Singing His Own Praise
Barr does a lot of his campaigning in churches, hitting four each Sunday. “They always lean on me to sing,” he says. “When I get through there’s so much shouting that I never get a chance to give my campaign speech.”
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LaBelle’s office says they have a warm relationship with Barr–up to a point. “He calls all the time asking for tickets and stuff,” says Michele Roy, a spokesman for the singer. “They’re sick of his calling.”
To no one’s surprise, the mother of all accusations in this year’s campaign comes out of Uptown, where Alderman Helen Shiller’s opponents are at it again, trying to stir up paranoia about the poor.
And every year she keeps on winning. Look, people–try something else.
He has plenty of issues thanks to former alderman Pat Huels, who enraged merchants by down-zoning local business strips. Last October Huels resigned after the Sun-Times reported that a security company he owned had received a $1.25 million loan from city trucking contractor Mike Tadin. But Bridgeport voters have always been loyal to the 11th Ward regulars, who this time around are backing incumbent James Balcer. Cohen’s the underdog.
“Look at where I come from and look at where the rest of the candidates come from,” he told residents at a recent forum. “Wherever they are, they can’t cover up where they haven’t been in the past. And if they haven’t been anywhere in the past, they aren’t going anywhere in the future.”
