Hyde Park alderman wrestles with TIFs, schools
BY MARTIN MILLER
July 01, 2008 | 7:26 AM
As home of the University of Chicago, the 5th Ward is no stranger to outside scrutiny. But the prospect of the 2016 Olympics in nearby Washington Park and Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign have brought additional attention to the ward and its alderman, Leslie Hairston.
The alderman grew up in the 5th Ward, but spent time in Springfield, working as a lawyer in the state Attorney General's Office between 1989 and 1991. Hairston began campaigning for alderman in 1998. She was elected in 1999, and re-elected in 2003 and 2007.
Her ward includes much of Hyde Park, South Shore, Woodlawn, and Greater Grand Crossing,
The Daily News recently sat down with Hairston to talk about issues in the ward.
Q: How does the 5th Ward fit into the city’s Olympic bid?
A: We fit into it; we are smack dab in the middle of it. We are to host the soccer and field hockey and we’re across the street from the main for opening closing ceremonies, track and field. So for the new stadium, I’m right across the street.
Q: I understand that you spent one week on a food-stamp sized budget. What was that like and how has the closing of the Hyde Park Co-op and rising food costs affected access to healthy foods?
A: The problem that I discovered in my area is not access to food – it’s been to afford [healthy food], which is the challenge. And, I discovered that on $20 a week, you cannot afford to have fresh fruits and vegetables, even if you have access to them...
Ultimately what I’m asking for is for us to come up with some kind of a card, akin to a debit card, akin to a LINK card, only for fresh fruits and produce.
It doesn’t make sense to me to add an additional $10 or $15 onto the LINK card, because then you can just continue to make bad choices and not have it go for what it’s supposed to be used for.
All you can do with this card is get fresh fruit and produce. I think it’s an excellent idea; hopefully the federal government at some point in time will increase the amount, but until then, I think if we do a pilot program here that supplements it.
It is something that would probably be expensive at the front end, but at the back end would save the city so much money, the state so much money, and even the federal government so much money. The reason being is that when people are making healthier choices, we have healthier people...We’ve already been called a fat city.
Q: You were in the minority of aldermen that voted against the children’s museum in Grant Park. What influenced your decision?
A: It doesn’t belong there. It just doesn’t belong there.
There are a variety of reasons, not just one ... I believe Grant Park should be free, and clear, and open.
I also believe that the children’s museum worked very well at Navy Pier and there were a variety of businesses built around the children’s museum being located there, such as your McDonalds, your other family-friendly restaurants, your Build-a-Bear, your ice cream shops.
It’s child-friendly. And so when you take that out of there, I wonder what the impact is going to be, is it going to be someplace where you’re not encouraging families to come now? What’s really going to happen? Because I don’t think we’ve really been told the truth on anything.
The other component is once they start building there, as we saw with the Harris Theater and even with Millennium Park, that there’s always going to be change orders, and they’re going to expand, and then they’re going to want to do something different, and it’s too late in the game to go back and undo what was done. If the city and the mayor operated a little more transparently and were a little more forthcoming, I think that there would not be the apprehension or the speculation. But since that has not been the case ... we have good reason to question.
Q: How do you balance new development with preservation? What’s the status of Doctors Hospital, for instance?
A: Having grown up in the community and neighborhoods that I represent, I’m fully aware of what’s been here for awhile, what’s new, what’s good stock, what’s not good stock. And I’ve got a good take on what people want to see.
Like I said, I’m out there talking to them.
Hyde Park’s issues are different than those of South Shore, which are different than those in Greater Grand Crossing, which are different than those in Woodlawn ...
I know in one community if we’re going to get something that is something that hasn’t been there in a long time, a grocery store or a clothing store or something, they don’t give a damn about a green roof.
If you’ve got a chance to get a really good school, there are some things that don’t matter to them on the big scheme of things. It wouldn’t be that way in Hyde Park. Consideration would be given to it in South Shore, but in some of the other communities, is that a deal breaker for a development project? In some areas no, in some areas yes.
Which brings me to Doctors Hospital.
I grew up when it was Illinois Central. I went to school right up the street at Lab School. I know what its history is. I know that the front part is of historical significance; I know the rest of it isn’t.
I also know that it has been sitting vacant for many, many years, and architects from all over the world that went to look at it when it was up for bid at auction, all of them agreed that the structure was not worth anything … One of the things that I have asked for is to preserve the façade, or at least try to preserve the facade.
I think that there are a lot of cool things being done with old buildings ... And I know that you can go inside and modernize them and still have it look characteristic of the neighborhood.
Q: How will the city’s recent decision to divert more TIF funds from the ward affect the ward?
A: I think they’re trying to bankrupt my TIFs …
Sometimes you can have the authority to do something, or the perceived authority to do something, and still abuse it.
I think that’s where the city has gone in terms of TIFs ... What we’ve done now is that we’ve created so many TIFs and we are continuing to create TIFs, so that I believe that the goal is now…to pretty much have the whole city TIF’d, and have it classified as either a blighted area or a conservation area or a combination between the two, or an industrial area.
What it does is it creates a whole separate fund, where there are no rules and no guidelines. It’s like a personal slush fund ... And then, here comes the park district, and here comes CPS, and here comes everybody else sticking their hand in the cookie jar.
And so, the will of the people never gets carried out because all of these other projects come in and suck all the money out before these projects ever have a chance.
And so for example, my 71st and Stony Island TIF, which has been in existence for 10 years, one of the first goals was a streetscape on 71st Street here, which means new streetlights, sidewalks – making it look like the north side – that has not been funded yet. Yet, the city has issued bonds already to build a new high school, South Shore High School, in the 8th Ward, using money from my TIF.
Q: Hyde Park has received a lot of press coverage due to Obama’s candidacy. Recent articles have come out saying that the neighborhood has a feeling of “un-rootedness”, is out-of-touch, and elitist. Are these criticisms warranted?
A: That’s bunk ... Surely, there are a lot of intelligent people that live in Hyde Park that are professors at the university, that are doctors, and employees of the university, but that is not what makes up Hyde Park.
The whole thing about Hyde Park ... is that it truly is diverse. You have people from the homeless to the wealthiest, and you may be next door to one of them. It is amazing to me, the name-calling that the national media [which] knows absolutely nothing, but they’re the same people that make the maps that say Chicago doesn’t go past 57th Street.
So when you talk about racism, when you talk about elitism, when you talk about sexism, a lot of that is embedded in their own heads.
Q: What is the most frequent request you receive from residents?
A: There’s not one most frequent, there are several…Disabled handicap placards…more police, what are we giving away?
"Turkeys, are you giving away turkeys?”
After the winter it’s always potholes, in the summer it’s always tree limb trimming ... Come the fall people are moving in, so it’s temporary no parking signs.
Q: How is the ward’s relationship with the university?
A: We work with the university. We have a relationship, so there are good days and there are bad days. We’ve had fights, and we’ve had love-ins.
The university is a very big place and there are a lot of different people, they change, people get fired, people leave, it depends who’s sitting in what chair…I also have the hospitals and that’s a whole separate set of individuals.
I have a good working relationship, I can pick up the phone and I can call the president of the university and talk to him, as well as calling somebody at a local level or calling the university police. I work with all of them.
Q: What are you most proud of in your nine years as alderman?
A: I am most proud of Stony Island, the redevelopment and the transformation that is going along there.
I’m proud that I have been able to bring more after-school programming to my elementary schools and my high schools. I actually have schools that are not on probation now. Even without the assistance from CPS, we’ve been able to make some inroads. Students are being exposed to more things, having more opportunities.
I am proud of my triathlon that is only the second one in the city [and] the first one on the South Side in the city of Chicago.
I think bringing South Shore in parity with the things that go on in the north side on every level, bringing in restaurants and making the community well-rounded, I am very proud of [that] and still working on it.
The alderman grew up in the 5th Ward, but spent time in Springfield, working as a lawyer in the state Attorney General's Office between 1989 and 1991. Hairston began campaigning for alderman in 1998. She was elected in 1999, and re-elected in 2003 and 2007.
Her ward includes much of Hyde Park, South Shore, Woodlawn, and Greater Grand Crossing,
The Daily News recently sat down with Hairston to talk about issues in the ward.
Q: How does the 5th Ward fit into the city’s Olympic bid?
A: We fit into it; we are smack dab in the middle of it. We are to host the soccer and field hockey and we’re across the street from the main for opening closing ceremonies, track and field. So for the new stadium, I’m right across the street.
Q: I understand that you spent one week on a food-stamp sized budget. What was that like and how has the closing of the Hyde Park Co-op and rising food costs affected access to healthy foods?
A: The problem that I discovered in my area is not access to food – it’s been to afford [healthy food], which is the challenge. And, I discovered that on $20 a week, you cannot afford to have fresh fruits and vegetables, even if you have access to them...
Ultimately what I’m asking for is for us to come up with some kind of a card, akin to a debit card, akin to a LINK card, only for fresh fruits and produce.
It doesn’t make sense to me to add an additional $10 or $15 onto the LINK card, because then you can just continue to make bad choices and not have it go for what it’s supposed to be used for.
All you can do with this card is get fresh fruit and produce. I think it’s an excellent idea; hopefully the federal government at some point in time will increase the amount, but until then, I think if we do a pilot program here that supplements it.
It is something that would probably be expensive at the front end, but at the back end would save the city so much money, the state so much money, and even the federal government so much money. The reason being is that when people are making healthier choices, we have healthier people...We’ve already been called a fat city.
Q: You were in the minority of aldermen that voted against the children’s museum in Grant Park. What influenced your decision?
A: It doesn’t belong there. It just doesn’t belong there.
There are a variety of reasons, not just one ... I believe Grant Park should be free, and clear, and open.
I also believe that the children’s museum worked very well at Navy Pier and there were a variety of businesses built around the children’s museum being located there, such as your McDonalds, your other family-friendly restaurants, your Build-a-Bear, your ice cream shops.
It’s child-friendly. And so when you take that out of there, I wonder what the impact is going to be, is it going to be someplace where you’re not encouraging families to come now? What’s really going to happen? Because I don’t think we’ve really been told the truth on anything.
The other component is once they start building there, as we saw with the Harris Theater and even with Millennium Park, that there’s always going to be change orders, and they’re going to expand, and then they’re going to want to do something different, and it’s too late in the game to go back and undo what was done. If the city and the mayor operated a little more transparently and were a little more forthcoming, I think that there would not be the apprehension or the speculation. But since that has not been the case ... we have good reason to question.
Q: How do you balance new development with preservation? What’s the status of Doctors Hospital, for instance?
A: Having grown up in the community and neighborhoods that I represent, I’m fully aware of what’s been here for awhile, what’s new, what’s good stock, what’s not good stock. And I’ve got a good take on what people want to see.
Like I said, I’m out there talking to them.
Hyde Park’s issues are different than those of South Shore, which are different than those in Greater Grand Crossing, which are different than those in Woodlawn ...
I know in one community if we’re going to get something that is something that hasn’t been there in a long time, a grocery store or a clothing store or something, they don’t give a damn about a green roof.
If you’ve got a chance to get a really good school, there are some things that don’t matter to them on the big scheme of things. It wouldn’t be that way in Hyde Park. Consideration would be given to it in South Shore, but in some of the other communities, is that a deal breaker for a development project? In some areas no, in some areas yes.
Which brings me to Doctors Hospital.
I grew up when it was Illinois Central. I went to school right up the street at Lab School. I know what its history is. I know that the front part is of historical significance; I know the rest of it isn’t.
I also know that it has been sitting vacant for many, many years, and architects from all over the world that went to look at it when it was up for bid at auction, all of them agreed that the structure was not worth anything … One of the things that I have asked for is to preserve the façade, or at least try to preserve the facade.
I think that there are a lot of cool things being done with old buildings ... And I know that you can go inside and modernize them and still have it look characteristic of the neighborhood.
Q: How will the city’s recent decision to divert more TIF funds from the ward affect the ward?
A: I think they’re trying to bankrupt my TIFs …
Sometimes you can have the authority to do something, or the perceived authority to do something, and still abuse it.
I think that’s where the city has gone in terms of TIFs ... What we’ve done now is that we’ve created so many TIFs and we are continuing to create TIFs, so that I believe that the goal is now…to pretty much have the whole city TIF’d, and have it classified as either a blighted area or a conservation area or a combination between the two, or an industrial area.
What it does is it creates a whole separate fund, where there are no rules and no guidelines. It’s like a personal slush fund ... And then, here comes the park district, and here comes CPS, and here comes everybody else sticking their hand in the cookie jar.
And so, the will of the people never gets carried out because all of these other projects come in and suck all the money out before these projects ever have a chance.
And so for example, my 71st and Stony Island TIF, which has been in existence for 10 years, one of the first goals was a streetscape on 71st Street here, which means new streetlights, sidewalks – making it look like the north side – that has not been funded yet. Yet, the city has issued bonds already to build a new high school, South Shore High School, in the 8th Ward, using money from my TIF.
Q: Hyde Park has received a lot of press coverage due to Obama’s candidacy. Recent articles have come out saying that the neighborhood has a feeling of “un-rootedness”, is out-of-touch, and elitist. Are these criticisms warranted?
A: That’s bunk ... Surely, there are a lot of intelligent people that live in Hyde Park that are professors at the university, that are doctors, and employees of the university, but that is not what makes up Hyde Park.
The whole thing about Hyde Park ... is that it truly is diverse. You have people from the homeless to the wealthiest, and you may be next door to one of them. It is amazing to me, the name-calling that the national media [which] knows absolutely nothing, but they’re the same people that make the maps that say Chicago doesn’t go past 57th Street.
So when you talk about racism, when you talk about elitism, when you talk about sexism, a lot of that is embedded in their own heads.
Q: What is the most frequent request you receive from residents?
A: There’s not one most frequent, there are several…Disabled handicap placards…more police, what are we giving away?
"Turkeys, are you giving away turkeys?”
After the winter it’s always potholes, in the summer it’s always tree limb trimming ... Come the fall people are moving in, so it’s temporary no parking signs.
Q: How is the ward’s relationship with the university?
A: We work with the university. We have a relationship, so there are good days and there are bad days. We’ve had fights, and we’ve had love-ins.
The university is a very big place and there are a lot of different people, they change, people get fired, people leave, it depends who’s sitting in what chair…I also have the hospitals and that’s a whole separate set of individuals.
I have a good working relationship, I can pick up the phone and I can call the president of the university and talk to him, as well as calling somebody at a local level or calling the university police. I work with all of them.
Q: What are you most proud of in your nine years as alderman?
A: I am most proud of Stony Island, the redevelopment and the transformation that is going along there.
I’m proud that I have been able to bring more after-school programming to my elementary schools and my high schools. I actually have schools that are not on probation now. Even without the assistance from CPS, we’ve been able to make some inroads. Students are being exposed to more things, having more opportunities.
I am proud of my triathlon that is only the second one in the city [and] the first one on the South Side in the city of Chicago.
I think bringing South Shore in parity with the things that go on in the north side on every level, bringing in restaurants and making the community well-rounded, I am very proud of [that] and still working on it.
Tagged: Knight News Challenge, South Shore, Leslie Hairston
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