Michele Smith Wins 43rd Ward Aldermanic Race

CHICAGO — Candidate Derek Lindblom tried to unseat 43rd Ward Ald. Michele Smith in Tuesday's runoff election, but Smith came out ahead in a tight race. Smith has held her position for eight years.

Five candidates tried to unseat Smith in the Feb. 26 election, and Lindblom advanced to the April 2 runoff.

The 43rd Ward includes parts of Lincoln Park and Old Town.

Aldermanic runoff election results:

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In 2008, Smith was elected to serve as Democratic Committeeman of Chicago's 43rd Ward, and re-elected in 2012. She has also worked in the U.S. Attorney's Office in Chicago and for Navistar International Corporation. As alderman, she renegotiated the Lincoln Park Hospital Redevelopment to decrease intensity of use on site.

Since Smith has assumed office, the number of street lights repaired in the ward has doubled, the number of potholes filled has doubled and the number of sewer cleanings has tripled.

Her top priorities for the ward include increasing public safety, acquiring funding for local schools and being a "fiscal watchdog."

Lindblom is a Vice President at 7 wire Ventures, an early stage venture fund. He has served in the mayor's office from 2011 to 2014 as the Chief of Staff to the Mayor's Economic Council, in which he worked as the city's lead policy negotiator on pensions in 2013 and 2014.

Lindblom also served as a legislative staffer on the Senate Judiciary Committee from 2003 to 2005 for Sen. Charles Schumer.

Lindblom's top priority is solving the city's debt problem.

In February, the Community Development Commission, appointed by the mayor, voted in support of a Cortland/Chicago River TIF District, which would reimburse Sterling Bay for up to $1.3 billion in public funds to ramp up infrastructure in the area. The funds would go to new bridges, roads and a new multimodal Metra Station.

In a 43rd Ward debate held on March 25, Smith made it clear that she believes that TIF money should go to other priorities, including keeping the ward safe and helping schools.

"The way we get there is standing up for transparency and ethics. We get there by being honest stewards for taxpayer dollars. We get there by fighting against handing over $1.3 billion dollars of your money for 23 years in the Lincoln Yards TIF — that money could go to repairing potholes, funding schools and paying police."

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43rd Ward endorsements:

Chicago Tribune Editorial Board: Michele Smith
Chicago Sun-Times Editorial Board: Derek Lindblom

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One of the top concerns among 43rd Ward residents is crime, and in the March 25 debate, moderator Kenneth Dotson noted that many residents feel the 43rd Ward hasn't received enough police resources.

"We've added a lot of resources," Smith said. "We've overcome all the issues of policemen who've retired, we've added over 136 new police officers and new technology to reduce crime."

Smith said her ward will always want more resources, but that the city needs to ramp up consequences for offenders.

"Our office did a study showing that almost all juveniles arrested with a gun were released within 24 hours, and 42 percent of juvenile gun offenders are then arrested again within a year, and half of them for violent crimes."

Smith said the state's attorney's office is "finally beginning" to work with the 18th District on cracking down on the repeat offenders.

"But according to our commander, it's still not enough," Smith said. "So we're going to continue the fight to get the resources and best technology and innovative solutions to make sure that we fix this spike in crime."

Lindblom proposed re-investing in the city's detective core and training so the city can effectively solve crimes.

"We've seen a 73 percent increase in assaults in the last election," Lindblom said. "We've seen over a 50 percent increase in sex crimes. We've seen an over two thirds increase in motor vehicle theft."

Lindblom said the city lacks effective deterrents.

"We solve murders with a clearance rate of about 17 to 18 percent in the City of Chicago. The national average is 64 percent. For shootings, it's under five percent. For many other property crimes and assaults it's actually even lower than that."

Lindblom also said the "roots" of crime need to be dealt with.

"That means things like bringing up communities that have challenges. That means viable options against crime," he said. "Things like increasing the minimum wage."

The city council is responsible for adopting the city budget and levying taxes. It's also tasked with creating and amending city laws, policies and ordinances.

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