Helping to Keep Uptown in Squalor since 1987
Shiller and her core constituency claim ownership of Uptown. It's a unique concept of community ownership, based on tenure instead of property. They decry the process of gentrification and fight tooth-and-nail to postpone the inevitable effects of a free market.
Does Helen Shiller represent you? If you're a homeowner, probably not. A web search reveals her constituency:
THE POOR AND THE HOMELESS
Bringing in more of her voters:
"Shiller also cited Emanuel's commitment to increasing affordable housing opportunities."
Link
"The program will help promote mixed-income developments as well as help long-time residents remain in neighborhoods where home values are rapidly increasing while their incomes are not."
Link
"If I knew how to keep housing available for poor people of any ethnic background, I would be doing it in a second," Shiller said. "All I know how to do is to take opportunities to preserve housing, and then to make sure people know it's there."
Link
UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS
Bringing in even more of her voters:
"Jan Schakowsky and 46th Ward Alderman Helen Shiller processed 350 applications for permanent residency. The event was undertaken to allow undocumented immigrants who are eligible for legal permanent residency to file for that residency in the United States."
Link
THOSE LEADING ALTERNATIVE LIFESTYLES
Not that there's anything wrong with that:
"Citizens who are denied their civil rights because their gender identify, appearance or behavior differs from that traditionally associated with their sex at birth."
Link - As of 1/27/03 this link appears to be dead
"It's a Pride Thing," a business-to-business cocktail reception for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) business owners, executives, key employees, and allies within the straight community."
Link
Note: I'm mystified at GLBT boosterism for Shiller in Uptown, since much of the Uptown GLBT community consists of white affluent homeowners. Shiller represents the GLBT community only as a lifestyle advocate. This appears to be a single-issue voting block.
CHA RESIDENTS
"The alderman grew upset with what she called a biased, inaccurate and inflammatory flier that partially blamed the high crime rates on CHA and HUD mismanagement of low-income properties."
Link
Note: What a novel idea, linking poverty, crime and public housing.
