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Helen’s Voters
Democracy at work in the 46th Ward
By Ben Joravsky
March 30, 2007
POLITICS IN UPTOWN boils down to one woman: Helen Shiller, the long-serving alderman of the 46th Ward. And depending on your position on the political spectrum you either love her or hate her.
Personally I don’t understand why she stirs up so much passion. Shiller’s basically a pleasant person who oversees an effective ward service operation and is committed to liberal causes—like gay rights and gun control—that generally go over big on the lakefront. Her critics say she’s keeping Uptown a slum by making it hard for developers to put up their projects, but with real estate prices rising and buildings going condo left and right—as Harold Henderson points out elsewhere in this issue, the percentage of lots occupied by condos increased by 102 percent in the 90s—it’s hard to buy their case.
At the risk of generating dozens of screechy e-mails, I think it all comes down to good old-fashioned class warfare. Shiller’s made it clear there will always be a place for the poor in Uptown and some people can’t abide that. She says her cause is justice; her foes say she keeps the poor in Uptown so she can control their votes. “Shiller’s main motive was that she was building a political power base which included as many winos as she could drag to the voting booth,” columnist Mike Royko once wrote.
Funny, but not really fair: in a city notorious for its corruption, neither Shiller nor anyone in her organization has ever been indicted, much less convicted, for the sort of illegal electioneering alluded to by Royko. She’s not a lawyer; she doesn’t run an insurance or real estate business on the side. Clearly she’s not in politics to make money, although it looks as though her son, Brendan Shiller, is carrying on that great Chicago tradition in which the relatives of powerful politicians become zoning lawyers.
Some of the animosity against her is a remnant of the culture wars of the 1960s and 1970s. Born and raised in New York City and educated at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Shiller came to Uptown in the early 70s as part of a vanguard of shaggy-haired radicals looking to change the world. Within a few years she and her comrades had created the Heart of Uptown Coalition, which oversaw health and legal clinics, distributed clothes and meals to the poor, and freaked out older white residents by aligning itself with the Black Panthers. In 1977 the group officially moved into local politics by running Shiller for alderman. In those days the ward was controlled by hard-nosed Democratic operatives who’d started in politics under the first Mayor Daley and were not about to let this crowd take over without a fight. She lost by 1,000 votes.
I’ve witnessed eight 46th Ward aldermanic campaigns since then, and though Shiller has won every one since 1987, when she ousted incumbent Jerry Orbach by 498 votes, they’ve all been pretty much the same. The ward, which encompasses a good chunk of Uptown, is more or less divided between wealthier lakefront high-rise voters who are alarmed by Shiller’s rhetoric and poorer blacks, whites, and Latinos who rally to it. Each side tries to scare its voters into turning out by demonizing the other. They yell at each other; they tear down each other’s signs; there are accusations of cheating. If there are more than two candidates in the race, it comes down to a bitterly fought runoff in which every vote is precious. (After Shiller’s initial victory, I watched her jubilant supporters wolf down Popeyes chicken and jokingly congratulate one another on the “landslide.”)
The current Mayor Daley took office in 1989 and wanted Shiller out—she was one of the only aldermen to vote against his budgets. In 1991 he endorsed Mike Quigley (now a Cook County Board member), who moved to Uptown specifically to beat her. But Quigley made the fatal mistake of allowing his campaign to be hijacked by thick-necked southwest-side galoots who stood on street corners grunting and passing out palm cards. In the end they made him look like the carpetbagging puppet Shiller said he was. She won 53 percent of the vote in the runoff and he moved back to Lakeview.
In 1995 Shiller had a relatively easy time, taking 57 percent of the vote against the underfunded campaign of policeman Bob Kuza. But in ’99 Daley’s local allies tried a new tack. Figuring Shiller had the strongest support among black voters, who make up over 20 percent of the ward, they ran a black high school English teacher named Sandra Reed. This too went to a runoff and once again Daley brought in his goons. Uptown residents (black voters included) rallied around Shiller, who won 55 percent of the vote.
It became obvious that Shiller was unbeatable at the polls, so a new strategy was proposed—to use the 2001 redistricting to carve out those precincts in which she was strongest. But none of the adjacent aldermen—Bernie Hanson in the 44th, Eugene Schulter in the 47th, Mary Ann Smith in the 48th—wanted “Helen’s voters” and the ward stayed roughly the same.
Reed ran again in 2003, but by then Shiller and Daley had reached an understanding—if she backed him he would not only back her, he would endorse her years-old plan to develop Wilson Yard, a vacant lot just west of the Red Line, into a Target and affordable residential high-rises. They announced their mutual support, the galoots stayed home, and Shiller won with about 58 percent. She’s been a fairly reliable Daley ally ever since, and in 2004 the mayor gave her virtual control over the Wilson Yard Tax Increment Financing District project, allowing her to do what she wants with the $26.5 million generated by that TIF to partially fund the $113 million development.
Shiller’s opponents—updating an old theme—accused her of using the Wilson Yard project to cram the area with poor people to maintain her political base. They settled on a social worker named James Cappleman to run against her in February, but she defeated him with 54 percent of the vote. (Daley, who won with almost 72 percent of the vote citywide,
got 79 percent in the 46th.) In his
concession speech, Cappleman was already talking about running again in 2011. Good luck.
After more than three decades in the trenches, Shiller has become a little like those old Democratic regulars she and her radical pals worked so hard to replace. She’s a street-smart politician who knows how to get out her vote and knows enough to support a mayor named Daley.  Send a letter to the editor.
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MV_44 at 12:34 PM on 8/5/2008
I NEITHER AM FOR OR AGAINST SHILLER. BUT AS A RESIDENT OF UPTOWN. I MUST SAY SHE REALLY DOES SPEND ALL OF HER ENERGY ON GETTING VOTES AND LITTLE OR NONE ON ACTUALLY RUNNING THE WARD. STATE SEN. STEANS AND HARRIS DO MUCH MORE ON THE LOCAL LEVEL THAN SHE HAS IN YEARS AND FOR THE FIRST TIME I'M THINKING ABOUT GIVING MY "POOR" VOTE ELSEWHERE!
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Juan Antonio at 12:13 AM on 8/22/2008
Ben,
Helen Shiller keeps poor people poor so she can stay in office. Her "help" are handouts that will never leave people better off in the long term.
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dave Burg at 2:46 PM on 10/9/2008
This story is a joke.
Shiller is a joke.
Maybe, the author should spend more than a day in Uptown, read the blogs, and take a moment to synthesize all the clout and negativity surrounding her lack of leadership - - - - and perhaps then write a story that's at the very least BALANCED.
Screw Shiller and all her corruptness!
Screw this author and their left-wing agenda!
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Drew Dawson at 5:43 PM on 10/15/2008
Ben,
Just a few points on your opinion piece.
That $26.5 million for the Wilson Yard is actually more like $50 million now - high above the percentage allowed and what has ever been applied to a TIF project.
The project, which has been promised and plagued for over a decade now, currently consists of using what could possibly be the worst "affordable" housing model ever: low, moderately low and extremely low income units (costing near the tune of $500k each!) and senior housing (for seniors on fixed incomes...more poverty). Anyone who works at the CHA or has any connection to housing and urban development can tell you that such a concentration of poverty is a death sentence for the area and the residents. Plainly put, it is a horrible project for Uptown that has gone from bad to worse.
Uptown has seen a dramatic spike in all crime this past year, especially violent crimes such as murders. Shiller and her representatives have not only failed to address most of these incidents, but they have gone on record to actually harass and belittle constituents who go to her office seeking answers or just to speak with their elected official who is paid with their tax dollars.
So what if she is "liberal"? So what is she got the support of Daley? The bottom line is that she is out of touch, corrupt and no longer a reliable, transparent public servant.
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jw at 3:05 PM on 11/4/2008
I commend Shiller for keeping Chicago real. If she was in it for herself, she could have had contractors completely rebuild the neighborhood - as a landgrab for the rich (while getting a kickback like most of the other scum alderman in this city). She is a voice of the poor and the drug addicted. She believes that they deserve to stay in their neighborhood. If you don't like it there - go move to Hinsdale, Naperville, Lincoln Park, or some other place where there is no tolerance or love for those who need it most.
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MH at 12:29 AM on 11/7/2008
I think it is commendable to have a heart for the disenfranchised. At the same time, if you are trying to have a diverse community you cannot employ practices that ostracize the well-off as well, because that will help create a rift between the two. A safe community is not much to ask for but it typically requires concern for ones community. The problem with the low income housing is that the folks that are parts of this program have probably been displaced more than once and therefore don't feel connected to their home. There is typically a parallel with fatherless homes and that is a whole different issue, but again the youth needs to also feel a sense of worth. Just providing a place for low-income residents to live is not enough. Programs need to be put in place to give people something to hope and work for. That is the tough hurdle, because apathy is always the easier path, and in this case it works both ways.
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Juan Antonio at 4:01 PM on 1/6/2009
JW,
Funny you should mention kickbacks from contractors. Isn't Peter Holsten a developer? A developer that is going to benefit the most from Wilson Yard? Hasn't he CONSISTENTLY donated to Shiller's office? Say... doesn't he live in Hinsdale? Funny how you claim that Shiller isn't accepting kickbacks but yet accepts them from the very same places you think we should move.
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ds at 12:20 PM on 1/12/2009
You may not agree with Shiller's politics but she has maintained a commitment to fairness for disenfranchised people for 40 years. She is not corrupt, and even her enemies know this - they can't stand it. She works for the people as a true public servant is supposed to. These characteristics are applauded except when it comes to NIMBY. If you can't stand the sight of poor people or the mentally ill you shouldn't have moved to Uptown! They were thre before you and deserve a place to live also. But now your overpriced condo is worth way less than you paid for it isn't it? I guess you're going to blame Helen for that also.
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dave burg at 11:52 AM on 1/22/2009
Yo DS.
Clearly you do not live in the 46th ward. Shiller has earned a reputation for having zero transparency with her constituents.
It seems that the only person she seems willing to address is Peter Holsten --- a commercial developer who is getting rich off of our tax-funded TIF that is flipping the bill for a giant development at Montrose and Broadway for which Shiller refuses to comment on ---- and we (the concerned tax base of uptown) are suing over (FixWilsonYard.com. Now there's a story to report on....and it wreaks of corruption.
Oh and ds, yeah my condo has probably lost a little value (whose hasn't in this economy?), but when Shiller is voted out in 2011, I expect Uptown to change drastically for the good.
There's a lot of cool stuff happening up in my hood...
And there's a lot of good, tax paying, hard working people who are pissed that Shiller has stood in the way of the neighborhood's momentum toward restoring safety, cleanliness, and a uniquely exuberant energy.
The murky grip of Shiller has almost made it a surreal historical footnote, that Uptown was at one time the most happening neighborhood on the north side. It was crappy governance that pushed it into decay...and it was Shiller who used the northern most end of the ward as a petri dish for her freak show of a personal agenda. Yes, the poor deserve help - but concentrating dozens of social services in one area is just unfair to all parties.
When the southport corridor was able to separate themselves from the 46th ward - well, we all know what happened - the neighborhood there is beautiful, safe, and thriving now.
Shiller keeps things ghetto in Uptown because ghetto is good for her business.
The problem is that Sheridan park and Buena Park are far from ghetto....and we've had it with her!!!
Down with Shiller! The author of this article blows!!! And bleeding hearts like ds make me sick!!!
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HiRizeSam at 9:58 PM on 2/6/2009
Who said Daley gave that TIF to Helen?
He may have let her play with it but he gave it to Holsten. He gave Bryn Mawr to Holsten but Mary Ann Smith gets to play with it.
How about Cabrini Green? He gave that to Hinsdale Holsten too. Lot of naive bloggers here. DALEY RULES!
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James Cappleman at 11:22 PM on 4/19/2009
"Shiller’s opponents—updating an old theme—accused her of using the Wilson Yard project to cram the area with poor people to maintain her political base." - Joravsky
I won't speak for others, but if you looked at my campaign literature and my website, I never said any such thing. I never played into the "us versus them" approach that many, including the press, keep bringing up over and over again. I kept the focus on the shared values found among people of all different income levels.
I remain a strong advocate of sound urban planning, community involvement in decisions that directly affect them, and reform to stop the pay to play politics that is so prevalent in Chicago. I believe that residents from all economic backgrounds want a safer neighborhood, which is why both my partner and I are very involved with CAPS.
Ald. Shiller had campaign literature that alluded that I was a member of the Klan, that said I wanted to round up all the neighborhood kids and have them arrested on site, that I wanted to rid the neighborhood of all subsidized housing, that I wanted to close down the local high school, and that I was against all job training. The fact that my entire adult career has been in the helping profession (an inner city school teacher, a Franciscan friar, and now a social worker) didn't matter. It also meant nothing that I had once founded a homeless shelter and that I was the recipient of the Dr. Martin Luther King Humanitarian Award from U of C Medical Center.
I was critized not for what I said, but for what some people who were not involved in my campaign said. By all means, I invite and encourage the press to be critical of me. Just keep it focused on what I've said rather than what was said by people who never worked on my campaign. I don't expect Ald. Shiller to be fair. I do expect that of the Reader.
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FGFM at 11:23 AM on 6/16/2009
Nice to see Cappleman try to have the last word here a couple of years after the article was written. He might be a nice enough guy and Shiller is past her "sell-by" date, but he does get the support of the bigots in the ward and appears to think that that's OK as long as he doesn't say anything bigoted himself.
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