Tom Tunney, alderman of Chicago's 44th ward, received a most public gift this past holiday season: no political opponents.
Four years after running against several candidates for his seat, Tunney finds himself unopposed in the primary election that will take place on Feb. 27.
'Last time [ in 2003 ] , it was much more contested,' he told Windy City Times on Christmas Day at his restaurant, Ann Sather ( on Belmont ) , where he was helping to prepare meals. 'It was unofficially an open seat because [ then-alderman ] Bernie [ Hansen ] had retired for health reasons and I had been appointed about a month before. There were four other candidates. ... This is my early Christmas present.'
When asked if he thought that the lack of opponents signified the community's confidence in him, Tunney responded, 'I hope so. I think people feel that services are being provided for the entire community. We managed a lot of difficult issues regarding Wrigley Field. We also had a controversial plan with St. Joe's [ Hospital ] that involved the property and it did work out. I think it's important that our institutions work with our community, but we need them in the community, too; they're major job generators but they can also be good businesses. I'm also concerned about the mechanics of running the ward, like lighting and street improvements.'
Tunney said that he will deal with a variety of issues in his next term. 'There's the new police station that will be at Halsted and Waveland; it's currently in the land-acquisition phase and won't be ready until '09,' he said. 'Plus, the Center [ on Halsted ] opening in 2007 will be huge and great for the neighborhood. The new Dominick's [ grocery store ] site has been approved. There will be a new Jewel [ grocery store ] on Southport. And we have to get through this CTA mess [ with a revamped station being built near Belmont and Sheffield ] ; we haven't had the closures yet in the 44th ward. We also want to landmark some more buildings; last time, we landmarked Wrigley Field; the 800 and 900 blocks of Newport; the 800 and 1000 blocks of Oakdale; the 2800 block of Pine Grove; and the 400 and 500 blocks of Surf. We completed our master plan for our ward.'
When asked about the condo developments that are seemingly going up everywhere, Tunney replied that 'one of the issues is affordability. We have no new rentals going up, which is not good. Not everyone can afford or choose to be a homeowner. However, we're redoing some areas for affordability, and we'd like to have gay and lesbian senior housing in our ward.'
Tunney also discussed tackling environmental and school-related issues in his next term: 'There's the green space behind Roscoe's, which should be complete next year. We're also working with all the schools in the ward in terms of providing more green space in the schools, which is good for the community. Also, we want to take a very serious interest in the success of our schools [ by ] working with our principals to make sure that people who want to raise families can stay. If you don't have good schools, they won't stay.'