New Video Project to Record Oral History of Rogers Park

Dear Rogers Park: I am about to begin an exciting video project to record an oral history of recent political events in Chicago's Rogers Park neighborhood, specifically the 49th Ward. I am asking you to help make history. The 2007 aldermanic elections in our neighborhood were contentious and issue-packed. Most of us felt strongly about at least a few of the issues, it seems. However, it is my strong desire to make this video as "balanced" as possible. The project will involve interviews with ordinary voters like you in the 49th Ward. You will be asked to remember and speak about polling place improprieties or related irregularities, the divisiveness you or your neighbors felt (or still feel), involvement in a campaign (at any level), and so on. Perhaps you would like to talk about the way the neighborhood has changed in the time you have lived here. No doubt, some of you will provide surprises. I hope to interview election and campaign officials, as well. Whether you were for or against Joe Moore or Don Gordon is irrelevant. You will be given fair and equal time and treatment either way. If you did not vote but have thoughts or feeling that you would like to express, I'd like to interview you too. This is a documentary about the neighborhood. Regardless of political beliefs, we all live here just the same. As you probably know, Don Gordon is challenging the results of the April 17 runoff election, and so the drama continues. The video project will be done with a high-definition camera that will produce television-quality video. This is an important project for a number of reasons, most or all of which you already are aware of. Among those reasons: - Incumbent Alderman Joe Moore has a national and international, reputation. He is highly controversial. - Rogers Park is the most, or one of the most, diverse neighborhoods in the U.S. - Rogers Park is the fifth "bloggiest" neighborhood in the U.S. - Ald. Moore is accused by challenger Don Gordon of conspiring to commit voter fraud; this could involve federal offenses. - The Gordon legal complaint has implications well beyond the scope of the elections themselves - The Gordon complaint, if followed through, could set legal precedent in the State of Illinois by changing the way that losing aldermanic candidates are able to challenge a winning candidate in the City of Chicago. Currently, they only get five business days to challenge, whereas all other candidates in Illinois, for all other offices, get more than a month. - This election was especially divisive for a number of reasons, including efforts to divide voters along lines of race and class, the dissemination of disinformation, and other methods legal, illegal and/or unethical. - An extraordinary number of campaign workers, both staff and non-staff, were imported from outside of the 49th Ward. - The disproportionate amount of time, money, and high-level personnel provided directly or indirectly to one of the candidates by a national political party, major national and international labor unions and other national organizations, as well as very high profile consultants of national stature who do not normally lower themselves to help an aldermanic candidate. Given these examples, you can see that the 49th Ward aldermanic race was unusual. Indeed, it is more interesting than many political campaigns for much higher offices. HOW TO GET INVOLVED If you, or someone you know would be willing to be interviewed on camera, please let me know as soon as possible. Please email me at freerogerspark@yahoo.com. Tell me very briefly why you would be a good interview. In the subject line of the email, please type "Video Oral History" so I can give it high priority. No email attachments, please. (Emails without that subject line will be deleted as spam.) I look forward to hearing from you.