Results tagged “tedmatlak”

In politics, when you see an opening, no matter how small, you take it. And Jay Stone, son of 50th Ward Alderman Bernie Stone, is really reaching here.

As the rest of the media fawned over the new city council, and reminisced on the follies of councils past, other silliness was going on in the realm of politics in the City by the Lake. Let's take a look at what's up here in town: The Old Council Does One Last Thing. Following up on an issue that we wrote about a while back, it seems that the City Council's zoning committee has held...

Just days after Ted Matlak lost re-election to Scott Waguespack in the 32nd Ward, a proposal to upzone a group of buildings north of The Crotch has surfaced. According to the Chicago Journal, local developer Krzysztof Karbowski has purchased the Northwest Tower at 1600 N. Milwaukee for $5.17 million, and is asking for a zoning change so he can build out the office tower, converting it to residential units, convert the adjacent Hollander Fireproof Warehouse...

This election has been one of the most significant in recent memory. With seven new aldermen set to take office in May, including the wife of Jesse Jackson Jr. in the 7th Ward, the stage is set for a new power struggle in Chicago. This year, more than any other, saw the city's labor movement — especially the service-sector unions — flex their political muscle. The result? A record-low turnout in the mayoral vote, and...

With most of Tuesday's election settled around the city, 24 candidates are gearing up for the special election April 17. The big story that is coming out of this vote is the role that unions played in this election. Of the twelve runoffs, five were candidates that were endorsed by the Chicago Federation of Labor. Two are union members; Leroy Jones in the 21st is a member of SEIU Local 73, and Toni Foulkes is...

Well, another municipal election has come in Chicago, and in many wards (but not all) it's gone. As expected, Richard M. Daley sailed to re-election, set to eclipse his father as the Chicago's longest-serving mayor, in spite of Ben Joravsky's best efforts. At the time of this writing, a few things are clear: there will be a few runoffs this year, including Madeline Haithcock - Bob Fioretti (2nd), Dorothy Tillman - Pat Dowell (3rd), Shirley...

If you live in a ward that is contested, you've probably noticed that you are getting mailings from the aldermanic candidates where you live. Maybe you've even gotten the so-called "robocall" — a recorded message from a candidate (usually the incumbent) encouraging you to come out to vote (for them), and listing some of the reasons why you should. Our friends in the 32nd Ward tell us that the two headline candidates, Ted Matlak and...

Two aldermanic races that are shaping up to be real contests in the city have drawn a lot of attention not only from locals, but also from organizations that would like to put a dent in Daley's grip on the city. Two higher-profile candidates, Greg Brewer and Scott Waguespack, have gotten endorsements from labor groups that are itching for a fight with the mayor and his allies on the council. In the 32nd Ward, things...

Here at the Chicagoist offices, we're keeping an eye on some of the bigger ward races in town, as well as a few that we just find interesting. The weirdness and anger in the 46th Ward, for example, occupies a lot of our time, as do the accusations and oddball press releases that come out of 49. The 7th Ward is always a fun distraction, and anytime we see Beavers and Jackson in the news,...

Last week ended with 144 aldermanic candidates having filed nominating petitions, among them 47 incumbents. It has been said that there may be a record number of people running for alderman this year. While we aren't certain of the factual accuracy of that statement, we are sure that there are a lot of people running this year. Several races have piqued our interest, in particular the race in the 32nd Ward. In that race, there...

If you live anywhere in the vicinity of Lincoln and Newport, you may have noticed a new store in the ‘hood. The store provides some things that were previously lacking in the area, like candles and novelty gifts and erotic toys. It is the latter that has some residents in the area in a tizzy. The Pleasure Chest recently moved from Broadway and Belmont to 3436 N. Lincoln and has been causing some waves. So...

Months back while writing a post about the now-defunct BOS Distilling Company we lamented briefly on the then-recent closing of the Artful Dodger. Folks with fond memories of the Dodger knew that it was being consigned to memory long before it finally closed its doors, with whispers floating around that the building at 1734 West Wabansia with the Queen Anne style architecture was slated to be sold, razed, re-zoned and turned into condos. Well, that's...