Power to the People: Grassroots Victory on Clark Street

Ginderske 2007 has announced that the organizing effort regarding a liquor store on Clark Street has been successful, defeating a package license transfer application. A coalition of several dozen Rogers Park residents collaborated to defeat an attempt to transfer a liquor license at the corner of North Shore and Clark streets. On Friday, January 12, 2007, the city attorney announced that he had received a letter from the liquor store owner's attorney withdrawing their appeal of the denial of their application. Jim Ginderske, aldermanic candidate in Chicago's 49th Ward, worked with the Law Department of the City of Chicago to defeat the pending appeal. On Clark Street, between Devon and Pratt Avenues, there are currently five licensed package liquor dealers -- approximately one per block. In order to deter the opening of additional liquor stores, the City imposed a moratorium years ago. On February 8, 2006, in response to a request from a campaign contributor and without notice to local residents, Alderman Moore lifted the moratorium. Community activists noticed the filing two applications for liquor licenses; one by El Mexicano at Clark & North Shore and the other by La Bonita at Clark & Pratt. They contacted Joe Moore's office to complain, but were told by Moore's staff that the new liquor stores were a "done deal." Moore did not reveal that he had also accepted a $1,000 donation from the owner of El Mexicano the day after the moratorium was lifted. The community activists were disappointed, but not dissuaded by Moore's brush-off. Instead, they maintained their activism against the store. In addition to gathering signatures and writing protest letters, the community activists contacted Jim Ginderske for help. The Ginderske campaign team learned that El Mexicano was selling single cans of beer, malt liquor, and half-pints of hard liquor, in defiance of a prior commitment not to do so. The Ginderske team made public El Mexicano's unwillingness to follow the rules. Moore responded to the press release by distributing a flyer that labeled Jim's statements "lies," but he was quickly caught in his own web of deceit when Ginderske volunteers produced a video of the store selling the offending items (Watch the video on YouTube).