3659 S. Halsted | Chicago, IL 60609 | 773.254.6677

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July 19, 2026 

Dear neighbors, 

With this unprecedented air quality, I hope you had a safe weekend. Thank you to all our ward Chicago Park District staff and park superintendents, who were running indoor programming on the fly during the smoke to keep everyone healthy. And to all of the City workers who continued to work to provide vital services to our residents – THANK YOU! I checked in with Streets & Sanitation about the conditions and learned that workers were provided masks for the smoke and ample water for the heat. My office distributed masks to the CPD’s 9th District, our public library branches and senior buildings throughout the ward. If you need masks, please visit one of these locations while supplies last. Please take caution while outside and mask up to keep yourself safe. 

It was announced last week that the Armour Square Park Fieldhouse will be one of 42 parks in the City that will receive new or upgraded air conditioning systems. I know that will be a welcome upgrade for all our hardworking staff and everyone using the field house as well. 

July is National Hot Dog month. I'm grateful for Vienna Beef being located in the ward and for their generosity in supporting so many local organizations and events! Vienna Beef is synonymous with the “Chicago Style Hot Dog.” I’m also grateful we have a special treat of having a hot dog vendor serving Palmisano/McGuane Park this summer, Sonia’s Red Hots. We’re lucky to have Sonia, and I hope she returns to the park for many more seasons in the future.

Congrats to all our runners, walkers and joggers who completed the Project Vision: Chinatown 5K on Saturday. Hope you enjoyed running on the newly paved road on Wentworth! 

July 15th was Chicago Police Department Superintendent Larry Snelling’s last day on the job, as he has now retired. I want to take a moment to thank Supt. Snelling for his 30+ years of service to protecting our city. By City ordinance, the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability (CCPSA) has 120 days to complete a nationwide search for a new superintendent and present three candidates to the Mayor. The Mayor will select one candidate and ask the City Council to confirm. During the search process, CCPSA will hold public listening sessions. I will share these notices as they are made available and encourage all who are interested to participate.

Please be safe as this wildfire smoke continues to clear up! Have a good weekend,

Alderwoman Lee

On Wednesday, alongside my colleagues from the alternative budget proposal group, I introduced an alternative ordinance to the Mayor’s proposed changes to rental housing rules. I think the mayor’s plan would overburden mom and pop rental operations, many of which are organic creators of affordable housing, especially in our ward. I support some aspects of the Mayor’s ordinance, but I am concerned some of the other aspects included are too extreme and would hurt affordability and rental availability going forward. My proposal works to improve the rental process for tenants and to protect them throughout, in a way that I believe is less likely to spike rents and negatively impact small, local rental unit owners. 

On Thursday, the Committee on Budget and Government Operations held the mid-year subject matter hearing on the budget, which you can watch here. We were joined by Budget Director Annettee Guzman, acting CFO Steven Mahr and Comptroller Michael Belsky. One concern from their report was the revenue categories that are still sitting at zero at this point in the year—new advertising revenue, virtual reality advertising revenue, and selling collectable city debt, among others. With six months under our belts, I would expect we would be further along in finding potential matches for these offerings. We have limited action we can take besides requesting more information from them and waiting for more RFPs to go out to find firms to complete these plans. Disconcertingly, we did not hear a commitment from the Mayor’s staff to make the second half of the advanced pension payment we approved in the 2026 budget. 

This week in the Committee on Finance, we pushed back the vote on whether to approve the ownership transfer of the Chicago Metered Parking System Concession Agreement (our parking meters) to a new company until closer to a new September 30, 2026 deadline. In this same meeting, we also discussed and voted on advancing the use of TIF funding for The 78. My colleagues were concerned about the timeline in which we received the redevelopment agreement with Roosevelt/Clark Partners LLC—only a few days before, with not much time to digest such a relatively large TIF plan. Some of my colleagues were also concerned about using public funds to build a parking facility. Although a 1,200 space parking facility is a large part of the spending, the TIF spending would also include; 

• reconstruction of the river’s wall 
• creating a new water taxi spot
• creating a new public boat dock
• building a Clark St. pedestrian bridge 
• Metra improvements

As you may have seen, this TIF spending then passed the full City Council on Wednesday. I voted in support of the TIF request. Going forward, I continue to pledge to hold public meetings throughout the process at each major stage. In the hearing, I also asked about the timeline for the opening of the Wells-Wentworth Connector bike path which connects the South Loop to Chinatown. I know many people are excited to see this open, and I share your enthusiasm as well as urgency to use this public asset. The path being near the open construction site does not make it easy to open immediately, but I will keep pressing the issue to see how we can speed it up.

Wednesday, July 22nd: Special City Council meeting 

A man who was suspected of being part of a group of men robbing people for jewelry on the street in Chinatown and other locations is in custody. Big shoutout to the Chinatown Neighborhood Watch group who were able to quickly respond to the incident in Chinatown. They pulled video and shared with authorities, including the Hinsdale Police Department who had posted a photo of the same person.

Ongoing Project - 33rd Street & Canal Sewer Project Update:

• Landscaping work is scheduled to begin Thursday, July 16, 2026.

• Milling on 33rd Street is scheduled for Wednesday, July 22, 2026, with paving planned for Thursday, July 23, 2026.

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

Projected schedule: 7/13/2026 - 7/17/2026 (Weather Permitting)

• Going forward our updates will focus on the completion of restoration activities which are currently under way. 

• Concrete road base is expected to be fully completed by Thursday, July 16^th 2026, and the project will be handed over to MWRD/IDOT shortly after.
• Small paving by Pershing and Lowe will start Thursday, July 23, 2026 and pave Friday, July 24, 2026.

Ongoing Project - 3500 - 3900 S Parnell Ave.:

Most recent updates - 7/17/2026

We are currently finishing restoration of roadway on the 3500 block, 37th St. intersection, the 3600 block from 37th to the alley, and 36th intersection along Parnell Ave. Concrete pours are taking place in the order listed above and should take about 2 weeks to complete.

Roadway restoration is occurring in the following phases over the next 4 weeks:

1. 38^th St intersection
2. The north half of the 3600 block
3. The south half of the 3600 block and 37^th St intersection.
4. The 3500 block and 36^th St intersection

See below for updates on traffic control:

• 37^th intersection is closed.
• 3500 block South of the alley closest to 35th St. is closed.

The ComEd Project

Most Recent Updates - 7/2/2026

A ComEd notification was issued for work beginning May 25, identifying the full design area (31st street to 39th street between Lituanica to Normal Street) as potentially impacted. The project has been segmented into smaller work areas to enable more precise notifications. Scheduled work updates will be provided weekly. Below is the Pershing project work planned for the upcoming four-week period.

Due to ongoing storm activity, continued storm restoration efforts, and the forecasted extreme temperatures, the start of the overhead work has been postponed to July 20, 2026. We will proceed with the original four-week plan beginning on July 20^th.

• Weeks 1 - 2 WEEK (7/20/26 – 7/31/26)

We will be working between 33rd Pl & 33rd St and Lituanica Ave & Halsted St. We are reframing two existing poles and replacing four existing poles. We are installing 270’ of new Overhead wire.

• Week 3 (8/3/26 to 8/7/26)

We will be working on 34th St between Lituanica Ave & Halsted St. We are replacing four existing poles and reframing two poles. We are replacing two existing overhead transformers.

• Week 4 (8/10/26 to 8/14/26)

We will be working between 33rd Pl & 33rd St and Lituanica Ave & Halsted St. We are replacing two existing overhead transformers and adding wildlife protection.

Most Recent Updates - 7/17/2026

• Peoples Gas contractors continue environmental cleanup activities at 2730 S. Eleanor Street.
• The primary activities at the site for the first two weeks of July will continue to be excavating and hauling away soil, followed by backfilling excavations with clean stone. Trucks will visit the site most days to pick up soil or deliver stone. 
• 24-hour air monitoring is taking place and will continue during all intrusive activity.
• As a reminder, if you have questions about this project, please contact the Peoples Gas project number at 877-380-0522.

11th Ward Summer Interns Attend Their First Chicago City Council Meeting

On July 15, 2026, our summer interns had the opportunity to attend their first Chicago City Council meeting. This experience provided them with a valuable firsthand look at the legislative process, civic leadership, and the important work of Chicago's municipal government. We are proud to welcome these talented interns to the 11th Ward Office and look forward to supporting their professional growth throughout the summer. We are excited to have them on our team and thank them for their dedication to serving our community.

11th Ward Celebrates the 20th Annual Chicago Chinatown 5K



The 11th Ward was proud to join Project: VISION in celebrating the 20th Annual Chicago Chinatown 5K on Saturday, July 18, 2026. This beloved community tradition brought together runners, walkers, families, volunteers, and supporters for a morning dedicated to health, raising and neighborhood pride.

11th Ward July Zoom Beat Meetings QR Codes

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. 

9th District Police District Council & Beat Meeting Schedules

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