Four gear up for 25th Ward February
Aldermanic election
By Vivian Malli
Voters in the 25th Ward will see some familiar faces in the February 2007 Aldermanic race. Two candidates, former Alderman Ambrosio Medrano and community activist Cuauhtemoc Morfin, are challenging incumbent Alderman Daniel Solis.
Medrano currently serves as Republican committeeman for the 25th Ward and is seeking to reclaim the post of Alderman, which he held from 1991 to 1996 before he was convicted of bribery.
Morfin, who has lived in Pilsen for 25 years, is vice president of the Local School Council at Benito Juarez Community Academy. He holds a bachelor's degree in political science from Northern Illinois University. Owner of a nutrition bar and fitness center on 21st and Halsted Streets, he works as a juvenile probation officer and serves as vice president of the United Merchants of Pilsen Chamber of Commerce.
He is running because he feels “we are in great need of new blood, new leadership," said Morfin. "We need an Alderman that’s been elected by the people of the 25th Ward and that’s willing to represent the needs of our community.We are ready for a change and to move on.”
Solis believes his ten-year record of supporting the ward’s booming economy and improving the standard of living will stand out in voters’ eyes.
“In the last ten years, most people in the neighborhoods I represent have seen an improved quality of life," Solis said. "Crime has dropped steadily year after year in my ward. In the industrial corridor alone, there have been 3,000 new jobs brought in.”
Appointed president pro tempore (vice-mayor) of the City Council in 2001, Solis points proudly to the ward’s vitality.
“New businesses have come in and provided tax revenue for the city and the neighborhood," he continued. "The new housing, produce market, and shopping development in University Village didn’t exist when I came in. New schools have been built and schools have been expanded. Ten additional acres of green space have been added to the ward since I’ve been Alderman.”
Solis, who serves on seven City Council committees (Police and Fire; Human Relations; Budget and Government Operations; Committees; Rules and Ethics; Finance; and Education), recently won historical landmark status for more than 4,000 properties in Pilsen, which will help homeowners freeze their property taxes and raise their property values.
Solis vowed to make community safety his chief priority if elected to another term. He plans to install pod surveillance cameras in Chinatown’s retail district and Pilsen’s parks. He also hopes to increase pedestrian safety through a $2.3 million streetscaping project on Taylor Street between Ogden and Western Avenues that will bring new cul-de-sacs designed to reduce automobile speeding.
If re-elected, Solis plans to continue bringing affordable housing to the ward through an agreement with developers to set aside 21% of newly constructed units as affordable housing. He also has partnered with the Resurrection Project to develop affordable townhouses at 17th Street and Damen Avenue and a nearby senior housing and recreation center.
For Chinatown, Solis is securing more funding for the Ping Tom Park area to stimulate new housing and business development.
Medrano and Morfin have criticized Solis for switching his vote on the Big Box Living Wage ordinance, which would have forced mega-retailers with at least $1 billion in gross annual sales to pay workers in Chicago a minimum wage of $10 per hour and an additional $3 per hour in benefits by 2010. Solis initially voted for the ordinance, but after Mayor Richard M. Daley vetoed it, Solis voted not to override the veto.
According to a statement by Medrano, "If he [Solis] was in touch with his community, he would know that a majority of people who reside in the 25th Ward are not only two-job holders but three-job holders, in some cases, just to try to pay the rent, pay for food, pay electricity, gas, and make a decent living. He was told what to do. This is an issue that points to the character of the individual." Medrano could not be reached for further comment.
Morfin has been active in Benito Juarez High School’s expansion project, slated for completion in January 2009.
“I thought that the funds [for Benito Juarez expansion] had been allocated ten years ago, but nothing had been done," Morfin said. "I took it upon myself to organize the community, the students, parents, and teachers. We started putting a lot of pressure on the Alderman and the Board of Education. It was a tough battle. Finally, the expansion is taking place and now [Solis] is taking credit for it. That’s very typical.”
If elected, Morfin aims to change how the City calculates price maximums for new affordable housing units, which are based on a percentage of the County’s median income.
“The median income is not $42,000 as they say," Morfin said. "It’s more like $26,000 to $27,000 in the 25th Ward.”
Morfin feels even affordable housing is too expensive, especially for lifelong community residents who “are being pushed out for property taxes, which have shot up," he said. "We’re getting a new assessment, which I hear will go up 90%.”
Morfin also will focus on jobs. He is concerned over old factories being converted into condos, and he supports small businesses as an optimal source of local jobs.
Morfin also has galvanized community support to thwart relocating the Pacific Garden Mission homeless shelter to Pilsen.
Solis does not seem too concerned about Morfin’s candidacy. “I know that he’s been recently trying to be active," Solis said. "He’s in the local school council and the chamber of commerce, but other than that I don’t know what he’s done.”
•