Chicago’s 50th Ward Newsletter

December 31, 2025

Dear Neighbor,

As another busy year comes to a close, it is my hope that this newsletter reaches you and your family during a happy and healthy holiday season. I am deeply grateful to have the opportunity to serve you as Alderman of the 50th Ward, and I would like to wish you all a wonderful New Year!

The last year brought many challenges for our city, but also opportunities for us to come together. Hate crimes against our Jewish and Muslim neighbors remain high, and we witnessed attacks against Latino and immigrant communities. Despite this, we saw residents joining together to support vulnerable communities and help those in need. I am awed by the resilience of the 50th Ward and proud of the caring and kindness shown by local residents.

As always, my priority remains focused on improving the quality of life for residents of the 50th Ward. I will continue to work hard on your behalf to give you all the neighborhood you deserve. There is much more work to be done in the coming year, and I remain committed to working with you to enhance our community.

I would like to take this opportunity to recap some of the important events that have happened this year in the 50th Ward. My focus this year has been on making vital improvements to our neighborhood that will make it safer, more beautiful, and more attractive to businesses and families.

Protecting Our Immigrant Communities

The 50th Ward is one of the most diverse neighborhoods in Chicago, and our communities are under increasing danger. We all came together to protect our immigrant neighbors from ICE and from unlawful acts by federal agents. The 50th Ward hosted Know Your Rights events, publicized community alerts, built a digital resource portal for immigrants, and distributed solidarity signs to keep all of our neighbors safe.

Standing Up to Antisemitism

Anti-Jewish hate took center stage at City Hall after I called for public hearings in response to a shocking 58% increase in antisemitic hate crimes in Chicago. We heard from hate crime victims from across the city sharing their experiences and recommendations for making Chicago safer for everyone. I also led city leadership on tours of both the Illinois Holocaust Museum and the Nova Exhibition to make sure they are equipped to keep our diverse communities safe.

For more information on how the City of Chicago can act to keep the Jewish community safe, please see the editorial I wrote for the Chicago Tribune, in partnership with mainstream Jewish organizations:

Rebuilding the Indian Boundary Playground

After years of planning, we are finally moving ahead with rebuilding the Indian Boundary Playground. I held multiple public meetings, together with the Chicago Park District and community members, to develop a brand new playground that will delight local families for decades to come.

Indian Boundary is a local neighborhood gem, and I was very pleased to be able to work with so many members of the 50th Ward to redesign this community anchor.

Improving Our Local Schools

I worked with our local principals and school communities to make sure 50th Ward children have world class public and private schools. Improvements in 2025 included a beautiful new Nature Play Space at Stone Academy and important traffic safety infrastructure near Jamieson Elementary.

Thank you to all of our local teachers and parents for caring so deeply for the education and well being of our 50th Ward students and schools!

Investing in Our Community

In 2025, I coordinated with the city to resurface dozens of residential and arterial streets. Many more streets also received new, pedestrian-friendly piggyback streetlights. I also used my funding to sponsor several pieces of public artwork that make our community more beautiful and enhance the vibrancy of our commercial districts.

These much needed improvements are making our community safer and a better place to live. I encourage everyone to keep supporting our local businesses and to always shop local!

50th Ward Community Events

My favorite part of serving as Alderman is all the community events I get to hold where I can interact with all the wonderful residents of the 50th Ward. And we held a lot of events in 2025!

Outdoor Office & Ice Cream Socials - I held community get togethers across the neighborhood this summer, where I got the opportunity to meet with hundreds of residents of the 50th Ward. It was wonderful to meet so many of you in our neighborhood parks and gathering spaces to brainstorm together on new ways to improve the community.

Movie in the Park - Hundreds of people joined me for the annual 50th Ward Movie in the Park celebration at Chippewa Park. The community enjoyed the free pizza, ice cream, airbrushing, balloon twisters, glow sticks, and a screening of The Wild Robot.

Back to School Fair - The annual 50th Ward Back to School Fair was again at Indian Boundary this year. We distributed hundreds of backpacks stuffed with school supplies to children from throughout the neighborhood.

Job Fair - Dozens of employers came to the neighborhood for the 50th Ward Job Fair this year, seeking qualified workers in a wide range of fields. Thank you to our state partners and to the Illinois Department of Employment Security for helping me organize this important event.

Property Tax Appeal Workshops - High property taxes put a tremendous burden on local families. To help, we hosted multiple property tax appeal workshops with county representatives to make sure you pay only your fair share in taxes.

Shredding and Electronics Recycling - We once again partnered with the West Ridge Chamber of Commerce to offer free paper shredding, electronics recycling, and medicine disposal to 50th Ward residents and businesses this year.

Service Requests Completed

I am available every day of the year to help you with your needs. From pothole patching to sewer cleaning to rodent baiting, my office helped complete thousands of city service requests this year:

My office is always available to help with any needed repairs or service requests. Please contact us if there is any way we can help.

Have a Happy New Year!

I am proud of the way our community came together in 2025. We stood up to support our neighbors and to take a stand against hate of all kinds. I would like to thank all of you for showing such tremendous dedication to our neighborhood and our community.

You are all doing a fantastic job, but there is more work to be done in the coming year. Please contact my office to report any City Service requests or other ways we can help you improve our neighborhood. It is a pleasure to serve you, and I am looking forward to continuing to make the 50th Ward a great place to live.

I would be remiss if I did not thank my outstanding staff, Marlene Raddatz, Yisrael Shapiro, Carly Podbielski, and Keith Sokolowski, as well as my Ward Superintendent Nabil Aldugom, who work tirelessly on behalf of the 50th Ward.

As the year comes to a close, I would like to wish you all a happy holiday season! I hope you were able to spend time with the people you love.

Have a very happy New Year!

Sincerely,

Debra L. Silverstein

Alderman, 50th Ward