, August 21: Organizational Meeting 6:30 pm (810 W. Diversey Pkwy)

Saturday, August 23: Volunteers travel to Michigan to register voters, meeting at 7:00 am at the Ann Sather on Belmont. Volunteers can expect to return home by 7:30 pm that evening. We need drivers and will create carpools for those who cannot drive.

If you have any questions or would like to sign up for the Michigan trip please contact me at michele43rd@gmail.com.

The Obama Campaign Needs You This Weekend!

2008-08-06T10:33:00.000-07:00

The Obama campaign is heading to Michigan this Saturday, August 9th, to register voters and sign up volunteers. They will be assembling and will depart from the Ann Sather parking lot (located behind the restaurant at 909 W. Belmont Ave) at 7am for the day and will return no later than 7:30pm.

If you are interested in this opportunity or have any further questions please contact Obama Michigan Trip and give us your day and evening phone numbers.
If you have a car and are willing to drive to Michigan, please contact the campaign right away and let them know how many volunteers you can accomodate in your vehicle. Car pools will be arranged and available for those without vehicles.

Lincoln Park Firemen Cookoff!

2008-08-06T10:30:00.000-07:00

Come join in the fun and feasting on Saturday, August 16th and Sunday, August 17th as four fire houses from in and around Lincoln Park compete grill to grill - and what they're cooking sure sounds good - pulled pork, jerk chicken, turkey legs and steaks!

All the proceeds will go towards improving the working and living conditions at the local firehouses.

The Park West Community Association is sponsoring the event which goes from noon until 10pm on Saturday and noon until 8 pm on Sunday.

For more information or to buy advance tickets for the event, please call 773.506.4460 or email info@parkwestcommunity.com.

43rd Ward Democrats Show Their Pride!

2008-08-01T11:24:00.000-07:00

43rd Ward Democrats at Gay Pride Parade!

We had a blast! We threw candy and mini frisbees to the crowd and wore big rainbow colored sombreros that doubled as rainhats when it started to storm. It was a beautiful day and we were proud to be a part of it! Thanks to all who marched with us, and a special thanks to Kate Covington and friends, who supplied lots of goodies, enthusiasm and beautiful children!

Our Voter Registration Drive is Underway!

2008-08-01T11:12:00.000-07:00

I am pleased to announce the 43rd Ward Democrats Voter Registration Drive! It is our goal to register 1,000 new voters by the November Election. Our Voter Registration Committee is working hard contacting building managers and setting up on-site registrations.

In order to vote in the November election you must be registered, at your current address, by October 7, 2008. If you have moved since the last time you voted, even within the 43rd ward, you must re-register.

Do you need to register? Can we set up a voter registration table in your building? Would you like to volunteer helping to register voters? Please contact me at mailto:michele43rd@gmail.com This is a Committee on the move!

Traffic and Congestion at Halsted and North: A Long Way from Solved

2008-06-11T07:33:00.000-07:00

About seventy residents attended a meeting called by Alderman Daley billed as a Traffic and Congestion report. Residents were anxious to hear about the City's plans in light of the construction of a large Whole Foods on Kingsbury and the rumored move of REI and Apple to the area south of NorthAve. Plus, as many of you know, two large high-rises are also under construction in the area.

What is the city planning to do? Not much, or so it appears. Members of the Department of Planning and consultant unveiled a "Halsted Triangle Plan."

This study, which apparently started in January 2007, was designed to address "development pressures" in this planned manufacturing district (meaning there are not supposed to be residences there). The planners stated they were trying to find a way to develop a look for the area, buffer the industrial areas, and help drivers find their way to parking. The plan showed a streetscape for Kingsbury, which would change the parking from diagonal to parallel, widen the sidewalks and put in trees. The planners also proposed a riverwalk for along the North Branch and a pedestrian bridge which would allow workers from Goose Island to reach the area.

So what's missing from this picture? The residents figured it out quickly -no plan for the traffic in and around the area. Residents peppered the speakers with questions about North Avenue traffic, and explained thatKingsbury is now used as a bit of a relief valve for North/Halsted traffic.

What's next? No new public meetings are scheduled. Send comments to me at michelesmith43rd@gmail.com and we'll compile them. Or contact the city directly to Eva-Marie Tropper, Project Manager - North District at Eva-marie.tropper@cityofchicago.org

Crime in the 43rd Ward! Coming soon to a theatre near you.

2008-05-28T22:00:00.000-07:00

I was privileged to watch some of the filming of the new Johnny Depp movie, Public Enemies, from the set on Lincoln Avenue in front of the Biograph Theatre. What a treat to see the transformation of our familiar street into a re-creation of 1934. And what a reminder that our beautiful Lincoln Park was the site of the killing of a notorious bank robber, John Dillinger. Johnny Depp plays the criminal, and Christian Bale plays the FBI agent who doggedly pursued him.

And another side benefit of the preservation of the historic fronts of our community.

Our First Meeting - A Big Success

2008-05-18T09:22:00.000-07:00

Thanks to all of you who attended our first meeting on Tuesday, April 29th. We had a full house, with representatives from the Obama and Clinton campaigns, as well as some of our elected representatives. Thanks to all of you who volunteered to organize this exciting event.

Anita Alvarez Wows Us All!

If you weren't there, you missed an exciting introduction to our guest speaker Anita Alvarez, Democratic candidate for Cook County State's Attorney. She was dynamic and informative as spoke to us and graciously answered questions. She committted to having a greater presence in the neighborhoods with community offices and to being independent in representing the people when she is elected State's Attorney! Anyone interested in learning more about Anita's campaign or in volunteering should go to Anita Alvarez.

The Secret of Democratic Power

We 43rd Ward Democrats can have a greater say in our Cook County candidates if we increase voter turnout in our Ward. My vote on the Cook County Central Committee depends entirely on voter turnout in Democratic primaries.

So how can we increase the vote in out Ward? Get involved! Here are our committees:

Become an election judge, or join our Election Judge Recruitment Committee - headed by Merle Tresser and Beryl Clemens
Get Out the Vote Committee - precinct leaders, passers and more
Event and Fundraising Committee - Plan fun events for 43rd Ward Democrats like picnics, talent shows, debates and more!
Communications Committee - Get the word out to you and other 43rd ward residents

Please contact me at michele43rd@gmail.com if you want to join! All are welcome, and many signed up at our meeting.

Community Groups

Volunteers from the Committeee to Keep Lincoln Park Public, were on hand to sign up volunteers and to keep us all informed on the latest developments with the Chicago Park District and the Latin School. As you may know, the Illinois Appellate Court recently enjoined construction of the field. To learn more go to cklpp.

And Esta Kallen, President of the League of Women Voters, invites you to learn more at lwvchicago.org/.

I look forward to hearing from you. Please get in touch if you are interested in being on a committee or have ideas for future meetings at michele43rd@gmail.com or call us for more information at 773-963-8963.

Join us on April 29!

2008-04-11T11:28:00.001-07:00

Join us on April 29th at 7pm at the Lincoln Park Library (1150 W. Fullerton) for the first meeting of our organization! Our guest speaker will be Anita Alvarez, the Democratic Party candidate for Cook County State's Attorney.

RSVP at michele43rd@gmail.com. See you on the 29th!

Election Results Are In...

2008-03-09T14:28:00.001-07:00

Thank you. We won the election for 43rd Ward Democratic Committeeman. It is our victory - I could never have done this without your support, encouragement and friendship.

We had a solid strategy and a truly remarkable group of volunteers who worked tirelessly to keep us on track to the victory on February 5th. And it was a great victory for all of us who believe in openness and true democratic process.

All of you committed to something we all want to believe in - a more open, responsive ward organization, where 43rd Ward Democrats can have their voices heard and be a part of shaping a progressive and fiscally responsible Democratic Party.

I will work to realize this goal. I will work hard to create more inclusive representation of 43rd Ward Democrats in the Cook County Democratic Party and to represent the values and demonstrated wishes of my constituency

I look back with gratitude at the number of people who gave so freely of their time, energy and money to support my campaign. Talented, creative, loyal people, who put in hours of time to help us effect change in the 43rd ward and in the City of Chicago.

Looking to the future, we can work together both in the General Election in the fall and to build and strengthen the Democratic Party in the 43rd Ward. I hope you become part of those efforts - and I look forward to working with you.