It is almost that time again to vote for the folks that will help you and your family. In Chicago, the case could be made for to vote for the person that will help himself and his friends to your money. The 44th Ward has been poorly run by Tom Tunney. Tunney involved himself in pushing promotions for former Alderman Hansen son, the DUI kid Paul Hansen. The Chicago Inspector General has never accounted Tunney for this blatant shakman violation. Tunney was also able to cover for City worker transgressions and let his pals off the hook for serious crimes. The 44th Ward is a money making machine for Tunney, but now is the time for fresh leadership. Also if you ate Tunney’s cinnamon rolls piled up on the dirty floor, you’d think you ate dry flour. I will never eat there again. I hope my friends in the 44th Ward look at the issues and I hope Tunney starts making good food for a change. Dump the Dummy. Mark Thomas, owner of The Alley Stores in Lakeview, has reinstated his campaign for alderman of the 44th Ward.
The campaign was temporarily suspended earlier this year while Thomas recovered from a corrective surgical procedure. The campaign officially restarted on September 27th, and in that short time period has gathered more than the minimum number of signatures to qualify for the ballot in the February municipal election. Thomas has also raised several thousand dollars from members of the community and loaned the campaign $25,000 to get started.
Mark Thomas has been an entrepreneur and community leader in the Lakeview neighborhood for over 40 years. He is the owner of several area businesses, including The Alley Stores, a jewelry manufacturing facility and a screen printing business. He was a founding member of the Central Lakeview Merchants Association, served as the Executive Director of K.E.B.I.C., a city-funded chamber of commerce, and is a member of the East Lakeview Chamber of Commerce, North Halsted Business Alliance and the GLBT Chamber of Commerce. He also volunteers as a member of the Quarterly Industry Leaders Reporting Board of the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank and on the board of Local First Chicago.
Thomas is challenging incumbent Ald. Tom Tunney to represent the 44th Ward. Tunney is a local entrepreneur and owner of Ann Sather restaurant, and was appointed to the city council by then-mayor Richard M. Daley in 2003. Thomas proposes an alternative vision for representing the ward that focuses on civic engagement and a more hands-on leadership style that includes working with local police to clean up crime in the community.