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Zalewski fighting to protect 23rd ward
By Ray Hanania
When it comes to the Southwest Side, the rest of Chicago and the state view the area as a place where they can take what they want.
But one Chicago alderman has said “enough is enough.”
The issue has to do with the battle between African Americans and Hispanics for representation on the Chicago City Council. Hispanics are demanding more seats on the City Council and the way they do that is to redraw ward lines to put more Hispanics in areas that currently are represented by non-Hispanic aldermen.
The ward that is in their sights is the 23rd Ward on the Southwest Side of Chicago, represented since 1992 by Ald. Michael Zalewski.
Zalewski is no Johnny-come-lately to politics. He’s been working the precincts for years and he worked his way up as a protégé of master Southwest Side politician and representative Bill Lipinski.
I met Zalewski during the turbulent years of former Mayor Jane M. Byrne. When Byrne felt threatened by Richie M. Daley, she turned on Daley’s allies. In 1982, Zalewski reminded me during an interview on my radio show last week, I wrote about Byrne’s attempts to punish Zalewski when he was working hard to get Daley elected.
Today, the battle is not just about politics. It is about neighborhood continuity. It’s also about the “W” word, you know, the word that people are not allowed to speak in discussions about political clout. “White.”
When you talk about “White” voters and their rights, you are castigated as a racist. But when you talk about Hispanics and Blacks, it’s okay.
In that cauldron of skewered hypocritical politics, Zalewski has become the last bastion of dignity for the residents of the Southwest Side.
The 23rd Ward, Zalewski said, is already 47 percent Hispanic. He’s offered to adjust the ward’s boundaries three times to increase the Hispanic population. But the truth is, Hispanics are the weakest voters in Chicagoland.
While White and Black voters go to the polls at staggering rates, Hispanics avoid voting. The 23rd Ward can generate more than 20,000 votes in an election. In comparison, in the 25th Ward, the total vote is often under 11,000.
That’s why Hispanics need more than 60 percent of the population to win an election and that’s why they are pressing hard on Zalewski to agree to boundary changes that will eventually push him out of office.
It should be noted that Zalewski may be the last full-blooded Polish American with a Polish last name to hold the office of Chicago alderman. Why is that not of concern to anyone? Polish immigration to Chicagoland is higher than any other. At one time, there were easily more than a dozen Polish American aldermen.
But more importantly, the recent U.S. Census that supposedly determines new boundaries shows and showed that the Hispanic population has increased to “deserve” another ward, also shows that the White Population has remained stable. In fact, it’s the African American population that has significantly decreased.
Why isn’t anyone talking about reducing the number of Black Wards as part of a deal to increase Hispanic representation in the Chicago City Council?
Because that isn’t politically correct.
Tragically, no one really cares about representation. It’s all about power. Hispanics and Blacks want more power. The White population has been bludgeoned into silence by cries of “racism” every time you bring the “W” word into the discussion.
To hear Zalewski’s podcast, visit http://rayhanania.podbean.com.
(Ray Hanania is an award winning columnist, radio talk show host and political media consultant. Reach him at www.RadioChicagoland.com.)
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