“Spending Out in the Open for 49th Ward” - VOTE April 10th

Dear Neighbor,

In case you missed it, the Chicago Tribune today published an op-ed I wrote on the 49th Ward’s path-breaking Participatory Budgeting process.  To read the op-ed, click here, or scroll down to the end of this e-mail.

Please don’t forget to vote for your favorite ward improvement projects Saturday, April 10th, any time between 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Chicago Math and Science Academy, 7212 N. Clark (across from Touhy Park).  Early voting will take place beginning Monday, April 5th, through Friday, April 9th, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. (7 p.m. on Wednesday) at my 49th Ward Service Office, 7356 N. Greenview (at Jarvis). 

For more information on Participatory Budgeting in the 49th Ward and the projects being proposed, visit my Particpatory Budgeting Blog at: 

http://participatorybudgeting49.wordpress.com/

Finally, take a look at this excellent seven minute video produced by two filmmakers who’ve been chronicling the 49th Ward Participatory Budgeting Process from the beginning.  It provides a real flavor for what we’ve been trying to accomplish:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01bouQJK25Q

Sincerely,

Joe Moore

Spending out in the open for 49th Ward
By Joe Moore
March 31, 2010

From Chicago’s City Hall to the halls of Congress, important policy and spending decisions have been made for far too long by a handful of politicians behind closed doors working in concert with corporations and special interests. This old way of doing the public’s business has bred anger and mistrust of all levels of government.

It shouldn’t come as any surprise, then, that only 1 out of 5 Americans trusts government to do what is right most of the time. Citizens don’t believe their government listens to them and they don’t believe they have any power to affect public policy.

This anger and mistrust aren’t healthy for democracy. We need a new governance model, one that empowers people to make real decisions about policy and spending decisions.

As a Chicago alderman, I have embarked on an innovative alternative to the old style of decision-making. In an experiment in democracy, transparent governance and economic reform, I’m letting the residents of the 49th Ward in the Rogers Park and Edgewater communities decide how to spend my entire discretionary capital budget of more than $1.3 million.

Known as “participatory budgeting,” this form of democracy is being used worldwide, from Brazil to the United Kingdom and Canada. It lets the community decide how to spend part of a government budget, through a series of meetings and ultimately a final, binding vote.

Though I’m the first elected official in the U.S. to implement participatory budgeting, it’s not a whole lot different than the old New England town meetings in which residents would gather to vote directly on the spending decisions of their town.

Residents in my ward have met for the past year - developing a rule book for the process, gathering project ideas from their neighbors and researching and budgeting project ideas. These range from public art to street resurfacing and police cameras to bike paths. The residents then pitched their proposals to their neighbors at a series of neighborhood “assemblies” held throughout the ward.

The process will culminate in an election on April 10, in which all 49th Ward residents 16 and older, regardless of citizenship or voter registration status, are invited to gather at a local high school to vote for up to eight projects, one vote per project. This process is binding. The projects that win the most votes will be funded up to $1.3 million.

Though the process isn’t yet complete, it’s already yielding positive results. Hundreds of residents in the 49th Ward, many of whom had never before been involved in a civic activity, have become engaged in the participatory budgeting process. Rather than being passive observers of government they’ve become active participants in governing.

More important, they know they have the power to make decisions, and that their government is not just hearing them but actually following their mandate.

Empowering people to make real decisions openly and transparently is the first step toward restoring public trust in government.

Get a close-up view of the project proposals at a special 49th WARD PARTICIPATORY BUDGETING EXHIBITION at Mess Hall Gallery.  The exhibits were put together by the neighborhood committees that developed the proposals.

The projects are on display from now until Election Day, Saturday, April 10th. 

The exhibition hours are as follows:
Wednesday, March 31st, 4:00-7:00 p.m.

Thursday, April 1st, 4:00-8:00 p.m.

Saturday, April 3rd, 12:00-4:00 p.m.

Sunday, April 4th, 12:00-4:00 p.m.

Monday, April 5th, 4:00-6:00 p.m.

Tuesday, April 6th, 4:00-6:00 p.m.

Wednesday, April 7th, 4:00-6:00 p.m.

Thursday, April 8th, 4:00-8:00 p.m.

Friday, April 9th, 4:00-8:00 p.m.

Mess Hall will also be hosting a special FILM SCREENING:
Beyond Elections: Redefining Democracy in the Americas
Date: Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Time: 6:30 to 9 p.m. 
Location: Mess Hall
            6932 N. Glenwood
The film documents the implementation of PARTICIPATORY BUDGETING in Porto Alegre, Brazil in 1989, as well as the formation of tens of thousands of self-organized communal councils in Venezuela and the emergence of a “recuperated factory movement” in Argentina after its economic collapse in 2001.  A discussion will follow the screening.

That’s not the only documentary on participatory budgeting, however.  Two 49th Ward residents—David Simpson and Ines Sommer—were so excited by the process that they volunteered their own time and efforts to produce a fabulous seven-minute documentary on the participatory budgeting process in the 49th Ward.  Check it out and share it with your neighbors!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01bouQJK25Q&feature=email

Finally, the experiment in democracy will work only if 49th Ward residents come out to vote.  Help get the word out.  The 49th Ward has yard signs, window posters and fliers that urge people to come out to vote on April 10th.  Get a sign for your yard or window, or help them distribute fliers to your friends and neighbors.  Stop by the 49th Ward Service Office (7356 N. Greenview) during regular business hours to pick up the signs and fliers. You can also email of call the 49th Ward with your address and phone number and they will deliver the signs and/or fliers to your home. 

——-
Joe Moore is the alderman for Chicago’s 49th Ward.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/ct-oped-0331-democracy-20100331,0,565669.story

Visit the website of the 49th Ward

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