North Town News MagazineSpecial Print Edition - Aldermanic Election 2011

50th Ward Edition

Stone and Silversteinin a No Holds BarredBattle to the Finish

by Avy Meyers

  April 5, 2011, 14 of Chicago’s 50 wards in which no candidate received 50% of the vote plus one, are having runoff elections for alderman. As all the citywide races were decided in February, the other 36 wards will be dormant.  Of these 14 races, this publication will strictly focus on my home turf, the 50th ward, where  early voting  is underway at Warren Park, 6601 N. Western,  through Thursday, March 31st, 9 am to 5 pm.  According  to  the Chicago Board of Elections Commissioners, “you may register  to vote,  update  your  address  or  file  your  name  change  during  a  ‘Grace  Period’  through Tuesday, March 29th. During the ‘Grace Period,’ you must register in person -- and then immediately vote during that same visit. Please bring two forms of identification, at least one of which must show your current address.”   The  North  Town  News  Magazine  was  originally  a  project  of  the  North  Town Community Council which  is now defunct. The  idea was  to concentrate on  the North Town neighborhood which is another name for West Rogers Park whose true name is West Ridge. I was sent to classes at CAN-TV to learn television production. At that time,

North Town News Magazine2011 Aldermanic Runoff Story and Analysis

I had 20 years of journalistic experience.  We wanted to feature the neighborhood: The people, non-profit organizations, police, elected  officials  and worthwhile  events  and  happenings  to  boost  the  community  and highlight it citywide.  I produced and hosted the show from day one, and in the 2nd year, Sonny Hersh took over the technical duties.   After the council dissolved, I wanted to keep the show going as did Sonny Hersh. The show changed and evolved over the years. The old council was non-profit, and as such, we were limited by the framework of being a 501(c)(3) non-profit charitable organization.  The show became more opinionated without these constraints and it  is important to note that Sonny and I often disagree politically, and he has absolutely nothing to do with this publication.  The show has aired weekly, Thursday at 7:30 pm and Friday at 2:30 pm on CANTV-19 for the last 19 years. We have won 3 national awards from the Alliance for Community Media  under  the  categories  of  Best  News  Show  and  Making  a  Difference  in  Your Community.  We were  also presented with  the Community Outreach Award by  the  Illinois State Crime Commission in 2009.

ONE HUNDRED 50th WARDSMALL BUSINESSES

New York Kosher 2900 W. DevonPeterson Food Mart 2534 W. PetersonBasil Food and Liquor 7446 N. WesternD'Agostino Auto Service 7130 N. WesternNorth Star Restaurant 6246 N. WesternA and O Tire Sales 2538 W. PetersonK-D Auto Service 6419 N. CaliforniaDevon Pawn Shop 2106 W. Devon Viceroy of India 2520 W. Devon Morelia Supermarket 7300 N. WesternAdelphi Liquors 2351 W. DevonWreck and Roll Auto Body 6652 W. DevonRoyal Studio 2301 W. DevonSheesh Mahal Dhaba 6355 N. MaplewoodJ.K. Kabab House 6412 N. RockwellNaan on Devon 2241 W. DevonSpinzer Restaurant 2331 W. DevonQuick Stop Food 2751 W. Pratt7-11 2741 W. TouhyNayab Mart 2449 W. DevonVenus Café 7156 N. CaliforniaSukhadia's Sweets and Snacks 2559 W. DevonSaahil Exclusive 2605 W. DevonAnmol Pan Shop 2504 W. DevonVogue Cleaners 2701 W. TouhyRaj Jewelers 2652 W. Devon Punjabi Dhaba 2525 W. Devon Money Dart 2551 W. Devon Zeenat Emporium 6328 N. CampbellCampeche Restaurant 6112 N. Lincoln Infusion Lounge 6120 N. Lincoln Via Veneto 6340 N. Lincoln Amar Carpets 2423 W. Devon 99 Cent Plus 7560 N. WesternHookah Joint 2755 W. DevonHot Rod Grill 6237 N. WesternUsmania Mart 2247 W. DevonThe Indian Garden 2546 W. Devon Villa Palermo 2154 W. DevonNortheastern Fruit Market 6000 N. Lincoln Sabri Nihari Restaurant 2502 W. Devon King Sweets 2308 W. Devon Cosmos Printing 2235 W. Devon Italian Express RestaurantWorld Fruit MarketSelect Lounge 2542 W. PetersonPiccolo Café 2610 W PetersonForemost Liquors 6015 N. LincolnWhats Cooking Restaurant 6181 N. LincolnAcorn Tire 6200 N. LincolnDelhi Darbar Restaurant 3010 W. DevonZabihah Meat Market 2907 W. DevonMaxwell Street Polish 6339 N. CaliforniaHyderabad House Family Dining 2226 W.DevonSign America 2748 W. DevonStyle Dry Cleaners 2208 W. Devon EDB Car Wash 6644 N. WesternAmerican Educare 3107 W. DevonSahara Medical Center 2054 W. DevonPar Birdie Foods 2234 W DevonFirst Family Pharmacy 2140 W. DevonRahmat Grocery and Meat 2158 W. DevonBaba Corner 2044 W. Devon Ghareeb Nawaz Restaurant 2032 W. Devon Bismillah Restaurant 6301 N. Ridge Lahore Food and Grill 2114 W. Devon Chopal Restaurant 2242 W. Devon Kitab Ghar 6403 N. OakleyNew Devon Video 6405 W. Devon Al-Madia Restaurant and Grill 2319 W Devon Daata Darbar Family Restaurant 2306 W. DevonHyderabad House 2225 W. Devon Usmania Fine Dining 2244 W Devon

Deplux Nails Salon 2238 W. Devon Sundarbans Fish Bazar 6409 N Bell Mutual Real Estate Group 3105 W Devon Devon Printing 6347 N Washtenaw Baskin Robbins/Dunkin Donuts 3132 W.DevonCity Fresh Market Inc. 3201 W. Devon Brown's Auto Inc. 6440 N. WesternChandani Exclusive 2419 W. DevonChicago Harley Davidson 6868 N. WesternChicago Star Auto Werks/New Star 228 N.WashtenawGulliver's 2727 W. HowardKhan BBQ Restaurant 2401 W. DevonM & Y Liquor 2252 W. Devon Madni Mart 2440 W. Devon J & K Food and Liquor 6320 N WesternMakkah Tours & Travel Inc. 2517 W. DevonNoor Meat Market 2505 W. DevonRegal Jewelers 2652 W. DevonSidney's Tire Shop II 2112 W. DevonTahoora Sweets & Café 2345 W. DevonTaj Sari Palace 2553 W. Devon Viceroy of India 2520 W. DevonCalifornia Food & Liquors 6343 N. CaliforniaDankha Auto Repair Inc. 2225 W. DevonJ & L Liquors Inc. 6013-15 N. LincolnLos Pinos Restaurant Inc 6239 N. Western

ORGANIZATIONSChicago Police Sergeants AssociationChicagoland Chamber of Commerce / Pro-ChicagoUnited Hellenic Voters of AmericaChicago DispatcherThe Federation of Indian American AssociationsThe Greater Punjab Cultural Association ofNorth America (Chicago Chapter)Sikh Religious Society of ChicagoAmalgamated Transit UnionJewish ChicagoNorth Town News Magazine

INDIVIDUALSAhmed Khan - Former Candidate, Alderman 50th WardTom Morris - Former Candidate, Alderman 50th WardJoe Moreno - Alderman, 01st WardBob Fioretti - Alderman, 02nd Ward; Democratic CommitteemanPat Dowell - Alderman, 03rd Ward; Democratic CommitteemanLeslie Hairston - Alderman, 05th Ward;Democratic CommitteemanFreddrenna Lyle - Alderman, 06th Ward;Democratic CommitteemanSandi Jackson - Alderman, 07th Ward; Democratic CommitteemanMichelle Harris - Alderman, 08th Ward;Democratic CommitteemanAnthony Beale - Alderman, 09th Ward;Democratic CommitteemanJohn Pope - Alderman, 10th Ward;Democratic CommitteemanJames Balcer - Alderman, 11th Ward

George Cardenas - Alderman, 12th WardEd Burke - Alderman, 14th Ward; Democratic CommitteemanToni Foulkes - Alderman, 15th Ward; Democratic CommitteemanLatasha Thomas - Alderman, 17th Ward;Democratic CommitteemanLona Lane - Alderman, 18th Ward; Democratic CommitteemanVirginia Rugai - Alderman, 19th WardWillie Cochran - Alderman, 20th ward;Democratic CommitteemanHoward Brookins, Jr. - Alderman, 21st Ward;Democratic CommitteemanMike Zalewski - Alderman, 23th Ward;Democratic CommitteemanDaniel Solis - Alderman, 25th Ward; Democratic CommitteemanRoberto Maldonado - Alderman, 26th Ward;Democratic Committeeman

Walter Burnett, Jr. - Alderman, 27th WardJason Ervin - Alderman, 28th WardRay Suarez - Alderman, 31st WardDick Mell - Alderman, 33rd Ward; Democratic CommitteemanCarrie Austin - Alderman, 34th Ward; Democratic CommitteemanJohn Rice - Alderman, 36th WardEmma Mitts - Alderman, 37th Ward; Democratic CommitteemanTim Cullerton - Alderman, 38th Ward;Democratic CommitteemanBrian Doherty - Alderman, 41st WardBrendan Reilly - Alderman, 42nd WardTom Tunney - Alderman, 44th Ward; Democratic CommitteemanPat Levar - Alderman, 45th Ward; Democratic CommitteemanHelen Shiller - Alderman, 46th WardMary Ann Smith - Alderman, 48th Ward

These businesses, organizations and community leaders all back Alderman Berny Stone because of his record of accomplishment and his vision for the 50th Ward. No other candidate has as much broad-based support as Berny.

These supporters know that we need Berny’s experienced leadership in these challenging times. They know that he is the only candidate who we can count on to continue economic development, fight crime and oppose tax increases.

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Polls open 6 AM – 7 PM. For a ride to the pollscall 773-539-0050 or e-mail Berny at

BernyStone2011@gmail.com

  All shows and interviews are aired on YouTube and can be accessed through the show website, www.ntnm.org or by going to YouTube and typing in sonnyhtv where close to 200,000 shows have been watched.There are interviews with the 50th ward candidates as well as several other wards.  This  publication  and  the  show  are  not  about  liberal,  conservative,  left-wing,  right-wing—I strongly believe that practical solutions to real-life problems are the best way to go.

The 50th Ward Aldermanic Race   Initially  6  candidates filed  to  run  for  50th ward  alderman.  In  ballot  position order, incumbent Alderman Berny Stone, Michael Moses, Debra Silverstein, Greg Brewer, Ahmed Khan and Tom Morris. Morris withdrew early and pledged his support to Berny Stone which left five candidates on the ballot.  No candidate received 50% of the vote. The totals were Stone 4,305 votes or 37.3%, Moses 487 votes or 4.2 percent, Silverstein 3,864 votes or 33.6%, Brewer 2,158 or 18.8% and Khan 673 votes or 5.9%. Thus a runoff.  Stone and Silverstein are going one-on-one on Tuesday, April 5th.  Of the other 3 candidates, Michael Moses is staying out of the election. Ahmed Khan is strongly backing and working for Berny Stone. Greg Brewer met with both Stone and Silverstein and is not backing either one.  Brewer, the 3rd place finisher, actually did a little better this time than he did 4 years ago despite having drastically less money. He was the only white Christian in the field (though I do not specifically know his church or religious affiliations). Khan is Pakistani and the other 3 are Jewish.  One thing I want  to say for Brewer,  though I often disagree with him, he sincerely believes in what he is doing and has always been working to create what he feels will be a better neighborhood.  As I have interviewed all of the above, some on numerous occasions and known four of the five for years (Khan being the exception, I met him only a few months ago) and have been very active in community and organizational work over the years, I have at the very least, had a much closer and longer look at these people than just about anybody else in our neighborhood.  As this is the only race on the ballot in the 50th ward, a large turnout is not expected.  We’ll start with the challenger, Debra Silverstein. Silverstein has been an accountant for a firm in Northbrook for many years. They think highly of her. She is  the wife of State  Senator  and  50th Ward Committeeman  Ira Silverstein. Many  political  insiders have noted that she is actually the political brains of the couple. She also gets a salary 

from the ward committeeman’s office.  She appeared on  the  show once and  turned down or  ignored additional  requests  to appear on the show a second time prior to the election and before I put out my Election Analysis issue for the February election. The one interview I did with her can be viewed on YouTube. All interviews are live to tape and appear whole and uncut on the air as well as YouTube.  She was also invited to appear at our March taping and failed to answer. In fact the only communication I have had from the Silversteins is a letter from their lawyer, kindly offering to sue my brains out if I don’t retract the story and offer them an apology. The accompanying graphic is the 2 page letter from their high-priced, high-powered law firm. It is followed by my written response to their lawyer.

  Rich  Miller  wrote  it  up  in  his  highly  respected  and  popular  state-wide  insider publication, “Capital Fax.” It is in the subscriber section, so as per Rich Miller’s wishes I  won’t  print  it  verbatim.  In  fact,  if  you  really want  to  know  the  inside  stuff  that  is happening in Illinois, a subscription to Capital Fax is the best avenue to great knowledge. The gist of the story is that the Silversteins hired a high-powered law firm to threaten to sue a small publisher (me) in a move that is likely to backfire.  Mark  Schipper,  ace  reporter  of  the  neighborhood  publication  the News  Star wrote an in-depth straight news story on the subject that will be available in full by checking the  show website  at www.ntnm.org. The  last  paragraph of  the  story  states:  “Multiple attempts were made over the course of nearly two weeks to contact Debra Silverstein to comment for this article, but phone messages and emails were not returned.”  I  assume  this  is  reflective  of  the transparency  part  of  your  8-point program for “Real Change” Debra.  Their lawyer letter not only doesn’t make  a  single  specific  charge,  but incorrectly says the school discussed in the original article http://avyworld.com  is  Boone  School  when  in  fact it  is  the  brand  new  West  Ridge Elementary School on Whipple near North Shore.  So  what  did  I  write  in  the  issue that so bothered the Silversteins? The answer  is  the  truth, but  let’s  just  list some key points here.  What  really  set  me  off  the  most was seeing an $1,800.00 contribution from the worst building and/or slum owner  in  the  area,  Dr.  Tom  Klein. Klein  owns  Tamid  Realty,  which owns and poorly maintains a number of  large buildings  in  the 50th ward. Three buildings  that have been  in building court, some on numerous occasions,  and/or been  the  subject of complaints  to  the city’s 311 system are at 7420 N. Campbell, 6404 N. Richmond, and 6501 N. Fairfield.  For the past 17 years, I have chaired the community policing meetings for the 2412 beat that runs from Devon to Pratt, Kedzie to Ridge. Politics is strictly forbidden at the meetings.  A few years ago,  the problems with  the Tamid buildings were getting seriously out of  hand  including  addresses  that  are  not  one  of  the  three  listed.  (Easily  obtainable information in the system only goes to a certain point in time.)  The drug deals, drug users,  thieves, general ne’er-do-wells, not to mention the loud music and more, were becoming a reason people were leaving the neighborhood. Tamid Realty wasn’t even willing to shell out the $35 to find out if the people they were renting to had police  records. Anybody with  rent money or a government voucher was  taken in—no questions asked.  Many in the neighborhood stood up and organized. The local bad building officer and the citywide community policing office got  involved. Meetings were held  in multiple locations.  Tamid  Realty  was  repeatedly  hauled  into  housing  court.  Neighborhood residents, including 4 or 5 members of the clergy, made it a point to participate in court watch  to  let  the States Attorneys and Judges  in housing court know that Tamid was a serious offender and that these cases had to be taken seriously.  Finally,  the housing  court  judge  ruled  that  if  there were new charges filed,  anyone who had even  the  slightest financial  interest  in  the building, would have  to appear  in court personally, not just the lawyer, but the owner(s). That discouraged Dr. Tom Klein and they started doing at least criminal background checks. But their buildings remain a problem, not just in West Rogers Park, but in other parts of the north side as well.  Speaking of lawyers, one of the court watch people, a lawyer in fact, asked me if I knew who represented Tamid Realty in court at the (then) last hearing and when I heard it was State Senator Ira Silverstein, I almost fell over.  I called Silverstein, who I have known for at least 30 years, and always had been very friendly with  (hour long conversations just when running into each other on the street) until I started criticizing him in my publications, though I endorsed him for State Senator every single time he ran.  I told him it was unheard of for an elected official to be defending bad landlords and/or slum landlords at all, let alone in the district they were elected and he told me he would guide Dr. Tom Klein and step down.  Since  that  time,  Klein  has  also  been  a  generous  donor  to  Sen.  Ira  Silverstein. All this information is available by going to the State Board of Elections on the web, find candidate disclosure search, type in the name Silverstein and go through the D-2’s filed by both Aldermanic candidate Debra Silverstein and State Senator  Ira Silverstein and you will find Tamid Realty owner, Dr. Tom Klein. Klein has requested meetings with Ald. Stone for the purpose of creating a relationship and making a donation and Stone flatly refused.

To watch our show on Youtube

www.ntnm.org

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Sunday, April 10, 2011 9am—noon Rain or Shine!!!

This is a chance to safely destroy personal & busi-ness documents and recycle old electronic equip-ment that is taking up space in your home.

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  As it turns out, Klein is not the only slumlord that Silverstein has represented in court. Balwinder Singh and Amrit Patel have benefited from the Senator. While their buildings aren’t in the 50th ward, 1766 Estes is only a hop, skip, and a jump away. If you doubt it, you can go to 740 N. Sedgwick and, under the freedom of information act, you can see for yourself the appearance ticket signed by Sen. Silverstein. The reference number is 08DN00284A.  While the Senator is not the candidate here, he and his wife are a very tight team and no one  is going  to  tell me  that  someone who does business  tax work and accounting for a firm in Northbrook would be running for alderman with any real support let alone $100,000  (and  still  growing)  in  campaign  contributions  from  special  interests,  PACs with undisclosed donors and  interests as well  as  the Labor Unions  that  represent city employees, if her husband wasn’t the Ward Committeeman and State Senator.  Debra Silverstein was  slapped down hard  in  the Sun-Times  for making  the  Illinois Campaign for Political Reform’s list of shame for taking large amounts of money from a highly questionable source.  The  Silversteins  also  weren’t  very  happy  about  my  writing  about  their  efforts  to spike  the  new West  Ridge  School  (across  the  street  from  his mom’s  house)  that  has greatly relieved serious overcrowding from both Boone  School as well as Clinton. Not to mention  the  fact  this  is  a  state-of-the-art  building,  only  680  children  attend,  all  of whom are neighborhood residents living west of California from Lincoln to Touhy, and special after school classes are in the works to benefit neighborhood children with special needs—a building that is available for use by neighborhood institutions and groups  The  school  was  in  fact  championed  by Ald.  Berny  Stone,  who  created  a TIF  that allowed sufficient funds to accumulate to build a school building that has been so badly needed on what was, at the time, the only piece of land in the neighborhood large enough where a school could be built.

  There  is  more  the Silversteins  didn’t  care  for, but  you’ll  have  to  read  the original  article  for  the  rest. http://avyworld.com I want to concentrate on  the upcoming election.  Debra  has  spoken  of  her program  for  “Real  Change.” The  highlights  include  fill potholes,  repave  streets  and alleys and replace curbs. Real easy  to  say,  much  harder  to do.  Especially when  the  city is  dead  broke.  During  the winter,  the  city  puts  only cold  patches  on  potholes that don’t  last very long. The real  thing, hot asphalt gets applied only from April 1 to December 1. Pothole fixes are decided citywide, not by the aldermen who can report all the potholes they like, but downtown and the nearby neighborhoods get first preference and the outlying neighborhoods don’t fare well at all. This is a citywide situation. All the neighborhoods on the far North side of the city and more have serious  pothole problems that are not being addressed regardless of the local alderman’s ties to the mayor..  Point 2, hold landlords and homeowners accountable for deteriorating buildings. Way to go Debra, especially when you listed the worst building owner in the neighborhood as one of your 5 largest contributors with one of the daily newspapers. Being beholden to the worst building owner in the neighborhood, buildings that have been hauled to court numerous times surely qualifies for “Real Change.”  Debra  Silverstein  tells  people  she will  promote  local  businesses—that we  have  an international market place no one knows about that can make us a true focal point in the city, and she is the person to do it. That explains why since the February election she has received only 2 significant contributions from businesses or individuals outside of special interests, many of whom are out-of-state and labor unions:  A shelter care management firm that is not actually in the ward and a kosher restaurant on Devon. Stone has been endorsed by 100 neighborhood businesses, numerous local individuals and organizations and something like 40 of the 50 members of the Chicago City Council.  Debra Silverstein joined the West Ridge Chamber of Commerce only a few months ago and lists it as one of her qualifications in her brochures and mailers and their members tell me she doesn’t participate.  When you hear her speak of this international market place that is not being marketed, it sounds like she is saying she is coining the phrase—a phrase that has been in use for a  good 20 years.  It’s  been on banners  for  ages Debra—an  international market  place frequently featured and filmed by nationally known James Beard award-winning reporter Steve Dolinsky on ABC 7 Chicago, as well as his radio show; an international market place  often  featured  on  Channel  11’s  Check  Please  featuring  Rogers  Park  resident Alpana Singh; an area frequently written up by just about every publication that features 

restaurants;  an unknown gem  that  is  actually  a part  of many  food tours including one featured by the local chamber.   Of course if she had actually been a real participant in the chamber, she would know that.  Debra  Silverstein  is  telling  people  there  is  a  million  dollars available  for  the  neighborhood  in  Small  Business  Improvement Funds (SBIF) that go unclaimed that no one knows about. She will make sure local  businesses find out about it and take advantage. In checking this out, no one is really sure where Debra gets her numbers. SBIF information is publicly posted on the web for the various SBIF districts.  www.somercor.com.  Local  businesses  regularly  make requests  for  funds  in our area and at  last  look, even with a  recent addition to the funds, a million dollars is an absurdly high figure that has no basis in reality.  The West Ridge Chamber  does  in  fact  provide  local  businesses with  the  relevant  information,  and  it  is  something  that  has  been mentioned on my TV show by both the chamber and the alderman on more than just a couple of occasions.  Debra Silverstein discusses working with the police department to increase patrols so that our streets are safe. Her literature also states that  she will  redeploy police  to  the higher crime areas  in  the 50th ward.  Besides chairing my CAPS beat, I have the added edge of actually having covered various police stations and courthouses as a working journalist over the years and have seen things from numerous sides.  It’s very nice that from her desk as an accountant in Northbrook, she knows much better than our local police, what exactly is needed and how things should work.

  The 50th ward is served by two different police districts. The smaller Peterson Park portion  is patrolled by  the 17th district. The West Rogers Park portion  is patrolled by the 24th district. The 24th District has been indeed very fortunate to have had a number of really terrific Commanders since the CAPS program began—Tom Byrne, who now heads CDOT; Dave Boggs, who was truly loved by his officers; Bruce Rottner, who grew up in West Rogers Park, lives nearby, and is presently Deputy Chief of Area 3, which makes him the man  in charge of  the Northeast section of  the city; not  to mention  the present Commander, Michael Wick.  These Commanders, and their officers and patrolmen, take great pride in doing their job well and are very motivated. A number of them live in this neighborhood that they patrol. Police statistics show that crime has actually decreased every single year for at least  the  last  five  years. Community  policing  has  brought  concerned  citizens  and  the police that patrol their streets face-to-face and, even in its present diminished capacity, the terrific participation in our area and the ongoing communication between the citizens and the police have helped tremendously. While faces have changed in the neighborhood, and landlords such as Tamid Realty don’t help, the 50th ward has one of the lowest crime rates in the City of Chicago.

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  Silverstein’s idea of redeploying police to the high crime areas of West Rogers Park is not the way it works. It works by district. The 24th district consists of Rogers Park, a piece of Edgewater, and West Rogers Park. West Rogers Park is the safest and lowest crime area in the 24th district. Moving police to high crime areas means West Rogers Park loses officers that go to Howard east of Clark Street, the Morse El,   Loyola, and south of Devon near the lake.  If it becomes a citywide move, which is actually what is being proposed, kiss lots of local officers goodbye as they head to the highest crime regions in the city, which exist on the South and West sides.  Be careful what you wish for Debra.  One high ranking officer told me that there are more officers in the 24th district than any of the 25 Chicago police districts and that Ald. Stone is definitely part of the reason. He reported that Stone has had excellent relationship and communications with the local Commanders and has had a long-term good working relationship with the 24th and 17th district police departments.  Silverstein  makes  it  sound  like  we  live  in  the  wild,  wild  west.  She  talks  about prostitution.  There are 2 or 3 who frequent Devon. I am a walker and I’ve seen them. They do get arrested—that is a matter of public record. The problem is that the penalties handed down by the courts are so light, they can be bailed out and back on the streets before the arresting officer’s shift is over.  She’ll deploy police gang units throughout the ward. They are already there. It’s hard to spot them when they wear plain clothes and drive unmarked vehicles. The local police and the citywide gang unit have been extremely aggressive in keeping these gangs from growing.  If  you go  to  your  local  community policing meeting,  you  can hear  about  it firsthand.  Speaking  of  crime,  gambling  has  historically  helped  contribute  to  neighborhood crime. The bill  that was passed  in  the Senate  and House  in Springfield  and has been signed  by  the  governor would  allow video  poker machines  in  any  establishment  that has a liquor license. There are 40 such establishments in the 50th ward alone—40!  Ald. Stone opposes video gambling in our city and in our neighborhood. Debra Silverstein told the newspaper editorial boards that she favors video gaming in our city and in our neighborhood.  What about  taxes?   The  reason why Berny Stone had a  falling out with  the Mayor and the Machine is that he opposed raising taxes and voted “no” on a city budget that proposed raising taxes. Mayor Richie Daley never forgave him. Stone has pledged never to vote for a tax increase.  Silverstein  has  publicly  backed  the  legislation  enacted  in  Springfield  that  in  2015 would add $550 million in property taxes each year to Chicago residents to help solve the pension crisis. That means 4 years from now everybody’s property tax goes up 60%! The newspapers were very vocal when it was happening. Stone opposes the legislation.  Part  of  the  problem  with  Silverstein  becomes  apparent  when  you  look  at  who  is contributing tens of thousands of dollars to her campaign. That would be the labor unions that represent city workers. She talks about reducing the budget.  If elected, she is going to have to dance to the tune of the people who bought and paid for her. These unions approached Stone first and he turned them down. 80% of the city budget is personnel. If you give everybody raises, and don’t make adjustments on pension contributions and benefits, we will just be building ourselves a deeper hole. Greg Brewer noted in February that 79% of her contributions came from these types of special interests. That number has actually gotten higher and continues to grow.  The vast majority of Stone’s contributors are the people and the businesses who work and live in this neighborhood. Those are the people that he owes and it’s hard to claim he is out of touch when that is where his support is coming from, and not the mysterious PACs and out of state lobbyists that fund the Silverstein campaign.

  Silverstein’s  campaign  literature  of  late has grown increasingly mean and vile and is unbelievably misleading. One recent piece claims Stone  is  driven by  a  chauffeur  and shows  a white  gloved  hand  opening  a  car door. She says he greedily voted to raise his own salary 8 times.Stone has been alderman for 37 years and I would hope that if you have been working somewhere  for 37 years, you were able  to get more than 8 raises.  The chauffeur? No way. Each alderman is given about $70,000 in discretionary funds and each and almost every single alderman spends every last nickel of it. A mere 10% goes  to  a  leased  vehicle. Chauffeur? Give me  a  break.   Here  is  the  deal. One  of  his aides,  Joe,  who  is  Assyrian,  lives  in  the neighborhood and picks up Alderman Stone who,  due  to  his  bad  knees,  is  no  longer 

able to drive. They get to city hall at 7 am almost every single day. Stone’s attendance record at City Council meetings and Committee meetings is higher than that of any other alderman. (Debra says he doesn’t have the energy to do the job.)  When they get to city hall, Joe works in the downtown aldermanic office.  He performs numerous tasks on behalf of the citizens of the 50th ward. When Stone comes here for his interviews, Joe is busy fielding calls, dealing with various city agencies and helping 50th ward constituents. He doesn’t spend that much time in the car other than cruising the neighborhood streets with the alderman looking for problems and things that need repair. Stone’s office, both in Lincoln Village as well in City Hall, put in numerous requests to get things fixed and repaired. Unfortunately the city is too broke to deal with it. Still it pays to call the aldermanic office and let them know if you even hope to get on a waiting list, and additional calls  to 311 can add extra urgency and occasionally get something accomplished.  None of the 50 Chicago Aldermen outside of Berny Stone, makes themselves available to their constituents twice a week. Every Monday and Thursday night Alderman Stone meets with any and all neighborhood residents and groups at his office, 6199 N. Lincoln. It’s first come, first served, no one gets to skip ahead of anyone because of clout, and the office does not close until the last person gets to speak with Alderman Stone.  Debra Silverstein says she will hire people for her office that are representative of our diverse community. For those of us who have visited the ward office and the downtown office,  Stone’s  staff  includes  Indians,  Pakistanis, Assyrians, Catholics, Christians  and Jews; men and women; senior citizens and those in their early 20’s.  I’m probably leaving someone out. They are pretty devoted, and just about every one works hard to take care of 50th ward residents.

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  The  fact  that Stone  is  so experienced,  and knows  which department  does what  and  who is  effective  in each  department, effectively  gets  a lot  more  done  by his  office  than  just about  any  other  in the city.  S i l v e r s t e i n also  states  in  her literature:  “And here’s  the  kicker: Stone  has  voted several  times  to raise property, sales and other taxes.”Check the fine print, she cites 3 dates, 1992, 1993 and 2004. Let’s see, Stone has been in office 37 years and on 3 occasions he voted to raise taxes. That is totally shocking. Who knows what the circumstances were back then as to the city’s financial condition, but let’s face it, if he voted 3 times in 37 years to raise taxes, the last time being 7 years ago, he must be a total spendthrift.  What are Stone’s other sins? He was one of 45 aldermen to vote for Mayor Daley’s parking meter lease. A lease all the papers celebrated and praised when it happened and are now using their 20-20 hindsight to trash everyone but themselves. Without getting into the financial logistics about how little the city was getting a year from operating the meters and the fact that as elected officials they never would have had the guts to raise meter prices to present day levels,  it was still a bad deal. Bad because throughout the city regular people don’t want to pay the ridiculously high meter prices and it is hurting businesses in the city. 45 of 50 aldermen voted for the deal including shining knights like Joe Moore, among other intelligent, thoughtful independents.  So Debra Silverstein claims she never would have voted that way. Give me a break here. She is running her campaign with huge wads of money from unions, special interests and Rahm Emanuel. She is also the beneficiary of the people that made the meter deal. Do you really think she won’t be voting as the people who finance her dictate?  These people are not lining up to give her tens of thousands of dollars because of her great independent thinking and moral fiber.  In the meantime, Berny Stone admitted he was wrong and he made a mistake. Give him credit for admitting his faults.  Three  years  ago  his ward  superintendent was  charged with  vote  fraud  for mailing absentee ballots. That law has actually been changed and that action is no longer illegal. 

Still  no  excuses,  he  and one other worker were  convicted.  I’ve  seen Stone in action with his troops over a number of years, sometimes as a supporter, sometimes as an opponent. In 1995 I was officially listed as  a  top  official  in Michael Moses’s  campaign  against Berny  Stone. Politics is a cutthroat game; it is in fact a blood sport. Stone keeps his cool under pressure and he isn’t stupid enough to tell anybody to cheat for a handful of votes, even indirectly.  Some people do  things on  their own  in  the heat of  the action and cross a line and in this case get caught. Two people were convicted of a misdemeanor and went to jail. No one is going to tell me they were acting under Stone’s orders or that it is the modus operandi of a Stone campaign.  I have talked to many of Stone’s staffers and they are trying extra hard to do things as cleanly as they can in the face of the vicious, malicious and false attacks by Debra Silverstein and her mignons, and while they find it frustrating, they feel like they are the good guys and have right on their side and want to do things above board.  During  this  winter’s  huge  snowstorm,  Stone  showed  this neighborhood some remarkable action. He spent a huge wad of cash from his own personal campaign funds to buy and rent bobcats, snow blowers, shovels, etc. His whole campaign staff stopped what they were doing and either went out on the streets and cleared people’s sidewalks, alleys, driveways and streets or were on the phone handling requests from neighborhood residents. Even people that had Silverstein signs up were afforded the full services of Stone’s crew. While most of the city was floundering, Stone’s efforts got  this neighborhood moving better than just about any in Chicago. Stone not only showed he’s still got it, but  like  fine wine,  he  has  improved with  age.  Silverstein may  have raised more money, but she used her cash and her paid mercenaries to

  2010 Republican 9th Congressional District Candidate Joel Pollak has his own story and  is  not  afraid  to  have  it  heard. This  concerned  Pollak’s  revealing  that  Silverstein represented slumlord Amrit Patel.  He said, “The threat was made verbally and to one of my staffers, not to me personally or in writing, as far as I can recall, but we did have our lawyer send him a letter asking for clarification as to whether he was, as he claimed, no longer Patel’s lawyer. I was told that Silverstein did personally yell at my staffer -- who happened to be his constituent. Silverstein and I were polite to each other after that, but he campaigned against me door-to-door.”  Once  upon  a  time  Ira  Silverstein  was  a  really  nice  guy  who  cared  about  the neighborhood. Those days seem long gone.  So what  is  the bottom  line?  I  fully understand  that Stone  is  getting older,  and  if  a really good alternative would have come along 4 years ago, I might have gone that route. This  time  around  I was  sure  early on  that Debra Silverstein was going  to  sweep  this election first time out. Six months ago, I gave serious thought to the idea of backing her. Then I saw her in action, and how people who knew her, and members of her own ward organization were reacting.  For those of you who know Greg Brewer, it might seem surprising that he isn’t going against Stone. Now I certainly can’t speak for him and he  really doesn’t  like me, but I do know he and his wife joined the 50th ward organization after Silverstein became Committeeman,  and  were  stars—diligent,  hard  workers  who  got  out  the  vote.  She covered two whole Winston Tower buildings on her own. The Nadig papers interviewed Brewer who made it clear his experience with the Silversteins was less than satisfactory, and he and his wife are long gone from the Silversteins’ political organization.  I think it’s great that Stone offered Brewer a slot on the Devon Avenue SSA. One of the things I have learned to like about Stone is that a good chunk of his supporters at one time opposed him. He is very good at working with people with different points of view and politics and over the course of time, wins them over.  No matter what anybody says, no way  is Stone a crook. Maybe  there are  times he doesn’t always cross his  t’s and dot his  i’s. He was furious at  the way  the Concerned Citizens of the 50th ward fumbled the ball. What he did was perfectly legal if they had filled out  their paper work. Anybody  in  their  right mind knows  there had  to be  some sort of connection. When he found out two days after the first election what they did, he publicly rid his campaign of them. Observers told me he was furious.  Still, knowledgeable observers say the violation was so minor, there probably won’t even be a fine, just a verbal reprimand. Expect Debra Silverstein to paint it as a bigger sin than Watergate and Columbine combined.  If Silverstein should win, we could be stuck with her and her husband running things here for the next 20 or 30 years. This election is it for Stone, the last time he will run. Don’t believe the lies that his daughter will succeed him. This isn’t a monarchy.  If G-d forbid he is unable to fulfill his next term, the mayor appoints the next alderman.  There are some young, bright and talented people who have yet to be corrupted who are looking down the road to the next election. I know of one progressive person, another who is practical. Both are good people and involved in our community. There will likely be  others  showing  an  interest. Change  for  change’s  sake,  especially when  the  person preaching change is not qualified for public office and a bully as well, is not the way to go.  I have always said the thing I like best about Berny Stone is that you never have to worry about being stabbed in the back, you will see the punch to the face coming. You will always know where you stand with Berny Stone, whether you like him or not.   There is no way I want any part of Debra Silverstein as my Alderman. I am certain there will a much better option 4 years from now. I proudly, heartily and enthusiastically endorse Berny Stone for reelection as alderman of the 50th ward.

North Town News Magazine 50th ward Aldermanic Runoff Election Issue©2011 All rights reserved

The North Town News Magazine is a complimentary political neighborhood publication.

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trash  Stone  while  he  was  using  his  funds  to  do  something  constructive  for  the neighborhood.  The last 4 years may have been Stone’s most productive. He built a brand new public school;  attracted 2 brand-spanking new supermarkets,  a Dominick’s  and an Aldi;  and a brand new, huge Walgreens on Western near Granville. While most of this city is at a standstill, there has been quite a bit of new construction on Devon including the new parking garage at Devon and Rockwell and the new cafe across the street. Though there are more vacancies on commercial streets, it is better here than through much of the city and suburbs. Directly west of us,  the  far end of  the city  is experiencing 40%  to 45% vacancy rates. Stretches of Dempster in Skokie are virtually abandoned. Things could be a lot worse in our neighborhood.

  Let’s look at one of Silverstein’s main  supporters,  Salman  Aftab. Aftab may well have been lucky not  to  be  charged  with  a  hate crime,  as  newspaper  accounts from  the  Yale  Herald  spoke  of his  attempt  to  stick  a  knife  into an  openly  gay  Pakistani  at  a restaurant due to his gayness, and the  resulting  arrest.  Silverstein proudly  lists  Aftab,  an  avowed enemy of the State of Israel, as a major  supporter  on her web  site and in her literature.  On  Friday,  March  18th,  Salman Aftab was at the mosque on  Campbell  south  of  Devon. Eyewitness  accounts  say  the staunch  Silverstein  supporter screamed  loudly  and  clearly through  his  bullhorn  of  Stone, “We  need  to  topple  this  tyrant dictator. He is the Hosni Mubarak of the 50th ward.”

  The Silversteins were present, and by all accounts, enjoyed the action.  Stone  has  worked  hard  to  keep  all  of  the  varying  faiths  in  the  50th  ward  living harmoniously. Hosni Mubarak oppressed Jewish people in Egypt, allowed Christians to be massacred and had their churches bombed. He banned the free speech of Muslims in Egypt and stole tens of billions of dollars from the Egyptian people.  Way to go Salman. Way to pick ‘em Debra.  Let’s go back to the lawsuit that the Silversteins have threatened me with. I had my first paying journalism job at the age of 17 on a radio station in Morris, Illinois. Over the years, I have been an editor and chief or publisher of numerous publications, written and broke some very hard-hitting news, and at times, scandalous stories. Only twice in my life has anything in my papers, broadcasts and telecasts been the subject of a lawyer letter, and both times were from my February election analysis issue.  The  lawyer  letter  from  the Silversteins  threatening  to  sue me  is  published  in  these pages. Also in that February issue, there was an ad I donated for free to help a poor family in Israel raise money for their daughter’s wedding. The family is my niece’s husband’s cousins. They are having trouble putting food on their table and just wanted their daughter to start life on the right foot.  They had a 501(c)(3) charity in New Jersey handling things. We just needed someone who was  respected  and well-known  in  Chicago  people  could  feel  safe  sending  their money  to.  I knew people don’t pick up my paper  to see ads  like  that, but  I figured  it couldn’t hurt to try to help.  A highly respected, mild-mannered Rabbi and teacher, who was also a cousin of my niece’s husband, was happy to have people mail their checks to him. The response was not particularly good, but  the ad somehow caught  the attention of an extremely well-known Chicagoan who wrote the Rabbi. It was from Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s office and  it  informed  the Rabbi  that he wasn’t a  registered Illinois agent of  the New Jersey charity and was in violation of the law. The charge is technically true, but there was no attempt to defraud or abuse  or even take one nickel from what was collected, just to help a human being in need.  How did Lisa Madigan find out? She is one of my Facebook friends, and while I would like to flatter myself that she clicked on my Facebook link to the February election issue, the fact is that most elected public officials that high up on the food chain have their PR people handling their social media and may have never even glanced at their own page.  So how did this occur? Your guess is as good as mine.  The Friday after my February Election Paper came out, I received reports that someone went into stores and threw papers onto Devon. Hundreds of papers were on the street within  one  block  of  Silverstein’s  headquarters.  The  cleaning  crew  that  scrubs  down Devon in the morning wasted a lot of time chasing loose papers in the wind.  Thankfully, I always print extra copies as you never know what could happen, so I was able to restock the stores.

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VOTEApril 5, 2011

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"Berny knows how toget things done in City Hall"

Alderman Brian Doherty, 41st Ward

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Alderman Stone

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