The Center For New American Media: Chicago Collection
As part of the four hour television series VOTE FOR ME: POLITICS IN AMERICA, broadcast nationwide on PBS in 1996, The Center for New American Media (CNAM) filmed two extensive segments on the Chicago municipal elections for mayor and several alder races. Material was shot throughout the city with candidates, campaign workers, pundits, and journalists. The raw footage, captured on Betacam SP, amounts to approximately 35 hours.
CNAM documentarians Louis Alvarez, Andrew Kolker, and Paul Stekler were the primary individuals of the production covering the 1995 Chicago municipal elections and the daily operations of the city’s political organization. The footage follows several public figures, including Mayor Richard M. Daley, mayoral liaison Chuck Bowen, and Aldermen Ambrosio Medrano, Billy Ocasio, and Brian Doherty. Candidates Joe Gardner and Wallace "Gator" Bradley are also featured at campaign rallies and public events. Documentation includes specific campaign activities such as door-to-door canvassing to identify supporters, phone banking, and the systematic removal of campaign signs. The footage also captures Chicago City Council meetings, constituent grievance sessions, and interviews with observers Studs Terkel, John Kass, and Salim Muwakkil.
Collection Items
![Ocasio HQ: Al Padalino Interview [Part 1]](https://collections.chicagofilmarchives.org/media/cfa/images/7/3/57457_ca_object_representations_media_7396_large.jpg)
![Ocasio HQ: Al Padalino Interview [Part 2]](https://collections.chicagofilmarchives.org/media/cfa/images/7/3/5666_ca_object_representations_media_7397_large.jpg)
![Dump Daley Rally [Part 1]](https://collections.chicagofilmarchives.org/media/cfa/images/7/4/82934_ca_object_representations_media_7400_large.jpg)
![Dump Daley Rally [Part 2]](https://collections.chicagofilmarchives.org/media/cfa/images/7/4/39979_ca_object_representations_media_7401_large.jpg)
![[Bowen + Ministers I]](https://collections.chicagofilmarchives.org/media/cfa/images/7/4/5117_ca_object_representations_media_7426_large.jpg)
![Interview with Chuck Bowen [Cont.] / Door to Door with Ald. Ambrosio Medrano](https://collections.chicagofilmarchives.org/media/cfa/images/7/4/44389_ca_object_representations_media_7430_large.jpg)
![Door to Door with Ald. Ambrosio Medrano [Cont.] / Interview with Ald. Medrano and Precinct Captain Cathy Maida](https://collections.chicagofilmarchives.org/media/cfa/images/7/4/95791_ca_object_representations_media_7433_large.jpg)
![Medrano Meets with Mexican Women in Pilsen [Cont.] / Latino Ministers Endorse Daley](https://collections.chicagofilmarchives.org/media/cfa/images/7/4/92616_ca_object_representations_media_7434_large.jpg)
![Latino Ministers Endorse Daley [Cont.] / Daley Phone Bank 1](https://collections.chicagofilmarchives.org/media/cfa/images/7/4/49847_ca_object_representations_media_7435_large.jpg)
![Office Interview with Ald. Ambrosio Medrano [Cont.] / Ald. Brian Doherty’s Ward Night](https://collections.chicagofilmarchives.org/media/cfa/images/7/4/7471_ca_object_representations_media_7444_large.jpg)
![Ald. Brian Doherty’s Ward Night [Cont.] / Doherty Election HQ: Thurs. Night](https://collections.chicagofilmarchives.org/media/cfa/images/7/4/46869_ca_object_representations_media_7457_large.jpg)
![Doherty Election HQ: Thurs. Night [Cont.] / Polish-Americans Hang Signs for Granato](https://collections.chicagofilmarchives.org/media/cfa/images/7/4/60498_ca_object_representations_media_7458_large.jpg)
![Ty Wansley Interview [Cont.] / Bill Gritsonis at Billy Goat Tavern](https://collections.chicagofilmarchives.org/media/cfa/images/7/4/31297_ca_object_representations_media_7465_large.jpg)
![Bill Gritsonis at Billy Goat Tavern [Cont.] / Lu Palmer Radio Show: Aldermanic Roundtable 1](https://collections.chicagofilmarchives.org/media/cfa/images/7/4/79459_ca_object_representations_media_7466_large.jpg)
![Studs Terkel Interview [Cont.]](https://collections.chicagofilmarchives.org/media/cfa/images/7/7/10147_ca_object_representations_media_7731_large.jpg)
- Alan Simpson 2
- Ald. Billy Ocasio’s HQ - 26th Ward
- Ald. Brian Doherty: Irish Fundraiser
- Ald. Brian Doherty’s Ward Night [Cont.] / Doherty Election HQ: Thurs. Night
- Ald. Ed Burke Interview
- Alderman Beavers: Campaign HQ
- Alderman Beavers: Campaign HQ [Cont.] / Irene Smith Goes Door to Door for Ald. Beavers
- [Axelrod & Associates - Daley for Mayor spots]
- Bill Gleason Interview
- Bill Gleason Interview [Cont.]
- Bill Gleason Interview [Cont.] / Interview with Salim Muwakkil
- Bill Gritsonis at Billy Goat Tavern [Cont.] / Lu Palmer Radio Show: Aldermanic Roundtable 1
- Black Door to Door 2 / [South Side] Driving
- [Bowen + Ministers I]
- Bowen + Ministers II: Rev. DeVille
- Bowen + Ministers III: Rev. Evans
- Brian Doherty: Final Staff Meeting [Cont.]
- Bringing Elean Straub to the Polls [Cont.] / Chicago Election Day: 41st Ward Polling Place / Election Night at Doherty’s HQ
- Chicago City Council Meeting
- Chicago City Council Meeting [Cont.]
- Chicago Election Day / Unusual Polling Sites
- Chicago [Little Village] Visuals / Mayor Daley Latino Rally
- Chicago Politics: Theater of Power
- Chicago Visuals / Postering with Frank Avila Campaign Workers / Medrano Campaign Sign / Office Interview with Ald. Ambrosio Medrano
- Chuck Bowen: Greater Little Rock Church
- Chuck Bowen Sunday Interview / Postering with Ty Kenner’s Campaign Workers / Brian Doherty: Final Staff Meeting
- Cliff Kelley Interview
- Cliff Kelley Interview [Cont.]
- Cliff Kelley Interview [Cont.] / Harold Washington Icon Visuals / Chicago Vox Pop
- Daley Campaign Workers: Door to Door in Humboldt Park / Voting Absentee with Ald. Brian Doherty
- Daley Phone Bank 2
- Daley Phone Bank 3
- Daley Phone Bank 4
- Danny Solis Interview
- Danny Solis Interview [Cont.] / Floyd Thomas Interview
- Doherty Election HQ: Thurs. Night [Cont.] / Polish-Americans Hang Signs for Granato
- Door to Door with Ald. Ambrosio Medrano [Cont.] / Interview with Ald. Medrano and Precinct Captain Cathy Maida
- Dorothy ‘The Hat’ Tillman Interview / Studs Terkel Interview
- Dump Daley Rally [Part 1]
- Dump Daley Rally [Part 2]
- Election Night at Doherty’s HQ [Cont.] / Doherty Victory Party
- Felipe Najar: Democratic Committeeman, 26th Ward [Cont.] / Campaign Sign Tear-Down / Chicago Election Day
- Floyd Thomas Interview [Cont.] / Interview with Chris and Pat: Chicago Garbage Men / John Kass Interview
- Fred Rupley: Door to Door for Ald. Doherty
- Interview with Chuck Bowen
- Interview with Chuck Bowen [Cont.] / Door to Door with Ald. Ambrosio Medrano
- Interview with Salim Muwakkil [Cont.]
- Interview with Salim Muwakkil [Cont.] / Roger McAuliffe Interview
- John Kass Interview [Cont.] / Felipe Najar: Democratic Committeeman, 26th Ward
- Latino Ministers Endorse Daley [Cont.] / Daley Phone Bank 1
- Little Village Visuals [Cont.] / Wallace Davis Interview
- Lu Palmer Radio Show: Aldermanic Roundtable 2
- Maxwell Street Vox Pop [Cont.]
- Maxwell Street Vox Pop / Nuevo Leon Restaurant
- Mayor Daley Latino Rally [Cont.] / Chuck Bowen: Greater Open Door Church
- Medrano Meets with Mexican Women in Pilsen
- Medrano Meets with Mexican Women in Pilsen [Cont.] / Latino Ministers Endorse Daley
- Ocasio HQ: Al Padalino Interview [Part 1]
- Ocasio HQ: Al Padalino Interview [Part 2]
- Ocasio HQ: Volunteer Prep Meeting
- Ocasio Volunteers Distribute Daley Yard Signs
- Office Interview with Ald. Ambrosio Medrano [Cont.] / Ald. Brian Doherty’s Ward Night
- Polish Village Visuals and Vox Pop
- Roger McAuliffe Interview [Cont.] / Zebra Lounge
- Studs Terkel Interview [Cont.]
- Ty and Eddie Radio Show 1
- Ty and Eddie Radio Show 2 / Interviews: Ed Vrdolyak & Ty Wansley
- Ty Wansley Interview [Cont.] / Bill Gritsonis at Billy Goat Tavern
- Unusual Polling Sites [Cont.] / Bringing Elean Straub to the Polls
- Zebra Lounge [Cont.] / Southside Visuals / Little Village Visuals
Spanish
The Center for New American Media (CNAM) was founded in 1979 to produce documentaries for public television that center on American society, culture, and politics. CNAM's work is characterized by a skillful mixing of serious topics with humor and rich storytelling, and several of its films continue to resonate with audiences around the world: PEOPLE LIKE US, an early American documentary about the American class system; VOTE FOR ME, a four-hour examination of politics, politicians and voters; and AMERICAN TONGUES, a celebratory and provocative look at America via the way Americans speak. CNAM's films have received two Peabody Awards and two Columbia-Dupont Awards.
CNAM's principal creative partners are Louis Alvarez and Andrew Kolker. More information at cnam.com.