Singlehandedly, George Blakemore is putting the public back into public meetings.
He is perhaps Chicago’s most prominent concerned citizen. Anyone who has ever been to a public meeting has seen him and heard him speak. He makes appearances at almost every public meeting held by government agencies on the city, county and state levels within city limits. Not everyone agrees with what he has to say, and some view him as a troublemaker or an annoyance. Others think that he is, in some ways, a model citizen. But few know how he got to be Chicago’s gadfly, or exactly how involved in government he is.
His interests are varied.
The issues Blakemore addresses in his public testimonies range from putting more benches in public parks to some of the most contentious problems that face local government, like the recent controversy over Oak Forest Hospital. But throughout his years of public speaking he has often returned to a number of core themes. He is a tireless critic of the way the city and county fills minority contracting goals, pointing to corruption at the Office of Contract Compliance, which certifies minority and women-owned business enterprises, and the Office of the Purchasing Agent, which procures goods and services for Cook County agencies, as well as their city government counterparts.
The article is particularly interesting as it describes Blakemore's development as a public figure. For the full article, visit the link below.
