NORTH CENTER — At a 47th Ward candidate forum held Wednesday night, incumbent Ameya Pawar and challenger Rory Fiedler agreed on issues like the need to improve schools, create more affordable housing and increase revenue but disagreed on how to best achieve those goals.
The event, held at Bell Elementary and moderated by Ben Joravsky of the Chicago Reader, gave residents an opportunity to grill the candidates in advance of election day on Feb. 24.
Among the candidates' greater divergences: the role of an alderman.
Fiedler said he views the job as ward-centric. If elected, the provision of services like trash pickup would be at the top of his to-do list.
His number one aim, he said, "is to be accessible and responsive to you."
As an alderman, he said he would attend council and committee meetings in order to bring information back to constituents.
"I want your input on everything," said Fiedler. "It should be your decisions."
Pawar said nuts and bolts services were important but added, "We also need to solve larger problems."
He ran in 2011 on the premise that he would be a city-wide legislator, and he plans to continue in that role, he said.
"We have to pass legislation in City Council that's driven by City Council," said Pawar, pointing to the establishment of an independent budget office, which he championed.
Once the elections are over and council gets back to work, Pawar said the first cause he would take up would be fighting for a paid sick leave ordinance.
Revenue
The candidates also sparred when it came to how the city can raise additional revenues to support schools and development, as well as meet looming pension obligations.
Fiedler said he would back construction of a casino on Northerly Island. The alderman countered: "I'm not going to ever approve a casino."
Instead, Pawar said he favors establishment of a progressive state income tax, which would tax higher earners at a greater rate than low- and middle-income households.
With more state funds available for education, Chicago Public Schools could increase its per-pupil spending, he said.
"We're the only state in the Midwest with a flat tax," Pawar said. "We have to build the political will" for a progressive tax.
Fiedler disagreed.
"It's just passing the buck to Springfield," he said. "Do we want to pay more taxes? People will be taxed who don't have kids in school. That's not a fair tax."
Tax Increment Financing
As Fiedler pointed out, when running in 2011, Pawar was famously quoted as saying the city needed to "blow up TIF."
Yet as alderman, Pawar has spent $40 million in TIF dollars, including $4.5 million toward the Ravenswood Mariano's, Fiedler noted.
"We don't have to bribe [Bob Mariano] to come in and build a Mariano's," said Fiedler. "I believe we don't really need TIF money."
Pawar clarified his stance on TIF, stating, "What I said in my campaign was that we fundamentally need to rethink TIF."
The vast majority of the TIF funds he's spent in the ward were allocated to schools, parks and libraries, he said.
"I'm proud of my record and what I've done, and I stand by them," he said.
Housing and Development
Housing costs in the 47th Ward continue to rise as neighborhoods like North Center and Lincoln Square become increasingly attractive to young families. The candidates fielded a number of questions on the subject of affordable housing and development.
Fiedler pointed to developments like the proposed Montrose Green, where one-bedroom apartments would cost $1,400 per month in rent.
"That, to me, does not sound affordable," he said. "Starting at these high prices, we're not bringing people into the neighborhood, we're driving them out."
He said he would identify existing buildings ripe for conversion into housing for seniors or recent college graduates who find it difficult to move back into the neighborhood in which they grew up.
Fiedler said he also favored preserving older housing stock as opposed to tear downs and the construction of new, larger homes or multi-unit buildings.
"We don't need giant buildings overswelling the neighborhood," Fiedler said.
Transit-oriented development projects like Montrose Green will only set a precedent along the Brown Line, he said, creating a "concrete tunnel all the way downtown."
Pawar, who supports such projects, objected to that assessment.
Density is key to affordability, he said.
Part of the problem in creating affordable housing is the stigma attached to it, Pawar said.
Every time the topic is broached, "We end up with pitchforks" at community meetings, he said.
"We need people to be more open to affordable housing," said Pawar.
He was recently lead sponsor of legislation to toughen the Affordable Requirements Ordinance, which calls for developers to include a percentage of affordable units in their projects or, in lieu of that, pay into an affordable housing fund.
"What I try to do is to work with the developer to build those units on site, and most have," Pawar said. "We built 15 affordable units at Ravenswood Station."
Priorities
Asked to outline their priorities if elected, Fiedler hammered home the subject of affordable housing.
"A lot of our seniors are being forced out of their home," he said.
As alderman, Fiedler said he would work to keep in the ward the very people who made it strong.
Pawar said his vision for a k-12 school system is his top priority.
"I talk a lot about schools," he said. "It impacts everyone."
With the city teetering on a financial precipice due to its pension obligations, K-12 will be critical to the ward's stability in the coming years, he said.
"I know we can run counter to whatever happens if we organize around our schools," said Pawar.
Chicago's municipal elections are scheduled for Feb. 24. Early voting is already underway at dozens of locations across the city. The 47th Ward's early voting site is Welles Park, 2333 W. Sunnyside Ave.
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