The gloves are off in 49th Ward, with incumbent Ald. Joe Moore releasing a video accusing challenger Maria Hadden of having “dangerous” ideas, and Hadden firing back that he is “twisting” her positions.
Moore’s video starts with a reference to two unsolved murders in Rogers Park last year, which police believe were random, but carried out by the same person.
“What’s Maria Hadden’s response,” the voice over in the video asks. “She supports moving police from Rogers Park to other neighborhoods, meaning fewer patrols and less detectives. Hadden’s ideas are dangerous.”
Hadden, meanwhile says Moore “is misrepresenting my position.”
“I am disappointed that (Moore) has decided to employ manipulative tactics meant to confuse voters rather than engaging in a truthful conversation,” Hadden said in a statement. “Our community is still reeling from the losses we suffered last year and I think it’s out of touch and embarrassing for a 28-year incumbent to resort to fear-mongering and the twisting of information to try to attack a political opponent.”
The conflicting portrayals appear to stem from Hadden’s position supporting a plan for reallocating Chicago Police resources from low-crime neighborhoods to high-crime neighborhoods. Rogers Park is a relatively low-crime neighborhood. But, Hadden said such a plan would not have hampered the investigation into the Rogers Park killings referenced in the Moore video.
“A perfect example of allocating resources to the areas of highest need is the increase in detectives we received after the serial shooting murders,” Hadden said in her statement. “We live in a city with finite resources and crime does not abide by ward boundaries and political borders. Public safety resources are allocated by need using data from reported crime statistics and 911 calls. That’s the way it should be.”
Moore, however, said, in a recent candidate forum, he does not support this plan. His video said he “added officers, and gave them the tools to do their jobs and make them accountable.”
