1st Ward Newsletter | August 25, 2026
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Hi neighbors,
Congratulations to all of our teachers, staff, administrators, parents, and students on your first day of school! To any three or four year-olds reading this, congratulations to you as well on your Tuesday Pre-K start as well :) Today, my family starts what will be a fifteen year CPS journey, as my oldest daughter starts Pre-K herself. I almost wish my anxiety was grounded in how she’s going to adapt to this new environment; I’m anxious about a CPS budget grounded in a $150m assumption of state funds that are highly unlikely. The city will almost certainly be in a position where we have to bail out the CPS budget midyear, most likely through a substantial TIF surplus. This isn’t a structural solution for either the city or CPS, but I’m not going to watch our kids suffer the consequences.
In much happier news, Meet Me on Milwaukee returns this Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.! Join us in collaboration with the Wicker Park/Bucktown Chamber of Commerce as we open up the whole street to your feet, bikes, strollers, and skateboards, and open up our sidewalks to everything our wonderful businesses have to offer. We’re so excited to see you and just as excited that the weather is holding up!
Finally, I’m looking forward to seeing you tomorrow for our second Meet Your Electeds event, this time at Bungalow by Middle Brow (2840 W. Armitage) from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. Rep. Will Guzzardi, Senator Graciela Guzman, Cook County Commissioner Jessica Vasquez and I will all be there for conversations about our various levels of government. I want to be clear that this is not a political event; the goal is free-flowing non-partisan dialogue about our community and our work.
Looking forward to all of our opportunities to connect this week!
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Alderman La Spata
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In this week's newsletter, you'll find:
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The first Meet Me on Milwaukee of 2026 is THIS weekend! We're seeking volunteers to sign-up for 3-hour shifts on each event day. Volunteers will be responsible for setting up barricades, guarding intersections, redirecting drivers, providing information to attendees, disposing of litter, and more. Please help make MMoM 2026 a success by registering below!
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Join Ald. La Spata, State Rep. Lilian Jimenez, State Sen. Omar Aquino, and a plethora of service organizations including healthcare providers tomorrow between 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Ukrainian Cultural Center (2247 W. Chicago). Light refreshments will be provided. Register here.
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Swing by Bungalow by Middle Brow tomorrow between 4-6 p.m. for an evening with your local elected officials, including Ald. La Spata, State Representative Will Guzzardi (39th District), Cook County Commissioner Jessica Vasquez (8th District), and State Senator Graciela Guzman (20th District). Stop by to say hi, meet your neighbors, and grab a bite to eat. Register here!
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Neighbors in Wicker Park and East Villager are organizing a neighborhood-wide yard sale in September. If you're interested in participating, sign up here! To see where yard sales will be taking place, check out the map here!
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The City of Chicago is holding three community engagement meetings focusing on developing a proactive rental inspection program. Conversations will help inform further efforts for proactive rental inspections in Chicago.
Learn more about proactive rental inspections and how the City of Chicago can address poor and unsafe housing conditions. Please RSVP as soon as possible, and we hope to see you there!
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The Office of Emergency Management & Communications (OEMC) invites residents to register for the Community Engagement Response Team (CERT) training program beginning on September 15th.
CERT members train for a minimum 27 hours of classroom and 3 hours hands-on practical skills in the following areas before becoming a registered volunteer:
- Disaster preparedness
- Fire safety & utility control
- Disaster psychology
- Terrorism response
- Disaster medical operations
Upon completion of the class, participants have the option to become a Chicago Citizen Corps CERT volunteer and assist professional emergency services in various deployments. Register here.
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New Community Review Updates
- FEEDBACK WANTED! 2525 N Milwaukee: Property owner proposes adaptive reuse of existing vacant building (former Single Room Occupancy residence) for 30 residential dwelling units and 2 ground floor commercial units. A 1st Ward First Look meeting will take place Sept. 1 (RSVP here). In the interim, you can review conceptual plans and provide feedback.
- Awaiting intake packet – 2431 W Fullerton: A potential developer reached out for details about a zoning change on this property. The 1st Ward Office discussed previous zoning change and feedback, provided developer intake packet, and awaits more information. As of August 2026, it is expected that this property is under contract, and the 1st Ward Office is awaiting completed developer's packet.
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Virtual 1st Ward First Look – Monday, September 14 (6pm) RSVP
- 2525 N Milwaukee: Property owner proposes adaptive reuse of existing vacant building (former Single Room Occupancy residence) for 30 residential dwelling units and 2 ground floor commercial units.
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