This letter appeared in a post on 19th Ward Blog, a wonderful site. It is the letter from my friend Mike Joyce responding to the cut-and-paste attack ad put together by the Sun Times Watchdogs on Palm Sunday.
"Don't shed any tears for me on the Sun Times smear piece done on me yesterday. I'm a big boy I can handle it. Rahm's got to be pretty desperate for me to rate the front page on a weekend where dozens of people were shot.
For the record I was never contacted for comment on the article. If I had been contacted I would have informed them that I have worked on over 30 elections since Emanuel became mayor and that revenge and my family members were not pertinent to my support of Chuy Garcia.
I am very proud of all of my family members and when somebody in the neighborhood is looking for help they are always there for them. As an elected official my father worked harder and did more for the residents of the 19th Ward than anybody. He did his job tirelessly, selflessly and didn't seek credit or publicity for serving his constituents. He was personally responsible for appointing Mike Sheahan, Ginger Rugai and Tom Dart to their first public offices. My brother Kevin was elected and served the residents of the 19th Ward as an Illinois State Representative. Kevin is a cancer survivor and is now the Vice President of Ave Maria University in Florida.
Both my father and my brother were personally and politically pro life Democrats. There has been nobody in Illinois politics that has been more pro union than my father or my brother.
As far as my involvement with Chuy Garcia goes, I became acquainted with Chuy Garcia through my good friend in the boxing business JC. JC's father and Chuy brought the great labor leader Cesar Chavez to Chicago over 30 years ago. I am supporting Chuy because he is the right candidate for our neighborhood. He has promised to hire 1000 new Police Officers that our community desperately needs. He grew up in a real Chicago neighborhood, attended St. Rita High School, is way more in tune with our community than Rahm.
Rahm is the wealthy Washington insider whose union credentials include making millions with his billionaire buddy Anti Union Governor Bruce Rauner, passing American job killer NAFTA, saying F*** the United Auto Workers and telling Chicago Teacher's Union President Karen Lewis "F*** you Lewis".
I admire all leaders in Organized Labor Unions. Many unions are supporting Chuy and the ones who are not have no reason to be anti Chuy. In his 30 year public service Chuy has a 100% pro union voting record.
I was proud to have Chuy march in the South Side Irish St. Patrick's Day Parade. He got a genuine rousing cheers all along the Parade route. Chuy has also gotten that kind of reception each of the many times he has visited the 19th Ward. The current mayor does not get that kind of reception in our neighborhood and our alderman did not even endorse him until after his own election was over.
The paper says that I am a lawyer and a boxing coach. It is true that I earn my living as an attorney but as a boxing coach I do not earn a penny. I use boxing to give back to the community.
For over 20 years I have served as a volunteer boxing coach at the West Englewood Boys Club, Leo High School and the Celtic Boxing Club. Through amateur boxing shows I have helped raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for worthy causes and charities including the St. Baldrick's Foundation, the Mercy Home, the Irish American Foundation, the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame, Leo High School, the West Englewood Boys Club, the Officer John Hurley Family Fund, Catholic Charities, the Illinois State Crime Commission/Police Athletic League of Illinois, the Tommy Z Foundation, the Charlie Weiss Hannah and Friends Autism Foundation and many others. I have also had the opportunity to have inner city youth train alongside Chicago Police Officers and Chicago Firefighters for the Battle of the Badges.
The newspaper may want to bash me for political reasons but I am blessed and greatful for the support of friends in the community. My support for Chuy is based solely on my wanting my 3 year old grow up in a neighborhood that I grew up in."
The words of Michael J. Joyce, 3/30/15
