While temperatures outside were cold, things were heating up inside Disney Elementary Magnet School, 4140 N. Marine, on Jan. 31 as 46th Ward incumbent Helen Shiller and challenger James Cappleman battled it out over key issues like safety and crime; development; affordable housing; government corruption; the Wilson 'L' station; and several other issues.
The debate was hosted by the League of Women Voters, sponsored by Uptown Chicago Commission and Organization of the Northeast and co-sponsored by Uptown Neighbors Council and Lakefront Action Coalition.
Each candidate was allowed two minutes for opening statements, followed by a series of prepared questions, questions from community organizations, and audience questions. Shiller and Cappleman had one minute each to respond. All questions were directed to both candidates, and the order of speaking was alternated. At the end of the debate Shiller and Cappleman were each given one minute each for closing statements.
In his opening statements, Cappleman said, '…Our current alderman has ignored the obvious issues that are striking this community. I believe each of you, no matter where you live, deserves retail that is vibrant…we need to develop an ongoing commitment to public safety, not just the pretense before an election. You deserve regular, honest and on-going communication and information about what's going on in your neighborhood. You deserve this, but you have not been getting it. The retail in this ward has remained stagnate during her entire 20 years in office. Just look at all the empty storefronts along North Broadway. Look at the Wilson 'L' station. The last three elections our alderman has promised a new 'L' station is just around the corner; 2007 will be no different. There has been rampant gang and drug activity…this winter there's been three gang related shootings. One incident involved the use of a semi-automatic weapon…. After 20 years it's time for a change.
Shiller's statement said, 'I love this city. I love our ward. I love the neighborhoods in our ward. I love the diversity of our communities. What we've done here in 20 years is truly amazing. I think I live in a different place than my opponent…I was told it was impossible to use …development to bring services into our ward, which we had none of. When I first became Alderman, we had two hundred vacant lots, nearly 100 vacant buildings, less than a quarter of the street lights that we have now…we now have hardly any vacant lots, the occasional abandoned building that's in the process of being redeveloped…we had crime that was unbearable that in spite of the fact that we continue to address some issues of crime, we have improved the crime rate. It's improved multiple…. This is an on-going process and one that has involved everybody here. But, what we've done is been able to ensure that we continue to have a diverse community, improve quality of life for everyone, an inclusive opportunity for everyone to participate in doing so. I am very hopeful that as we go into the next term, we'll be able to get past a lot of this negativity and be able to do even more.
The rest of the evening followed along the same lines as the parties' opening statements, with Cappleman pointing out what he believes are the failures of Shiller to act, and Shiller pointing to what she believes to be successes over her 20 years in office. At times, responses were heated, with each candidate taking potshots at one another.
Applause for each candidate was resounding, and had there been an applaud-o-meter, it would have been a tough call on who won the debate. Audience reactions to the debate weremixed.
Supporters of Shiller pointed to her successes in bringing change to the neighborhood and City Hall through her persistence and work with Mayor Daley, specifically concerning the budget. One audience member said Shiller cares about the details, and that she has been in office for 20 years for a reason.
Cappleman's backers said that they are ready for a change, believing Shiller hasn't done as much as she could to help the neighborhood. One audience member said that if he performed at the level Shiller has, he would not still have his job.
There were also several mumbles that the debate really didn't reveal that much as far as how either Shiller or Cappleman would change the 46th Ward. Many people seemed to be walking away without their questions answered.
What follows are a few of the questions and each candidate's responses from the debate.
The 46th ward is very diverse ethnically, racially and economically, with much tension across those differences. What is your vision for how those differences should evolve in the ward, and how would you promote your vision?
HS: I think actually we have far less tension than people make out. This is a great neighborhood with people from all different backgrounds. Diversity, I think, does not equal or mean tension. We've got economic diversity, ethnic and racial diversity. There two different types of diversities and we maintain both of them. We maintain economic diversity through our on going efforts at affordability. We maintain cultural, ethnic and racial diversity through our commitment to, experience, reality and strengthening our many cultural institutions…we have extraordinarily rich cultural and social institutions.
JC: One of the reasons my partner Richard and I decided to move to the 46th ward was because we were drawn to the rich diversity of the people here. It's the diversity that gives the ward its strength, character and potential. During the incumbents 20 years in office I believe she's emphasized the differences rather than what unites the community. If you disagree with her, she may be known to tell you to move to Lincoln Park. As your Alderman I will give a voice to all the stakeholders in the community by focusing on our shared values that we have to make this community a better place for all.
How will you rehabilitate the Wilson 'L' station and when?
JC: As I recall, in 1995 we were supposed to have it rehabilitated, and then in 1999 it was just right around that corner, and 2003 it was right around the corner and now I'm hearing 2007, and I'm starting to question that. I would use TIF funds to help do that. The Urban Land Institute did a study on Uptown and the 46th ward area and they said, very strongly, that the Wilson L, Lawrence and Sheridan, those are the welcoming centers for the area. That's the first impression of the ward. So, it's vital that we use TIF [ tax-increment financing ] funds and that we also work with the city, state, and federal government to make sure that it's clean, safe and encourages people to start using the 'L' again.
HS: Mr. Cappleman, if you came as a representative of the Uptown Chicago Commission to the Wilson Yard Task force meetings, you would know what's going on with the Wilson station. I will tell you now. The Wilson Yard task force has been in existence for 7 years … the Wilson Yard station was originally supposed to be slated for rehabilitation before I was alderman. Before I became alderman, the money was taken away and transferred to another station where there was an emergency, then brought back at my insistence, as I recall in the 1999. The work was actually begun. They started working on the tracks and then they realized two things, one that they needed to spend some of that money somewhere else, but the other…that the tracks were not properly engineered to go into the 21st century. So they decided they had to redesign it. They are in the redesign process. Everyone knows that. They've been doing it for almost two years now and there is a schedule for that.
The Lakeview Action Coalition has been working for several years with the police commanders in the 19th and 23rd districts through town-hall-style meetings and community actions to alleviate the problem of police abuse and harassment of the homeless and LGBT youth in our community. Mayor Daley has recently fired the head of the office of professional standards, but the problem persists. As alderman, what would you do to ensure that abusive police in the community are held accountable for their behavior?
JC: The problem persists because too many people are playing the blame game. Sometimes they blame the police, sometimes the GLBT youth, they'll blame social services [ and ] the bar owners along Halsted. The pointing of fingers prevents us from working well together to address this issue. As your Alderman I will work with the various social services agencies, police, business community, LGBT community, other residents and most of all CAPS. Working together to focus on solutions, rather than finding someone to blame, will be the route of success. I will use the same approach that I have always used in my line of work.
HS: Since I've been alderman we've done several contracts for the police. One of the things the police unit asks aldermen often is 'Will you get involved in the negotiations?' It's not appropriate for us to be directly involved in negotiations, but it is appropriate to look at the contract up front, meet with the people that are going to be doing the negotiations and ask them to make changes that we think will make things work better. One of the things that a couple of us have done for the last few contracts has been ask the negotiators to get changes in the language complaints are tracked…I know there were one or two officers that were consistently being the ones that there were problems with. In that regard, it's my understanding that neither of them is any longer working in the district, but I think the issue is, how do we have accountability before? We do it in the contract and we've gotten some of that.