We don't need Hoopla!!! We need the CHICAGO Plan

Ditch the Hoopla! Connect to the CHICAGO Plan The headlines and reporters are screaming about the safety of our great neighborhoods after a recent sexual assault in Lincoln Park. This horrendous crime has sent shock-waves from Wrightwood to Old Town and there is reason to be both scared and now be prepared. As a long time Gold Coast Neighbors' Board member and publisher of the organization's newsletter, I had the privilege of promoting the "CHICAGO Plan" in our last mailing to membership.

The CHICAGO Plan is a Chicago Police Department initiative that works with the community to attack crime and gang offenses and to help make Chicago a safer city.

 

The CHICAGO Plan asks the owners of businesses and privately owned properties who operate closed circuit security cameras to register those systems with the Chicago Police Department. As the CPD responds to criminal incidents in the 43rd Ward, they can utilize detailed information or even footage from the cameras to assist with the apprehension and prosecution of criminals.

43rd Ward United encourages our neighborhood businesses and property owners to get involved. To help police investigate and solve crimes, simply register your security camera system with the CHICAGO Plan by visiting the CPD's Clearpath webpage.  

To register, you will need to provide the name and address of your location, contact details for the owner and operator of the security camera system and details regarding the system, such as; type of camera, number of cameras, areas covered by the camera(s), and recording and retention capabilities.

Is that 4 to 6 or 46 Weeks?

It has come to my attention, repeatedly, that our Ward does not have an operational website hosted by our Alderman, Michele Smith. Check out www.ward43.com and you'll be greeted with "Complete Ward43.org Coming Soon..."

   'Coming Soon' has turned to 'Coming When Already?' For example, the residents of Orchard Street have had their alley ripped up for repairs and many were not aware of the construction schedule or any other details. One neighbor called the Alderman's office and asked why there was no information posted on a website, either detailing the project or warning homeowners of the impending disruption to their daily lives. 
   The neighbor was told "we'll have the website up in 4 to 6 weeks" which prompted the following response; "Is that 46 weeks?"

Best Little Grocery Store in Lincoln Park

Since I am a huge fan of movies, all types of movies, I wanted to respond with the images that were conjured up after reading the SKYLINE headline last week that screamed “Ald. Smith Succeeds” and then mentioned me by name.  This SKYLINE headline was even more correctly countered in the Chicago Sun-Times with an accurate depiction of the situation – “Rahm Emanuel brokers deal for Lincoln Park Hospital project.”
All this media attention pertained to the latest in the redevelopment of Lincoln Park Hospital into Webster Square, specifically citing the Fresh Market store which will replace the current parking garage.  The SKYLINE front page article was a regurgitation of 43rd Ward Alderman Michele Smith’s press release claiming victory and made me think of a tune from “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.” The movie version features Charles Durning as the Governor of Texas whose routine called “The Sidestep” draws a correlation to this grand ol’ grocery store battle in Lincoln Park.
   As Smith’s opponent in the April 5th runoff election, I find it my duty to respond on behalf of myself and the 49% of the ward’s voters who voted for me. It was Smith’s campaign cry to shelve the Fresh Market, saying repeatedly that she would fight to kill the project because a grocery store on that specific corner, in that specific location would ruin the neighborhood. As a candidate, she joined forces with the neighbors and their attorneys and held press conferences blasting the Fresh Market. As Alderman she tried to stop the plans in Committee, she tried in the Council and every effort failed. Lincoln Park’s toothless lion Alderman continued to scheme without traction until Mayor Rahm Emanuel stepped in to the save the day and the City Council from further wasted time. Smith’s feeble attempts to save face are not lost on those like me who championed the Webster Square redevelopment as a project that was good for the 43rd Ward and great for our city.
    So the biggest concession Smith has accepted was a delivery process on Lincoln Ave… ever hear that before? Well 49% of the ward sure did. While I may have been milked out of winning the Aldermanic election by 2%, I wonder what those folks who counted on Smith to kill the Fresh Market are thinking right now. Some will blindly hail her the victor, but all else will read between the lines and know she failed.
   Smith’s dance has done more than dismiss the campaign pledges she made. One forgotten stepping stone in this whole debacle is Carnival Foods, who Smith and the Webster Square opposition used as a shield. No one mentioned the salvation of Carnival Foods in all this “dance a little sidestep,” even though false lament was made for the longtime Lincoln Park grocer. Let’s see if she’ll follow my idea and offer Carnival diagonal parking on Dickens to increase business, then once again she’ll “sweep around the widestep.”
   In the end, all this tells me two things; that the redevelopment process of Children’s Memorial Hospital is in good hands… the hands of Mayor Emanuel and that political spin continues to mean more than actual results. 
   And when the Fresh Market opens, the 2% milk is on me.

Featured in SKYLINE Newspaper on August 17, "One View":
http://www.skylinenewspaper.com/News/08-17-2011/The_best_little_grocery_store_in_Lincoln_Park


Dance a Little Sidestep:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJG75FJkjr8