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Several Rogers Park residents are upset at aldermanic candidate Don Gordon for handing out bananas to commuters at el stations. They think Gordon, who’s challenging alderman Joe Moore in the April 17 runoff, is sending a not-so-subliminal message designed to play on the “Juneway Jungle” nickname folks use for Juneway Terrace, the economically depressed and racially mixed community just north of Howard Street.
According to Gordon, Dunkins and others are making a big deal out of nothing. He says he decided to hand out bananas as a healthy alternative to the doughnuts that Moore traditionally passes out to election judges on election day. “Yes, right, I’m a longtime racist–my parents are racists,” says Gordon, speaking sarcastically. “Give me a break. This just shows you how desperate the Moore campaign is that they’re making an issue out of this.” (For the record, Dunkins, who says she plans to vote for Moore, supported Jim Ginderske in the February 27 election.)
