City and Ward challenges: Proco "Joe" Moreno, 1st Ward Alderman

Three of the major issues that I see facing the City and impacting our Ward are Education, Safety and Jobs.

Education

In the 1st Ward we have many great schools, with dedicated and talented teachers. Even though our 21 schools produce a lot of promising students, there's always room for improvement. Every child in our city deserves a quality education. I will continue to support the Charter School movement and I strongly support extending the school day.

My experience as an LSC member at Jose De Diego taught me about the real bureaucratic and societal problems facing our next generation. The next Mayor and City Council must focus on improving Chicago's schools. Our city's future growth and prosperity depends on it.

Safety

Over the next four years, I will continue to maintain and improve our community's relationship with our police. Even though our community has come a long way over the last decade, we still have issues in certain areas. I will continue to work with the commanders of the three police districts in the 1st ward to address problems, hopefully before they arise.

When incidents happen I will continue to dedicate the full power of my office to eliminating future problems. I have used and will continue to use the deleterious impact ordinance with problem businesses. I will go on ride-a-longs, at least every month, with commanders so I can see the issues first hand. I, or my staff, will continue to attend and participate in CAPS initiatives and attend beat meetings. I will continue to work with and encourage community groups to stand up to undesirable elements.

The vast majority of 1st Warders are law-abiding empathetic people. The small minority that aren't, be they business owners or gang-bangers who've lived here their entire lives, are not welcome. My job is to make that clear so we can all move forward in a safer environment.

Jobs

The economy is slowly recovering but people need jobs and they need them now. Next month, I will launch a web based program, which will connect qualified applicants with private sector jobs that are coming into our community.

The Green Exchange will have a tenant moving in next month that will need 100-200 positions filled. A security company that I have partnered with needs part-time positions filled continuously. A new quick service restaurant is locating in the 1st ward in the spring and will be seeking to hire more than eighty people.

I will continue to match qualified applicants from the 1st ward with employment opportunities.

Over the next four years, my energy will continue to be directed toward improving our community's schools, making our streets safer and creating employment opportunities for 1st Ward residents. Being your Alderman is an honor. We have a lot of work to do, let's make sure our community keeps moving forward.