Former alderman Anthony Laurino called himself an “alley-walking alderman,” claiming a meticulous level of constituent service. Descriptive as that term is, a new one may be needed for the extraordinary service provided by Alderman Burton Natarus. Perhaps “parking meter alderman.” But that’s getting ahead of the story.
Best of Chicago voting is live now. Vote for your favorites »
Last week the council voted overwhelmingly to allow the city to negotiate a franchise agreement with 21st Century Cable, a company whose principals have personal ties to Mayor Daley. The new company could be the first to compete with another cable franchise, challenging Chicago Cable along the lakefront.
“And I’ll tell ya the kind of company they are,” he thundered. “When they come on the streets of my ward, the driver will walk up to me and say, ‘Alderman, can I park here in front of a meter?’ And I says fine. ‘Will ya give me a quarter?’ That’s right. ‘Will you give me a quarter so I can park here?’ I’ll give him a quarter. I mean, that’s the kind of service you’re getting.”
The council’s “greet” calendar–a list of dead people to be honored, Eagle Scouts to be congratulated, etc–caught the attention of Alderman Edward Burke, who noticed an unusually large number of corpses from the 13th Ward. “It appears from the list that there’s not going to be enough room in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery for 13th Ward residents that are going to their eternal reward,” noted Burke. “Looks like the list of registered voters is going to be dropping dramatically in the 13th Ward.”
