Ald. Emma Mitts faces 3 hopefuls for 37th Ward seat

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By KAYLEIGH PADAR Block Club Chicago

A business consultant, a teacher and a police of ficer hope to oust longtime West Side Ald. Emma Mitts (37th) as she seeks her seventh City Council ter m.

Corey Braddock, Howard Ray and Jake Towers are challenging Mitts for the council seat she’s held since 2000. The 37th Ward encompasses Austin, West Garfield Park and West Humboldt Park.

Corey Braddock

Corey Braddock, a substitute teacher and busi ness c onsultant who’s ser ve d in law enforcement, has live d in the neighborhood for most of his l ife He announced hi c ampaign in No vember

T he c ommunity activist serves on the local school c we bsit e. He was an investi gator and po lice of ficer for 10 year s.

If elected, Braddock will prioritize the i ssues his c onstituents care most about and c onsistently involve them in decision-making, he said.

“When you ask p eople the biggest problems they c an think of the answe rs are dif ferent on every block, in every home,” Braddock said. “I want to listen to individuals and ensure there’s a system in p lace to make sure they ’re heard and their problems are addressed.”

Braddock p lans to focus on improvin g safety, i ntroducing economic developments, b ettering education and eliminating gove r nment co rr uption, he said. He b eli eves the ke y to improving p eople’s lives lies in ensuring they have a ccess to educational o ppor tunities, mental health suppo rt and other resources.

“The massive i ssues our c ommunities are facing, li ke lack of safety, are c aused in pa rt by the trauma p eople experienc e from the c onditions they ’re living in,” Braddock said. “They have no p lace to go for help and there’s few resources set aside to heal.

“ I’m a for mer p olice of ficer, but we ca n’ t solve these problems by locking everybo dy up. We have to look at it from a different perspective. ”

Braddock d oes not have an active c ampaign fundraising organization but previously was paid about $2,700 for c onsulting when for mer Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis c onsidered a ru n for mayo r in 2014, public records sho w.

Emma Mitts

Mitts was appointed to her c ouncil seat in the wake of the Operation Sil ve r Sh ovel scandal, wh ich saw her predecessor, for mer Ald. Pe rcy Giles, sent to prison for taking bribe s. S he easily won election to her first f ull ter m in 2003 and has b een reelected four times

Mitts is from Arkansas but has live d in Austin for more than 20 years and held a number of p ositions within city gover nment before becoming alder person, a ccording to her we bsit e. S he did not respond to requests for comment.

Mitts has focused on improving education, reducing c rim e, enhancing economic development and increasing a ccess to af fordable housing, a ccording to her we bsite.

In the 2000s, Mitts brought the ward it s first public l ibrary, and the area has seen the opening of small businesses — including the popular Brown Su ga r Bake ry — under her leadershi p. T he ward has also welcomed facilities from various c ompanies, including Walmar t, Menards and Coca-Cola.

Mitts’ of fice co-sponsors town hall meetings, the annual 37th Wa rd Gospel Fest, the Christmas in the Wa rds give aw ay and other c ommunity events, a ccording to her we bsit e.

Mitts has over $134,000 in c ampaign c ont ributions, including more than $38,000 she loaned herself in December, public records show. Other major d onors include DoorDash and the Service Employees Inter national Union.

Howard Ray

Howard Ra has spent 32 year wo rk ing as a city employe e, includ ing within the p ostal servic e, CT and p olice de pa ment.

Ray grew up the 37th Wa rd and has live d on the West Side for most of his l ife, a ccording to his we bsit e. He wo rks for the p olice de par tment and spent 32 years with the postal service and CTA.

Ray has i nteracted with a variety of Chicagoans, wh ich has given him a soli d understanding of the p eople he hopes to re present, he said.

“I know this c ommunity I’ve b een in nearly everyone’s house, definitely eve rybo dy ’s porch,” Ray said. “I know wh at p eople want. And through my jo b, I’ve seen the gove r nment aspect of it, too.

“… I’ ll be able to cater to b oth gove rnment of ficials and average people.”

Ray’s biggest priority is increasing transparency within city go ve r nment. He p lans to host town hall meetings to discuss and create community ag reements before allowing developments in the ward.

Ray’s main initiatives include preventing c rim e, providing more educational and recreational o ppor tunities for young p eople, b eautifying the neighborhood and improving people’s overall quality of life.

Ray wants to provide c ommunity members with o ppor tunities to become stakeholders and investors in the businesses that enter the ward. He also wants to wo rk with residents and businesses to create a p lan to provide proper ty tax relief.

If elected, Ray p lans to implement progr ams for young people to lear n vo cational skills, li ke how to code, and ensure k ids have a ccess to recreational spor ts by creating a spor ts ministry to of f set the c ost of youth teams, he said.

Ray has about $5,200 in c ampaign c ash, a ccording to public record s.

Jake Towers

Kinder ga r ten teacher Jake ers decided to for alder person cause he feels of ficials have touch with the munity

Towers plans star t improving neighborhood first acting as “a tening ear,” he

“Especiall through working also in the church, ally hear people their hear t,” Towers said. “Within politics, some leaders have lost touch with people I’m not a politician; I just care about the community and the next generation.”

Tower’s biggest priority is ensuring people have access to jobs that pay living wages by bringing in developments that of fer higher-paying positions and encouraging entrepreneurship, he said. He also wants to focus on making the community safer by providing more resources for young people.

If elected, Towers wants to make sure schools are open for students 24/7 and equipped with an ar ray of extracur ricular activities to keep young people eng aged and out of trouble, he said.

“You go to other neighborhoods, and they have everything they need to be successful, which is why there’s less crime,” Towers said. “I want to make sure our community has access to everything we need. I believe that crime and carjacking and all of that can be reduced if people have more options.”