Is the parade in jeopardy?

All we want is an opportunity to celebrate our heritage and values. The Blacks, Mexicans, Gays, Polish, Puerto Ricans, Swedes, Chinese, Koreans even the Short people get to have a parade without coughing up the cash. We get sandbagged? I don't think this is going to fly.
By Hal Dardick, Chicago Tribune reporter

10:49 p.m. CST, February 8, 2012

Mayor Rahm Emanuel's administration indicated this week that it doesn't think the group trying to resurrect the South Side Irish Parade, shut down three years ago because of drunken violence, is prepared to pull it off.

In a letter to the parade committee, the administration asked for additional details about its plans for security, and also called for a public meeting on those plans.
Although the parade committee's application for the March 11 event has been accepted, a permit is not issued until the organizers prepay for city services that include putting up barricades and parade-route signs, an administration official said Wednesday.
"Before we seek the payment, we would hope that the parade committee will come to the conclusion that it is not ready to hold this event," the official said.
Joseph Connelly, who heads the parade committee, said he believes that his group will be able to run a "safe, family-friendly" event.
"We're confident that working with the city we'll get to the right place," he said.
Connelly questioned the need for a public meeting, saying his group held four such meetings in August and early September. "Right now, our focus is on having the parade, not having another public meeting," he said.
Ald. Matthew O'Shea, 19th, a onetime parade organizer, has repeatedly called for another public meeting on the parade and said most local residents weren't aware of the previous meetings. In fact, residents were surprised to learn that parade plans were moving forward, he said.
O'Shea contends the parade committee's security plan is sparse on detail, a perception echoed by the administration in its letter.
Although the parade committee has been working with a prominent security company, the contract for parade-day security has yet to be written and signed, Connelly said.
The parade committee is about halfway to its goal of raising $200,000. One sponsor is City Beverage, which distributes Guinness and Bud Light, Connelly said. They will help promote the event's zero-tolerance policy, he said.

The parade, first held in 1979, was discontinued after 2009 when alcohol-fueled violence near the increasingly popular event led to injuries to police officers and others.

If Matt O'Shea ever stepped up to the plate, it should be now. Save this parade.