Early Voting is Open

Voters in the 46th Ward can vote early at Truman College, the Chicago Board of Elections at 69 W. Washington, Welles Park Fieldhouse, 2333 W. Sunnyside, and 14 other locations in Chicago. All sites are open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday. The Board of Elections and Welles Park locations also are open 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday.

You can find a complete list of locations at the Board of Elections web site. Early voting ends March 31. A government-issued photo i.d. is required for early voting only.

Chicago Tribune Endorses Phelan

The Chicago Tribune has endorsed Molly Phelan’s campaign in the 46th Ward. “Phelan would bring common sense to the city council,” the Tribune said. The Tribune recognizes that we must make our streets safe, bring quality jobs to the community, and provide our children a world class education. Read the full editorial at the Tribune web site.

The Tribune endorsement follows endorsements from the Fraternal Order of Police, Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, City Clerk-elect Susana Mendoza, the progressive women of EMILY’s List, Amalgamated Transit Workers Locals 241 and 308, Personal PAC, and the Cook County College Teachers Union AFT Local 1600.

Fraternal Order of Police Endorses Phelan

Representing 17,000 current and retired Chicago Police officers, the Fraternal Order of Police Chicago Lodge 7 endorsed Molly Phelan and her comprehensive approach to reducing crime in the 46th Ward.

“As the daughter of a former federal prosecutor, Molly Phelan is committed to holding criminals accountable and making our streets safe,” said Mark Donahue, President of FOP Chicago Lodge 7. “She has a history of working with police to go after gangs, guns and drugs. Molly is the best qualified candidate to make the community safe.”

In addition to being the daughter of a former federal prosecutor, Phelan’s great-grandfather, Patrolman Edward McGuire – Star #1513, was a Chicago Police Officer shot and killed in the line of duty on Feb. 24, 1928.

Phelan has worked with the city’s Drug and Gang Housing Section, going after irresponsible landlords who harbor gangs, guns and drugs in their buildings. Phelan also worked with local police as a neighborhood CAPS liaison and supports Mayor Emanuel’s plan to hire at least a thousand more police officers.

As the daughter of a retired Uptown social worker, Phelan also understands that reducing crime requires a comprehensive approach. Phelan has pledged to work with local community groups, businesses, churches and schools to expand access to after school programs to keep kids off the street and engaged in learning.

Phelan has pledged to use her $1.3 million aldermanic discretionary budget to improve public safety, working with police to improve lighting in crime hotspots and make other improvements.

“I appreciate what our police officers do everyday to keep our community safe,” Phelan said. “I’ll work in partnership with our police, prosecutors and the community to keep our streets safe.”

About Molly Phelan: Molly Phelan is an independent, progressive community leader with a strong business background and a passion for rebuilding our community. The daughter of a former federal prosecutor and a retired Uptown social worker, Molly has served as neighborhood CAPS liaison, and as a member of the Buena Park Neighbors board, the Uptown Chicago Commission board, and the Uptown Business Chamber. She is endorsed by the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, the progressive women of EMILY’s List, Amalgamated Transit Union Locals 241 and 308, and the Fraternal Order of Police Chicago Lodge 7.

Thank You!

Thank you to all of you who took the time to vote on Tuesday, no matter which candidate you supported. While there are still absentee and provisional ballots to be counted, as of today we are in first place by six votes. Every single vote made a difference.

The first thing I did last night after the polls closed was call all of the other candidates to let them know how much I admired them for putting their names forward, and for running a spirited but positive campaign focused on the issues that matter to all of us in the 46th Ward.

It takes courage, conviction and determination to put your name on the ballot and work to move our community forward. Every candidate contributed unique ideas, but like the voters of the 46th Ward our differences are small compared to the common interests that bind us together. We all must work together if we are going to make our streets safe, improve our schools, and bring good-paying jobs to our neighborhood.

EMILY’S LIST Endorses Phelan for 46th Ward

Phelan is the right choice for the community

EMILY’s List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics Monday announced its endorsement of Molly Phelan as alderman for the 46th Ward in Chicago.

“Molly’s plans to increase safety, promote business development, and improve education make us proud to endorse her campaign,” EMILY’s List Political Director Jonathan Parker said.  “Molly’s well-rounded experience in business development, crime prevention and community building makes her the most qualified candidate in this crowded field. EMILY’s List looks forward to her continued service and helping Molly win her aldermanic campaign.”

“I’m honored to receive the EMILY’s List endorsement and to have their support during my campaign. With their help, I’m confident that my plan to make our streets safe, bring businesses and jobs to our neighborhoods and move our community forward will be realized,” Phelan said.  “We’ve built a strong campaign and I’m thrilled EMILY’s List is a part of it.”

Phelan is one of 11 candidates running to replace retiring Ald. Helen Shiller.  The 46th Ward includes most of Uptown and parts of East Lakeview.

About Molly Phelan

Molly Phelan is an independent, forward-thinking attorney with a passion to serve her neighbors and move her community forward.  She has served as CAPS beat liaison in beats 2322 and 2323, and as a member of the Buena Park Neighbors board, the Uptown Chicago Commission board, and the Uptown Business Chamber.  She is endorsed by the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce and EMILY’s List.

About EMILY’s List

EMILY’s List created the Political Opportunity Program (POP) in 2001. POP recruits, trains, and supports pro-choice Democratic women running for state legislative, constitutional and key local offices.  Since then, POP has helped elect hundreds of women across the United States.

In the 2009-2010 cycle, EMILY’s List raised more than $38.5 million to support its mission of recruiting and supporting women candidates, helping them build strong campaigns, and mobilizing women voters to turn out and vote. With a community of more than 600,000 members across the country, EMILY’s List is one of the largest political action committees in the nation. Since its founding in 1985, EMILY’s List has worked to elect 84 pro-choice Democratic women to the U.S. House, 16 to the U.S. Senate, nine governors, and hundreds of women to the state legislatures, state constitutional offices, and other key local offices. In the 2009-2010 cycle, EMILY’s List had the largest number of members and donors in our 25 year history.

Chicagoland Chamber Endorses Phelan

Phelan’s Jobs and Business Plan Best for Community

Chicago – The Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday endorsed Molly Phelan as the best choice for alderman in the 46th Ward.

“I’m thrilled that the Chamber recognizes my vision for business development and job creation in the 46th Ward,” Phelan said.  “They recognize that I have the most comprehensive plan to bring businesses and jobs to our neighborhoods and move our community forward.”

The Chamber is the leading business association in the region.  Its 2,600 members employ more than one million people throughout the region.

According to an analysis performed by Chicago Muckrackers, a blog of The Chicago Reporter, the 46th Ward had 7,026 jobs in 2008, significantly fewer than every neighboring ward.  The closest in number of jobs was the 48th Ward, with 10,732.

Phelan’s short term plan includes hiring a business liaison for her aldermanic office and encouraging the owners of vacant storefronts to provide free space to local artists.  Both plans have spurred local business development in other Chicago communities and across the country.

“I’ve spoken to many local building owners about this plan, and they’re excited by it,” Phelan said. “The artists get free space to exhibit their work, and the landlords get increased foot-traffic while they market the property.  That foot traffic makes the space more valuable and brings vitality to our streets.”

Long term, Phelan will work with residents to create a community master plan.  Phelan also intends promote Uptown as a regional arts and entertainment center, leveraging the community’s diversity and rich entertainment history and infrastructure.

“Uptown has a huge potential to become an entertainment center like Nashville or Austin,” Phelan said.  “There is no reason why Uptown shouldn’t be home to numerous theaters, recording studios and independent record labels, along with the diverse jobs those businesses bring.”

About Molly Phelan: Molly Phelan is an independent, forward-thinking attorney with a passion to serve her neighbors and move our community forward.  She has served as CAPS beat liaison in beats 2322 and 2323, and as a member of the Buena Park Neighbors board, the Uptown Chicago Commission board, and the Uptown Business Chamber.  She is endorsed by the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce.

Upcoming Fundraisers

Holiday Club
Friday February 4th, from 7pm-9pm
4000 North Sheridan Road Chicago, IL 60613
Individual-$25, Patron-$50, Friend-$100, Sponsor-$250

Kit Kat Lounge and Supper Club
Sunday, February 13^th from 3:30pm-5:30pm
3700 N Halsted St., Chicago, IL60613
Individual-$25, Patron-$50, Friend-$100, Sponsor-$250

The Bar on Buena
Wednesday, February 16^th from 6pm-8pm
910 West Buena Ave., Chicago, IL 60613
Individual-$25, Patron-$50, Friend-$100, Sponsor-$250

To RSVP for any of the events, please email us Karen@phelan46.com or call (773) 564-9989.

Molly to Participate in a Series of Candidate Forums

Over the next few weeks Molly is scheduled to attend a series of forums intended to give residents of the 46th Ward a chance to meet the candidates running to represent them as alderman. This is a great opportunity for residents to learn more about Molly’s vision for the community and to ask questions about the issues most important to them. The list of scheduled forum’s is below:

January 19th, 6:30-8pm: O.N.E. – Peoples Church, 941 W Lawrence

January 24th, 7-9pm: Lakeview Citizens Council – Inter-American School, 851 W. Waveland

January 29th, 2-4pm: Borders Books, 4718 N. Broadway

February 8th, 7-8:30pm: 46th Ward Democrats Aldermanic Candidates Forum – Holiday Club, 4000 N. Sheridan

February 15th, 6-7:30pm: Tenant Leadership of Mercy Housing, Lakefront – Lakeview Church of Christ, 4716 N Malden

Welcome to our Website

UNC Aldermanic Forum Written Q & A

The following questions were submitted by members of the Uptown Neighborhood Council during their recent aldermanic forums.

What is the biggest challenge facing the new 46th Ward alderman? How will you address it?

We really have two major issues, although I believe they are interrelated. Our two biggest challenges are how we will confront crime and how to entice businesses to our community.

Traditionally, we would confront crime by trying to put more resources into police protection. And I will work to bring more foot and bicycle police patrols onto our streets. But with the city $655 million in the red, we need more creative solutions.

First, we need to try to stop the schools-to-prison pipeline that is funneling so many of our young people through gangs. One of the easiest steps we can take is to keep kids in school longer each day. There is no reason that kids should be out of school and on the streets at 2:45 in the afternoon. With most parents at work, this becomes a prime time for gangs to recruit new members.

Our schools have some valuable after-school programs, but student families must pay tuition to outside contractors to utilize most of them. For some, the tuition can cost $300 a month. Many families don’t have the money to spare. And unfortunately, those families are the ones who often need these programs the most. I will work with local business groups and social service agencies to expand access to these after-school athletic and academic programs for the children who need them the most.

Second, we need to crack down on irresponsible landlords. I’ll set up a hotline in my office where residents can report buildings that are centers for drug or gang activity. A lot of residents, especially in affordable housing, are afraid of reporting problems with gangs for fear of retribution either from the landlord or the gang. My hotline will provide a place where residents can provide information without fear of reprisal.

We’ll share that information with police so they can better enforce the law, and we’ll use that information to hold problem landlords accountable for irresponsible property management. While I was in law school at Loyola, I interned with the city’s Law Department, assisting in the investigation and prosecution of irresponsible landlords who allowed their buildings to become a blight upon the neighborhoods. I’ll go after problem landlords and force them to clean up their act.

I’ll also inform the community about court hearings regarding these problem buildings, and a member of my staff will attend those hearings. When neighbors and community leaders show up to court hearings, it sends a clear message to judges that the community cares and demands accountability.

I’ll also make sure that either I, or a member of my staff, is at every CAPS meeting in the ward, and I’ll work with federal authorities and police to seek prosecution of street gangs as criminal enterprises under the federal RICO Act.

But to help decrease crime, we also need to recruit businesses into our community to create jobs and revitalize our business corridors. Crime thrives in places people avoid. If we can fill the storefronts, we can make our streets inhospitable to crime.

I will hire a business liaison for my office whose sole job it is to retain existing businesses and recruit new employers. The city permitting process can be very confusing and difficult for many small business owners, and my business liaison will help guide them through the process. This has been very successful in other wards, and it can help boost the business climate in our community.

Before those businesses come into the community, I will work with local building owners to donate empty store windows to local artists, turning our sidewalks into outdoor art galleries. It increases pedestrian traffic, promotes local arts and culture, and brings more people onto our streets. This is another strategy that has provided dividends in other neighborhoods, and it can work here.

As another prong of business development, we really need to work on promoting Uptown as the center of the entertainment industry in Chicago and the Midwest. We have some of the best music clubs and theatres clustered right here in our community, and yet, almost nothing is done to promote that. The entertainment industry is a multi-billion-dollar business that employs people in large corporations and small start-ups.

I’ll work with the business community and the 48th Ward Alderman to promote Uptown and its diverse entertainment heritage in a way that encourages further development of the entire industry. There is no reason why Uptown shouldn’t be home to numerous recording studios, galleries, independent labels, and music promoters.

If elected, what are the top five priorities you will tackle during your first hundred days in office? What process will you use? Who will be involved?

I suspect that the crime and business development plans outlined in the answer above will keep me very busy well beyond the first 100 days. I’ll also start working on a community master plan, which I’ll discuss in response to the next question.

And I’ll create a more open and responsive ward service office. My office will have Saturday hours, and we’ll host a ward night every month where you can come and tell me what needs fixing.

And finally, from day one, I will work to begin the slow process of bridging the divisions that exist in our community. I moved to this community because of the diversity that exists here and no where else.

In our community’s unique diversity lies its greatest potential. This can be a special place where people of different races, different social and economic statuses, people of different sexual orientations and different religions can live and work together to create the thriving and safe community we all deserve.

Bridging the gaps that exist now will not be easy. It will take time and hard work. However, I believe it must be done. We can only address the issues in our community if we all work together.

What will you do in your first six months to revive the 46th Ward’s retail streets? Will you create a Master Plan? If so, who will be involved?

First, I will hire a business liaison for my office. That person will work to retain existing businesses and recruit new employers. The city permitting process can be very difficult, especially for a small business owner, and my business liaison will help guide them through the required city permitting process. This has been very successful in other wards, and I use take this simple step to make our community more hospitable to businesses.

Second, from day one, I will work with local building owners to donate empty store windows to local artists, turning our sidewalks into outdoor art galleries. It increases pedestrian traffic, promotes local arts and culture, and brings more people onto our streets. This is another strategy that has provided dividends in other neighborhoods and can work here.

I will work with the community to create a master plan for future development and revitalization throughout all our neighborhoods. Master plans have proven to be hugely valuable tools in identifying community assets and opportunities, as well as providing a guiding vision for moving communities forward.

The first step in creating such a plan will be to talk to other alderman who have gone through the process so we can learn from the mistakes of others. Then, I will organize a committee of representatives from block clubs, business groups, social service providers, property management companies, and other residents to discuss what our community needs and how we can move our community forward.

Will the Wilson El Station rehab and redesign be on your Top-Five Priority List? If so…where will you look for funding the estimated $30-36 Million cost?

The Wilson Red Line stop has amazing potential to serve as a beautiful gateway to our community. I will work with the CTA, architecture preservation organizations, and the business community to restore the Wilson station.

As an example of what can be accomplished with some creative thinking, I look toward the public/private partnership that funded the renovation of much of the North and Clybourn El Station. There, Apple contributed almost $3.9 million toward refurbishing the station in return for advertising rights at the station and naming rights should the CTA ever decide to sell them. That is the type of innovative deal I would like to use to help pay for a Wilson El Station restoration. It won’t fully fund the project, but it will make a significant dent.

What do you think is not being done to address the gangs and violent crime riddling Uptown? What specifically will you do to restore safety to our neighborhoods?

We need an alderman who actively works to address our crime issue. I already have a good working relationship with police in our community through my work as a CAPS beat liaison. As alderman, either I or a member of my staff will attend every CAPS meeting in the ward so that I can ensure that issues are being addressed as quickly as possible.

But, of course, so much more is needed.

First, we need to try and stop the schools-to-prison pipeline that is funneling so many of our young people through gangs. One of the easiest steps we can take is to keep kids in school longer each day. There is no reason that kids should be out of school at 2:45 in the afternoon. With most parents at work, this becomes a prime time for gangs to recruit new members.

Our schools have some valuable after-school programs, but families must pay tuition to outside contractors to utilize most of them. For some, the tuition can cost $300 a month. Many families don’t have the money. And unfortunately, those families are the ones who often need these programs the most. I will work with local business groups and social service agencies to expand access to these after-school athletic and academic programs for the children who need them the most.

Second, we need to crack down on irresponsible landlords. While in law school at Loyola, I interned with the city’s Law Department, assisting in the investigation and prosecution of irresponsible landlords who allowed their buildings to become havens for gangs and drugs. I’ll go after problem landlords and force them to clean up their act.

I’ll also inform the community about court hearings regarding these problem buildings, and a member of my staff will attend those hearings. When neighbors and community leaders show up to court hearings, it sends a clear message to judges that the community cares and demands accountability.

What process would you use to determine how the remaining $49 Million of Wilson Yard TIF money is spent? What role will residents have in this process?

I’ve long advocated for an open TIF budgeting process . The community should know about proposals for TIF spending well before a decision is made, and the community should have a voice in deciding how that money is spent. I’ll create a transparent process where residents can share their ideas and make their voices heard.

I’ll also require that any proposal for TIF funds generate the most bang for the buck. For me, that means job creation. Every TIF dollar we spend should go toward the creation of permanent and sustainable jobs that pay a living wage.

What is your position on the Maryville TIF and the current planning process? How will you address the questionable process that created this TIF?

I’m skeptical about the necessity of most TIFs. TIFs were created to help generate development in depressed communities where private investment would not otherwise happen. I’m not convinced that, without TIF, there would be no private investment on that site.

I’ll seek outside analysis to determine if TIF is really needed there. I will open up the planning process, requiring anyone with a TIF spending proposal for the site to bring it before the community. And I’ll require that any TIF funds spent create permanent and sustainable jobs that pay a living wage.

Lastly, I will not use TIF funds to subsidize condominiums at that site. It seems insulting to use taxpayer funds to subsidize the construction of lakeview condos when so many current condo owners are under water on their units.

If there are other questions, please feel free to e-mail them to mollyp@phelan46.com.

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