GADC meets with Mayor Daley
Patrick Barry
Published: January 28, 2006
Leaders from Auburn-Gresham and other LISC/New Communities Program neighborhoods visited City Hall last fall for a series of fifth-floor meetings with Mayor Richard M. Daley.
The 50-minute sit-downs came at the invitation of the mayor, who wanted to learn more about the neighborhood quality-of-life plans and how they are being implemented.
Participants reported that, true to his reputation, the mayor was intimately familiar with their neighborhoods and eager to discuss ideas for community improvement.
When Carlos Nelson of Auburn Gresham began his presentation on Sept. 29, Mayor Daley jumped right in, asking about a deteriorated motel at 79th and Vincennes. "That was supposed to be part of my presentation," responded Nelson to general laughter.
The group went on to discuss possibilities for a large CTA property, ideas for bringing more retail to 79th Street and the neighborhood's strategy to market the community to young professionals and families.
The delegation from Chicago Lawn arrived to find their quality-of-life plan open on the mayor's table, "dog-eared and marked up."
The meeting included an update on the neighborhood's campaign to reduce predatory lending, a presentation on leadership development by Edith Robles and a personal story from Earl Johnson about standing up to local gang members.Mayor Daley encouraged Johnson to keep working with community policing officers—and to let the Mayor's Office know if he needed any help.
This was the second time Robles and Johnson had shaken the mayor's hand, as they were the presenters on May 18, 2005, when communities officially passed their quality-of-life plans to the mayor.
Most groups sent those same representatives to the fifth-floor meetings, along with a board or staff member.A favorite topic was education. When Karen King and Tyree Liddell from Woodlawn brought up schools, the mayor urged them to start early to prepare students for high school.
To the Quad Communities delegation of Mary Steward and Leroy Square, Mayor Daley mentioned the need to boost skills of students who are entering the workforce directly from high school. He urged the Logan Square group to promote Chinese-language classes, and told others of his desire to keep schools operating year-round.
Another big topic was redevelopment opportunities: the 26th and Kostner site in Little Village, now under new ownership; reuse of Logan Square's Cooper Lamp building for light manufacturing; and revitalization of Ogden Avenue in North Lawndale.
Mayor Daley told the Quad Communities group that Drexel Boulevard's resurgence is "coming along beautifully" and agreed with local plans to bring retail development to Cottage Grove Avenue.
Also true to form, Mayor Daley at several points asked his aides to take a note on something and to follow up—"bring him in here," he said about one property owner.
Sam Assefa, the mayor's deputy chief of staff for economic and physical development, attended most meetings.
More recently, Lori Healey has been at the table as the Department of Planning and Development's new commissioner. The rest of the mayoral meetings were expected to take place early in 2006.
Posted in Business, Housing, Economic Development