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Dear Neighbors,
Thank you to everyone who donated school supplies as part of our back-to-school supply drive! Classes resume on Monday, August 24 for Chicago Public Schools (CPS), please be mindful of school‑zone parking restrictions and higher levels of pedestrian activity and traffic expected around arrival and dismissal times.
This week, we welcomed a new Wintrust Bank to the neighborhood. As part of their grand opening in Lakeview, they're offering a handful of limited-time offers for both residents and local businesses.
 
The next 19th Police District Council is Wednesday, August 26 at 6:30 p.m. at Uptown Church (1134 W. Wilson). The meeting will focus on the search for Chicago's new Superintendent. There will be an opportunity for residents to share what qualities and priorities they want to see in the next leader of the Chicago Police Department. For more information or to access their YouTube livestream, click here.
  
We are heading into a busy weekend with several events happening throughout the Ward!
Lakeview Taco Fest returns to Southport featuring more than a dozen taco vendors. This festival includes live music stages, daily Lucha Libre performances, and children’s activities throughout the weekend. For more information on musical performances and taco vendors, click here.
Join us at 9 a.m. on Saturday before Taco Fest begins for our annual Kids Bike Parade. Thanks to the Taco Fest street closures, we will ride from Newport to Addison and back. Helmets are required, and decorated bikes are always welcome.
The final Dine Out on Broadway of the season is also this weekend. There will be live musical performances on Friday and Sunday, a comedy show co‑hosted with the Laugh Factory on Saturday, and free face painting and balloon art. Click here for additional information and to view a list of participating restaurants.
 
Barcocina is hosting their annual Vintage Sip & Shop street festival this Sunday, August 23 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.. George Street will be shut down and filled with vendors, live music, food, and drinks. For more information, click here.
Additionally, Central Lake View Neighbors (CLVN) will be at Hawthorne for their rain date showing of GOAT on August 23. The movie will begin at dusk.
 
Finally, please save the date for two upcoming neighborhood group events. On September 19, the Southport Neighbors Association (SNA) will host their 4th annual SNA Yard Sale. If you live within the SNA boundaries and are interested in registering your home as a seller, please click here. East Lake View Neighbors will host their 26th annual Oktoberfest on September 26th at Murphy's Bleachers featuring live music, beer, German food, and a silent auction. For more information and tickets, click here.
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Have a great weekend,
Alderman Bennett Lawson
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Upcoming Resurfacing
Streets:
The summer street resurfacing schedule is now complete. We are waiting for updates on the fall schedule from CDOT. We hope to have more information by late-August.
Alleys:
Wellington, Broadway, and Oakdale:
As part of the Chicago Department of Transportation’s Capital Alley Program, the North/South and East/West section of the alley bordered between Clark, Wellington, Broadway and Oakdale will be undergoing reconstruction for much needed alley improvements.
The schedule for this project is below. Please note that all dates are tentative due to any weather delays that may occur.
Phase-1 (East/West Leg):
- Sawcut/Removal – 08/17 to 08/21
- Frame/Stone/Pour – 08/24 to 09/02
- Cleanup/Open Alley – 09/03 to 09/04
Phase-2 (North/South Leg):
- Sawcut/Removal – 09/07 to 09/11
- Frame/Stone/Pour – 09/14 to 09/23
- Cleanup/Open Alley – 09/24 to 09/25
If you have any questions on this alley resurfacing, please reach out to our office for more details.
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Wellington/Oakdale Greenway
The Greenway should be completed sometime in the next week!
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Divvy Bikes & E-Scooters
We are excited to share that we now have a total of 26 E-Scooter & Divvy Bike docking stations in the 44th Ward!
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Divvy for Everyone Program
The Divvy for Everyone Program provides a full year of bikeshare access for just $5 for income-qualified residents.
To learn more about this program, click here.
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Reporting Scooter & Divvy Bike Removals
If you see Divvy Bikes or E-Scooters that are not properly returned to a docking station, please report this to 311 here. By contract, shared bike and scooter companies must remove their property within two hours of a 311 removal request. We appreciate your assistance in helping keep our neighborhood clean.
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Chi Street Work Portal
Have questions about street work happening in your area?
The Department of Transportation has a tool called the Chi Street Work Portal where you can input an address and see all surrounding permits for projects on that street.
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Garbage & Recycling
The next recycling pick-up for the 44th Ward is the week of August 31. You can find your full garbage and recycling pick up schedule here.
Recycling information is now also available through Chicago's Recycle Coach App. To learn more about the app, click here.
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To submit a small business for our weekly shoutout, please complete the form here.
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19th District Weekly Report:
August 10- August 16
My office is in regular contact with the 19th Police District about crimes that have occurred recently in our area and that are reflected in the statistics below. The majority of 19th District crimes have occurred outside of our ward. The 19th District also includes the surrounding neighborhoods of Uptown, Lincoln Park, Roscoe Village, Bricktown, Ravenswood, and Lincoln Square.
Please view our website's public safety page here for both proactive measures to stay safe before crimes occur, and also how to respond in the event of a crime. In order to stay safe, please find the the full list of CPD's safety tips here, as well as tips for personal safety, robberies, and vehicles.
Below you'll find Week 33's CompStat breakdown of crime in the 19th District.
Please note, these statistics are a reflection of the entire 19th District. The boundaries are from Lawrence Ave to Fullerton Ave, from the Chicago River to the Lake.
Here are the key points:
- Year to Date, Robberies are down 43%, and compared to the same 28-day time period in 2025 are down 44%
- Year to Date, Aggravated Battery is up 6%, and compared to the same 28-day time period in 2025 is up 12%
- Year to Date, Burglaries are down 46%, and compared to the same 28-day time period in 2025 they're down 69%
- Year to Date, Thefts are up 1%, and compared to the same 28-day time period in 2025 they're down 34%
- Year to Date, Motor Vehicle Thefts are up 25%, and compared to the same 28-day time period in 2025 they're up 107%
For a list of crime definitions, please see CPD's website here.
See full report below:
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Upcoming Meetings
Community Meetings With CPD (‘Beat Meetings’):
Beat meetings are part of the Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy (CAPS) and are an opportunity to speak directly with CPD officers about your neighborhood. The officers review incidents that have occurred as well as an overview of crime statistics. Find your beat here and view the beat meeting schedule below or in our ward calendar.
19th Police District Council
The 19th Police District Council holds monthly meetings. To view all upcoming meetings, you can visit the 19th Police District Council website here.
The next meeting is:
Wednesday, August 26th 6:30 p.m.
Topic: Superintendent Search
Uptown Church
1134 W. Wilson Ave.
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CPD Superintendent Search
Following the retirement of Superintendent Larry Snelling, the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability (CCPSA) has begun the process of identifying candidates to serve as the next Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department. The Commission is conducting a 120‑day nationwide search and will recommend three finalists to the Mayor.
Community Input Opportunities:
- Complete the CCPSA Community Input Form to share what qualities and priorities you want to see in the next Superintendent.
- Attend an upcoming listening session. The Municipal Code requires the Commission to hold at least four public hearings across the city—on the North Side, South Side, and West Side
—to gather recommendations from Chicagoans before selecting candidates.
Upcoming Listening Sessions:
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To learn more about this process, please visit CCPSA's webpage dedicated to the Superintendent search.
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Other Public Safety Alerts
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Charity Scam Alert:
The Chicago Police Department has seen an increase of "charity scams" in the area. In these cases, scammers utilize emotional pressure and fake urgency to persuade you to donate for a cause such as youth sports or gun violence victims. These individuals will offer to set up a small donation on your phone, but then take thousands of dollars.
It is important to never hand your phone to someone you don't know. If you believe that you are witnessing concerning behavior, call 911.
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Mental Health Response Resources
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If someone is in a mental health crisis, NAMI, Thresholds, and Trilogy provide resources and mobile crisis response in which a mental health professional can be dispatched.
This can be done instead of, or in conjunction with calling 911. If calling 911, you can ask for a CIT officer to be dispatched as they have additional mental health response training.
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LAKEVIEW TACO FEST
- AUGUST 21-23
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SOUTHPORT KIDS BIKE PARADE - AUGUST 22
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DINE OUT ON BROADWAY -
AUGUST 21-23
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WINE DOWN AT GALLAGHER WAY
- AUGUST 22
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CLVN MOVIE NIGHTS, GOAT - AUGUST 23
Rain date from 6/5
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VINTAGE SIP & SHOP - AUGUST 23
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ART IN THE GARDEN
- AUG. 25
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NEIGHBOR NIGHT AT WRIGLEY FIELD - AUG. 25
Tickets HERE
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TUBMAN FUNDRAISER AT JENI'S
- AUG. 26
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WOOGMS LABOR DAY PARADE - SEPT. 7
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DESTIGMATIZING DEMENTIA
- SEPT. 9
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SENIOR PICNIC
- SEPT. 10
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SNA YARD SALE - SEPT. 19
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RACE TO WRIGLEY - SEPT. 20
Register HERE by noon on 9/19
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ELVN OKTOBERFEST - SEPT. 26
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Merlo Library - Upcoming Programs
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Merlo Library (644 W Belmont) has a wide range of events each week for babies, kids, teens, and adults.
Click here to view all of Merlo's upcoming events, and see below for events this coming week.
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Click here for a full list of Chicago farmers markets.
Wrigleyville Night Market at Gallagher Way
The Night Market at Gallagher Way is back on select Thursdays from 4-8pm in July and August. To view the full schedule, click here.
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Nourishing Hope (3945 N Sheridan), formerly known as Lakeview Pantry, is a robust Chicago nonprofit providing food, mental wellness counseling and other social services, such as job and housing assistance, to our neighbors in need.
To learn more about their programs, click here.
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Deliver fresh groceries to your neighbors!
- Sign up for a Home Delivery Driving shift with Nourishing Hope to deliver 8-10 orders. Driving shifts begin at their Hub warehouse at 5151 N. Ravenswood at 10:30am.
- You can learn more and register for shifts here.
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Donation Pages & Volunteer Opportunities
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TUBMAN PLAYGROUND
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CHICAGO ANIMAL CARE & CONTROL
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CLEAR THE SHELTERS - 8/1-8/31
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PARK DISTRICT PARTICIPATORY BUDGETING
(voting open from 7/27-8/27)
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Voting is now live for the Park District's Participatory Budgeting. Community members have the opportunity to help determine how $500,000 in capital improvement funding will be invested in parks across Chicago by ranking the project categories in order of preference. All community members ages 13 and older are encouraged to participate.
Click here to cast your ballot.
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MAKE YOUR BUILDING
BIRD-FRIENDLY
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CCPSA District Councilor Information Sesstions
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The City is Hiring
Looking for a job? Try working for the City! Click here to see the full list of job openings currently seeking applicants.
Local government employment opportunities:
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