3659 S. Halsted | Chicago, IL 60609 | 773.254.6677

January 4, 2026

Dear neighbors, 

2026 marks the 100th year of production for McKinley Park small business Filbert’s Old Fashioned Root Beer! I hope to join them in celebrating as they roll out their special anniversary bottles. Do you have memories or drinking a cold soda at a neighborhood baseball game or returning bottles to the store for some pocket money? I do. I once got a half keg of Filbert’s Root Beer for a party! What a great achievement and historic business. 

The holidays brought some much needed rest and family time after a few very busy months. I was happy to do some cooking and baking for family and friends—cooking is my ‘love language’ and with my older son home for winter break from college, I’ve been making some of his favorites including smoked brisket, chili and seafood boil! What were some of your holiday favorites?

I’d like to wish a very happy 100th Birthday to life long resident, Caroline Garcia! May this year bring you health, happiness and an abundance of joyful moments with those you love. If you have someone in your life who is celebrating a milestone and you’d like to share it with the community, please send us an email at [email protected].

I am concerned with the news that Affordable Care Act health care subsidies will be lapsing for the state and driving up health care costs for many of us throughout the city and county in 2026. I know this will be anxiety-inducing for some of us. The Cook County Health system is anticipating these needs that may arise and remains a welcoming place to receive health care for those who these additional costs may be a financial burden. 

Public Safety

A was issued the day before Christmas for a string of burglary incidents that happened during the month of December. With darker days and longer nights there is more opportunity for thieves to strike, please keep your property well-lit, if you live in an apartment building or a building with multiple units and shared entrances, remember to make sure all the doors are locked behind you and importantly, report all suspicious activity by calling 911. If you have any information or video relevant to the recent burglaries, please contact Area One Detectives at 312-747-8380 or submit an anonymous tip at and use reference # P25-1-128

Be aware of an that mimics text messages from the Illinois Department of Transportation claiming money is owed for traffic tickets and tolls. 

The sentencing date for Alvin Thomas, who was convicted of the February 9, 2020 murder of Huayi Bian and Weizhong Xiong during a robbery attempt in the ward, has been rescheduled from December 18, 2025 to January 5, 2026 at 9:00AM. Our thoughts remain with their family at this time. 

Our office has whistles available for those who want to help alert their neighbors to ICE activity on your block. There were some announcements by the President this week that the National Guard and other troops like ICE would become less focused on Chicago, but the truth is we don’t know what the next moves might be coming up. Thank you again to all our community groups who have stepped up over the past three months to help keep our community safe. 

This Week in City Council

On Dec. 29, the Committee on Budget and Government Operations and the City Council met to button-up final details regarding the budget we passed. These were small changes to the language of the budget but the integrity of the budget language remains unchanged. 

We heard the news this week that there will be no meetings of the Zoning Committee put on the schedule for January 2026, with the current interim/ chair of the Zoning Committee Ald. Bennett Lawson letting the ability to call for scheduled meetings to be put on the calendar lapse. This was due to a delay in the presentation of alternate proposals from the Mayor for who should be the next committee chair. As my colleagues and I had to spearhead getting a final budget proposal past the finish line last month, there may be work we have to do to get this lingering issue resolved, as not having a functioning Zoning Committee quickly becomes a roadblock for a functional city government. 

Upcoming in City Council

Committee on Finance: 1/14/26 at 10AM

Committee on Economic, Capital, and Technology Development: 1/17/26 at 10:30AM

City Council: 1/21/26 at 10AM

Around the Ward 

On January 7, the Department of Planning and Development will hold an informational webinar to educate property owners on small grants up to $250,000 available for commercial, mixed-use and light manufacturing projects as part of the Community Development Grant Program. Register for the webinar . 

For extracurricular activities to add to your student’s areas of interest, the Center for Future Innovators has extensive to sign up for throughout the winter. 

It’s the responsibility of businesses that abut the sidewalk to clear a path free from snow and ice at least 5 feet in width. If you see any businesses that do not have their adjacent area cleared, please let my office know so we can assist or alert them. In a similar area of interest, please sign up to volunteer with the so that we can have more people to deploy to help our elderly and disabled neighbors be able to safely make it around the ward and exit their houses when snow falls -- as we know it will! 

We have 11th Ward 2026 calendars available in the Ward Office, please stop by and grab one and say hi. 

Have a great week, 

Alderwoman Nicole Lee

Wentworth AR Construction Project:

A Street Resurfacing & ADA compliant corners project between Cermak and 24th Pl on Wentworth began in October and will take approximately 3 months to complete.

• Street resurfacing operations will commence once ambient temperatures reach 45 degrees, and it's weather permitting.

Wentworth AR Construction Project:

A Street Resurfacing & ADA compliant corners project between Cermak and 24th Pl on Wentworth began in October and will take approximately 3 months to complete.

• Street resurfacing operations will commence once ambient temperatures reach 45 degrees, and it's weather permitting.

Residential Lighting Improvement Work

The City is improving lighting in the ward: on S Parnell Ave from W 33rd to W 35th St.

The project on S Hillock Ave from 2935 S to S Lock St is completed.

This work, which is part of the Chicago Residential Lighting Improvements program, will involve some limited parking during work hours as crews install new residential lighting poles with piggy back lights and LED Smart Lighting luminaires. The existing light poles will be removed once the new lighting system is functioning properly.

Ongoing Project - Water Main, Sewer Main & Lead Service Line Replacement Project:

Completed: 12/22/2025 - 12/26/2025 (between Halsted & Lowe)

• Completed pipe installation, source connection and testing on Lowe south of Pershing.
• Completed between Emerald and Union (south side)
• Completed between Union and Lowe (south side)
• Completed in Lowe south of Pershing
• Completed for phase 4 (633 W Pershing)

Schedule: 12/29/2025 - 1/2/2026 (Weather Permitting)

Concrete pavement east of Halsted is on hold this week due to the cold weather. Hoping to resume Wednesday. Other than that, no other activities are planned for this week. 

One lane open in each direction (east and west) during construction hours from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Southernmost eastbound lane between Emerald and Lowe is closed 24 HRs due to flushing hydrant setup.

• North side of Pershing from Lowe to Canal - Conflict with ComEd resolved by changing Wm alignment. Expected to start in 1-2 weeks

• North side of Pershing from Stewart to Wentworth - Conflict with ComEd resolved by changing WM alignment. Expected to start in 4 weeks

• South side of Pershing from Emerald to Union - WM installation completed. Testing and disinfection completed. Final connection completed.

• South side of Pershing from Union to Lowe - WM installation complete. Testing and disinfection completed. Final connection delayed due to utility conflict.

• West side of Lowe from Pershing South - WM installation and testing completed.

• No Water Shutdown planned this week.

• North side of Pershing (Halsted to Emerald) - Abandonment at Emerald completed. Abandonment at NEX of Union expected to be completed in mid-January 2026.

• Final Connections and Concrete Cap - Concrete cap between Halsted and Lowe expected this week pending weather

Ongoing Project - Lead Services Line Replacement (LSLR):

• 3000 - 3100 S Union Ave.
• Restoration will start upon all the LSLR projects completion.

Sewer Project

A Sewer Project is estimated to begin in September 2025 between 3500-3900 S Parnell, with work expected to take approximately one year to complete. Access for residents will be maintained throughout the project. Parking may be restricted during the daytime between 7:00 AM - 3:30 PM.



• 35th St & Parnell - a full closure of the intersection and detour of eastbound and westbound 35th St. traffic.
• Once the work at 35^th and Parnell is completed, the contractor will mobilize to 39^th and Parnell and begin installing sewer south to north until they connect to this structure they're installing at 35^th Street.

Sewer Main & Lead Service Line Replacement

Schedule: 12/22/25 – 12/26/25

• DWM will begin mainline sewer installation on W 33^rd St between S Emerald Ave and S union Ave.
• DWM will continue lead service line replacement (LSLR) on S Canal St between W 32^nd St and W 33^rd St.

Road Closures / Traffic Control:

• Throughout next week during working hours, S Canal St will be closed to through traffic from W 32^nd St to W 33^rd St (No Parking Signs have been posted).
• When mainline sewer installation on W 33^rd St between S Emerald Ave and S Union Ave begins, through traffic will not be allowed during working hours (No Parking Signs have been posted).

Schedule: 10/1/2025 - 1/30/2026

Full Closure of 33rd Street at Emerald Ave. for sewer repair.

No parking or traveling during working hours (7 am - 4 pm). Upon completion of the sewer main installation, LSLR replacement will follow.

Most Recent Updates - 12.18.2025.

• Over the past two weeks, Peoples Gas continued site setup activities for the environmental cleanup project at 2730 S. Eleanor Street.
• Recent activities at the site include the completion of fabric screen installation on the fence, the installation of erosion control measures, construction of truck entry/exit pads, the setup and operation of air monitoring equipment and vegetation clearing where needed.
• No construction work will be performed at the site between December 22 and January 4 due to the holidays. Security will continue to be present 24/7 during the no work period, and several staff will be present intermittently in order to operate and maintain monitoring equipment. Work will resume on January 5, 2026.
• At this time, we anticipate that soil excavation and trucking will begin no earlier than January 8.
• As a reminder, if you have questions about this project, please contact the Peoples Gas project number at 877-380-0522.
• We will post a red flag on the fence at the site entrance in the unlikely event that all remediation work on the site is stopped due to on-site, real-time air monitoring readings that remain elevated following implementation of mitigation measures (in accordance with our EPA-approved Air Monitoring and Fugitive Emissions Management Plan). Note that our plan is already designed to prevent air-quality-based health risks to site workers or the public, and the red flag would be posted for visual communication to the community.

11th Ward

School and Parish Information

The 11th Ward office is happy to announce has a free ‘Constituent Education Resource Card’ available to residents wishing to visit select museums and zoos in the Chicagoland area. Constituents can reserve our Constituent Education Resource Card on a first come first serve basis (more instructions below), to visit any of the following museums in 2026:

• Adler Planetarium
• The Art Institute of Chicago
• Brookfield Zoo
• Chicago Botanic Garden
• Chicago Children’s Museum
• Chicago History Museum
• Dusable Museum of African American History
• The Field Museum
• Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center
• Lincoln Park Zoo
• Museum of Contemporary Art
• Museum of Science and Industry
• National Museum of Mexican Art
• National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts & Culture
• Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum
• John G. Shedd Aquarium

Only one group of up to four (4) can reserve the pass at a time. The pass must be picked up and brought back to the 11th Ward Office. Constituents need to call for an appointment to come to the office to pick up the pass before visiting the museums. We recommend calling two business days before your scheduled visit.

It is strongly recommended that families utilizing the card contact the museum they plan to visit to learn if pre-registration is required to visit. 

The office has extended hours on Monday nights until 7:00 p.m., is open on the first Saturday of each month from 9:00am - 12:00 pm, if it's a holiday weekend, the office will

be open the following Saturday and/or Monday.

Alderwoman Lee will be happy to see residents on Monday nights from 5:30 - 7:00 p.m. If you'd like to make an appointment, please call the ward office at 773.254.6677.

11th Ward Office| 3659 South Halsted Chicago, IL 60609 | 773-254-6677