Architecture Thu May 08 2008

The 2nd Ward Committee of People who Support Ald. Fioretti

Alderman Robert Fioretti has created a local Citizen Advisory Committee to weigh in on South Loop building proposals. The article, appearing in the Chicago Journal, states that as part of the Ald. Fioretti’s decision making process, he will now weigh the opinion of this collection of pseudo-randomly selected residents.

How does one join this committee?

According to the article emails were sent to all those in their database consisting of Fioretti campaign contributors, people who signed up for information about the campaign through its Web site and people who have given their email address to the alderman at one of his community meetings,…” (see note below) Hannah Jubeh, Fioretti’s campaign manager continues to assert that the CAC will “bring (developers) in and reeducate them on how the process is going to work." While some community oversight is important, the CAC seems to be little more than an instrument for Fioretti to play architect. A committee stacked with his supporters will allow him to feign local support or angst for whichever project he would like.

Just as music cannot be reviewed by looking at the sheet music alone, architecture suffers when its creation is stymied before its execution even begins. New ideas must be able to be constructed and suceed or fail on their own merit. Only then can meaningful criticism take place. Fioretti has already attempted to stop one of the most forward thinking designs to be proposed for the quasi-historicist South Loop. Thankfully, Lucien Lagrange’s XO condominium project will continue despite the objections of another “community” organization, the Prairie District Neighborhood Alliance.

(Note: I am 2nd ward resident who submitted an email and mailed several letters to the alderman's office over the past year. I was not on the email database, by mistake, I'm sure.)

- Carl Giometti