building community in Chicago by hiring Community Builders

Proposal: Chicago citizens should be empowered to elect Community Builders for their community areas. (Chicago has 77 community areas.)

Assumption: Increasing connectedness will benefit communities in various ways. While Alan Mills comments on crime was the catalyst of this idea, I see more connectedness benefiting Chicago communities in various ways. As Rudy Lozano, Jr. said, there's no alternative to defending communities other than organizing communities.

Where?

Each community area would decide whether to implement this plan by vote.

Who can run? 

Anyone (irrespective of citizenship) who lives in the community sixteen years or older 

Who can vote?

Everyone age twelve & up who lives in the community area, including homeless people who identify with the community

What will the duties of Community Builders be?

The nominal duties will be to get to know people in the community and broker introductions between people in the community. But the duties will get defined by the Community Builders and the members of the community.

How much will Community Builders be paid?

$1,500/month (proposed)

How many Community Builders will each community area have?

Two plus one per every 3,000 residents in the last census

How will it be paid for?

Property tax increase for the community area

building community in Chicago by hiring Community Builders

Proposal: Chicago citizens should be empowered to elect Community Builders for their community areas. (Chicago has 77 community areas.)

Assumption: Increasing connectedness will benefit communities in various ways. While Alan Mills comments on crime was the catalyst of this idea, I see more connectedness benefiting Chicago communities in various ways. As Rudy Lozano, Jr. said, there's no alternative to defending communities other than organizing communities.

Where?

Each community area would decide whether to implement this plan by vote.

Who can run? 

Anyone (irrespective of citizenship) who lives in the community sixteen years or older 

Who can vote?

Everyone age twelve & up who lives in the community area, including homeless people who identify with the community

What will the duties of Community Builders be?

The nominal duties will be to get to know people in the community and broker introductions between people in the community. But the duties will get defined by the Community Builders and the members of the community.

How much will Community Builders be paid?

$1,500/month (proposed)

How many Community Builders will each community area have?

Two plus one per every 3,000 residents in the last census

How will it be paid for?

Property tax increase for the community area

ideas for improving the integrity of elections in Chicago

Last night, a group of people met to discuss the how to make Chicago elections more "free & fair". This blog entry contains some ideas I have. I have ranked the ideas (roughly) by how many votes they seem like they would affect (based on my intuition).

Outline:

1. Everyone in polling place has to be clearly identified.
2. FBI hotline for situations where someone has already voted for a voter.
3. Precincts with large numbers of provisional ballots should be audited.
4. Require Chicago Board of Elections to report on the adequacy of the resources provided.
5. Or get federal courts to assign a monitor, like Shakman did for City of Chicago hiring.
6. Rules for ballot pick-up.
7. Independent election judges: create a process for people to become judges at specific precincts without going through either the Democratic or Republican committeeman.
8. Pass law that allows judges to penalize campaigns that violate the law.
9. There should be a conference held in Chicago on how to best protect seniors & the disabled from being controlled or abused in elections.
10. To make a nominating petition challenge, the plaintiff has to be a candidate in the race to have standing. 
11. There should be a penalty for failed nominating petition challenges.

See details below.

new revenue for Chicago, taxing sales of some homes

Because City of Chicago is in debt to its pension funds, Chicago needs new revenue.

The following proposal will bring some revenue and it should be passable.

Tax sales of homes (properties that have taken the "homeowners exemption" which saves $250-2,000/year).

Here's the catch: if the owner buys another home in Chicago (residential property where owner qualifies for and takes homeowner exemption) the owner gets 100% of the tax rebated. Also, if the homeowner lives there for 20 years or longer, the sale would be exempt from taxation.

How much would the tax be?

1% on value up to $250,000 of sale price
1.5% on value between $250-500,000 of sale price
2% on value between $500K- $1 million
4% on value between $1-2 million
8% on value over $2 million

There would be a step down for people who owned the property over 16 years.

If property owned:
16 years ==> only 80% of the tax paid
17 years ==> only 60% of the tax paid
18 years ==> only 40% of the tax paid
19 years ==> only 20% of the tax paid

The tax would not apply to seniors that have lived in Chicago for 20+ years and downsized to a more modest priced home in the last twenty years.

If an owner sells a home and then rents in Chicago, s/he would get the tax rebated one third at a time at the 12, 24 & 36 month points, if s/he still maintains her/his legal residence in Chicago.

This tax would apply to the heirs of an estate, even if the deceased did live in Chicago for 20+ years.

To defeat Rahm, get more people (you plus 347,860) to vote against him

Today, Monday, February 9, 2015 is the first day of early voting in Chicago’s municipal elections.

Whether Rahm Emanuel is re-elected as Mayor of Chicago turns on something simple: how many people vote?

There will be 250,000 Chicagoans who vote against Rahm no matter what. If 350,000 Chicagoans vote against Rahm, he will be forced into a run-off with the strongest not-Rahm candidate. If 350,000 Chicagoans vote against Rahm in the first round (February 24 election), the not-Rahm candidate will be the favorite to win the second round (April 7).

If you want to beat Rahm, your mission is simple. Get a list of the registered voters in your precinct and contact them. Make sure they vote.

Below the fold for analysis.

progressing to sensible gun control in Chicago

Three things Chicago could do about guns.

1. Publish chain of ownership of firearms used in homicides and illegal public shootings where lives are put at risk. 
2. Fine people who sell firearms but report them stolen. 
3. Apply an annual registration fee on some firearms.