Sep 8, 2009 11:05 pm US/Central
Uptown Ald. Helen Shiller: 'I Am Not In Hiding'
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
Where is Helen Shiller? That's what people in Uptown have been asking for weeks, demanding answers and help from the 46th Ward alderman. As their concerns grow over violence on the streets, CBS 2's Jim Williams tracked her down.
"I am not in hiding. No. I have never been in hiding. I am not one to hide," she said.
Ald. Shiller's critics complain she's been missing in action in recent weeks, ignoring their fears over
street brawls involving dozens of young men in the alderman's Uptown neighborhood.
"When there are kids fighting and figuring what the source of that is and what we can to ameliorate that and hopefully stop it, of course we should. And those are the kinds of things that I take very seriously and looked at right away," Shiller said.
Shiller says she's been working behind the scenes with police and community groups. But it was one moment before the cameras that did not help Shiller's image last month:
the alderman walking from reporters when some of her critics yelled at her.
"It was not possible to be responding anymore," Shiller said. "And then the people behind me starting yelling stuff about the Olympics, and it was a free for all, and I said I'm done."
For the 22 years she's been in office, Shiller has heard a persistent complaint: her opponents believe she chooses sides in the very diverse community.
"There's certain people that she reaches out to, and that's where she keeps her vote coming in," said Uptown resident Rob Davis.
In response to her critics who say she doesn't care about the affluent or the middle class in Uptown, that she only cares about the poor because the poor make up her base, Shiller said: "Well, it's not just the practice. My office serves everyone."
There's been an explosion of affluent housing developments in the 46th ward in recent years. Shiller says she has welcomed them.
"We have an extraordinary amount of activity that benefits everybody who lives there, and it's what I'm committed to," Shiller said.
As for those 46th ward residents who complain they can't reach their alderman:
"I just cannot necessarily meet with every single person," Shiller said. "But I would venture to say that they've all had an opportunity to come up to me at one time or another 'cause I walk down the street every day and I go to many community meetings. I am not in hiding."
Ald. Shiller has just won preliminary approval of $54 million in funding for a new development in Uptown. Her critics are demanding that some of that money be spent on crime prevention.
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