Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Town Hall Public Safety Meeting a Laugher


If you ever want to have public official lie to you, go to a public meeting and ask them a question. If you want to hear multiple lies from one of our elected officials, ask multiple questions. That's about the best way I can summarize last nights public safety meeting. It was a farce.

Joe Moore has his usual political toadies get up and praise Joe. This tired act never wears out for Joe. He sits proudly at the table as loyal followers praise his effort on recycling garbage. They praised his effort for trying to bring a Boys & Girls Club to the New Gale Community Center. They vowed to keep fighting for the Boys and Girls Club at the Gale Community Center. He once again blamed the community for, quote/unquote, "pulling the rug out from under us....."

The majority of the time was spent talking about the Sullivan High School Fight Club. If Joe wasn't running his big, fat mouth about the Boys & Girls Club pulling out, he was blaming the Principle for, quote/unquote "the reluctance on the school itself to change." Neighbor after neighbor asked the crowd in attendance, how many were Sullivan parents? No one raised their hand. I'd be embarrassed to admit my kid went to Sullivan too. If I had a kid at Sullivan. I challenged Joe to send his kid to Sullivan.

The liquor stores were also a target. Neighbor after neighbor bitched about how the packaged goods liquor stores operate. Joe, being the classic idiot that he is, used Soo Liquors as an example how to do things. Recently Soo got it's liquor license renewed even though the community has tried to shut it down. Every time Joe opens his mouth, something stupid comes out of it.

The police were mentioned as not being good role models in Rogers Park. From their attitude - to how they drive. One neighbor mentioned he was just as much afraid of the police as he was the gang-bangers. He didn't feel safe in Rogers Park. One neighbor mentioned being beat up by a group of kids 5 minutes from the alderman's office.

Quality of life issues were discussed. A couple of neighbors talked of a neighborhood that was 24/7 drunkenness, along with the excessive drug abuse by the homeless in Loyola Park. Again, we got bullshit responses from Harry Osterman and Joe Moore.

The commander wouldn't answer any specific crime stats on why there is 24/7 lawlessness on Morse Avenue. The commander couldn't tell us when the gangs will stop being in control of Morse Avenue. No one will put a time frame on when Morse Avenue will will be gang free. According to the commander, gangs are complex. They're also occupying most every corner from Sheridan to Clark. The neighbors asked why they can see it and the police can't.

The best funny of the evening came from political toad, Jayne Hoffman. She claimed if we recycle, crime will go down. This woman gets on her knees praising Joe so much, Joe should buy her a set of knee pads.

I'll stop here for now. I'm going to give Cota a walk. But I'll be back with more later. If you were one of the 75 people at the meeting, let's hear what you thought. If anyone sees any spelling or grammar edits that need to be fixed, leave them in the comments section too. We strive for perfection here at the 'Broken Heart'.

17 comments:

I live here too said...

Vote NO MOORE in 2011


I saw one there /their typo... but who really cares?

Craig Gernhardt said...

===but who really cares?===

Man on the Street does.

===I saw one there /their typo==

Found it. Thanks.

mcl said...

I chose not to attend last night's gathering, having heard the spin, PR and BS for years, at meeting after meeting, from the various 24th District Commanders and our local politicians. I'll look forward to the upcoming reports by those who attended.

Craig Gernhardt said...

The great community observer and writer that he is, maybe Michael Harrington will give us his take on the meeting?

On the other side of the coin, maybe new publisher Jim Ginderske will give us his version as Joe tells him what to write.

North Coast can chime in. Carla too.

Craig Gernhardt said...

Plus, we'll soon get the Chicago Journals view of the proceedings. They attended this meeting.

SouthOfPratt said...

The night of the grand opening of the new El Mexicano Liquors, Joe states that the liquor license was simply transferred to the next door location. Now instead of a grocery store that sells liquor we have an entire new store next door selling nothing but liquor.

Joe’s constant theme at the meeting was that he needs community help to reduce crime. Where was the help from our leaders at the appeal hearing for El Mexicano’s new liquor license? 14 neighbors testified against this new license, no one from the alderman’s office or the police department showed up at the hearing.

The opinion of the Appeal Board stated that no one from the police department or the alderman’s office testified. I would be willing to bet that if someone from Joe’s office or the 24th district attended and voiced their disapproval for the new liquor store, the appeal would have been denied.

Maybe Joe can send someone over to our block every morning to pick up the empty beer cans and liquor bottled for recycling!!

Man On The Street said...

===but who really cares?===

Man on the Street does.


ONE time I pointed this out... It just have thing for "their, there and they're. Along with its and it's. It's the former newspaper copy editor in me.

pearl said...

For all of Ginderske's blathering about bringing RP a Boys & Girls Club, I have one burning question:

How many hours each week or month does Ginderske spend working with at-risk children, and in what capacity?

mcl said...

Hey Ginderske.,
How about an answer to Pearl's question?

"How many hours each week or month does Ginderske spend working with at-risk children, and in what capacity?"

Hugh said...

everything that goes wrong in Rogers Park between now and the next election will be because of community opposition to turning the Gale Park Community Center over to the Boys & Girls club

Save Street End Beaches said...

Did I go overboard last night? I told him he was lying about the B&G Club scenario. oops. MCL, you or Toni or Eva should have been there -- it was a hoot.

inside job said...

Stay home looking at your monitor, I will let you know when its safe to mingle. Thank God there are still some normal people in Rogers Park

Unknown said...

It seems to me that after 17 years of what Joe Moore calls "leadership," we shouldn't have the need for big public meetings on what we citizens need to do in order to avoid the violent crime that rules our streets on a daily basis.

It also seems to me that if you can't get a handle on basic community issues after 17 years, it's time to step down.

floss said...

It seems that Joe's heart is more in the big picture stuff anyway.."Big Box Ordinance," green issues...

Moore doesn't seem passionate about the neighborhood, and seems to lack the skill set and vision for running a ward.


It is not that I hate the guy.
I love my neighborhood.
He's gotta go.

CNB said...

It's all Bush's fault, people, and you've got less than two months left to blame things on him. So have it: The Sullivan punks act the way they do because of Bush. Right? Right? Anybody?

The North Coast said...

The biggest laugh of the public safety meeting was JoMo's attempt to blame the failure to hijack Gale Community Center for the lack of facilities for kids.

I and another, more articulate woman tried to point out that there were many places available for the Boys & Girls Club.

Otherwise, the meeting was such a yawn and such a waste of time that I didn't see the point of writing a blog article about it. Same old, same old- we have exactly the same problems around here we had ten years ago and for the same reasons.

It's still too many unparented kids from bad homes, too many bad homes. too many bad liquor stores, and too much encouragement to the above from our aldercreature.

I'd like to see the number of wards in this city reduced by half, and see the 48th and 49th combined. Let Joe defend his seat against Mary Ann Smith of the 48th who has totally turned her ward around.

We are NEVER going to see change for the better around here until Moore is unseated, and someone who really gives a damn about the neighborhood elected.

There's hardly any sense in even talking about it anymore.

I heart the R.P. said...

I think Jayne's relating recycling to a reduction in crime were by far the most ludicrous remarks of the night.

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