Fixing Eyesores
Fixing Eyesores
Daley made addressing eyesores a priority. Taking steps to rid Chicago of graffitti, abandoned cars, and abandoned buildings made the city look nicer. Residents also believed those efforts were important to strengthen property values and fight crime.
William Daley explains why abandoned cars were such a problem and how his brother, the mayor, addressed it:
Chicagoans saw abandoned buildings, like abandoned cars, as detrimental to property values and invitations to crime.
Gery Chico, Daley’s chief of staff (1992-1993), discusses the problem and how the city addressed it:
Two memos about abandoned buildings:
In [note: 1993?], Daley implemented his Graffiti Blasters program. Its purpose was to clean new instances of graffiti as quickly as possible.
[note: needs quote] [“Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.”]
--Mayor Richard M. Daley, date, cite. [note: fix] [quote: need to get statement from RMD about graffiti blasters, probably series 3]
img: [Photos of RMD overseeing graffiti removal [note: RMD16_07_0072_0005_001_002/025] [note: Needs to be sent to photo lab as of March 19, 2020]
img: [image of or document about Brownfields] [note: Needs to be sent to photo lab as of March 19, 2020]
[SAVE FOR RECESSION: During the housing crisis of the late 2000s, the problem of abandoned buildings assumed new importance as foreclosures overwhelmed the banks and other financial institutions that owned the properties. Ray Orozco, Daley’s chief of staff (2010-2011), explains the mayor’s efforts to keep the banks accountable:
[clip: RMDOH_01_orozco_ray_20170922_003310_003518_AbandonedBuildings]]