Tim Noonan Gets Things Done

Tim Noonan Gets Things Done

By Carol Flynn

A few months ago, Tim Noonan mentioned to me just in passing that he had many sleepless Tuesday nights during the COVID pandemic. He worried there wouldn't be enough food to give away on Wednesday afternoons at the “free store” he set up through his 19th Ward Mutual Aid initiative. He was genuinely concerned that people might go hungry.

This is the kind of guy that Tim Noonan is. Ultimately, each week he secured enough food, and 20,000 people were fed during the pandemic.

Tim Noonan should never be underestimated. He gets things done. No matter what the odds against success may be, when other people might throw in the towel and say forget it, Tim stays the course and gets the job done.

Tim Noonan is now running for 19th ward alderman for the City of Chicago. This is the culmination of many years of community activism on Tim’s part.

I didn’t know Tim during the time he worked to save Kellogg Elementary School, but there is plenty of information out there about that effort. Although Tim comes from an Irish Catholic background, as do the other 19th ward aldermanic candidates, the Noonan children have attended Chicago Public Schools (CPS).

I first encountered Tim when he decided to restore the Gold Star Mothers monument in Dan Ryan Woods. It had been allowed to deteriorate for almost 100 years and my research into the monument’s history was just about all anyone knew of it. I thought the project couldn’t be done – too much red tape. Tim got the job done.

When the COVID pandemic started, I got an email from Tim. He wanted to start an initiative to help people in the community who were disadvantaged even more so than usual due to the pandemic. I thought it couldn’t be done – too much red tape. Tim started the 19th Ward Mutual Aid initiative and fed those people.

I stopped underestimating Tim at that point.

Tim is the first one to acknowledge he does not accomplish these feats on his own. He motivates and organizes grass roots efforts within the community to find solutions to community problems. He believes the answers cannot just be handed down from administrative bureaucracies, and that people working together can solve problems and create a better world for themselves, their families, their friends, and their neighbors.

Tim works in information technology and computer systems. Besides his job and community involvement, he finds time for his interests in history, architecture and stained glass windows. He was the one who first brought attention to the need to save the historic Pike House on the fringe of Dan Ryan Woods, which has led to another community initiative.

He also celebrates his Irish heritage. He helped to keep the Ancient Order of Hibernians, an old Irish fraternal organization, going by stepping into the leadership role vacated by his father. I wrote an article about this a few years ago, and I was graciously invited to Tim's parents' home, where I was served fresh homemade soda bread and tea. This is the kind of thing the Noonans do.

Last year, Tim invited me to read a passage from Ulysses, the novel written by James Joyce, considered by many in the literary field to be the finest work of fiction ever written. Tim arranged an event in honor of the book's 100th anniversary which featured readings from the book and a selection of live Irish music. My initial reaction was to say no because, quite honestly, I never got very far through the book as it's a difficult read. Tim talked me into it, and now I'm working my way through all 265,222 words that Joyce wrote.

I do not live in the 19th ward, so I am not a voter in this aldermanic election. However, I am a fourth-generation resident on the Ridge and I research and write extensively on the history of Washington Heights, Morgan Park, Beverly Hills, and Mount Greenwood. I also write feature stories about people and events, usually connected to the Ridge.

I have never worked with or even had a conversation with either of the other two candidates running for alderman, so I cannot comment on either of these candidates from a personal perspective.

When I have contacted the 19th Ward office, I have always been referred to other people in the office for comments. The current alderman, running for reelection, has never personally responded to me. My only involvement with the third candidate has been to take issue with the racist, misogynistic, and anti-CPS teacher messages posted on the sign of the bar with which he is associated.

No candidate for office has all the answers, despite their claims. The people in the 19th ward are concerned about keeping the neighborhood a safe, family-friendly, well-maintained environment with nice homes, good schools and parks, and thriving businesses.

“The solutions to our problems are in the community,” said Tim Noonan. He knows this because he works through the community to get things done.