Far South Side
Since being appointed to the City Council in 1994, Ald. Carrie M. Austin has done a creditable job in her ward, which includes Roseland, West Pullman, Morgan Park and Washington Heights. As chair of the Council’s Budget and Government Operations Committee, she has taken tough but necessary votes on taxes and fees. She has worked to stabilize housing in the ward, which was hit hard by predatory lending. After Target and Marshalls announced they were leaving Marshfield Plaza, she helped to bring in Old Navy. She also is proud of bringing a new fire station to 119th and Morgan. Austin favors a commuter tax and legalizing and taxing recreational marijuana — but rules out additional increases in property taxes — to help fund pensions. She’s willing to restructure the pension funds’ annual automatic cost of living increases to bring costs under control, though, which is a position most aldermanic candidates across the city dare not take. Also running is lawyer Preston Brown Jr.
