|
DePriest Voters Chronicles
Vol I No. 6 March 24.2015
Political News and Analysis of Chicago's Black wards
|
| Garcia wins the ground game |
|
The three men pictured below, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, U.S. Rep. Danny K. Davis, and former Illinois State Senate President Emily Jones, Jr. represent a political juggernaut that gives a huge advantage when it comes to the ground game for Cook County Commissioner Jesus "Chuy" Garcia in his bid to unseat Mayor Rahm Emanuel April 7. Coupling these three with the uber-political savvy Service Employees International Union and Mr. Garcia suddenly has a wealth of experienced canvassers, GOTV workers, and most importantly access to the Black community's most reliable voter demographic - Black women over the age of 50. Mr. Jones, Mr. Davis and Rev. Jackson, along with SEIU signed on last week to Garcia campaign.
While Mr. Garcia's rapid accumulation of key endorsements will blunt Mayor Rahm Emanuel's massive advertising blitz, which in many instances has his commercials run back-to-back within one television show. The Garcia campaign's ground game includes the Chicago Teachers Union, a proven entity in getting bodies into the streets for protesting as well as turning out the vote. The mayor's decision to close 50 Chicago Public Schools buildings that resulted in hundreds of teachers losing their jobs is likely catalyst for sustained participation by CTU members.
News that the Rev. Jesse Jackson, founder and CEO of the Rainbow-PUSH Coalition undoubtedly paralyzed the camp of Mayor Rahm Emanuel for more than a few moments. Mr. Jackson backing Mr. Garcia is the great equalizer to the mayor's overflowing campaign coffers. Suddenly the much-debated Black-Brown coalition has taken a highly visible form. Mr. Jackson brings with him a loyal base, primarily comprised of Black seniors, a group that values the struggles and sacrifices they and their contemporaries made to secure voting rights. Not only do they value it, the show up at the polls regularly. This endorsement is the equalizer to the mayor's $30 million campaign war chest.
The mayor, until the week of March 15 was without such a Black voter magnet. His best hope for a strong inroad into the Black community had been Willie Wilson, who finished third in the Feb. 24 general election for mayor. The Jackson announcement drains much of the juice Mr. Wilson had before Monday. While Mr. Wilson can claim 50,000 voters supported him in that election, he has no basis to say he can deliver the majority of them to either candidate.
Even President Barack Obama whose image suffers in the city among those who believe he should do more to help the African American community here, can't issue a call for Black folks to back the incumbent, and we will listen. His pre-election visit to Chicago and endorsement of the mayor yielded a lot of cries that the President is out of touch with what's going on in Chicago. The First Family's delay in selecting a site for the Obama Presidential Library wound up being in the unfavorable column when it comes to the President.
Besides intriguing politics, these dueling endorsements make great theatre as it the culmination of an ugly undercurrent that has existed with Mr. Jackson and Mr. Obama since the president's first term.
|
The Rev. Jesse Jackson brings the support and loyalties of the most stable voting bloc in the Black community - Black women over the age of 50.These are the folks who have stuck with him through his long-shot bid for the presidency of the United States and through every venture he has launched. His influence and appeal cannot be overstated.
|
The Services Employees International Union represents the perfect political partner as their presence in a campaign means cash and ground troops. The broad ethnic makeup of the organization means it has tentacles in every neighborhood in the city. Paired with an earlier endorsement by the Chicago Teachers Union, Garcia backers not only will be able to blanket the city with volunteers on short notice, but also deliver necessary funding to the campaign to keep him on the airwaves until election day,
|
U.S. Rep. Danny K. Davis, a rumored candidate for the 2011 mayoral race, represents the Seventh Congressional District that is a blended of the much-debated Black-Latino alliance. Davis represents a diverse contingent comprised of an area
"generally south of Armitage Avenue and has one arm which extends as far south as 57th Street. (
click here for large scale map
) or (
click here for street level detail map of the 7th District
) It includes much of the West Side of Chicago and parts of the suburban communities of
Bellwood
(all),
Berkeley
,
Broadview
,
Forest Park
,
Hillside
,
Maywood
,
Oak Park
(all),
River Forest
(all) and
Westchester
. In Chicago, the 7th District includes all or part of the
community areas
of
Austin
,
Chinatown (Armour Square)
,
Douglas
,
East Garfield Park
,
Englewood
,
Fuller Square
,
Bronzeville (Grand Boulevard)
,
Humboldt Park
,
Kenwood
,
Loop
,
Near North Side
,
Near South Side
,
Near West Side
,
North Lawndale
,
Oakland
,
Washington Park
,
West Englewood
,
West Garfield Park
and
West Town, according to Davis official website.
Like Rev. Jackson, Mr. Davis brings a loyal voting bloc of long-time West Sider voters.
|
This is the union responsible for Mr. Garcia being in the race. It's leader, Karen Lewis, ended an exploratory effort for the mayoral race due to health reasons, and anointed Mr Garcia her designee. After what was reported as a lot of fuss and consternation the rift seems to be over and there is a strong commitment to seeing the incumbent replaced. CTU Communications Director Stephanie Gadlin was tapped to be one of Mr. Garcia's key campaign managers. Gadlin brings a wealth of connections from her careers in the Black Press, civil rights organizations and as a member of state and federal elected officials' staffs.
CTU members may be the most adept collectively at canvassing, organizing rallies and demonstrations and propaganda.
|
|
Even six years after his retirement as President of the Illinois State Senate, Emil Jones, Jr. wields tremendous political influence in city and state politics-particularly on the South Side. Despite his personal history with President Barack Obama and other powerful politicians and captains of industry, Mr. Jones maintains the common man's touch. He is the consummate old school retail politician. Mr. Jones' career-long push for more state educational funding makes him the perfect counterbalance to the Emanuel's administration to local public schools and related funding.
|
Meeks isn't enough
A week following the endorsement by Rev. Jackson, the Emanuel campa
 ign brought out its own powerhouse preacher-the Rev. James Meeks- to issue a call for Black folks to back the incumbent mayor. Meeks may refuse to recognize, and Camp Emanuel is probably not listening to the right sources to realize, the pastor of Salem Baptist Church has a credibility problem with a lot of Black folks. The problem stems from Meeks' endorsement of Gov. Bruce Rauner, then Rauner's appointment of Meeks as Chairman of the Illinois Board of Education, followed by the new governors' $400-plus proposed spending on education. Throw into the mix that four years ago Meeks had a prominent place in the Anti-Rahm line and the waffling is disturbing. He actually sounded serious talking about how this mayor cares so much about children and education.
|
|
Black wards bolster early voting turnouts
Early voting runs through April 4
The city's predominantly 17 Black wards keyed the record voting totals of the first two days of early voting March 23 and 24 when 21,012 votes were cast in the aldermanic and mayoral runoff races. An average of 404 voters voted in the wards.
Wards 20 and 24 recorded extremely low turnouts. Conversely, it looks like challenger Derrick G. Curtis who is taking on Alderman Lona Lane in the 18th is getting the word out and getting folks to the polls. With 717 early voters, the 18th Ward showed the largest number of Black early voters. See the table below for how all Black wards fared. Races shown in blue have an April 7 runoff election.
3rd Ward
473 |
4th Ward
489 |
5th Ward
380 |
6th Ward
490 |
7th Ward
605
|
8th Ward
564 |
9th Ward
488 |
16th Ward
270
|
17th Ward
370
|
18th Ward
717
|
20th Ward
292
|
21st Ward
522
|
|
24th Ward
229
|
28th Ward
269
|
29th Ward
426
|
34th Ward
649 |
37th Ward
389 |
Black total
6,879 votes |
The ward with the largest turnout was the 41st which drew 1,154 people to the polls. The mayor's 42 ward came in at 453 votes.
Early voting is now available at 51 locations throughout the city. Hours are M-S 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Specified locations are open 9-3 on Sunday March 29.
|
|
The Candidate
This North Lawndale grandmother brings an unusual skill set compared to those who have previously sought office in the 24th Ward. Ms. Boyce is a long-time business owner who has international experience, along with the knowledge of running her own real estate brokerage and development company. She has run in two previous aldermanic races and this time she made it to the April 7 runoff.
Ms. Boyce's visibility in the ward has been constant and engaging. We have watched her engage every demographic of the ward with equal attention, compassion and energy.
There is no doubt this is her time. She comes across as an everyday person who fully understands the struggles, successes, and hopes of the men, women and children of the 24th Ward. There is no doubt she will be a much-needed independent voice on the City Council-something that ward has needed for a long time.
|
Signs, signs, everywhere a sign
Supposedly there is an ordinance on the books disallowing placement of political campaign signs in parkways and the areas between the sidewalk and the curb. Why have such an ordinance is no one has to adhere to it?
What is the point of having an ordinance against placing signs Have you driven down the southern end of Halsted lately, or Stony Island Ave, what about 47th St. between Indiana and Michigan avenues? If so then you couldn't help but notice the mayor's campaign has littered the parkway, abandoned buildings and fences with re-election signs.
Sure, everyone does it, but he's the mayor and in spending 10s of millions of dollars on campaign strategists and advertising, you would think someone would tell him it is a violation of the city ordinance. Interesting to notice that Streets and Sanitation refuses to remove the illegally placed signs.
It looked like challenger Jesus "Chuy" Garcia's campaign was going to follow the letter of the ordinance, but apparently the temptation was too great and recently his signs joined the mayor's in parkways and other inappropriate spots. Front yards of vacant homes, abandoned buildings and fences--it is extremely sad we have to endure this eye trash. We also know they won't be promptly removed after April 7-Election Day.
|
Mayor Harold Washington by the numbers
|
|
Chicago's 51st Mayor
1983-87 |
|
With every municipal election the last two decades there is a lot of talk about Chicago's first Black mayor, the late Harold Washington.
There is no shortage of opinion on how the former U.S. Representative, State Senator and State Representative defied the odds and made it to the fifth floor of city hall.
It is critical to remember some differences between then and now about municipal elections. There was a partisan primary that meant all candidates ran against members of their own party in hopes of making it to the general election, where top Democratic vote-getter faced the top Republican.
It was extremely unlikely, if not impossible for a Republican mayoral candidate to do well in the city's Black community. Bernard Epton, the Republican challenger facing Mayor Washington garnered slightly more than 668,000 votes in 1983. A staggering 1.3 million votes drove Mr. Washington into the mayor's seat.
When Mayor Washington was elected a huge voting bloc of Black residents still lived in housing projects on the city's South Side and West Side. Those dense populations of tens of thousands of residents made it easy for political operatives to find,engage, persuade those voters it was time for a Black man to lead this city. Today, because of the demolition of nearly all of the public housing high rises, that population has been scattered to the South Suburbs and some western suburban communities.
Black voters wanted a sea change from the white clenches of power as neither the late Mayor Jane Byrne or then-State's Attorney came close to Mr. Washington's 424,146 votes, as Mrs. Byrne totaled 388,259, while Mr. Daley landed in third place with 344,721 votes. Of the nine wards Mr. Daley won in that race, none were predominantly Black. Mrs. Byrne came close but was shut out in capturing any Black wards. The 22 she did win included
10, 12, 14, 19, 23,25,26,33,35,36,39,40,41,42,43,44,46,47,48,49 and 50.
|
New Cook County voting sticker
This is the new voting stickers suburban Cook County residents will receive after voting April 7. Cook County Clerk David Orr introduced the multi-language sticker two weeks before the election.
|
The first day of Early Voting for the April 7 runoff elections attracted nearly 8,000 voters-the largest first day ever.
This is the first time since 1999 there is no female candidate for mayor?
That attempting to vote more than once in an election is a felony?
Approximately half of the 17 Black wards will have runoffs in Chicago. The need for a runoff is the result of no candidate getting 50 percent-plus one of all votes cast in that election.
The 24th Ward, which had no incumbent running puts first time candidate Michael Scott, Jr. against Vetress Boyce, who has run for the seat twice before.
Other runoff races in the Black wards include:
7th - Natasha Holmes (I) vs. Gregory Mitchell
16th - Toni Foulkes (I) vs. Stephanie Coleman
18th - Derrick G. Curtis vs. Lona Lane (I)
20th- Willie B. Cochran (I) vs. Kevin Bailey
21st - Howard Brookins, Jr. (I) vs. Marvin McNeil
29th - Deborah Graham (I) vs. Chris Taliaferro
37th - Emma Mitts (I) vs. Tara Stamps
That election is April 7. There were cries of "foul" when 28th Ward Alderman Jason Ervin succeeded in knocking five potential opponents off the ballot., and ran unopposed. Does it surprise you to know that in the Feb. 25 aldermanic races six other races have only one name on the aldermanic ballot? Those wards are 12 (George Cardenas); 13 (Marty Quinn); 14 (Ed Burke); 30 (Ariel Reboyrias); 42 (Brendan Riley), and 48 (Harry Osterman).
|
A lesson learned, maybe?
Hopefully, preacher, turned-activist, turned candidate, Jedidiah Brown is learning from his recent involvements into the political arena. Mr. Brown who is doing stellar work with his Young Leaders Alliance organization, stepped out of that role to take on long-time Alderman Lindsey Hairston and well-known attorney Ann Marie Miles trounced Brown in his bid for 5th Ward alderman. His dismal 792 vote total shows there is much work to get the youth vote out which Mr. Brown apparently was hoping to generate. He also took on the ill-advised project of organizing a Washington Park rally with the promise of both mayoral candidates making an appearance. Mr. Brown ignored the fact that 10s of thousands of people would be at St. Patrick's Day parades across town-an obvious magnet for candidates compared to the 200 Mr. Brown was able to muster.
Hopefully he will continue to invigorate the young voters in the city, while finding a guide who can help him transverse these murky political waters.
|
|
Who will survive the runoffs and why
|
Top row (l-r) Howard Brookins, Toni Foulkes, Natasha Holmes
Second row (l-r) Emma Mitts, Lona Lane, Willie Cochran
Bottom Deborah Graham
Of the seven incumbent aldermen rolling into the April 7 runoff election, most likely four of them are goners -
Lona Lane (18), Emma Mitts (37), Natasha Holmes (7) and Willie Cochran (20).
Ms. Mitts will lose to community activist and political upstart Tara Stamps for two huge reasons - Ms. Stamps is a star the community. She is gifted with a superb speaking presence, good insights into the ward and community, and brings new ideas to the table. It doesn't hurt that this teacher has the backing of the Chicago Teachers Union. Ms. Mitts outdistanced Ms. Stamps with 4,025 votes to 2,630 but look for the CTU to rally the 77 per cent of voters who didn't show Feb. 24. Ms. Mitts' 100 per cent voting record with Mayor Rahm Emanuel will not be a plus in this race.
The 20th Ward under Mr. Cochran is unable to boast significant
improvements
, or a much lower crime rate. His opponent, a virtual political unknown, Kevin Bailey, will be operating on adrenalin the next several weeks, fueled by the reality his first bid put him in a runoff with a veteran alderman. Look for Mr. Bailey to garner the support of the candidates who were unsuccessful Feb. 24.
Eeighteenth Ward residents need not get terribly excited about Derrick G. Curtis winning the runoff against incumbent Lona Lane. Mr. Curtis beat her by a few handfuls of vote last month - more of a signal of dissatisfaction with the incumbent than acceptance of the challenger. Certainly his raise taxes stance will prove to be unpopular.
The 24th Ward has a runoff but no incumbent. Vetress Boyce won't have an easy time but should defeat Michael Scott, Jr. although Mr. Scott is backed by Emanuel and the 28th Ward organization that includes Alderman Jason Ervin whose political godfather is Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White. Ms. Boyce brings a strong campaign background and deep and broad roots in the North Lawndale community. Mr. Scott's greatest asset is sharing his late father's name.
Four of the incumbents - in the April 7 race got their first seat at the council table through an appointment rather than being elected first. Ms. Mitts came on through an appointment in 2000. Ms. Holmes is the newest mayoral appointment, as she joined the council in 2013. Ms. Graham was appointed in 2010, and Ms. Lane appointed in 2006.
The emergence of Jesus "Chuy Garcia as Mayor Rahm Emanuel's opponent in the April 7 municipal runoff election should not have come as the surprise many expressed. Mr. Garcia was the most accomplished legislator in the field, a critical criterion in dealing with Chicago's bewildering budget. And in the oft-unmentioned part of politics, the West Side county commissioner, had no obvious or hidden baggage. Mr. Emanuel initially underestimated Mr. Garcia's level of support, and overestimated his own ability to overcome his negatives.
Every self-proclaimed pundit and voter should look at Garcia's history of involvement in state, county and local governmental units. All of the vetting and opposition research has failed to yield any huge negatives about Garcia's roles as a legislator or community leader. That speaks volumes for someone who has been involved for nearly 40 years.
The people who have known Garcia over the decades share the same accolades about him. It also is evident that he is someone who has been consistent in his beliefs and actions, unlike his opponent who has tried to change his rough-and-tumble persona to being mister genteel.
Chicagoans have about four weeks to juxtapose the two candidates and align their positions with your interests. It is critical that you make smart decisions that will help the city not just now, but into the future as well. That is why we launched
DePriest Voters Chronicles -
in order to provide you with detailed analysis, data and news to keep you well-informed as the election nears, as well as after it's over.
|
Electing Chicago's next mayor basically comes down to mathematics, and the math stacks up for Chuy Garcia, and that's because Mayor Rahm Emanuel has alienated so many Black voters,as well as the fact that with a concentrated push in five or six predominantly Black wards Mr. Garcia has access to twice the number of voters- 55,000, that kept him from a first-place finish Feb. 24.
Of the approximately 1 million voters who didn't show up at that election, about 40 per cent or 389,227 are in the city's predominantly Black wards. Mr. Garcia can wipe out the gap between him and Mr. Emanuel if he could get half of the 104,340 registered no-shows from the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th wards to vote for him in April. That might be a tough sell given that the 3rd and 4th are represented by Pat Dowell and Will Burns, respectively are Emanuel loyalists.
A comparable number of registered non-voters, 103,770 is available in the 8th, 9th, 15th, 16th and 17th wards. Michelle Harris in 8 has tensile ties to Mr. Emanuel, as does 9th Ward Alderman Tony Beale, and both are likely to attempt to circumvent a Garcia push there; but none of the other three aldermen/aldermanic candidates are equally tethered to the mayor.
Mr. Garcia's best opportunity for getting large blocs of new voters may rest in the 18th, 20th, 21st, 24th and and 29th wards. There is a runoff in all but the 28th. Emanuel has given marching orders to that ward's alderman, Jason Ervin, to dispatch his ward's organizers into 24 and try to lock down the vote for political neophyte Michael Scott, Jr. who is facing a formidable opponent in businesswoman Vetress Boyce. In that passel of wards, there are 132,297 Chicagoans who registered but didn't cast their votes Feb. 24.
Both the 34th and 37th wards have an average of 24,400 non-voters. Wrangling new voters from the 34th will be exceptionally difficult given the close relationship between the mayor and Alderman Carrie Austin. With incumbent 37th Ward Alderman in a runoff with the CTU-backed Tara Stamps, look for a rush of new voters at the polls from that ward, and it is unlikely they will cast ballots for the mayor.
Where the new Black votes are-registered voters vs. those who actually voted on 2/24/25*
3rd Ward
R-32,146
V-10,629
|
4th
R-30,651
V-11,922 |
5th
R-29321
V-11,533 |
6th
R-33,658
V-11,050 |
7th
R-32,415
V-10,717 |
8th
R-37,496
V-13,678 |
9th
R-35,454
V-11,968 |
15th
R-18,233
V-4,617 |
16th
R-26,071
V-6,078 |
17th
R-30,599
V-8,762 |
18th
R-31,783
V-12,296 |
20th
R-25,662
V-6,905 |
21st
R-38,244
V-13,403 |
24th
R-26,850
V-7,264 |
28th
R-32,409
V-7,702 |
29th
R-34,515
V-11,096 |
34th
R38,472
V-12,601 |
37th
R-31,338
V-8,389 |
(R)-registerstered (V)-voted *Chicago Board of Elections
|
|
The Chicago Board of Elections completed processing all absentee and provisional ballots for the Feb. 24 election by March 10 and those results will be "proclaimed official" March 12. For the board's summary please click the yellow link below.
|
|
Voter information for April 7 election
|
|
According to the Chicago Board of Elections, those who need to register or who need to update their name or address, voter registration has re-opened. Online and mail-in registrations will be accepted through March 10. From March 11 through March 22, Grace Period registration will be available at the Election Board. Then, from March 23 through April 4, registration will be available at the Election Board and all of the other 50 Early Voting sites.
There will be Early Voting from March 23 through April 4. Any voters may use absentee voting (vote by mail) without any reason or excuse. The deadline to have an absentee application at the Chicago Election Board is April 2, but the Board strongly recommends voters apply for absentee ballots earlier to make sure that the voters have time to receive and return their ballots. Candidates will have the same punch numbers that they did in Feb. 24 election.
|
|
Why Oscar DePriest?
Because Mr. DePriest was the first Black alderman in Chicago-having served from 1915-17. From 1929-35, Mr. DePriest was the sole Black member of Congress, representing Illinois First District. His political achievements are a testament to overcoming adversity while facing extreme and daunting odds. Mr. DePriest represents an example of what we need to do today to blunt the impact of the unrepresentative, repressive, municipal government under which we operate.
|
|
Since DePriest
We have used this space to give a thumbnail to the men and women who have served Chicago in Congress since Oscar DePriest left that office. In upcoming issues we will share similar profiles about Black state legislators over the past 60 years
|
Danny K. Davis
A 17-year Congressman who brought the experiences as a Chicago alderman, and Cook County commissioner to Washington, Danny K. Davis continues to be a force in local and national politics. He surely is one of the most accessible federal legislators Chicago has had in awhile. He also is a member of the most powerful committee in the House - Ways and Means.
Unlike so many of his colleagues, Mr. Davis has not been engaged in any major scandals or accusations of inappropriate behaviors of any sort. If there is a negative about his tenure, it's he has doubled the media percentage of missed votes in the House.
As the Illinois Seventh Congressional District Representative, Mr. Davis has one of the most challenging regions in the state - much of it is engulfed in high crime, low unemployment, and business disinvestment. In 07 Mr. Davis, successfully challenged those realities by introducing the Second Chance Act - legislation that eases the re-entry process from those leaving prison and coming back to their communities. Municipalities and NPOs are eligible to apply for Second Chance Act grants.
|
Bobby Rush
U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush has been the Illinois First Congressional District's Congressman since 1993, but maybe best known as the man who defeated Barack Obama, and that he is a former Black Panther Party officer.
Like his West Side counterpart Cong. Danny Davis, Mr. Rush, too is a former Chicago alderman. Much of the Congressman's legislation has focused on consumer protection. He has no landmark sweeping legislation that has spawned sustained national discussions.
Mr. Rush was treated for throat cancer three years ago and missed several sessions. Only last year he took another leave as his wife was seriously ill. These familial health problems, along with a Federal investigation of a $1 million grant the Congressman received has fueled perpetual speculation that this will be his last run for the office. Rush has not publicly indicated that is the case.
|
|
Please complete our survey on campaign activity
|
|
Untangling the ABCs of Politics
At DePriest Voters we realize that some political candidates as well as some government officials speak in ways to make it difficult for the general public to understand what's being said.
We firmly believe that practice goes against increasing public awareness and understand of good government. That is why DePriest Voters will regularly "d-mystify" political phrases and jargon. That way everyone can what is and what is not being said when candidates and officials talk with us. Ultimately we also want to be your go to resource as well for news, background and information on Chicago politics, but especially Chicago politics in the what is happening in the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th,20th, 21st, 24th, 25th, 27th, 28th, 29th, 34th and 37th wards.
Politics vs. Government
With Chicago elections on the horizon we will be faced once again with the dilemma of who is best for which office. Unfortunately, many will confuse who is best for the office with who talked the best about holding the office. It is the recurring problem of voters not understanding, or distinguishing, the difference in politics and government. Too often, too many people see these two distinct entities as one-in-the-same. Included here are some ways to help you distinguish between the two. Let's start with politics. The key thing to remember is politics is what really what causes or helps people get elected.. Politics can carry into government but the reverse is not always true. Simply put politics is the speech-making, fundraising, glad-handing, baby-kissing and generally more fund-raising that men and women do because they want to be in a government spot. While there are a handful of campaign finance laws, the politics side of the equation is largely unregulated. Political candidates are not required to conduct a set number of meetings, face term limits, or limits on how many times they can seek office, disclose their staff members, or follow statutes laid out in a charter. In short, politics is centered on telling voters, rather than showing how effective a leader she or he can be. In many cases, that dialogue is enough to win. An ineffective political campaign has few adverse consequences other than not holding the sought-after office. Conversely, government is fraught with policies, statutes, ordinances and other regulatory oversights. In government one is responsible for and accountable to all residents of a particular geographic region. Depending upon the office the government official has broad or limited duties, e.g. a mayor cannot vote on legislation, just as a council member has no authority over the city's employees or day-to-day operations. Government is rooted in performance and service to constituents, and is constricted by budgets designed to produce a specific set of outcomes from public safety to some form of tax collection.
So as the March elections draw nearer voters need to carefully assess the distinctions described here and determine if the political candidate can be an effective government official; or whether they prefer the governmental person who isn't necessarily the best politician.
|
Yes Ex-Offenders Can Vote
Candidates seem to consistently overlook the ex-offenders and locally incarcerated as a source of votes. Inmates in the Cook County jail who are awaiting trial can vote; so can those who have been in jail or prison and have served their time.
Granted many ex-offenders had a poor voting record before they went away, but some candidates should try to impart how voting, especially in local elections, impacts their lives. Right now, the minimum wage issue directly affects them because most who can find a job most likely are earning minimum wage.
So, if the politicians won't do it it is up to family and friends to help ex-offenders understand the power of the ballot. If you know an ex-offender, encourage him or her to get registered in time to vote in the April runoff elections. 
|
The City's budget
The fiscal year runs January 1 to December 31. This year the city's budget is $7.3 billion. State law dictates that Chicago maintain a balanced budget. Take a look here to see the Appropriations Ordinance, also known as the final budget.
|
|
Have you been injured in an accident?
See ad below for how you can get help.
|
|
|
| Call 844-515-HELP for more information or to arrange a consultation |
|
DePriest Voters Chronicles is published by Swope-Reedus Media Group as an online tool to help Chicagoans-particularly those on the South Side and West Side make more informed decisions regarding civic involvement and political participation.
Please contact Glenn Reedus at depriestvoters@gmailcom with any questions, concerns or corrections.
|
|
|
|
|
