Hey Rogers Park, what would you do with a million dollars?
Now's your chance.
Ald. Joe Moore (49th) says he's going to let his consituents decide how to spend the discretionary money his ward - like every other ward - gets allotted for infrastructure maintenance and improvement projects like sidewalk repair, new street lights and alley paving.
“Next year, I am ceding my decision-making authority to the residents of my ward through a process known as participatory budgeting in which all 49th Ward residents will be eligible to vote directly on the infrastructure projects that will be funded in our community,” Moore wrote in his e-mail newsletter. “I’m not just asking for your opinion - I’m asking you to make real decisions about how we spend our money.”
While the democratic instinct is commendable, Moore might also be opening a Pandora's box. Resident in-fighting is sure to follow, governed by narrow interests instead of the big picture view an alderman is supposed to have.
"I think one of the things that people will find out is that while $1 million sounds like a lot of money, it doesn't pay for a whole lot," Moore told WBEZ.
On the other hand, Moore is right: Residents will get a taste of how hard it can be sometimes to divvy up taxpayer funds among competing parties.
Local
"My guess? More coffee shops and clove cigarettes," writes Justin Kaufmann on his WBEZ blog.
If only.
Community meetings begin in November, according to Time Out Chicago.
Steve Rhodes is the proprietor of The Beachwood Reporter, a Chicago-centric news and culture review.
