By Post Staff

Local elections are February 28 in Chicago, the third-largest city in the country with a nearly 30% Black population. The city’s South and West sides, once marked by thriving and vibrant Black neighborhoods, now struggle with widespread disinvestment and other issues.

One candidate running to make a change in the Eighth Ward is Linda Hudson, a longtime community organizer who has been endorsed by the Chicago Tribune. We talked to Hudson about why she’s running and what she hopes to accomplish if elected. Their interview has been edited for brevity.

Oakland Post: Why are you running?

Linda Hudson: [My family] moved to Calumet Heights in 1969. It was beautiful. There was homeownership and a sense of community. We had Black professionals and a working class. We had strong Black elected leaders.

I’m not sure exactly what happened, but I’m running because I don’t recognize my community. Our business corridors are filled with boarded up businesses. We’ve got tons of vacant and boarded up homes. There’s been an uptick in crime. There are many seniors in the community. I’m hearing over and over, “We feel like we’re under siege.” We don’t have a lot of programs for our youth. So, I’m running because I just don’t recognize the community that raised me and I want to bring it back to its glory. I want to bring professionalism back to the Eighth Ward office.

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OP: What are your three biggest priorities?

LH: My top priority is safety. I want more police presence. I think we should know our police officers by name. There’s a shortage of officers and they are moved to downtown to protect that area. And the ones in the community are moved around to other areas of the city. If police officers could give our community two years without being transferred, that could be great for building community relationships.

Economic development is another issue. We don’t have decent businesses in the ward. We don’t have a nice sit-down restaurant. We don’t have healthy options. There needs to be a marketing strategy to bring business in and make sure businesses can thrive in this environment.

Stony Island is going to be the gateway to the Obama Center. And right now, there’s nothing for people traveling down this gateway. When I go out of town, I want to go to that restaurant or that store that I heard about. But this area has nothing for a visitor coming in.

The third thing is more activities for our youth. Many of our young people are opting out of college, so we need to put trades back into the school. We need more mentoring, and more activities.

OP: Why you instead of the incumbent?

LH: Because I have a vision. The incumbent does not. She was appointed and has been in office for 16 years. And, there has been a drastic decline in the community in the last 16 years. There’s no clear vision. We have the Regal Theater on 79^th Street that has landmark status and this administration has done nothing to help renovate and restore it to its past grandeur with the many grants that are available through city programs.

And right across the street from the Regal is a coffee shop that was built with millions of dollars but never opened. I see 79^th Street being our arts district. I see more viable business in our business district – trying to help small entrepreneurs grow their businesses. I’ve talked to people and they want to be in this community. But they must go through the alderman’s office and the incumbent makes it very difficult.

We’re an older ward and older people are going to leave. The only way to attract younger people is to have activities. Young people like to go out. A bowling alley or movie theater. We’ve got to be able to grow this area. And I have the vision and the professionals willing to assist in the effort.

I will be the alderwoman for the entire ward, not just those residents that go along with the incumbent’s program.

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