Airbnb Federal Regulation Needed:
Contact Your Congressman
Community Alert
Veterans Day Closure
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Dear Neighbors,
Our Ward won the first ever revocation of a short-term rental license when the City revoked the license of a notorious "party house" on Sedgwick. Activities at this location have plagued neighbors for
over three years. In this six unit building, only one unit was ever officially registered with the City, while 5 other units are completely unregistered.
You can watch an NBC report
here featuring video of party-goers streaming in and out of the location.
In another development,
Vice magazine unearthed an Airbnb scam involving at least one unit in our Ward. Since Airbnb hosts can remain quite anonymous, victims who were defrauded have no remedy. We found that the unit discussed in the story is not registered with the City.
Airbnb and other platforms routinely refuse to remove listings that lack a registration or otherwise violate Chicago's short-term rental ordinance. Airbnb relies on
Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA 230) to claim they are shielded from liability because their listings are "content" produced by third-party users on their platforms.
According to a national
coalition of community groups
, the activities of short-term platforms like Airbnb is causing a reduction in the supply of housing, driving up the cost to rent or own a home and displacing families out of neighborhoods they have called home for generations. As our ward has experienced, the refusal of Airbnb and other platforms to comply with regulation disturbs our rights to enjoy the comfort of our neighborhood.
Congressman Mike Quigley (5th) has joined as a sponsor to the Protecting Local Authority and Neighborhoods Act (PLAN Act) H.R. 4232, which will end the exploitation of CDA 230 by Big Tech platforms like Airbnb and HomeAway
.
The PLAN Act will be a narrow clarification to the CDA 230 language, clarifying that CDA 230 does not shield short-term rental platforms from accountability when they facilitate illegal rental bookings.
Please contact your Congressman at this
website
and urge them to co-sponsor H.R. 4232 to protect our communities.
At my urging, the Committee on Licensing and Consumer Protection is planning hearings on the impact of our current short-term rental ordinance. Please contact
yourvoice@ward43.org if you wish to participate as a witness at this hearing, which will be scheduled in December or January.
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Community Alert - Home Burglaries
The Chicago Police have issued an
alert
about several burglaries that have occurred in our area. In these incidents, offenders have entered apartment through an open or unlocked door or window during daylight hours to snatch items.
The offender is described as an
African American male between 20-25 years of age, 6'00" in height, and 180 lbs.
These burglaries occurred as follows, in late afternoon or evening hours:
- 1700 block of N Clark St. on October 21, 2019 between 7:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
- 1900 block of N Lincoln Park West on October 24, 2019 at 1:30 P.M.
- 1900 block of N Lincoln Park West on October 24, 2019 between 1:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.
- 2200 block of N Kenmore Ave. on October 30, 2019 between 3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
- 800 block of W Armitage Ave. on November 1, 2019 between 9:00 a.m. - 8:30 p.m.
These cases are being actively pursued by police. If you have information about these incidents, or have seen suspicious activity in the area, please call Area Central Detectives at 312-747-8380.
These incidents were crimes of opportunity, with offenders taking advantage of open doors and windows. Police caution us to:
- Make sure your doors, windows, and back gates are locked, garage doors kept closed
- If you see someone unfamiliar in your alley or gangway or any other suspicious activity, call 911 immediately
- Immediately repair any broken windows, doors, or locks
- If video surveillance is available, save and make a copy of the incident for investigating detectives
A special thanks to the neighbors who alerted 911 in these cases and are working with police. Together, we can continue to fight crime in our community.
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Save Your Yard Waste
and the City Will Compost It
Free Yard Waste Pick Up
Through November
Please don't sweep your leaves in the street! Leaves that are in the street are contaminated because they are mixed with "street debris," like bottles and glass, oil, and road salt. BUT if you collect your yard waste and put it in separate bags, the city gives the waste to the County and turns it into compost. This is great for the environment and saves the City money.
If you'd like your yard waste picked up, please just
call 311 to request separate bagged yard waste collection service throughout the season, which runs through November.
You can also submit your request using the
CHI 311
App.
Let's increase our recycling rate and keep our yard waste out of the gutter!
Yard waste should be bagged separately and left in the alley or at the curb, outside of black garbage carts and blue recycling carts for pickup. Yard waste and other debris should not be thrown into the blue recycling cart, as it contaminates the recycling stream.
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Webster Ave Bridge:
Daily Closures for Repairs
October 28 - November 25
- The Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) is planning structural steel repairs to the Webster Ave. bridge that will require daily closures Monday through Friday between 9:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.
Both sidewalks will remain open to pedestrian and bicycle traffic. Eastbound traffic will be diverted north on Ashland Avenue to Fullerton Avenue. Westbound traffic will be diverted north on Racine Avenue to Fullerton Avenue. Please see the map below.
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18th District Formal-Wear Donation Request
Through November 15
The 18th District community policing office (CAPS) is collecting new and gently used formal gowns and suits/tuxedos, shoes, and accessories for their youth explorers girls and boys ages 14-18 for their
Youth Leaders Awards Ceremony.
Please bring all donations to the 18th District CAPS office located at 1160 N. Larrabee Ave. 312-742-5778, in the attention of Officer Stovall.
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19th District Coat Drive
Through November 26
The 19th District is having a coat drive and collecting coats through the week of Thanksgiving. Coats will be distributed the first week of December to persons experiencing homelessness in the 19th District. Please feel free to drop off coats at the 19th District, or at the 43rd ward office. If you have any questions, please contact the community policing office at
caps.019district@chicagopolice.org, or at 312-744-0064.
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Police Community Conversations
19th District
Tonight
Thursday, November 7
6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
929 W. Buena Ave
Community Conversations are designed to engage in active discussion with community members about improving police/community relations. For questions, call 312-744-0064, or email at
caps.019district@chicagopolice.org
.
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Prescription Take Back Event
Saturday, November 9
9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Office of State Rep Feigenholtz
3223 N. Sheffield
Drop off your unwanted or expired prescription drugs for proper disposal at State Representative Feigenholtz's office. Be sure to scratch off or remove any identifying information from containers. If you are driving, you can pull up in front of the office and use your hazards for quick drop-off. If you have any questions, please call 773-296-4141.
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Wrightwood Neighbors: Annual CPS Principals Forum
Monday, November 11
5:30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
New Life Church
1100 W. Lill St.
Join the Wrightwood Neighbors at their annual CPS Principals Forum. Meet Local Principals from our neighborhood's highly rated CPS Schools including: Agassiz Elementary, Alcott Elementary, Oscar Mayer Elementary and Lincoln Park High School.
Understand
the Chicago Public School admissions process and learn about each school's excellent and unique curriculum.
Food is complimentary from the proceeds from Taste of Lincoln Avenue, the generosity of Local Businesses and Wrightwood Neighbors Association. FREE to attend, join us if you are at or considering these neighborhood schools.
Please note the meeting will be followed by its regularly scheduled CAPS meeting for beat 1932 beginning at 7 p.m.
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Dementia Conversations
Tuesday, November 12
5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Belmont Village Senior Living
700 W. Fullerton Ave.
When someone you know shows signs of dementia, it’s time to talk. Join Belmont Village and presenter, Robin Simon with the Alzheimer’s Association Illinois Chapter. They will discuss tips on how to have honest and caring conversations with family members about going to the doctor, deciding when to stop driving and making legal and financial plans.
A Q&A will follow the presentation. Dinner and drinks will be served.
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DePaul Tree Lighting Ceremony
Wednesday, November 13
4:30 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
St. Vincent's Circle
(DePaul Quad)
2325 N. Seminary
DePaul alumni and Lincoln Park community members are welcomed to attend the 2nd Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony on DePaul’s Lincoln Park campus. Join us as we kick of the holiday season for a night of family fun with inflatables, games, and the annual lighting of the DePaul holiday tree.
If you have any questions contact Alumni Relations at (773) 325-8390, or Community & Government Relations at (312)362-8100.
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DePaul University School of Music
Through November
November is brimming with many concerts at the DePaul School of Music.the Holtschneider Performance Center for a concert soon. Check out their
calendar of events for this month.
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Veterans Day Closure and
New Office Hours
Our Office will be closed on Monday, November 11, in observance of Veterans Day. We will reopen on Tuesday, with our regular business hours.
We are also announcing our new office hours, which will be Monday - Friday from 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. Ward Night will be every 1st Monday of each month from 5 - 7 p.m., excluding holidays, in which we will find an alternate date.
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