Joe Moore: Fighting For His Fifth Term

Workin' for it.

Desperation is the operative word for Joe Moore, the entrenched incumbent alderman of Chicago's 49th Ward (Rogers Park). Joe Moore was first elected alderman in 1991. Never before has he faced serious competition for his seat in City Council, and never before has he had to work hard to retain it.

Four years ago, Moore faced challenger Michael Harrington (shown at right with Moore in 2003). Although he handily beat Harrington, it was closer than any previous election for the Moore. Harrington gave it a good try back then; he now works for Moore challenger Don Gordon's campaign team.

A couple of months ago I ran into candidate Don Gordon at an open house at Eidolon Art Studio. He was with a mutual friend and in a jovial mood, and he said something to me that stuck. "If nothing else comes out of this election," Gordon said, "it's gonna be a lot of fun to finally see Joe Moore actually have to work to keep his job."

Indeed, and Joe Moore has probably spent more time on this campaign than he has spent working on local issues over the past four years. Foie gras and "Big Box" issues, along with leading anti-war protests, have taken up a lot of the alderman's time. Big Box inspired Mayor Daley's first career veto, which was upheld by the City Council, but the ridiculous, internationally mocked foie gras ordinance is still on the books. Joe Moore has been wasting a lot of time defending it, and will continue to waste time defending if voters in the 49th Ward waste this opportunity to get rid of him.

Alderman Moore has been visiting CTA train stations, shaking hands and pushing campaign literature at people. People who do not tell him outright to screw himself actually take his literature and, more frequently than not, drop it in the trash or toss it on the sidewalk. Moore only visits CTA stations during an election cycle. He has been doing it more intensely, it seems, than he did four years ago. He's also been hitting the Metra stations.

Moore has been caught lying outrightly to the voters. In mid-December, challenger Jim Ginderske and volunteers handed out a press release on a Metra station. The release said that El Mexicano on Clark Street was still selling single cans of high alcohol, low cost beers, ales and malt liquors in spite of an agreement not to. The following day, Moore's people handed out a release on the same Metra platform, contradicting Ginderske's release, calling Ginderske a liar, and assuring voters that an inspection the previous day showed El Mexicano to be in full compliance. But the liar in this case was Moore himself. Two Ginderske volunteers went to El Mexicano the day after Moore called Ginderske a liar, and they video'd themselves purchasing the kind of items that Moore publicly assured people they were not selling.

Oh, by the way: The owner of El Mexicano, a man who lives in Joliet, gave Moore a $1,000 campaign contribution. Apparently the current price of one's soul, adjusted for inflation, is a thousand bucks.