The Blog

Boy, Ben, I bet Matlik's happy that your article on him has been bumped off this page. And just when it was getting interesting.

Could someone give me an idea on what's up with this changing ward boundaries thing? Maybe a link to the history of this practice? Like the factors involved in how, where and why ward boundaries were first determined? And when? Or a concise explanation of why ward boundaries ever change in the first place?

Maybe your screen name should be changed to "Lazy", a more fitting adjective than curious. Do a simple Google or other search on why after each census the ward boundaries must be redrawn to reflect population changes. MEMO: This is not a local phenomena. At the State and Federal level it is also an important part of the political and civics landscape. I do not see how you could have passed the Constitution test in 8th grade without knowing this (unless you attended a Chicago Public School).

The Illinois Committee for Honest Government (ICHG) strongly endorses Bob Fioretti. You can see the 3 TV shows he has done with the ICHG host Frank Avila on politicschicago.com, linked off of aldertrack.com, chicagoclout.com, or doing a google video search. Fioretti is not taking developer money. Fioretti wants truth in revealing LLC owners. Haithcock has seen 9,000 African Americans move out of her ward. Fioretti is intelligent and independent. The ICHG strongly endorses Bob Fioretti and makes him one of the top priorities.

You don't mean to say that it's a GOOD thing, that those "9,000 African Americans" moved out of the ward, do you? Or that they did so for ANY OTHER reason than that they could no longer afford to live there? Or, God forbid, that you're appealing to whatever number of voters in the ward who are NOT African American to vote for the non-African American candidate because there are 9,000 FEWER African Americans living in the ward? Are you SURE you're on Bob's side?

Well, at least the 'Orion' poster is consistent at being a "stellar human being". From Orion's language skills, I can believe he's/she's a clouted city 'worker'. I've heard the same pattern of speech when dealing with other examples of the breed. They all make it much more difficult for the honest city workers to do their jobs with dignity. And, yes, there are honest, hard-working city workers. They're just getting harder and harder to find, as the machine bosses get bolder and bolder, in their quest to have ONLY clouted knuckleheads on the payroll. Though, come to think of it, they can't let that happen, for who would be left to do the actual work!

I wish I had my job back so I could steal/loaf/falsify my timesheets again.

"In fact, I can't think of a single black aldermanic candidate in recent history who's defeated a white opponent in a ward that wasn't overwhelmingly black." Has there ever been a black aldermanic facing a white opponent in a Ward that was less than 50% Black?

Calling the 2nd Ward an African-American majority ward today is probably more than just a stretch; it probably isn't even true now. Let's look at the facts. As recently as the 1980s, the 2nd Ward's boundaries were 26th St. on the NORTH and 45th St. on the South. But in an effort to maximize the number of African-American wards after the 1990 Census, the 2nd Ward (which had been 91.9% African-American in the 1980 Census) had its boundaries pushed north to the south edge of the Loop. This lowered the percentage of African-Americans in the ward down to the high 60s. When the 2000 Census figures came out, which showed that every existing African-American ward had lost population while the city as a whole gained population, the 2nd was one of a number of black wards gerrymandered to the extreme in order to keep 20 wards with at least 65% African-American population. Only a handful of precincts remained from the traditional 2nd Ward area (south of 26th Street), primarily the precincts stretching past Ald. Haithcock's residence down to the home of the Democratic Committeeman, Congressman Bobby Rush (more than 80% of the current 2nd Ward is not in Cong. Rush's 1st Congressional District). The current ward snakes its way thru the Loop and out to the West Side, stuggling to include every African-American available to get to that magic 65% figure. It was done, but only by including the east half of the Juvenile Court complex in the ward, the part containing the Juvenile Detention Center (allowing the mapmakers to count the few hundred incareated African-American jeveniles there in the grand total). The problem is that the Census figures were taken on April 1, 2000. In the seven years since then, the ward has seen much of its public housing stock torn down while numerous high-rise and high-priced housing built in its place. Add to that the surging college student population in the ward, and the ward has probably seen a shift of more than a third of its 2000 population. If you took a Census today the ward would be at least 50% white, which probably translates into a voting pool that is closer to 60% white. Haithcock, one of Mayor Daley's most loyal butt-kissers on theCity Council, signed off on all this redevelopment in her ward. After she gives her concession speech on April 17, she can look in a mirror and she the first person for her to blame for her political demise.

I would expect a MAJOR GOTV campaign targeted to African Americans in the closing weeks of the campaign. By election day, Fioretti will be painted as the second coming of David Duke, Adolph Hitler and Jackie Mason.

I know you're kidding, Frank You must be one of the hard-working few who had to constantly cover the asses of the many 'clout monkeys' you were saddled with. I feel for you, buddy.

Uh, NO it is terrible 9,000 residents got pushed out by Madeline Haithcock and developers because of their race and income. I thought my comments were clear. However, if they are not--racial cleansing and forced relocation and are not good. The irony is that the Black incumbent Madeline Haithcock is the sell out and Bob Fioretti will probably be better for the African American community.

Fioretti wins in a landslide. The few voters that actually know and care that there's another election on April 17th will want change. With regard to race and politics - how well did Jesse White and Barack Obama do in the 2nd Ward? They won with large margins. This race is about having alderman who reprsents your interests and not a delopers and has nothing to do with race at all.

Case in point: Jackson Jr. endorses Fioretti Posted by Dan Mihalopoulos and Mickey Ciokajlo at 2:54 p.m. U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) today announced his endorsement of challenger Bob Fioretti in the 2nd Ward race against Ald. Madeline Haithcock. The move could prove important for Fioretti, who is a white candidate in a ward that is mostly black. The 2nd Ward, which includes parts of the Near South Side and the West Side, has been represented by African-American aldermen for nearly a century. Mayor Richard Daley endorses Haithcock. Jackson said he did not fear a backlash for supporting Haithcock's white challenger, noting that the incumbent has endorsed Daley over black challengers. "She shouldn't have a problem with African-American leaders backing Fioretti," Jackson said. "She's shown the way." Jackson endorsed challenger Patricia Dowell over Ald. Dorothy Tillman (3rd) recently. Although he backed down from his threat to challenge Daley, the congressman gained a toehold on City Hall power with the election of his wife, Sandi Jackson, as 7th Ward alderman last month. "City Hall needs a spring cleaning," Jesse Jackson Jr. said.

Jesse Jr., too much of a pussy to run against the Mayor, is running surrogates against the Mayor's surrogates.

'Orion' is a prolific poster and, 'Orion' seems to have a taste for expressing his anger issues. Maybe it's true, what someone posted elsewhere, that Orion gets his rocks off thru his posts. Whatever turns him on........

So, now it's a bad thing that those who are now living in the ward, in the buildings that the developers built, moved in? Whether they're renters or owners? So, they have Haithcock to thank for the opportunity to live close to the Loop? And for stimulating the exodus of the former residents of the ward? What exactly are you saying, Suzanne, or do you even know?

Uh... Are *YOU* sure you know what you're talking about? It seems like you are implying all kinds of things into Susan's endorsement that weren't there to begin with, and then turning her replies around on her. Are you sure you aren't a shill for Haithcock? I'm sure we will see neither hide nor hair of you on April 15. Every time I read your comments, I get confused, and I'm a pretty smart guy. Or maybe I'm not. Is it my fault that I can't figure out what you're trying to say? Maybe Madeline Haithcock can come stimulate my thought processes a little bit....

It's April 17th, isn't it? If you are the smart guy you think you are, you'll appreciate the fact that it's a good idea, before you step up to the plate, to have developed skill at swinging the bat. If the only readers who can understand what Suzanne is saying are those who agree with her, and, if it's easy to misunderstand, whether honestly or deliberately, what she's posted, by those who may not agree, than she may be doing more to harm Bob, than to help him. And, yes, it's your fault.

I think what the 'Uh...' posts are trying to say is that, even though the supporters of Mr. Fioretti understand who and what Madam Haithcock is all about, the ward's voters are diverse and may interpret some of the comments posted in favor of Fioretti as motivation to vote FOR Haithcock. The 'Uh..' poster is merely trying to point out the possible ways in which words can be taken as meaning the opposite of what was intended, albeit in a somewhat obtuse manner. I would take them as a challenge to thoroughly think through what I choose to post, before hitting the 'save comment' button.

'no fan of da machine'--"obtuse?" I think you are a little over your ski's. No one is voting for Haithcock. No one. She got 20% of the vote. She is a sitting alderman. 14 years in office and she is so unknown she received 1 out of 5 votes. A dispicable display. Myself? I was for Askew until he patently sold out to Haithcock. He is no better than the incumbent he railed against for months (years according to him). He totally turned out to be exactly what people were saying about him.

Gee, I wish I could afford a pair of skis, and then I'd wish I could afford to go somewhere to use them.

Let's take a peek into the Political Hack's Playbook. "1) If telling the truth HELPS you, tell the truth. (however rarely this is true for an incumbent) 2) If telling the truth HURTS you, tell a lie, particularly a lie that is impossible to prove is a lie. 3) When lying, coat your lies with as much truth as possible, so the lie APPEARS to be true. 4) When confronted with your lies, vigorously assert that you're NOT lying and accuse those who say you are, of LYING. 5) avoid lying about things that can be PROVEN to be lies, tho, you can ALWAYS challenge the honesty of those who present the proof of your lies. 6) Do your very best to keep some sort of track of your lies, so you don't waste energy lying when you are confronted with conflicting lies. 7) Whenever possible, always have OTHERS lie for you, so you can denounce them, if and when they are caught lying. 8) When caught in a lie, change the subject and focus on telling those lies that have, so far, not been proven to be lies. 9) Tell the truth sparingly, as, if the truth were helpful to you, you wouldn't have to tell so many lies in the first place." There's a lot more stuff in the Political Hack's Playbook, but I think this is enough for now, don't you?

I'm with you ski's. I can't wait to leave. "insider?" I have no idea what you are saying or trying to implicate. Sorry. David Askew Lied. Madeline Haithcock is definitely a liar. Bob Fioretti and the woman that stalked he and his girlfriend for 3 years can't decide what dating is. Who should I believe? Haithcock has lied to us for 14 years. David Askew (the guy I stood behind for the 6 months he ran)who sold out to us immediately after losing his first election. OR, Bob Fioretti the guy who can't remember if he had a date with someone 14 years ago. Hmmmm.

Then don't vote and have a nice trip.

Write in Mickey Mouse

What is sad is that Madeline Haithcock sold out her own people and is against Blacks. She is a truly stupid tool of Daley and political insider developers. Very sad the people lose

Even sadder that instead of working together, the black community is divided (the Jackson faction vs the old school) instead of working together. Burke, Mell, O'Connor, Banks, etc. must be laughing their azzes off.

Shhhhhhh.... Don't tell anybody, especially the you-know-who's.

Daley also laughs at the black community who can't get their act together. He has made Hispanics his preferred minorities through the HDO.

Whoever used Frank Coco's name on March 29th is using his name to email the message! Thanks to whoever responded and really knows how good of a worker Frank really was. Everyone has hard times in life, just as he did but I'm his sister and know he was pretty much a 'workaholic'. Too bad the person who wrote that is to chicken to really say who he/she is. What are you afraid of? People knowing your a gossip and probably a really miserable person.