About the Candidate
Name: Eileen Dordek
DOB: May 19, 1968
Family: I am married to Chris Landgraff and am the proud mother of two, Olivia, a freshman at Pitzer College and Henry, a junior at Lane Tech High School.
Occupation: I have been a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) for nearly 20 years and have established my counseling practice in Ravenswood.
Political Experience: I am the 10th District Commissioner for the Cook County Commission on Women’s Issues. I am a Board Member of Equality Illinois. I served on the Board of Personal PAC from 2009-June 2018. I’m a member of the Greater Ravenswood Chamber of Commerce, serving on their Women Leaders in Business committee and volunteering regularly for their events. I coordinated volunteers for Nasty Women Art Chicago in 2017. I’m a precinct leader for the 47th Ward Democratic Organization, getting 84% voter turnout in the 2018 midterm election.
Website: eileendordek.org
Candidate Statement
I’m Eileen Dordek and I’m running for Alderman of the 47th Ward.
In the 22 years I’ve made the 47th Ward my home, I’ve raised my children, established a business and served the community as a social worker.
My path to becoming a social worker started as a volunteer on a crisis line for women.
A few weeks in, I got the call we were all dreading. The woman said, “I don’t want to live anymore.”
I wanted to jump in and immediately solve her problem but it dawned on me that I didn’t listen to her story.
So instead, I listened.
By the time I offered her resources, I better understood what was going on in her life, she felt empowered and that’s why she trusted me.
That experience taught me the transformative power of listening. When you listen, you’re able to collaborate on solutions.
As a Social Worker, I have helped people successfully navigate government and bureaucracy and I’m working to help people navigate systems to meet their needs, not my own personal gain.
I speak out on progressive issues that I am passionate about.
I fought for Women’s Reproductive Rights as a board member of Personal PAC.
I currently serve on the board of Equality Illinois where I fight for LGBTQIA justice.
And I will fight to make our ward accessible to everyone, because a healthy community needs diversity.
As your Alderman, I will prioritize what makes our community vibrant by:
Supporting our small businesses, often owned by our neighbors
Creating more affordable housing
And promoting a safe and welcoming community
Chicago faces many challenges. I am ready to work with a new city council to face these challenges and change the way Chicago does business. As your Alderman I will not only fight for my Ward, but for all Chicagoans.
Thank you.
Candidate Q&A
What is your vision for this office?
The job of Alderman is the job I want to do, listening, and engaging and communicating resources, to create solutions for our community and our city. As a social worker and a mom (and community activist), I know how to get things done and I am looking forward to bringing my experience and skill set to work every day as the Alderman for the 47th Ward . As a Social Worker, I have helped people successfully navigate government and bureaucracy and I’m working to help people navigate systems to meet their needs, not my own personal gain. As your Alderman, I will prioritize what makes our community vibrant by supporting our small businesses, often owned by our neighbors, creating more affordable housing, and promoting a safe and welcoming community.
What is the most pressing issue facing constituents, and how can you help address it?
Affordable housing has become a great concern in our neighborhood here in the 47th Ward. We want to ensure the neighborhood has truly affordable housing that will ultimately make the ward, and our city, healthier and more vibrant. There are a number of ways we can make affordable housing a reality, together. We can require that the affordable housing in new construction be available onsite within the neighborhood by working with builders to increase the number of units for new residential development projects. We also need to take a hard look at the zoning and permitting process to streamline both of them at the city level to make adapting multi-unit housing easier, rather than promoting de-conversion into single-family housing. We also need to reverse the current city prohibition on legalizing non-conforming units like coach houses, apartments above garages, etc to accommodate smaller, more affordable housing citywide.