Chico Draws Crowd At Center On Halsted

Gery Chico made his case for being elected mayor of Chicago and took questions from an audience of more than 100 people Dec. 19 at the Center on Halsted, continuing his aggressive campaign for LGBT votes in the Feb. 22 city election.

"This is not a first-time appearance for me in this particular location," Chico told the crowd. "I have been a longtime supporter and friend of the LGBT community."

Chico, a former head of the boards of Chicago Public Schools, Chicago City Colleges and the Chicago Park District, as well as chief of staff for Mayor Richard M. Daley from 1992-95, said he's proud of his record on behalf of LGBTs, including being the only candidate to support marriage equality for gays and lesbians in the 2004 U.S. Senate race in Illinois, which was won by Barack Obama.

"I was very, very proud of my position and I didn't waver a bit," Chico said. "And when I was in the mayor's office and at CPS I fought for and helped implement domestic partner benefits."

Chico said he also pushed development of anti-bullying programs at CPS and pledged to strengthen those programs and policies as mayor.

"I know you know the damage this causes people," Chico said. "It's a very serious issue and we can do more about it."

The town hall continued Chico's strong campaign to court LGBT voters, an effort not matched so far by the other major contenders in the race. He also chose openly gay businessman Todd Connor to co-chair his campaign Dec. 3. Connor co-hosted the town hall at the Center with Chico.

"The mayor that we choose is going to have a lasting impact on our community," Connor said. "Gery Chico is a candidate, I really believe, who can deliver this city to the next level."

Many of the audience questions dealt with issues common to all Chicagoans, such as public safety, education and the city's financial health. Chico acknowledged the tough decisions awaiting the next mayor on those issues, but said his experience running so many city departments has prepared him to make those decisions.

"I don't think anybody has the experience doing the things a mayor does that I have," Chico said.

Chico said the next mayor has to make some choices, including possibly cutting some services the city currently provides and finding new revenue sources. He said he's eager to get on with making those choices.

"I'm one who's been tired of hearing the last four years the whining and the crying of how bad it is," Chico said. "Let's do something about it."

Chico said he would find a way to hire 2,000 new police officers as mayor to address the current shortage of officers and would hire a police superintendent from within the ranks of CPD, a point of contention with rank and file police since Daley went outside CPD to hire current Supt. Jody Weis away from the FBI.

Chico, who grew up in the McKinley Park neighborhood and graduated from Kelly High School, said he's running because he loves the city his grandfather emigrated to from Mexico in 1929.

"Our city's at a turning point and we don't want to take a status quo position," Chico said. "If we don't aspire and reach for a higher place we'll never get there."