Public Safety
On October 1st, two home burglaries occurred on the 1800 block of N Lincoln Park West. The first incident remains under investigation by Area Three Detectives, while the offender in the second incident has been apprehended. If anyone on the 1800 block of N Lincoln Park West or the immediate vicinity has any information regarding these incidents, please file an anonymous tip here (reference JK433908 and JK434966) or call Area 3 Detectives at 312-744-8263. We will keep the community updated as CPD releases more information.
City Council Approves Revised Parking Meter Deal
This week, City Council voted 46-3 to approve the transfer of Chicago’s parking meter concession to Stonepeak Partners. As part of the transfer, the City negotiated new terms including a $75 million upfront payment earmarked for the city’s pension obligations, 5% of annual net income going forward, a 2% fee on any future sale, and requiring Stonepeak to fully divest Omni Air International, an airline used for federal deportation flights. An agreement to sell Omni was reached this week, with the sale expected to close following regulatory approval.
The 2008 parking meter deal was one of the worst deals in Chicago’s history. While we cannot undo that mistake, I am proud that this week’s agreement helps reduce the damage by securing considerable benefits for Chicago going forward. Block Club Chicago has a helpful breakdown of what the agreement means for the City and what changes under the new ownership.
A Saturday of Community Action
Thank you to everyone who joined us for two important community events this past Saturday! We started at 1111 W. Diversey, where neighbors pushed back on ComEd’s proposed electrical substation and demanded greater scrutiny of the proposal and alternative sites. Later, I joined Wrightwood Neighbors Association to celebrate improvements at Jonquil Park, including new playground turf, upgraded lighting, a new baseball backstop, and improved sod and drainage.
If you haven’t already, you can submit a public comment on ComEd’s proposal to the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) here. Due to a system error on the ICC's e-Docket platform, an unknown number of public comments were prevented from being recorded. In response, the Diversey Community Coalition is asking anyone who submitted a comment in the last two weeks to resubmit, with a goal of reaching 1,000 comments by October 15.
Free Bike & Scooter Helmets Available at Our Office
Following meetings our office initiated with Lime to push for increased scooter safety, Lime has provided us with 50 free helmets to distribute to neighbors. Helmets are available first-come, first-served at the ward office during regular hours.
Our office continues to push for stronger bike and scooter safety measures, including keeping scooters off sidewalks and expanding restricted drop-off areas to prevent scooters from blocking the public way. You can also report improperly parked bikes and scooters through 311 or flag recurring problem locations directly with our office. These reports help identify problem areas and target enforcement where it’s needed most.
St. James Lutheran School Visits the 43rd Ward Office
Today, we had some very special visitors at our office: a kindergarten class from St. James Lutheran School! The students are working on a project about city planning and came prepared with some great questions about how Chicago works, what an alderperson does, and how decisions are made in our neighborhoods.
