Smart Development

MICHELE SMITH ON THE ISSUES

We all see the closed businesses, empty storefronts, and lack of vitality on once thriving commercial streets in our ward. I hear real fear that our neighborhood and property values are threatened because the 43rd Ward is becoming a less attractive place to live compared to other neighborhoods with flourishing retail districts. At the same time Lincoln Park Hospital, Children’s Memorial Hospital, and Finkl Steel are major fixtures in the community that are currently pending re-development. These properties are in the heart of the Ward, next to our homes in which we have made substantial investments.

Our ward will have more significant development projects in the next few years than in the last fifty. We cannot be too vigilant about making sure that the development is consistent with our vision for our neighborhood. This requires informed participation by the residents and community control of development. In the past, neighbors were often left in the dark about pending development projects or zoning changes until it was too late to evaluate whether the best interests of the community were being served. Worse, they were often handed a “done deal” with no recourse left to us at all. Neighbors have had to hire lawyers or have been forced to use high-pressure tactics to be heard.

As 43rd Ward Democratic Committeeman I have convened a citizens committee, the Clark Street Task Force, to tackle the vacancy issues on Clark Street head-on by engaging the Chamber of Commerce, local business and property owners, and neighbors.

As alderman, putting you in control of the development that goes on around you will be my guiding principle. I'll create a ward-wide planning council that represents all members of our community to draft a strategic plan for the future. And I'll introduce legislation to encourage renovation, rather than destruction, of the historic housing in our neighborhoods.