I am completely opposed to the proposed remap of the 43rd Ward. It is a cynical attempt to scramble the cohesion of a community that has chosen to elect an independent alderman and would break us up into four separate wards, making community planning a chaos.

I’ve been fighting the Chicago Democratic Machine for over 20 years and now it wants to neutralize the voice of independence in Lincoln Park — which has over 40 years of history of sending independent aldermen into city hall to oppose the corruption and arrogance of the insiders and handful of Democratic power-brokers who operate Chicago like a family-owned business.

Alderman Dick Mell, and the other Bosses running the remap process, leave us alone. We have made our choice and we choose good government, accountability and grassroots civic engagement.

I urge all ward residents to sign this online petition now — http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/43rd-ward-carve-up