Alderman Pat Dowell, Chicago’s 3rd Ward
Before she was an alderman, Pat Dowell was the executive director of the Near West Side Community Development Corporation where she built affordable housing and commercial retail space and provided social services and employment and financial counseling services to residents of Henry Horner Homes.
Since being elected in 2007, Alderman Dowell’s work has been centered on community engagement and community-based development that is rooted in transparency and celebrates the area’s rich cultural history. Along with attending CAPS meetings and hosting numerous town hall meetings and other events, she has worked hard to create an accessible ward office that truly serves the people.
She was the chief sponsor of the 1) Vacant Building Ordinance that makes lenders responsible for maintaining foreclosed properties; 2) the ordinance that created the City Council Office of Financial Analysis that will provide oversight to budgetary decisions that use public funds; and she 3) sponsored the Keep Chicago Renting Ordinance that protects renters whose landlord’s are facing foreclosure
She also voted against the installation of speed cameras (there are currently none in the Third Ward).
Committee assignments: Housing and Real Estate (Vice-Chair); Aviation, Budget and Government Operations; Rules and Ethics; Education and Child Development; Finance; Health and Environmental Protection; and Transportation and Public Way
