Posted with permission by Groundwork
Chicago’s 49th Ward is better known as Rogers Park. It’s a neighborhood of middle-class houses and apartment buildings, home to Loyola University. It’s known for diversity and an affordable, laid-back kind of cool.
But the 49th has a new claim to fame: In 2009, the ward’s alderman, Joe Moore, became the first elected official in the country to hand over the purse strings to his constituents. Three years later, the experiment is still attracting new residents to planning meetings.
Click here to read more, and listen to the audio story: http://groundworkproject.org/