There isn't a broader view or total overall consideration of the impacts or the fact that there isn't enough geography in Chicago to do that in every community.  And there's no commitment to do that in middle-income communities.  And there's even less in areas that are already diverse.  For the community that is already diverse, nine times out of ten, city policy is encouraging it to become economically re-segregated.  That's really the problem we have in Uptown, and that's what makes me independent.  I think that's very interesting.  I'm not independent because I have some notion that you should always challenge what everyone says.  Although I do.  That's not really where it starts.

It starts from a perspective that I formed from living in this community and raising a family in this community  - a community that was ignored for years, where people were completely disrespected, ignored, denied, invisible and did not have resources.  We fought for them.  We fought for them from their own perspective.  We defined what we needed.  We knew that when the development came, we wanted to be part of that development.  And we fought for that.

It just doesn't seem right that people have to suffer through indignities because they live in a community where a lot of people are poor.  And then, when there is some interest in putting some resources into that community, they are no longer welcome.

First we were part of electing a mayor, and then we elected an alderman. That's what I'm supposed to do.  I'm supposed to make sure that the community stays diverse.  That's what I was elected to do.

There's been incredible gentrification that has really mushroomed in the last several years.  Many people who have moved in continue to be people who want to live in a diverse area.  But there are always some who really see this is their opportunity to get a temporary home that they can let appreciate in value and then sell and move somewhere else.  And in the meanwhile, they're going to show everybody else how to live.  There's a problem with that.  That's not how you build community.