32nd Ward Newsletter July 2, 2026

32nd Ward Newsletter July 2, 2026

Dear John,


Our office will be closed on Friday, July 3rd in observance of Independence Day. There will also be no black or blue cart collection on Friday. Residents should ensure all carts are accessible throughout the week, not solely on their regular day of collection. If you are considering using fireworks for the 4th, please be mindful of all neighbors and animals who may be affected differently by fireworks. The City is still also removing debris from the storm a couple of weeks ago; this can be a fire hazard. It's best to leave the fireworks up to the professionals.

Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling has resigned and his last day serving the City will be July 15th. Deputy Superintendent Fred Waller will serve as interim superintendent while the city conducts a national search. Superintendent Snelling has done a great job in his position and has been a pleasure to work with at the City. His collaboration with the new States Attorney led to a reduction in crime and his approach to leading the department was the change the City needed. More on the story here.

The next steps in the reconstruction of Lathrop Homes south of Diversey is underway. Please be mindful of the work around Damen and Diversey as trucks will be entering and exiting the construction zones. I am excited to see this long awaited project get underway as the 32nd Ward looks forward to hundreds of new housing units and improvements to the entire site.

Have a great 4th of July as we celebrate the 250th anniversary of the United States Declaration of Independence!

Alderman Scott Waguespack

Lakeview Township Open for

Property Tax Appeals Until July 13

The Cook County Assessor's Office has opened Lakeview Township for property tax appeals until July 13th. Click here to file your appeal!

The Excessive Heat Continues

Be Prepared and Ways to Get Assistance

The Office of Emergency Management and Communications (OEMC) monitors weather conditions 24/7 with the National Weather Service (NWS) from the City’s Operations Center and issues alerts for advisories, watches, and warnings for extreme situations. If conditions warrant, an extreme heat warning will be issued by the NWS when the following triggers are met:  

• Peak heat index is expected to reach 100° to 105° for three consecutive days 
• Peak heat index is expected to exceed 105°-110°F for at least two consecutive days  
• Peak heat index is forecasted at 110° or higher for one day.  

Once issued, the city’s emergency response plan is activated.  

To receive the latest updates on heat/storm advisories and weather emergencies, residents can register for the City’s emergency alert notifications at NotifyChicago.org, check OEMC’s social media pages, tune in to local media or download the Chicago OEMC App.  

Cooling Centers Locations

Residents can contact 3-1-1 for the nearest location and hours. Note: Only the Park District facilities listed on the data portal provide access to air conditioning, as some facilities are not air-conditioned.  

Seniors are also welcome at any of DFSS’s 21 senior centers. DFSS partners with OEMC to use robocalls to inform seniors of key information regarding how to stay safe during extreme weather. Visit Chicago.gov/Seniors for senior center locations.  

During hours of operation, residents can also find relief in one of the City’s Chicago Public Library locations, City Colleges of Chicago main campus locations, Chicago Park District fieldhouses, as well as pools and splash pads located throughout the city, visit chicagoparkdistrict.com. Also, the Chicago Police Department’s 22 district stations are available 24 hours for relief from the heat and to be connected with shelter.  

Well-Being Checks 

When the temperatures climb to extreme levels, it is important to check on relatives, neighbors, seniors, and our vulnerable populations. If you are unable to make contact, you can request a wellbeing check by downloading the CHI311 app, visiting 311.chicago.gov, or calling 3-1-1. If there is a medical emergency due to a heat related illness, call 9-1-1.  

The Chicago Department of Buildings (DOB) advises property owners and building managers to check their electrical and cooling equipment to make sure it is in working order. On days when the heat index exceeds 80°F, certain residential buildings must provide air conditioning in all apartments or have an air-conditioned indoor common gathering area known as a cooling center. For additional information on the 2022 Cooling Ordinance visit Chicago.gov/cooling. 

Smart911 

Create a Smart911 profile now to include vital information to share with first responders if needed. A new feature has been added to include if you have air conditioning in your home or apartment for heat emergencies. This is useful information for first responders if they are responding to vulnerable residents, particularly seniors. To edit your profile or sign-up, visit Smart911.com. 

Sign up for NotifyChicago alerts at NotifyChicago.org. OEMC also issues TEXT alerts for lakefront notices, issues affecting businesses or events: 

• CHILAKE: For lakefront notices, TEXT “CHILAKE” to 7-8-0-1-5   
• CHIBIZ: For alerts affecting businesses, TEXT “CHIBIZ” to 6-7-2-8-3   

For additional information on emergency preparedness information, visit the OEMC website at Chicago.gov/OEMC.

CTA Update - Council Transportation Committee

Acting President of the Chicago Transit Authority Nora Leerhsen gave an update on the CTA this week in the City Council Committee on Transportation and I was able to follow up with her and her staff on some more details regarding many of the operations of the CTA.

Per her report, while the CTA continues to rebuild since the Covid pandemic, there is a lot of work to be done on improving the overall system. A positive is that ridership is at 90% of pre-pandemic levels and at its highest level in many years. 

Staffing levels that became a problem during and after Covid have increased and the hiring of bus and rail operators has led to better service and an almost complete reduction of ghost buses. 

Thanks to collaboration with Cook County Sheriff Dart and State's Attorney O’Neill Burke, safety on the trains and buses has been improving. Systemwide crime has declined for five consecutive months, with a significant reduction in serious crimes year to year. Sheriff Tom Dart has been staffing trains and buses with Sheriff's officers who are assisting the Chicago Police with enforcing laws on the system. The State’s Attorney is also prosecuting crimes on the CTA system, setting a new tone for public safety on our trains and buses. 

There is now an internal Chicago Transit Authority Task Force, with 26 Assistant State’s Attorneys and Investigators who will participate in specialized training with the CTA and the Chicago Police Department to tackle transit system crimes. 

Through NITA, a Regional Transit Task Force was created that is comprised of local, county, federal, and transit agencies including the CTA, the Chicago Police Department, Cook County Sheriff’s Office, U.S. Attorney’s Office, FBI, ATF, DEA, Metra, and Pace. The agencies will produce a public safety report in 2027. 

The Acting President also discussed the Frequent Bus Network, launched in 2025 and consisting of 20 routes providing scheduled service every 10 minutes or better throughout the day. The work has led to a 90% success rate on the 10-minute service standard. While rail service still has delays, there has been about a 30% lower rate of delays from the prior year. We are also working with the CTA staff to improve street infrastructure for bus routes and continue to work on the addition of more cameras on buses, as well as City vehicles to keep bus lanes and bus stops clear of vehicles. 

Cleanliness has been a frequent issue the Council has discussed with the CTA, so efforts were undertaken to improve cleanliness across the system. This year cleaning crews have completed more than 20,000 deep cleanings of buses as part of the agency's ongoing vehicle maintenance and customer experience initiatives. Trains continue to be an issue and we will have more on that in the next hearing. 

NITA or the Northern Illinois Transit Authority Act was passed in the Illinois General Assembly in late 2025. NITA was a unification of the governance, budgets, service standards, and infrastructure for the CTA, Metra, and Pace bus systems in Chicago and the suburbs. 

NITA replaced the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) and will create a unified fare system, better overall funding of the entire system, coordination of infrastructure funding and planning and public safety across the system. The NITA passage also prevented a shutdown of the CTA when funding gaps were putting the CTA on the precipice of financial collapse. 

Appointees to the NITA and CTA boards are still in the making and requires the Council to vote on the appointees before the deadline is reached. There are many experts with a transportation background that could take on the jobs required by the NITA board so we will continue to review the duties and responsibilities, as well as the candidates we think would be best suited to transform the system into what the public needs. The Mayor has so far failed to follow through on any of the recommendations as the deadline for NITA appointments approaches.

• What happens next: Key dates and deadlines as RTA transitions to NITA in 2026
• Johnson faces tight deadline on picks for overhauled transit boards
• CTA chief touts improvements in safety, ridership

July CAPS Meeting



14th Police District

1432- July 22, 6pm

Holstein Park

2200 N. Oakley

[email protected]

14th District Twitter

14th District CAPS- 312-744-1261



18th Police District

1811- July 7, 3:30pm

St. James Church
2101 N. Fremont

[email protected]

18th District Twitter

18th District CAPS- 312-742-5778

19th Police District

1921/1922- July 15, 6:30pm 

Police Auditorium

2452 W. Belmont

1931- July 28, 6:30pm 

Lathrop Advancement Center

2820 N. Leavitt

1932- July 23, 6:30pm 

Lincoln Park Library

1150 W. Fullerton

1933- July 14, 6:30pm 

Illinois Masonic Hospital

836 W. Wellington

[email protected]

19th District Twitter

19th District CAPS- 312-744-0064

Hearing on the Chicago Police Department 
Consent Decree

This hearing provides an opportunity for residents, stakeholders, and community organizations to share their perspectives and experiences regarding the Department's ongoing reform efforts and implementation of the Consent Decree.

The virtual public hearing will be held on Tuesday, July 14, from 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

If you are interested in participating or would like additional information, please click here.

If you would simply like to join the hearing via Zoom, please use the link below:

Zoom Link

phone: 13126266799,,96173711584#

2026 Street Cleaning Schedule

Street cleaning season is in full swing. Sweepers will do more than one pass on the block in their initial cleaning but will not come back to clean sections outside of their officially scheduled day.

Next week, street sweeping will occur in sections 18, 19, and 20 (parts of Bucktown and Lincoln Park). Click on the map above to see your section's schedule.

Please be on the lookout for signs and make sure to move your vehicle on your scheduled day (south and east sides of the street are normally done on the first day, north and west on the second; please watch for signs).

Please take the time to help clear the curb in front of your property to keep the sewers flowing well. Any landscaping debris should be bagged and put in the alley by your trash cans. Please do not sweep landscaping debris into the street. Piles of leaves and heavy garbage also clog the sweepers and will cause significant delays. Other large objects like branches will also damage the sweepers, so please remove them from curbs.

Residents can view street sweepers in real time using the Sweeper Tracker online tool. 

Water Main Project

Greenview, Fullerton to Altgeld

Update 7/2/26

Tentative schedule for the week of July 6 (All field activities are weather dependent) -

• The team began transferring services from the old water main to the new water main.

• Approximately 99% of the overall piping work has been completed. Only side connections are still required.

• Service transfers to the new water main will continue. In addition, there are two LSLR addresses that still need to be completed.

• One catch basin will be installed.

In addition to contacting our office with questions, residents can look for a Water Department supervisor on the street wearing a white hard hat to have questions answered immediately. 

Volunteer for Burger Fest in 
Roscoe Village

Volunteers play the very important role of running the beverage tents at our street festivals! Volunteering at Burger Fest (July 17-19) is a great opportunity to help the community and have a fun time! After your shift, you will receive a free drink ticket and free t-shirt. Volunteers must be 21+. Click here to sign up.

Early Warning! BCO Garage Sale

The Bucktown Community Organization is sponsoring the first community yard sale. You can sign up on the BCO website starting July 11. You must register your home to be on the map and receive your permit

More information coming soon!

The Bucktown Garden Walk is just a couple weeks away, and we need volunteers to help make this annual Bucktown event a success. We are looking for community members to take 2-hour shifts at the Bucktown Community Organization table, as well as assist with light setup and tear-down.

Volunteering is a meaningful way to give back to your neighborhood, support community life, and help ensure another successful Garden Walk for Bucktown. Your time and support truly make a difference. Click here to sign up to volunteer.

Register now to be an exhibitor in the 2026 Roscoe Village Garden Walk on July 26th from 12pm-5pm. Deadline to register is July 18th.

Additional City Resources for You & Your Family


These services are provided free of charge to all Chicagoans.



Family & Maternal Health

CDPH WIC Clinics

Pregnant Or Recently Had A Baby?

Healthy Children, Let’s Prevent Lead Poisoning

Preventive Care & Clinics

Need a Vaccine? Immunization Clinics

Free Prostate or Breast Cancer Screening During Birthday Month

Mental Health & Wellness

Mental Health Clinics

Healing Arts Chicago

Environmental & Lifestyle Health

Check Air Quality Near You

Quit Smoking

Immigrant Rights

Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR)

Protecting Chicago (English)

Community & Other Services

More Services: chicago.gov/health

See a Problem on Your Block? Call 311.

311 is Chicago’s non-emergency service line. It connects you to City services for issues that affect your block, your home, or your health.

By Phone: Dial 3-1-1 from any phone in Chicago.

Online: Visit the official 311 portal

City News

• Who Is Running for Chicago Mayor?
• Chicago Police Boss Larry Snelling Announces Retirement: 'He’s Leaving Big Shoes to Fill'
• Why Is It So Expensive to Replace Lead Pipes in Chicago?
• Crime Is Down on the CTA As Ridership Increases, Agency Boss Says
• Who Were the Midway Blitz Border Patrol Agents? Most Were Veteran Immigration Officers
• Chicago Set Record for Tourist Spending in 2025, Choose Chicago Tourism Bureau Says
• 4 Piping Plover Chicks Get Names — And They Honor Chicago Music Legends
• 19th Ward Alderman Matt O’Shea on Chicago’s Parking Meter Controversy
• Eater Highlights Some of the 32nd Ward's Best Thin Crust Pizza Places
• 4th of July 2026 Guide: Where to Celebrate America’s 250th Birthday in Chicago

Alderman Scott Waguespack

2657 North Clybourn

Chicago, IL 60614

(773) 248-1330

[email protected]