Accomplishments
Building A Foundation for The Renewal of Our Neighborhood
Joe Moore has served as Alderman of the 49th Ward of the City of Chicago since 1991. During that time he has overseen a steady and major improvement in all areas affecting the quality of life for 49th Ward residents. He has shown himself to be hard working, progressive and effective—a strong advocate in the Chicago City Council for those who live and work in the 49th Ward. Following is a list of some of Alderman Moore's accomplishments during his time in office:
Capital Improvements
Development
Zoning
Infrastructure Improvements
Public Safety
Schools
Housing
Capital Improvements
When Alderman Moore was first elected to the City Council the 49th Ward ranked last among the City's 50 Wards in the amount of dollars spent on infrastructure. Since that time, he has worked hard to secure a greater share of capital improvement dollars for our community. He formed the 49th Ward Capital Improvements Committee, a coalition of community organizations and neighborhood residents who worked with Alderman Moore to successfully advocate for a fair share of capital improvement dollars for the 49th Ward. This committee created a capital improvement plan and lobbied top city officials. The committee received an award from the Neighborhood Capital Budget Group for its model efforts in neighborhood-based planning and unity-building and, more importantly, has resulted in an investment of tens of millions of dollars in our community. Some of the capital improvement projects during Alderman Moore's tenure have included:
- A new 14,000 square foot Rogers Park Branch Library was constructed on Clark Street. Alderman Moore worked with Library Commissioner Mary Dempsey to add a reading garden to the south end of that library.
- A new $2 million park and playground were constructed on Howard Street adjacent to the Gale School campus.
- A new $5million 16,000-square-foot Park District fieldhouse/community center will be constructed next year at the Gale Campus Park.
- A $1.5 million beautification project on Sheridan Road, from Devon to the City limits was completed in 1995.
- A $900,000 project to straighten out the dangerous curve at Sheridan Road and Devon Avenue was completed in 1999.
- A $3.28 million beautification project on Howard Street, from Ridge Boulevard to the Howard El will be completed this year.
- Plans are underway for a multi-million dollar beautification project on Howard Street, from the Howard El to Greenview.
- Alderman Moore secured $200,000 from the city for a planning study for a beautification project on Morse Avenue.
- An addition to Kilmer School was completed in 1996 at a cost of $12 million.
- The new Jordan School was constructed in 1992 at a cost of $15 million.
- An annex to Gale School was completed in 1998.
- An extensive upgrade for the exterior of the main Gale School building was completed in 1999.
- An extensive upgrade to the exterior of Field School was completed in 2000.
- A new school currently under construction at Clark Street and Morse Avenue is slated to open in September 2003. It will alleviate overcrowding at Field School
- A $250,000 street-end improvement and beautification project was recently completed at North Shore and Lake Michigan. Similar improvement projects are slated for Columbia and Albion.
- Preliminary planning has commenced for a complete rebuilding of the Howard CTA Station and is scheduled for completion within five years. The old bus barn has been replaced and new bus lanes have been added.
Development
Gateway Shopping Center
This development at the southeast corner of Howard and Clark Streets is substantially occupied. It is anchored by a Dominick's grocery store which was completed in the fall of 2000 and includes a Marshall's clothing store and a Bally's Fitness Center, as well as numerous other stores, most of which have already opened at the site. One component of Alderman Moore's support for the project was that Dominick's agreed to hire from the community, and over 150 49th Ward residents were part of the initial hiring for the new store. There is also a residential component to the development, the Gateway Centre Apartments, which provides over 100 units of affordable housing for persons aged 55 years and older.
1528-30 W. Morse Avenue
This mid-rise building was a focal point for criminal activities along Morse Avenue until it became the first building citywide to be closed under the Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy Program. The building was redeveloped by the Rogers Park Community Development Corporation and provides residential units for low to moderate income seniors and houses the Rogers Park Community Council.
Lakeview Pointe Townhomes
Fifty-seven units of luxury 2, 3 and 4-bedroom residences were constructed at the site of the former Shell gas station where Sheridan Road meets the City of Evanston at Lake Michigan.
Emerson Point Townhomes
A twenty-eight unit townhome development is currently under construction at the former site of a marginal commercial property at the northeast corner of Rogers and Damen Avenues.
New Rogers Park Fire Station
The obsolete Rogers Park Fire Station at Paulina Street and Greenleaf Avenue will be replaced by a modern new facility on Clark Street, between Touhy Avenue and Rogers Avenue across from Touhy Park. Construction should be completed in approximately two years depending on property acquisition time.
Lerner Newspaper Building
Negotiations are currently underway to redevelop the old Lerner Newspaper Building at the southeast corner of Howard Street and Ashland Avenue into a residential townhome development. Tied to this project are efforts to include space for a live theater and community arts venue.
Zoning
Comprehensive Ward-Wide Rezoning Process
As the City of Chicago underwent the rewrite of its Zoning Ordinance, the 49th Ward engaged in a grassroots effort to evaluate every single building in the ward and to consider whether rezoning was necessary. Teams of volunteers took to the streets to map the ward building by building and to make suggestions which were compiled by the Metropolitan Planning Council. These suggestions were presented to the community at-large for further consideration and evaluation. At the end of the process we now have a community zoning plan written by the residents of the community. For a list of the blocks that were downzoned, visit our ZONING Page.
Zoning and Land-Use Advisory Committee
Realizing the importance of involving the community in zoning issues which have the potential to greatly affect property values and quality of life issues for Ward residents and business owners, Alderman Moore formed a committee to advise him on zoning issues. The committee is made up of a wide range of community members, including homeowners, renters and business owners, and reflects the racial and economic diversity which make up our community. The committee meets once each month and as a result of their recommendations Alderman Moore often holds community meetings where the person or group requesting a zoning change must present their plans before community members who would be affected by the proposed change.
Downzoning
In early 2000, as a response to community members who were concerned that developers would come into our neighborhood and tear down single-family homes and smaller residential buildings in order to construct larger residential buildings, sometimes destroying the character of their immediate neighborhood in the process, Alderman Moore created a carefully constructed process whereby residents and community organizations could make a formal request to the Alderman to institute more restrictive zoning provisions for certain areas. Since that time Alderman Moore has introduced eight downzoning ordinances to the Chicago City Council, all of which were passed.
Infrastructure Improvements
Each year Alderman Moore receives funds he may spend utilizing a menu of basic infrastructure improvements for the 49th Ward such as street and sidewalk replacement, speed humps in alleys, streetlighting, and planting of new trees. The list is compiled between the months of July and March, and is submitted to the City at that time. The work is then assigned to contractors and work is completed before the end of the construction season in which it is submitted. We are sometimes able to add items to the list after our menu has been submitted, so please don't hesitate to call us with your request no matter the time of year.
Public Safety
Alderman Moore was the leader in the Chicago City Council in the drive for Community Policing. As a result, Rogers Park was chosen as one of the initial Police Districts to utilize the Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy under the City of Chicago's Pilot Program. Alderman Moore works very closely with 24th Police District Commander Bruce Rottner and the 49th Ward has experienced substantial drops in reported crime during his period as Alderman. Since Joe Moore took office, index crime is down 49%.
While the 49th Ward has generally enjoyed drops in crime greater than the citywide average, any crime is too much crime – so the Alderman has a staff member permanently assigned to work on public safety issues. This staff member also attends local CAPS Meetings. We encourage you to get involved if you are not already. Please feel free to contact the 49th Ward Service Office if you have any questions or concerns regarding public safety.
Schools
Rehabilitation and new construction have taken place at all public schools located in the 49th Ward during Joe Moore's time in the City Council and The Chicago Math and Science Academy, a public charter has opened in Rogers Park. Test scores have improved dramatically at all 49th Ward Schools over the past sixteen years, but we still have a long way to go. Our children are our future and Alderman Moore is committed to making sure that the Public Schools in the 49th Ward are ready to provide them with solid, well-rounded educations which prepare them to be responsible and productive members of our community.
Housing
Alderman Moore has a staff member permanently assigned to work on residential landlord-tenant issues. This staff member works very closely with landlords and tenants to resolve outstanding lease issues and to correct outstanding City Building Code violations. Inspections by representatives of the City's Building Department are arranged if necessary, and a 49th Ward Staff member attends all hearings if the violations are serious enough to warrant a Housing Court case. In dozens of instances where there has been criminal activity associated with a particular building, the Alderman has requested that the building owner attend a meeting at the 49th Ward Service Office with officers from the 24th Police District, 49th Ward Staff and neighbors of the building in order to arrive at solutions for the problems tied to the property. Many of these properties are currently among the more well-maintained in the 49th Ward.
During Alderman Moore's tenure literally hundreds of buildings have been subject to City Building Inspections and their owners have been forced to bring their building into compliance with city regulations. In the worst cases Alderman Moore has successfully lobbied judges to order buildings vacated, and in three cases landlords have actually been required to do jail time for their neglect.
The 49th Ward experienced serious problems with a developer who engaged in bank fraud involving the conversion of twelve buildings to condominiums from 2000 to 2001. This developer used fraudulent appraisals and brokered mortgages through his own mortgage brokerage company to sell 153 condominium units to 16 conspirators at drastically inflated prices. The buildings sat vacant and began to suffer from neglect and drew criminal activity. Alderman Moore coordinated efforts of numerous City Departments, Community Organizations, neighbors, friendly attorneys, responsible developers and banks in order to turn these buildings around. A process that many thought would take over three and one-half years was accomplished in one year and today all of those buildings are in responsible hands and have either started selling or renting units or will be doing so soon.
In many instances problems lie with bad tenants rather than landlords. Alderman Moore's Office has numerous resources and he has helped dozens of landlords with problem tenants, or sometimes with overzealous City Inspectors. In instances involving tenants engaged in illegal activities the Alderman has helped expedite the eviction process through his connections with the Cook County Sheriff's Office.
Please visit our LANDLORD/TENANT page for more details and resources.