WEST TOWN — A man who got an opponent of Ald. Joe Moreno booted off the ballot is a paid political worker on Moreno's 1st ward re-election campaign, documents show.
Jay G. Ramirez, of the 1300 block of West Erie Street in West Town, was paid $2,460 for political and campaign work, according to 3rd Quarter financial disclosures and expenditures for Moreno's campaign.
Ramirez challenged the petitions for 1st Ward candidates Andrew Hamilton and Mia Lopez, successfully getting Lopez, a charter school executive and former Moreno ally, removed from the ballot.
From Oct 1. to Dec. 31, Ramirez, who collected signatures from voters to help put Moreno on the ballot for the February 24 election, was the second highest paid political worker for Moreno's campaign, according to documents filed with the Chicago Board of Election. Elise Doody-Jones, Moreno's former political director, received $4,835 on Oct. 14, during the same month that she resigned to run against Scott Waguespack (32nd).
Alisa Hauser follows the money:
Ramirez and Moreno did not respond to calls and emails about Ramirez's political work. Ramirez is a former Chicago Police Department officer who worked in the former Wood Street District, sources said.
In December, Ramirez alluded to a past career as a Chicago Police officer in an Facebook update that included an image of an officer in uniform.
"Although I no longer stand by your side in battle on the streets. I am with you every inch of the way. May God bless every officer that puts his life on the line every day," Ramirez posted.
Ramirez also filed objections against 1st ward candidates in 2003 to help Manny Flores, Moreno's predecessor, get elected, shortly after Ramirez withdrew from the race himself, according to records.
Once a Moreno ally, Lopez said she "would not be surprised" if Ramirez were paid to petition against her as part of his campaign work for Moreno.
"As part of politics, a lot of people like to get paid," said Lopez, who added, "If [Moreno] is spending a lot of time paying people to work on his campaign, that is not very grassroots, not a lot of constituent support and volunteers."
Lopez worked for Moreno's campaign in 2011 and was paid a $2,020 salary for political consulting work, according to records.
Lopez, who said she coordinated around 100 volunteers for Moreno in the previous election, said the incumbent alderman has fewer volunteers for his re-election, a claim that Juan "Johnny" Elias, president of 1st Ward First — a group that has helped Moreno in his reelection bid — said is untrue.
"We had 100 people circulating petitions [for Moreno]. We are stronger than ever after the Will Guzzardi race because we took on the machine," Elias said, referring to Moreno's endorsement of Guzzardi, who beat incumbent 39th District Rep. Toni Berrios, the daughter of Cook County Assessor Joseph Berrios, in a state house race last March.
Elias lauded Moreno: "He files on time every time; he is very transparent on who he pays money to, it's all there," Elias said.
Other notable expenses paid by Moreno's campaign, which spent $98,772 on 118 itemized expenditures, was $662 for city parking tickets. Moreno, who is listed as chairman of Friends for Proco Joe Moreno, did not respond to inquires about the parking tickets.
With $88,801.96 in his campaign coffers and $104,899.99 raised from 162 individual donations in the 3rd Quarter, Moreno has brought in more than four times as much money as his nearest challenger, according to documents.
Among Moreno's largest recent donors were The Domain Group, a residential and commercial real estate firm in Ukrainian Village led by Rory Arthurs, who donated $5,000. Steven Fifield, president of Fifield Realty, donated $2,500, while four principals from Centrum Partners LLC (Lawrence Powers, Graham Palmer, Betsy McLinden, wife of Centrum President John McLinden, Arthur Slaven) gave $1,000 each.
Moreno's campaign also received $2,500 from Cleo's Bar and Grill, 1935 W. Chicago Ave.; $2,500 from All-Circo, Inc., a public affairs consulting firm that, among its clients, represents Erie Neighborhood House, a nonprofit social services organization run by Moreno's wife, Celena Roldan-Moreno; and $2,500 from AFSCME Illinois Council No. 31.
Anne Shaw, an East Village resident, has $39,163.92 in her campaign fund and raised $21,031 from 34 individual contributions in the 3rd quarter, according to documents.
Among Shaw's largest supporters are Sam Ma, owner of The BBQ King House, 2148 S. Archer Ave, who contributed $2,500; Eric Chang, founder of the U.S. Asia Investment Group, who gave $1,500; and Raymond Chin, CEO of RM Chin & Associates, who kicked in $1,780 in individual and company donations.
Chin's real estate portfolio includes high-rise offices, hotels, mixed-use buildings, shopping centers, and parking garages while Chang, a real estate investor, has dabbled in hotel development.
At a 1st Ward forum earlier this month, Shaw said that if elected alderman, she would not accept developer donations from folks who have matters coming before her, such as zoning change requests.
Reached Monday, Shaw said that Chin and Chang "are not doing business in the 1st ward."
Another notable contribution received by Shaw came from Eddie Carranza, owner of Congress Theater, who donated $1,000.
Candidate Ronda Locke, an East Village resident who worked for Moreno in the first two years of his term, has $22,901 in her campaign coffers and raised $2,200 from six individual donations, according to documents.
Locke's largest supporters are Leonard Becker, owner of a bankruptcy law firm, who donated $500; and $250 from Josh Rutherford, a partner at 4 Star Restaurant Group, which owns The Smoke Daddy and the former Moonshine, both on Division Street.
Andrew Hamilton, a Ukrainian Village resident, has $3,702.05 in his campaign fund and raised $700 from two individual contributions, according to documents. Hamilton's largest supporter in the most recent quarter was Ivan A. Rueda, a personal injury lawyer who donated $500.
The next 1st Ward Candidate forum is scheduled for 7 to 9 p.m. next Thursday at Wells High School, 639 N. Ashland Ave. in West Town. Hosted by several neighborhood groups and moderated by the Better Government Association, questions can be emailed to debate@eastvillagechicago.org
Watch a video of the 1st Ward Candidates Forum filmed by CAN-TV on Jan. 7 here:
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