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Special delivery from the new alderman

By Richard Muhammad on Friday, March 16, 2007

The Washington Park Neighborhood Association received an unexpected “special delivery” when Alderman-elect Willie E. Cochran showed up at the group’s regular March meeting.

The March 14 evening was supposed to be devoted to association elections, regular business and a dialog with U.S. Postal Service employees Stephanie Hartman, south side area manager of customer service and operations and Valerie Carter, manager for customer service for Jackson Park Station, about chronic problems with mail delivery.

Neither post office manager showed up.

And, Cochran, who was an unexpected participant at the meeting, was invited to share some thoughts and take some questions.

Cochran, who will officially be sworn-in May 21, started by saying that mail service problems weren’t limited to Washington Park and were found throughout the ward.

He shared the personal experience of having campaign materials returned to his office that he later had volunteers or paid workers deliver to the same addresses on envelopes, waving a stack of returned mail sent back to Tasha Baker, director of the New Communities Program in Washington Park.

Campaign mailings cost $6,000 to $10,000 apiece and trays of mail that should have gone to voters were returned, he said.

Time to come together

Shared problems are a reason why barriers between neighborhood in the 20^th Ward – which includes Woodlawn, Washington Park, parts of Englewood and the Back of the Yards communities – must be broken down, said Cochran.

“We have to come together as a community,” said the local businessman and former organizer for the New Communities Program in Woodlawn.

To help inform constituents and promote greater access and unity, Cochran announced rotating meetings would be held in different areas of his ward, and there would be a regular meeting at his ward office. A newsletter and monthly appearance of a local radio station will also keep people informed, Cochran said. 

His plans include having a liaison for area churches in the 20^th Ward office.

It would be good to have leaders and organizations from different areas to come together, he said. “There are good things going on and we can strengthen one another. We have to become strong again,” Cochran said.

Positive work is being done across the ward, but you don’t hear about it, he added.

When it comes to tackling mail delivery and other problems, ward residents must go forward together, he argued. “We have to show our power as a community,” Cochran said.

Conversations about development underway

 

Cochran told the audience that his business outreach had already begun.

The huge number of vacant lots in the ward are opportunities for new development, he said. 

Cochran added that a meeting with grocer Ultra Foods to discuss the possibility of opening a store in the 20^th Ward was scheduled.

Discussions with Wal-Mart and other businesses are also underway, he said.

Developers will come before community residents and share their plans for building in the ward and for supporting local schools, churches and civic organizations, Cochran said.

With the city’s bid for the 2016 Olympics, it’s time to talk to unions about training area residents for work, to the University of Chicago about expansion plans, and to get ready for a flurry of activity to fill those vacant lots, said Cochran. He added:

“We don’t want to look back 30 years from now and say what we should have done in 2007.”

In taking questions from WPNA members, Cochran asked for help compiling lists of young developers, construction companies, tradesmen and other businesses. From that list can come introductions and referrals for possible contracts, he said.

Protections for longstanding residents, especially senior citizens, need to be put in place to protect them from increased taxes and the negative impact of Olympic-driven development, Cochran said.

The role of community organizations

In an interview, Cochran also talked about the importance of organizations like the Washington Park Neighborhood Association, which hosted a candidates forum and a leadership training session he attended.

“Community organizations empower the people in the community and so I am an advocate of community organizations and community participation and listening to what the community has to say,” said Cochran.

“That’s the every reason I’m here tonight because I know how important it is to have contact with people. And I want to be accessible. I want to be able to listen to what the community is saying and I want to be able to responsive to those things,” he said.

Cochran added that his background in community organizing taught him why neighborhood groups are important. 

“Community organizations can do a lot of work that needs to be done that can assist a public official in accomplishing goals that need to be accomplished. They are methods by which the community has a voice,” he said.

It’s good for residents to be more involved in community organizations and public processes, Cochran said.

 More people need to get involved, he said.