Update on NATO demonstration activities
in Chicago - May 15, 2012

“March targeting the New Immigration Court” 10:00am - 11:00am
(March, Action & Rally) March begins at Our Lady of Guadalupe Mission,
3442 W. 26th St headed to Immigration Court Building on 525 W. Van Buren.

“Healthcare not Warfare! take the Fight to Rahm's House!”
(Rally and March) Noon - 2:00pm

“Queers Opposing NATO” 11:30am-12:30pm (Rally, Action & March)
Grant Park, corner of Jackson & Columbus

“Anti-Capitalist Militant March” (March)
51st and Halsted, to 31st and Halsted, 6:30pm - 11:59pm

“Nakba: Telling the Story. Remember, Retell, Resist” (Facebook event)
6:30pm-9:00pm - 637 S. Dearborn

“Anti-Police Brutality Organizing Meeting” (Rally) 7:00pm
Trinity Episcopal Church at 26th and Michigan

Local, state, and federal law enforcement officials have released the security and transportation plans for the upcoming NATO Summit, which will be at McCormick Place on May 20th and 21st.

Click here to read the press release that includes important information regarding: parking restrictions (begins May 13th), road closures (begins May 19th), restricted zones for automobiles, airspace and waterway restrictions, parking at McCormick Place, operating hours of museums and other attractions, information on public transit and chartered vehicles, and pedestrian routes. The press release also contains maps and links with more information.

You can also sign up for Notify Chicago, which is a free email and text messaging service available to people who want up-to-date information about the NATO conference.

If you are in Chicago during the summit, it is advisable to use public transportation. However, you should plan for extra travel time regardless of your mode of transportation.


Alderman Dowell’s Votes on the Speed Camera and Infrastructure Trust Ordinances

At the two most recent City Council meetings, I cast votes on two ordinances that will affect all residents of the city. I cast a no vote for the ordinance authorizing placement of speed cameras near schools and parks and voted in favor of the Chicago Infrastructure Trust ordinance. (See ordinance here.)

Last week, I cast a no vote against the speed camera ordinance (see ordinance here.) because it fails to do what it proposes in a cost effective manner. The placement of the cameras is solely based on the data quoted to City Council members and that data does not necessarily indicate a specific need for the cameras.

Under the camera ordinance, input from myself or constituents will not be used in determining the placement of the cameras. In other words if residents near a park or school know that speeding occurs on a routine basis, there is no mechanism to include that information when determining camera placement. Reducing the speed around parks and schools can be achieved just as effectively by the strategic placement of stop signs, speed bumps and other traffic calming strategies, which could also be done at a much lower cost. For these reasons I voted against the speed cameras.

On Tuesday, I voted in favor of the ordinance authorizing the Chicago Infrastructure Trust. This aggressive plan to invest in our obsolete infrastructure is not a privatization plan as some have called it. When it was first proposed I raised several issues concerning aldermanic oversight, the lack of conflict of interest rules, provisions for open meetings and freedom of information inquiries, and a requirement that transactions performed by the trust meet the city's minority- and women-owned business requirements. I outlined these and other reservations in a Chicago Tribune column I wrote earlier this month with my colleague Alderman Ameya Pawar, 47th Ward. (See Tribune Op-Ed. article here.) I am happy to say that voicing our concerns had an impact that led to revisions and negotiations.

Mayor Emanuel agreed to changes in the ordinance, which put an alderman on the Infrastructure Trust Board and guaranteed a City Council vote on all projects involving city money, assets or property. He also inserted a provision requiring trust-funded projects to follow city bidding procedures and another barring board members with a financial interest in a deal from voting on it. The Mayor also said he would issue executive orders requiring outside review of trust deals and finances. (See executive order here.)

Our neighborhoods have crumbling roads, dilapidated viaducts, and hundreds of miles of decaying water mains that are more than a century old. We must do something, but we don't have the money and city residents don't want to pay higher property taxes. The Trust is needed and will draw investment to Chicago. It also has the potential to jump start our economy and put thousands of people back to work. For these reasons and the future of our city, I voted in favor of the Chicago Infrastructure Trust ordinance.