NOBLE SQUARE — Six candidates vying to helm the city's sprawling 2nd Ward tackled the issues of campaign donations from developers, crime and panhandlers on highway exits at a Tuesday forum.
Moderator Nick Locke asked six questions of the candidates for alderman during the 90-minute forum organized by the Pulaski Park Neighbors Association at Near North Montessori, 1434 N. Division St.
There is no incumbent in the race to represent the 2nd, a horseshoe-shaped ward that includes parts of the Gold Coast, Streeterville, Old Town, Lincoln Park, Ukrainian Village, Wicker Park and Noble Square. There are six candidates: Bita Buenrostro, Brian Hopkins, Steve Niketopoulos, Alyx Pattison, Stacey Pfingsten and Cornell Wilson.
Alisa Hauser breaks down the 2nd Ward candidates and issues:
Developer Donations
Whether to accept campaign donations from developers became a hot topic when each candidate was asked how to address "spot zoning" requests — when a developer seeks special approval to get a different zoning for land or property surrounded by other parcels that all have the same zoning.
Pattison said she has taken developer donations but does not believe that fact alone is "indicative of anything."
"There is good development and bad development and good developers and bad developers...They will have to talk to neighbors. No amount of money will change my desire to serve you," Pattison said.
Pattison's developer donations total $10,547.37 as of Tuesday. Her campaign raised $99,788.15 from 97 individuals and had $134,921.08 in its coffers at the close of the 3rd quarter ending Dec. 31, state documents show.
Among the notable contributors to Pattison's campaign are Warren Baker, a prominent developer who gave $2,500 and Steven Fifield, a developer who has projects throughout the city and donated $1,500.
Niketopoulos said "I've had developer money offered to me but I don't want to take it as principle."
Niketopoulos's campaign raised $2,600 from seven individual donations over $100; as well as $1,192 from other backers who gave less than $100 and had $6,341 in its fund on Dec. 31. His largest donation, $1,000, came from a filmmaker. He received $250 from Chicago Gray Line, a sightseeing firm, state documents reveal.
Pfingsten said she will practice "community led development" when tackling spot zoning requests.
"Any developer that wants to come into the local community will go to the community first. There are decisions that will affect you for decades to come. I want to make sure I am not making decisions influenced by a nice big check," Pfingsten said.
Pfingsten's campaign has raised $14,660 from 29 individuals and had $4,152.54 in its fund at the close of the quarter, state documents show. Among her largest individual backers is her father, a farmer.
Hopkins said he is "highly skeptical" of spot zoning, and is "generally opposed to it."
"I've spent the last 16 years leading a neighborhood group [SOAR] that said no more times than yes. We commissioned a neighborhood plan that we share with anyone coming to us about development. It was a year-long engagement to create the plan and we would like to develop a plan for all of the neighborhoods in the new 2nd Ward," Hopkins said.
Hopkins' campaign raised $31,500 from 80 individuals and had $76,894.28 in its coffers at the end of the 3rd quarter, according to state documents.
Among Hopkins's largest backers is the developer Warren Baker, who contributed $2,500, the same amount he put into Pattison's coffers.
Wilson said he would like to see "a development plan" for the ward that would help to guide decisions related to zoning. He is "generally opposed" to spot zoning, he said.
Wilson's campaign raised $19,400 from 26 individuals and had $11,317.91 in its coffers at the close of the quarter, documents show.
Wilson's largest financial backer is a retired lawyer, Joan Hall, who chipped in $5,300.
Buenrostro said that by the time a development gets to the community process it is "too late."
"I will not be a rubber stamp alderman and will make safety and congestion my first questions to ask any developer," Buenrostro said.
Buenrostro's campaign raised $27,125 from 32 individuals and had $101,897.19 in its coffers on Dec. 31. Buenrostro's biggest backers are Hoffman Estates-based Chicago Commercial Capital Management, which gave $5,000 and Fred Krehbiel, chairman of the board of Molex, an electrical circuit company, which gave $5,000.
City Services
Another topic that sparked passion among candidates was how to serve the sprawling ward.
Hopkins said he will insist on a "doubling of menu money" allocated to the 2nd Ward as well as work with the city to fix potholes rather than spend $250 to settle claims from motorists who had tires blown out by potholes.
Hopkins called the Pulaski Park area "a neglected neighborhood in a broken ward."'
"You should not have to look out your window and see evidence of neglect," Hopkins said.
Pfingsten, the only candidate that has worked in an alderman's office, most recently as a staffer for Ald. Bob Fioretti (2nd), a job she resigned from in order to focus on her own campaign, tackled the question from her experiences.
"It's a process. The [Chicago Department of Transportation] is only so big. There are projects in my ward from 2013 that are not done. I have great relationships with all five alderman [in bordering wards] and would work with them and their chiefs of staff," Pfingsten.
Pfingsten said she has 10 pages of notes about infrastructure issues culled from knocking on constituent doors and a list of things "that need to be done in the new 2."
When asked how to prioritize street and alley re-paving, Wilson pointed out that the 2nd ward is bordered by 42nd ,43rd, 37th, 32nd and 1st wards and should not exist in isolation from surrounding areas when it comes to potholes and street paving requests.
"Let's get together and make sure it gets done," Wilson said.
Crime and the Homeless
The situation of homeless people and panhandlers frequenting the North Avenue and Division Street exit ramps off the Kennedy Expressway sparked discussion of area crime.
Pfingsten said the streets off the highway such as Bosworth are "a tricky area to live by" and she would like to start a program where police would text residents if there is a shooting or issue on their block.
Niketoupolos, who serves as an administrator for several private neighborhood Facebook pages, touted the five years running the online communities where neighbors can talk freely about crime and concerns.
"Without any money and by volunteers, we have made a massive dent in crime," Niketopoulos said.
Pattison said she wants to see more police involvement with Bosworth block club events like chili cookoffs. Buenrostro said officers would go to such events — if they had time.
"I also work closely with police officers, I'm married to one. They are tired, short staffed, there are not enough officers out there," Buenrostro said.
Niketopoulos said he has gotten to know many of the people who reside in the viaducts and shared stories of homeless folks fighting each other.
"Steve is way braver than I am, hanging out in underpasses with knife-wielding homeless people," Wilson said, which prompted Niketopolous to say, "They're people too."
Buenrostro vowed to make a distinction between homeless, the mentally ill and criminals if elected, while Hopkins spoke about his involvement with homeless advocacy groups and the lack of affordable housing.
Hopkins said he supports a moratorium on the closure and demolishing of single room occupancy hotels often used by poor people as housing "but for the people under the viaduct who are chronically homeless, they make a choice to be there."
"Homeless people have civil rights but they do not have the right to obstruct traffic," Hopkins said.
Wilson said the closure of six mental health clinics in the city has impacted the homeless population and wants to help folks "get back on track" through counseling and services.
Elections will take place Feb. 24 and, in races where no candidate earns 50 percent of the votes cast, a runoff between the top two candidates will take place April 7.
View all 2nd ward candidate profiles and websites here.
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