Just a Thought
For the first in nearly a quarter of
a decade there will be fresh blood
in the fish bowl at city hall. Not
only is there a new administration
but there has been a substantial
turnover in the aldermanic pool.
This is a good thing. Fresh
ideas, fewer obligations and an
opportunity for change. While we have a small
window of change I’d like to reiterate some old
ideas and express a couple of new ones.
1. Shared sacrifice water rates. Multi million
dollar Chicago area hospitals and universities
pay NO WATER BILLS. This is because alderman
request and receive waivers of these fees in
behalf of these institutions. My suggestion?
Demand that hospitals that request water
waivers open and operate trama centers. It’s a
damned shame that there are no trama centers
on the south side of Chicago and we have the
University of Chicago Hospital benefiting from
not paying a water bill. No trama center, no
waivers.
2. Convert some of city services to the grid
system. It is unfair for a ward with eight total
blocks to receive the same amount of dollars for
sidewalk, street lighting, street resurfacing than a
ward that has 100 blocks (50th and 10th wards).
Some of the smaller wards resurface side walks every
five years while others have sections of their wards
that have not had resurfacing since the WPA.
Furthermore ward superintendent is a fancy name for
a supervisor. Streets and Sanitation has an
opportunity to centralize services and take the
responsibility of garbage and snow removal out of the
hands of the alderman and place it where it should
be, in City Hall. That is what 311 is for anyway isn’t
it?
3. Implore the state legislature to require a deposit on
plastic bottles. Why you say? How many aluminum
cans do you see in the streets? Not many. It would
create an alternate source of income for some of the
professional beggars at the neighborhood
intersections and Walgreens. Plus It would be an
immediate boost to the failed city recycling program
eliminating tons of plastic landfill waste annually.
4. Expand internet access to city residences. The city
has pimped us out. Every time you turn around
there’s either a new fee or a higher fee.The new
mayor can do this gesture for relatively low cost.
Increase the wireless ranges of city owned routers.
Essentially make wireless connections that are
already in place at public libraries, schools, city hall
and other government owned buildings stronger.
Power them up so residents that live in proximity to
these buildings can have free WIFI Mayor Rahm, you
have an excellent opportunity to do something
different, the question is will you?
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