a property to open an alcohol-free cigar lounge. Unfortunately, that property has stood vacant for 11 years. Marlon and DesareeWexler have plans to open a beautiful gallery, featuring art and entertainment. Sadly, the obstacle in the way of all these dreams and hopes for a better South Shore community appears to be the person who should be the first in line to bring business and opportunity to South Shore. According to these entrepreneurs, that obstacle is none other than the alderman, Gregory Mitchell. Jocilyn Floyd states that “Alderman Mitchell has defied the community, seems to be attempting to shut out women. and is harassing established businesses, such as the Fresh Market in Jeffrey Point. “ Floyd is a professional mediator, who was called on by Yolanda Kemp to help resolve these issues after Alderman Mitchell refused to return her calls. However, Floyd ran into the same brick wall. Mitchell has not returned her phone calls or emails. Floyd points out that “Mayor Lightfoot made a law ending aldermanic privilege. . Aldermen do not have the final say about what goes into the community.” She says that Mitchell has ignored that law. He told Yolanda Kemp that a daycare center was not what he envisioned for that particular space. His “vision” seems to also be his for refusing to give Desaree and Marlon Wexler the alley access letter needed to open her events center. And, according to CBS2, he is attempting to thwart Lori Shelby-Conley’s alcohol-free cigar lounge, because he wanted an Ace Hardware or nail salon in that space. “Besides the fact that there has been no community meeting since 2019, he is not meeting community needs in so many ways,” Floyd said. “There are troubled buildings, potholes do not get addressed, public safety matters don’t get addressed, and he refuses to grant alley access for the completion of businesses in a community of boarded-up stores and vacant lots.
If the CBS2 report is true, Gregory Mitchell appears to be a prime example of elected officials who do not work for the communities they are supposed to serve. Yet, he is only one out of 67 Black elected officials consisting of City Council members, Cook County Board of Commissioners, State Legislature, States Attorney, Attorneys General, and Lieutenant Governor .According to community activist, Mark Wallace, “They have the power to pass legislation and provide resources but very few of them actually use that power to help Black people.” Wallace, a South Shore resident, came to Chicago from Richmond Heights, an all-Black city outside of Miami, Florida. Inspired by then Mayor Harold Washington, and by the statistics showing Chicago had a larger percentage of Blacks than most other urban cities, Wallace was optimistic when making the move to Chicago. Although he was admittedly a-political when he arrived in Chicago, he was convinced elected officials work for their constituency, based on his experience in his Florida hometown. After Mayor Washington’s death and the debacle that followed, which culminated in over 20 years of Mayor Daley’s rule, followed by Rahm Emanuel, Wallace began to have doubts as to whether or not Chicago’s elected officials actually worked for their constituents. Wallace voiced his concerns through his weekly broadcast on WVON-1690. And being one who always endeavored to follow up his words with actions, Wallace created the Citizens to Abolish Red-Light Cameras Committee. The success of the group’s $38 million lawsuit against the City of Chicago’s Red-Light Cameras proved the committee’s viability.
As he grew more and more aware of the lack of concern among the Black elected officials, Wallace established the 10X10 to Win Committee. Through this committee, constituents can hold elected officials accountable by the power of the vote.
“Chicago’s Black voters are not very good bosses,” Wallace contends. “Illinois has more Black-elected officials than any other state. And if you look at the conditions of our neighborhoods, our schools, and the lack of jobs and resources in our communities, anyone can see that these officials are not doing the jobs we hired them to do.Yet, we continue to elect them.”
Alderman Greg Mitchell’s alleged opposition to economic growth in the South Shore Community provides an opportunity for Black voters to prove they can be good bosses by not holding onto a person who doesn’t do the job.
Not to have a one-sided view, I reached out to Alderman Mitchell to comment on this article. However, I received the same response Yolanda Kemp and Jocilyn Floyd received – which was no response at all.
