By Adam Harrington
Special to Inside
Candidates in the contentious race to replace retiring Ald. Bernard Hansen (44th) agreed on most issues in their first debate Jan. 6. The candidates presented their platforms and discussed their issues in a forum presented by the South East Lakeview Neighbors Association (SELVN), at the Wellington Avenue Church, 615 W. Wellington Ave.
The 44th Ward, which includes parts of the Lake View community from Diversey Ave. to Irving Park Rd., has been the focal point of heated debates over a number of issues recently, including the expansion of Wrigley Field and the fate of the Lake Michigan seawall between Belmont Ave. and Diversey Pkwy. Hansen, who has served as alderman for 20 years, will retire Jan. 16 due to poor health.
Mayor Richard M. Daley selected Tom Tunney, owner of Ann Sather’s Restaurant at 929 W. Belmont Ave., to finish Hansen’s term. Tunney, a 24-year resident of the 44th Ward, said that if elected to a full term, he would focus on fighting crime and reaching out to constituents.
“I will look at expanding the hours for the alderman’s office, and the 44th Ward must be vigilant in its efforts to resolve crime,” Tunney said. “I’ll be working with the businesses in the area to increase foot patrols. I want to be out weekends and evenings with beat officers.”
Tunney also noted the need for slowing the rapid development in the area. He said the key to curbing development is to give residents across the ward a voice in decisions.
“I’m committed to a planning process that is positive and productive,” he said. “The zoning changes affect this entire ward. I want a plan that really interfaces with the whole community—not just what’s happening on Wellington or Surf.”
Tunney’s five challengers agreed on the needs of the community, focusing more on their records and abilities as the factors that differentiated them. Six-year Wrigleyville resident Matthew Fordham focused on his independence.
“I’m not a candidate with special interests,” Fordham said. “I’m just a hardworking citizen that wants the best for our community. Frankly, the time has come for an independent voice, not one driven by City Hall or special interest groups.”
Fordham’s plans for handling the ward issues echoed those of Tunney, focusing on curbing development and fighting crime. “I want to make people aware that we’re not going to just stand there and let crime happen in our neighborhood,” Fordham said.
Attorney Rick Ingram, who most recently served as president of the Lakeview Action Coalition, noted his own past record in reducing crime and building the community.
“Politicians make a lot of promises. They also tend to raise a lot of issues. The issues we are talking about did not just happen after Bernie Hansen decided to get out of the race,” Ingram said. “I am the only candidate who has a record in fighting crime in this neighborhood. We got a new policing strategy that achieved a 50 percent reduction in hate crimes the first year, and a 30 percent reduction in burglaries.”
Ingram argued hotly with Hansen’s record, saying Hansen put the interests of developers ahead of constituents. “We’ve been fighting for years against development; it’s not just that development problems have been happening now,” he said. “Ald. Hansen is ignoring opinions, and that is unacceptable for an alderman.”
Karen Kennedy, who lives in Lake View, focused on her issues with Ald. Hansen in her reasons for running. She announced her candidacy last year with the belief that she would be running against Hansen.
“In the past two years, I’ve been slugging out in the community,” she said. “I got in this race when everyone thought Bernie was in and Bernie was ineffective, and I thought someone had to speak up.”
Kennedy focused on specific plans for improving the ward, including police foot patrols. “You can’t understand a community when you’re locked inside a squad car. [There should be] alternative policing that is geared towards getting the police to walking and talking to people,” she said.
Kennedy also said she would make the development process more accessible to constituents. “I would really work to open up the process in having accommodation on the proposed [redevelopment] plans,” she said. “I would like to have it where if there is a new plan coming, then a developer has to put it on a Web site.”
Attorney Dean Maragos cited his long ties to the Lake View area and community focus. “I live three blocks away [from the Wellington Ave. Church]. My family and I have had a presence in this area for over 30 years,” he said. “I will be an active alderman. My particular areas of focus will be putting an end to residential development, and hate crime protection.”
Maragos vowed to create committees and work with other public agencies to solve the ward’s problems. “We can work with the Metropolitan Planning Council and the Department of Planning and Development (DPD) in my office,” he said. “We need to establish community zoning advisory boards.” Maragos also said the ward should work with the DPD to create new parking spaces in the neighborhood.
City and transportation planner Ivar Vilcins, who spent 20 years with the Chicago Department of Planning and Development, outlined his platform in a three-point plan.
“One—I would lobby to seek property tax relief and abatement for area home and condo owners. Two—I would [build a community] that would continue the [current] vitality and diversity. Three—I would maintain ongoing contact with the residents of this ward,” he said.
The candidates agreed on nearly every issue presented by the audience, including a proposal to reuse the limestone that will likely soon be replaced with concrete on the Belmont seawall, reducing property taxes, increasing ticketing and creating more parking. They also met consensus on downzoning the land on which the shuttered Jane Addams Center currently sits to prevent the creation of a high-rise condo development on the site.
The only serious point of contention between the candidates was Tunney’s and Maragos’ challenge of their opponents’ nominating petitions. Vilcins charged that the two men who filed against him had a “patronage army” to gather their nominating signatures.
However, the issue that has received the most press in this race, sexual orientation, did not come up in the debates. Tunney and Ingram, who are both openly gay, reportedly have a divided base of support in the ward’s gay community, which constitutes an estimated 20 percent of the population. Some have charged that this rift may split the vote, helping one of the four heterosexual candidates to win the election.
Supporters of both Tunney and Ingram focused on their candidates’ records. Tunney campaign worker Kevin Kramer said his candidate was the most accomplished and had the best character. “He’s a person of great integrity, and he’s a person who really cares. Politicians usually care more about their own self-interest and money and power,” Kramer said. “I want someone who knows how to manage a business or organization like Ann Sather’s. [Tunney] has served the community in several different ways.”
Halsted St. business owner Lee Neubecker, an Ingram supporter, said his candidate was the only one of the six who has a record of action rather than rhetoric. “He’s done more than just talk. Rick’s the only person that I’ve seen take action,” he said. “I’m excited to see that we’re going to have a better government, because the candidate will be accountable.”
David Greer, secretary of the Triangle Neighborhood Association, said he was supporting Ingram precisely because of his ability to fight Hansen. “He was willing to stand up against Bernie Hansen and the machine,” Greer said. “He’s been involved in the community for numerous years, and the other candidates haven’t.”
Election Day is Feb. 25 for the primaries. If no candidate wins more than 50 percent of the vote, a runoff election will be held April 1. The General Election is in November.
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