To the Editor:

As a reporter and editor, primarily at the Hyde Park Herald, I spent 15 years as an active student of Hyde Park’s genius, learning about how and why the neighborhood is the way it is. One of the consistent themes I noticed over those years was the importance of people doing for themselves in the public sphere for the life of the community. From the establishment of the Hyde Park Cooperative Society to the construction of the original Harper Court to the struggle to preserve Promontory Point, Hyde Park is its best self when it insists on deciding for itself.

This also extends to the election of myriad progressive political candidates. In recent years, however, this has not taken place for important political positions. From state representative to state senator to alderman, Hyde Park is represented by people who were hand-picked and appointed by Cook County Board President and Fourth Ward Committeeman Toni Preckwinkle. This is in no way a criticism of the men who fill these positions. It is not even a criticism of Toni, who I’m sure is trying to do what’s best for the community. But it is a condemnation of unilateral political maneuvering which leaves the people without their own voice.
Once a candidate gets in, it is hard to get him or her out. That’s why we have to be very careful about who we pick and who gets put into office.

In the Fourth Ward, people who have less power and influence have been largely ignored in recent years, and it shows. If your ideas do not align with the moneyed interests, you will probably not hear your concerns voiced by the local representatives. If you are against local schools closing, you have probably not heard your alderman speak out on your behalf. If you think there should be limits to development, you probably feel left out.
Now we are told that Will Burns is resigning his position to work in the private sector (see story on page 1). Some of our older neighbors and political junkies will inevitably pine for “an alderman like Leon,” a refrain I heard quite often when I was the editor of the Herald. Well, Leon Despres was one-of-a-kind to be sure, but his values were not. In fact, the greatness of Leon Despres was in his ability to both elevate Chicago politics through his idealism and to speak the concerns and priorities of the people.

How did it happen that such a man became alderman? Through the Hyde Park tradition of doing for ourselves. Leon was picked for the position and reluctantly accepted it. This is the way you get a remarkable person involved in Chicago politics – you find someone who is not chomping at the bit to be called alderman or senator or representative. That is what Hyde Park must do in order to reinvigorate public life in the community: Get together and talk about what we want in an alderman. Put together a platform. And then find someone willing to take our priorities to City Hall and to fight for them. And for us.

This does not mean someone who merely agrees with our positions. In fact, that’s impossible, because we are not in agreement. It is a set of principles and a method by which decisions should be made that matters. We need someone who believes in protecting the little guy and who wants to hear a robust discussion about every public issue. We need a ward office that is open 24/7 and is constantly listening. We need as much participation as possible for everyone.

You don’t get these things by hoping and waiting for them. You fight for them; you demand them. I started this letter by saying I had been a student of this community. I will really never stop being a student, and I hope the neighborhood will never stop surprising me. This struggle would be a delightful surprise – but also in and of its best traditions.
So what do you say, Hyde Park? Are you ready to fight for your future? Or will you lay down and let it be handed to you?

-Gabriel Piemonte