adentrodepilsen-blog

[adentrodepilsen-blog]

fuckkyeahchicago:

ahhh… sweet home Chicago!

we’re fully loving the Knee Deep reference on the dude!

also, the only racist part of this equation is the creator directing it to “white” hipsters and not simply saying “all hipsters”. i guess whoever is behind this doesn’t mind hipsters of color, just those with fair skin.

 luckily, we love & accept everybody (except maybe the author?)!

happy wednesday everybody! :)

[tankboy:via mister_scantastic]

This seems to be a continuing theme in the neighborhood. What are your thoughts and opinions?

[adentrodepilsen-blog]

2011 Cinco de Mayo Festival Guide

By Alex V. Hernandez

  Editor in Chief

Cinco de Mayo commemorates the Mexican army's unlikely victory over superior French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. Under the leadership of Mexican General Ignacio Zaragoza Seguín, the ill equipped Mexican army of 4,000 overpowered the 8,000 strong French army, which had been undefeated for almost 50 years. It was a significant morale boost that unified the Mexican people at the time and, 149 years later, is still celebrated by Mexicans via a sense of national unity, patriotism and tequila. Here’s a quick run down of some of Chicago’s Cinco de Mayo events for your viewing pleasure. ¡Viva México!

Thursday

Cinco de Salsation

Ristorante Al Teatro

1227 W. 18th St.

6 p.m. - 10 p.m.

Celebrate Cinco de Mayo at Salsation Theatre Company's fundraiser party, which includes entertainment, appetizers, free raffles, cash bar and two tickets to the company's fall comedy show.

Friday-Sunday

Cinco de Mayo Festival

May 6 : 6 p.m. – 11 p.m. May 7 : 2 p.m. – 11 p.m. May 8 : 2 p.m. – 11 p.m.

This is the 2nd annual three-day festival held heart of Chicago’s Mexican community. The festival features of live music, food, arts & crafts, activities for families and children and much more. 

Music lineup:

Saturday

3:00 p.m.    Banda M-16

4:15 p.m.    Banda Agavena

5:30 p.m.    Jefes del Rancho

6:45 p.m.    Banda Prestigio

8:15 p.m.    Estilo Especial

9:45 p.m.    Ansiedad de Tierra Caliente

Sunday

4:00 p.m.    Sentido de Tierra Caliente

5:00 p.m.    Tamborazo El Penasco

6:00 p.m.    Triangulo de Oro

7:15 p.m.    Reencuentro Musical

8:30 p.m.    Alacranes Musical

9:45 p.m.    Compas del Terre

Saturday

Mole De Mayo 2011

1818 S. Paulina Ave.

10:00am - 8:00pm

Eighteenth Street Development Corporation invites you to come celebrate Cinco de Mayo in Pilsen & enjoy one of the first outdoor food festivals of the year featuring a mole cook-off! There will be an open-air market, music, dance & lucha libre wrestling!

[adentrodepilsen-blog]

via Benito Juarez Community Academy

News From The Nest is an online newscast focused on Benito Juarez Community Academy and the Pilsen area.

[adentrodepilsen-blog]

Letter to the Editor: Eyes Glued on Pilsen

By Felipe Lopez

  Student at Benito Juarez Community Academy

Recently everybody’s eyes have been glued on Pilsen. No not because Cuauhtémoc “Temoc” Morfin forced a run-off against incumbent Alderman Danny Solis but because, since the opening of the new state of the art expansion at Benito Juarez, it seems as if the whole Pilsen community has been motivated and encouraged to become more scholastically involved.  As 2011 began many thought this would be another “normal” year in Pilsen. But as we move into late March this year has proven to be anything but “normal.” 

As of February 28, a great deal of academic involvement has occurred in Pilsen. From Benito Juarez students placing 2nd place at the Regional Science Bowl sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy to students at Juarez competing in the AT&T High Tech Competition and winning. 

Also, many great academic achievements have been reached at Benito Juarez this year. Such achievements included music students taking part in this year’s CPS High School Instrumental Solo/Ensemble Festival and having 12 students receive an excellent rating, 21 students receiving the good rating, and 3 students receiving the superior rating; not to mention 3 students who were awarded the honors rating. This is only the third time Juarez students are awarded the honors rating. It is evident that with this new expansion at Juarez, students are becoming more involved and even more motivated to reach new academic heights. 

But not only Benito Juarez has been reaching new heights, so have the other schools in the area. Schools like Emanuel Perez Elementary, who took part in this year’s Middle School Regional Science Bowl. Although they did not win, their presence at the event was a sign that Pilsen schools are eager to be noticed. 

Students want Pilsen schools to reach new academic heights because it’s a great way to put Pilsen on the map. We are all tired of being seen as a bad neighborhood, a bad neighborhood with bad schools! Students feel like doing better in school and going beyond what is expected of them is a way to demonstrate that Pilsen is a great community and also a good learning environment. 

It was not so long ago that if you asked someone about Benito Juarez all they would tell you was “No, La Juarez es una escuela mala. Esta llena de gangeros!” Today, I asked a few parents what they thought about Juarez and most said “La escuela ha mejorado muchisimo, todo esto tiene que ser por que los estudiantes tal como los padres y los maestros se han involucrado y se han dedicado a ayudar a los estudiantes a mejorar sus estudios.” I would agree and I’m sure many readers would too. 

Due to such an amazing desire to learn and prove that Pilsen is not a bad neighborhood students are willing to reach new academic heights and doing so will help put Pilsen on the map while also demonstrating to the many charter schools in the city that Pilsen’s schools are at the same level of academic achievement as they are.

[adentrodepilsen-blog]

Quick Info For Voting in the 25th Ward Runoff Election

By Alex V. Hernandez

  Editor in Chief

Here are some quick questions to consider before voting in the 25th Ward April 5 runoff election between Ald. Daniel “Danny” Solis and Cuahutemoc “Temoc” Morfin.

First question, do you live in the 25th Ward? 

If you’re not sure don’t worry. Just use this use this link to the City of Chicago’s ward lookup site figure out which ward you live in.

Next up, are you registered to vote in the city of Chicago?

Well if you’re not sure then just click on this link to the Chicago Board of Elections to find out. If you are registered it will also show you your polling place.

And before you ask, yes it is too late to register to vote in the runoff election. The deadline for registering was March 8.

Next, if you want to vote early you need to head over to the Chinatown Library, on 2353 S. Wentworth Ave., between now and Thursday, March 31. In order to vote early you’ll need to be registered to vote in the 25th Ward runoff election and provide a government-issued ID like a driver’s license, state ID card, or passport at the poll.

If you don’t want to vote early the polls be open from 6 am to 7 pm on Tuesday, April 5th. 

Sources:

Chicago Sun-Times

Chicago Tribune

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Editorial: Solis Plays Smart Politics And Avoids 25th Ward Public Forum

By Alex V. Hernandez   Editor in Chief

Residents of the 25th Ward, I have some disappointing news for you. Ald. Danny Solis will not attend the public forum that Adentro de Pilsen was organizing for constituents of the ward. This might be the first you're hearing of this and, if so, here's the short of it. Not too long after the Feb. 22 Chicago Municipal Elections I began contacting the 25th Ward runoff candidates, Temoc Morfin and Danny Solis, to see if they would be interested in a public forum. After numerous phone calls and email exchanges I finally had a date set, March 28 at 7 pm, both campaigns interested in participating at Ristorante Al Teatro as the venue hosting the public forum. Then, last week, after nearly of month of planning, representatives from Solis' campaign said that the March 28 date and time conflicted with Solis' schedule.

I proceeded to contact the Solis campaign and offered to move the public forum to a day convenient to their candidate between March 21 and April 4. I didn’t want Solis to be excluded from meeting with the voters who are going to decide if he gets reelected on April 5.

I finally received a voice mail last Thursday from Stacy Raker, the Director of Communications for the Solis campaign. She informed me that the candidate was “not interested in participating in the forum.”

Not interested? 

Ald. Solis is in a runoff election against a challenger that is a threat to his incumbency which is why I was stunned by the campaign’s choice of words. 

So Adentro de Pilsen asked for clarification, which we received via an email from Raker: "Thank you for following up with us on the debate with Adentro de Pilsen. I appreciate your time and consideration in offering to co-host a debate. The Alderman has already completed 2 debates with Mr. Morfin on CLTV and WBEZ both of which are available online. He is also participating in another debate this evening with Mr. Morfin on Chicago Tonight. The Alderman wishes that he could attend every debate he's invited to, but unfortunately time just does not permit him to be everywhere. I'm sorry, but he will not be able to attend a public town hall meeting. If you'd like to send us some questions to publish in Adentro de Pilsen we would be happy to send you his responses. Also, if anything changes in his schedule we will make sure to reach out to you. Thank you again."

Translation: Solis doesn’t want to enter a political minefield. 

I understand that completely. If I was Solis and found myself in a runoff election for the first time in 15 years without the political backing of Mayor Richard M. Daley, I too would be weary of public forums that I am not fully in control of. 

And even though Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel and Ald. Ed Burke have both endorsed Solis, that doesn’t amount to much since Emanuel and Burke are busy getting ready to fight with each other in May. Besides, neither one of them have the same kind of clout that Richie “King” Daley enjoyed in his prime and threw behind Solis in previous elections.

Moreover UIC professor and head of political science Dick Simpson co-authored a report, titled “The Last of the Daley Years: City Council Voting Report”, that was published last week. The report detailed the roll call votes of the Chicago City Council over the past four years. One of the many conclusions the paper arrived at was that the more often an alderman voted with Mayor Daley on issues, the harder it was going to be to get elected to a post-Daley city council.

Solis voted with Mayor Daley 98 percent of the time. 

The race can go either way at this point and there are only 11 days before the election. The last thing Solis would want is to have a Pilsen resident making a public fool of him by brining up pollution in Pilsen.

Solis is playing it smart. He knows his recent change of heart concerning Fisk Generating Station, and its resulting pollution, is basically him flip-flipping on an issue that forced him into a runoff to begin with.

As early as March 4, Adentro de Pilsen reported that Solis was going to support the Chicago Clean Power Ordiance. This was completely out of character with Solis’s pre-runoff rhetoric, which basically said that the pollution of the Fisk Generating Station was a federal matter and thus not under the purview of city government.

He changed his position on this lightning rod issue because if he didn’t, he was basically ensuring he would lose on April 5. Again, Solis is playing smart politics.

I wanted an open and clear dialogue between Morfin, Solis and the people of the 25th Ward where issues like Fisk, crime and education could be discussed. 

The Morfin campaign was still very enthusiastic about holding the forum once they heard Solis had decided to not participate. They even said they could cover the costs of the event and even provide an empty chair to put on stage to represent Solis. As dramatic as that image would have been, without Solis’s participation the public forum is just political theater for the benefit of Morfin

Adentro de Pilsen is not endorsing either candidate. In fact, the only people we give our complete support to are our readers.

So because one of the two-runoff candidates has chosen to not be present to answer questions from community members, I felt that it would be unfair to host the public forum. 

Instead, we will collect questions via email and our social media networks from readers and create a questionnaire for both candidates to answer. This is a fair, balanced and pragmatic alternative to a public forum that still gives our readers, the residents of the 25th Ward, the chance to ask the questions important to them in this runoff election. Chicago's major news outlets, The Chicago Tribune and Sun-Times, are suffering from slashed budgets and skeleton staffs. They don't have the resources to send reporters report on every single runoff race in the city. This is why Adentro de Pilsen exists. We are an independent local news organization dedicated to informing and enlightening residents of Pilsen and the surrounding communities. Serving an undeserved community with original, independent, and informative journalism was the driving force behind wanting to organize this public forum. 

So please, send us your questions and, regardless of whom you support, don’t forget to head out to the polls on April 5. 

The future of this ward is in your hands.

[adentrodepilsen-blog]

Video by Victor Medina, contributor.

By Alex V. Hernandez   Editor in Chief

Today Ambrosio “Ambi” Medrano, Jr. officially endorsed Cuahutémoc “Témoc” Morfin for alderman of Chicago’s 25th Ward. The event was held at the Morfin campaign’s new volunteer headquarters, located at 1655 S. Blue Island Ave.

Members of PERRO (Pilsen Environmental Rights and Reform Organization) and the Whittier Parents Committee were both in attendance as well.

In a statement released yesterday Morfin said, “With Ambrosio’s endorsement, we are moving one step closer to electing a new kind of government in the 25th Ward. I welcome his support and look forward to working with him.”

During the initial race both Morfin and Medrano, Jr. were very vocal of their desire to clean up the Fisk Coal Plant. Additionally, both candidates supported the parents involved in the sit in at Whittier Elementary School last fall.

Medrano, Jr.’s endorsement has the potential to give the Morfin campaign an edge in the April 5 runoff election against incumbent Alderman Daniel “Danny” Solis.

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Morfin And Solis Brace Themselves For A Tight Runoff Race In The 25th Ward

By Alex V. Hernandez

  Editor in Chief

Illustration by Julie Egeland

  Contributor

While a new mayor was voted into office last Tuesday, many of the city’s wards have entered runoff races.

In the 25th Ward, incumbent Alderman Daniel “Danny” Solis received 48.85 percent of the 8,818 votes cast last Tuesday. Because Solis did not receive a majority in the ward the city is holding a run off election on April 5 between Solis and community organizer Cuahutémoc "Temoc" Morfin, the Feb. 22 election’s two front-runners.

“Well we were disappointed at the result but in general it was high energy,” said Solis about the atmosphere at his campaign headquarters on election night last week.

Since then Solis has been working to garner the support of his constituents in the 25th Ward’s Pilsen, Chinatown and Little Italy/University Village neighborhoods.

“We’re going to work harder….Congressmen Gutierrez is coming on board and most of the community organizations in Pilsen will be supporting me,” said Solis. 

Earlier this week Solis said that two of his goals for Chinatown is to develop a long term plan to attract Chinese investors before the neighborhood’s centennial and to straighten and widen Wentworth Ave at Cermak, which has long been a thorn in the side of pedestrians and drivers.

(For more details on Solis’s goals if reelcted check out his answers to the Chicago Sun-Times Questionnaire)

“Well you know I’ve heard my community and I think that I fell short,” said Solis. “I think that there’s one particular issue that I’m going to address right away…the issue of the power plant in my ward.”

Solis says he plans to develop a strategy tied to the Chicago Clean Power Ordinance and put it up for discussion and debate among the newly elected mayor and city council. 

“I’m hoping that with that debate and those hearings that people will understand my position up to now and the role that the city can or can not play in terms of getting the power plant cleaned up,” Solis said.

But since Solis received just under the majority needed to win outright, his challengers see this as a sign that the people in the ward are looking for change in leadership.

“We’re going to finish the job on April 5,” said Morfin. He received 27.9 percent of the vote in the ward and is now the only challenger to Solis on the runoff ballot.

“People are excited, we’re all excited,” said Morfin. “We have six weeks to plan and six weeks to organize, six weeks to get out the vote. We’re going to continue to do an educational campaign. One of the factors that I believe is important is to provide people with the facts.”

Morfin has also received the endorsement of Ambrosio "Ambi" Medrano, Jr., who was his challenger in the initial race but since he only received 23.09 percent of the vote is not in the runoff election.

“It’s a little heartbreaking, people put a lot of time and a lot of energy and we walked a lot on this campaign but the silver lining is that Danny Solis didn’t win and now we’re going to concentrate our efforts on helping Morfin defeat Danny Solis,” said Medrano, Jr.

Theoretically, if Medrano, Jr.’s supporters and Morfin’s supporters both generate the same turnout they did on Feb. 22 when April 5’s runoff happens, then Morfin has the chance to win 50.99 percent of the 25th Ward. Morfin’s new alliance with Medrano, Jr. presents a serious threat to incumbent Solis, who received 48.85 percent of the vote on Feb. 22.

“You know what, I’m really happy with the people who did come out to vote, who supported both me and Morfin. I really think that they sent a message to our alderman. That we’re not going to let him off on easy street. Every year that [Solis has] run his numbers keep on dwindling,” said Medrano, Jr. “Time for some new blood.”

Source: Chicago Board of Elections February 2011 Municipal General Election Results

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2011 Chicago Election Results: Rahm Wins, Solis in Runoff with Morfin

Adentro de Pilsen Staff

With 100 % of the ballots in, it has become apparent that Rahm Emanuel has won his mayoral race while Danny Solis has been forced into runoff election with Temoc Morfin in the 25th Ward.

Total Registration and Turnout Registration 1,406,037 

Total Ballots Cast 580,260 (41.27 %)

Currently 2525 out of 2570 precincts (98.25 %) have reported their election results.

Mayor of Chicago

RAHM EMANUEL 55.16 %

MIGUEL DEL VALLE 9.33 %

CAROL MOSELEY BRAUN 8.87 %

GERY J. CHICO 24.12 %

PATRICIA VAN PELT WATKINS 1.63 %

WILLIAM WALLS, III 0.90 %

Clerk

PATRICIA HORTON 39.92 %

SUSANA A. MENDOZA 60.08 %

Treasurer

STEPHANIE D. NEELY 100.00 %

25th Ward

CUAHUTÉMOC MORFÍN 27.96 %

DANIEL ''DANNY'' SOLIS 48.94 %

AMBROSIO ''AMBI'' MEDRANO JR. 23.10 %

Sources: Board of Election Commissioners for the City of Chicago Feb. 22, 2011 City of Chicago Municipal General Election

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Check the the cover of Adentro de Pilsen's 2011 Chicago Election Issue. This special issue will be available later this afternoon in the Pilsen area. Pick up your copy later today! 

Cover Illustration by Alex V. Hernandez.

[adentrodepilsen-blog]

2011 Chicago Election Guide

Compiled By Jessinia Martinez   Contributor

Check out Adentro de Pilsen's guide to the 2011 Mayoral and 25th Ward Elections. Want to take our guide to the polls tomorrow? Well you can download and print Adentro de Pilsen’s 2011 election guide too!

Mayoral Candidates

Gery Chico

Age 54

Former chief of staff to Mayor Richard M. Daley and former chairman of the City Colleges of Chicago

Chico plans on putting 2,00 more police officers on the streets and to expand the CeaseFire program to prevent gang violence. He also wants to increase revenue taxes while eliminating the head tax immediately. Additionally, he wants to have a parent academy to help parents play a more significant role in their children’s educational lives. 

• City Finances: “Just as the public has made adjustments in their standard of living, the government must also make adjustments— substantial ones.” As Mayor, Chico will look to end the budget brinkmanship that occurs from year to year, and start planning on a four or five-year horizon. 

• Crime: “The answer is not to shift officers out of neighborhoods they are making safer into neighborhoods that need more police presence. Rather, we must put more officers on the streets.” Chico plans to add 2,000 more police officers by the end of his first term, increase efficiency and coordination among centralized special units and expand the CeaseFire program. 

• Education: “ Parents must play a significant role in their children’s education. All too often, parents lack the resources and knowledge to effectively help their children succeed. As a result, our children suffer.” Chico will put a Parent Academy in every school and create a Parent Advocate General to ensure parents have the necessary information and power to make smart and informed choices for their children. 

• Campaign Cash: $2,366,493.58 

• Latest Poll: 23%

Carol Moseley Braun

Age 63

Former U.S. Senator from Illinois and former U.S. Ambassador to New Zealand

Braun plans on giving retired police officers and a Volunteer Auxiliary Unit of trained citizens jobs to create small business. She also plans on adding programs to enhance the city’s savings to help with taxes and invest in technological advancements across city departments to increase efficiency. 

• City Finances: “Under my administration, we’ll build schools and hire police and teachers, not subsidize downtown businesses.” Braun will look to model New York City’s model of mass transit in order to create finance. Braun plans to Invest in the CTA, Metra and a new high-speed rail network to bring the entire Midwest into one economic unit with Chicago as the hub. 

• Crime: “The mayor needs to immediately address the understaffing issue. The budget for the city cannot be balanced at the expense of public safety”. To help alleviate both the understaffing and budget issues, Braun will create the Chicago Auxiliary Police Department. Comprised of retired CPD officers. Although these “reserve” officers have the authority to make arrests and carry weapons, they will be utilized primarily to perform the more mundane policing duties. 

• Education: “I do not support the path to privatization of public education. I believe it is a right to have access to a quality education, not a privilege”. The TIF program diverts almost $300 million from the operating budget of the Chicago Public Schools. Braun proposes for moratorium on TIF diversions to shore up the operating budgets. 

• Campaign Cash: $445,760.00 

• Latest Poll: 6%

Rahm Emanuel

Age 51

Former White House Chief of Staff and former U.S. Representative from Illinois’s 5th district

Rahm Emanuel suggests opening up a city office to assist immigrants and remove barriers to city resources and services. He wants to also add programs to enhance city savings for taxes and also wants to start a health and wellness program for all city employers to lower medical costs. 

• City Finances: “My fiscal sustainability agenda is based on a simple premise – I will look to every line item and ask two simple questions: is this something that city government should be doing and, if so, can we be doing it more effectively?” Emanuel will look to freeze spending, and department heads will be directed to review all operations and produce a plan within sixty days of taking office to cut city spending by more than $75 million from 2011 budgeted levels. 

• Crime: “I believe violence takes an enormous toll on Chicago and exacerbates almost every other problem the city faces.” Emanuel’s crime plan aims to put 1000 more cops on the street by using TIF funds in high-crime, blighted areas, overhauling the cadet program, cracking down on abuse in the medical leave program, and decentralizing the command structure. 

• Education: “There is no replacement for involved parents, which is why I made them one of the three pillars of my education plan.” Emanuel’s three pillar plan calls for the best possible leadership in our schools and classrooms, and the involvement of everyone in our community, from parents to business, civic and community leaders. 

• Campaign Cash: $11,788,360.56 

• Latest Poll: 58%

Miguel del Valle

Age 59

City Clerk of Chicago and former Illinois State Senator

Del Valle wants wants to provide development opportunities to ensure a well-trained police department to ensure police officers and administrators to be trained on cultural competency, immigration, hate crimes and other issues. Miguel also wants to expand the economy and create new jobs in the “green” industries, high-tech manufacturing and the health industries. 

• City Finances: “We cannot cut our way out of the current deficit. We will have to identify new revenue. But I will pursue new taxes and fees on a very limited basis.” In order to cut costs del Valle will operate the garbage collection on a grid system in order to save $25 million and returning to more TIF tax surplus funds to the city budget, which could generate $200 million. 

• Crime: “I support the shifting of resources to increase police presence on the streets.” Del Valle will look to provide development opportunities to ensure a well-trained police department, ensuring police officers and administrators are trained on cultural competency, immigration, hate crimes and other issues. 

• Education: “Identifying the public and private resources needed to lengthen the school day and school year will be one of my highest priorities as mayor.” Working in partnership with the school system del Valle will ensure common standards for students, teachers, and schools are established and used in a way that gets the resources needed so that everyone can make the most of their potential. 

• Campaign Cash: $59,440.00 

• Latest Poll: 10%

Candidates for the 25th Ward

Daniel Solis

Age 61

Chairman of the Zoning Committee and current 25th Ward alderman

To decrease crime Solis has used a variety of crime deterrents which include blue light cameras, CAPS meetings, community smoke-outs and meetings with residents and police commanders as well as after school programs like basketball leagues to create a multi-pronged attack on crime. Also he believes harsher punishments for perpetrators that commit domestic violence or mandatory counseling after the first incident are all options to think about. Solis wants to help with immigration.

Temoc Morfin

Age 40

Part-time construction worker and immigration rights activist

Morfin wants to develop ‘Green Collar Jobs’ along Cermak’s industrial corridor to create high quality jobs that promote green technologies, work with and supporting businesses owners, entrepreneurs and local business associations and use TIF dollars in a transparent and strategic way that grows current industry and attracts new businesses to the ward. As a son of an immigrant, Morfin recognizes the importance of immigration reform, which he believes will allow communities to access services necessary that improve the area’s capacities and social economic development.

Ambrosio Medrano, Jr.

Age 32

The son of Ambrosio Medrano, school council member for Irma C. Ruiz Elementary School and a department of transportation employee.

If elected, Medrano would also have Police Commanders meet and discuss with the residents of the 25th Ward to discuss public safety.  He also wants to improve investigative coordination among Federal and State Police, maximize the use of technology by installing surveillance cameras and high-power LED street lights to deter crime. He also wants to hire more police officers to patrol the streets because he believes it will reduce violence and to promote a “Midnight Chicago” program that will keep Park Districts and other Community Centers open until Midnight on Thursday through Saturday nights.

Sources: Chicago Tribune, chicagoforrahm.com, carolforchicago.com, gerychico.com, delvalleformayor.com, ambimedrano.com, dannysolis.org, morfinfor25thward.com

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Windy Citizen Q & A With Reporter Mick Dumke

By Alex V. Hernandez   Editor in Chief

Today, from 4 pm to 5 pm, the Windy Citizen is taking questions from Chicago News Cooperative reporter Mick Durke about TIF districts, the privatization of city assets and other big issues facing the city’s new mayor.

Durke has made a name for himself as the reporter who helps readers “follow the money.” He’s reported on TIF spending in in past and did a piece on how Rahm Emanuel filled his campaign war chest. 

Post your questions to Mick in the comment thread here. Windy Citizen editors ask that readers keep their questions on topic. And remember, you can vote up questions you like to the top of the list.

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Q & A with Ambrosio Medrano, Jr., Aldermanic Candidate for the 25th Ward

By Alex V. Hernandez   Editor in Chief

Regarding the gentrification of Pilsen, there’s a feeling that the neighborhood is turning into two neighborhoods, East Pilsen and West Pilsen. If elected what would you do to address this issue?

Well, first and foremost I do view our diversity as a strength of the 25th Ward. What I would like to do is utilize this diversity to promote greater cultural understanding of everyone that lives in the ward. I was born into a blue-collar family and my father and grandfather were union workers. I myself am a Cook County union employee.

I’m here to work on behalf of the working class families of this neighborhood. I would like to educate them on the programs out there to help with financing. I would like to show [community members] how credit works. You know, this is something that for generations that they wouldn’t have taught the children growing up here. This is something that we have to teach the people that live here.

There’s a lot of pollution coming out of the Fisk Generating Station. Many Pilsen residents are concerned for their health and currently there is a Clean Power Ordinance being introduced into the City Council. If you were elected how would you address resident’s concerns over Fisk?

I would sign the Clean Air Ordinance. I gave testimony at the City Council meeting last Monday and I also was with P.E.R.R.O. (Pilsen Environmental Rights and Reform Organization) and a few of the other organizations and protestors last Wednesday protesting a fundraiser by Ald. Solis that was across the street from the Fisk coal plant.

I just think that they need to be held accountable. I’m not saying that we should close down the plant but they make an enormous amount of money and it’s time to clean that plant up. And I believe that by cleaning that plant up we can generate “greener” jobs and I would like for those jobs to go to people who are residents in our ward.

For far too long our current alderman has looked the other way and it’s unfortunate that he allows this company, who he has taken over $48,000 in campaign contributions from, to facilitate itself in such a manner.

What kinds of jobs would you like to create in the 25th Ward and how would you go about trying to create them?

Well there’s a gentleman who works just east of the Pilsen community and he’s looking to bring a garment district to the 25th Ward. Basically he would like to create a mini-Soho, like in New York, into the 25th Ward. He’s actually been given grants by the city of Chicago and he would like to stay centrally located and I would like to reach out to him so he could come here to the ward and help create jobs.

I also believe that having Fisk come up to code would create “greener” jobs, which would mean more union jobs for working class families. You know there are a ton of union employees that are out of work right now.

And in the 25th Ward, which is Chinatown, Pilsen, Taylor Street and even University Village, there are a lot of good, hard working blue collar union workers here who are out of work who we can put back to work.

I would also like to get people who are going to do any development here in the 25th Ward to use some of our union employees. And even if it’s not union workers then use our residents, put them to work. You know, if you want to construct something here I would like for them to have at least 20 to 30 percent of our people put to work.

The other thing that I would like to do is to promote generating revenue for the city by advertising on city vehicles.

And you know we have a large medical district on the north side of our ward, I would like to ask some of the medical suppliers if they would be interested in coming to our industrial corroder and setting up shop here.

How would you use TIF (Tax Increment Financing) money and how would you go about showing your constituents how you’re using the TIF money?

I honesty think that we’ve gotten away from what TIF money was originally supposed to be used for, which is bringing economic development into blighted areas. I really believe that we need to go back to what it was initially intended for.

I would also like to set up a two tier advisory council so there’s more transparency on where the money is going to be located. I don’t want to be a dictator and say, ‘You know what I’m the alderman and this is where the money is going.’

I don’t want to keep people in the dark. I would like to have either a three person panel that is appointed or elected. That way people don’t feel that I’m being biased in any way. Basically I’m running for public office to give this neighborhood its voice back. There’s no transparency in government right now. Our current alderman is always trying to push things through, with backdoor deals. I’m tired of it.

I want to be the person, a communicator, who can bring different entities together. You know whether it’s the Chicago Public School System, the teachers, the park districts, the small businesses or the big businesses that are working here.

There is so much opportunity and this is a great neighborhood to live in. I’ve lived here my whole life and I want this neighborhood to be what it can be.

You know our alderman has been here for 14 years and he keeps talking about his vision. Well you know if you haven’t achieved your vision by now then there is something wrong.

The shadow hanging over your campaign is the possible influence your father, who was caught taking bribes when he was alderman of the 25th Ward, would have on you if elected to office. Would you like to comment on that?

You know what, when people ask me I have nothing to hide. , ‘What kind of father would he have been if he wasn’t out there doing everything he could to help his son?’ I mean, I think that every parent out there wants to see his child succeed.

My father honestly is a very proud person. He’s proud of his son.

If he’s right next to me then people are saying, ‘Oh he’s the puppet master.’ That he’s telling me what to do.

And if he’s two steps behind me then they’re saying, ‘Oh, there he is he’s staying in the background, he doesn’t want to be seen.’

So for my father, whether he’s right next to me or in the background, people are going to say something about it.

The people who know my father and are from this neighborhood love my father. And I would never deny my father, he’s my father through and through and I have the upmost respect for him, but my father chose his live. The decisions he made were his decisions. I’m my own person. I didn’t just have a father I had a mother too. And I’m as much as my mother as I am like my father.

To me it isn’t a shadow hanging over my campaign. I don’t know any parent, or at least any good parent, who wouldn’t want to be there for his child.

So basically, I welcome my father’s advice. I welcome any kind of support that he can give me but at the same time he’s just a father being a father. He’s a volunteer at my campaign. If he sees something he tries to tell me, ‘Oh maybe you should do this or do that.’ But at the end of the day, it’s my decision.

This is the life that I’ve chosen, to run for public office.

And at the end of the day he’s just like everybody else. I mean my mother is helping me out as well. I have my sister, my wife, friends that I’ve grown up with all helping me.

You know, we deal with it on a daily basis and I would never deny him, he is my father.

[adentrodepilsen-blog]

Interview with 25th Ward Aldermanic Candidate Témoc Morfin, Part Two

By Alex V. Hernandez   Editor in Chief

What follows is part two of Adentro de Pilsen’s two-part interview with Cuahetemoc “Témoc” Morfin. Read part one here.

On Feb. 22 Chicagoans will head to the ballots in a historic election that will result a new mayor for the city in over twenty years. But while the most of the election coverage has revolved around the mayoral race, Mayor Richard M. Daley’s departure is also being felt in the city’s ward elections. 

A prime example of this is the aldermanic race for the 25th Ward, which comprises nearly all of the Pilsen neighborhood. Adentro de Pilsen interviewed Cuahetemoc “Témoc” Morfin, one of the two aldermanic candidates challenging the incumbent Danny Solis.

“We’re talking about the lives of the children and the lives of the people that live in the 25th ward in the city of Chicago,” said Morfin, referring to the pollution from Fisk Generating Station in the 25th Ward. 

The Chicago Clean Power Ordinance, of which Morfin is a supporter, seeks to clean up Chicago's two coal-fired powered plants. Morfin said he attended an ad hoc City Council meeting this past Monday where 16 aldermen, including Ald. Joe Moore who introduced the ordinance, were co-sponsoring the adoption of the Chicago Clean Power Ordinance by the city.

“We have Fisk right here right on Cermak Avenue,” said Morfin. “And that coal fire plant contaminates the air that we breathe day in and day out, 365 days a year. And nothing has been done about it.”

Incumbent Ald. Danny Solis has been on record saying that the pollution of the coal power plants in the city are a federal issue and has openly opposed the proposed Chicago Clean Power Ordinance. 

However, according to Progress Illinois, Solis has also received over $48,000 in campaign contributions from Midwest Generation, the company that owns Fisk.

“It’s unacceptable, said Morfin. “He’s not prioritizing our health, the health of the constituents he represents. Rather he is getting political contributions. That is wrong.”

Morfin says that regardless of whether he is elected the growing pressure from the community is working to put pressure Midwest Generation to change. 

“If they can’t come up to code or if they don’t want to invest in coming up to code and clean up their act then they gotta [sic] move. That’s as simple as it gets,” said Morfin. 

In 2002 a study by the Harvard School of Public Health stated that communities that are adjacent to these legacy coal plants are at a higher risk of asthma and other health risks.

The Fisk Generating Station in Pilsen has been active since 1968 and is currently not covered by the Clean Air Act due to its status as a legacy coal-fired electric generating station.  

“I understand that they’ve been grandfathered in…but they are now in the middle of a city, in the middle of communities,” said Morfin. “In the middle of where people live, work and play. And they’re affecting us, affecting our health.”

And the growth of the community around the plant is another issue that Morfin said he would actively tackle if elected to office. In the past few years the Pilsen neighborhood has been undergoing a pattern of gentrification that is reminiscent of Wick Park’s transformation from blighted neighborhood to a trendy haven for artists in the 1980s.

Yet this wave of young artists and professionals moving into Pilsen and the wake of urban development in their wake has the working class residents of the area fearful they will be pushed out of their homes.

But according to Morfin, attempting to fight against the gentrification of the Pilsen area is a bad idea. 

“Gentrification change is bound to happen,” said Morfin. “But we let change happen the way we want it to happen.”

Morfin said that if he wins the election that he would work towards responsible development of the area. Specifically he would ensure that developers that come into the community would be barred from building four or five story high-rise condos that throw off the neighborhood’s property values. 

“If our property values go up then our property taxes go up,” said Morfin. “Right now the sad thing is that the housing market is really down, really low but yet our property taxes continue to go up because elected officials are allowing developers to come in here.”

He would also work the ensure that twenty to thirty percent of the housing in the 25th ward is affordable in order to give current residents a chance to stay in the community.

“There will be development to beautify our city and to beautify the 25th ward but it has to be responsible development,” said Morfin. “A lot of people would argue that East Pilsen is better than West Pilsen, but there are no better here better there. Pilsen is Pilsen.”

Morfin also plans to bring companies and “green jobs” related to windmills and solar panels into the 25th ward by leveraging the mostly vacant industrial real estate around Fisk and offering these types of green businesses TIF incentives to come to the 25th ward. 

“Now we’ve talked about a lot of companies leaving Chicago, and leaving the country because there are no tax incentives,” said Morfin. “We need to bring back these companies that are going to provide [jobs]. Chicago is known to be a green city, so let’s make it work.”

And concerning the crime in the ward, Morfin said he would seek to increase the police presence in the area and rely less on the vast system of cameras that the city has been using to try and prevent crime. 

“I am really really anti-camera because cameras don’t prevent crime. We don’t want to see crime happen, we don’t want to witness crimes. We want to prevent it,” said Morfin.

Morfin cites his experience as a probation officer in Pilsen and Back of the Yars for seven years as to why also believes that an increase in after-school programs for children and teenagers in the area would help curb the crime in the ward. 

“Kids, when they’re growing up, they want to belong to something, to somebody. You have a lot of energy and you have to deposit that energy somewhere, on something,” said Morfin. “And if there’s no guidance, and parents are finding themselves working most of the time, because this is a working class community, kids don’t have anywhere to go. Kids find attention and activities with gangs and drugs and that what’s wrong with our community. We need more programs.”

Check back Sunday for our interview with 25th Ward Aldermanic Candidate Ambrosio Medrano, Jr.

[adentrodepilsen-blog]

Don't forget to watch the final televised Mayoral Debate at 7 pm tonight!

[adentrodepilsen-blog]

Read Part One of ADP's Interview with 25th Ward Aldermanic Candidate Témoc Morfin

by Alex V. Hernandez Editor in Chief 

What follows is part one of Adentro de Pilsen’s two-part interview with Cuahetemoc “Témoc” Morfin.

On Feb. 22 Chicagoans will head to the ballots in a historic election that will result a new mayor for the city in over twenty years. But while most of the election coverage has revolved around the mayoral race, Mayor Richard M. Daley’s departure is also being felt in the city’s ward elections. 

A prime example of this is the aldermanic race for the 25th Ward, which comprises nearly all of the Pilsen neighborhood. Adentro de Pilsen interviewed Cuahetemoc “Témoc” Morfin, one of the two aldermanic candidates challenging the incumbent Danny Solis...

Read More 

[adentrodepilsen-blog]

By Alex V. Hernandez

  Editor in Chief

The good folks over at Windy Citizen, a site similar to Digg.com or Reddit.com but focused exclusively on Chicago, is partnering with the Chicago News Cooperative for a series of online Q&A forums with their reporters about the Chicago 2011 election.

Today is the first Q&A with Chicago News Cooperative City Hall Reporter Dan Mihalopoulos. He will be answering questions submitted to Windy Citizen about the Chicago Mayoral Election and reporting on city hall from 5 pm to 6 pm today.

Here’s how it works:

Post your questions to Mihalopoulos in this comment thread on Windy Citizen. All questions must be related to either Chicago Mayoral Election and reporting on city hall. Also, readers can vote up questions that they like. Remember, the best questions with the most votes will rise to the top.

This is just the first of the Windy Citizen and Chicago News Cooperative Team-Ups for City Election Forums.

Here are dates for the next forums:

• Tuesday Feb. 15: CNC political reporter Hunter Clauss will address questions on the City Council races

• Monday Feb. 21: CNC political reporter Mick Dumke will tackle TIF districts, the privatization of city assets and other big issues facing the next mayor.

Lastly, the editors at Windy Citizen wanted us to pass this along: 

“Spam and troll-posts will be promptly deleted by our ruthless squad of editors. Don’t try it. They never sleep.”