POLITICS COMMITTEE

We invite all community residents to speak out at our Rogers Park Community Discussion on Chicago 2023 Mayoral Candidates on Wed., Feb. 15 at 7pm. Register in advance for this Zoom meeting HERE. Afterwards, Network 49 members will get a ballot to vote on who we endorse.

We want your perspective on the best candidate to address our needs and concerns. What do you think of their policy plans and proposals? Progressive or not? Which has the (a) best track record of performance, (b) experience, and (c) character to serve us?

We know that some candidates have similar positions on the top issues. Clear contrasts between them are apparent. That’s why it’s important for Rogers Park voters to evaluate candidate responses to our Network 49 Mayoral Endorsement Questionnaire on our website HERE. It was developed by our Chicago Municipal Elections Committee members and sent to all of the candidates. The five who responded to us are:

• Kam Buckner (https://kamformayor.com) Click for questionnaire.
• Jesus Chuy Garcia (https://chuyforchicago.com) Click for questionnaire.
• Brandon Johnson (https://www.brandonforchicago.com) Click for questionnaire.
• Sophia King (https://www.sophiaforchicago.com) Click for questionnaire.
• Roderick Sawyer (https://sawyer4chicago.com) Click for questionnaire.

To learn more about where they stand on the issues you may also want to watch one or all of these video recordings of recent mayoral forums and debates posted online.

• 2023 Chicago Women Take Action Mayoral Forum
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xIrVJ7Fz8M
• WGN-TV Chicago Mayoral Forum
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3YcyagOKqs
• ABC7 Mayoral Candidates Debate
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ck8GPV5Rtpo
• Trinity Church Mayoral Forum
  https://www.youtube.com/live/snJPqhNE0nE?feature=share&t=999
• Bethany Union Church forum – WGN news story
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krpqizOucZI

CHICAGO MUNICIPAL ELECTION – FEBRUARY 2023
We all know that Chicago’s election season is always a roller coaster of political activity with a mix of qualified candidates who have earned our support and many others seeking our attention.

Network 49 has never sat on the sidelines during election season. Neither have we simply hoped for the best outcome. Instead, we actively support political candidates, elected officials, issue campaigns, and organizations that are consistent with our goals and we oppose those that don’t.

Our political and policy issues work on behalf of our community is grounded in a long history of progressive political action by our members. The foundation of our work is reflected in the Network 49 Values Statement we adopted two years ago. It outlines our progressive posture and goals, and thus informs our work on political and social issues. We sometimes work in collaboration with – but maintain our independence of – political parties.

Our progressive policy orientation informs our evaluation of any person who wants to be elected to public office. Proven track records matter most! In preparing for the Chicago Municipal Election, a recent example of affirming our organization’s fundamental principles was deciding to support the re-election of Network 49 member 49th Ward Alderwoman Maria Hadden.

ELECT OUR NEW CHICAGO POLICE 24 TH DISTRICT COUNCIL
Our Chicago Municipal Elections Committee  evaluated candidates for the new Chicago Police 24th District Council and the Chicago Mayoral Election candidates.

Our committee developed questionnaires for both elections and contacted declared candidates seeking to be elected in February. We evaluated the merits of those who responded, reviewed their qualifications, and their questionnaire responses.

For the police district council you can read their questionnaire responses here. Our goal was to identify which candidates would be best to effectively engage and communicate with local residents AND to serve as our elected representatives charged with tackling public safety and policing issues with our 24th  Police District Commander, our police officers, and the new citywide police oversight commission. We studied each candidate’s:

1. Track record of community experience in the 24 th  Police District
2. Involvement and activism with residents on local issues
3. Progressive orientation on promoting public safety and police oversight and accountability
4. Plans or proposals to address community safety and policing

Network 49 members voted to endorse three candidates: Veronica Arreola, Marilyn Pagán-Banks, and EdVette Jones. We are confident that their community experience and strong qualifications equip them to serve our community well. Each one brings these strengths to the job:

• Verified experience in community organizing and working with residents and groups on issues and causes that relate to improving community safety
• Personal experience with the good and bad in Chicago policing
• Knowledge and experience with local policing issues and police accountability work
• A strong commitment to promoting community health, safety, and police professionalism.

To their credit, these three are working together as a candidate slate. They are campaigning together and pledge to keep working as a team if elected.