The summary below is our write-up up from a NEAR meeting held last week which hosted two alderman candidates – Natarus and Reilly. We will publish the Natarus summary in an upcoming installment.

Reilly served with the state legislature for several years with the environment and energy committee in the hours. He is currently on unpaid leave of absence from AT&T where he is an executive. Reilly has lived in the 42nd ward for three and a half years and prior to that lived in River North for three years.
 
In his closing statements Reilly acknowledged Natarus’ long and distinguished career and that Natarus may have more powerful friends than he has.
 
He stated that the Alderman’s responsibility is the repond to all consituent concerns with specific answers. He promised to have regular office hours and said that he doesn’t believe phone calls to the Alderman’s office are currently being returned consistently.
 
He said that as part of his campaign he did not accept any contributions from developers, a challege he says that his opponent did not accept. Reilly believes he has creative ideas and further stated that he has won the endorsement from both the firefighters and police.

www.ReillyforChicago.com 

Last question posed to candidates for alderman at last week’s NEAR meeting. 

What is your position on the extension of the pedway which was approved by the city council in 1969 and reapproved by the council in 1979, 1993, and 2001?
 
Ward outlined several documents including ammendments to Planned Development #70 over the years, perhaps the most important of which was the Lakeshore East development which stated that it is not responsible for connecting the pedway to the existing buildings. However, according to Ward, the previous documents are binding and require that the LSE build the pedway for the entire neighborhood.
 
Natarus stated that Chicago’s Corporate Counsel does not agree with Ward’s interpretation. Natarus recommended that Ward or advocates in the community get an independent legal opinion and the Natarus would himself introduce an ordinance if he can get a legal opinion agreeing with Ward’s interpretation.
 
Reilly agreed with the Alderman about wanting a legal opinion. He went on that it happens all too often that a developer is allowed to change language. He said that in meetings the the Alderman is responsible for advocating for the average citizen. Reilly said that he is willing to work with the neighborhood to explore some possibilities and believes that Corporate Counsel should produce an opinion.

Fourth of five questions posed to Aldermanic candidates at a recent NEAR meeting. 

What actions will you take to ensure construction & opening of the new elementary school in the New Eastside and how do you see our community involved in the process?
 
Ward outlined three possible locations within the Lakeshore East development. The first was what was originally approved in 2001 as part of the PD #70 ammendment. This location is in the northeast corner Lakeshore East park.
 
The other two locations are just north of the park. The school could be placed in the lot between the Lancaster and the Shoreham buildings. However, there are walls on all four sides which would limit the light and windows, especially at the lower levels. The final proposed location could be next to the Tides building currently under construction. It would be just west of the Tides between the parking structure and the fire station.
 
It was Reilly turn to respond to this question first. Reilly explained that the developer has agreed to put up half of the money to build the school, which has roughly a $5 million dollar price tag. He noted that people have moved into the neighborhood in anticipation of a new school and that the Chicago Public School system depends on the state for funding. He said that the new school should have been taken care of a long time ago and that the community will be involved in questions such as where to site the school and what it should look like.
 
Natarus mentioned that he had insisted that Lakeshore East put in the requirement for a school. Three months ago the City of Chicago passed a bond issue that has money for the school. He said that the state is not funding the school, the city is funding the school. It is his opinion that the original location, in the northeast corner of the park is the best location. He said that building against the garage (either of the other two locations) is “ludicrous”. He assured attendees that the school will be built and that he is very much in favor of the school and supported the bond issue.

Third of five questions presented to the Aldermanic candidates at a NEAR meeting last week. 

What plans do you have with the Chicago Park District to secure funding to improve the physical condition of they Daley Bi-Centennial Plaza Fieldhouse and do you have any timetable for the improvements?
 
Reilly recommended that he would try to get money from the state for the renovation and mentioned that he has a good relationship with our State Representative.
 
Natarus was careful not to make promises he could not keep but pomised to be creative about finding a solution for this. He suggested that the developer of the next high-rise that is put up in the area could be asked to chip in with a contribution for the renovation. He mentioned that the Park District does not have a good funding mechanism. He said that this is a top priority but that he will make no false promises.

This is the first of five questions presented to the Aldermanic candidates last week at a meeting hosted by NEAR.

If the Children’s Museum relocates from its current home at Navy Pier, do you have any locations you support or oppose?
 
The Chicago Children’s Museum (CCM) originally planned to move to the Daley Fieldhouse location; however the proposal met fierce opposition from local residents. Ward showed photographs of the Fieldhouse and the new proposed location at the NE corner of Columbus and Monro. The mentioned that concern has been expressed about having the CCM move into Grant Park would open the floodgates to more museums moving into Grant Park. Ward outlined however how only one other location in Grant Park, also along the north side of Monro Dr. could be suitable for a “below-grade” building.
 
Natarus mentioned that the Monro Dr. location was recommended by Daley. A number of organizations oppose putting the museum on Monro Dr. such as the the Grant Park Advisory Council (GPAC) and Friends of Grant Park. Natarus says he sees two possibilities: they could try relocating the Children’s Museum down to the Museum Campus by the Shedd Aquarium or they might stay put at Navy Pier.
 
Reilly agreed with Natarus that the Museum Campus is a good location and that he does not like the Monro Dr. location.

This is the first of five questions presented to the Aldermanic candidates last week at a meeting hosted by NEAR and moderated by NEAR President Richard Ward. Stay tuned this week as our complete report is posted. 

What plans do you have to minimize disruption of the neighborhood during the Monro Street garage renovation?

Richard Ward presented photographs of the state of the garage’s deterioration and reported that from his observation it was his opinion that there is a need to rebuild the garage. The garage was originally constructed back in 1976 or 1978. The garage is rectangular and encompasses the entire block bounded by Randolph St., Columbus Dr., Monro Dr., and the walkway where Lake Shore Drive used to be twenty some years ago, i.e. the Cancer Survivors Plaza. The northeast corner is approximately where the playground is next to the skating rink and the Daley Fieldhouse.

It is a large area and during the construction all of the following will likely be disrupted at one point or another: the children’s playground, skating rink, tennis courts, the BP/Gehry bridge and possibly access to the Daley Fieldhouse.

Reilly noted that the Fieldhouse will not be torn down or displaced as part of the garage reconstruction. His suggestion was that he would recommend to phase in reconstruction of the garage if financially feasible.

Natarus stated that the reconstruction will be done in phases under the supervision of the transportation department and that he will do everything he can to minimize the dust and debris caused by the construction.

A NEAR meeting was held in the hospitality room on the seventh floor in Outer Drive East (400 East Randolph) Wednesday night, January 31st.

NEAR invited the three candidates for 42nd Ward Alderman to attend and answer questions regarding neighborhood issues. Mike “Libby” Libert could not make the meeting as he was not feeling well. Brendan Reilly and current Alderman Burton Natarus did make the meeting and were the center of attention for most of the evening.

The three candidate’s web sites and their position on the ballot are listed below:

Brendan Reilly – http://www.reillyforchicago.com/ #51
Ald. Burton Natarus – http://www.natarus.com/ #52
Mike Libert – http://www.libby2007.com/ #53

NEAR president Richard Ward prepared five key questions, introduced the issues and presented slides and photographs, and moderated the evening’s discussion. In a series of upcoming posts we will recap the questions presented to the candidates as well as their opening and closing statements.

Also, an annoucement was made that Howard Adlin is moving to Florida and will leave his position as NEAR treasurer, a position in which he has served for many years.

Elections are coming up for Chicago Mayor, Clerk, Treasurer and Alderman. It is a Municipal General Election to be held on February 27th. A full list of candidates can be seen on the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners web site at
http://www.chicagoelections.com/docs/CandidateBalOrder.pdf. (If this link above does not work you can view Google’s cache of the document in html format by going to here and clicking on View As HTML).

There are a few challengers to Richard M. Daley for Mayor including William Walls, III; Syron M. Smith, and Dorothy A. Brown.

Alderman Burton F. Natarus of the 42nd Ward which includes the New Eastside neighborhood and much of downtown and Grant Park faces two challengers: Brendan Reilly and Mike “Libby” Libert.
You can verify that you are registered and also find the forms to send in to register on the Chicago Elections website. See: http://www.chicagoelections.com/voter_registration_form.htm

also visit ericfrost.com