* The Julie Report

The fourth of six 49th Ward aldermanic forums was held on February 7 at the United Church of Rogers Park. The sponsors of the forum, Organization of the Northeast (ONE) and the League of Women Voters submitted questions to the candidates from a panel consisting of non-profit organizations operating in the ward and a selection of audience question cards.

In opening remarks, Jim Ginderske and Alderman Joe Moore (49th) both addressed the diversity of Rogers Park. Ginderske recognized the diversity but also the poverty and said a lot of people are represented here tonight, but many are not.

Chris Adams, who claims former Illinois Senator Paul Simon as his role model, began by blasting Moore for sponsoring a resolution calling for hearings into the CTA. He noted there was supposed to be a meeting in the City Council with CTA chairman Frank Kruesi, but that meeting didn't happen. He said Daley didn't want to provide a forum for that resolution blaming that on Moore's relationship with the mayor.

He noted that people who have been to these community forums over the years can see that the issues have been the same for sixteen years referring to Moore's tenure as alderman.

Moore began by saying has been an honor to represent Rogers Park. He noted it is not only the most diverse neighborhood in the city but is the most diverse community in the country.

He then countered Adams' accusations by saying, Kruesi broke his promise to appear his boss, the Mayor, didn't push him to be there.

Don Gordon remarked that 30yrs ago Rogers Park was one of the best neighborhoods in the city citing its affordable housing as one of the reasons. But affordable housing, which made Rogers Park what it is, is disappearing, a theme that has been underlying many ward problems and solutions.

Many of the issues discussed at this forum have also been covered at others, though on health care Moore revealed that Trilogy, a non-profit represented at the forum, is planning to open a health care clinic on Greenleaf.

Ginderske and Moore both discussed the health care clinic they were working on with the Heartland Alliance which would be funded with a federal grant.

Living wage jobs were brought up which caused Moore to remarked two of the candidates were opposed to the living wage ordinance I sponsored, one was for it but didn't like my leadership on the issue.

Gordon, who was for the concept of the ordinance said he was against the process in the City Council.

Ginderske countered that he wasn't opposed to the living wage ordinance, but was against the trigger being the square footage of the store. He believed it should be modeled after Santa Fe's ordinance which uses the number of employees as the trigger that would include Chipotle's and McDonalds, whatever we want the trigger to be; 25 employees or 50. Rogers Park is too dense it would never be a candidate for a big box store implying that touting sponsorship of the ordinance was disingenuous because the 49th Ward would never have been a beneficiary.

Adams believes that business developers look at what you produce when deciding whether to invest. He cited statistics showing only 50% of our children graduate from high school and only 42% of those who graduate further their education. He says we have to create a community of better educated residents to attract the businesses we want which leads one to wonder how long the ward will be waiting.

Financial assistance for immigrants seeking citizenship was requested as the federal government is considering raising fees from $400 to $675 which most immigrants cannot afford. All candidates agreed to support initiatives to assist those who want to legalize their status and noted that this would make more services available to them.

Moore said he was the co-sponsor of a resolution which attempted to defeat the anti-immigrant, anti-American, racist, draconian immigration bill sponsored by the Republican leadership in the U.S. Senate and said his office deals with immigration issues a all the time.

One other new issue was put forth by Justin Rouse, an 18-year-old working with the Howard Area Community Center (HACC). Rouse said he ha have been harassed by local police, had my face smashed into a squad car, and we were told to run so they would have a reason to shoot us. He and friends were then arrested for mob action.

Rouse said he was not part of a mob and I am not in a gang. Noting that this is not uncommon for the youth in the neighborhood, he asked what plan the candidates had to create and sustain dialogue between the youth and local police.

Moore said he could see it from both perspectives and noted that we aren't doing enough to get the kids off the street. He said part of this problem is in response to community complaints to the police. He believes the plan he put forth in the City Council to separate the Office of Professional Standards (OPS) from the police department would help. He wants OPS to be independent and not accountable to the city.

Gordon prefers sensitivity training and a police liaison officer as he suggested for the gay and lesbian community. As there should be zero tolerance for homophobia there should be zero tolerance for this.

Ginderske apologized to Rouse for what he had to go through, saying we put the police force on the streets to enforce laws but he believes the relationship between the police and the youth is severely broken. He noted that he had called for a Boys and Girls Club to be established to give the youth something to do and somewhere to go.

Adams commended Rouse for his courage in telling this story. He would like to create an effective after school program that includes the local police to bridge the gap. When the police overreact, it's wrong these issues need to be addressed.

Talking to Rouse after the forum, I asked him what he thought of the candidates responses and if he believed they got what the issue was. He thought for a couple of seconds and said, No, they don't get it.

Though he never filed a complaint in the incident he recounted he said it was because he didn't have the knowledge or the resources at the time. He has since been working with ONE and HACC to try to change the situation. They helped set up a meeting between Rouse and a couple of sergeants from the 24th district who told him it never should have happened but despondently said that was where it ended.

The police don't know the youth and the youth don't know the police. He is working to set up a basketball game between the kids in the community and the police, hoping to hold it at the annual Back-to-School Picnic on the lakefront.

He thinks the police getting to know the kids would go a long way towards repairing the relationship. If they knew me and saw me on the street they might say that's Justin, he's an HACC kid and leave me alone. But now he's just another kid in the neighborhood and fair game, a problem pervasive in the 24th district.

He said the problem was with the unmarked cars as well as the squads and it happens here everyday. But he's going to keep working on it. The kids in the neighborhood know that's what he's doing and they are all for it.

He doesn't know if he'll succeed but repeats the mantra all I can say is keep hope alive. Now that's leadership.