Entries associated with the tag "49th Ward":

No sooner had I promised myself to never, ever wade into the murky waters of 49th Ward politics, then what do I do but jump right in.

But don't blame me. Journalist Dave Glowacz--aka Mr. Radio--made me do it as part of our weekly segment, the Rest of the Story. 

It's about the Gale Community Center controversy. Check it out . . .

Trust me -- the last thing I want to do is wade in the muck of 49th Ward politics. 'Cause, lord knows, you're all a bunch of lunatics up there.

But, gulp, here I am . . .

I posted yesterday about Don Gordon taking a surprisingly strong stand against construction on Park District property, and that prompted alderman Joe Moore to give me a ring.

"Looks like you're endorsing Don Gordon," he told me.

Well, not really -- just saying I like what he said at the meeting and wished he had said it when he was running for office against you last year.

"Anyone who knows Don Gordon will tell you that in that election his main criticism of me was that I was too critical of the mayor," said Moore. "He was very critical of me in supporting the living wage."

Well, as long as I have you on the phone, how about the latest rumor I'm hearing from your opponents: as soon as Barack Obama's elected president -- if, of course, he is elected -- you'll step down to take a job in his administration and handpick Jim Ginderske as your replacement. 

Moore laughed and said: "Yeah, I'm kind of gunning for attorney general. Give me a break. That shows you how delusional and out to lunch they are. They're not going to get rid of me that easy . . . "

The funny thing is that, given Mayor Daley's attitude toward council independents, he probably wouldn't fill Moore's vacancy with anyone Moore recommended. Back in 1990, when former alderman David Orr became county clerk, Daley selected Bob Clarke over Moore, Orr's preference for the vacancy.

One year later Moore defeated Clarke in the regularly scheduled aldermanic election and the rest, as they say, is history.

The irony of ironies is that Gordon probably stands a better chance of getting Daley's nod than Ginderske or anyone else Moore might recommend -- or at least he did until he started sounding off against one of the mayor's pet causes.

My advise to Ginderske, Gordon, or anyone else who wants to become alderman is to suck up to Mayor Daley, praise his vision, and, most important, endorse the Olympics, no matter how much parkland it paves over. That's still the best bet to get ahead in this town.

During last year's 49th Ward aldermanic election, Don Gordon came across as Mayor Daley's guy, taking the mayor's side on most of the issues -- big-box minimum wage, foie gras -- on which incumbent alderman Joe Moore had opposed the mayor. As a result Gordon was the target of a union-financed battle in which lines were drawn: If you want independence in the council, vote for Moore.

Well, that wasn't the Don Gordon I heard speaking at Tuesday's Park District budget hearing at the Loyola Park Field House. In clear and unequivocal terms he assailed the Park District for allowing too much construction on its property. He'd done his research. He had the whole list -- from the high school in South Shore's Rosenblum Park to the senior citizen center contemplated for far-north-side Warren Park to the Latin School soccer field in Lincoln Park to the Children's Museum in Grant Park and so on and so forth.

"We're giving parkland away," he declared. "My message to you this evening, [Park District representative] Matt Marino, to Alderman Moore, to [Park District] Superintendent Tim Mitchell, and to the mayor is: Stop!"

Hearing Gordon that night made me wish he'd been elected. Then again, he later told me that if he had been he'd be much less likely to pound away at the mayor's policies. "I'd exercise more tact," he said.

Great, just what we need. More tact from alderman when it comes to speaking out about the mayor's excesses. If we had one -- just one -- alderman willing to consistently speak as strongly as Citizen Gordon, then maybe Mayor Daley wouldn't get away with so much on Park District property.

Check that -- of course he would. I think the mayor can pretty much get away with anything he wants. But at least one clear and forceful voice in the council would make it harder to ignore what's going on. 

When Joe Moore heard a judge had dismissed Don Gordon's election lawsuit Friday, he sounded like a man ready for a cocktail. "I was never concerned, but I'm glad it's over," he said. "I hope Don and his supporters will work with me to improve the ward."

But Gordon was just then sending out an email to supporters reminding them that his new political organization, Voters Organized For Truthful Election Results, would be serving up a few of its own cocktails at a July 28 party for "everyone who wants honest elections in the 49th Ward!"

When I mentioned this to Moore, he responded in a way that made me think he might skip Gordon's bash. "We have one of the most open political organizations in the city," Moore said. "Anyone can become a member, and members decide who to endorse. I think all this is is a bunch of overheated rhetoric from a bunch of sore losers."

At about that time, Gordon was telling Ben Joravsky that he wasn't going to give up his fight just yet. And this afternoon he sent out another e-mail trumpeting that he and his team of investigators had already gone through 4,000 49th Ward ballot applications and election records. "What we found, coupled with other investigations we are currently pursuing, support earlier reports of irregularities and fraud that were our initial motivation for filing this case," Gordon wrote in the email.

"Because of the legal precedent set years ago by another challenge to an aldermanic election result, we had the legal right to submit an amended complaint including evidence uncovered during the discovery process. We were preparing to present that amended complaint when Judge Hayes denied us that opportunity on July 20th. Now we must petition the court to allow us to execute that right and to present our amended complaint."

Whatever happens, Gordon said, he will eventually release the findings of his investigation to the public. In the meantime, next Saturday's party is on--in fact, it's "the next step in our effort to establish a non-partisan watchdog group to promote accountability and honest elections in the 49th ward."

Sounds like a wild time. Really, though, here's an idea for an even better one: Alderman Moore, Mr. Gordon, if I have a cookout and invite both of you, will you come? We'd have plenty to talk about, and the cocktails would all be on me.

At a hearing this morning, Cook County Circuit Court judge Marsha Hayes dismissed with prejudice Don Gordon's lawsuit to overturn the 49th Ward aldermanic election. So the case is over and Alderman Joe Moore has finally and officially won--right?

Not according to Gordon, who says he plans to file an amended complaint within a week asking the judge to overrule herself. "This isn't over," says Gordon, "this isn't over at all."

After a contentious campaign filled with mudslinging by both camps, Moore defeated Gordon by 250 votes in the April 17 runoff. But Gordon sued to overturn the election, arguing that there were multiple cases of voter fraud. "We're going to continue to gather evidence," says Gordon. "It would be insanity to throw it all away now and forget about it."

Moore was out of town and not available for comment. But his lawyer, Jeff Smith, says it's crazy for Gordon to continue. "What was already a long shot is even a longer long shot after today's ruling," says Smith. "If I were in Don Gordon's camp, I'd be feeling pretty glum."

Forty-ninth Ward aldermanic challenger Don Gordon has come up with a novel tactic to reverse a bitter defeat: have a judge to throw out half of the votes cast in the election and declare him the victor.

Four-term alderman Joe Moore beat Gordon by 250 votes in their contentious runoff on April 17. A week later Gordon filed a lawsuit with the Cook County Circuit Court alleging that a significant number of people had voted more than once, voted under someone else's name, or voted though they weren't registered in the proper precinct. All told, his camp counted 334 potentially fraudulent votes in 22 of the ward's 42 precincts.

Even if his allegations were true--and it would take many long and costly hearings to determine this--there's a little problem: Gordon doesn't know who these supposed "fraudulent voters" voted for. For all anyone knows they could have cast ballots for him. And according to election law specialists I've talked to, a court can't compel voters to testify as to whom they voted for--that's privileged information.

The typical way of settling such matters is through proportional reduction. That is, if the court concludes that there were, say, ten unqualified voters in a precinct where Moore got 60 percent of the vote, six votes would be deducted from Moore and four votes from Gordon. But Moore's lead is too big to be overturned by proportional reduction.

So what's Gordon's solution? He's asking the court to throw out all the ballots cast in 22 of the 23 precincts captured by Moore. "Since the fraudulent votes cast in each of these precincts permeate the results in each precinct, and since the number is unknown, and since the fraudulent votes cannot be separated from the honest votes, all the foregoing precincts should not be counted," his suit argues.

Thus, the suit maniacally declares, "the election is reversed and [Gordon] is the winner and [Moore] is the loser because Gordon will have 2,120 votes and Moore will have 1,574 votes, and Gordon will be the winner with a majority of 546 votes." Gordon asks that he be given a "certificate of election and the right to be installed in office." 

As an election tactic it's pretty much unbeatable--it's tough to lose if you can disenfranchise half the voters to rig the count in your favor. In the world of election law it's what lawyers call a hail Mary: throw any old argument in the air and hope some judge buys it. 

 On April 14, three days before the aldermanic runoff elections, 49th Ward challenger Don Gordon sent out an e-mail accusing alderman Joe Moore of shady get-out-the-vote practices in the first round of balloting, on February 27. Gordon claimed Moore had illegally campaigned inside of polling stations by introducing himself to voters as they were lined up to get their ballots. And Moore had been friendly with election judges, Gordon alleged--and his campaign had further corrupted some polling places by dropping off boxes of doughnuts with Moore's name on them. 

The e-mail also quoted a Gordon poll watcher who said he'd witnessed Chicago election board officials helping nursing-home residents cast early runoff ballots--even though they didn't request or need it. "[N]umerous voters were given 'assistance,' primarily by two of the election judges. . . . [One of the judge's] assistance even went so far as wheeling residents in and out of the polling area. These two election judges seemed, to me at least, to be 'assisting' far beyond the limits of casting a vote as directed by the voter. There seemed to be coaxing of the voters occurring, pointing to specific areas of the ballot (although, as the voting was done behind a privacy screen, I could not see exactly where they were pointing)."

Gordon lost the runoff by 247 votes, but on Tuesday he turned the e-mail charges into a lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court. The suit, which names Moore and Chicago and Illinois election commissioners as defendants, alleges that at least 254 fraudulent votes were cast in the runoff, including the "assisted" nursing-home ballots. It also claims that another 95 voters were given ballots even though their signatures weren't checked against registration records.

Gordon assumes that all of the "fraudulent" votes went for Moore. "When these corrections have been made and adjusted, the Election will be reversed because Gordon will be shown to have received the majority of the votes cast and he will then be proclaimed the winner," the lawsuit declares. It asks the court for additional time to investigate the alleged irregularities as well as "such other relief that is just and proper."

Not surprisingly, Moore predicted the suit would be dismissed. "On its face, it's ridiculous, frankly," he said.

Moore said Gordon was "casting aspersions" on officials with the board of elections and the Cook County state's attorney's office. "I'm not surprised, given the scorched-earth campaign he ran," he said. "Don Gordon gives new meaning to the phrase 'sore loser.'"

There's a new source of controversy in the contentious 49th Ward aldermanic election.

Several Rogers Park residents are upset at aldermanic candidate Don Gordon for handing out bananas to commuters at el stations. They think Gordon, who's challenging alderman Joe Moore in the April 17 runoff, is sending a not-so-subliminal message designed to play on the "Juneway Jungle" nickname folks use for Juneway Terrace, the economically depressed and racially mixed community just north of Howard Street.

"I was very offended--I think it's a terribly racist joke," says Brenda Dunkins, who lives north of Howard. "I told Don Gordon this too when I saw him. I told he had a lot of nerve handing out these bananas."

According to Gordon, Dunkins and others are making a big deal out of nothing. He says he decided to hand out bananas as a healthy alternative to the doughnuts that Moore traditionally passes out to election judges on election day. "Yes, right, I'm a longtime racist--my parents are racists," says Gordon, speaking sarcastically. "Give me a break. This just shows you how desperate the Moore campaign is that they're making an issue out of this." (For the record, Dunkins, who says she plans to vote for Moore, supported Jim Ginderske in the February 27 election.)

As Gordon points out, he gives voters a plastic bag filled with a banana, two Hershey's Kisses, and a flyer that reads, "Go bananas for Don Gordon, kiss your current alderman good-bye."

Gordon says that some of his advisers recommended that he stop handing out bananas after they heard complaints from residents. "I said, 'I'm not going to let Moore spin this against us,'" says Gordon. "We did this with the best intentions. I love bananas--they're full of potassium. They taste delicious and they're good for you. I've been eating bananas all of my life. Bananas are yellow and that's the color of our campaign. So I'm sticking with this."

Saturday morning Miguel del Valle began a speech to a packed room at the Heartland Cafe in Rogers Park by saying, “Some of you have to be wondering . . . ”

I don’t think I was the only one who expected him to finish the sentence with “why I’m here.”

But he didn’t. Instead he said, “Why are we here, given who this man is? Why was this necessary? Why was it necessary for us to be in a runoff?”

Joe Moore, the 49th Ward alderman, stood to Del Valle’s side, looking out at everyone who constituted “us” at that time: the chanting neighborhood residents, union members, and public officials—including Cook County clerk David Orr and U.S. reps Jan Schakowsky and Jesse Jackson Jr.—rallying for Moore’s reelection bid.

At first I found it strange that Del Valle was there, let alone speaking. Last fall Mayor Daley pulled a surprising and brilliant campaign maneuver by appointing Del Valle, then a progressive state senator, to the vacant city clerk job. Along with appointed city treasurer Stephanie Neely, who's African-American, the Puerto Rican Del Valle helped Daley run for reelection as a transracial coalition builder. In February all three won their races easily.

Moore, on the other hand, was an annoyance to Daley for most of the last year, serving as the chief sponsor for the foie gras ban and the big-box minimum-wage ordinance. In blasting the city’s ineffective recycling program, rigged hiring practices, and “third-world” public transit system, the alderman became one of the media’s favorite Daley critics.

Though Moore pointed out that he and the mayor were on the same side of most council votes, his top aldermanic challenger, Don Gordon, ripped him for spending time defying the mayor and talking to reporters when the ward needed his attention. In the February 28 municipal election Moore came a few dozen votes short of winning an outright majority, forcing him into the runoff with Gordon.

On Saturday, though, Daley’s chosen city clerk stirred up the Heartland crowd with his impassioned praise of Daley’s chief legislative opponent. “Why, given that we have a true champion here, an individual who is highly regarded, highly respected for his principles time and time again—why didn’t he win by a landslide?” Del Valle asked the crowd on Saturday. “We’re here because every now and then we take things for granted.”

Moore had been so busy looking out for the interests of the poor, the voiceless, and the regular “neighborhood folk” that he hadn’t done a good enough job of getting people to the polls in February, Del Valle said. “It is essential that every single individual who is registered to vote, who can cast a vote, will come out and vote on election day so that this ward ends up sending a clear message to the rest of the city of Chicago that we have a quality alderman who takes principled positions and will be supported in the future when he takes principled positions.”

Del Valle praised Moore’s support for a “living wage” for big-box retail employees, even though his slatemate Daley killed the wage ordinance with a veto. “And so the kind of message that gets sent by sending Joe Moore back to the City Council with high numbers is a strong one, and it’s absolutely necessary in the city of Chicago, and we’re going to make sure that happens,” the clerk said.

By this time, I doubt I was the only one with the impression that this was really Del Valle’s way of sending a message about his own “principled positions”—and launching his own long-term campaign for a different citywide office.

The last time I saw Jim Ginderske, he was accompanied by a campaign manager dressed up like a duck. Or maybe it was a goose--he was wearing some sort of bird suit.

It was December 11, and Ginderske and dozens of other aldermanic candidates were lining up in the basement of the County Building to file their petitions for the February 27 municipal elections. Ginderske's pal was parading around in a bird suit to mock Moore for devoting time and energy on the foie gras ban. "We had a lot of fun with that stunt," Ginderske says. 

That was then and this is now. Having finished third in a four-way race for alderman, Ginderske's just accepted an appointment to Moore's 49th Ward advisory zoning committee. Does this mean he's endorsing Moore over community activist Don Gordon in the April 17 runoff?

Not exactly. "I think Joe Moore's going to win," says Ginderske. "I believe we can either be an angry voice in the wilderness or we can stay involved. I want to stay involved in the community."

Ginderske thinks he'll have more of a community-oriented perspective than Jay Johnson, the advisory committee member he's replacing. A Moore campaign contributor, Johnson is the landlord who owns the apartment building, at 7706 N. Marshfield, where six children died in a fire last September. "I hammered Joe during the campaign for having Johnson on his zoning committee," says Ginderske. "He's not from the community. He doesn't live here."

Moore asked Ginderske to serve on the advisory committee a few days ago. "After the election, I sat down with both candidates who made it to the runoff," says Ginderske. "I talked about the things I felt should be done in the neighborhood. They both listened and were very polite. Frankly, I have more in common with Joe Moore than Don Gordon. But I've certainly not endorsed Joe, and I've made that clear."

So why did Moore name him to his advisory committee if he's not getting an endorsement in return?

"I open my committee to a diversity of views--it's not a rubber stamp," Moore says. "I was impressed by the way Jim ran against me. He called me to congratulate me. We got together to talk about economic development issues. We share a lot of common values. I felt that with Mr. Johnson's resignation it would be good to get Jim working on these issues in the ward. We haven't discussed in any detail whether he endorses me, and I'm not claiming in any way that he has."

The fourth candidate in the February 27 election, Chris Adams, has endorsed Gordon. 

From the indefatigable (but flagging) Craig Gernhardt of the 49th Ward:

Here's another report from Craig Gernhardt:

Here's another report from the 49th from reader Craig Gernhardt:

Here's a guy who puts his money where his mouth is. Chef/Proprietor Didier Durand of Cyrano's Bistro located at 546 North Wells came up to the northside of the 49th ward this morning, working Precinct #6 at Gale School House at 1619 West Jonquil. Durand also held a series of fundraisers for Don Gordon at his bistro.

Another report from the reader who calls himself Craig Gernhardt:

Recently promoted to COO of Cermak County Hospital, David Fagus stands in front of the troops barking the day's marching orders for about a dozen workers I've never seen in the neighborhood before.

From a reader who calls himself Craig Gernhardt:

Here's a start to the election season in the 49th ward. Alderman Moore going up against the states attorney at the senior home polls.

The 49th Ward race has largely focused on standard neighborhood issues like crime, housing, and business development. But in the last few days challenger Chris Adams has returned to his original campaign strategy of blasting away at alderman Joe Moore’s foie gras and big-box minimum-wage legislation.

An Adams mailing that landed in mailboxes this week features a grainy, black-and-white photo of Moore in which he looks like a thick-necked mob boss about to order a hit. “Why settle for an Alderman who serves himself—instead of you?” the mailer asks. It goes on to say that Moore “sponsors silly legislation—like the city’s ban on foie gras—and harmful legislation that would drive jobs out of Chicago.”

Of course, the gangster mug shot is most useful for ripping Moore's allegedly soft record on fighting crime, which remains a key issue for Adams and fellow challengers Jim Ginderske and Don Gordon. In a series of recent automated phone calls, Adams alerts ward residents that two shootings recently occurred in Rogers Park in the middle of the day. “Vote for safety—vote for me,” Adams says.

Meanwhile, a recent Moore mailing recalls Ronald Reagan’s 1984 “Morning in America” reelection theme: “It’s Winter in the Midwest . . . But It Seems Like Springtime in the 49th Ward.” It includes a photo of a much more pleasant-looking Moore standing next to his biggest-name supporter, Senator Barack Obama.

That mailing hit 49th Ward homes the same day they received one from the "Rich Daley" campaign showing Obama with the mayor, Moore’s antagonist on the foie gras and big-box minimum-wage ordinances.

Forty-ninth Ward alderman Joe Moore shook hands for several hours Saturday with people entering and leaving the Dominick's on Howard and Clark streets. Lots of people offered support or promised to vote for him, and lots of others quietly accepted campaign literature from Moore and two volunteers. Not surprisingly, though, a few others voiced support for one of his opponents (Chris Adams, Jim Ginderske, and Don Gordon). And a few others decided it was as good a time as any to offer Moore a little feedback.

Around noon a man wearing a stocking cap and thick plastic-rimmed glasses loped past the entrance where Moore was standing. Campaign volunteer Alvin Young approached him.

"Vote for Joe Moore for alderman!" Young said cheerfully.

The man glared at Young. "Not in a million years!" he shouted. He took a couple of steps and then looked back at Moore. "You fucked up this neighborhood!"

Moore shrugged. "Another happy customer," he said, and then turned to another man on his way into the store. "Hi, I'm Joe Moore. Good to see you."