The Starting Bell Rings

So much work has gone into this moment. And yet, it is only the beginning.

In a little more than two weeks, we collected more than three times the number of petition signatures required to get Molly on the ballot and move our community forward. Molly filed those signatures this morning at the Chicago Board of Elections. Since Molly was among the candidates in line at 9 am today, she will be part of the Board’s lottery Dec. 1 to determine ballot position.

Thank you to all the volunteers who helped us in this effort. We could not have done it without you!

This is only the start of the hard work we need to do to elect Molly as our next alderman. In the coming weeks, we will open our campaign office, distribute window signs, begin our direct mail campaign, generate media attention, and fend off the inevitable attacks. All of these activities cost money. To bring Molly’s message to voters and move our community forward, we need your generous contribution. If you can, please consider contributing.

Man charged in Halloween shooting of 3 teens

From the Chicago Tribune

A 20-year-old man was charged this morning in connection with a Halloween shooting that left three teens wounded and trick-or-treaters scrambling for cover on the North Side in the city’s Uptown neighborhood.

Akelo Washington of the 4800 block of North Winthrop Avenue, was charged with eight counts of aggravated discharge of a firearm from a vehicle, police said.

The shooting happened about 5:13 p.m on Halloween on the 1200 block of West Montrose Avenue, said Police News Affairs Officer John Mirabelli.

Police were called to the scene, where they found three wounded youths, one of them 13 years old, according to earlier reports.

All three victims were taken to hospitals in serious-to-critical condition, but their conditions were later stabilized, officials said.

One victim, 17, was shot in the leg. Another victim, also 17, was shot in the leg and forearm. The youngest victim also was shot in the leg, police said.

Washington was scheduled to appear in bond court later today.

Let’s Work Together to End Violence in Our Community

On Halloween, five different people were shot in three different incidents. Marlos Canteberry was shot and killed near Sunnyside and Sheridan early Sunday evening. Another man was shot in the leg while in his home early Sunday morning. And a 13-year-old and two adults were shot in front of trick-or-treating families late Sunday afternoon. My heart goes out to those injured and Marlos’s family, and I ask that you all keep them in your thoughts and prayers.

We cannot allow these crimes to go unanswered. We must remain strong in the face of such wanton violence.

Anyone with information to should contact the Chicago Police, 23rd District, at 312-744-8320 or 23ehotline@chicagopolice.org. Someone saw the shooters. Someone knows the perpetrators. If you haven’t done so already, stand up and do what is right.

As a community, we must come together against this violence. Two of the shootings happened in Beat 2311, the area between Broadway, Montrose, Lawrence and Clark. That CAPS meeting, originally scheduled for this Tuesday, has been rescheduled due to Election Day to 7 pm Tuesday, Nov. 9, at Truman College, 1145 W. Wilson. The shooting in the 1000 block of Sunnyside was in CAPS Beat 2313. That beat meets at 7 pm Wednesday, Nov. 10, at the Clarendon Park Field House, 4501 N. Clarendon.

To learn more about which CAPS beat you live in, along with when and where it meets, call 312-744-0064 if you live south of Lawrence. For CAPS beat meetings north of Lawrence, call 312-742-8714 Go to your CAPS meetings and help police identify problem individuals and buildings in the neighborhood.

Solving our crime issues will take a wide range of solutions. We need to go after problem landlords who allow gangs and drug activity in their buildings. We need to provide better business opportunities so that there are more jobs in our neighborhoods and more people walking our streets deterring crime. And we need more police officers walking and bicycling our streets. It won’t be easy, but if we all work together, we can end the violence and move our community forward.

Chicago Breaking News: Mayor Daley will not run for re-election

It is a new era for Chicago! Mayor Daley retires! Support a new era of open, honest and innovative leadership- please donate at phelan46.com.

Chicago Breaking News just announced Mayor Richard Daley will not run for re-election in 2011. The article quotes Daley saying it’s:

“time for me, it’s time for Chicago to move on.”

“The truth is I have been thinking about this for the past several months,” Daley said at a City Hall news conference. “In the end this is a personal decision, no more, no less.”

The article, posted on September 7, 2010, can be read in its entirety at www.chicagobreakingnews.com.

Chicago Sun-Times: Phelan “Front-Runner” in 46th Ward Race

Chicago Sun-Times columnist Laura Washington declares Molly Phelan to be the “front-runner” in the race to succeed Helen Shiller as Alderman of the 46th Ward. Washington states:

Conventional wisdom says Phelan, a vocal Shiller critic, is the front-runner in the 46th; she’s the only woman in the contest, and the gay candidates will split the GLBT vote.

The article, published on August 9, 2010, can be read in its entirety at www.suntimes.com.

Phelan: A New Era

Today’s column by Laura Washington in the Chicago Sun-Times confirms that Alderman Helen Shiller will not seek reelection. I would like to thank the Alderman for her 23 years of service to the Ward and City; she will be remembered for all she did during her time in office. I wish her the best in her future endeavors.

The upcoming municipal election will herald the dawn of a new era in the 46th Ward, but I don’t think we should wait that long to begin working together in earnest to strengthen our neighborhoods, improve our schools, and bolster economic development.  Uniting our community is key to addressing these challenges, and so I look forward to working with all of you to move the 46th Ward forward in the months and years to come.

Yours,
Molly Phelan

Lake Effect News: Phelan Vows To Bring “Active Transparency” To City Council

The Lake Effect News announced Phelan vows to bring “active transparency” to city council for the 46th Ward. The article states:

Saying there was “a difference between transparency and putting something up on a web site because a city ordinance tells you to do it,” Phelan vowed to bring “active transparency” to Chicago.

Molly Phelan: “I’m going to tell you what’s going to happen before it even happens. I’m going to tell you what’s in my mind and I’m going to have my open community meetings video-taped so that if you have to work late you didn’t miss it. You can go home and watch it on your computer,” Phelan said. “You’re not going to miss a thing because I’m giving it to you. You don’t have to find out anything about me because it’s going to be right there.”

The post, published on July 15, 2010, can be read in its entirety at www.lakeeffectnews.com.

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