This story was originally published in N’DIGO, a Black lifestyle publication in Chicago that covers pop culture, politics and more. The TRiiBE is a small newsroom and with the support of other Black Chicago outlets, we will be delivering coverage of the 2022 midterms and the 2023 Chicago municipal election.
Alderman David Moore has been a member of the Chicago City Council representing the 17th ward since May 18, 2015. He sits on nine city council committees. He is a native Chicagoan. He spent his childhood in Robert Taylor Homes and moved to Englewood with his family as a teen. He is a graduate of Simeon Vocational High School. He is a graduate of Western Illinois University, where he majored in Accounting and Operations Management. He holds a MA in government studies from Loyola University. He has enjoyed a successful accounting career in Fortune 500 companies and has worked for Chicago’s Department of Aviation and Chicago Housing Authority before being an alderman. His hands-on experience with accounting includes cost-benefit analysis and strategic budgeting planning. He is a candidate for Illinois Secretary of State. The General Election is on November 8, 2022.
N’DIGO sat with Moore to discuss why he wants to be the next Illinois Secretary of State.
N’DIGO: What have you learned as an alderman?
David Moore: I have learned that you do not have to give in to established politics if you lead with an independent voice and serve the people. The people will stand with you.
At the age of 13, you heard a speech from Congressman Harold Washington that determined you to get into politics. What did he say that was so powerful?
Moore: I was the youngest person in the room at Roberts Motel. He talked about public service and young people being involved and serving in the community. I was inspired to help in the community. I became a junior block club servant, and the job was to keep the neighborhood clean and work with block clubs. Eventually, I became the president of the block club. And then I became the precinct captain of the ward. My uncle was the precinct captain. He worked on voter registration drives and assisted officials in shutting down drug houses; I was his assistant. I was paid $5.00 to pass out the literature. Harold changed me.
Why are you running for the office of Secretary of State?
Moore: It’s a calling. Politics is like a ministry; It’s not something you run to; you run from it. I get to serve everybody regardless of race, gender, religion., When you are helping people, you don’t have to get into the nastiness of politics. I am a public servant.
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What do you want to accomplish as Secretary of State?
Moore: First and foremost, I want to modernize the office from a technology vantage point. Second, I want to keep the fees down by using my accounting background for efficiency and to avoid wasteful spending. The Secretary of State in Illinois has some of the highest costs in the country. Our car stickers, for example, are $151. We will cut that if we can. There was no capital budget; this money went for the building and repairing the Illinois roads, totaling $1.2 billion per annum. The casino money will help the capital budget. I want to lower fees. You have to have the political nerve to cut fees.
I would institute digital license plates as they exist in California, Arizona, and Michigan. The plates are tracked as an option, which would help with the carjacking problem because the plates display the word stolen. You can also use it to reregister your vehicle automatically from your phone or computer without going into the offices. The digital scale would be on the license of the car, and this would be used as a deterrent from carjacking. This would eliminate the sticker on the car; the sticker would be digital. The plate number remains the same, and you can activate activity with an app on the phone using the same platform as banks utilizing many security mechanisms. We would be able to advertise on the plate with registration, and it only appears when the auto stops. This would-be new revenue for the State of Illinois.
Given the internet, google, and people reading less, what is the library’s new role?
Moore: We have to re-imagine the library as community-friendly and as a community space. So I propose to libraries as satellites offices for the Secretary of State, for example, to renew your license and other driver services. The libraries would be a place where we would use Virtual Reality (VR) technology where people can use the technology to see the world, digital museums, for example, using Metaverse.
I visited Galesburg near Peoria in Western Illinois. Groundbreaking for a new library. It is a state-of-the-art community center with community rooms and computers. It is a historical library, a game-changer. Whitney Young library is taking that approach, using gaming to create a new environment. Gaming is a business through new media. You can learn at the library. The library becomes a connector. My goal is to incorporate virtual reality programming to allow libraries visitors to immerse themselves in places and adventures beyond their daily lives.” Studies have shown libraries to be the most trusted institutions in our country.
Would you build new libraries, or would you close libraries?
Moore: I would re-imagine libraries. The Whitney Young Library is a great example. I visited the head librarian there, Mitchell Smith, and learned about “community unity.” They have computers, multipurpose rooms, a recording studio, a play space for teaching learners, and a markers lab with 3D printers, sewing machines, and a press for vinyl graphics. It is the techniques learned by Chance The Rapper.
How would the Secretary of State relate to the new Obama Library?
Moore: It’s a private institution with a public library. From that point, we would encourage business services, for example, the incorporation of papers and the renewal of licenses.
What do you do in your leisure?
Moore: I play tennis and golf when I get an opportunity.
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Name three politicians that impress you the most.
Moore: Three politicians, Harold Washington, Terry Peterson, and Richard J Daley. All of these people love the city but use power differently. Daley used his ability to enrich; he was assessable, but he used power wrong. The Democratic Party did not endorse the Secretary of White. He was encouraged by Michael Madigan not to run. I circulated his petitions and am the only candidate to do so. He has a servant’s heart. He has proven over 22 years not to use this seat as a political stepping stone.
How would you describe the state of Chicago politics today?
Moore: We are very divided and polarized. We will go to a referendum on the map. The United Map is the map that brings a coalition together and represents the Chicago citizenry. Any other map divides. I believe we will go to a referendum.
You were the lone soldier renaming Lake Shore Drive to DuSable Lake Shore Drive. What was your passion?
Moore: I was on a boat tour along Michigan Avenue. The tour guide ignored DuSable. Young people at Powell and Stagg Elementary School called me to tell me the students was interested in renaming Lake Shore Drive to Jean Baptiste Point DuSable Lake Shore Drive. The kids were excited.
A 7th grader, a young man at Powell, said that as he read about the “trading post” where John Baptist established the first business in Chicago, I became passionate from the conversation. I appreciate Alderman Sophia King. for becoming my partner on the ordinance.
The proposal on Lake Shore for sign change cost $833,000. It was met with resistance, and the Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s alternative plan was to rename the Chicago River – the Riverwalk, DuSable Park – Millennium Park and place statues along the Riverwalk and art for $40 million. I told the mayor it would not be an alternative but an excellent complement to honoring DuSable. The city of New York was about to name a street after DuSable, and Mayor Lightfoot wanted Chicago to be the first to change the name. New York advanced our name change. I am happy that Lake Shore Drive became Jean Baptiste Point DuSable Lake Shore Drive. It is befitting of the first businessman in the city. It unites the town.