Alderman, 16th Ward: Hal E. Baskin

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Hal E. Baskin

Updated: January 20, 2011 4:28PM

Birth date: 03-06-1953

Political affiliation: Democrat

Neighborhood: Englewood

Occupation/Firm name: Real Estate Management

Marital status: Married

Campaign HQ address: 1204 W. 69th Street

Campaign website: www.halbaskin.webs.com

What is your campaign budget?

$100,000.00

What are your top priorities for the City of Chicago?

Developing new tax revenue fot the city to balance the budget and plug the gap.

Public Safety for all communities in Chicago.

Push harder for better education for our CPS students.

Push for a higher percentage in minority contract.

What are your top priorities for your ward?

Public Safety

Jobs and Job Training

Education

Ward Services

The city is in serious financial trouble and can't afford the level of service it currently provides. For 2011, Mayor Daley, with City Council backing, balanced the budget without raising taxes or fees, relying instead on some cost-saving measures and one-time fixes, including using proceeds from leasing the city's parking meters. Do you support this approach? What should be done differently going forward?

Please be specific about your plans to reshape government: what services and departments would you scale back or cut? Can you identify new revenue sources? How can the City reduce personnel costs? What kind of concessions should the City seek from the unions?

No i don't support that approach. The city council should have more input in reviewing and contract concerning the city's major assets and if there is a decission to lease it should be for shorter terms. Cut back on sewer and water depatment. Sweeting the early retirement plan with better incentives to draw more participants. Would ask unions to let members pay more into their own retirement plans.

The city's four employee pension funds have been called a "ticking time bomb," with Mayor Daley's pension commission predicting that the four funds will run out of money in 20 years. "There is no low- or no-cost solution to this problem," the commission wrote in a report earlier this year. "Deferring action is not a viable option." What is your plan for bringing the pension funds to solvency?

Have city employees to pay more into their own retirement plans.

Does Chicago need 50 aldermen? If not, what's a better number? What City Council committees could be combined? What other ways can the City Council save money?

No there should be 50 aldermen. Finance and Budget should be recombined. Stop putting up those pretty piggy back light the old ones work real well.

Chicago was designed as a weak mayor, strong council form of government yet Mayor Daley wields considerable power over the City Council. What measures would you recommend to strengthen the council? On which issues should the mayor lead? On which should the council lead?

Elect stronger council members who are not affaid of the mayor and who is ready to be real legislators. The mayor don't pass legislation the council do. The mayor should be a part of any leadership the the council let him be. The council should lead orn all leglislative issues.

The city's tax-increment financing program has been criticized on several fronts, including the proliferation of districts, how money is diverted from schools and other basic city services, how TIF funding decisions are made and for an overall lack of transparency. How would you improve the TIF program? Does the TIF law need to be changed in any way?

We should put a hold on new TIF's and review the guild lines for TIF's so that any diverted money should be accounted for and the public should be made aware though public hearings.

Mayor Daley has focused on privatizing city assets. Are there any other assets the City Council should consider privatizing? If so, would you make any changes to the way privatization deals are negotiated and passed through the City Council?

No

The Chicago Police Department is understaffed, with no lasting budget solution in sight. Given the current staffing levels, what changes would you recommend to use resources more efficiently? Do you support realigning beats in a way that moves police from lower crime areas to higher crime neighborhoods? What should happen to the diminished CAPS program?

I think realignnig beat would be one part the other would be to let new recruits to man the 25 police district under supervision in order to put those seasoned officers back on the street. Cap is a pet project whose time has come and gone.

The next mayor will choose a new CEO for the Chicago Public Schools. Do you think the CEO needs to have education experience? Should the new mayor continue the Renaissance 2010 program of shutting down failing schools and creating new ones? Should the new mayor continue Ron Huberman's "culture of calm" effort, which aims to improve the culture of the toughest schools and provides mentors and extra support for kids at greatest risk of being shot? What should CPS do to improve neighborhood schools that are struggling to educate the large numbers of students left behind, the students that don't make it into test-based, charters or other specialized schools?

Yea the next CEO should be and educator not some political businessmen. no because there are no safe guards to protect those displaced students. I am not sure because i have no data as to what impact the culture of calm has had on the schools that are involved. Put magnet school money and staffing into those schools and go back to basic READING, WRITING and MATH and put more SOCIAL SERVICES in those neighborhood schools.

Do you support one or more casinos for Chicago? If so, where would you like to see casinos located?

Yes one downtown and one on the old steel mill site in the 7th ward.

Aldermen have considerable influence over TIF, zoning and other decisions, both large and small, related to development and services in their ward. Do aldermen have too much influence?

no

If elected alderman, do you plan to maintain an outside job? Would you pledge not to hold any job that represents a conflict of interest, including those that involve spending public dollars?

No, and will not hold a conflict of interest job, including those that involve spending public dollars.

Would you accept campaign contributions or gifts from your employees? Would you pledge not to hire relatives on your staff?

No, all depend if that person is qualified or not, that depends.

Does the City need to change the way it hands out contracts? Should aldermen reclaim oversight of City contracts? If so, contracts above what dollar amount?

yes in most instances, contracts above $100.000.00

Do you support an inspector general just for the City Council? Would you support giving the city's existing inspector general power to investigate aldermen and their staffs, including subpoena power?

Yes, only if the mayor is included in that deal.

Should there be new limits on who can lobby City Hall officials, including aldermen? Should former City Hall employees be prohibited from doing business with the city after their departure? If so, for how long?

No

What's the best book ever written about Chicago? Why?

Harold Washington, Black Power in Chicago

Please list your educational background

High school graduate, 3 years college

Please list civic, professional, fraternal or other organizations to which you belong

Action Now

People Educated Against Crime in Englewood

Will Feed Community Organization

Black United Voters of Chicago

Have you held elective or appointive political office or been employed by any branch of government?

No

Please list jobs or contracts you, members of your immediate family or business partners have had with government

None

Name your five biggest campaign contributors and the amount they contributed

Carl Matthews $1,000.00

Rodrick Pierce $1,000.00

Justine Stephens $1,000.00

Please paste a brief biography here

Hal is a second generation resident of the 16th ward. Hal was born in WestPoint Mississippi to Primas and Eloise Baskin he is one of 14 children. Hal has lived in the 16th ward and Englewood for more than 50 years. He has raised his children and grand children

in the 16th ward. Hal has been married 32 years to his childhood sweet heart his wife Hermein. He has attended and graduated from schools in the 16th ward and Englewood. He has devoted his life to making a difference in the lives of the residents of the 16th ward. What he will do, is what he has already been doing.

Hal does not have to promise to fight for jobs for the ward, because he has been fighting. As co-founder of the Englewood Political Taskforce, Hal has since September of 2003, secured over 600 jobs in the construction industry.