Why are the black aldermen silent on the Ed Gardner movement? Most never seem to be on the right side of history. I keep hearing excuses and excuses about why this or that. It's time to step up and stand up! Portions of the black community are falling a part, schools are failing, lack of jobs and no direct access to information directly from City Hall in terms of how does businessmen and the unemployed find opportunities within city or state government. Are aldermen and other elected operatives so embedded to the unions that they'll sell out their community just to keep their part-time jobs, with full-time pay and benefits? This is awful and destructive to the present and future of black Chicago.

What exactly do black politicians really bring back to their communities? I laugh when I hear an alderman brag about having or bringing Walmart to their ward. LOL - Walmart was coming rather they supported it or not, eventually. That giant of a company had long targeted urban Chicago and other big cities to penetrate for build-out years ago. They mentioned that these big-box companies bring jobs. Yes they do and much deserving jobs for mainly young minorities - even though at below livable wages.

But who else are going to work those jobs if it wasn't black people? Do you think little white kids from the suburbs or up north are going to work at Walmart on 83rd street or near Roseland on 119th? White teenage boys and girls are not going to catch buses or have their parents drop them off in the HOOD for $9 an hour and limited access to insurance. Are you kidding me? The only jobs whites hold at Walmart or other big-box stores are management positions.

If designated elected officials have really done their jobs, how come so many abandon buildings and vacant lots are spread throughout urban communities? And why does my community have so many foreign grocery stores on each corner, on most main streets? Who approved of these stores to be cattle-cornered from each other, and sometimes on all four corners? What elected official said that was OK? Heck, I know black businesses who continue to get drama from their local elected representatives over minor stuff. It almost seems as though they are trying to run them out of business.

When iconic businessman Ed Gardner, who probably donated to many aldermanic campaigns, started this overdue battle with City Hall for EQUAL opportunities for his community, each black alderman should have been at Gardner's press conferences, the same way they post themselves up behind the mayor for his side-shows. And when Gardner met with the mayor, black aldermen should have stood side-by-side with him. I've seen a few join with Mr. Gardner, but most are very absent on this much needed issue to build the black community through economic development.

And what really has pissed me off the most, is how black pizza baron, John Clark, who admitted to me how disappointed he was, after donating hundreds of thousands of dollars to aldermen and other elected officials over the years; and when he was in jeopardy of losing his Chicago Public School's food contract, which he has lost to date; hardly anyone of, who he thought were his political allies, came to his defense - at ALL! He's still hurt by that and some of the same elected officials have the nerves to still request campaign contributions from him. How arrogant can they be?