On Thursday, October 11 Mayoral Candidate Dorothy Brown released her Comprehensive Economic and Community Development Plan that includes an Urban Policy Plan for those communities that have been most overlooked.
The plan entitled, “Tide that Rises: Promoting Community Health and Wealth Building in Chicago is taken from the quote by President John F. Kennedy that said, “A rising tide lifts all the boats.” Candidate Brown offered to the crowd “That is what fair equitable economic development should do, but that is not what is happening in Chicago.”
Brown offered stark statistics on the current state of the city, including the uneven growth in property values, the fragmented nature of economic development across aldermanic wards, decline in affordable housing and persistent income inequality.
Held in the West Garfield community, one of the city’s most neglected areas, during the press conference she discussed how she wants to strengthen businesses and other community institutions; explained how she intends to use the power of information technology to build wealth; provided details on how she wants to implement periodic sales tax relief to help citizens and strengthen businesses; and revealed in detail, how she wants to completely revamp the Tax Increment Finance (TIF) program to develop truly blighted areas.
The Press Conference, was attended by community residents, area chambers, clergy and advocates for improved economic development. Immediately following the event Candidate Brown did a tour of the surrounding Madison Street corridor, one of the areas in the city that is economically depressed and neglected.
Below is a summary of Candidate Brown’s eight-point plan, the full details of which are also available at http://dorothyformayor.com.
AN ECONOMIC PLAN FOR ALL CHICAGO
- Create a Comprehensive Economic and Community Development Plan for ALL of Chicago that includes an Urban Policy Plan for Neglected communities
- Institute eight (8) Community Development Planning Districts to guide economic planning, based on community needs and input from community members
- Strengthen small business development programs
- Attract and retain manufacturing and other large businesses to underserved communities
- Institute a not-for-profit and faith-based organization development and retention program
- Provide periodic sales-tax relief to strengthen and stimulate consumer spending and business growth
- Leverage the power of information technology to build community wealth
- Revamp the TIF program to focus on truly neglected communities
