Interview with Ald. Pat Dowell
Ald. Dowell Points to Street Outreach as a Successful Way to Reduce Gun Violence
Watch the complete interview with Ald. Pat Dowell of the 3rd Ward, conducted by Barbra Goering, and read on for some interview highlights.
The guitar-shaped 3rd Ward (Ald. Dowell’s description), stretching from Roosevelt Road to 57th Street, is primarily residential with some historic commercial corridors, such as Wabash, Michigan, 43rd, 47th, and 51st streets. It is economically diverse with luxury housing as well as public housing. Among the prominent institutions in the ward are Provident Hospital, the Illinois Institute of Technology, Columbia College, and some parts of the University of Chicago.
What Ald. Dowell would like to accomplish or at least start before the end of her term in 2023:
Bring Pete’s Fresh Market to 39th & State
Upgrade some of the parks
Further the progress of major development at 43rd Street by the Green Line, as well as along 51st Street
Continue improving Motor Row, which she says is the bridge between the McCormick Convention area and Chinatown
Bring the Deeply Rooted Dance Company to her ward (She warns other alderpeople: hands off the dance company that has been supporting artists and dance education as well as dazzling international and national audiences since its debut in Chicago in 1996. The dance company currently resides at 17 N. State Street.)
Redistricting
While she points to Englewood (a small piece of which is in her ward) as one neighborhood which would benefit from being consolidated from 6 different wards, she feels that she and Ald. Sophia King, 4th ward, have worked well together in representing the Bronzeville and South Loop neighborhoods that straddle both their wards.
Ranked Choice Voting vs. Runoffs
Ald. Dowell said that, while she is keeping an open mind, she leans toward the current runoff election process unless and until ranked choice proves to be a better alternative. She believes runoff elections make clear to voters what the choices are.
Gun Violence
Like most of the alderpersons who have been interviewed thus far, identified violence as the number-one concern of the people in her ward. One tactic that has proved successful in reducing gun violence in Chicago is funding for street outreach: hiring community members who understand the reasons for the violence to intervene.
Ald. Dowell mentioned one group she has worked with—Acclivus, Inc.—which, among other programs, sends people to hospitals to meet with victims and their families and friends to prevent retaliation following a violent act. Ald. Dowell would like to see more funding for such groups. However, pointing to increasing violence being a nationwide problem, she says a more unified, federal approach is needed.