The memory of one pop quiz from my high school days still comes to mind on occasion. It was Spanish class of all things, and one day my teacher hands us a list of names. The names were all leaders – everyone from local, state and national government to the real name of Pope John Paul II. Our task was to name who they were. As I was one of the few in my class who cared about the world around me, I got the best score, missing just one question.
Knowledge of our public officials is important in a democratic society. It’s surely better to know who they are and what they stand for before it’s too late and too late usually means when you want something from government and the person you elected is opposed to it. This is why when fresh out of college I subscribed to the local paper, much to the amusement of my fellow co-workers, all recent grads. That was a few moons ago, and today I get my news just as you are reading this – online.
It is also the role of elected officials to let us know who they are. But what if it is unclear? I live in Chicago’s 42nd Ward, and by visiting the City of Chicago’s Web site and fumbling your way through it (a topic for another time), you can find out the Alderman is Brendan Reilly. Where it is clear there, it is not on his own Web site, especially when you compare it to the one of the former Alderman Burton Natarus, a 30-plus year politician whom Reilly defeated earlier this year.
If you compare the Web sites of Reilly and Natarus, who do you think is the real alderman? Both are Web sites paid for by their campaigns, which is very clear on both sites. That unfortunately is the only thing that is clear. Take a look at both sires and tell me who you think it is! Apparently there is no campaign law about keeping an outdated Web site in place, however the onus would be on the current Alderman to ensure his Web site is even clearer to all who visit. A picture of himself would be nice too.
Maybe Alderman Reilly can buy the Web site from former Alderman Natarus and change a few images? It would be a nice start and a notable improvement. And it would surely help kids in the 42nd Ward with any pop quizzes.
Business •
(6)
Comments •
Permalink
Comments
Gosh, Mike. Do we judge the quality of the Alderman by his web site? I have lived in the 42nd ward for many years, and in that time, I saw Burt Natarus twice.
By contrast, Brendan Reilly actually hauls himself out here and speaks to us. He shows sincere interest in the concerns of his constituents, and he’s had the nerve to stick his neck out and challenge Daley.
The residents of the 42nd ward are all over him looking for help on issues - his office is bombarded with calls on development projects, the need for schools in his ward (there is only one public school in the entire ward - thanks, Mr. Natarus) and preserving open space in Grant Park. How many calls do you think he gets about having a prettier web site?
Comment by
Meta Brown
on 12/03/07 at 07:46 AM
Hi Meta - My issues with both Web sites has nothing to do with the individuals, rather with the depth and breadth of information on the Web sites.
In an age where you don’t see headlines on the day-to-day operations of a city, the Internet is the source for this news. For someone who doesn’t know who their alderman is - and unfortunately there are many of them - by looking at each Web site someone may not know right off who the current seat holder is. And depending on what search keywords you enter, sometimes Reilly’s site is higher in ranking than Nararus’, and sometimes vice versa.
At a minimum, Reilly’s Web site needs more content and Natarus’ needs to be stripped of most all of it, including the constituent login section, which still is functioning!
mp/m
Comment by
Mike Maddaloni
on 12/03/07 at 08:28 AM
Hello Mr. Maddaloni (and all):
Brendan Reilly checking-in. I just wanted to take a moment to address Mr. Maddaloni’s blog posting regarding the 42nd Ward and my aldermanic website (or lack thereof).
First, I would like to say that I agree with Mr. Maddaloni - the Alderman of the 42nd Ward should have a top-notch, comprehensive and interactive constituent service website.
Ironically, earlier this year - as a candidate for alderman - I received wonderful feedback about my political website because it was truly an interactive experience loaded with useful and detailed information about my candidacy and the 42nd Ward.
This summer, just weeks after taking office, I made the decision to hire a professional web designer to create a brand-new “constituent service website” (devoid of campaign slogans and politicking) for my aldermanic office - fully interactive with web-based applications to help my constituents better access federal, state and city services and to make it easier for downtown residents to share their opinions with my office.
This new constituent service website has been under construction for the past couple of months (it has a pretty sophisticated site map and will include a TREMENDOUS amount of information). I’m pleased to report that the new constituent service website is almost finished!
We pulled down my old political campaign website at the http://www.reillyforchicago.com URL and replaced it with a “place-holder” home page until my new site is launched. That place-holder page is not being updated, as we are dedicating all of our time and effort into building the superior, constituent service website that is currently under construction.
In the meantime, my office issues a weekly e-mail to several thousand downtown residents (those who subscribe to our e-newsletter - which can be done at http://www.reillyforchicago.com, for the time being).
So far, constituent feedback regarding our weekly e-mails has been great - people appreciate our detailed weekly updates regarding current events, city council action and other local issues.
I am pleased to report that we are just a few more weeks away from launching the new 42nd Ward website. We’ll launch the site after we get through this month’s holiday crunch and, once we go “live,” I think you’ll agree that the new site was well worth the wait!
Thanks for your patience and happy holidays!
Best,
Brendan Reilly
Alderman, 42nd Ward
P.S. I would like to send a grateful “thank you” to Meta Brown for the supportive comments - I really appreciate the feedback!
Comment by Brendan Reilly
on 12/03/07 at 06:50 PM
Mike -
Your point is well-taken, but a little historic perspective is also in order:
Burt Natarus’s website - which does have some nice bells and whistles - was launched in July, 2006. 36 years after Natarus took office, 18 years after the creation of the World Wide Web, and four months after Reilly’s campaign launched his political website.
Burt Natarus also had hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from downtown developers to pay his website consultants with.
Instead of attacking Reilly, maybe you should take up a collection to help pay for a new website? Or, since its your business, maybe you could volunteer your services?
Comment by Yellow Dog Democrat
on 12/03/07 at 07:08 PM
Brendan -
It’s actually quite refreshing to see you respond to Mike’s post.
I’m originally from New York City, and having interned for now City Council Speaker Christine Quinn when I was in high school, I can say that, for the most part, NYC councilmembers seem to be more accessible than their Chicago counterparts. And a lot of it stems to the Web, I think.
With this said—and I know New York has a lot more money—the NYC Council bought its own domain and even has (gasp!)a user-friendly homepage. (The individual councilmembers’ Web sites leave a lot to be desired, however.)
All in all, I think the Chicago City Council needs to have a strong Web presence. Politics here is quite tricky, and folks shouldn’t have to rely on news coverage when they want to get information they need.
But that’s just my two cents.
-d
Comment by
Daniel B. Honigman
on 12/04/07 at 08:51 AM
Daniel -
A good point, and following up on my earlier post, the Chicago City Council has finally started broadcasting City Council meetings online.
The Old Guard on the City Council had blocked efforts to webcast hearings (I think they were worried they’d be caught goofing off), but thanks to the leadership of newly-elected City Clerk Miguel Del Valle and a the support of a new City Council City Council meetings can be viewed at http://www.chicityclerk.com/ at their regularly scheduled times.
Comment by Yellow Dog Democrat
on 12/04/07 at 05:14 PM
Post a Comment
Note: Comment moderation is active, and your comment will be viewable once it is reviewed.
