A New Beginning For 29th Ward
CHICAGO (CBS) – With 11 wards up for grabs, this year could see the most turnover on the Chicago City Council since the 1970s.
The 29th -- on the city's West Side – has one of the vacant seats. Some voters there finally feel they really have a choice, CBS 2's Kristyn Hartman reports.
It is a big story. From Sunday sermons to popular eating spots, voters in the 29th Ward will tell you the Feb. 22 election is top of mind.
"It's been the talk of the ward -- yes, definitely," voter Shauna Newton said.
The man who won the last election, Ike Carothers, is in prison now. One analyst says he and his family kept the West Side ward in a "serfdom."
"There was a lot of political thuggery in this ward," University of Illinois-Chicago political scientist Dick Simpson said.
He says because the Machine maintained things, voters really do have a choice this time.
"People have a voice, and they have a choice," Pastor Ira Acree of Greater St. John Bible Church agreed.
Candidates are taking advantage of that by pounding the pavement every day. Eight candidates are running for the 29th Ward seat, including the woman appointed after Carothers left office.
Candidate Jill Bush said, "The field is open, and it's a new opportunity. It's not politics and business as usual."
C.B. Johnson, one of her competitors in a field of eight, said, "I think people are ready for change."
With the 29th Ward seat and others in play, Simpson says the hope is the Chicago City Council will become more than the "rubber stamp" so many have said it is.
