Recently the question was put before me: If you were fortunate enough to become successful, what’s the first thing you would do as alderman of the 20th Ward. Well, in no particular order: 1.) It is my understanding the alderman gets a bunch of money (I’m not sure how much; I heard it was about a million bucks) to spend as she/he sees fit; discretionary spending or something like that. Anyway, if any of this is true I would use the money (some, most, or all; not sure yet) to form crews to clean up the ward. (These would be ward residents, of course.) They would travel throughout the ward removing trash from a given area. I would make sure we could pay ‘em something decent (you won’t get rich or close to it), make sure there’s enough woman/manpower to make a difference, and make sure they had the equipment necessary to be successful. I’d even make sure (I’m doin’ a lot of makin’ sure) the ward had one of those power/steam washers like they use on the streets in Downtown Chicago. I’m thinking of 63rd and King Drive on this one. I’ve been on plenty of streets that were dusty, dirty. 63rd and King Drive is greasy, particularly that southeast corner; it needs some steam cleaning on a regular basis (as do some other locations in the ward, I’m sure). This overall clean-up effort would be complemented by an educational component that hopes to instill within residents respect for the shared environment. Then I would meet with the police and request that patrol officers be more cognizant of improper garbage disposal (people throwing trash from their vehicles and illegal dumping) and issue citations to those that may be in violation of city ordinances/laws. The ward is filthy and needs to be cleaned up (as my mother would say), “Immediately if not sooner.” 2.) Form the team that will be charged with developing and implementing the 20th Ward interactive website. If given the opportunity, I would institute a website that would allow 20th Ward residents to voice their opinion(s) on matters before the city council. Basically, instruct the alderman on how she/he should vote. It would also be the ‘meeting place’ and ‘clearinghouse’ for all things 20th Ward. 3.) Rally the help of every resident to build a real, live, state-of-the-art health club/fitness facility. Let’s take 1 of the many vacant square blocks in the 20 and construct a fitness facility that will be the envy of every other ward in the city. It’ll have a modest clinic and offer child care. It’ll have the most modern equipment and plenty of it. Basketball and tennis courts as well as indoor spaces for baseball and football practice. There will be handball courts and an ice/roller rink. A swimming pool, steam rooms, and dry saunas. Rooms for dance classes, yoga, and spinning, even rooms for meditation. Itll even have a swank nightclub featuring internationally famous DJs! (Im only kidding about that last one; just wanted to see whos paying attention.) This facility will provide jobs, as it will always be open; 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. It’s gonna take plenty of people at all levels to run this type of facility properly. Building it will be a testament to our maturity as a community, and it’ll pull us together in ways we’ve yet to imagine. 4.) Introduce the community to Mr. Glenn Ford. Glenn Ford is graduate of CVS, Class of ’73. He used to work for Pepsico at the upper management and executive level(s). He knows a lot about the procurement and delivery of food at the wholesale and retail levels. Mr. Ford has a brilliant vision of how a community can provide itself with healthy and affordable food, while creating new, quality jobs. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Ford and I listened to his plan. It’s a shame he can’t get the same kind of ‘props’ as say, Whole Foods. It’s a shame that elected representatives will literally beg major corporations to come to their communities, while a man such as Mr. Ford, who knows us and wants to help us, is ignored. At the very least, I think we in the 20 should give Mr. Ford a listen and I’d be more than happy to arrange that meeting. 5.) Meet with the police and talk about a more vigorous enforcement of the loitering and curfew laws and ordinances. There is just entirely too much ‘hangin’ out’ in some places. It looks bad, even though I know the vast majority of those doin’ the ‘hangin’’ don’t mean no harm. But it looks bad. To be honest, there’s only 3 places that immediately come to mind: 63rd & King Drive, 63rd & Cottage Grove, and 55th & Halsted. I don’t know; maybe we should have something like a ‘Free Trade Zone;’ a designated place/area where independent street entrepreneurs can advertise and trade their goods and services (“Loose squares!” “Movies, CD’s, candy!” “Good green!”) This is another question that should be put before 20th Ward residents: should police be more pro-active in the enforcement of anti-loitering ordinances? 6.) Free Howard Morgan. I think we all agree he shouldn’t be in jail. Why shouldn’t we in the 20th Ward be the instigators of a movement to get this survivor of attempted murder out of jail? Let’s exercise our true power and work toward getting Mr. Morgan his freedom. 7.) Try to meet every resident of the 20th Ward. How’s this for a start? Sign the petition - contact Jeromedavisward20@gmail You can donate, too. Were $400 away from a website, something we need ASAP!
Posted on: Sun, 05 Oct 2014 23:25:47 +0000
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