* Joe The Greatest - UPDATED

Finally, Alderman Moore's pathetic response to the Tribune. I'll let this sit in whole for a while before we start debunking this pack of lies he sent to the Tribune.

To the editor:

For years the Tribune ridiculed the Chicago City Council as the Mayor's “rubber stamp." Now that we are beginning to assert ourselves as equal policymaking partners with the Mayor, the Tribune says we're meddlesome” and tells us to just focus on our own wards.

By prohibiting foie gras, forty-eight of my colleagues joined me in standing up for compassion and humanity by following fifteen nations in banning a product of egregious animal cruelty.

Perhaps the Tribune's real concern is the City Council's growing independence on issues of far greater importance to big business, issues such as the popular Box Living Wage Ordinance, which I co-sponsored.

Unfortunately, in attacking City Council activism, the Tribune denigrated my neighborhood and completely ignored a long record of accomplishments in the 49th Ward.

You should know that your symbol of ward “problems, a vacant storefront pictured in the editorial, is the future site for an exciting new community arts center, which I secured for the Wisdom Bridge Arts Project. You should also be aware that we already have half the Howard St. vacancies in the process of retail and residential redevelopment.

Your editorial should have noted the construction underway for the new Howard El Station and the Gale Park Community Center, projects which I shepherded, and which will secure jobs for community residents on those projects.

You also failed to mention the $800,000 rehabilitation of the Morse El Station and the $3 million streetscape project on tap for Morse Ave. You neglected to mention my 49th Ward zoning planning process, which resulted in extensive zoning changes that will prevent overdevelopment.

Finally, you failed to note the scores of slum buildings my office turned around and my efforts to bring community policing to the 49th Ward, actions which helped lead to a nearly 50% drop in crime since I took office 15 years ago.

Clearly, the Tribune's concern is not the welfare of the 49th Ward. Rather, you'’re attacking the leadership many of us have taken on the living wage and other issues with which the Tribune and big business strongly disagree. Good aldermen (like good newspapers) have a responsibility to meeting both the local needs of their wards and the policy needs of their City. The new activism of the City Council is one to be welcomed, not attacked. I take all of my responsibilities seriously; so should this newspaper.


Joe Moore
Alderman, 49th Ward

Updated:

Wow, I just received this original letter to the editor sent out by David Fagus just after the Chicago Tribune printed the editorial. Read his call to arms from the 49th ward democrats to flood the Tribune with denoucements.

It's much different, with far more greatness attached.

Urgent Appeal for Your Help - Tribune on the Attack

Dear Friends,

The Chicago Tribune went on the attack again this weekend with a vicious editorial slamming Joe Moore and our community. We need your help. Will you please write a letter to the Tribune today? Here's the editorial:

To the editor:

For years the Tribune ridiculed the Chicago City Council as the mayor's rubber stamp and chastised the aldermen for being too parochial. Now that we are beginning to assert ourselves as equal policymaking partners with the mayor, the Tribune says were meddlesome and tells us to just focus on matters in our own wards (“The Chicago Folly Council” Oct. 1).

Apparently it’s ok to be a rubberstamp for the mayor as long as it is in keeping with the Tribune’s editorial viewpoints.

I am proud that 48 of my colleagues joined me in standing up for compassion and humanity by following the lead of fifteen nations in banning a product of egregious cruelty. And I am pleased that, while he expressed reservations about the ban, Mayor Daley signed the measure into law.

The Tribune claims the City Council is “preoccupied” with this issue. Really? The foie gras ban was just one of hundreds of pieces of legislation on topics as varied as zoning changes, business incentives, fee waivers and the like, which the Council considered on the day the ban was adopted.

Just who is preoccupied with the foie gras issue? The City Council, which briefly considered and passed the ban and then moved on to other pressing issues, or the Chicago Tribune, which has devoted barrels of ink to this topic and can't seem to let it go?

Perhaps more is at play here than the ban of a product that few restaurants served and few patrons consumed. Perhaps the Tribune's real concern is the City Council's growing independence on issues of far greater importance to big business and the purveyors of the status quo, such as the living wage ordinance for Big Box retailers, which I co-sponsored.

The Tribune calls the living wage ordinance a “loopy idea, but it was supported by nearly three quarters of the voting public according to an independent poll conducted by the other major daily newspaper in this town.

Unfortunately, in taking me to task for my political independence and City Council activism, the Tribune felt obligated to denigrate my neighborhood and completely ignore my long record of accomplishments in the 49th Ward.

If the Tribune had actually taken the time to conduct any meaningful research, it would have discovered that the vacant storefront pictured in the editorial is the future site of the Wisdom Bridge Arts Project Community Arts Center, and that I had convinced the previous owner of the property to sell it to the arts project at below the market price.

If the Tribune had honestly reported DevCorp North's store vacancy statistics, it would have also reported that Dev Corp disclosed to the Tribune that half the 45 vacancies on Howard Street are in the process of being redeveloped for retail and market-rate and affordable residential developments.

If the Tribune editorial was truly balanced, it would have noted the construction underway for the Howard El Station redevelopment project and the Gale Park Community Center project, both projects which I shepherded. And it would have noted my successful efforts to secure jobs for community residents at those construction sites.

The Tribune also neglected to mention the $800,000 rehabilitation of the Morse Ave. el Station and platform and the $3 million streetscape project on tap for Morse Avenue, both of which I was instrumental in securing. And the Tribune also left out the new businesses coming to Morse Avenue, including a new coffee shop and a new jazz club and restaurant. It also conveniently overlooked the revitalization of the Jarvis Square business district, across the street from my office.

If the Tribune had taken the time to speak with my 49th Ward Superintendent, it would have discovered he requires his laborers to hand sweep the alleys in addition to picking up the garbage, and that he regularly patrols the ward in the evenings and on weekends, emptying city wastebaskets and trimming overgrown weeds.

The Tribune also made no mention of the extensive community-based planning process I oversaw, which resulted in extensive zoning changes that will preserve the residential character of the neighborhood and prevent overdevelopment.

Finally, the Tribune failed to note the scores of slum buildings my office has turned around and my efforts to bring community policing to the 49th Ward, which helped lead to a nearly 50 percent drop in crime since I first took office 15 years ago.

My record more than amply demonstrates that a good alderman can both successfully oversee the issues affecting his community and help shape city policy. Clearly, the Tribune'’s concern is not the welfare of the 49th Ward residents. Rather, it is the fact that I have taken leadership positions on issues with which the Tribune strongly disagrees.

These are issues on which people of good will can disagree. I hope in the future the Tribune focuses on the merits of the arguments, rather than running down my neighborhood and taking cheap and diversionary shots against those of us who dare to challenge the status quo.