NORTH LAWNDALE — Seven challengers are operating to unseat twenty fourth Ward Ald. Monique Scott, who’s searching for her first full time period on Metropolis Council.
Vetress Boyce, Drewone Goldsmith, Traci “Treasure” Johnson, Larry Nelson, Inventive Scott, Edward Ward and Luther Woodruff are within the race alongside Scott for the seat representing North Lawndale and a slice of Little Village.
Scott was appointed in June, taking over for her brother, former Ald. Michael Scott. Mayor Lori Lightfoot chosen her from a pool of 19 candidates.
Michael Scott resigned to work in a role at clout-heavy CineSpace Chicago film studios.
The race contains at the least three former aldermanic candidates together with lifelong West Siders. 5 of them additionally sought to be appointed to the seat over the summer time.
Block Membership despatched the twenty fourth Ward candidates questionnaires asking them to weigh in on the important thing situation for the realm and what they’d do to deal with it. Learn extra beneath on their positions.
The election is Feb. 28. If no candidate receives at the least 50 p.c of the vote, the highest two will go to a runoff April 4.
Vetress Boyce
Credit score: SuppliedBoyce, who has lived within the ward almost 20 years, is making her third bid for the Metropolis Council seat. She misplaced to Michael Scott in a runoff in 2015.
Boyce is president and CEO of Boyce Enterprise, a licensed medical provide and private protecting gear enterprise, and she or he owns a magnificence provide retailer within the ward.
Boyce has lobbied Metropolis Council members to go reparations and hosted reparation schooling symposiums all through Chicago and the state.
Poverty is an important situation within the ward, Boyce stated.
“Poverty breeds each different disastrous aspect we’re confronted with: crime, gun violence, medication, psychological sickness, poor well being/well being care, meals deserts, abandonment, poor schooling, incarceration, recidivism, drug relapse, filth, home abuse, finance points, hopelessness, youngster abuse, unemployment and extra,” she stated. “All these points at the moment are spreading overseas all through your entire metropolis of Chicago. Poor communities are pressured to buy exterior of the place they reside for alternatives of what’s thought of ‘high quality.’”
Now, the town must “reinvest in areas which have been financially overlooked,” and it’s essential native leaders collaborate to deal with a long time of neglect, Boyce stated.
Boyce stated she’s skilled, passionate, prepared to assist the twenty fourth Ward and metropolis and able to work intently with the mayor. There’s a determined cry for the restoration of group and household, she stated.
In 2022, Boyce was given the Reworking Lives Via Skilled and Neighborhood Engagement award by the Cook dinner County Board of Commissioners and the Excellence in Enterprise Management Award from the New Covenant Neighborhood Growth Company, she stated.
Drewone Goldsmith
Credit score: SuppliedGoldsmith has lived within the twenty fourth Ward for 52 years and served six years within the Marine Corps.
After serving within the navy, Goldsmith labored for 18 years at Lawndale Christian Neighborhood Ministry as director of facility, security, safety and building. He’s a 22-year veteran with the Hearth Division, the place he labored as a lieutenant and candidate teacher.
Goldsmith can also be founding father of Chicago’s Historic Route 66 Traditional Automotive Present.
Goldsmith cited security because the race’s key situation.
“The shortage of security erodes all the pieces else. … [T]he ward wants to deal with this situation that plagues the town and group on many fronts,” he stated.
As alderman, Drewone stated he would demand providers the ward must right the neglect West Siders have suffered for many years, handle the staffing scarcity throughout the Police Division, “clear up the filth that plagues the ward, [and] serve the group with professionalism, integrity, humility, respect and loyalty.”
Traci “Treasure” Johnson
Credit score: FbJohnson is a life lengthy resident of North Lawndale. She is a small enterprise proprietor and group activist, in response to a previous candidate statement to WTTW. Johnson unsuccessfully ran for twenty fourth Ward alderman in 2019.
Johnson didn’t return Block Membership’s requests for remark.
Johnson’s platform contains bringing companies to the ward with group enter, lowering homelessness by revitalizing foreclosed properties, reopening closed faculties within the ward and allocating TIF {dollars} precisely and actually, according to her Facebook page.
Making a twenty fourth Ward homebuyers program together with supporting prison justice reform and expungement help are also part of Johnson’s campaign.
Larry Nelson
Nelson ran for the twenty fourth Ward seat in 2015, shedding to Michael Scott.
He doesn’t seem to have an energetic marketing campaign web site and didn’t reply to Block Membership’s requests for remark.
Inventive Scott
Credit score: Supplied Inventive Scott has lived within the twenty fourth Ward for 49 years. He owns Inventive Salon and Begin to End.
Scott additionally runs a younger barbers program for teenagers and youths ages 5-15 out of his salon, which helps youth study the historical past and enterprise of barbering.
Scott has no relation to Monique or Michael Scott.
Scott stated there are a number of key points for neighbors within the race, and so they require a multi-pronged strategy. He didn’t provide further particulars.
“A very powerful situation within the ward is the dearth of public security, housing, and financial alternatives which has plagued the twenty fourth Ward,” Scott stated. “Probably the most urgent situation is that the problems haven’t been adequately addressed in a major method.”
Monique Scott
Credit score: Colin Boyle/Block Membership ChicagoScott has lives within the twenty fourth Ward for 51 years and served as a park supervisor for the Park District earlier than being appointed to the Metropolis Council seat.
Scott cited public security because the core situation for constituents.
“Nevertheless, crime goes hand in hand with different components, similar to lack of reasonably priced housing/land density, high quality schooling, employment alternatives, and financial improvement,” Scott stated.
If elected, Scott stated she’s going to proceed to work with the Mayor’s Workplace to advocate for extra law enforcement officials and detectives. She additionally stated she’s going to proceed championing reasonably priced housing initiatives and improvement initiatives similar to Reclaiming Chicago, Grace Manor, Lawndale Innovation Heart, the Homan Sq. Basis. These initiatives will assist with housing, financial improvement and employment, Scott stated.
Scott stated she has hosted month-to-month conferences not too long ago with the town’s housing and planning departments to purchase city-owned tons within the twenty fourth Ward.
As well as, Scott is engaged on a plan with the group and Chicago Public Colleges to convey $30 million to a few faculties to assist with the schooling disparity. Specializing in these methods and others will assist to stop and cut back crime, she stated.
Edward Ward
Ward has lived within the twenty fourth Ward his complete life, he stated. He began getting concerned in group organizing when he was a teen. Ward has advocated for restorative justice, anti-violence and schooling on the West Facet.
Ward interned for alds. Walter Burnett (twenty seventh), Harry Osterman (forty eighth) and Cook dinner County Commissioner Tony Percaica. He’s additionally volunteered with Coalition for the Homeless and Blocks Collectively.
Ward stated the realm’s financial panorama is essentially the most urgent situation.
“Due to the financial and structural decay of twenty fourth Ward, companies have been ran out and jobs have been misplaced. This has resulted within the structural and bodily decay within the ward,” he stated.
Analysis has proven a direct correlation between violence and poverty, Ward stated. His answer could be to shore up funding for small companies to encourage development and improvement, he stated.
Ward additionally plans to push for trades to be introduced again to public schooling, giving younger folks the chance to develop hands-on abilities, he stated.
Ward would again a tax break for builders who construct properties within the space inside an inexpensive time, he stated. He additionally would advocate for the redistribution of tax-increment financing {dollars} so they’re directed extra equitably to areas that want it essentially the most, he stated.
Ward would additionally encourage lease management all through the town and ward to stave off gentrification, he stated.
Luther Woodruff
Credit score: FbWoodruff was born and raised in North Lawndale and works for metropolis’s Division of Streets and Sanitation. He’s additionally a musician at Larger Rock Missionary Baptist Church, in response to his marketing campaign web site.
Prime priorities for Luther’s marketing campaign embody “reconnecting our neighborhoods, establishing dialogue, and fostering collaboration we can create a ward that works for all of its residents,” in response to his web site.
A part of that features streamlining a course of to promote vacant tons to residents of the twenty fourth Ward, preserving sustainable low-cost housing, advocating for needs-based funding inside CPS and offering sturdy programing for youth at after-school packages, parks and summer time jobs, in response to his marketing campaign web site.
Woodruff didn’t reply to request for remark.
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