WBEZ | Bronzeville

Morning Shift: Bronzeville seeks sustainable future to preserve past

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 11:01:00 -0500

Chicago mail carriers protest proposed cuts of Saturday delivery

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 16:10:00 -0600

More than 100 postal workers rallied in Chicago Monday to protest a proposed plan to eliminate Saturday mail delivery. Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe announced the cuts earlier this month, and has since gone head-to-head with members of Congress over whether the U.S. Postal Service is authorized to cut six-day service without congressional approval.

Postal carriers have responded with protests across the country. In front of a post office in Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood Monday, mailmen spilled out onto the street holding signs and calling on Postmaster Donahoe to step down.

“There’s a lot of other cost-cutting measures they can try that they haven’t even tried yet,” said Janet Rendant, who has been a mail carrier for 25 years. “At least give us a chance, give the public a chance.”

She and others accused the post office of cutting union jobs before seeking out other savings, and said they don’t believe cutting mail service will actually save the post office much money because it will also result in a loss of customers.

Mark Reynolds, who represents the postal service in Chicago, said they’ve already closed facilities and consolidated rural post offices to cut costs.

“Obviously these are very difficult decisions that we have to make,” said Reynolds. “But what we’re trying to do is to maintain customer service to the extent possible.”

The U.S. Postal Service ended its 2012 fiscal year nearly $16 billion in the hole, and they say cutting Saturday delivery will save them $1.9 billion annually. The National Association of Letter Carriers believes Congress can address the deficit by getting rid of a requirement that the postal service pre-fund its pension obligations.

A Congressional mandate that requires the post office to deliver mail six days a week expires March 27, but the cut to Saturday delivery would not go into effect until August. Delivery to PO boxes and package delivery would continue on Saturdays. Still, some congressmen think the postmaster general is outside of his purview, claiming any change to delivery days must be approved by Congress.

Mark Osier, a postal carrier for 38 years, attended the Chicago protest because he was concerned about younger postal workers’ jobs – and about his postal customers.

“People look forward to the mailman coming,” he said. “Especially older people. It’s their day’s event.”

The postal service paid for a survey in February that found that 80 percent of Americans favor cutting mail delivery to five days a week.

But Osier said six-day postal delivery is symbolic. He and others at the protest say they believe cutting Saturday service marks the beginning of the end for postal workers, and for a long-standing tradition of unionized postal delivery jobs.

“This is an institution, this is as American as apple pie,” Osier said. “We’ve gotta keep it going.”

Follow Lewis Wallace on Twitter.

Chicago neighborhood wants Obama library

Wed, 26 Dec 2012 08:20:00 -0600

Another Chicago neighborhood is seeking to be the future home of the Barack Obama presidential library.

No official plans have been made yet. But residents in the historically black Bronzeville neighborhood say there's 37 acres there that are a perfect fit.

Harold Lucas is president of the Black Metropolis Convention & Tourism Council in the neighborhood. He says the neighborhood is the ideal place to tell the story of the nation's first black president. Bronzeville is where a number of black leaders, artists and pioneers worked or lived.

"The cherry on the sundae of us becoming a international, national heritage area of the black metropolis is the construction of the presidential library," Lucas said. He runs the council, which promotes tourism on Chicago’s South Side. Lucas gives black heritage tours in the area.

In addition to pushing that Bronzeville host the library, Lucas says the library should harken back to Obama’s Chicago roots as an organizer.

"(The library should include) a community organizing institute on the former site of Michael Reese Hospital," Lucas said.

Community meetings are underway to decide what to do with the land where the hospital once sat.

Several Chicago locations have expressed interest in the library, including an old U.S. Steel South Works site and the University of Chicago. The University of Hawaii has also been mentioned as a possibility.

There are 13 U.S. presidential libraries, which preserve records, papers and other historical materials.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Developer seeks second act for Bronzeville's historic Forum Hall

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 17:01:00 -0500

My camera and I visited Bronzeville's historic, but vacant, Forum Hall over the weekend.

The 113-year-old structure, which once played a role in labor history, civil rights, jazz and even the advancement of U.S. Communism, came close to being demolished by the city last year when inspectors found extensive structural damage and loose, falling bricks.

Now a new owner, Bronzeville developer Bernard Loyd, is trying to figure out what to do with the Forum. Located on the corner of 43rd and Calumet just east of the CTA's Green Line, reuse of the building and vacant adjoining storefronts could provide a spark to revitalized the bedraggled strip. But that will take time and money.

Lots of money.

For now, Loyd has repaired the loose bricks, has organized volunteer clean-ups of the building and is seeking input from the neighborhood and IIT architecture students. And when time allows, he opens the doors to let people have a peek inside, as was the case Saturday...

The photo above shows the heart of the Forum: The big second-story hall which has a stage, a small balcony, and an expansive floor. It hosted a 1913 plumbers ball; Community Party labor meetings in the 1920s and 1930s and the 45th national convention of black Elks lodges. As the photo below shows, the Elks had offices in the rear of the building. The late jazz upright bassist Milt Hinton cut his teeth in this space around 1930, according to his autobiography Playing the Changes.

Below is a 1970s organ in a former lounge on the ground floor:

Loyd directs a tour of the building Saturday:

An old deck of cards on the hall's window sill:

That old deck is a proper metaphor for the Forum. It's a gamble--a bit of chance--to resurrect the structure. Much of the back-of-house space is severely dilapidated with rotted away floors, peeling paint, exposed lathe, stripped-out fixtures and missing partition walls. Many spaces are so far gone, you can't tell what functions they originally served.

When Hinton played the Forum back in 1930, that stretch of East 43rd St was a dense commercial thoroughfare. And it remained the way, albeit a bit tattered, until the 1970s. But by 1988, much of what was there had vanished, replaced by the yawning city-owned lots that are there now. You look at the Forum--a building that could either symbolize a new beginning for 43rd Street or typify what's been happening there for 40 years--and you can't help but wonder what's really in the cards.

The story of Jesse Binga, an early black entrepreneur with social motives

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 13:15:00 -0600

Listen to John Schmidt discuss Jesse Binga on Eight Forty-Eight

Today the street where Jesse Binga lived is named for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. That's appropriate. When the street was called South Park Avenue and Binga lived at number 5922, the house became a symbol of the civil rights struggle.

Jesse Binga was a go-getter. Born in Detroit in 1865, he started out to be a barber like his father. He moved through a number of jobs before settling in Chicago at the time of the 1893 World's Fair. A few years later he entered the real estate business.

Chicago's African-American population was small at the turn of the 20th Century, but that was about to change. Here Binga saw his opportunity.

During the first decades of the new century, Southern blacks began moving north. Chicago's neighborhoods were segregated, like most northern cities. The newcomers settled into a narrow section of the South Side. but as more people arrived, they began to burst the boundaries of the "Black Belt."

Jesse Binga became the main agent of racial succession. He bought property from whites who wanted to move out, fixed it up, then resold to blacks who needed a place to live. He helped his people--and he got rich.

From real estate he moved into banking. He took over a failed bank at State and 36th and reopened it as the Binga Bank, the city's first black-owned financial institution. In 1910 he ran for the County Board as a Republican, but lost. After that he steered clear of politics.

Binga moved to South Park Avenue in 1917. The Washington Park neighborhood was then all-white. He received death threats and the house was repeatedly bombed. He had to hire 24-hour security guards.

Binga defiantly refused to move. He was an American citizen and could live where he pleased. Years passed before the violence finally stopped.

The Binga business empire reached its peak during the 1920s. He rechartered the bank as the Binga State Bank and erected a new building at the northwest corner of State and 35th. Next to it he constructed a five-story office building called the Binga Arcade. He announced plans to open another, federally-chartered bank.

Then the stock market crashed. The Depression followed, the Binga State Bank failed and thousands of African-American depositors were wiped out.

Binga was wiped out, too. He served a prison sentence for embezzlement, though many thought the charges were trumped up and he was later pardoned by the governor. He spent his last years working as a janitor at St. Anselm Church, for $15 a week.

Jesse Binga died in 1950. His home is a registered Chicago Landmark, and is privately owned.

Homeless youth express themselves in 'Unspoken Words'

Thu, 25 Aug 2011 13:54:00 -0500

Several groups work with Chicago's homeless population; One Heart One Soul is a local group that runs programs to raise awareness on homelessness and other social issues. One of its programs, Unspoken Words: A Voice For Homeless Youth, had an eight-week stint at a shelter on Chicago's South Side. For WBEZ, Elysabeth Alfano visited that shelter to learn how art helped the young residents tap into their pasts.

Music Button: Blue States, "Bare Bones", from the CD Man Mountain, (ESL)

Ain't that good news? Singer Sam Cooke gets street renamed in his honor

Fri, 17 Jun 2011 13:08:00 -0500

Watch the above clip of Sam Cooke singing his 1957 hit You Send Me on American Bandstand.

He's cool. Confident. Assured. "A lil' bit sexy," a female friend emailed me when I sent her this clip. And most certainly a star on the rise.

Cooke was shot to death in an Los Angeles motel at the height of his fame in 1964 under circumstances that still baffle. But his music continues to resonate nearly a half century later.

Cat Stevens, Luther Vandross, The Pretenders and countless others have remade or referenced Cooke songs over the past 40 years. Cooke songs have turned up in 20 different movies and television shows over the past two decades, according to Internet Movie Database.

Twisting the Night Away was featured in that awful Green Hornet movie earlier this year. They played Shake in an episode of HBO's The Wire. And I still get the chills when Cooke's A Change is Gonna Come is played in a pivotal scene toward the end of Malcolm X. (It begins at 2:34 in this clip.)

Sam Cooke's latest honor comes Saturday at 2pm when a stretch of 36th Street in the city's Bronzeville neighborhood will be renamed Sam Cooke Way, marking the place where the late, great soul singer spent his formative years. The renamed section begins at Cottage Grove and runs east, passing the site at 36th and Ellis where Cooke's boyhood home once stood.

Cooke's great-nephew Erik Greene spent four years advocating for the honorary street renaming. Greene is also the writer of a Cooke biography called Our Uncle Sam. I asked him a few questions about Cooke and his legacy.

Q: Why is this honorary street important?

A: I was born and raised in Chicago but never had an appreciation for the rich musical history of Bronzeville until I researched its history for what would eventually become Our Uncle Sam. It was then I learned Bronzeville was home to not just Sam, but Nat King Cole, Dinah Washington, Lou Rawls, and a host of other musical greats. Sam had already been recognized on the Bronzeville Walk of Fame, but his exclusion on a 35th and State Street mural commemorating famous Bronzeville residents gave me the impetus to make his street naming--a more permanent form of recognition--a reality.

Q: His music is still appreciated, isn't it? Even my teenage daughters and a couple of their friends are fans.

A: Good music is eternal and has the ability to transcend all age barriers. Sam adopted a simple, straight-forward songwriting style, and he wrote songs the common man could relate to. As a result, his music is timeless--easily appreciated and understood by all ages and generations. This type of pure simplicity is a long-lost art form.

Q: What will tomorrow's street-renaming ceremony look like?

A: Sam's street naming ceremony will consist of recognizing Sam's legacy and the importance of this particular street by myself, my cousin Eugene Jamison who will speak on behalf of the Cook family, Bronzeville political representatives, and Gregg Parker, CEO of the Chicago Blues Museum. I formally met Gregg after the street naming had been approved by the Chicago City Council, and his musical interest in Sam and the Bronzeville neighborhood fueled the event to its current prominence. A City of Chicago proclamation will be read, and local celebrities may be on the program as well.

Q: One last question. For decades there has been talk of a Sam Cooke movie. If one were made, who'd play Sam?

A: Ever since Sam's death, talk of a movie based on his life has heated up on several occasions only to fizzle out and go nowhere, and "Who should play Sam Cooke?" is an age-old question that's been kicked around by Sam Cooke fans for generations. In the early 70s, talk of Marvin Gaye portraying Sam was squashed when Gaye declared himself not worthy of the honor. Actors from Blair Underwood to Denzel Washington to Will Smith have been discussed more recently, but because Sam died at 33, these actors have invariably grown too old. Having been fooled by the several false-starts over the years, I've stopped speculating as to who could play Sam on the silver screen, but still smile at some of the suggestions.

And before we go, dig this: Sam Cooke singing Bob Dylan's Blowing in the Wind.

The unfunny thing that's going to happen to The Forum: Demolition planned for decaying Bronzeville landmark

Mon, 06 Jun 2011 04:00:00 -0500

The Forum--the storied, century-old Bronzeville hall where labor history, civil rights, jazz and even U.S. Communism intersected--is set to be demolished soon by the city, according to an alderman.

On her ward's website, Ald. Pat Dowell (3rd) said an emergency demolition will be sought for the 112-year-old building at 43rd and Calumet because of "extensive structural damage and loose, falling bricks" found by city inspectors who investigated the interior and exterior of the old hall. There is no timetable yet set for the demolition.

But the building hangs this close to demolition--whenever it may come--is enough of a reason to sound the alarm. Built in 1899, the Forum was solid piece of architecture with its big hall set above storefronts. The building's nine arched hall windows, nicely quoined brick corners and its name prominently formed in terra cotta on the front facade are among the structure's most noticeable features. And it is close to public transit with the 43rd Street Green Line stop a few steps to the west. Then there's the history. We'll get to that in a moment. Lets took at the architecture a bit more...

Here's a full-on look at the Forum's front. The brickwork along the roof and around the windows is handsome. But look at the disrepair, too.

The big center window up-close as a pedestrian passes:

The Forum was a multipurpose gathering place--one of scores built around the city in the late 19th and early 20th century. The South Side Master Plumber's Ball of 1913 was held there, and drew 250 couples who danced to an orchestra. The Communist Party held meetings there in the 1920s and 1930s, often discussing labor issues. The first unionized black workers at the Union Stockyards met there. The place was impressive enough to draw the 45th national convention of the African-American lodges of the then-segregated Elks in 1944. The organization spoke out against racism, Jim Crow and intolerance, according to a Tribune story on the gathering.

The late jazz man Milt Hinton, the master of upright bass, got his start at the Forum around 1930. "When I was eighteen or nineteen, I played my first paying job at the Forum Hall at 43rd and Calumet," Hinton says in his autobiography Playing the Changes. "I'm not sure who I worked with, but I know it was a dance and we got paid according to how many tickets were sold." And how's this for irony? While the bulldozers are being pointed at the Forum, Hinton's home in Queens New York was given landmark status this year. The home is in the newly-created Addisleigh Park, Queens historic district, a black enclave where the likes of Hinton, Jackie Robinson, Ella Fitzgerald and W.E.B. DuBois lived.

Here's some of the loose brickwork at the Forum. The sidewalk below is cordoned off with a single construction horse and two strands of "caution tape."

The building's owner operated a liquor store on the first floor until recently. While the hall was closed off and forgotten to history, the corner first floor storefront was open seven days a week and, according to its painted-on sign, doing business from 6AM to midnight. So the building was in use--and making money--as its owners let it fall into this shocking disrepair.

Will a "Save the Forum" preservation effort erupt over this? Here's hoping so. Buildings are precious to Bronzeville's revival. For better than 25 years, the Bronzeville community has used its rich architectural resources and vivid black history to slowly lure middle-class folk, investment and commerce into the area---and it's a hard battle. But in that war, buildings as bad off as the Forum have been saved, restored and are contributing to Bronzeville's resurrection. Buildings like the old Wabash YMCA at 38th and Wabash, and the former Eighth Regiment Armory at 35th and Giles which became the Chicago Military Academy at Bronzeville lead the list. Why can't it happen for the Forum? Razing the building is not yet a fait accompli: a demolition permit has not yet been pulled by the city as of this morning.

Having the Forum wasting away on a prominent corner doesn't help matters. But demolishing it to create what likely will be another urban prairie--another vacant lot--only makes matters worse.

A Bronzeville culinary journey

Fri, 04 Mar 2011 17:46:00 -0600

In Brazil, collard greens are sautéed instead of boiled like they are in black America. Empanadas are similar to Jamaican meat patties. West African staples like okra are found in Southern American cuisine. “We eat in this hemisphere a variation of what we ate in that hemisphere,” said Jessica B. Harris, the authority on cooking and foodways of the African Diaspora.

Last night I met Harris, author of the new “High on the Hog: A Culinary Journey from Africa to America,” at a fundraiser in Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood. She even drew a little pig in my copy of her book and wrote “pig out.” The book traces Atlantic slave routes and how food from the African-American experience became part of the overall American food identity.

Harris’ appearance was meant to lend heft to an effort to raise money for Urban Juncture, a non-profit organization that aims to diversify food options to areas that lack them on the South Side. The organization’s the brainchild of Bernard Loyd, who hosted the fundraiser in his own greystone. He plans to incorporate a bit of Harris’ culinary journey in a new local food venture.

Urban Juncture speaks to Harris’ study of the African culinary journey in a new local food venture called Cuisine of the Diaspora, which will provide dining options from vegan to Jamaican to a fresh produce store. The venture’s set to be on 51st Street between Prairie and Calumet, a bit of land the city of Chicago sold to Loyd. The city also gave him a tax increment financing (TIF) grant. Urban Juncture has already created an urban garden on the site, which is near the CTA Green Line. Loyd says he is $1.5 million away from his a $9 million fundraising goal. Loyd says he hopes to begin development by summer.

The surrounding neighborhood is short on grocery stores and dining-out options. “The objective is to beautify 51st Street, engage our neighbors in the overall project of good food, food production, urban agriculture and food preparation,” Loyd said.

Some of the contributing chefs in the project served dinner at Loyd’s home. Cecelia Hamilton served stuffed pork tenderloin and black-eyed pea salad, and Chef Tsadakeeyah Emmanuel offered vegan Berbere Ethiopian vegan ribs. In addition, Yassa African Restaurant served signature yassa chicken; Jorgina Pereira of Sinha Elegant Cuisine cooked feijoada, a Brazilian national dish of black beans along with those aforementioned collards; South African caterer Mbali Mncwabe had a ground beef dish called bobotie and Madeline’s Bakeshop provided vegan sweet potato pie.

South Side Aldermanic Races

Tue, 22 Feb 2011 21:31:00 -0600

Updated At: 11:35 Among the Election Day highlights on the city's South Side: Ald. Freddrenna Lyle will face challenger Roderick Sawyer in an April runoff in Chicago's 6th Ward, while Grammy-award winning rapper Che "Rhymefest" Smith has made it into a runoff race for a Chicago City Council seat. With all precincts reporting, the rapper had 20 percent of the vote, trailing incumbent Alderman Willie Cochran, who had 46 percent. There will also be runoffs in the 15th and 16th wards.

Alderman Ward 2

55 of 56 precincts - 98 percent

Bob Fioretti, (i) 7,836 - 55 percent

Genita Robinson, 4,442 - 31 percent

Enrique Perez, 640 - 4 percent

Melissa Callahan, 634 - 4 percent

Federico Sciammarella, 616 - 4 percent

James Bosco, 157 - 1 percent

Alderman Ward 3

47 of 50 precincts - 94 percent

Pat Dowell, (i) 5,758 - 68 percent

Ebony Tillman, 2,756 - 32 percent

Alderman Ward 4

46 of 52 precincts - 88 percent

Will Burns, 7,456 - 65 percent

Lori Yokoyama, 1,104 - 10 percent

Norman Bolden, 1,077 - 9 percent

Brian Scott, 803 - 7 percent

George Rumsey, 576 - 5 percent

Adam Miguest, 348 - 3 percent

James Williams, 161 - 1 percent

Alderman Ward 5

55 of 55 precincts - 100 percent

Leslie Hairston, (i) 7,217 - 62 percent

Anne Marie Miles, 2,489 - 21 percent

Glenn Ross, 826 - 7 percent

Carol Hightower Chalmers, 701 - 6 percent

Michele Tankersley, 451 - 4 percent

Alderman Ward 6

63 of 64 precincts - 98 percent

Freddrenna Lyle, (i) 6,573 - 45 percent

Roderick Sawyer, 3,689 - 25 percent

Richard Wooten, 2,893 - 20 percent

Cassandra Goodrum-Burton, 940 - 6 percent

Sekum Walker, 337 - 2 percent

Brian Sleet, 303 - 2 percent

Alderman Ward 7

61 of 61 precincts - 100 percent

Sandi Jackson, (i) 6,506 - 53 percent

Darcel Beavers, 3,223 - 26 percent

Gregory Mitchell, 1,542 - 13 percent

Lionell Martin, 467 - 4 percent

Deborah Washington, 334 - 3 percent

Sidney Brooks, 179 - 1 percent

Alderman Ward 8

66 of 70 precincts - 94 percent

Michelle Harris, (i) 9,789 - 68 percent

Faheem Shabazz, 2,082 - 15 percent

James Daniels, 1,752 - 12 percent

Bertha Starks, 682 - 5 percent

Alderman Ward 9

52 of 53 precincts - 98 percent

Anthony Beale, (i) 6,201 - 58 percent

Harold Ward, 1,946 - 18 percent

Sandra Walters, 1,751 - 16 percent

Eddie Reed, 780 - 7 percent

Alderman Ward 10

48 of 48 precincts - 100 percent

John Pope, (i) 6,298 - 59 percent

Richard Martinez, 3,801 - 36 percent

Joseph Nasella, 421 - 4 percent

Jose Leon, 110 - 1 percent

Alderman Ward 11

50 of 50 precincts - 100 percent

James Balcer, (i) 6,712 - 61 percent

John Kozlar, 2,449 - 22 percent

Carl Segvich, 1,787 - 16 percent

Alderman Ward 12

24 of 24 precincts - 100 percent

George Cardenas, (i) 2,680 - 55 percent

Jose Guereca, 911 - 19 percent

Jesse Iniguez, 796 - 16 percent

Alberto Bocanegra, 321 - 7 percent

Maria Ortiz, 137 - 3 percent

Alderman Ward 15

52 of 52 precincts - 100 percent

Toni Foulkes, (i) 3,088 - 44 percent

Raymond Lopez, 1,042 - 15 percent

Harold Bailey, 765 - 11 percent

Sammy Pack, 730 - 10 percent

Felicia Simmons-Stovall, 573 - 8 percent

Syron Smith, 415 - 6 percent

Sandra Mallory, 368 - 5 percent

Alderman Ward 16

44 of 44 precincts - 100 percent

JoAnn Thompson, (i) 2,626 - 43 percent

Hal Baskin, 1,367 - 23 percent

Eric Hermosillo, 957 - 16 percent

Javier Diaz, 269 - 4 percent

Eddie Johnson, 211 - 3 percent

Tameka Gavin, 204 - 3 percent

Ronald Mitchell, 196 - 3 percent

Jonathan Stamps, 128 - 2 percent

Jeffrey Lewis, 93 - 2 percent

Alderman Ward 17

57 of 64 precincts - 89 percent

Latasha Thomas, (i) 4,380 - 49 percent

David Moore, 1,696 - 19 percent

Antoine Members, 1,002 - 11 percent

Ronald Carter, 518 - 6 percent

Michael Daniels, 442 - 5 percent

Twaundella Taylor, 349 - 4 percent

Paulette Coleman, 273 - 3 percent

Virgil Means, 219 - 2 percent

Alderman Ward 18

62 of 62 precincts - 100 percent

Lona Lane, (i) 7,774 - 51 percent

Chuks Onyezia, 2,450 - 16 percent

Joseph Ziegler, 2,255 - 15 percent

Michael Davis, 2,163 - 14 percent

Manny Roman, 711 - 5 percent

Alderman Ward 19

63 of 63 precincts - 100 percent

Matthew O'Shea, 14,426 - 61 percent

Anne Schaible, 6,526 - 28 percent

Phillip Sherlock, 1,315 - 6 percent

George Newell, 725 - 3 percent

Ray Coronado, 592 - 3 percent

Alderman Ward 20

50 of 50 precincts - 100 percent

Willie Cochran, (i) 3,403 - 46 percent

Che Smith, 1,469 - 20 percent

George Davis, 1,201 - 16 percent

Andre Smith, 1,079 - 15 percent

Sid Shelton, 241 - 3 percent

Alderman Ward 21

70 of 74 precincts - 95 percent

Howard Brookins, (i) 8,004 - 56 percent

Sheldon Sherman, 2,797 - 19 percent

Patricia Foster, 1,706 - 12 percent

Sylvia Jones, 1,537 - 11 percent

Jerome Maddox, 309 - 2 percent

Alderman Ward 23

54 of 54 precincts - 100 percent

Michael Zalewski, (i) 8,581 - 53 percent

Anna Goral, 5,511 - 34 percent

Chuck Maida, 2,231 - 14 percent

Alderman Ward 34

61 of 61 precincts - 100 percent

Carrie Austin, (i) 9,170 - 65 percent

Henry Moses, 2,123 - 15 percent

Shirley White, 1,533 - 11 percent

Burl McQueen, 659 - 5 percent

Michael Mayden, 618 - 4 percent

Updated At: 9:35 p.m. Grammy-winning hip-hopper Che “Rhymefest” Smith appears to have forced a runoff in the 20th Ward. Incumbent Ald. Willie Cochran has a substantial lead, but he has so far drawn less than 50 percent of the vote. Here's the latest look at numbers from South Side aldermanic races:

Updated At 8:30 p.m. A runoff appears likely in Chicago's 6th Ward. Here are the numbers in that race, with 91 percent of precincts reporting:

Here's a look at some of the races WBEZ is focusing on:

3rd Ward
Ald. Pat Dowell was elected in 2007, replacing longtime Ald. Dorothy Tillman. Tillman’s daughter Ebony tried is trying to best Dowell. Many in the ward saw the contest between Dowell and the younger Tillman as a revenge race. In 2007 Dowell, who is a former urban planner, had the support of many young professionals in the ward who are eager for development in the historic Bronzeville neighborhood. But the economy plummeted during Dowell’s term and development stalled. In this election season, she landed endorsements from The Service Employees International Union, the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce and For A Better Chicago PAC. Ebony Tillman did not return phone calls from WBEZ about her candidacy. Her website said she wants to bring big box retailers such as Wal-Mart and Target, etc. to the ward.

4th Ward
The 4th Ward includes the neighborhood of Hyde Park– a progressive, politically independent part of the city. The ward had been led by Toni Preckwinkle, who relinquished her seat after winning the presidency of the Cook County Board of Commissioners. Illinois State Rep. Will Burns was the likely heir apparent to Preckwinkle’s former seat, and he scored her endorsement early in the race. The SEIU, Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce and For A Better Chicago PAC also endorsed Burns. Burns has an extensive public policy background that resonated with residents in the ward. He campaigned on bringing more retail shopping options to the area.

6th Ward
Roderick Sawyer ran against incumbent Freddrenna Lyle. Sawyer is the son of the late Eugene Sawyer, former 6th Ward alderman and mayor of Chicago. Sawyer argued the ward was neglected with blight. He benefitted from deep community connections and name recognition. The SEIU-backed Lyle struck a chord with seniors. The 6th ward covers Chatham and Park Manor – black middle-class neighborhoods that tend to be politically mobilized. Chatham has seen an uptick in crime, which has made residents nervous.

7th Ward
The race for 7th Ward alderman featured two women with deep political ties. Ald. Sandi Jackson is the wife of U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., whose father is the Rev. Jesse Jackson. She took this South Side ward four years ago by beating Darcel Beavers, who was appointed to finish the term of her father, William Beavers. He left the office in 2006, after serving as alderman for 23 years.

Sandi Jackson ran on a platform of economic revitalization. Specifics included development of a large retail and housing complex on the site of the former USX steel plant.

10th Ward

The 10th ward comprises portions of several Southeast Side neighborhoods: South Chicago, South Deering, the East Side and Hegewisch. The area was once an industrial powerhouse but as manufacturers left, the ward’s struggled with crime, unemployment and the question of how to make use of large tracts of former factory space.

The two front runners differed in how they approached economic development. The incumbent, John Pope, ran on a platform that included attracting clean industrial jobs. Richard Martinez campaigned on moving the ward away from reliance on heavy industry.

Two other candidates, Joseph NaSella and Jose Leon, made little impact during the aldermanic contest.

19th Ward

The aldermanic race in this Southwest side ward began when Ald. Ginger Rugai, announced she would retire. The five candidates that vied for her seat included Rugai’s longtime aid and ward committeeman Matt O’Shea. His opponents included Ray Coronado, George Newell, Anne Schaible, Phil Sherlock and Diane Phillips. O’Shea and Schaible dominated the race during the campaign.

The ward includes portions of the Morgan Park and Beverly neighborhoods. Top campaign issues include how best to revitalize retail strips along 95th Street and Western Avenue.

20th Ward
Grammy-winning hip-hopper Che “Rhymefest” Smith challenged first-term Ald. Willie Cochran. Smith enlisted help from fellow hip-hoppers and intellectuals, including Cornel West. Smith brought energy and youthfulness - and of course, celebrity – to the race. Cochran is regarded relatively well in the ward for bringing some affordable housing and commercial development. Since the last aldermanic election the ward’s taken a hit from foreclosures and stalled economic options. The ward includes the Washington Park and Woodlawn neighborhoods.

Natalie Moore and Michael Puente contributed to this story.