The latest negative comments about suburbanites come from Chicago Mayor Richard Daley and Police Superintendent Jody Weis on today, who both suggest that suburbanites that use SMS text messaging to congregate at Chicago beaches are a major source of trouble at recent disturbances at lakefront beaches.
The comments come after a North Side alderman, Ald. Eugene Schulter, 47th, suggested to Chicago Cultural Affairs Commissioner Lois Weisberg in November that city residents get a 15-minute head start on suburban residents for pavilion seats at Millennium Park concerts. Schulter asked Weisberg to consider giving Chicago residents a 15-minute head start on claiming the 4,000 chairs in the pavilion before those from outside the city get a shot. A week earlier, City Clerk Miguel del Valle accused suburban Cubs fans of abusing one-day guest parking passes around Wrigley Field.
Are suburban teens and young adults less respectful toward city residents and facilities, when compared to city teens and young adults? Many believe suburbanites come in to the city of Chicago with an attitude of entitlement and disrespect. Others argue that the mayor and superintendent’s comments are narrow-minded in providing a solution to the management, prevention and resolution of disturbances.
Richard Michael Daley (born April 24, 1942) is a United States politician, member of the national and local Democratic Party, and currently the Mayor of Chicago, Illinois. He was elected mayor in 1989 and reelected in 1991, 1995, 1999, 2003, and 2007. His 2007 re-election put him in position to become the longest-serving mayor in Chicago’s history, a record currently held by his father, the late Richard J. Daley, should he remain in office beyond December 25, 2010.
Daley was chosen by Time magazine in its April 25, 2005 issue as the best out of five mayors of large cities in the United States, and characterized as having “imperial” style and power, he has presided over a resurgence in tourism, the modernization of the Chicago Transit Authority, the mayoral takeover of the Chicago Public Schools, the construction of Millennium Park, increased environmental efforts and the rapid development of the city’s North Side, as well as the near South and West sides. He took over 70% of the mayoral vote in 1999, 2003, and 2007. According to a Chicago Tribune poll taken in late 2009, Daley’s approval rating was at an all-time low of 35%.
Prior to serving as mayor, Daley served in the Illinois Senate and then as the Cook County State’s Attorney. He also served as the 11th Ward Democratic committeeman after his father, Richard J. Daley, died until he passed the role on to his brother John P. Daley.
Jody Peter “J.P.” Weis is the Superintendent of Police of the Chicago Police Department. Weis was selected to serve as the 54th Superintendent of Police by Mayor Richard M. Daley. He replaced former Superintendent of Police Philip J. Cline. Superintendent Weis took office on February 1, 2008.
Weis’s previous experience included 22 years in the Federal Bureau of Investigation.[1] Weis graduated from the University of Tampa in 1979.
On March 17, 2009, the Chicago lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police gave a vote of no-confidence in Weis.
On April 6, 2010, the Chicago Sun-Times reported that the Independent Police Review Authority received a complaint charging Weis with “failure to take proper police action.” The complainant, retired Chicago Police Sergeant John Northen, called Weis a “coward” who “cut and run” from a shooting incident where a man was killed, instead of responding to assist and support his officers. Weis was holding an outdoor press conference at an intersection in the crime-ridden Englewood District on a recent 26 hour period of violence in Chicago where 41 people were shot with four dead. Four blocks from the shooting incident, Weis abruptly left the media event and reportedly returned to headquarters after the shots rang out.
Gene Schulter (born November 14, 1947) is alderman of the 47th ward of the City of Chicago; he was first elected in 1975 when he was only 26 making — him one of the youngest aldermen to serve in the city council.
As alderman, Schulter has worked for license reform. Schulter is responsible for legislation that guaranteed equitable city wide cable services and set asides for minorities; he led the drive for more community input on parks; and sponsored the city’s Landscape Oridnance which requires the incorporation of landscape plans and planting of trees for every new residential, commercial, or industrial development.
Schulter highlights the Sulzer Regional Library as a major ward achievement. Also, he has worked to build a field house at Chase Park, fostered revitalization of Lincoln Square Mall, fought against negligent and delinquent landlords in the ward, and supported the development of the Ravenswood Industrial Corridor.
Currently, Schulter is chairman of the Committee on License and Consumer Protection. Additionally, he serves on six other committees: Budget and Government Relations; Finance; Committees, Rules and Ethics; Traffic Control and Safety; Zoning; and Parks and Recreation.
Schulter expends a portion of his aldermanic expense account as a salary for his daughter, Monica. The City ordinance governing aldermanic expense accounts prohibits the spending of expense funds for “the direct monetary benefit of any alderman or any of his or her relatives.”
Miguel del Valle is the current City Clerk of Chicago and the former Illinois State Senator for the 2nd district of Chicago, which he had served since 1987.
Del Valle was born in Puerto Rico and grew up in the predominately Puerto Rican West Town and Humboldt Park neighborhoods of Chicago. He graduated from Tuley High School (now Jose de Diego Community Academy) in 1969 and went on to Northeastern Illinois University where he joined the Union for Puerto Rican Students and wrote for the Puerto Rican/Latina/o publication Que Ondee Sola. He earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Education and Guidance. He also holds an honorary degree from National Louis University.
In 2006, Miguel del Valle was appointed, by Mayor Richard M. Daley, as City Clerk after the elected sitting clerk was indicted on federal charges. Del Valle won election to the post in 2007, becoming the first Latino elected to city-wide office in Chicago.
City Clerk del Valle’s office is responsible for maintaining official city government records, distributing approximately 1.3 million vehicle stickers and residential parking permits, and issuing city business licenses.
Clerk del Valle is focused on bringing more efficiency and visibility to City Clerk services by providing greater access to public records, including web casting of City Council meetings, expanding community outreach programs, modernizing operations to expedite the sale of dog registrations, city stickers and residential parking.
Significant City Council transparency efforts include posting nearly 700,000 pages of searchable City Council records to the City Clerk website, www.ChiCityClerk.com. This includes every ordinance passed since 1981, the Bryne Administration, as well as city budgets and Mayoral Executive orders going back nearly 30 years. In addition, for the first time ever, City Council meetings can be watched live or on demand via a City Council video archive on the City Clerk website, www.ChiCityClerk.com.
Del Valle was previously a State Senator. Before becoming state senator, del Valle served as a Unit Director of Barreto Boys and Girls Club and Executive Director of Association House. He also worked for the Center for Neighborhood Technology and the Pilsen-Little Village Mental Health Center.
He currently sits on the Board of Directors for Advance Illinois and was appointed by Illinois Governor Pat Quinn as Chairman of the Illinois P-20 Council. Additionally he served on several non-profit organizational boards, including Josephinium High School, the Latino Institute and the Spanish Coalition for Housing. He has also served as Chairman of the Mayor Harold Washington’s Advisory Commission on Latino Affairs, and taught a class at Roosevelt University called “Latinos and Public Policy.”
In 1987, del Valle was elected the first Hispanic Senator in the Illinois General Assembly where he served for 20 years. He was the Assistant Majority Leader in the Illinois Senate, and he was the first Latino to hold that position. He served as an outspoken advocate for Latino representation in the legislative and judicial branches of government. He was the Co-Chair of the Illinois Legislative Latino Caucus and was the only Latino member of the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus. His leadership in redistricting cases in 1981, 1991 and 2001 led to the creation of Latino majority districts on the city, county, and state levels.
Del Valle sponsored legislation to protect homeowners by stopping the forgery of quitclaim deeds which is the process of transferring the title or deed of property to another individual or company. He has also sponsored legislation to provide harsher punishment for ATM crimes; provide Illinois with more Early Childhood Teachers; provide comprehensive health coverage for every child in Illinois; and increase funding for Advanced Placement courses in Illinois high schools.
Del Valle is the founder of the Illinois Association of Hispanic State Employees (IAHSE). He is the co-founder of several Latino organizations, including the Illinois Latino Advisory Council on Higher Education (ILACHE); the Alliance of Latinos and Jews; and the Illinois Hispanic Democratic Council (IHDC). He also developed the annual Department of Children and Family Services Hispanic Families Conference.
Del Valle is the former Vice-Chairman of the Education Committee, Co-Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Education Funding Reform and the Illinois Legislative Latino Caucus. He also served on the Senate Executive Committee, the Senate Labor Committee, and the Higher Education Committee.
In the 2006 Illinois primary elections Del Valle received local media attention for his support of Ramon Ocasio III for judge over the preferred Democratic machine candidate, Ed Lechowicz, son of former Cook County Commissioner and Illinois State Senator Ted Lechowicz.