Dec 09 2008
The Battle Continues. But for Now, Rest.
Update and clarification.
My personality does not allow me to tolerate fighting. Not to say I do not become enraged or even bitter. But I’m not much of a fighter. So, to see my lovely wife take on the powers that be largely out of guts, determination, skill (which she has in spades, my friends), and a passion for the marginalized/displaced meant that I had to be involved too. Not that I regret it, it’s just that I tend to be a little more calculating (which is my way of saying, “I’ll make snide remarks from the sidelines rather than actually investing in or risking anything, thank you very much!”). All of that to say, I’ve got a headache today, and I never once pounded the pavement or met with the alderman or rounded up signatures or spoke to anyone in Spanish about this proposal.
But enough about me.
I’m proud of my wife for the reasons above. But I’m also proud of her for going to the alderman’s office twice to ask him to delay sending it through City Hall until necessary, reasonable, and safe modifications can be made. Today my wife and her partner-in-crime made their argument that most residents in the target area (according to the study itself) have only a high school education (if that) and a large segment rely on some form of public assistance, but none of the “community representatives” who helped to fashion the plan were in those demographics; they argued that businesses that are already in the study area were not considered because they did not fit a certain social idea (for example, there is a very popular Cuban coffee shop across the alley from us, but neither it nor the two Dunkin’ Donuts nearby were considered as coffee houses; there’s a Currency Exchange that is considered a financial institution to many in the community, but not to the authors of the plan; and so on); they argued that the plan should be translated into Spanish and even offered to help with that; and they suggested that there should be safeguards set in place not to alter the entire plan, but to protect those already in the community from massive and unfair jettisoning (I’m guessing that that is a word, since my spell-check didn’t even underline it).
Did it work? We’re not sure yet. But we can rest knowing that the presentation was laid out clearly. We should receive an answer by tomorrow (Wednesday). In the meantime, continue to pray and do send out an occasional call (773-278-0101) or email (ward01@cityofchicago.org) if you can and ask for these safeguards for the Milwaukee Corridor. We need to keep storefront and living spaces affordable enough for the average person who currently runs a business or resides here as well.
I should also mention that we are, for the most part, in need of many of the changes that the Milwaukee Corridor plan would provide. But we are always weary around (1) greedy developers and (2) people who talk about considering the poor and minorities but neither listen to nor involve them into the process.
