WOODLAWN — Tempers flared and accusations flew as candidates vying for the 20th Ward aldermanic seat met one last time at Apostolic Church of God in Woodlawn before next Tuesday's city-wide election.
The forum, hosted by WVON-AM's Cliff Kelley, focused on economic development and public safety — two issues that have plagued the beleaguered ward for years.
Ald. Willie Cochran, squaring off against his four remaining challengers in front of a tough crowd, defended his public record while admitting there were a few things he'd take back, namely the vote to privatize public meters.
When asked which three community initiatives of which he was most proud, Cochran rattled off a number of them but declined to say which were most important, saying it was similar to asking a parent to choose a favorite child.
Challenger Kevin Bailey, himself facing residency questions from Cochran and other candidates, took a jab at Cochran's support of MetroSquash, a squash facility opening this spring in Woodlawn.
"We know who that court is for, and it's not for us," said the University of Illinois alum who is now a civil engineer.
Bailey said that he would have also negotiated harder with train companies that bought land to expand in Englewood.
Challenger Willie Ray, Jr., a lifelong Woodlawn resident and medical technologist, said the neighborhood was going through a process of "regentrification."
Asked what he meant by regentrification, Ray said we "shouldn't be surprised down the road where there are going to be a number of people who won't look like myself or Mr. Radcliffe ... there are going to be people — maybe two men and two women — walking dogs, holding hands, etc. There are changes coming."
Ray claimed that many of these potential new residents would be able to acquire prized greystones and three-flats with the help of city grants.
Andre Smith, another candidate who unsuccessfully ran against Cochran in 2011, hammered the incumbent on public safety, pointing out that the 2Oth Ward's previous distinction of being one of the most unsafe in the country happened on Cochran's watch.
"He was vice-chairman of the safety committee," said Smith, noting that Cochran's office wasn't located far from the more volatile sections of the community.
All of the candidates said more needed to be done to improve the schools in the area, with Cochran highlighting the number of initiatives he's helped implement in neighborhood schools as well as schools that send "90 to 100 percent of their students off to college."
Opponent Ernest Radcliffe, a 2014 Sports Illustrated Coach of the Year and current Morgan Park baseball coach, wants to turn large swaths of land throughout the ward into an academic resource center.
When asked if he supported charter schools, Radcliffe said, "I'm for any schools that teaches children."
Smith is pushing for a STEM school to be named for former Apostolic pastor and bishop Arthur Brazier who founded the Woodlawn Organization.
Bailey believes the community should be open to the possibilities of alternative and charter schools. Ray wants to start a scholarship fund, similar to Georgia's HOPE scholarship that gives students with a 2.0 GPA a chance at college.
On economic development, Cochran talked of how he and other community leaders are attempting to persuade Mariano's to open a 20th Ward location and how helped launch an incubator programs in two different neighborhoods that will go live on April 1.
Smith — afraid that abandoned buildings will deter interested stakeholders — promised to bring in a chamber of commerce to work with area residents, while Bailey hopes to offer a more data-driven approach by researching how much foot traffic certain parts of the ward receive and using it to entice business owners.
Ray said he would rely on the expertise of his attorneys to guide him through issues like TIF and bringing business owners back to the South Side.
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