posted by Peter Rossi
On Tuesday, residents of the 39th precinct will vote on a referendum that seeks to ban the sale of alcohol in the precinct. Vote no for any or all of the following reasons:
- You don't want to rule out any development in the precinct for at least 5 years.
- You want to find a productive use for the DH site.
- You find the abandoned DH buildings ugly and want them replaced with better architecture.
- You want a hotel to house your visitors and provide jobs for community residents.
- You resent the interference of local 1, Unite-HERE that wants a union hotel no matter what collateral damage is done to your neighborhood.
- You see through local NIMBYs who lie to you, claiming the dry petition is a "negotiating tool."
- You believe that the fate of development in Hyde Park should be decided by the community as a whole and not by any one small part of it.
- You don't want to kiss $90 million good bye as we enter a period of economic desperation.
- You recognize that congestion is not an issue.
- You believe that any potential parking problems are easy to resolve by other methods
27 comments:
Great post.
Something I just noticed today that I'm not sure other folks are aware of.
Unite Here Local 1 has been striking in front of the Congress Hotel for 5 YEARS, yet the hotel continues to operate apparently normally. Of course, Unite Here Local 1 has an attack website dedicated to the strike (and Congress Hotel).
I generally support labor and believe that everyone has a right to be paid a living wage. However, Unite Here kinda strikes me as some rather desperate folks who obviously have no impact on the operations at the Congress. And as a result, the action regarding White Lodging/Dr. Hospital is just a big power play for them to reassert their position in local hotel labor politics. They found some "useful idiots" (Lenin's words, not mine) in G. Lane and company to use to further their own agenda.
This makes it all the more galling that this vote could possibly succeed and the 39th could be voted dry, all due to politics.
Please vote "NO" 39thers. If you do, I'll be the first to buy you a beer at the new hotel bar.
Oh, and how about #11: Why would anyone be so intent on preserving a building with a disgusting history of racial prejudice?
Each one of the ten reasons is a compelling reason to vote NO, and all ten are valid.
"Useful idiots."
You know it's just awesome when you can find a reason to quote Lenin on a blog.
I'm just curious. Wouldn't the parking problems for a hotel be fewer than the ones from when the hospital was in operation and it had very limited parking for staff, people visiting patients, and oters having business there? All of the reawsons to vote yes seem best predicated on having an empty and deteriorating building next door.
Great post.
At the recent alderman's meeting, Leslie mentioned that the she wished to preserve the architecture at the Doctor's Hospital. Yet, after driving by the building I cannot find a single redeeming quality in it.
Preservation should never be so valued that it prevents all progress.
Some funny business going on...
... I am an 8-year resident of the 39th precinct and when I showed up to vote this morning at Brett Harte, I was informed that I had already cast a vote in early voting from 4 days ago! So, who knows whether I voted yes, no, or at all.
I cast a provisional ballot today, but I'm rightly angry and hope to get to the bottom of this.
Be careful everyone.
I jogged by Bret Harte today at 8:30 AM. Jack Spicer was there with Hans Morsbach and a huge tray of "free" cinnamon rolls. They were campaigning on the proper side of the blue cone ("no electioneering past this point") but was it my imagination that their cone was closer to the entrance than the other cone on the opposite side of the door? Meanwhile, Hairston had one very sweet but quiet volunteer standing on the Chrysalis park corner (southeast corner), where NO foot traffic from the 39th precinct would pass! I asked her why she wasn't in front of the school like Jack and Hans and she said she had a partner there who "must be in the bathroom." When I jogged home 20 minutes later, still no second Hairston volunteer in front of the school.
*sigh* This does not bode well.
Free rolls at the polling pace? Morsbach would have fit in nicely in the Old Time Chicago machine. If he got a dollar for every one of his political muffin bribes, he might be able to repay the Town of Normal for the free money the Town of Normal gave him to build out the downstate
Medici.
All my cafe munchy money is now going to Zalevski and Horvath on 47th. They have better bread anyway (from Red Hen Bakery).
(I thought the Z&H bread was from LaBriola?)
I voted around 11 or so... Hans and Jack and their cinnamon rolls were nowhere to be found. I didn't see the Leslie Hairston volunteer either... it was very very quiet outside, except for the little kids out on the playground. Made me wish I was 7 years old again so I could play on the equipment in blissful ignorance instead of worrying about the commercial future of Hyde Park. :-)
I wonder if J and H contravened some regulation and were chased off, or if they just got bored and went home?
Dave, keep us posted on your voting issue. Hopefully it was just a mixup somewhere rather than deliberate voting fraud. :-/
Greg Lane was apparently manning the "yes" station at 11:30.
It would have helped the "no" cause if we could have gotten a 39th precinct resident to stand there, handing out the Hairston palm cards. We also should have partnered with Bar Louie to offer drink vouchers (THAT would have slam-dunked the cinnamon rolls!).
I just called in a complaint to the Illinois Board of Elections about my previously mentioned voting problem in the 39th precinct and intend to follow up on it after the election as well.
Basically, when I showed up this morning, I was shown a sheet that was clearly labeled as an "Early Voting List" that included my name, my correct address, and even the precise date on which I supposedly cast my early vote (10/30).
Needless to say, that's all a real big mystery given that I didn't vote early, didn't request an absentee ballot, or do anything whatsoever other than show up at the polling place on election day.
I don't consider myself to be particularly swayed by "conspiracy theories", but I'm still quite curious to say the least. Never a dull moment....
Well, if Greg Lane, Jack Spicer, and Hans Morsbach are committed to their cause enough to show up and advocate, I don't see how anyone here can complain for NOT doing the same. In particular, why was it necessary to get a 39th precinct resident to stand there, given Jack Spicer is not. Furthermore, I thought the whole idea here was this issue is bigger than the 39th precinct.
I hope the "dry" vote fails, but I don't fault the "yes" vote contingent for voicing their opinions.
Is a cinnamon roll the expression of an opinion?
Sure, the "yes" people can voice their opinions. I don't think I complained that they did. I lamented the fact that they've got the bigger public display -- possibly getting a disproportionate amount of attention.
As far as residents marketing the "no" opinion goes, I suspect many people respond better to familiar faces (their neighbors) than to the University or some college kid hired by Hairston.
I wish I'd walked by that way on my way to work, to get a free cinnamon roll (I don't live in the 39th.)
Sometimes getting a vote is as easy as a cinnamon role...
Naw, David, you don't want one. They're a heart attack with raisins.
It occurred to me as I sat in the steam room at my gym this afternoon that the reason I didn't see Greg L., Jack or Hans is because I didn't vote at Harte... I vote at Ray. Just goes to show you that even if you go bald, once a blonde, always a blonde. :-p
Dave, apparently you're not alone. CNN has a hotline you can call if you have issues with voting and they're keeping a running national tally. If they get enough complaints from a specific area, they call the Board of Elections and States Attorney themselves. If you turn CNN on for a bit you should see the number to call soon enough.
Folks are calling in to report receiving fraudulent spam text messages telling them that "due to long lines, Obama voters are being asked to wait until Wednesday to vote." Also, issues with bad ballots, people who are registered but aren't showing up in the roll, etc.
I run a lot - I can eat one sticky roll. I have to say this blog actually prompted me to run over there and see if Hans was still giving them away. But he wasn't. I saw two groups of people handing out flyers, one right at the underpass near the school, and the other directly opposite 56th St. on the corner of Stony. I don't know who was who - I just wanted a sticky roll. All sticky rolls are local.
An update. Being a bit curious, I did a white pages search on my name and it turns out that there is one other person with my name in 60637. They're not located in the 39th precinct, but maybe this is related to the source of my troubles (i.e., someone crossing off the wrong name somewhere). Fun times.
From the Hyde Park Herald website:
DRY VOTE DEBACLE: Sources are telling the Herald that the vote in the 39th Precinct of the 5th Ward to forbid sales of alcohol is in limbo following a complete meltdown of the voting technology at the voting site that included the precinct. Check the Herald Web site for complete coverage.
I wonder if the election judges forgot to plug in the ballot reader.
According to the City of Chicago Summary Report (page 24) (http://www.chicagoelections.com/dm/general/SummaryReport.pdf)
Yes: 249
No: 228
Undervotes: 20
Rumor has it they found a cinnamon roll stuck in the ballot reader.
Post a Comment