Tackling corruption is a cornerstone of mayoral candidate Bill 'Dock' Walls' campaign. He says that if he led the city, he would make it one of his top priorities to reform city government so that the corruption he perceives as rampant would be phased out and he has a detailed plan that would include everything from subpoena power to mayoral term limits.
However, there is more to the grandfather of four than his concern for corruption. Windy City Times talked with Walls, a confidential assistant for then-Chicago Mayor Harold Washington, about HIV funding, civil unions and opponent Dorothy Brown.
Windy City Times: Why do you feel that you're qualified to be mayor?
Bill Walls: I'm the only person who is a candidate who has experience helping to build a reform government in the city of Chicago.
In 1982, I was in my second year of law school when Harold Washington announced his candidacy for mayor. I took a leave of absence from law school and helped organize the Lawyer's Committee for Harold; [ eventually, ] I became his direct assistant, traveling nationally and internationally. I sat in on 70 percent of his meetings; helped him to interview department heads; and personally established [ some ] department heads and established budget priorities for city departments. I was also his liaison to several communities, including the business community. I was his go-to guy.
I have tremendous experience. I'm competent and knowledgeable about the workings of city government.
WCT: Both you and [ mayoral candidate ] Dorothy Brown have ethics platforms, so what separates you two?
BW: The difference is that her ethics platform is cosmetic [ and involves ] things that would be at the whim of the mayor. My proposals are structural changes.
I believe that corruption in the city government begins and ends with the mayor, and as long as anyone is allowed to serve as mayor for life, there's going to be corruption. There should be term limits; no chief executive officer for the city of Chicago should serve more than two consecutive terms. Eight years and you're out.
In addition, I want the City Council Ethics Committee to have subpoena power. The committee should be able to subpoena the mayor, clerk, treasurer, aldermen, Shakman [ Decree ] -exempt employees and city contractors to find out what they knew and when they knew it, in order to ferret out corruption.
Additionally, I think that we need a whistleblower program that rewards them. We also need a financial risk bond for certain employees in certain categories. It was just reported that the city has to set aside $12 million to pay for people who were harmed because of hiring schemes. If they had financial risk bonds, the bonds would assume the responsibility; the taxpayers [ wouldn't ] .
These are permanent, structural things not cosmetic things. Integrity is an absolute commitment to truth, veracity and fair play. When you have someone who is also running for mayor who is riding around in a county vehicle on county time while running for mayor, that indicates a lack of integrity especially at a time when there are budget cutbacks in the county. Integrity is what we had during the Washington administration; I didn't abuse my authority.
The small things are indicative of the larger things. If you're willing to take liberties with the smaller things, you'll [ do the same ] with the larger things. About Brown's office...you have one employee who's suing her because she said she was fired because she wouldn't purchase fund-raising tickets. A report ( that came out about a year ago ) said that employees in her office were complaining that they were forced to buy fund-raising tickets. I don't do that; I turn down [ large amounts of ] money from contributors.
WCT: So what's the largest amount you'll accept?
BW: The most I've taken to date is $1,500.
WCT: Are you worried that you and Dorothy Brown will split the Black
vote?
BW: A lot of people seem concerned about that. I recently interviewed with the Chicago Defender, and one of the persons participating in that was Cliff Kelley. Cliff said, as a point of disclosure, that he was the head of the 2007 Reform Mayor's Search Committee and talked with all potential candidates, including Luis Guiterrez, Rev. Meeks, Dorothy Brown and myself and all declined to participate in the process ( except me ) because one of the criteria was that you had to agree to support whoever [ was chosen ] . I personally talked with Dorothy Brown; she indicated no interest in running.
Here's the interesting thing: In 1999, Miriam Santos was Daley's foe; Daley did not like her. Who ran against her in 1999? Dorothy Brown, to Daley's delight. In April 2005, Dorothy Brown was nowhere on the landscape. When I started giving Daley fits publicly, who jumps up and decides to run? Dorothy Brown. The first time is a coincidence; the second time is a pattern. Dorothy and I have been scheduled to have debates, and she's cancelled. If you're serious about running for mayor, you must want to get your message out to the public.
[ In a subsequent phone call, Walls told Windy City Times that he is not worried that he and Brown will split the African-American vote. 'I expect to receive 70 percent of the Black vote,' he said. ]
WCT: Cook County Board President Todd Stroger was recently criticized for hiring a relative. Would you ever hire one?
BW: Nepotism has gotten out of control. I wouldn't hire a relative except if that relative had a very special expertise that we couldn't find anywhere else and it was absolutely necessary to benefit the people of Chicago. Other than that, the answer is no. Nepotism is rampant throughout county government, the parks department, the county system [ and ] the water reclamation district.
WCT: What is your position on affordable housing?
BW: There is no such thing as affordable housing in the city of Chicago because more than half of the people are paying at least half of their earned income towards living expenses. What we're fighting for is moderate-income housing. I'd actually implement a moratorium on condominium conversions and development until the average person in Chicago can afford a down payment, assessments and taxes on a condo. We have to ensure diversity in Chicago; we don't want homogenous communities cropping up that are exclusive. I would establish an inclusionary-housing ordinance that would say that 15 percent of the units in buildings with 12 units or more be set aside as low- and moderate-income housing. We could also build houses on the 10,000 vacant lots in the city.
WCT: What's your advice to the HIV/AIDS advocates who wanted $1.7 million in prevention funding from city council, but who got $500,000?
BW: I fought with those advocates, and I addressed that issue before the city council. There were promises by a lot of aldermen that we would get [ the $1.7 million ] . I've been part of The Let's Talk, Let's Test Foundation for years now; I've help to organize parades and address issues that are important to the gay and lesbian community. We should've also had additional funding for HIV testing in prisons.
WCT: Are you for same-sex marriage or civil unions?
BW: I'm in favor of civil unions with full benefits to persons who declare themselves to be partners.
WCT: Daley has done a lot for the LGBT community, including voice his support for same-sex marriage, serve as honorary co-chair of the Gay Games and back various organizations? If you become mayor, what would you do for the community?
BW: Well, my job is to unify this city by promoting culture, diversity and sensitivity among people of all races, ages, sexual orientations and religions. I want to bring Chicago together as one complete community so that people don't feel the need to have different distinctions. We need to make sure that everyone is treated fairly and does not feel put upon. I will give people full support across the board. People's rights end where another person's begins.
See www.WallsForMayor.com for more info.
