Preview of my Inside Publications article.
By Jack Lydon
The Aldermanic Runoff in the 48th Ward is only a week away. Lifelong resident and affordable housing developer Joe Dunne and small business owner and progressive activist Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth faced off last Tuesday in a debate hosted by the Edgewater Chamber of Commerce in the basement at St. Ita’s on Broadway.
“Leni and I agree on a lot of things. We have the same progressive ideals. The difference is that I have the experience, the skill and the plan to realize those ideals. I have the experience to be an effective leader for the Ward on day one, to step in and start taking action to improve the lives of all the residents of the 48th Ward,” Joe Dunne summarized his candidacy.
“I am running for the 48th Ward [alderperson] because I love this ward. I want it to be a place where my kids will consider settling down for generations to come. I have been a coalition builder for many years. But for far too long we have been using band-aids for issues that we really need systemic, permanent change. I know we can do many things together because we have already done it before. Equity has to be at the center of everything. And when we think about community, it means all of us. And I will be honored to be your next alderwoman of the 48th Ward,” Manaa-Hoppenworth summed up her campaign.
Fairly standard political stuff, but differences were apparent throughout the course of the evening. Moderator Pat Whalen, from the Jackalope Theatre Company, did a great job asking the questions and keeping the candidates within the rules.
The most contrast on issues came on the issue of public safety. The candidates were asked to identify the most pressing safety issues and what specific strategies would he or she use for public safety.
“This is going to take leadership,” Manaa-Hoppenworth said. “We need a mayor that is going to prioritize structural change and include putting people in place that can do the job, including a new police superintendent who has a citybroad strategy . . . We need to work together along with the police department, with the fire department, with the schools, with the teachers, with the chambers of commerce, to find ways that we can all be safe.”
In response, Joe Dunne said, “public safety has been the number one issue as I have gone across the Ward. There are two approaches we need to be taking at the same time. One of them is trying to address the root causes . . . . But was also need address crime on the streets. . . . We need the police reengaged in our community. We need to active re-invigorated community policing in the 48th Ward. We need to be working together in partnership to make sure that we know where the crime is happening. We need to have police officers out and about who know us, who know people in the neighborhood, who came make sure that crime is not happening,” Joe Dunne said.
“When we think about public safety, we also need to think about who is living in violent conditions every single day including those who live on the south and west sides where disinvestment has happened for decades. So I look to young black and brown people who are putting together ordinances including the Peace Book Ordinance. . . . We need to work with the new Police Council, we need to work with the Mayor, the new Police Superintendent, to make all of us safe. There is a cares program that is piloted in Uptown and Rogers Park that we can look to for alternatives to policing. We need treatment not trauma so that we can meet mental health resources that the need,” Manaa-Hoppenworth said.
Both candidates agreed that economic development is important.
“We see a lot of empty store fronts across the ward. . . . We also see a lot of suffering on our streets, on our sidewalks, in our parks and in our transit system. People are not getting what they need. There is a crisis with our housing and also with our health care,” said Manaa-Hoppenworth in her opening statement.
“We need treatment on trauma and alternatives to policing. We need to listen to the youth, especially the black and brown youth who are in the most disinvested parts of our city and to pass the Peace Book Ordinance which is the opposite of the game database to show people a pathway to economic stability especially our youth. We need to fix our systemic issues and talk the root causes. Stop criminalizing poverty. We need a permanent funding stream for our houselessness,” continued Manaa-Hoppenworth.
Joe Dunne focused on his connection to 48 and his skills and experience to get things done.
“I am running . . . because this is my home. I was born and raised right here in the Ward. I am the third generation of my family to live here. I am raising my kids in the house I grew up in. My kids are the fourth generation of my family to live there. I’ve got deep connections across the Ward. There are people here that I have known my entire life. I have also been very active in the Ward. I served three terms on the [Peirce Local School Council]. I served on the fundraising board. I have helped to build that school be become a destination school. I ran the principal selection committee. I served on the Edgewater Community Council when that still existed. I think it is missing in the community. We need to bring something like that back.
“Professionally, I have been building affordable housing across the City. I have devoted my professional career to trying to address that. Stable housing is one of the first things we need to turn people’s lives around. Given them stable housing, help them turn their lives around, then they can focus on education, they can focus on economic development. Then we can focus on all the things that address the root causes of poverty.”
I want to be the alderman of the 48th Ward so that I can implement those things that I have been doing across the city right here . . .. It’s important to see positive change to take care of people that are least able to take care of themselves, whether it is people with mental health issues or people with addiction or people living in the parks. I have got the experience to do it. I have been doing it for 20 plus years. I want to do it right here where I grew up. This community means a whole lot to me, a whole lot to my family. I want my children to recognize that, to embrace it and raise their families here as well.
As for priorities as alderperson, Manaa-Hoppenworth said, “the three issues that keep coming up at the door include housing affordability, economic development and health care including mental health support. All of those things need to be viewed through an equity lens and a wholistic approach.”
In contrast, Joe Dunne said, “my vision for the 48th Ward is to see the Ward remain the welcoming diverse community that it is. We need a bold plan. We have got some headwinds. Inflation, rising property taxes, rising rents. I see opportunities for affordable housing along the Red Line. . . . I think we can do that here. When [the Red Line reconstruction] is completed, there is brand new space under that where the embankment used to exist. That is the perfect opportunity to build out the infrastructure for electric car charging stations so we can move away from fossil fuels and promote the use of electric vehicles. We need to rebuild the Bezazian Library with senior housing above like exists at Pratt and Western.
Moderator Pat Whalen asked each candidate to identify the top infrastructure opportunity in the ward.
Leni said, “we have a very pedestrian friendly ward. But we also have roads that separate us. Lake Shore Drive, Ridge, Broadway. These are like rivers that cut through us. And people are not safe. We should all be able to use our roads, and our sidewalks, whether we walk, or bike, or use and assistance devise.
In response to a question about aldermanic staffing, Joe Dunne said, “I am happy to say that when I am alderperson Dan Luna will remain as my chief of staff. My staff will reflect the racial make-up of the community.
Manaa-Hoppenworth said, “80% of the job of an alderwoman is constituent services. That has to be the priority. The only way to do that is to be in touch with constituents. I will do that everyday as alderwoman of the 48th Ward.”
The candidates were asked what would be their process for reviewing and approving zoning changes.
“When someone is coming into the Ward to do a development, we will have a document to give them and say, ‘here is what we want to see.’ Don’t tell us what you want to put there; understand what we want to see in the community. The community voice has got to be there and it’s got to be proactive—looking forward. As alderman, I will have a zoning advisory committee that will transparent open meetings. I don’t want to see a process where one block club is the deciding factor,” said Dunne.
“The community has to be involved. I plan on having a community commission. We need policies in place to preserve the character of our neighborhood, Manaa-Hoppenworth said.
Reaction in the crowd after the debate were mixed as one might imagine with supporters of both candidates in attendance. Former 48th Ward aldermanic candidate and founder of Green Element Resale, Brian Haag, echoed the sentiments of other in the crowd about the lack of specifics from Manaa-Hoppenworth.
“Joe really highlighted the difference between a show pony and work horse,” Haag said.
One can watch the debate in its entirety on You Tube at: https://youtu.be/vMcGo5BaOi8.
