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In her campaign for the 3rd Ward alderman, Pat Dowell never hosts any fancy cocktail parties or makes any loquacious, effusive speeches.
"I'm not a social butterfly; I'm a workhorse," Dowell said, wearing a simple purple suit and comfortable black shoes.
She just finished another door-to-door walking tour around Bronzeville, asking residents about their problems and telling them her vision for the community.
At 6'3'' feet tall, Dowell was an enthusiastic college basketball athlete at the University of Rochester. Now she considers this walking exercise as the most exciting part of the campaign.
"I enjoy the conversations with my people," she said. "I want them to connect the face [on the campaign flyer] to the real person. Problems can never be solved if we don't talk about them."
If elected, Dowell says she plans to promote employment opportunities, help direct the housing market by providing more affordable housing for middle and low income residents, improve public education and create more recreational activities for disconnected youth.
"Nothing comes easy for an African American woman," said her 21-year-old son Justin, "but my mom always works hard to help people who live in a way worse situation than she does. She's been doing it for so long."
"I can't remember how many times people have asked me 'Can you give me a job?'," Dowell said. "The tremendous poverty in some parts of the ward disturbs me."
When she and her campaign group opened the door of 4700 block of S. Prairie, a strong odor of marijuana billowed out. The renter, Cindy Phillips, complained that the smell never went away. She moved to Bronzeville from New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina but hasn't found a job so far.
"I went to Dorothy Tillman's office, trying to get a job for the election, but they were very ugly to me," she said. Dowell calmly told her how to work as a judge for the election, how to become a union worker and how to get an easy job of directing local traffic.
On the same street, two men peddling pirated DVDs, also want a real job.
Dowell believes good leadership should be sensitive to the constituents' needs and make resources available to them.
"It [Running for alderman] is not a business decision for me; it's a personal and community decision. I need to have the authority to provide alternatives, to make a change," she said.
She has been waiting for the opportunity for more than four years.
When Dowell first ran for 3rd ward alderman in 2003, she chose "It's time for a change" as her campaign slogan. Once a deputy executive in the city Department of Planning and Development, she was ahead of the curve.
"I knew gentrification was going to happen," she said. "The incumbent could have offered more affordable housing in early 1990s to prepare people for the change."
She won 35 percent of the votes, posing a great threat to then 20-year alderman Dorothy Tillman, a good result as a beginner.
One thing that compelled Dowell to become an aldermanic candidate is the vast number of vacant lots behind her home on the South King Drive.
"Not much has changed in eight years," she said. "No wonder nobody believes politicians can affect peoples" lives now, but an alderman with a vision and the ability to get results would do something about it."
Attorney Audrey Wade said, "I was impressed by Pat's sincerity and her vision to rebuild this community. Driving through Bronzeville now makes me sad. We don't have drugstores, grocery stores or recreation places for children - it wasn't like this when I grew up."
She volunteered to work as campaign manager for Dowell.
Dowell once believed government was the catalyst for community change when she worked at Mayor Washington's office in 1987. In early 1990s, she felt frustrated that community didn't have a major role in plan implementation.
Later on, the Mid-South Planning and Development Commission hired her as the founding executive director. Under her leadership, millions of dollars in development funding was allocated to preserve various Bronzeville landmarks; public art burgeoned on the King Drive; Chicago's legendary music tradition enjoyed renaissance with the birth of an annual blues festival.
These experiences taught her the importance of grassroots involvement as a catalyst for real change, she said. "It was a personal transformation and the foundation of my career now."
"Pat really wants to see the community go forward," resident Derrick Simpson said, "but she also understands there's a group of people in low-income situation that needs to be accommodated." He said she has a good sense of striking a balance so that diverse people can live together.
Diversity will be the major challenge for running the office, since all kinds of issues need to be addressed, Dowell said. But as an urban planner and social worker for youth and senior citizens, Dowell has extensive experiences to serve the community.
"I want residents can come to my office and talk about how to preserve a historical building," she said, "or ask our office to be an advocate for their children at school, or simply ask us to fix the sidewalk or provide alley lighting for them."
Dowell files for the Consolidated Primary Election on Feb. 27, 2007. She has a B.A. degree in Developmental Psychology from the University of Rochester and an M.A. degree in Social Service Administration from the University of Chicago.
"This is ridiculous," Dowell pointed at piles of garbage on the lot (above) and said, "We should care about where we live."
Instead of waiting for the city cleaners, she thinks the local residents should perform the work. "We can make a new job out of it," she said.
ALDERMANIC ELECTION STORIES: Catherine Zaryczny (32nd) Scott Waguespack (32nd) Mell Monroe (3rd) Pat Dowell (3rd) 48th Ward Challenger Sues Incumbent.
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Pat Dowell for Third Ward Alderman!
It is obvious you do not live in the 3rd ward. The people that LIVE here love the current alderman and really resent the outside people knocking on our doors telling us what and who is good for us. Know one knows Dowell and her smear campaign is backfiring.
I know you haven;t been in our neck of the woods lately...it is 100 times better since Tillman has been in office. I grew up here and my grandparents has own their home for over 40 years..Dowell can't even ring my nanna's bell. People on the street feels she is an agent for the University of Chicago and they are afraid she trying to do to our neighborhood like they did to Woodlawn. So you should talk to the people in 3rd ward and not the media or propaganda. Last note...The union has NO PULL in the Black community. We all know how racist the union is. On the 28th you will realize that you are no expert on Black Politics. Tillman is a hero and she will not lose in BLACK HISTORY MONTH.
"Dowell said Jackson hasn't donated any money to her campaign. She said she didn't know how much money the unions have placed behind her campaign, or the total in her campaign coffers. The Defender couldn't find her total contributions at press time."
Now Dowell is not only going to be the tool of the Union, but also Jesse Jackson Jr. ?
By the time she does the Union's bidding, the U of Chicago's and developers bidding and now Congressman Fathead's bidding's, the people will be last on her list.
And it is a poor reflection on her if she does not know how much money she has gotten from the unions.
Give me the Gun Trey!
Give me the Gun Trey!
Give me the mutha uckin GUN!
That was from Boyz N Da Hood - Larry fishburnes line.
Good movie.
You are so naieve.
Don't you know that by the time there will be "public hearings" on the land grab that Dowell will shepherd for the University of Chicago and other developers, it will be a done deal.
They will give us 10 minutes of so-called "public testimony", listen politely and go ahead with their plans.
Trey,
You and others have already let a land grab happen. And it's sad Trey, it's really really sad Trey. Dorothy Tillman has done very little for the ward accept place her chillun on the board of everything. We really appreciate her civil rights stance Trey, but she has done nothing since. You should tell her that reparations can also look like higher wages for us.
Dorothy has not even had "public meetings" in the community. She has listened impolitely, and we should remove her. Trey, you really seem like a nice guy and I have sorta grown fond of you. But I want you to keep fighting, don't give up. As I said, Dorothy has done nothing, if Pat acts the same way, fight her. You obviously didnt fight Dorothy. Pat has a track record, a very good one.
Good Night Trey, remember keep your chin up.
Pat Dowell for 3rd Ward Alderman!
Oh my!
It is obvious we need better schools in the 3rd ward. I'm a long time 3rd ward resident who is tired of the vacant lots and nepotisim.Go Pat!!
Trey,
Pat Dowell for Alderman.
The 28th has passed and we are in a run off trey, where have you been.
Tillman is an agent of the machine. Her rah rah speeches don't fool anybody. I'm not mad at her though.
Everyone knows Dowell. She has been working for this community (bringing in resources) long before she was a candidate.
Trey you are awesome. Whoever wins, I just want you to know that. Besides all of your facts being wrong, you have great potential young man.
Trey,
Everything you said is false, except that she is divorced.
And I know it's politics - you getting the assignment to write bad things about her, to cause doubt. But remember your words will come back to you.
Don't be an ass for an election Trey! what are you getting a chicken dinner? a contract? a pat on the back? a new .22 pistol? free garbage pickup for a year? An autographed copy of "ex -revolutionary" signed by Conrad Worrill? A free bash Pat Dowell session on WVON? I know you've won a "how dare Jesse Jr. try to be a man and go against the grain - coffee cup?
And if you are related to Ald. Tillman, it's even worse. I really do respect Ald. Tillman for her hard work in the 60's and 70's and a little bit in the 80's. She deserves respect.
Anyway, You should be shamed Trey, it's sad. A person who I thought had potential, turns out to be a hack. It's sad Trey -
Wait a minute, I still have hope Trey. I changed my mind. You still can be great. Trey. Don't eat that free chicken dinner or ham in one sitting.
Libertad Trey -
Oh and uh -
Pat Dowell for Third Ward Alderman!!
trey, it's obvious you don't know Pat Dowell by the assumptions you are making about her lifestyle!
This seems like a personal attack from someone that was sent here to cause trouble and controversy.
I only have one comment for you. GROW UP!
Good Luck Pat Dowell!
Lets show them how it's supposed to be done!
why does not Pat go by her formerly married name, Cerasoli, in honor of the white man she was married to ? She cares not about black folks, talk black and sleeps white, until Mr. Cerasoli got wise to her being a lesbian and divorced her AND got custody of their son. It is very rare for a man to get custody, but the court agreed that the lesbian lifestyle was not appropriate to bring up an impressionable young boy.
oh.
Pat Dowell for 3rd Ward Alderman!!!!
Trey, Trey,
You have such a negative mindframe. Firstly, that is not the truth. Secondly, the ward is already in the hands of neglect and lack of vision (your friends), thirdly, if you are a resident - hold her accountable. For almost twenty four years - residents let an alderman do whatever she wanted to do. Whether they let her willingly or by not voting. Don't do it this time Trey...when Pat becomes Alderman, Im counting on you to be at all of her accessible community meetings, you first in line at her ward nights, you volunteering at neighborhood schools, and most of all I want you to turn that frown upside down and never let an Alderman Pat, Dorothy, or the wicked witch of the east lead a community for twenty four years with no real signs of accountable and transparent improvement. Good luck Trey. I think you are an awesome fella.
Unions will run the ward if Dowell wins.
The people will lose, she will give the ward to the unions, developers and the University of Chicago.
Save your sympathy for Justin Cerasoli, who had to grow up in a household of gender and orientation confusion to the extent he does not fit in anywhere, transfers to two high schools, three colleges even with his basketball talent.
Thank God for WVON for airing the truth and keeping up the fight to save the 3rd ward from the developers, the U of C, the urban renewal (Negro Removal) and Union folks.
And if you want to throw around percentages, 62% of the 3rd ward did not vote for Pat, even with the hundreds of thousands of dollars from white developers and the racist union.
Trey Trey
Such a negative tone. Even though you are negative Trey. I still got love for you. Your sexual reference along with the pillow biting description gives you up.
But enough of that.
The Unions have long backed Democrats like Alderman Tillman and Mayor Daley. So I won't go into that. The reality is that 57% of the people DID NOT vote for Alderman Tillman. Don't disrespect the voters Trey. It's bad.
The other thing is you really are a lost soul. The name calling that comes out of your mouth makes me think you werent hugged as a child and your mother called you ugly. If that is the case, it's not your fault. It's not your fault. It's not your fault.
And I am no longer anonymous. I am your friend.
Do you wanna win that bad that you mention her son. And your numbers are wrong. Man Trey, you go deeper and deeper into the pits of hell to try to bring in the vote.
God Bless you trey. Your anger and hate is what keeps you on the dark side.
Be good Trey, and try to lay off the negativity. If Alderman Tillman is that good let her win on her merits.
Counselor:
Chicago public schools must do a really poor job in math.
From the Board of Elections website (http://www.chicagoelections.com/wdlevel3.asp?elec_code=65) :
Dorothy J. Tillman
3476 votes = 43 %
Mell Monroe
1341 votes = 17 %
Benjamin Harris
95 votes = 1 %
Angelo James
98 votes = 1 %
in other words, and I will type real slow so that you can understand,
43% + 17% +1% + 1% = 62% of the voters DID NOT VOTE FOR DOWELL
Pat Dowell
3077 votes = 38 %
Thank God for WVON
Most of the schools in African American wards are failing, so it's really not a laughing matter.
Both of you have gone a little crazy. You both are right. 57% did not vote for Tillman and if you do the math Trey's right too.
But the question is - who will the Mell votes go to? With Mell backing Dowell, I assume most will go to Dowell.
I doubt if they go to Tillman.
On the contrary brave and annonymous one.
One could ask are you bending over holding your ankles and biting a pillow for the Unions and Jesse Jr. like Pat Dowell is doing ?
No Butch Alderman for the 3rd Ward !
Sexuality aside, Pat Dowell is an employee of the Univeristy of Chicago who plans to take over Bronzeville like they did Woodlawn.
Mell Monroe sought the support of the unions but did not get it. He has no vision, no background at getting things done in the ward. He should not be Alderman.
Pat Dowell for 3rd Ward Alderman
[...] Related content: Pat Dowell: no “social butterfly” candidate for 3rd Ward alderman by Jing ZhouA Sleeping Tiger in the 32nd Ward by Leah NylenA new candidate for 3rd ward alderman challenges politics-as-usual in Bronzeville by Elizabeth RyanLong hours on election day not only for the candidates by Leah NylenOut with the old, in with the new! by Brad Flora [...]
Heard Dowell on WVON this morning and learned that she was brought and sold by the unions, who are providing most of her funds.
The ward needs a real independent - Mell Monroe
May-
Pat Dowell is a woman who will provide leadership for the 3rd Ward. Renew your mind May.
[...] ALDERMANIC ELECTION STORIES: Catherine Zaryczny (32nd) Scott Waguespack (32nd) Mell Monroe (3rd) Pat Dowell (3rd) 48th Ward Challenger Sues Incumbent. [...]
Mell will go with the highest bidder, that being the unions, developers and the U of Chicago (all of whom have promised him help in paying off his campaign debts in exchange for supporting Dowell).
goodness! trey, i have been waiting to find a blog or some sort of outlet to discuss this whole 3rd ward election issue. and i have also been looking to hear from someone who was supporting ald. tillman.
i live in the 3rd ward and could not find one reason to support the current ald. i have been anxious for someone to point out all of the development and progress in the 3rd ward that tillman claims she has lead. when asked about specifics tillman has for the most part has ignored the question. when she has bothered to show up for debates against dowell she seems to be more interested in name-calling, talking loud, and discussing everything but the issues that are important to 3rd ward residents; sort of like trey does when he talks about pat's sexual orientation. is that where you learned that tactic from, trey?
speaking of role models, would you rather your daughter, sister, mother, aunt, or wife behave like tillman? cursing seniors out because they don't agree with her and choose to pickett her for being absent from a debate? how about bringing a gun to her job? i don't think those are very admirable things, trey. when pat ran against tillman in the last election she got 35% of the vote and tillman got just over 50%. This time around pat got 38% and tilman got 43%. with all of the money pat got from the unions she only got 3% more votes, so what exactly do you think the union's money bought? doesn't seem like alot to me. that indicates to me that more people want tillman gone as time goes by and the ward changes.
i guess tillman's strategy is to try to scare folks saying that the "boogie man" is going to come and get them if they vote for pat since she has done very little for the ward while she has been in office. if the union having more influence in the ward means that my streets are cleaner, i have more retail options, more houses and less vacant lots, more access to my alderman, and higher appreciation for my property, then unions come on in! and who ar these "land grabbers" i keep hearing about? i develop real estate, live in the ward, am a black man (the very people she claims to try to help), and would love to build more houses in the 3rd ward.
i purchaed a lot from a private seller and tried to speak with the alderman to get a standard city of chicago form letter signed for her so that i could get my building permit 2 weeks sooner and inform her of my intentions. i started out 45 days in advance before i needed this letter because i had heard all of the stories about how difficult to work with and unreasonable she could be. i called her office literally between 20 and 25 times and got the run around each and every time. i did everything they asked me to do and they chose to ignore me until i got tired of begging them. maybe they didn't see my name on their list of contributors so i never got my letter signed and simply waited the extra 2 weeks instead of being subjected to the humiliation of begging her for it.
i went on to build a very nice house,- one that anyone would have been proud to claim that they had anything to do with. yet i am sure she would claim it was because of her that this development happened. trey, things happen in the 3rd ward DESPITE alderman tillman, not because of her. she only gets in the way and bungles everything that she involves herself in i.e., 10 years to build the harold washington center. i can go on talking about how horrible tillman is all night, but i will wait to see what's said after this blog entry.
Finally,
Someone who is willing to tell us what's going in Tillman's office.We have heard the rumors, but many of us have never gotten beyond the front door unless we pledge to volunteer or donate to her war chest. Going to the ward meetings is a joke.
So now censorship is the order of the day ?
The Dowell people must really be desperate
Dowell cannot even maintain her website, how can she maintain the ward ?
trey, desperate is namecalling and avoiding the issues. by the way, her website is fine. looks like someone tried to tamper with it or something. there is only one section that looks corrupted, and that is for only 1/2 the page.
the FACT of the matter is you cannot defend tillman's horrible record so you talk about every thing else but what she has done. i can go on and on with what she has NOT done, and the embarrasing way that she has gone about conducting her business for the last 24 years. if she is going to conduct herself in the undignified way that she has over her tenure the least she could do is serve the community a little bit. she has done nothing but line her own pockets and employ her family and friends do be bad at their jobs. harold washington himself, called her "insecure" and said she knew "nothing about city government". you do know this to be a fact, don't you? both those opinions are obvious to anyone who opens their eyes. my advise to you is to progress, move forward, and stop deluding yourself about "do nothing dorthy" tillman. if you do, in fact, live in the area, improve your quality of life, and property value, if you own property, and vote her out!
Hmmm....some posts are "held for review and moderation" while the anti Tillman posts go up without question.
This board is biased
Trey, I sent you an e-mail about this but as you commented here I will as well. You're welcome to espouse any kind of political views that you like on here. We certainly don't have a horse in the race. I'm as curious to hear what people have to say on both sides of this race as any other. I'm not originally from Chicago and am learning a lot from this discussion and some of the others I've had through this project.
Your last few posts were moderated because you used a lot of really offensive words in them and they seemed unnecessarily personal. It had absolutely nothing to do with your political views. We won't host personal attacks on here. They stifle discussion and set a bad tone.
thanks ellie t for straightening trey out in such a thoughtful way and with such class. reminds me of the way ms. dowell handled tillman in the debates that she did bother to show up at. yes, i am the "uppity negro" that trey is so intimidated by, and am proud to have little-minded, sheltered folks of his ilk nervous about possibly living next door to him! evidently trey chooses to live in his fantasy world because it's easier and more comfortable to stay in that narrow little box he is residing in. you know, that fantasy world that tillman helped put him in by playing on his worst fears by saying that the unions, u of c, and the landgrabbers (aka, big bad whitie) are coming to get him! trey never answered my questions for him in my last couple of blogs because he didn't have an answer to them, like where was dorthy's 23 years of developments/accomplishments. trey, don't you know when you are getting pimped? tillman has played the third ward like a banjo for the last 23 years because folks like you are too stupid to open your eyes and think for yourselves. you seem to not be able to figure life out, so you rely on other folks to think for you. you blindly believed everything tillman said and didn't question any of her facts (of which she had none). i don't think i would be going out on a limb by believing that you are not a very successful person- people who aren't very bright usually aren't. you seem to be intimidated by folks who you think are educated, or wear suits, or speak well (talk white, right trey?), read books, vacation outside of cook county, invest in things other than jewelry and depreciating assets, watch channel 11 sometimes, maybe own a property or two, appreciate eating at restaurants with white linen tablecloths on occasion (of course outside of the 3rd ward unless you want to go to blu 47), and other things that don't fit what you believe "real, authentic" black folks don't do in your very limited mind. i can blast anything that you say out of the water because i come into this particular fight with a machine gun and you are here with a dull butterknife. so go ahead and say something else and so that i can blast you with a few rounds and make you look EVEN more ridiculous, if that is at all possible. elle, you sound like my kinda people. i am a sucker for smart women with nappy, curly, kinky, wavy, twisty, crazy hair! we should talk ;) !
daddy, lets use some paragraph breaks in the future! :)
Makes it easier for me to follow along after a day of homework...
Daddy, why waste time engaging in what my grandmother commonly referred to as the "educated fool".
The Negro that has forgot where he came from, like a local version of Clarence Thomas, that would sell his mother's drawers, let alone his own people, for a few "permission slips" (dollars) from Mr. Charley.
There is no time to waste on such folks, and the sad part is that they really believe that they have transcended their own skin tone.
Trey,
I lived in the 3rd ward before I bought my apartment. I was renting, now I own. Two blocks over, one block down. I became much more interested in the future of the ward because that was all DT talked about! It turned out to be a fairy tale. You are so silly. And a little bit mean, too! Don't forget that though we are strangers online, we are neighbors in real life! I consider you my brother despite the fact that you seem to be going through something terrible right now!
I don't have a lot of money and I don't make a lot of money. I serve the public in the role of child advocate. Yes, I bust my buns every day to protect people who are small and poor- and you KNOW how much money those folks have! BIG BUCKS! I would like to one day drive a really nice car, but right now, I drive a really simple car. I certainly don't anticipate making a killing because I don't have that kind of apartment. I didn't buy land, I bought an apartment! And guess what? The nice lady who owned the building for 35 years lives across the hall! And guess what else? Her son and husband did the rehab! I don't feel awful for taking advantage of her because she takes advantage of my coffee and vacuum cleaner almost weekly. I would say that she invited all of the residents of my building to come on down to the ward when she hired a realtor and mailed out postcards advertising units for sale.
I was fortunate to buy when the housing was affordable for a public servant.
Had there been fair consideration given to builders back then, there would have been more affordable units built and more moderate income families would have been able to move to and remain in the ward. As it stands, there are precious few rental units in the ward. Condos start around 300K and a house around 550K. At this point, who can afford to move here? Not many brown folk I know. Whose choices brought about this dire situation? I think we all know the answer to that one. Meditate on that for a moment.
I still don't like seeing people using the bathroom, smoking drugs, and having relations beside my trash can. I don't like seeing used condoms beside my car in the morning dew. I am really sad when the 41st and Calumet prostitutes flash their naked chests at me before I drive up close enough for them to see that I am a woman, and hence not a potential "date".
Trey, I understand that you are upset right, now, but in time you will see that we can accomplish so much more when we work together. DT is now gone and I doubt she will return. I want you to spend some time over the next few days thinking about how you can turn this negative and hurtful personal experience into a positive. I don't know what your personal vision is for the ward, but I do know that PD's door will be open and she will receive your suggestions with respect and an open mind, as is your privilege as a 3rd Ward citizen. Though what she does in her home, behind a closed and locked door, between her sheets, in the dark, with another consenting adult may trouble you, try to convince yourself that it is not your business and focus on making sure that Pat keeps the promises she made. I'm quite sure you have much more important and interesting things going on in your own life, correct?
The unions supported a couple dozen candidates, not just Pat! They supported candidates in all shapes and colors in most neighborhoods. In this case, I don't believe the race card applies. A noted Chicago political advisor stated (in part) that "...no amount of money would have defeated an alderman that was doing their job..." Meditate on that for a moment.
Well, good night to you all. To recap, I am not a carpetbagger, I am not an uppity negro, I am not rich, I am not a real estate baroness, I do not push a Lexus, I serve at the pleasure of the public, I am not upset, and I am not a lesbian- I know you didn't say that, but I have a feeling it was coming up next.
I DO, however, have nappy, curly, kinky, wavy, twisty, crazy hair! Thanks for reminding me how blessed I am.
My love and prayers for personal peace go out to all who read here,
Elle
One thing that we all must realize and that is that our knees will only bow and give in account for our actions. So if Pat has a lover other then a man again that's hers and God
Greetings Neighbors and Friends:
I'm a resident of the 3rd ward, and, apparently, one of the "new residents" former ADT held in contempt (when convenient). "We" newcomers irritated the heck out of her by asking for clean streets, safe neighborhoods, a grocery store, and good schools. I moved to the ward because Bronzeville gave me, a single person with a modest income and a strong work ethic, an opportunity to own my own home. Who would have thought that the alderman would have a problem with that?
While my home has been wonderful to me in many ways, many times I have had to question whether or not I should stay in the 3rd ward. I live close enough to former ADT to see her house, so I know she sees the vacant corner lot where during the spring/summer/fall dozens of adults gather early in the morning to drink, drug, smoke, and fuss. For the past few years, I have been unable to take out my trash without fear of seeing one of these "residents" hunched behind my garage doing a #1 or a #2, smoking crack, or tricking. When we moved into our building in 2003, an obvious open-air drug market was fully operational 24 hours a day right out front. DT didn't give a hoot! The only way to shut it down was to call CPD officers on their personal cell phones when we saw activity because the operation was so sophisticated they had police scanners! To this day, we will occasionally see a car full of "out of place" people who didn't get the memo.
Litter surrounds my home 364 days a year. The only day we see any clean-up effort at all is for Bud Billiken!
I voted for Pat because I strongly believe it was my responsibility as a public citizen. The ward is ours, and it needs our help badly. I predict a substantial turnaround within two years. The union $$ didn't buy my vote. I voted for her the first time when she was broke.
My only fear as a citizen of the 3rd ward is the 2016 Olympics, though I am slightly more at ease with a competent leader at the helm. Aren't you?
For those on the board who have questioned Pat's private (and by private I mean between the sheets) life, I would offer that last night she introduced her "soul mate" to everyone who didn't already know her at her victory celebration. Her son loves and supports his mom, so why shouldn't we? And she would not be the only Alderman to marry a white person (4th ward). And why should we care who she loves/loved?
Sorry about the long post! I'm just so excited and hopeful for positive changes.
Love you all!
Elle T. represents this carpetbagging Negro type that bought property in the ward, fairly cheap and now want to make a killing.
The very reason you were able to purchase land in a prime location so cheap was because of the indeginous people there. You purchased your land with your eyes wide open and then are upset when it did not turn into Winnetka overnight. No one asked you to come to the ward.
You new breed Negros think you are so much better than your own brothers and sisters , but when you get to the bottom of it, the White union bosses are in their homes in the suburbs laughing their butts off on how they played your black behinds.
You may wear a three piece suit and drive a Lexus but you are still what Don Imus called you in their eyes.
At least you are the only one not afraid to address the decadent lifestyle of Dowell. Certainly not a role model I would want my daughter to emulate.
ok, brad- gotcha.
trey, again you are just as wrong about me as you are about ellie. i grew up on the south side, went to an HBCU (Historically Black College) in Virginia, moved back to the south side, and presently live in the 3rd ward, which is on the south side. i work for myself and do business on the south side. i have lived and done everything around black folks all my life with the exception of 2 years in graduate school in new jersey. exactly how am i forgetting where i came from? because i want better more effective representation where i live? because i think for myself and don't let an idiot like tillman play me like a fool?
trey, i try to be a thinking person. if you will just make some kind of defense of tillman's record and make a concrete case for why i should have supported her i will admit that i was wrong and lead the charge with you to have her re-elected next election. not her lip service to reparations, not all of her annouced plans for development that never actually materialize, or her bungled and mismanaged development of the harold washington center, but something tangible and significant in the last 23 years. you have yet to attempt to do that.
all i ask is that you come up with something concrete about tillman's record.
basically, you have no facts so you resort to ridiculous, baseless personal attacks, just like your hero, the hat. i am not sure that i am going to attack you personally anymore though because you don't seem to be capable of defending yourself and i get a yucky feeling like i am physically beating up a disabled person or something.
if your next response, if you dare give one, is about me, pat, or anyone else other than dorthy and her "record", then i will have to assume that i was right about you, and that you incapable of defending her record.
talking loud and saying nothing is not only for dorthy, but it appears as though her supporters subscribe to the same philosopy.
Another wanna be Negro that got his 2nd rate HBCU education and thinks it is license to crap all over the brother and sisters that were already in Da Hood when he decided to get back to black - guess your money did not go too far to get you a place in Highland Park or the Jackson Park Highlands for that matter.
Beneath it all, you and your type actually hate yourselves and in a glaring example of cognitive dissonance, you want to displace people that remind you of yourselves.
The next time the police pull you over, you will be reminded that you are still black.
Some great points.
OK, lets make a bet. I say we will have a Whole Foods or a Trader Joe's by the end of 2009. Don't forget there isn't a decent grocery store between Roosevelt and 75th. Any store that comes here would draw from 4+ neighborhoods. Bet you 5 bucks.
After reading the Trib yesterday and seeing that the builders of the huge retail/residential complex on 47th and Cottage in Ward 4 are from Columbus, I began to wonder how and why. So I sat and thought about it. More on that later.
Yes, there are laws about the vacant lots and the abandoned buildings, but we all know they are not enforced. There is a bounty on these lots now and they will no longer be held hostage. They have too much potential. Expect the seizures to increase drastically.
My scenario is specifically focused on the next 2.5 years. That's all I want to focus on right now. Thats how much time Chicago has to lobby the international community for the Olympics. After that, I don't even care. I will be outta here so fast I might forget to lock the door. My last post was related to the Olympics, but I don't think that the redevelopment in ward 3 will be about the Olympics.
Builders will build out the units and carefully time the completions because they will want to price the units according to what the market will bear. The condo market in the ward is cooling off. It will be back, of course, right after they break ground for the big retail complex over on State. I believe the next wave of development in Chicago will be done by a small number of large homebuilders. There is just too much at stake to count on the small developers to keep up with the timeline. I think that the city will bundle up parcels of lots and bid the work out. With the winds of real estate change blowing elsewhere in the country, there are a lot of home builders out there looking for work. With big builders, you get consistency and predictability. With the builders hard at work, the city will have time to clean up the streets, remodel the schools it closed for under performing, and throw up a Target and Dominick's. Once this all happens, the ward will be ready for the major influx.
Back to the Olympics. If you get about 5 minutes of free time, take a look at the wikipedia entries under Chicago 2016 Olympic bid and 2016 Summer Olympics. After reading that a couple of weeks ago, I was convinced that Chicago was a shoo-in for the 2016 games. The only question mark in my opinion is the Olympic stadium.
I have seen the area around Ida B. Wells change over the last couple of years (I play tennis over there). The plans for that development (Oakwood Shores?) don't extend to King Drive. What I am talking about is the 90% boarded-up brick buildings where a young man was shot and killed last night. We still haven't seen the drawings for what that is going to look like in 5 years. The residents haven't been told when they are going to be relocated. I'm wondering what the grand plan is for the section of the projects that extend from 37th-39th on the King Drive Side. Have they announced that yet?
White people are moving to the 3rd ward. It is just a trickle right now, but they are coming in larger numbers and it won't be long before this area is defined by income and not race. Most of my friends in Bronzeville have a white neighbor or two. I know I do! Up on the 3rd floor! He is not from Chicago, so he doesn't have all that negative history. Don't believe that non-black people are afraid to move here. The minute they get the all-clear, it's going down.
If I had one wish, it would be that current residents get a small group together, put on their thinking caps, come up with a business plan, and take advantage of the tremendous opportunites for entrepreneurs available now in Bronzeville.
[...] Elle T.: So, the Olympics. Now that we are officially building a lakefront spire making the Chicago skyline a beacon to the world, my... [...]
Sheesh.
How about some less anti-social discussion, team?
I enjoyed Elle T's "conspiracy" plan so much that I posted it to the front page. Feel free to carry on this discussion in this thread or to move it on to the comments below the new post at:
http://www.methodsreporter.com/2007/04/20/bronzeville-chicago-olympics-p...
Pat WILL give away the store to her employer, the University of Chicago.
She talks black in the daytime but her ex-husband is white. He divorced her when he discovered her "lesbian lifestyle". Hurt the man so bad he moved out to Naperville and convinced the Divorce judge to give him full custody - that does not happen that often.
When these new breed Negros that just moved into the ward 5 years ago or less, that voted against The Hat, start to see big orange eminent domain signs on their homes because Dowell gave away the store to the University of Chicago (that has been drooling to get that land), it will serve them right.
The only good out of this is that in the aftermath, Jesse Jr. will never become Mayor. He has angered too many black folks and for a black to become Mayor he has to get near 100% of the black vote in addition to picking up some whites and hispanics. Ain't gonna happen now. Jr. will be Congressman for life.
wow, ellie! you are a thoughtful one. i guess i had thought about all of you topics except not as in depth as you have.
1. there are plenty of developers in state to do all the things that may need to be done so i doubt that daley will look to out-of-staters to do the work. doesn't mean out of state folks won't develop some of the area though; it is a free country :).
2. you might be right about the green line. actually, you probably will be right about that. the cta is having problems now though. there is a lot of time for them to get their act together or the state to find some money for them between now and then.
3. the ida b. wells plan is already on its 2nd phase. drive down pershing and you will see it around cottage grove. it should already be sold out well before 2016.
4. as you probably already know, the city already has those type of penalties in place to address those types of violations for owners of vacant lots. unfortunately, most of the vacant lots are in the 3rd ward and city owned. the good thing about that is than now we have an alderman who will have some plans for them. i suspect by the time 2016 rolls around most of the lots, especially on prairie and calumet, will have residential housing built on them. developers and private owners will take care of the few that aren't owned by the city.
5. yes! it makes sense that 39th street beach and every other south side beach will be spruced up quite a bit. aren't you glad you live in the area if you weren't already? makes the prostitutes and drugs in your alley today all worth it, huh?
6. might be a few extra restaurants in the area, but i doubt trader joe's and the rest of the ones you mentioned will be in the area until the housing stock increases, and the median income increases. all big national retailers have profiles that they look for in potential locations, and right now, believe it or not, bronzeville doesn't have it. once all of the public housing projects were torn down we lost population. many of the public housing residents moved out of the area, but many stayed and their incomes bring down the median in the area, therefore the area looks like nobody lives in it and the folks that do don't have a high enough income to meet the national retailer's minimum profile requirements. if you don't live in chicago or know the history of bronzeville, and you drive through bronzeville, you see a couple of nice new houses, but you also see vacant lots, trash, and folks who may appear to be a bit scary. even if folks are told that the area is "up and coming" one should never underestimate the power of racism and the way that the rest of the world views african americans. folks may talk liberal, and maybe even have a.a. friends, but living among us is quite a different thing. especially with all of the images that we see in the media, and considering chicago is and always has been very segregated- whites don't know what to make of us because they have very little real experience being around us, and besides being forced to do so through work and shopping, we aren't around them much either (but we do have more experience than they do since we basically must). basically what i am saying is, other folks aren't going to try to look deeper to see the potential in bronzeville. they will simply look at the present day statistics.
7. developers won't leave anything 80-90% complete on purpose. i am a builder an we all know that nothing is promised tomorrow. we want to sell out our projects as quickly as possible especially in a down real estate market like we have now.
8. yes, the trib, city, and everyone else will try to tell folks how great the south side is.
9. i, for one, would love a stampede to the south side! the more desirable my area is, the better it will be for me. frankly, gentrification is my friend. my 4 year old may actually be able to play outside with kids who don't say curse words at 6 years old that i didn't know until i was in high school. maybe he can run and play with kids who's parents actually parent them. maybe prostitutes, drug attics, won't want to hang out on a block where people actually live and their activities will be watched. maybe there will be fewer people busting open my garbage looking for whatever they are looking for, but really just effectively providing the rats with buffet. i might not mind a few white, latin, and asian neighbors, but i am sure that would be asking way too much. hmmm. having the 3rd and 4th ward resemble wicker park and lincoln park might not be such a bad idea! i just have to make a little more money to pay for my real estate taxes and get the city to put up a few of those parking sticker signs.
10. the awarding of the olympic games is a long way off and we have lots of competition. nobody has considered the possibility that we might NOT get them. but speculation builds interest in the area and that is just as good as getting the games in my world. it is absolutely better than definitely not getting them because that takes us back to very few folks caring about the south side. of course there will be some folks who won't like the idea because they feel any change is bad.
having the olympics in the chi will in all likelihood be a financial disaster just like it is everywhere else it is held. individuals who live in the areas where they are held will benefit though, and i hope to e one of those folks. we can't stop 'em so lets just try to benefit as much as we can and bear with it until it is over. my kid will always say that he saw the olympics in person. i might benefit financially too. i can also poke my chest out and have a little more civic pride when i visit my buddies across the country. not all bad.
So, the Olympics. Now that we are officially building a lakefront spire making the Chicago skyline a beacon to the world, my mind has invented a fairly likely Olympics scenario. It is my belief that this scenario would be possible no matter who the Aldermen were, so we don't EVEN need to go there. Daley isn't going to let anything or anyone stand in the way of his Olympic dream. And our Olympic nightmare. Comment if you please.
1. The city actively endorses bringing in real estate developers from outside the state to rapidly build-out Bronzeville, Kenwood, and Woodlawn, and Englewood with modern retail and residential buildings and attractive amenities.
2. The CTA finds the money to begin modernizing all Green Line stops south of the Loop.
3. The city approves a secret petition to re-zone the city land Ida B. Wells sits on and lets the highest bidder win! In exchange and as a concession to the 3rd ward residents, they agree to subsidize an apartment complex on some city land that backs up to the el.
4. The city passes a resolution to fine owners of vacant lots if they do not meet certain criteria- fenced and secured, clean, mowed regularly, etc. OR, the city will seize it for being a neighborhood nuisance. Same with vacant buildings and any building where people are arrested for buying or selling drugs.
5. 39th Street beach is finally completed after 12 years, and opens to much fanfare.
6. Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, Starbucks, expensive early childhood learning centers, medical buildings, doggie daycares, day spas, and several sit down restaurants open in the area in 2008/2009.
7. In 2008, developers will begin construction, and leave their projects 80-90% compelete until they receive the signal...
8. Go! The Tribune runs a 5-part series on the "new" South Side highlighting safety, affordability, amenities, proxmity to the lakefront, ease of parking, several direct public routes to the loop, and the Olympics.
9. The stampede begins! People buy up the available real estate, the builders finish their projects and by the end of 2009, demographic of the 3rd and 4th wards more closely approximates Wicker Park. Property taxes increase by 100%. Some residents sell, take the money, and run to Tennessee to build a home in the woods to get away from the Olympic frenzy (me).
10. The IOC awards the Olympics to Chicago. Long-time residents complain, but since they are outnumbered, nobody listens. The organize a sit-in in Washington Park to draw attention to their cause. The night before the protest, the city, in a carefully choreographed dance, dispatches 50 tow trucks to the park at midnight to relocate any vehicles, sends in 150 men to chop down all of the trees by torchlight, and the whole thing is over by 2 AM. The protesters arrive, make a statement, and go home.
I haven't thought about what might happen from this point, but I think it will involve people having to sell their homes to the city, no-bid contracts, budget overruns, and a ghost payroll or two. Don't get me wrong, I love the City of Chicago, but we all know how things work.
What do you guys think? Am I way off base? Just a little off base?
Elle
ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! trey, is this the best you can do? brad, i am waiting on trey to stick to the topic. anytime he is ready i am listening.
trey, of course i know i am black, and i love that fact! in case you hadn't heard, black folks come in all different shapes, shades, ideological viewpoints, and everything else. we don't always have to agree; just make some type of logical sense in order to be legitimized in a discussion. just because you happen to want to go to school, or aspire to be something more in life, and you are black doesn't mean that you are trying to be "white". just means that you are trying to better yourself and make it in life like every other race on the planet.
like i said in my previous blog, if your response is about me or anybody else other than tillman then that must mean that you cannot defend her record and you are simply "playing the dozens" on here and entertaining all of us.
what an insecure brother you seem to be though. you think that anyone who is educated must be smarter than you or have some sort of superiority complex towards folks who may not be. what's with the "crabs-in-a-barrel" mentality that you have? were you picked on as a child?
the only people that i want to replace in my neighborhood are hoodlums, criminals, and idiots. i don't know you well enough to determine whether or not you are a hood or criminal, but you have absolutely proven yourself to be an idiot.
i don't think that i have proven that i hate myself, and like i explained before i have been living and working black just about all of my life. all of this stuff that you are saying must be coming from some imaginary place in your mind fueled by your insecurities.
i think that the $465K that i paid for my place in bronzeville would have bought me something acceptable in the highland park or jackson park highlands when i purchased some years back. i chose to buy where i bought because i liked the proximity to downtown and public transportation, and the value. i could easily deal with the neighborhood because i have been dealing with problems like we have in the 3rd ward all of my life, not to mention i just plain feel most comfortable living around my own folks.
as far as my 2nd rate HBCU education, are you assuming that because i went to a black school that the education must be inferior? wow! that is quite an assumption for a supa pro black brotha man like yourself!
not only do you seem to be a dufus, you are also a paradox. again, just like your hero, tillman. she talks alot of crap about helping black folks, but doesn't help any of them unless you grease her slimy palms and do a jiggabo dance first. and then most of the time, not even then!
another thing- you seem to be getting your ass kicked intellectually by my inferior educated HBCU logic. does the fact that i got my graduate degree from a semi -prestigious white school (one that was prominently in the news last week and involved a certain now ex-shock jock) legitimize my logic for you? if it does, then you ought to be ashamed, and you ought to sit down and self-reflect on exactly where you went wrong.
now, if you would like to try this again, please let me know exactly what were tillman's accomplishments over the last 23 years? anytime you are ready to begin talking about that issue i am still listening....
I think that Pat, in trying to hide the issue, is the one with the problem.
If there is nothing wrong with it, she should come out and celebrate her lifestyle choice.
Instead she hides it, along with the fact that her first husband and father of her son is White.
Trey, good point.
Let me clarify by saying...personal attacks against other commentators that go beyond the pale. I reserve the right to determine what that means as I'm footing the bill. To be honest, I'd rather not go to deeply into what bugged me about the last post here in public. Feel free to shoot me an e-mail though.
Also, let me explain that all posts that use profanity are automatically sent to me for moderation. That's an automatic function. For instance. Using the word "ass" will send a post to me to be moderated. This post I'm writing now will be moderated because of that word.
So keeping language clean will keep posts showing up immediately upon submission.
Election day is upon us! Who's voting?
well, trey, today is the day. i see you still have not tried to defend your candidate's record with any FACTS. why? because there is no logical reason to vote for her and her record of accomplishments is about one inch long. you may want to call into WVON though. they seem to be making up their own facts to prop up tillman's abysmal record. maybe you can get some ideas from their land of make believe. don't get too upset by the results today. your life will only get better as a result of it.
"No Personal Attacks" ?
OK, define how these are not anything but personal attacks:
"jerrie // Dec 30, 2006 at 12:53 am
..... the 3rd ward needs a bright and well educated person"
"Don
Pat WILL give away the store to her employer, the University of Chicago.
She talks black in the daytime but her ex-husband is white. He divorced her when he discovered her "lesbian lifestyle". Hurt the man so bad he moved out to Naperville and convinced the Divorce judge to give him full custody - that does not happen that often, the father getting custody.
When these new breed Negros that just moved into the ward 5 years ago or less, that voted against The Hat, start to see big orange eminent domain signs on their homes because Dowell gave away the store to the University of Chicago (that has been drooling to get that land), it will serve them right.
The only good out of this is that in the aftermath, Jesse Jr. will never become Mayor. He has angered too many black folks and for a black to become Mayor he has to get near 100% of the black vote in addition to picking up some whites and hispanics. Ain't gonna happen now. Jr. will be Congressman for life.
Harold Washington, among others, once said:
"Politics ain't beanbag"
In otherwords not for the faint of heart. Feelings get hurt, names get called. Chicago is not LaFollette's Wisconsin, nor are discussions about it for the Brie and Wine set or an Phillips Academy Harkness table.
Noses get bloodied, car windows smashed, character assasination are all part of the game.
To think otherwise is to have one's head in the sand.
Sounds like a you've lifted a page from Justice Potter Stewart :
" I shall not today attempt further to define the kinds of material I understand to be embraced within that shorthand description; and perhaps I could never succeed in intelligibly doing so. But I know it when I see it,...."
If it works at the Supreme Court level, I guess it is good enough for here.
Looks like the bulldagger pulled it out.
All of you new to the ward negros better start packing because your property will be taken by the University of Chicago.
What a fellowship, what a joy divine! ADT question has been answered as to where is she? She'll be at home! I pray that she will ask God to search her heart and ask for forgiveness on how she treated certained people within the 3rd ward.
It
The time is at hand! ADT must go as I am praying that the will of God allows that to happen. Enough is enough. It saddens me that when a resident makes a call their call are never returned. Some staff members are rude as well as irate. Staff member appear to be clueless of what's going on with ADT as well as within the community.
As mentioned to staff members of ADT that the area as well as caliber of people are changing. I want to live in a community that caters too all needs. But as of now and to me 47 street does not cater to the average male or female. To me 47th street caters to young people w/o obligation, gangbanger and thugs. That's not to say they are not human which they are but what about us who work hard and people like them who don't work prey on us to leave home so they can rob us. We are all people and the community should serve all of us.
ADT has gotten away far too long w/her do nothing ways and continued habits. ADT is rude and act as though we work for her various she working for the community. Should she win then I take that as the will of God. He has the perfect plan. But should she lose I will be elated and pray that Pat will live up to all our expectation.
So I pray that all will join with me trusting in the Lord and leaning not to our own understanding. He will continue to provide as well as increase our territory in spite of the outcome.
So if you have not voted please go out and vote. Don't think your vote want make a difference because it will! So for both candidates I lift you up in prayer and ask God to allow victory and favor for the one that will do right by the people within the community. Have open doors, return calls, supply jobs, helping the gang anger, getting rid of vacant lots, run the prostitutes from off the streets, cleaning up the trash, allowing the people of the community voice to be heard, remember that our family is just as important as their family, respecting the elders, and being visible throughout the community not just during election but daily.
Daddy's $4 dollars words from a $2 Negro.....priceless
i come on here anxiously anticipating something thoughtful from elle t only to find trey back again without his homework done. you show up here with no assignment to turn in, trying to be funny (your comments aren't serious, right), and just distracting the class with your class clown antics. your assignment is to present us with the hat's accomplishments, remember? if you don't present them i am going to have to send you to the principal's office and you will not be able to play with the others. better yet, i will have to spank your bottom again with the facts. now get to work, dufus, you have kept us waiting long enough!
elle, i will see your $5 bet and raise you a grande frapp from bronzeville coffee house on 43rd street that a trader joe's or whole food type store will not be coming to the south side in the next 2.5 years, or anytime before the olympics are scheduled to be here. the type of demographics that stores like those look for far exceed what we have over here.
i was very close to opening a national franchise coffee shop here a few years ago. in order to take advantage of some very favorable financing i had to locate the shop in an enterprise zone. i wanted the place to be in bronzeville, and it took me over two years researching space and in the end the only thing that worked was the development that is currently going up at 35th and state and 47th and lake park. those were the only 2 locations that i felt comfortable with using their demographic guidelines. why? because the only way i could make the demographics work from a 1/2 mile, 1,2, and 3 mile radius was to include demographics from bridgeport and/or hyde park. ever wonder why starbucks can open at 71st and stoney, but not bronzeville? median income and population.
maybe dominicks or another jewel, but no whole foods. 35th and state might get a starbucks or caribu coffee though. at least that is what the guy was holding out for a few years back.
to address your point about bigger builders, they wouldn't import workers from other states to build units- they would hire local subs to do the work, so the the quality should be the same. and there are lots of builders in chicago that can build out all of the lots in bronzeville. they don't have to be national ones. not only that, builder's historically give alderman about 2/3 of their money. alderman are generally beholden to those developers who are probably all local and they will get a slice of that lot pie.
as far as the wells projects from 37th to 39th, that is the 3rd phase of that development. they started east and will work their way back west to king in phases. at least that is what i was told when i visited the sales center.
now as far as whites moving south en mass, if that happens i will feel as though i have truly seen everything and white folks will have absolutely amazed me. having lived in chicago almost all of my life, and knowing the way that whites view the south side, i can't see indigenous whites moving here no matter what. not just chicago whites, but whites in general. example- i have had at least 10 folks that i know move here from out of town to work for big coporations. each and every time they have discussed housing with the locals the whites that they have spoken to have suggested north side housing and discouraged them from moving south (unless you count the south loop) because of the "crime", and because it is "dangerous", and everything else they believe. only once has anyone included hyde park in their places to consider. this topic amazes me and i have asked the question a lot. this attitude is in their fiber and they are not going past roosevelt road to find out he truth. so if bronzeville every got to be less than 80% black, i would truly say that race relations and white's attitude toward us have progressed.
the only time i have ever seen whites displace blacks in a major metropolitan city is in dc near howard u. i have heard there are a few more whites in harlem too, but when i go there i can't see it.
i do love your idea about folks getting together and taking advantage of the opportunities that we have here. there will be some.
also, thanks a whole lot for pointing out that trib article. i didn't know about that and it was very interesting. ditto for the wikipedia info.
all of this is just my opinion. you could be totally correct about each of the topics you discuss. many of them i hope that you are.
its late and i have a race to run in the morning and i am dog tired. i will pick this conversation up tomorrow.
Pat really has it going on.
Runs in the election with guns blazin, but quiet as a church-mouse in her first meeting. Sitting around, looking like a doofus. Way to represent !
Welcome to the City council, by the way, the bathroom is to the left.
[...] be regular folks.� ALDERMANIC ELECTION STORIES: Catherine Zaryczny (32nd) Scott Waguespack (32nd) Mell Monroe (3rd) Pat Dowell (3rd) 48th Ward Challenger SuesIncumbent. [...]
This is very anti social
great woman go forward with the help of all people.....
I do not think the 3rd Ward is ready for a lesbian/bi-sexual alderman.
After years of neglect the 3rd ward needs a bright and well educated person.Kudos to Ms.Dowell
Ms. Dowell cannot manage her personal life (her divorce after coming out of the closet). How can she manage the ward ?
trey, (or whoever)
your comments are completely false and if you ask for forgiveness from God - he will forgive you. You probably will read this and blow it off, but you shouldn't.
Pat is extremely qualified and will make a fine alderman.
I know the truth (and so does she).
One's sleeping partner(s) has(have) nothing to do with the ability to represent constituents.
the gay lifestyle is not one I would want to be a role model for children.
"Tom Cruise does make an appearance in the play :-P. ..."
on It's back, with more L. Ron...