Talk:Helen Shiller/Archive 1

Archive 1

Biography assessment rating comment

The article may be improved by following the WikiProject Biography 11 easy steps to producing at least a B article. -- Edofedinburgh 03:51, 25 March 2007 (UTC)

The discussion of deleting this page should be broadened to include the more than 50 existing articles on current and former Chicago Aldermen.

: No one likes politicians so perhaps we should delete all the members of congress and the mayors of major cities. Also, delete all those historical figures who were Chicago aldermen and politicians. If some Chicago aldermen are kept (but God knows that we should not honor these heathen, corrupt beasts), someone should format the aldermen's names, because we all know that if one is an elected official, one is a politician.

: Wikipedia should delete this and any living or dead politicians' entries because we know that they (the politicians) all are evil in their heart of hearts (except George W. Bush, Duncan Hunter, and Richard Cheney, who believe in Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, and who wish to smit the infidel). And who cares if Johnson passed Civil and Voting Rights legislation? Or Franklin D. Roosevelt attempted to aid those who suffered during the Depression? We know that all Democrats are Socialists who wish to make our country secular.

The Chicago City Council is so seriously dysfunctional that a strong case could be made that ALL the articles in the entire category should be deleted. The single most important duty of a Chicago alderman is their vote in City Council. The voting records of all Chicago Alderman are virtually identical. Most Council votes are unanimous. The record gives us no principled method of distinguishing notable from non-notable aldermen. Chicago Alderman are notable precisely for their individual lack of notability. It is of interest to wikipedia readers interested in politics and history and urban affairs that the legislative branch of one of the world's great cities is populated entirely by non-notable rubber-stamp career politicians.

: I have seen biographies of professors who are not well known to the common person. Perhaps all biographies should be eliminated and then we can restore those that are notable.

On the other had this category contains significant work from contributors.Hugh 19:44, 4 January 2007 (UTC)

External links

I would disagree with deleting this page. The reason you give--"non-notable politician"--is not accurate, and probably not the real reason, given that this page has had a lot of traffic and a lot of editing recently. There is an aldermanic election in february in Chicago. Consequently, Ald. Shiller's opposition is spending a lot of time on the web (since apparently they do not know how to campaign person-to-person). Here are some reasons that Helen Shiller is a notable politician, sourced by external links.

1. She was inducted into the Chicago gay and lesbian hall of fame. See http://www.glhalloffame.org/index.pl?todo=view_item&item=146. According to that web-page: "For more than 30 years, Helen Shiller has been a progressive activist, a fighter for the disenfranchised, and a courageous voice for the human rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered persons.

Shiller was elected alderman of Chicago’s 46th Ward in 1987. She has been re-elected three times. In the City Council, she has sponsored or lobbied for numerous measures to improve the quality of life for sexual-minority communities and for persons living with HIV/AIDS.   
In 1988, Shiller was a cosponsor of the new Chicago human rights legislation that included sexual orientation as a prohibited basis for discrimination. Currently she supports amendment of the legislation to include a specific prohibition on gender-identity discrimination.   
In 1992, Shiller attended community meetings that demanded an increase in Chicago funding to combat AIDS. She drafted a City Council measure to increase the city’s AIDS budget, which at the time was about $1.07 million and had remained at that level for several years. The City Council’s health committee eventually voted 9–0 for the measure after community members with HIV/AIDS testified. A month later, after sustained public outcry, the full council passed a $2.5 million funding package.   
As alderman, Shiller has led in city efforts to combat hate crimes, and she has worked to focus attention on domestic violence, including same-sex domestic violence. In 1998, Shiller helped with establishment of the Howard Brown Health Center’s new headquarters. Throughout her career, she has campaigned for affordable housing, and she worked successfully with political leaders to provide such housing for the elderly with development of the Ruth Shriman House.   
Shiller has also supported domestic-partnership benefits, which so far the city government has extended to its employees with same-sex domestic partners. In the 46th Ward, which includes a notably large sexual-minority population as well as other minority groups, Shiller has continuously struggled to maintain both economic and cultural diversity. She also supported the appointment of openly gay Don Nowotny as ward superintendent for the city Department of Streets and Sanitation.    
Shiller’s record speaks for itself. She is a compassionate and caring individual and a friend of Chicago’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered population."

2. Alderman shiller was one of the people profiled and highlighted in Studs Terkel's book Hope Dies Last. Her chapter begins on page 209. See here: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbninquiry.asp?ean=9780641739460&displayonly=TOC&z=y or here: http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/biblio?inkey=17-1565848373-3

3. Shiller created a unique affordable condo program in her ward that is now emulated accross Chicago. See here: http://www.newhomeschicagoland.com/NHNew/News/03140052.htm or here: http://www.aldermanshiller.com/content/view/92/64/

4. There have been several thousand local articles written about Shiller. A compilation of about 70 can be found here: http://www.aldermanshiller.com/content/view/57/80/

I don't believe there have been several thousand articles written about Ms. Shiller. Prove it.

• "The Unkindest Cut of All" Richard F. Carnahan, Gapers Block, August 9, 2006

External links shouldn't be so biased. Ashibaka tock 18:54, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

Huh? Yet you accepted 2 external links authored by the subject? Hugh 18:09, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

Hence why it was not added to the article (plus it's rather bloggish).--§hanel 19:03, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

I am the contributor of the two existing external links (city web site and campaign website). I withdraw these contributions. They are biased: they are very positive. They are not encyclopedic resources or mainstream, reputable media. Please delete these two external links.

Done. If you have any questions, please contact me at my talk page. Ian Manka 03:50, 3 January 2007 (UTC)

OR

Please add the following two external links. Thanks! Hugh 20:45, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

External links

• "Big-box debate too hot for Alderman Shiller" Lorene Yue and Greg Hinz, Crain's Chicago Business, July 27, 2006

This is very negative, and does not seem like an encyclopedic resource. I'm sure Ms. Shiller has been discussed in mainstream, reputable media; use those as references for the information in this article. Thanks.--SB | T 19:04, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

Crain's Chicago Business IS mainstream, reputable media ("the nation's pre-eminent regional business newspaper" ... "for over a quarter-century"). Greg Hinz is among the most respected journalists in Chicago in any media. Hugh 20:40, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

• "Alderman Slammed Over Withheld "Big Box" Vote" Steve Grzanich, WBBM Newsradio 780: Chicago's News Station, July 29, 2006 Hugh 20:41, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

External links

I also disagree with deleting the Helen Shiller page. The "non-notable politician" label is inaccurate.

Thegrip229 19:19, 4 January 2007 (UTC)

Fair enough. I've reviewed the links about here, and I suppose she is notable enough to merit an article. If you have any questions, please contact me at my talk page. Ian Manka 01:26, 6 January 2007 (UTC)