Reprinted from the Beverly Review
by Patrick Thomas
George Newell not only lives in the 19th Ward and works as a Chicago police officer, he also works for the community by serving in the 22nd District. Now he wants to serve on another level as the next alderman of the 19th Ward.Newell said he collected about 1,700 signatures to get on the ballot with five other candidates to fill the seat of 19th Ward Ald. Ginger Rugai, who is stepping down after 20 years in office. He said he has as much right as anyone to be considered for the job in the Feb. 22, 2011, election.
“None of the candidates has any more experience than me being an alderman. My journey is the same as theirs,” he said over a cup of coffee in a neighborhood doughnut shop.
He said he has been knocking on doors, visiting businesses and listening to neighborhood concerns regarding issues of neighborhood safety, attracting viable businesses and maintaining property values, quality schools and city services.
“People have been real receptive,” Newell said.
Newell, 45, of Morgan Park, has lived in the 19th Ward for 15 years with his wife and son, who attends Morgan Park High School. He grew up at 95th and Sangamon streets and attended St. Margaret of Scotland Elementary School and Leo High School. He has been an officer for 20 years, including the last nine with the 22nd District. He currently works as a school resource officer at Percy L. Julian High School.
With an understaffed police department, economic recession and new mayor to be elected, Newell said the 19th Ward is at a pivotal point, and he feels he is the right man for the job.
“I don’t owe any favors to anybody. I’ll just take what is best for the community,” he said.
Newell said friends approached him last summer and encouraged him to run for office. He declined to say who pushed him to run, but at the end of the day it was his decision to enter the field.
“I walk to my own beat. I can tell you nobody put me up to this,” Newell said. “Anybody who knows me knows that no one would say someone put me up to this. I represent the people. I know politics is all new to me, but I’m entering the race to go at it 110 percent.”
When he told his colleagues from the 22nd District that he was running for alderman, he was greeted with mixed reactions.
“A lot of police officers have “A lot of police officers have
He said he is concerned about his fellow police officers, many of whom call home in the 19th Ward, and he said the Chicago City Council needs a voice to ensure officers have sufficient pensions when they retire.
“Like the rest of the city, my pension fund has been raided,” he said.
Given his two decades of police work, he definitely has a leg up on the competition when it comes to discussing crime and safety in the 19th Ward. Newell said preventing small crimes is the key because such crimes lead to more serious issues. He believes the next alderman should work on small measures, keeping the area well lit at night and encouraging neighbors to stay vigilant.
“The community has to be diligent in reporting crime. The small minor crimes lead to larger crimes,” Newell said.
He deferred to his boss, 22nd District Cmdr. Michael Kuemmeth, on issues of police presence in the neighborhood, as well as the decision to return the South Side Irish St. Patrick’s Day Parade. He said whatever is the will of the community, he will respond.
He also deferred to Chicago Public School administrators regarding the issue of providing more access to neighborhood schools, such as the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences, which offers 50 percent of its seats to neighborhood residents along with an enrollment cap. Newell was clearly not as well versed on the issue of neighborhood education as he was on police protection. He did encourage Morgan Park High School as a viable option but had no plan to promote the school.
While he stayed on the fence on many issues such as police allocation and open enrollment at the CHSAS, Newell was adamant on economic development in the ward.
He said the ward shouldn’t have to recruit businesses because there is already a desire to operate in the 19th Ward. But for unexplained reasons, Newell said, the businesses are not coming. He wants to see upgrades to 95th Street and more transparency to explain why certain businesses are being turned down.
“We have to open the lines of communication. We have to move on to the next decade,” he said.
“It starts and stops with the alderman.”
“The community has to be diligent in reporting crime. The small minor crimes lead to larger crimes.”
– George Newell
