Ford Forms New Task Force Focused On Developing the West Side
Ford Forms New Task Force Focused On Developing the West Side
BY KATHERINE NEWMAN
The West Side Development Task Force was recently formed by La Shawn Ford, State Representative for Illinois’s 8th House District, to unite the west side communities that he represents, bring attention to the lack of development happening in the area, and to attract new development. Ford called on residents, business owners, and non-profit organizations to attend the first task force meeting where they laid out their goals.
“There is so much development popping up in Oak Park, to the west of us, and to the east of us heading downtown so the purpose for us is to say that we need development on the west side where unemployment is very high, violence is high, and investment in the community is very low,” said Ford.
In order to change those qualities, Ford said it is imperative that west side residents and stakeholders come together to identify the needs of the community because “it’s better to do it as a community than to go at it alone.”
The West Side Development Task Force has had one official meeting thus far and the participants used their time together to establish the main goal of bringing development and development resources to the west side and to collectively identify who was already at the table and what community stakeholders still needed to be brought in. So far there have been no specific roles or titles given to anyone but Quiwana Bell, the chief operating officer for the Westside Health Authority, attended the initial meeting and is committed to the cause.
“There has been kind of a trend of disinvestment over the last 30 years so what we are really trying to do is reverse that and if we wait on outsiders and policymakers that are not really attached to the community, I think we are going to be waiting for a long time,” said Bell. “We are all on board and working collaboratively to demand that these changes are made and so that our community can have some of the same benefits and developments that we are seeing in other communities,” said Bell.
It is that lack of investment that motivated Ford to establish the West Side Development Task Force for the communities that he represents and he believes that the violence that is often spoken about synonymously with the west side of Chicago can only be remedied by community investment.
“It’s kind of disturbing for us to continue to hear about the will to stop the violence on the west side of Chicago without investment,” said Ford. “We look at all of the cranes around the city and we know those cranes mean investment and we know that those cranes mean that things are vibrant in those areas and we know that those cranes mean that the communities will be safer because there is more value in those communities and we want that same value.”
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