The 3rd Ward Coalition continues to be an important social, maintenance and political force on the west side of DeKalb, according to area leaders.

Local businessman Marshall Hayes, one of the founders of the coalition, said “the 3rd Ward does not have a crime problem,” he said the main purpose of the group is to promote community friendship and cooperation.

Marshall said the coalition is trying to return the community to the atmosphere of 20 years ago, when people were more open and cooperative with their neighbors.

He said the coalition is returning to that atmosphere with the ongoing help and cooperation in the DeKalb-Pond-Fisk area, where recent political developments have allowed 3rd Ward residents to improve the quality of life for low income residents.

Third Ward Alderman William Hanna said his area has been improved with coalition help.

Hanna said political figures get their strength through numbers. When the members of the coalition went to the city council meetings with him to lobby for needed improvements, he said he had the leverage he needed to convince the council to pass the necessary measures for government support of the DeKalb-Pond-Fisk area.

Hanna said coalition members volunteered to repair deteriorated homes once the measures for low-interest loans and grants were passed.

He said this was a better way to renovate the area than strict compliance to city codes that would have left many low income residents homeless and the homes torn down.

Bill Nicklaus, director of the Building and Community Services department, said the coalition was instrumental in starting the building improvements in the 3rd Ward and was well organized enough to get most of the funding for building improvements.

Nicklaus, who has worked closely with the coalition, said they are “very democratic and open to everybody who wants to participate.”

Mayor Greg Sparrow said “I’ve been impressed with the progress they’ve (the coalition) been able to make.”

Sparrow said it is easier to deal with city hall and for city hall to deal with residents when they are well organized and aware of what they want.

Hayes said the coalition will be holding its annual fundraiser, a chili supper, March 21 at the Farm Bureau. He said the fundraiser is a way to get out and socialize and help the community.