Just a friendly reminder that tonight is the night to "ask the Alderman" at 555 W. Cornelia. Be there or be square. Gather your questions for Ald. Shiller and meet in the community room of 555 W. Cornelia at 7:30pm.
Update: UU reader Eric Erdman will be tweeting from the Q&A with Ald. Shiller. Check out his live twitter feed here.
somebody call channel 2
ReplyDeleteCry Havoc and let slip the questions for Shiller.
ReplyDeleteI may have to take a walk tonight and stop by.
Perhaps I'll bring a baseball for one of her minions to hit with their baseball bat.
Does the bat travel to community meetings?
Will Brendan be there to make silly jokes about momma running people over like he did at the Truman meeting?
Does the Pope wear Gucci?
Does anyone ever expect the Spanish Inquisition?
Is Mayor Daley a leprechaun?
Am I drinking again?
belch.........
Remember, she welcomes questions from the community. During her brief "I am not a hider" tour this summer, she said her constituents are always welcome to approach her and ask her questions. Surely those weren't just empty words.
ReplyDeleteSure, you can ask questions. Just don't expect a satisfactory answer.
ReplyDeleteanybody committed to going and providing news and answers to those who cannot make it?
ReplyDeleteAnyone twittering this?
ReplyDeleteI know Helen hates the advanced technology (tends to cause a lot of problems for her)
** see video recordings of the recent gang turf wars
EITS,
ReplyDeleteI'm going - never tweeted before, but I'll give it a shot.
http://twitter.com/EricErdman
Here is the hyperlink to my twitter
ReplyDelete"Just be sure not to ask anything that would paint us in a negative light."
ReplyDeleteJust the facts.
ReplyDeleteFrom Eric's Tweets: "Ald Shiller says the gang activity is caused by people from outside the community. "
ReplyDeleteMaybe from outside her community on Carmen, but not from outside my community in Uptown.
"..... She said it was fisticuffs"
ReplyDeleteWOW, unbelievable......thanks for the Tweets Eric!
Just got back from CAPS beat 2312 meeting. There were a number of positives: Even including recent gang violence, total crime is down compared to last year (!!). Stings on Leland have greatly reduced prostitution. Thanks for the tweets Eric!
ReplyDeleteWOW! This tweet from her meeting is a virtual gold mine for anyone running against her. She literally is her own worst enemy.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad Helen has surveyed the gang members to report facts like "gang activity caused by people outside the community".
ReplyDeleteWhat firm or individual ran this poll?
Another of Eric's tweets: "Resident asked about saturation of pub housing. She says 46th is under cha thresholds for pct of pub housing. "
ReplyDeleteIf that were true, which it's not, cha would have been involved in Wilson Yard. But, we are over 20% threshold for subsidized housing. That's why she needed TIF money. Somebody please correct me if I'm wrong.
@Nicknameunavailable: Let's not forget that fewer police means fewer stats. Numbers don't always tell the whole story. Does it seem like crime is down with all the violence and shootings since the beginning of summer?
ReplyDeletePer usual, TOTAL smoke and mirrors.
ReplyDeleteIs there ever praise lavished on the 46th Ward's accomplishments? If there are/were, they are over shadowed by the pat, and oblivious responses given.
Anyone can say 'crime is down!'...but it ignores what is really going on up here.
Just curious, if anyone anyone at the meeting questioned why these rare 'town hall' meetings don't happen up here in the thick of things?
@Abhay. I'm sure Helen met with each one of the gang members involved in the 'fisticuffs' individually (and shootings that have happened since then) and asked where they currently reside.
ReplyDeleteWhere is Joe Wilson when you need him to shout out "You lie!"
@Ray
ReplyDeleteToo true. Stats can EASILY lie. The lesser crimes which make up a larger numerical portion of the totals decreased while the headline-worthy major incidents that we notice have increased. It's a bit of a catch-22: less likely to get mugged, more likely to get shot.
@Starck Mad:
The police weren't claiming things were objectively better. In fact, they seemed to have a pretty clear idea of exactly how rough things have gotten.
The takehome message was call 911. Officers are allocated at least partially based on call rate. Also, multiple calls per incident help the officers pinpoint suspects. One person calls in "red bandana" another calls in "bandana and eye patch", a third calls in "eye patch, sword and Irish accent," the picture becomes clear :p anyway...
When Helen claims the violence in our community is caused by outsiders, how come nobody ever asks her
ReplyDelete1. where she obtained data that supports her claim and will she make it available to her constituents?
2. what is attracting these "people from outside the community" to brawl and make mischief in our part of town?
NU,
ReplyDeleteI do not have an eyepatch or Irish accent. I do have a pegleg and a Chicago accent.
I don't run. I more or less stump around at a quick pace.
Geez, get it right, willya.
IP - I just want to say how much you make me smile.
ReplyDeleteDoes she still consider gang "fisticuffs" okay? Is she so unaware of what's happening in this city that she does not know that Derrion Albert was killed by gang "fisticuffs"?
ReplyDeleteIP
ReplyDeleteyou usually make me laugh but not everythying is a joke.
"Ald Shiller says the gang activity is caused by people from outside the community."
ReplyDeleteLovely.
Helen is missing the point in that it shouldn't matter if the gang activity is being caused by martians from outer space--if they keep congregating at cartain areas (Such as Lawrence/Leland/Sheridan, or the buildings on the 4400 block of Magnolia), then ignoring the matter does more harm than good.
Judging by her responses it appears she has become so delusional that she actually thinks she is helping this ward.
ReplyDeleteMy guess is that she knows she is in way over her head now days. I think she also knows that her days in office are dwindling and the ward has done what she has always tried to prevent...grow. Cheap lakefront property is a valuable thing in this city, and she couldn't hold out forever. Twenty years as a slumlord sure is impressive though.
The funny thing about the whole Wilson Yard project is the irony. She went against her beliefs (bringing in a major retailer) so she could have a few more votes come election time. In the end those extra votes will be drawfed by the number of voters who are pissed about what she has created.
"Just curious, if anyone anyone at the meeting questioned why these rare 'town hall' meetings don't happen up here in the thick of things?"
ReplyDeleteShe mentioned to an individual after the meeting that "I love to do these things! I will speak where ever I am invited."
Maybe block clubs in the 2312 and 2313 beats can invite her to a quarterly meeting or something similar to what the Belmont Harbor Neighbors club put together. Just a thought!
Who uses the term "fisticuffs" anymore anyway? It was a damn brawl in the middle of the street. Totally unacceptable in any ward.
ReplyDeleteShe must have though that by using a commonly unused term she would sound more intelligent. Shillerspeak.
Ken,
ReplyDeleteI hope that other "irishpirate" from outside the neighborhood didn't offend you too much. It's people from outside the neighborhood who cause the fisticuffs on this board.
On a more serious note, there ya go Ken, Shiller is nuts or lying or a lying nut if she thinks the folks doing the street dancing are from outside the hood.
I'm sure a percentage of them are bangers from other hoods visiting their compatriots, but the majority clearly live in the hood. Some may not "officially" live here, but they are just "staying" with their banger buddies long term.
The horrible thing is Shiller seems to consider the condo owners a bigger threat and meaner gang that these "visitors".
Hey, I just thought about the benefit of importing some bangers. Who says we don't have outsiders visiting our thriving business districts!
Take that Insane Condo Owner Mighty Nation bangers!
Since "discount rates" are more in my line of work, I'd love to hear more about it.
ReplyDeleteIf the gang riots with swinging golf clubs and baseball bats are "attempted fisticuffs," then...
ReplyDelete... are the recent shootings just "boyish games of cowboys and Indians"?
... is the recent car fire just "kids playing with matches their parents careless left around"?
She is truly, truly delusional. She just doesn't see that people are afraid for their lives in Uptown. It's breath-taking, actually.
Can't WAIT for Election Day 2011!
@TrumanSquare:
ReplyDeleteOh, Helen sees it alright. She just doesn't agree nor does she care. Remember, the advice of her and her staff is to move if you don't like what she terms as a normal part of life in the city.
For each person who heeds her advice, there is one less vote she has to be concerned about. I just hope enough people are sticking around and fed up with her and her pet projects solely designed to increase her voting base.
She mentioned to an individual after the meeting that "I love to do these things! I will speak where ever I am invited."
ReplyDeleteShe also said that she doesn't attend public meetings because of the backlash she receives from her political opponents.
Once again, she can't square the truth.
Abhay,
ReplyDeleteThe discount rate example offered by Ald Shiller was that some city assets (water) have known future value, while others (parking), have less certain value (my words: we may all be using flying saucers in 75 years, after all, but we'll all drink water). Need to check a few things before posting further on this...