Wednesday, February 03, 2010

Breaking News: New Commish, Street Vendor Crackdown, More Local Media Coming,

Three quick hits:

Congratulations to Jesus "Chuy" Garcia, who handily defeated incumbent Joseph Mario Moreno in yesterday's Democratic primary. You can see the results by ward and precinct at the Board of Election's website. Click on the far left button, then search for "February 2010 Primary Democratic" and then "Cook County Commissioner 7th District." Happy to see he won in the 16th!

This morning over at Park Federal Savings Bank, street vendors met to determine how to respond to a recent crackdown on their business from the 9th District. There was a news truck out front, but I'm not sure what outlet it was from. To some, perhaps, the issue is straightforward--a few years ago a North Side alderman attempted to ban corn vendors from her ward, if memory serves. Chicago does license and regulate street vendors; I have no idea how many of the carts on 47th have actually gotten licenses. Apparently local storefront businesses are fed up with litter from the street vendors. Our new commander in the 9th may have other concerns; I don't know. To me, street vendors are classic American entrepreneurs and should be encouraged within reasonable limits around licensing and sanitation. So I hope the vendors, storefronts, and cops can find a happy middle ground.

Last item: watch for a new bilingual paper to hit the streets here in Back of the Yards later this month! Here at the Tattler, I'm delighted to see a print media outlet opening up to showcase what's going on in our neighborhood, and look forward to cross-pollination with the folks at Back of the Yards Neighborhood Council who are putting it together. Watch for young writers to get a voice over there in the upcoming months, too.

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