Two big events take place this weekend in the community. The Midnight Circus kicks off TONIGHT in Wicker Park, and the Bucktown 5K runs around Bucktown on Sunday. If you miss the Midnight Circus, there are other parks to visit where you can have some inexpensive fun with the family while supporting local parks. 

Work continues on the Western Avenue Corridor Improvement project as well as Damen, Elston, Fullerton.  These projects will complete the majority of the heavy construction work this fall and continue smaller scale project phases in the Spring. Please continue to watch for traffic management changes and shifting traffic patterns while driving through these areas. 

The City Council passed the Mayor's new Water tax 40-10 this week. If you don't have a water meter installed in your single family home, now is the time to sign up and try to get one installed. Water conservation should always be a concern, but with the additional tax the average user could be paying as much as $225 additional in the next four years. The tax is meant to pay for pension payments due to the Municipal Employee's Annuity & Benefit Fund and taps into the generally off-limits Water and Sewer Enterprise Fund. After asking to see the actuarial analysis for about six weeks, we received some necessary information the day before the committee vote. The numbers did not show what had been portrayed as putting the pension on a path to solvency.  After extensive questioning, the Administration acknowledged that this increase will require us to find an additional $300 million to meet the projected actuarial required payments by 2023. 

Many Aldermen who have been working on the police department reform issue over the past few months are continuing to pressure the Emanuel Administration to make important changes to the mayor's proposed police reform legislation. The City Council Progressive Reform caucus held several meetings around the City and listened to concerns from a broad spectrum of constituents and organizations. The crafting of this legislation was taking place over the summer but was supplanted by the mayor's version that was submitted to the council in late August, and aldermen were not allowed to see the detailed version until the end of the month.  

Experts from around the US, and those who work within the police reform realm have agreed that the proposed ordinance lacks teeth in some areas and does not go far enough in changing the problems that were inherent in the OPS and IPRA legislation passed in the past couple decades. Two main points of contention are 1) lack of a set budget for the new office of accountability and the public safety inspector general, and 2) the lack of independent counsel. Both of these are necessary to prevent the political influence of the past that has plagued the previous office of IPRA and OPS, and preventing conflicts of interest on all sides of the legal process.

Alderman assured COPA won't be 'starved for resources'

Several language options and alternatives were already offered and transparency issues must also be addressed before the ordinance passes through Council. 

You can read the latest version of the ordinance here, and the Police Accountability Task Force report here.

The Chicago 100K Opportunities Initiative is hosting a youth hiring fair on Wednesday, September 21, 2016. The event will offer opportunities for young adults ages 16-24, who are out of school and unemployed, to interview with local employers. The plan is to connect youth with interviews for full-time, entry-level jobs across Chicago at the event.  Check out the website chicago.100kopportunities.org for more info.