Budget Update #4 - Service Improvements
Community Meetings 
Office Closed This Friday
Dear Neighbor,

After two weeks of hearings, the city is poised to consider its $10 Billion budget for 2018.   While progress has been made, our city is far from financial certainty. However, some services have been reinstated or improved in this year's budget, in particular monitoring of air and noise pollution emanating from General Iron. Here is a brief review:

Streets and Sanitation:
  • Streets and Sanitation laborers will be available to engage in additional duties, such as assisting neighbors who would like to engage in "Clean and Green" activities in their areas.
  • The budget also allocated $1.5 million to fill the city's backlog of missing and damaged garbage carts and carts should be distributed by April of 2018. Our Ward's sanitation yard has been moved to Medill and Ashland, where the full complement of trash trucks, sweepers and snowplows will be kept.  
  • The city will be adding five rat abatement crews.  Commissioner Williams testified that the ordinance we pursued requiring rat abatement at construction sites has definitely reduced the rat issue from construction sites. But the city will be adding the abatement crews to continue fighting the difficult problem. The Law Department is adding staff to speed the enforcement of Sanitation violations.
  • Recycling rates remain very low, and there is substantial non-compliance by many residents.  To foster participation, we are including recycling tips in this newsletter.
Parking and Business Enforcement:
  • Many residents have requested increased parking enforcement to support residential permit parking . . . and we have passed on those sentiments. The city agrees and is launching a program to increase parking enforcement on weekends.
  • The Building Department will be beginning a weekend and evening shift for building inspectors, which will be key to uncovering non-permitted work.
  • As promised during negotiations, the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Affairs (BACP) has hired two staff to run the enforcement of short term rentals.  Short term rental enforcements has been slowly coming on line, as I reported in a previous newsletter.  By now, according to BACP, over 3,000 units have been registered, and enforcement of the prohibited building list is in process for hundreds of units.  
Environmental enforcement:
  • The budget includes money for 10 additional inspectors for health and safety, including noise and air pollution monitoring.   During the hearings, I sought and received a public promise that personnel will be assigned to specifically monitor air quality conditions arising from the North Branch corridor, including General Iron. We will keep you apprised of their findings

Upcoming CAPS Meetings
  • 18th Dist. Beats 1811, 1812, and 1813 - TONIGHT - Thurs., Nov. 9 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., St. James Lutheran Church & School, 2101 N. Fremont Street
  • 19th Dist. Beat 1932 - Mon., Nov. 13 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at New Life Community, 1110 W. Lill Avenue.
Reminder: Office Closed for Veteran's Day 

As a reminder, our office will be closed in observance of Veteran's Day this  Friday, November 10, 2017. Normal business hours will resume on Monday, November 13, 2017.
  
If you have a need for city services, please call 3-1-1 for non-emergency requests, or dial 9-1-1 if you require immediate assistance.



Community Meeting Re: 
Second Church of  Christ Scientist Building

2700 N. Pine Grove Avenue
Tuesday, November 14, 2017 
6:30 p.m.

Our office  and the Park West Community Association  will host a community meeting  at the Second Church of Christ Scientist Building, located at 2700 N. Pine Grove Avenue next  Tues day, November 14, 2017  at  6:30 p.m.  to discuss the future of the church property.

Click  here for more information. 


Community Meeting Re: 
Redevelopment of 1754 N. Clark Street

1601 N. Clark Street
Thursday, November 16, 2017 
6:00 p.m.

Our office  will host a community meeting  at the Chicago History Museum Auditorium, located at 1601 N. Clark Street on  Thurs day, November 16, 2017  at  6:00 p.m.  to discuss the future of the proposed redevelopment of 1754 North Clark Street. A non-profit entity, the Giordano Dance Company, has proposed to redevelop the site into a 4 story dance studio, containing ground level retail. 

Click  here for more information. 

Upcoming Events in the 43rd Ward 


Year-End Tax Planning Tips
100 W. North Avenue 
Thursday, November 9, 2017
5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

If you have questions about end of the year tax planning, experts will be available at Wintrust Bank on  Thursday, November 9, from 5:30 p.m - 7:30 p.m. to provide tips on best approaches to goals and strategies.

Click  here  for more details. 


Best of Lincoln Park
@Victory Gardens Biograph Theatre
2433 N. Lincoln Avenue
Monday, November 13, 2017
5:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.

Celebrate the Lincoln Park business community for the Best of Lincoln Park Awards. Hosted by WGN Radio's Patti Vasquez, you'll enjoy delicious tastes from Lincoln Park favorites, extraordinary raffle prizes, and an exciting cocktail competition sponsored by CH Distillery.

Click here to RSVP.  See you there!

Don't Recycle Wrong!

We all support recycling, but occasionally, by putting the wrong things in our blue cart, an entire cart can be contaminated - and not recycled.  We'll be running a few tips to help out.

The big DONT's:
  • NO Pizza boxes - the grease contaminates the paper fibers and the separators can't distinguish between boxes.  Throw them out, or champion recyclers tear off the parts that are contaminated and recycle the rest. 
  • No plastic bags - the bags tear up the recycling equipment.  Better to carry your bag to the blue cart and just dump the bag (and reuse it!)
For more tips, click here.  

See you in the neighborhood,

Michele Signature




Michele Smith
Alderman, 43rd Ward 


43rd Ward Office Hours: M 9 AM - 7 PM, T-F 9 AM - 6 PM 
 2523 N Halsted | 773-906-4333 Call or Text| yourvoice@ward43.org| www.ward43.org
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