So, yesterday, we talked about who's who on the Chicago Housing Authority board of commissioners. Today, as I sit in the Board of Commissioners monthly meeting, you can read about who's left the board in recent times.
While you read, know that I am holed up in a senior building on Peterson eating cherry danishes and drinking coffee, waiting for the board to come out of executive session.
Anyway, who have we lost?
Empty seats and cherry danishes
Empty Seat #1: Ms. Mary Wiggins
Sadly, back in September, we lost one of the resident commissioners, Ms. Mary Wiggins, passed away rather suddenly. She was a resident leader from Washington Park for many years and was very loved and respected.
Ms.
Wiggins represented a special seat on the board - one of three resident
seats required by law, but also the elected representative of the local
tenant organization. It's called the CAC - the Central Advisory Council.
The best way I can explain the Central Advisory Council is like this: when I was in college, every dorm had it's own hall council. That council would "oversee" the dorm - plan parties, decide important issues (like the theme of said party), etc. The president of the hall council would then go to something called Resident Hall Assembly - the board of all the hall presidents from across campus. They planned bigger parties with sillier themes.
The CAC is unlike student government in that the CAC actually does something. They advise the city on policies, protest things they don't like and are advocates for residents.
Each development elects a local advisory council (LAC), and the president of each LAC belongs to the Central Advisory Council (CAC). And among the presidents on the CAC, five are elected as officers - president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, and sargeant at arms.
The law says you have to elect one of those officers as one of the members of the board. Usually, it's the president, but it doesn't have to be.
Are you dying to know who the new CAC president is? Chill out. You have to wait until tomorrow. Patience is a virtue.
Empty Seat #2: Sam Mendenhall
Back in April, Commissioner Mendenhall stunned us all by resigning at the monthly board meeting. He grew up in LeClaire Courts,
a public housing development on the Southwest Side. His parents worked
hard to send him and his 10 brothers and sisters to college, and he has
become a big-deal lawyer.
He said his parents always told him "When you make it to the top, send
the elevator back on down." He has a very earnest quality to him.
Mendenhall said he was leaving due to time constraints. This is understandable, as he is partner at his law firm, a minister, and has a daughter starting high school in the fall. He had missed several meetings that year, and attended the previous committee meeting by phone. But... Mendenhall also left the day that the board made a controversial decision about LeClaire. So, there's been some speculation he left because he disagreed with the move.
Empty Seat #3: Marty's Old Chair
I have been told that when our good mayor appointed Marty Nesbitt from commissioner to chairperson, he never filled the empty commissioner slot. This seems to be confirmed by CHA records.
So, that's the empty seats in the game of musical commissioner chairs. Who will play? Who will sit down? Who will get pushed in the dirt when the music stops? Yes, you guessed it. Tomorrow!
And later, notes from today's board meeting. I'll save you a danish.
Sadly, back in September, we lost one of the resident commissioners, Ms. Mary Wiggins, passed away rather suddenly. She was a resident leader from Washington Park for many years and was very loved and respected.
The late Commissioner Wiggins
The best way I can explain the Central Advisory Council is like this: when I was in college, every dorm had it's own hall council. That council would "oversee" the dorm - plan parties, decide important issues (like the theme of said party), etc. The president of the hall council would then go to something called Resident Hall Assembly - the board of all the hall presidents from across campus. They planned bigger parties with sillier themes.
The CAC is unlike student government in that the CAC actually does something. They advise the city on policies, protest things they don't like and are advocates for residents.
Each development elects a local advisory council (LAC), and the president of each LAC belongs to the Central Advisory Council (CAC). And among the presidents on the CAC, five are elected as officers - president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, and sargeant at arms.
The law says you have to elect one of those officers as one of the members of the board. Usually, it's the president, but it doesn't have to be.
Are you dying to know who the new CAC president is? Chill out. You have to wait until tomorrow. Patience is a virtue.
Empty Seat #2: Sam Mendenhall
Sam Mendenhall
Mendenhall said he was leaving due to time constraints. This is understandable, as he is partner at his law firm, a minister, and has a daughter starting high school in the fall. He had missed several meetings that year, and attended the previous committee meeting by phone. But... Mendenhall also left the day that the board made a controversial decision about LeClaire. So, there's been some speculation he left because he disagreed with the move.
Photo by So Gehesen
I have been told that when our good mayor appointed Marty Nesbitt from commissioner to chairperson, he never filled the empty commissioner slot. This seems to be confirmed by CHA records.
So, that's the empty seats in the game of musical commissioner chairs. Who will play? Who will sit down? Who will get pushed in the dirt when the music stops? Yes, you guessed it. Tomorrow!
And later, notes from today's board meeting. I'll save you a danish.
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