Jewish Chicago Mayoral Aldermanic 2011 issue for avyworld

Take me intothe Voting Boothwith youPlease Pick Me Up, I’m FREEThere is much to be learned in these pagesMayoral/Aldermanic - 5771/2011CHICAGO’S MOST RESPECTED JEWISH PUBLICATIONStone, Silverstein, Kahn, et albattle it out for 50th ward aldermandel Valle, Braun.Chico & Emanuelhead to the wireComplete Mayoral & AldermanicElection Guide Inside

Jewish Chicago 2011 Mayoral and Election Analysisby Avy MeyersChicago’s Mayoral and Aldermanic Election taking place Tuesday, February22nd, is a completely different animal than the usual Federal, State and Countyelections. Israel is rarely a factor though it can be. Many areas in the city havelittle if any Jewish presence or concerns. The largest Jewish community inChicago is West Rogers Park/ Peterson Park, the 50th ward and as such it willget the most coverage.There is a significant Jewish presence on the North Lake front and some a bitwest, depending on the area. We’ll cover as much as we can that is pertinent tothe Jewish community.Other factors that affect our coverage are the very large number of candidatesthroughout the city, many of them newcomers to the scene. The short two-monthperiod of time from when the petitions are filed to the over 400 challenges madeagainst prospective candidates to the hearings on the challenges and the findingsof the hearings officers and judicial appeals to when final ballot is then madeknown and early voting begins, make it difficult to gather all the information I’dlike to have. Approximately 350 candidates filed for alderman and when the dustsettled, about 250 remained on the ballot.It’s virtually impossible to properly interview all the many candidates in thewards that matter, not that all of them have a serious chance. Many are first-timecandidates and new to the political process with no track record. Others have rununsuccessfully way too often and are hard to take seriously anymore if ever. WhileI interviewed as many people as I could, it was impossible to get everybody.Most candidates I approached were amenable and often grateful to beinginterviewed. Some ducked; that says something about their lack of transparency,courage and their lack of desire to let the Jewish community know more aboutthem.As a result, I am only endorsing in a minimum of races and for the most part,rating candidates I have interviewed and/or studied and am familiar with andletting you know if I feel they are up to the job.Not all wards are covered, just wards with enough of a Jewish population tomake it worthwhile.For those who are unaware, I have been doing a nationally award-winningweekly cable TV show for the last 19 years. The awards include Best News Showand Making a Difference in the Community, from the Alliance for CommunityMedia and the Excellence in Community Outreach from the Illinois State CrimeCommission. The latter came from a nomination made by one of Time Magazine’s100 most important people on Earth, Tom Dart.All of the televised interviews we have done for the past 4 years plus, thiselection, can be accessed uncut and in full by going to the show website, http://ntnm.org/or directly on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/user/sonnyhtv.Sonny Hersh handles the camera, lighting, audio and more. I produce, host,direct and edit. Sonny and I often disagree politically, so anyone who assigns mypolitical views to Sonny doesn’t know what they are talking or writing about.All candidates running are doing so on a non-partisan basis, no Democrats, noRepublicans, no primary.Any candidate in anyrace on February 22ndthat garners 50.0 percentplus 1 vote, is the winner.Otherwise, the top 2 votegetters will meet in a runoff on Tuesday, April 5thand the top vote getter wins.Early voting is alreadyunderway and runs thruThursday, February 17thexcept for Lincoln’sBirthday, Friday, Feb. 11.If you missed the Jan. 25voter-registration deadline,you can still register to vote,update your address or fileyour name change during agrace period. This can onlyhappen in person at theChicago Election Board, 69W. Washington, 6th Floor, 9am to 5 pm except Sunday,9 am to 3 pm. You’ll need2 forms of identification,one of which must includeyour current address. Afterthat, too bad. Call them at1.312.269.7900 for furtherinformation.Before I get startedwith the candidaterundown, it is importantfor everyone to know thecriteria we used in makingour endorsements.

Just being Jewish is not enough, not even close to enough. If a Jewishcandidate is pitted against a non-Jewish candidate, and all things are equal interms of their ability to do the job, there won’t necessarily be an endorsement.There are some non-Jews who have done an absolutely superb job of takingcare of both Jewish concerns and the community. They will most certainly beendorsed, and yes, even against Jewish opposition. If a Jewish candidate is wellqualifiedfor the office, but does not take care of real Jewish concerns for his orher constituents, he or she will not be endorsed.If there is no real benefit to the Jewish community in a race, it may notbe touched. There are political experts in regular newspapers and other mediawho can perform that function. Endorsements from the two Chicago daily papersin aldermanic elections are virtually meaningless. Not just because of theirdwindling readership, staff and resources, but because they primarily cover theloop and the immediate surrounding area. They have little if any real knowledgeor insight into Chicago’s neighborhoods. They can’t even get the name of myneighborhood, West Rogers Park or West Ridge right most of the time, so howare they going to know what is important here.This is a Jewish newspaper and I focus on Jewish concerns. The bottomline is that Jewish Chicago looks for candidates of quality for the community asa whole who will take care of Jewish concerns as they arise. The primary Jewishconcerns are on a national level and concern Israel.Liberal, conservative, left wing, right wing—Jewish Chicago is not a fan ofany of these. Practical solutions to real-life problems is the best way to go. Theonly “ism” I am into is Judaism. Let’s also note Judaism is a religion. There isa G-d, there is a heaven and a hell and G-d gave Moses the Torah on Mt. Sinai.I am hosting a live one-hour election preview show on CANTV-19, Sundaymorning, February 13, that will be co-hosted by Rabbi Doug and Chicago’sleading election lawyer, Jim Nally. The program is being produced by SonnyHersh and will most likely air on YouTube within a day as a two-part show. Goto our website at http://ntnm.org/, or go to YouTube and search sonnyhtv.● Mayor of the City of ChicagoWhile 20 people originally filed for Mayor, we are down to six with onlyfour being serious candidates.In ballot position order we start with Rahm Emanuel, the Jewish candidate.Emanuel’s father is a pediatrician whose practice was on Lincoln Ave. nearDevon. Many members of Chicago’s Jewish community availed themselves ofhis services. Dr. Emanuel is staunchly pro-Israel. Rahm believes that Israel cantrade land for a lasting peace with the Arab nations. He played a crucial role in theClinton administration’s foolhardy Oslo Accords and championed the pressureand disdain Pres. Barack Obama has shown the State of Israel, ignoring the factthat Israel is America’s only staunch and reliable ally in the Middle East and weare the only ones who want peace and value peace so highly, we are willing tomake ridiculous concessions to achieve true peace.Our enemies have repeatedly shown they will gladly sacrifice the lives oftheir women and children if there is a smidgen of a chance they can make theJewish people look bad.A wise Rabbi who has followed Emanuel through the years opined thathe is not pro-Palestinian, he just really believes that Israel can get real peace inexchange for giving up land that is truly ours; to which the so-called Palestinianshave absolutely no legitimate claim. Could this be why his father has stated thatRahm is the least of his 3 sons?Don’t look for any transparency from Emanuel. Don’t look for a participatorydemocracy with the city council. Look for the same sort of dictatorial despot thatusually runs Chicago. A wise lifelong West Rogers Park resident stated “you’rejust trading bagpipes for a yarmulke.” Emanuel does have the full support of theDaley clan, without whom Obama would never have been president.As for the court challenge to his residency: Was politics involved at multiplelevels of the election board and judicial process? This is Chicago; of course itwas.Does Emanuel have what it takes to be a good Mayor? Absolutely, positivelyyes. He is extremely sharp and has true killer instinct. He is highly qualified. Thequestion is: Where will that killer instinct be pointed?Will he be a good mayor? I have my doubts, but it is possible.The best reason to vote forEmanuel is that it will keep himoff the national stage wherehe has already caused seriousdamage to Israel. The second bestreason, he can hopefully get hisObamanible buddy in Washingtonto send money flowing Chicago’sway. Interestingly more than oneleft-wing progressive nationalnewspaper columnist hasexpressed true joy that Emanuel isleaving Washington.I have never met a person whoknows Emanuel and finds himlikeable. At least you know he iswealthy enough that he doesn’tneed to steal for himself. Thetrouble, as with the current Daleyadministration, comes from theheavy campaign contributorsthat will be allowed to continuecharging robber baron prices for their goods and services.He is the likely winner. You are going to need to make up your own mind onEmanuel.Miguel del Valle is the second name on the ballot. del Valle served as a highlydistinguished, blue-ribbon, effective State Senator from 1986 to 2006. His initialvictory was against long odds and serious opposition from the powers that beas was his 1990 reelection when heavyweights like Luis Gutierrez and JosephBerrios stood strong against his reelection campaign.Richard M. Daley made him a surprise appointment to the post of City Clerkin 2006 to replace convicted felon Jim Laski. For once, Daley wanted someonebeyond reproach so the stench of Laski didn’t rub off on him.PUNCH 55AHMED KHAN FOR ALDERMAN OF THE 50TH WARDAhmed has always been a friend of the Jewish community. He is a lifelong resident ofthe 50 th Ward and his family has served the entire community through a supermarketbusiness on Devon Avenue for over 22 years.Ahmed has worked with the Jewish/Muslim Coalition Building Initiative sponsored bythe Jewish Council on Urban Affairs to build bridges across ethnic, cultural and religiouslines. While attending Loyola University he has worked closely with the organizationof Jewish Students, Hillel on inter-faith projects. In the past Ahmed has beenpart of initiatives to network the Jewish community with Muslim businesses on DevonAve.Ahmed is familiar with the Jewish community as he has attended services at TempleSholom off of Lakshore Drive and Beth Emet Synagogue in Evanston.Ahmed has always worked as a professional community activist on interfaith and multiculturalplatforms for the common good of the community and will continue to fight forbetter education, healthcare, and city services for ALL residents of the 50th Ward.“I have seen firsthand the needs of our Ward growing up here and I want to bring mysuccessful endeavors in uniting communities to the 50th Ward of Chicago. We maycome from different backgrounds, yet we ALL share the same community concerns.The 50th Ward needs a new UNITED direction.”- Ahmed KhanVisit my website to read my 12 Point Plan for Progress and more on our communitygrassroots campaign.www.ElectAhmedKhan.comINDEPENDENT—SERVICE ORIENTED—SOLUTIONS DRIVENPaid for by the Friends of Ahmed Khan Candidate Political Committee.A copy of our report is (or will be) filed with the Illinois State Board of Elections, is (or will be) available for purchase from the Illinois State Board of Elections,Springfield, IL. Contributions or gifts to the Friends of Ahmed Khan Candidate Political Committee are NOT deductible for federal or state income tax purposes.

del Valle was planning to stepdown as City Clerk when Daleysurprised the political world byannouncing his retirement. Thechallenge of being elected Mayorattracted del Valle and he chose toaccept the challenge.del Valle is the most open andhonest candidate of the bunch.He has placed serious restrictionson who can donate money to hiscampaign. Restrictions strong andhonest enough to severely limit howmuch money he will be taking in andthe amount of money he’ll be able tospend on the campaign.del Valle is running an open andhonest campaign that matches his25-year record in office. If elected,you can be sure his tenure in officewill be transparent and open. Hewelcomes an open and honest debateof issues and opinions in city council.I doubt people outside of city government begin to understand the fear cityemployees continually experience during the Daley reign. Miguel del Vallewould make a terrific mayor. I do worry about his poll numbers. He still has timeto build them up, but it needs to start happening.Gery Chico is thought by some with extensive knowledge of city governmentto be the brainiest of the lot. Once upon a time he was a janitor and worked hisway through college and law school. He has a knack for being able to workconstructively with a wide diversity of people. He has served in a variety of rolesin City government. He ran the Chicago Board of Education, the City Collegesand was Daley’s chief of staff. He has also built a very successful and prosperouslaw firm.Kindhearted JewsThis is an urgent appeal for a family struggling to put bread onthe table who are trying to pay for their daughter’s wedding.Tax deductible checks can be written out to:Ein Od Milvado (EOM) receipts will be sent on request.Please send your much needed donation to:Rabbi Doni Deutsch6635 N. Richmond Ave., Chicago, IL 60645A former West Rogers Park resident whose first wife is Jewish, he was highlyinstrumental in keeping the Hanna Sachs Bais Yaakov Girls School building onDevon--a development that added strength to the Jewish side of Devon at a timeit was badly needed.It earned Gery Chico Jewish Chicago’s endorsement for U.S. Senate in the2004 Democratic primary. A primary won by Barrack Obama.Chico fully understands the city’s urgent need to replenish the police force.Adding the 2,000 to 3,000 police officers needed will require 2% - 3% of thecity’s 6 plus billion dollar budget. Healso understands the importance ofcommunity policing and wants to fullyrestore the CAPS (Chicago AlternativePolicing Strategy) program to fullstrength.A North side community policingofficer who made a remarkable 200arrests in 2009, says he made a greaterdifference for public safety in 2010while dealing with the public in thecommunity policing office than the 200arrests the prior year.Strong relationships and ties thatnever before existed were forged by thecommunity policing program betweenChicago residents and the officers thatpatrol our city streets. Regular citizensbecame extra sets of eyes and ears forthe police. They came to the 200 plusregular community policing meetings located in every neighborhood in everycorner of the city where they met with the officers from all 3 shifts that patrolledtheir specific streets morning, noon and night. Crime went down year after yearand even with the recently gelded program now in place, crime continues todecline, but for how long? We need CAPS back full strength and none of thecandidates understands that better than Gery Chico.Chico is worth some serious thought and would be a huge improvement overthe present administration.In ballot order position, the fourth major candidate is former Cook CountyRecorder of Deeds, former United States Senator and former U.S. Ambassadorto New Zealand Carol Mosley Braun.How the black coalition chose her over the other candidates who are farsuperior to her is beyond my imagination. Even Senator James Meeks who hasdone nothing to show he is friendly to the Jewish community, though he didattend the Agudah banquet, would have been a better choice.Braun displayed dishonesty, incompetence, lack of attendance and sheerlaziness throughout her career in public life. She is very charming and has agreat smile.The black community has done themselves a serious disservice.Carol Mosley Braun would be a horrid Mayor.● City Clerk and Treasurers RacesIn the City Clerks race, State Representative Susana Mendoza is runningagainst Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Trustee Patricia Horton.Art Andros who was knocked off the ballot for being 600 signatures short(12,500 needed) would have been my strong choice. I have no preference in thisrace.Current City Treasurer Stephanie D. Neely is running unopposed.● Aldermanic RacesWe will only be writing about wards with a Jewish population where there ispertinent information to provide.

2nd ward: While I am impressed with community activist Enrique Perez,our nod goes to incumbent Ald. Bob Fioretti. He has shown independence,original thought and ingenuity during his first term and deserves reelection. Hewas planning a run for Mayor before illness struck and would have made aninteresting candidate.Jewish Chicago endorses Ald. Bob Fioretti.7th ward: Just about anybody but incumbent Sandi Jackson wife of Israelifoe, disgraced Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. and an excellent reason as to whyChicago daily newspaper endorsements should be ignored.39th ward: Ald. Marge Laurino has faithfully served her community formany years. Her ward includes parts of Peterson Park, Albany Park as well as theTelshe Yeshiva community. She has done an outstanding job for her constituentsand the sizeable Jewish community in her ward. She has been a true friend tothe Telshe community andJewish Chicago stronglyendorses Ald. MargeLaurino.Jewish Chicago endorses Michelle Smith for alderman of the 43rd ward.45th ward: Far Northwest side, Cicero to Nagle and Irving to approximatelyDevon. Not a huge Jewish population, but there is a presence. There are twocandidates I like here. In ballot position order, Don Blair has a financialbackground, an MBA from the University of Chicago and was the headof economic development for 6 corners before he stepped down to run foralderman.Lt. John Garrido of the Chicago Police Department is extremelyintelligent and personable and would make an excellent alderman. Hecontinued his education after joining the force and earned a law degreefrom John Marshall Law School and has a small law practice in the 45thward.Whether you choose Garrido or Blair, you’ll get a good alderman.40th ward: The 40th wardcontains portions of RogersPark, Edgewater, WestRogers Park, HollywoodPark and more. While thedaily papers have taken anoccasional shot at him, Ald.Pat O’Connor is runningunopposed. The people in hisward like him a lot and hedoes good by them.O’Connor has consistentlyhelped and stood bythe Jewish educationalinstitutions and synagoguesin his ward. He is a strongsupporter of the ChicagoPolice.Opposition or noopposition, Jewish Chicagois pleased to endorseAld. Pat O’Connor forreelection.41st ward: ChicagoPolice Department Sgt.Richard Gonzalez is a verycapable individual. Despiteexcellent recommendations,Mary O’Connor camehighly recommended butwe never connected on aninterview. I am familiar withformer officer Jim Millen,but we never spoke. Thisfar Northwest side ward hassome Jewish population,but I don’t have enoughinformation to make anendorsement here.43rd ward: Along theLakefront, up to Diversey.Bita Buenerostro is a nativePersian (now Iran) and hassomething going for her. WardCommitteewoman MichelleSmith is a Jewish lawyer withan impressive background inthe public and private sector.…If you want to understand thetrue depth and beauty of theMishkan, you must read thisnew book.This groundbreaking workfeatures:• In-depth, yet easy-to-read,explanations of all aspects ofthe Mishkan and its vessels,proceeding through each andevery verse in Parashas Terumah• Extensive notes that provideimmense detail• Full-color, precise illustrationsthat reflect the author’spainstaking research• Scholarship based on numerousconsultations with MaranHaRav HaGaon Rav ChaimKanievsky, shlit”a, and otherGedolei YisraelBased on15 years ofresearch!Available at your local Judaica store or at judaicapress.com / 800-972-6201!

46th ward: From just south of Addison to approximately Lawrence orFoster along the Lake front. There are 11 candidates running for retiringAld. Helen Schiller’s post. Most people don’t know Schiller is Jewishand her Mom is a survivor. She doesn’t exactly advertise it.Among the more impressive candidates are lawyer Molly Phelan whocame highly regarded from two different sides of the political world.Also impressive is police officer Michael Carroll. Long-time wardsuperintendent Don Nowotny has his points.Diane Shapiro ran for Clerk of the Circuit Court in 2008 against incumbentDorothy Brown and was widely endorsed county wide. She wants a 10% acrossthe board budget cut, a ban on red light cameras, prohibiting the privatization ofmunicipal assets and pledges to work closely with the Chicago Police Departmentto reduce crime.She is a staunch supporter of Israel and very active in the Jewish community.If she had such wide spread support for a county-wide post, alderman should bea cinch. Shapiro has an interesting mind and is quite vocal. The idea of having atrue smorgasbord of ideas in city council would make for a better city.Jewish Chicago endorses Diane Shapiro for Alderman of the 46th ward.Miguel del ValleA Mayor for all Chicagofor every neighborhood48th ward: Along the Lake, justnorth of the 46th ward and goingas far north as Granville, Rosemontand Devon depending where. Longtime Ald. Mary Ann Smith isstepping down and State Rep. HarryOsterman looks like a lock. A longtimecommunity and Jewish activist haspraised Osterman’s involvement withthe Jewish community and noted thatthe Jewish candidate has shied fromthe Jewish community. Osterman neveranswered our request for an interviewso in all good conscience, there will beno endorsement here.49th ward: Along the Lake, a littlebit of Edgewater, Rogers Park and someof the east end of West Rogers Park,all the way up to the Chicago’s citylimits. 4 years ago Ald. Joe Moore survived a very serious challenge by fewerthan a hundred votes and it seemed a foregoneconclusion that he was dead meat this time around.Moore gathered a lot of attention with his stanceon national subjects and I will never forget seeinghis picture flashed on the McLaughlin Group andhearing arch conservative Pat Buchanan agreewith his stance on foie gras.Much has changed since then. Moore hasfocused long and hard on his home turf. His newwife Barbara has been a major asset for both Mooreand the neighborhood. The most impressive partin the eyes of many has been his participatorybudgeting. Each alderman is given $1.2 millionin discretionary funds to make the improvementsthey feel were most needed in their wards.Moore opened it up to the public, had wardresidents make suggestions and vote wherethe money should be used. Even though it isnot a princely sum by government spending, itwas the talk of the town and far beyond--a trueparticipatory democracy.Moore has great communications with hisresidents and his ward superintendent GregWagner gets 4 stars in my book.The new and popular Farmer’s market betweenMorse and Lunt is a major hit. Moore has been ahuge supporter of community policing since dayone and is actively trying to build it back up.His opponent Brian White is a nice guy andruns a non-profit that helps people get mortgagesand keep their homes when trouble hits. He doesn’thave a chance.Jewish Chicago strongly endorses Joe Moorefor reelection as Alderman of the 49th ward.Punch 2February 22, 2011Paid for by Friends of Del Valle50th ward: Most of West Rogers Park andpart of Peterson Park. Ald. Berny Stone is a 37year incumbent who faces 4 challengers in theFebruary 22nd election. This is by far the largestJewish community in the Midwest and has beenfor over 40 years.Read Jewish Chicagoon the webwww.avyworld.com

4 years ago, 3 opponents challenged Stone. Naisy Dolar led the pack whotogether, garnered enough votes in the February election to put Stone’s total atjust under 50% and forced an April run off. Stone vote total was very light in thenorthwest corner of the ward, the heavily Jewish area from Touhy to Howard,California to Kedzie. Normal turnout would have given Stone a clear cut edgeand ended matters in his favor in February. The light turnout forced a run off inApril.Sen. Ira Silverstein was Stone’s district leader in charge of the only lightvoting area in the ward. Even some of Silverstein’s politically savvy, moniedsupporters noted the unexpectedly low vote totals by the Jewish community whostrongly favored Stone in Silverstein’s area.Dolar and her supporters touted her as the good guy in a mortal struggle againstevil. Outside of a few self destructive MOT’s, the Jewish community ignoredtheir differences and stood united behind Stone in the runoff. Some in Stone’scamp did not trust Silverstein and brought in their own crew to get Berny’s plusvoters to the polls. When Silverstein found out he was livid and tried to stop themto no avail. Stone’s total got a healthy boost in the northwest corner and Stonecame out 700 votes ahead and won reelection.A very few months later, Ira Silverstein was quietly telling people he wasgoing to challenge Stone for 50th ward committeeman. Metropolitan WaterReclamation District President Terry O’Brien worked long and hard to brokera peace and set up an orderly transition of power. Every time O’Brien got Stoneand Silverstein to agree, Silverstein’s wife Debra said no and that was that.A group of Rabbis together with some of heaviest money people in the Jewishcommunity gathered in the hopes of keeping the Jewish communityunited. They met with the idea that they would come to a conclusion,unite, present their findings to Stone and Silverstein and get the loserto withdraw.The group chose Stone and met with Ira Silverstein. DebraSilverstein put her foot down and said no.The group convened again, chose Stone and once again it wasDebra who said no. The war was on.Sen. Ira Silverstein guided by his wife Debra, ran a campaign thatincluded threats and intimidation against his fellow Jews and wonelection as the Democratic party’s 50th ward committeeman, a nonpaid party position.So Naisy Dolar in her first try for political office loses by only700 votes, unites a large segment of the general community who arelicking their chops for her ascension to power in 2011. Their shiningknight, Naisy Dolar, the source of all that is good and wonderful. Theright person to bring their brand of honesty, integrity and idealism tothe ignorant masses. Where is she? Why isn’t she running?Well..... Naisy’s husband who at the time was a police officer,tested positive for crack cocaine. He hires a lawyer and files anappeal. A lawyer who handles these sort of cases told me you delaythe hearing as long as you can, collect your full salary while waiting,then the day before the hearing you announce that you can’t affordthe to go through the legal process and resign from the Police. Thatis exactly what occurred.Now that the offending officer is no longer on the force, thehearing isn’t necessary, there is no conviction on his record and hewalks away clean but no longer an officer.Dolar and her husband claimed he saw a dentist the day beforethe drug test and that is what produced the positive test. Membersof the police department told me that the level of cocaine needed inyour blood stream to test positive is so high, that even a one timerecreational use of cocaine wouldn’t result in a positive test. Youneed to ingest serious amounts to test positive.It should also be noted that more than one officer told me thatNaisy Dolar’s husband showed up visibly and totally intoxicated topolice social events and was known to have been tossed out of same.There are lots of eye witnesses.To watch our show on Youtubewww.ntnm.orgAnd let’s not forget where our shining idealistic knight Naisy Dolar regularlyheld her campaign meetings with the public, B & B Bagels on Touhy. TheBerkowitz boys have since seen the inside of a Federal Penitentiary. They workeda scheme concocted by an older relation to claim the $300 and $600 tax rebatesthe Bush administration offered for convicted felons sitting in Federal prison.They collected a seven figure haul.The last I heard, Naisy and her husband were running a BBQ joint in Floridaand no longer reside in our area.On to the present. We have 4 challengers running against Ald. Berny Stone.I want to note in print that I invited all 5 candidates to appear on my showtwice before the election and was willing to make special arrangements to makesure each got a fair shake by appearing twice.Stone and Kahn, each took full advantage and appeared twice. Silversteinappeared once. Brewer turned down the first invitation and didn’t respond to thesecond. Moses did not respond at all. Here are the candidates.Greg Brewer ran last time with strong union support. They kicked $180,000into his campaign and gave him lots of support. In total, Brewer raised $265,000and got 1,900 votes finishing a distant third.Brewer is an architect and has lived in the ward for 10 years. When I firstinvited him and he appeared on the show for the 2007 election, I tried speakingwith him afterward and he cold shouldered me, keeping his back to me. Shortlyafter, he ignored me while walking on the opposite side of the street downWestern Ave.Tannenbaum Chabad House-Northwestern Jewish CenterCelebrating25YearsPlease support us in our annual fundraising receptionhonoringAdam Blumenthal & Elana Sinesky BlumenthalOutstanding Alumni & Chesed AwardfeaturingComedy Ventriloquist Chuck FieldFebruary 13, 2011 To make a contribution or for moreAllen Centerinformation, please call 847-869-8060Northwestern University or donate at nuchabad.org/dinnerProviding Northwestern students a home-away-from-home.Ask-the-Rabbi. Home-Cooked Meals. Holocaust Awareness. PurimMasquerades. Holiday Services. Birthright Israel. Happy Hours.Passover Seders. Wing-it in the Sukkah. Shabbat Dinners. SinaiScholars. Speakers. Comedy Improv. Torah Classes. Simchat Torah Party.

Any hope he had to get the Jewish community’ssupport went up in flames when he sent out award wide mailing comparing Ald. Stone to abattered old Volkswagon Mini Bus.The word I have most frequently heard todescribe Brewer is pompous. Heard it often,from Jews, Catholics, Protestants and evenfellow journalists. I took particular exception tohis desire to see the guy building the structureat Devon and Rockwell go broke, even thoughsomeone else would finish the structure.Brewer fought long and hard to get the garagestopped and predictably failed miserably. Thatkind of meanness on a personal level in publiclife has no place.I will note that two people in the general community that I respect are staunchBrewer supporters. His January 20th report showed he raised only $26,000.I feel very strongly that given his attitude and actions that Greg Brewer is notqualified or capable to be an alderman.Michael Moses is making his sixth attempt to run for public office. He ran foralderman in 87 and 95. State Rep as a Republican in 88. State Rep as a Democratin 06. He lost for ward committeeman 30 years ago.JEWISH CHICAGO Mayoral/Aldermanic Election ©2011 All rights reservedJewish Chicago is a complimentary publication that isusually published just prior to elections. The opinionsof our columnists and writers do not necessarily reflectthe opinions of Jewish Chicago. email - jewishchicago@gmail.com Phone 773-290-2677.Our website is at http://avyworld.com/ We invite youto visit http://ntnm.org/ for all the latest on the NorthTown News Magazine hosted by publisher, Avy Meyers.Publisher and Editor .................... Avy MeyersPhotography .................................Sonny HershProof Reader .................... Gitel HesselbergOur web site will be switching to:www.jewishchicagomagazine.comshortlyMoses has never gotten more than 38% of the vote. That means he lost by alandslide every single election.Thom Serafin and Skinny Sheehan treated me to a serenade of what a greatguy Michael Moses is at Serafin and Associates annual bash.I have strongly supported Moses in 4 of his 5 previous runs, even servingas his titular campaign manager. I endorsed him in Jewish Chicago twice foralderman and once for State Rep. He is very intelligent and very capable. Whenit became obvious to me that he was running again, it resulted in the end of ourfriendship.He has never captured the imagination of the voting public. I wish him well.Ahmed Khan is a relative new comer to thepolitical scene. His family arrived from Pakistanjust before he was 1. His father has owned andoperated Par Birdie Foods on Devon for over20 years.Khan is very public service oriented, is verysincere and a genuinely nice guy. He recentlywed. When I first interviewed him, the firstwords out of his mouth were his involvement ininterfaith councils and his desire to do well forour areas Jewish Community. Not always whatyou would hear from a Muslim.He is the best of the 5 at social networking.He has more people liking his aldermanic sitethan all the others put together.While still young with a lot to learn, Khan is very likeable and has a sincereinterest in making this world a better place. I sincerely hope he continues forwardin the public sector because he has a lot to offer and will make an excellent publicservant.Debra Silverstein is the wife of State Senator Ira Silverstein and has beencalling the shots for him for quite some time. Silverstein says she decided to runfor alderman when people called the ward committeeman’s office for servicesthat the Alderman’s office wasn’t offering the public.No one is going to tell me that she didn’t have this in mind when her husbandwas tanking his district in 07 and while the whole Jewish community wasworking like crazy to keep the ward Jewish, that the Silversteins were looking toend Stone’s political career right then and there in favor of Naisy Dolar despitethe consequences. She refers to herself as a small business owner providingaccounting services to businesses and individuals. Silverstein may be doing thatin her spare time, but she is a CPA and a long time, full time employee of Frost,Ruttenberg and Rothblatt where they think very highly of her. She also draws asalary from her husbands 50th ward Committeeman’s office.I’ve known Ira since he was a teenager, he and my brother were friends. Iraand I were always friendly. I supported him every time he ran until he challengedStone in 08.He bought the back cover of Jewish Chicago for that election and I had asuggestion for his ad. He called his wife, held the phone pointed at me a coupleof feet away, I gave my suggestion, she told Ira to go for it and then I startedunderstanding what people were telling me about her making the politicaldecisions.Given Ira’s victory over Stone in the Committeeman’s race, it was pretty mucha foregone conclusion that whoever Ira picked in the Aldermanic race, figured tobe the next alderman. There was a lot of speculation that Silverstein himself wasgoing to run for Alderman.When he picked his wife, those who knew her couldn’t believe it. When Iwould see her in the supermarket and said hello, at most one or two words wouldcome out of her mouth. If I didn’t say hello, she would ignore me. It puzzled meas Ira always told me how much Debra liked what I wrote about Ira.As it turns out, I am not alone in my experience, not even close. When shewas announced as the endorsed candidate to the assembled at the ward office tothe 20 to 25 people left in the ward organization, some of the top people couldn’tbelieve it and quit the organization in disgust right then and there.Long time associates of the Silversteins couldn’t believe the decision. Besidesfor the nepotism, to be generous, let’s call her socially awkward. To be real, sheis not a friendly person and certainly not a people person.

There are a lot of jobs you can do well in life without good people skills, beinga CPA is one of them. Being alderman, you have to be prepared to continuallymeet, greet and go face to face with the public. You need to be outgoing andsocial. Debra is not.She has an 8 point program for what she calls real change. Most of the pointsare the same exact things anybody can say when they are on the outside andrunning for office. She’ll fill potholes, with what money? The city is broke and itis a problem not just here but city wide.She’ll develop a comprehensive economic plan. She lists her membership inthe chamber as one of qualifications, she is a johnny come lately who was neverinvolved before her candidacy and it would be nice if her husband actually didsomething for the chamber. Stone is the only public official who has consistentlybeen there for them.She complains about crime and says she’ll work with the police. Despite allthe new faces in the neighborhood, crime has continually decreased in WestRogers Park for many years under the present alderman.She’ll provide prompt and efficient responses to service requests fromresidents. She is a paid employee of the committeeman’s office and you neversee anybody in there. The lights are always off.Their office was not open the morning of the November general election. Imentioned it to Ira when he accompanied Debra for her interview. His comment:“That election wasn’t that important to us.” Huh? Isn’t that what the wardcommitteeman gets elected to do.Another problem with the ward committeeman’s office is that in the city’slargest Jewish ward, highly qualified Jewish candidates for judge are notsupported. Last year Judge Yehuda Lebovits and Judge Michael Bender whowere appointed to fill open seats by the Illinois Supreme Court ran for full termsand the Silversteins didn’t lift a finger for them. Each was defeated.Both Howie Carroll and Berny Stone who preceded Silverstein supported andhelped many Jewish judges. You wouldn’t have seen either one of them knockingon Jewish doors to work for candidates who are anti-Israel, Let alone travel outof state to do so. As much as I don’t like Howie Carroll, his Jewish identity wasimportant enough that he quietly supported some Republicans like Gov. JamesThompson if they were running against an anti Israel/anti Jewish opponent.What good is a Jewish committeeman if he refuses to help out Jewish causesand candidates because his strings are being pulled by those who are not ourfriends. Let’s remember, Debra calls the shots, so there is no distancing herselffrom Ira.The part of Debra’s 8 point program that disturbs me the most: “Hold landlordsand homeowners accountable for deteriorating buildings.”Besides physical deterioration, there is the vital issue of thequality of the tenants within the buildings. One of the biggestproblems for years in this neighborhood has been bad landlords.The worst of whom has been one of the very largest, TamidRealty.For so long, they made no background checks, leasing toanyone who can come up with the rent money, no matter howseedy. Their buildings were notorious for drugs, bad tenants,loud music and so much more. Many of you may have at onetime rented from them or lived near one of their buildings andsuffered as a result.They were filling up neighborhood Community Policingmeetings with residents telling tales of woe caused by Tamidtenants. Rabbi and Rebbetzin Unger even hosted meetings intheir shul with police assistance to try to straighten out Tamid.Local residents were appearing regularly in Housing Court tolet the States Attorney and Judge know the intolerable problemsTamid was causing in their part of the neighborhood.Then at next local CAPS meeting, one of the court watchpeople asked me if I knew who Tamid Realty’s lawyer was. Ididn’t have a clue, she told me it was Ira Silverstein. I almostfell over.I called Ira the next day. The idea of a State Senator defendingthe worst land lord in his district is appalling. I explained whyhe had no business doing it on many levels and he said he wouldguide him and step out of the situation.When I checked Debra Silverstein’s D-2 forms, I couldn’tbelieve that Tamid’s own Tom Klein gave Debra $1,800.I really don’t think Debra Silverstein is up tothe job of being alderman. No thanks Debra.Ald. Berny Stone is the ten-termincumbent. I was certain his goose was reallycooked this election, but he came out fightingfrom the bell, and he has some very serioussupport throughout the entire community. Hehas raised more funds than any other candidateand more importantly, it’s not just the bigchecks from a select few that Debra’s money iscoming from. Stone is getting loads of contributions from business ownersand regular people throughout the community. Even Ahmed Khan’s father(who I had the pleasure of meeting) kicked in $500 in May, before his sondecided to run for alderman.Former U.S. Senator Gene McCarthy taught me many years ago that asnice as getting huge contributions can be, if you are not getting the smallercontributions from regular people, you are not going to win. A simplelook at Stone’s contributors, compared to Silverstein’s, shows that sort ofstrength.Marty Levinson“The greatest barber inthe history of barbers”Avy MeyersNorth Town News MagazineMarty is located atJon’s Barber Shop, 5309 W Devon Ave773-610-9268• Complete Graphic Service• Quality Offset Printing• Digital Color Printing• Bindery & Finishing5746 N. WESTERN AVENUECHICAGO, ILLINOIS 60659TEL.: 773.561.9815FAX: 773.561.0714weberpress@sbcglobal.net

I visited his campaign office once during the campaign and I was blownaway by how many people he had working for him from the multipleraces, creeds, colors, and religions that typify the 50th ward. Each andevery listed phone in this ward has already been called three times byStone’s workers.Think Stone is slowing down? He knows how to get things done. Heknows the lay of the land in City Hall and what path to take to get thingsaccomplished. He is the Vice-Mayor of the City of Chicago and hasrepresented the Mayor’s office in foreign lands. He is also the Chairmanof the Buildings Committee. Talk to his aldermanic colleagues and you’llfind that whether or not they agree with him, he has their respect.I’ve always said, you never have to worry about Stone stabbing you inthe back, you’ll always see the punch to your face coming. You alwaysknow where you stand with Berny.So what he has done for us lately? You don’t get to sit back and reston your past laurels in my book. As a public servant, you need to keepproducing. So let’s take a look at what he did over the last term.Four years ago, we didn’t have a single major supermarket in the area.Stone refused to let Dominick’s change the zoning of their property onRidge to allow them to sell to a health club, and sure enough, Dominick’sbuckled and built a brand-new, ultra-modern supermarket on the siteA brand spanking new supermarket at California and Granville. Youhave all kinds of new construction at Devon and Rockwell and there islots more.There are three new police cameras installed on Devon that have helpedmove criminal elements away. Stone has always worked closely with thepolice, and crime has decreased every single year during his last term.New two-level street lights are being installed throughout the ward.Having a well-lit street is a proven crime deterrent.He built a badly neededpublic school with TIFF fundsto help solve a serious schoolovercrowding problem throughoutthe ward. We need to be cognizantthat we do not represent even halfof the population of the ward. Nostudents are being bused in. Allstudents live west of Californiaand there are only about 680students in that school.A new road is being built that will allow people to enter and exit fromKedzie that will greatly relieve the twice a day traffic jam from parentspicking up and dropping off their children.I live two doors down from Boone School and it just isn’t that bad beingnear a public school in this neighborhood, not at all. The new school notonly eased serious overcrowding problems at Boone and Clinton, but alsogreatly eased traffic jams at both locations.More importantly, special ed classes and programs are being madeavailable to neighborhood Jewish children at the new school. There isincreased police presence and the area is now a safe school zone thatyields serious jail time for gun and drug offenses.Ira Silverstein, who talks of the importance of education, whose fatherwas a public school teacher, tried his hardest to quash this badly neededpublic school, misled Rabbis and members of the community in themistaken belief that he could stop it, gave people the false impression thathe was in a position to do things in the city of Chicago that were beyondhis power and control, kept members of the religious community fromhaving a meaningful and real dialogue with Ald. Stone who showed Irathat he was more than up to his challenge and tactics.Silverstein also tried to arrange the sale of property for a road fromKedzie to his largest campaign contributor for robber baron prices: 3million dollars. Barren land that no one wants. Peoples Gas, who are noangels, was much more reasonable in selling the city of Chicago land fora Kedzie access road.That school could have easily been built on the Kedzie side if theSilversteins hadn’t misled the community that he could handle the situationand the community had woken up to reality before the infrastructure hadalready been built.Let’s not forget all the good Stone has done for the Jewish communityover the years. There are extra police patrols every Shabbos and holiday.There is a special garbage pickup every erev Pesach. The successful battleto keep the Hanna Sachs Girls School on Devon. The needed governmentcooperation for the West Rogers Park Eruv. The new Khal Chasidim onPratt and Richmond. The fact that despite any problems, the 50th wardhas far and away consistently been the largest Jewish community of anyneighborhood for hundreds of miles.It is also important to remember that Berny Stone is in his office everymorning at 7:00 am and all you have to do to reach him is pick up thephone. Even better, you can meet with him in person every Monday andThursday night in his Lincoln Village office from 6:30 to 8:30 and henever leaves until every last person gets to see him.I could go on, but I am running out of room.Jewish Chicago strongly endorses Berny Stone for reelection asalderman of the 50th ward. None of his challengers come the least bitclose.To watch our show on Youtubewww.ntnm.org

Re-Elect the Jewish community’s most reliable asset.Our beloved Alderman Berny Stone.50 th Ward Alderman Berny StoneAlderman Berny Stone has always been there for youand now it’s time for you to be there for him.On Election Day, February 22, 2011Cast your vote andPunch #51Re-Elect Bernard L. StoneEarly voting from January 31 through February 17, 2011Warren Park, 6601 N. Western Ave.: Mon. thru Sat., 9 am - 5 pmMore Information visit Berny on the web:www.goodforthe50th.comOr Call773-539-0050Paid for by the Bernard L. Stone Campaign Committee

Re-Elect an Old Friend50 th Ward Alderman Berny StoneFor over three decades, the Jewish communities of West Rogers Park and Peterson Parkhave thrived with the help of Alderman Berny Stone. There are Synagogues, Kollels, Eruvin,Mikvas and other Jewish Institutions and assets to the community that have been createdand assisted with the hard work and dedication of Alderman Stone.The Jewish Communities Best FriendJoan Dachs Bais Yaakov Elementary SchoolHannah Sachs Girls SchoolTouhy Avenue MikvaWest Rogers Park EruvCongregation Khal ChasidimCongregation Sha’arei Tzedek Mishkan YairSpecial Pesach Chometz Garbage Pick UpExtra Police Patrols during Shabbat and Jewish HolidaysLargest Jewish Community in MidwestThese Institutions would not exist without the supportand selfless efforts of Alderman Berny Stone.Alderman Stone has been there for us for over thirty-five years.Now is the time for the Jewish community to be there for him.On Election Day, February 22, 2011, Cast your vote and Punch #51.Re-Elect Bernard L. StoneEarly voting from January 31 through February 17, 2011Warren Park, 6601 N. Western Ave.: Mon. thru Sat., 9 am - 5 pmFor more Information visit Berny on the web:www.goodforthe50th.comOr Call773-539-0050Paid for by Bernard L. Stone Campaign Committee