Anne Marie Miles Candidacy Announcement for 5th Ward Democratic Committeeman

posted by chicago pop

Dear Friends and Neighbors.

I am running for Democratic Committeeman for the 5^th Ward. The job of Democratic Ward Committeeman, an unpaid position, includes appointing election judges, participating in candidate slating by the Democratic Party and picking replacements for elected officials who are unable to complete their terms. Currently, the position of Alderman and Democratic Ward Committeeman are held by the same person.

I believe that we need a change. We need a new voice.  The 5^th Ward was known as the independent voice of reason, but that voice has diminished in the last twelve years. Just voting no on legislation, without publically addressing the issue before the vote, is not true independence. We have the ability to regain our independent voice in this election by electing a new Democratic Committeeman. We need elected officials who will fight for our rights, not just grandstand.

I decided to run for Democratic Committeeman at the urging of many groups from all parts of the Ward.  Representatives from community groups in South Shore, Jackson Park, Hyde Park, and Grand Crossing all called and asked me to run. My nominating petitions contained 1,998 signatures compared to Leslie Hairston’s 865 accepted signatures. The majority of my signatures were from voters in the South Shore, Jackson Park and Grand Crossing areas.

I am a wife, mother, friend, attorney, and community activist. In 2011 I ran for Alderman and received nearly a quarter of the vote. My husband, Emil Coccaro, a U of C Professor in the Medical School, and I live in Hyde Park with our three children - Piper, Michael, and Marrissa. Our children attended the Lab School, Ray School, and Mt. Carmel.

I have been involved with parent associations and local community groups focused on improving the lives of children and with citywide groups on methods of reducing violence against young people. I have been President of the U of C Comer Children’s Hospital Service Committee and I have worked for Chicago Volunteer Legal Services providing free legal services to lower income residents of the South Side.  I am working on a joint project with Cabrini Green Legal Services and the Union League Club of Chicago providing informational materials to citizens charged with a crime so they will understand the consequences of accepting certain plea bargains.  I volunteer for the State’s Appellate Defender to assist those who qualify for expungements and/or sealing of their criminal or arrest records.

I will work with the Alderman, and all our elected officials, to represent the Independent Voice of the Fifth Ward. For more information, please visit my website at annemariemiles.com, email me at MilesEsq@aol.com or call me on my cell phone at 773-726-4259. 

Very truly yours,

Anne Marie Miles

5th Ward: Vote for Anne Marie Miles

[This was originally posted as "A Worthy 5th Ward Challenger: Anne Marie Miles" on November 24, 2010]

posted by chicago pop

Fifth Ward Alderman Leslie Hairston has been parked in the same political spot for a while now. Unfortunately, the meter has expired, but her car is still there. It's time to call the tow truck. Other people would like to park there.

As of this past Monday's filing deadline, 9 candidates have received the call from dispatch, and are currently on the ballot to take Leslie Hairston's parking spot at the job she has held, with very little to show for it, since 1999.

We think this crowded field is a good thing. The factors that have contributed to stasis on the City Council, and indirectly in the 5th Ward, have slackened considerably in 2010. Chicago city politics, like politics on the national level, are currently wide open and tumultuous.

This does not bode well for status-quo politicians who have preferred to coast on complacency. Hairston is an incumbent in a time of anti-incumbent sentiment. Her bread-and-circuses approach to discretionary spending reveals a lack of long-term vision for the ward. Employment opportunities in the ward, which would have benefited from 200 new jobs had she helped shepherd the Doctors Hospital project, remain scarce. The major city players who have supported her in the past are leaving the picture -- both Mayor Daley and 4th Ward Alderman Toni Preckwinkle.

There are thus good reasons for challengers to take on the 5th Ward Alderman. On the basis of her record, Leslie Hairston is vulnerable in ways that she was not in any of the previous three elections. Even if more than half the field drops out before the end of the year, the current Alderman will still face at least one qualified opponent worthy of the 5th Ward's historic tradition of independent, visionary politics: Anne Marie Miles.

We had the pleasure of meeting and talking with Anne Marie several weeks ago, and are very pleased that such a strong candidate has officially entered the ring for the February 2011 aldermanic elections. Before too long, we'll be interviewing Anne Marie Miles on HPP to give readers a better sense of who she is and where she comes from.

For now, though, we'll let her speak in her own words.

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From an undated letter to the editor shared with HPP:

I am running for Alderman of the Fifth Ward of Chicago, because I believe that the Fifth Ward no longer represents the independent voice of reason that it once was for so many years. Over the last decade that voice has diminished and is now on the brink of extinction.

Bona fide leadership is sorely lacking, while there are many issues in the ward that are not being addressed; constituent services are at the top of that list, especially when voters cannot receive coherent responses to justifiable concerns. Constituents continue to wait for communication on education programs, crime prevention, broken pavements, potholes, gutters and tree limbs.

I became utterly committed to run for alderman, when I learned that in a summer with the highest youth unemployment rates in years, vital ward funds were being used to pay for parking spaces for people who live in the co-ops and condos along the lakefront. How many summer jobs could have been created for Fifth Ward residents with that money -- over $100,000.00 -- in Ward funds -- spent on free parking spaces, most of which were never used.

The priority of the Fifth Ward must be economic revitalization. Concern for community, children and senior citizens must be at the very top of that agenda. Common sense leadership is required in City Council; leaders who are willing to confront issues urgently affecting the city, and who can provide a productive plan for economic development, encouragement for children to graduate from high school, and facilitate increased community program development.

I bring a strong commitment to the Fifth Ward where I have resided and raised a family, since the 1990's. I bring renewed energy and resources, and will relentlessly call upon business leaders, parents, educators and youth program directors, to ensure the revitalization of the historic Fifth Ward community and its place in this great city of Chicago.

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From a campaign press release of November 23, 2010:

Anne Marie Miles is an advocate, community activist and a loyal, passionate Fifth Ward supporter. She is involved with parent associations and local community groups focused on improving children's lives and reducing teen violence. Miles is the former Secretary and President of the University of Chicago Comer Hospital Service Committee, and has worked for Chicago Volunteer Legal Services providing free legal services to lower income residents. She is currently on the steering committee of Safe Youth Chicago of the Union League Club of Chicago.

Anne Marie Miles Receives Support from Local Ministers in Fifth Ward Races

posted by chicago pop

A press release from the Anne Marie Miles campaign:

Disgruntled South Shore Residents Rally around Candidate

CHICAGO – February 19, 2011– Anne Marie Miles, candidate for Fifth Ward Alderman, has been receiving resounding support for her campaign by a number of South Side ministers and South Shore residents resolute in removing incumbent Leslie Hairston from office.

With her campaign office on 71^st Street, in the heart of the South Shore neighborhood, Anne Marie Miles has positioned herself as a viable challenger to current alderman Hairston. A recent pastor’s luncheon given in her honor was led by Pastor Martin of Grace and Peace Ministry, Bishop Jakes; Pastor Earnest Franklin; Rev. Dukes; Pastor Elaine Smothers; Pastor V. Johnson; Evangelist Dora Jones; Rev. Larry Johnson; Pastor Shirley Hall and Dr. L. Whatley. The ministers endorsed Anne Marie Miles for Fifth Ward Alderman and prayed for her success.

The support for Miles in the community is so strong that Archbishop Lucius Hall who heads the Broadcast Ministers Alliance of Chicago, invited Miles to be interviewed on his radio and cable TV shows. The cable TV show “Broadcast Minister Alliance Presents” will air four times this weekend on Channel 25 and on WGRB-AM 390.

Those that thought that Miles would not connect with South Shore residents do not understand the Fifth Ward, noted Miles. “To imply that my campaign would not resonate with all voters, including those who live in South Shore, Grand Crossing and Woodlawn, underestimates the intelligence of people who have simply had enough from an alderman whose accomplishments are minimalistic at best.” Miles continued, “South Shore and Hyde Park have a rich history that has been diminished by a career politician whose office is just blocks away from abandoned buildings, empty lots, and one of the hot spots for crime in the city.”

Miles ran a successful Elder Law practice for some twenty years, in which she advocated for the rights of, and improved the conditions of the elderly and incapacitated. Additionally Miles holds a Masters of Public Administration from Long Island College and an LLM in Tax Law from John Marshall law School.

Anne Marie Miles is an advocate and community activist who is involved with parent associations and local community groups focused on improving children’s lives and reducing teen violence. Miles is the former Secretary and President of the University of Chicago Comer Hospital Service Committee, and has worked for Chicago Volunteer Legal Services providing free legal services to lower income residents. She is currently on the steering committee of Safe Youth Chicago of the Union League Club of Chicago.

Once Upon a Time in Chicago Politics

Illustration: Michael Robertson, Samba for Rats.

Once upon a time on the South Side of Chicago a brave woman dared to challenge the longtime incumbent for her position as Grand High Exalted Mystic Alderman. The Challenger was diligent and hard working in her preparations for the race: she gathered more than 600 petition signatures when only 181 were necessary; she defended each and every signature in grueling, arbitrary Board of Election hearings; she turned in her petitions on time and won the lottery for first position on the ballot; she responded to the questionnaires of the local newspapers; she met with merchants and constituents in every part of her ward; she launched a compelling campaign website.

And then the time came to open her campaign office. A friend and supporter who ran a shop on 71st and Jeffery Boulevard offered to share her storefront with the brave Challenger for no fee, as a campaign contribution. The Challenger's campaign office had its grand opening on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

But the Grand High Exalted Mystic Incumbent was displeased. Her own campaign office was mere blocks away on 71st Street (and incidentally located in "Suite 2B" of the same address as her ward office, perhaps unnecessarily raising eyebrows about her compliance with section 9-25.1 of the Illinois Election Code, which forbids using ward resources for campaign purposes, but I digress). The Incumbent fumed: who was this Challenger to take the top spot on the ballot? Who was this Challenger to dare to open her campaign office so close to the Incumbent Castle?

Within forty-eight hours, the unsuspecting landlord of the Storekeeper received a phone call from the Grand High Exalted Mystic Ward Office: have your tenant evict the Challenger, or the dreaded Building Inspectors will be out to check the property, to verify whether its new use as both a retail space and office space conforms with zoning restrictions, and maybe to pillage and burn it if they were in a truly foul temper.

The Challenger, to spare her friend the Storekeeper any worries or heartache, and knowing there are some Good Ol' Boy tactics that you can't beat, packed up her office and moved, but did not give up.

The End. 

PRESS RELEASE

Anne Marie Miles Opens Fifth Ward Campaign Office at 71^st & Jeffery on Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Candidate calls for empty lots to be used for urban farming and attention to abandoned buildings

CHICAGO – January 13, 2011 – Anne Marie Miles, aldermanic candidate for the Fifth ward announced today the opening of her campaign office on Monday January 17, 2011, Martin Luther King Jr., Day from 3 pm until 6 pm. The campaign HQ will be located at 1955 E. 71^st Street, near the corner of Jeffery Boulevard across from Bryn Mawr Metra station. General campaign office hours will be from 9:00am until 7:00pm Monday to Friday.

Miles will be inviting constituents, business owners and the media to the campaign offices starting next week. “We needed to be in the heart of the Fifth ward community,” stated Miles. “There is no doubt that constituent services, abandoned buildings and empty lots are a major problem in this vicinity, we must have our fingers on the pulse of the community.”

“It is evident that constituents are not happy,” noted Miles. “The Fifth Ward no longer represents the independent vibrant community it once was for so many years. Consistency is required regarding constituent services, and we must find ways to turn empty lots into useful spaces, such as urban farming, as well as working with local police to fight crime. Gangs cannot be allowed to be a permanent fixture on the streets, disturbing businesses and putting fear in citizens.”

Miles noted that the priority of the Fifth Ward must be economic revitalization, with an alderman who is willing to confront the difficult issues that are affecting the ward, and one who is able to provide a productive plan for economic development, encouragement for children to graduate from high school, and facilitating more community program development.

Miles became committed to run for Fifth Ward aldermanic race, after she learned that vital ward funds were being used to pay for free parking spaces for people who live in co-ops and condos along the lake; while the city saw the highest youth unemployment rates in years.

Anne Marie Miles is an advocate, community activist and a loyal, passionate Fifth Ward supporter. She is involved with parent associations and local community groups focused on improving children’s lives and reducing teen violence. Miles is the former Secretary and President of the University of Chicago Comer Hospital Service Committee, and has worked for Chicago Volunteer Legal Services providing free legal services to lower income residents. She is currently on the steering committee of Safe Youth Chicago of the Union League Club of Chicago.