Dear Neighbors,
2021 was an incredibly challenging year, starting with the national shock of having our Presidential election challenged and our Capitol attacked, and closing with the pandemic not yet contained and widespread fears of violence.
We should remain committed to our country and our city, starting by standing up for our neighbors and working to make sure our city and country support the desires of every American to have a better life.
This is a look back at what we accomplished together last year.
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COVID-19 Vaccine Response |
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In 2021, due to the hard work of scientists, vaccines became the main tool in the fight against COVID-19.
We had aimed to make Lincoln Park and the Gold Coast the highest percentage population vaccinated in the City. While we are still short of that title, we will continue to make vaccines widely available to all.
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On April 22nd, 2021, we held our first vaccine clinic with my colleagues Alderman Brian Hopkins (2), Alderman Walter Burnett (27), and Alderman Brendan Reilly (42) at the old Treasure Island site in Old Town. (above). Jewel-Osco graciously provided the vaccines and nearly 3,000 Chicagoans were vaccinated!
On May 15th, 2021, after the approval of the vaccine for 12-16-year-olds, Francis Parker and local vaccinator Instavaxx hosted a clinic for over 1,000 people. This clinic was one of the first in Chicago to vaccinate teens (left).
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LaSalle Language Academy became one of the first schools in the city to vaccinate children under 12 (right). Over the Veteran's Day weekend, Lincoln Elementary and Francis Parker also hosted vaccine clinics for kids aged 5 and up!
In December, we hosted another vaccine clinic with our friends at Steppenwolf Theatre for all ages.
Finally, almost every weekend this summer, Instavaxx, and our local Farmers Markets partnered to provide vaccines to whoever needed them! As we see cases rise, we encourage all to get boosters and, if you haven't, the initial two doses.
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Parents, teachers, and neighbors of Oscar Mayer school gathered to celebrate plans for a new $1.5 million playground and play surfaces. We are proud that every school in our Ward has received a new playground and field in the last ten years. See the plans here!
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- Our long-sought $2 million new practice field for Lincoln Park High School at Diversey opened. Stay tuned for more details for additional enhancements.
- Chicago Public Schools opened a new Pre-K branch for Alcott Elementary at 610 W Schubert, opening up more free pre-school for 4-year-old children in our area.
- In June, the Old Town Art Fair was the first major street festival in the City to return, with an incredibly successful fair (left).
- The Dearborn Garden Walk, Taste of Lincoln Avenue, and the Wells Street Art Fair kept us busy this summer and reminded us what great work our neighborhood organizations do.
- Our neighborhood properly recycled electronics and shredded 10,000 pounds of paper at our shredding event. Thank you to our sponsors R4 Services and NTES Recycling.
- We were happy to see 18 block parties. We look forward to joining them again next year!
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- Alderman Scott Waguespack (32) and I became outspoken advocates to solve the lifeguard abuse scandal at the Chicago Park District. We called on both Superintendent Mike Kelly and Chair of the Board Avis Lavelle to resign. This eventually occurred. I have renewed faith that new leadership at the Chicago Park District will work to keep our young employees at the Park District safe.
- We protected Chicago's newly passed ethics legislation from Springfield's dilution. This further solidified that all lobbying by elected officials to the City of Chicago is banned AND that our Inspector General has authority to investigate City Council.
- We successfully fought proposed legislation to make it difficult to establish House museums. We have six of these cultural treasures in our Ward: The Museum of Surgical Science (Lake Shore Drive), the Graham Foundation (Burton Street), the Old Town Art Center, Wrightwood 659 art gallery, Charnley-Persky House (Astor Street), Roger Brown Study Collection (Halsted Street).
- We continued to modernize the government by moving all processes for signs and other items in the public right of way to online methods.
- Our City Budget fully funded our police, retired an emergency "scoop and toss" financing from last year, and provided millions of dollars to needed aid for families, mental health, education, and business.
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We worked throughout 2021 to keep you informed and to bring more police resources to our community. Here are a few examples of our community's actions on public safety:
- 2 Virtual "Public Safety Forum" in February and August.
- 3 "Walk and Talks" with the police and neighbors at Oz Park, the Gold Coast, and the Old Town Triangle.
- 7 public safety walks with neighbors to walk on blocks that had armed robberies or vehicular hijackings. These will continue into the new year.
- 43rd Ward "menu" funds bought 8 license plate reader cameras, 2 OEMC 360 cameras, and 1 PTZ (pan, tilt, zoom) camera in Old Town, the Gold Coast, and Lincoln Park.
- A Vehicular Hijacking taskforce prioritized resources towards this persistent crime in Chicago law enforcement resources from federal, state, county, and city partners.
- The "WhistleStop" campaign helps neighbors know when something suspicious is occurring.
- Residents sent in 1000 postcards to our elected officials seeking more action against violent offenders.
- City Council approved a significantly revised version of civilian involvement in police oversight in response to my concerns. As a result, a new civilian oversight commission will have a strong voice and oversight, but not power, over internal police decisions, which will remain with the Mayor.
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At the beginning of December, we shared a comprehensive update on public safety. You can read the report here. We hope you'll join us in 2022 as we continue our Walk and Talks in all our neighborhood organizations and at our soon-to-be-announced Public Safety Forum. |
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New Businesses & Business Support |
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The local business community continued to show resilience in 2021, and we - together with the Lincoln Park Chamber of Commerce - worked hard to promote local businesses during events such as the Summer Sundaes program, Savor Lincoln Park, and sidewalk sales.
And thanks to the Chamber for publishing the first-ever dining/shopping map of the Armitage/Halsted Area!
Despite the ongoing pandemic, our office helped welcome over 100 new businesses to the ward - surpassing the number of new businesses in 2020. We worked to ensure all permitting, licensing, and operations were in order, and are proud to see our local business community expanding - a true sign of faith in our community and city.
Some of the businesses that opened this year are:
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Infrastructure & Capital Improvements |
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Streets Resurfaced
- 1-40 E Banks (above)
- 10 E Scott
- 1200 W Belden
- 1700 N Sedgwick
- 1800 through 2000 N Orchard
- North Pkwy Cul De Sac
- 2100 - 2200 N Seminary
- W Schiller from N LSD to N State, 0-60E Schiller
Inner Lake Shore Drive Bus Stops
- Additional Fencing and Plexiglas
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Alleys Resurfaced
- 2515 N Seminary
- 932 - 950 W Willow
- 950 W Armitage
- St Michaels, 447 W Eugenie Adjacent Alley
- 500 block Drummond (above)
Curb and Gutter projects to correct curbs and reduce street flooding
- 400 W Deming
- 1200 W Draper
- Sedwick and Wisconsin
- 800 W Webster
Eleven sidewalk replacement projects
- 2200-2300 N Clifton
- 600 W Drummond
- Kemper Place
New Street Lights
- West Roslyn Place
- 2100 N Clifton
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2600-2800 N Dayton Green Alley Before and After |
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The Cul-de-sac on North Ave was also redesigned and resurfaced to decrease flooding of footpaths and provide new surfaces. It also increased beautification and the landscaping maintained by nearby residents. |
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The Ward saw tremendous efforts from the various City departments in addressing thousands of service requests through 311.
Such as:
- 1,613 Graffiti Removals
- 562 Potholes Filled
- 713 Rodent Baiting Services
- 80 Sewer Cleanings
- 155 Public Way Inspections
- 78 Trees Planted
- 91 Tree Removals
- 58 Tree Trims
- 377 Garbage Cart Maintenance Requests (New or replacement bins)
- 243 Blue Recycling Cart Requests (new or replacement bins)
Many, many thanks to our excellent Ward Superintendent, Marty Casey, for responding to neighbors' issues in such a prompt and professional manner.
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In the 2022 budget, we have doubled the investment in the Bureau of Forestry's crews which are assigned with trimming, removing, planting, and assessing trees in Chicago.
For nearly a decade, they have been operating with 11 crews to try to handle tree trim requests in the city.
In 2022, that number will increase to 30 crews. Forestry will also be moving back to a grid, or block-by-block, system from the complaint-based program they had been operating under for several years. This has widely been lauded as a more effective way to approach forestry in a city of this size.
This change will mean that tree trim requests are fulfilled in a more timely and effective manner.
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We lost singer-songwriter John Prine to COVID-19 in the early days of the pandemic. John taught at the Old Town School of Folk Music in the 1960s and was "discovered" performing in a folk club on Armitage Avenue. We and fans honored this legend with an honorary street sign at Armitage and Dayton. |
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Long-time neighborhood resident, property owner, owner of Armitage Hardware, and hero to Irish youth seeking to work in Chicago, Dan O'Donnell passed away. We named "his" corner at Armitage and Bissell in his honor with his family and hundreds of his friends. |
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Here's to a 2022 filled with progress, togetherness and love of our community. |
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