Take Back Chicago Website Gives 'People's Score' To Chicago Aldermen

By Jon Graef in News on Oct 25, 2014 4:45PM

A new website, Take Back Chicago, allows voters to see where their alderman stand on a variety of progressive issues, measures how much of the time they vote with Mayor Rahm Emanuel, and ultimately assigns a 'people's score' on a scale of zero to 100.

Take Back Chicago is a a project of Grassroots Illinois Action, and tracks Chicago City Council members' views and voting record on a number of issues, including raising the minimum wage, how to siphon TIFs, and whether or not they voted to close the city's mental health clinics, just to name a few.

As the site explains, Take Back Chicago's score system then assigns a score based on a four-tiered, 0-to-100 scale to measure Chicago alderman's independence. Tier one is "champion." Tier four is "Rahm's Rubber Stamp."

"The score is based off of the Alderman’s voting record, feedback from Grassroots Illinois Action members and community leaders across the city, as well as other public records," the site reads.

The mayor percentage—that is, how often your alderman votes with the mayor— is based off a UIC Report.

Just a couple of examples: Ald. Deborah Mell [33rd] has a people's score of zero, and voted 100 percent of the time with Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Scott Waguespack [32nd] has a people's score of 90, and votes with the mayor 63 percent of the time. Mayoral candidate and alderman Bob Fioretti scores a 90, and voted with the mayor 53 percent of the time over a two-year period. Of course, there are 50 aldermen in Chicago, so a potential voter could spend lots of time on this site, which also allows them to contact their alderman.

A video concisely explains why the site exist, and what it aims to do:

"Our city is sold piece by piece to private interests," a female narrator says. "Our communities? They don't get parks, playgrounds, services, or the jobs we need because all the money is flowing to greedy downtown corporations."

Though the site obviously has an agenda to pursue, Take Back Chicago is useful to voters of all political stripes as a handy, clear measure of how—and with whom—their alderman votes.

Check out more of Take Back Chicago here.