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Joe Moreno
Quick Hit
by Ellyn Fortino
5:58pm
Tue Jun 18
1 comment

Ald. Moreno, Environmental Advocates Call For Plastic Bag Ban At Committee Hearing

Ald. Joe Moreno (1st) and a handful of other aldermen want plastic carryout bags banned in Chicago.  

On Tuesday, members of the city council’s Committee on Health and Environmental Protection heard more than two hours of testimony on a plastic bag reduction ordinance, which Moreno first introduced in November 2011.

“Plastic bags of today are the Styrofoam containers of yesterday, and we moved past that,” Moreno said at the hearing. Read more »

PI Original
by Aricka Flowers
10:24pm
Wed Mar 13
1 comment

Second So-Called Progressive Caucus Emerges In Chicago City Council, Begging The Question Of Why?

City Hall

A second group of aldermen, calling themselves the Paul Douglas Alliance (after the liberal Illinois U.S. Senator and former member of the Chicago City Council), announced they are forming a new so-called progressive caucus. The move comes one day after the council's original progressive caucus, the Progressive Reform Coalition, announced their legislative priorities. Progress Illinois breaks down what the formation of the second progressive caucus could really mean.

Quick Hit
by Ashlee Rezin
6:13pm
Tue Feb 12

Logan Square Community Fights To Keep Neighborhood Schools Open At CPS Hearing (VIDEO)

Carrying signs and chanting about the need to save neighborhood schools, hundreds gathered at Armitage Baptist Church Monday night for a Chicago Public Schools (CPS) meeting to discuss potential school closings on the Northwest side.

Five representatives from CPS listened to testimonies from concerned parties at the Logan Square church during the meeting with local representatives, parents and teachers who pleaded their schools’ cases.

“This neighborhood is full of kids, and those parents are going to send their kids to our neighborhood schools — you’re here for a community hearing, so listen to us,” said Seth Lavin, a six-year resident of Logan Square who wishes to send his two-year-old son to Lorenz Brentano Math & Science Academy. Lavin’s wife serves on Brentano’s local school council.

Read more »

Quick Hit
by Matthew Blake
7:35pm
Tue Nov 6, 2012

10th House District: Lack Of Enthusiasm For Derrick Smith Opponent, Lance Tyson (VIDEO)

Despite a federal indictment on bribery charges and being kicked out of the Illinois General Assembly in August, former state Rep. Derrick Smith may be elected to his old seat today in Illinois’ 10th House district.

Across the 10th state House district today, which loosely includes the Garfield Park and West Town neighborhoods on Chicago’s West Side but also stretches near the lakefront, ripped apart signs can be found that state Derrick Smith is “Wanted” for “Disgracing the Democratic Party” and “Crimes Against the Residents of the 10th District” and “Federal Bribery.”

Yet support appears lukewarm for Lance Tyson, the 10th District Unity Party candidate and former chief of staff for Cook County President Todd Stroger. Tyson has billed himself as the “real Democrat”

For example, PI caught up with Ald. Robert Fioretti (2nd) at a polling place in the Ukrainian Village neighborhood. Fioretti is also the 2nd Ward Democratic Committeeman and part of a coterie of West Side Democrats, including Secretary of State Jesse White, who agreed to “unify” their support behind Tyson.

But Fioretti said Tyson’s get out the vote efforts left something to be desired. Read more »

Quick Hit
by Anthony Burke Boylan
3:30pm
Thu Aug 16, 2012

New Program Seeks To Sway Consumers, Lawmakers In The Battle Of The Bags

Consumers in five Chicago Wards will be seeing new bags to carry their purchases, though they may not notice the difference unless it’s pointed out to them.

It’s all part of a larger effort to ban plastic bags at large retailers in Chicago. The proposed ordinance, introduced by Ald. Proco “Joe’’ Moreno (1st), would encourage people to bring reusable bags to the store and charge a nickel for paper or so-called plastic alternative bags at retailers of 5,000 square feet or more.

Read more »