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As many of you have seen, the old Finkl Steel site has been demolished and the final stages of planning for the future of this site and several others along the river are taking place in a couple weeks. The Chicago Department of Planning and Development (DPD) will be hosting the last public meeting for the North Branch Industrial Corridor from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM on February 21st- a Tuesday in the UI Labs offices at 1415 N. Cherry Avenue. This is an important opportunity for input by residents and businesses on both sides of the river and for existing businesses in the manufacturing district.
The meeting's purpose is to review proposed new land use and redevelopment guidelines for the corridor, as well as implementation strategies. For more information on the different ideas for the manufacturing district
visit North Branch Works
or view supporting documents here. Transportation infrastructure, river and lakefront access for residents and businesses density and types of development allowed are all issues that need to be addressed.
The issue was briefly covered at a panel discussion with our neighboring aldermen at an Lincoln Park Chamber of Commerce annual business discussion.
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| Lincoln Park Chamber @LPCC09 |
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The Finkl site sits in the 2nd Ward but the manufacturing corridor along the river sits in several different wards. Thanks to the Lincoln Park Chamber for their efforts to help rebuild the Fullerton corridor and for their work on small business concerns in the city.
The 1424 CAPS
public safety meeting this week was very well attended. It is very clear that in addition to either receiving new officers in the 14th and 19th districts to make up for manpower losses over the last several years, we need to move away from the policy of spending around $100 million a year on overtime costs and use a portion of it to hire new officers as we have attempted to do via the council legislative process. As was brought up at the meeting, the 14th District has about 190 officers on patrol down from about 270. The Mayor has indicated his budgets will include hiring a few hundred new officers over the next two years, in addition to filling long time vacancies for much needed supervisory roles in the police department (sergeants and lieutenants) and filling vacant detective positions. However, attrition of hundreds of officers will retire in this same timeframe.
I am hopeful that the continued promises of providing the public with manpower numbers, doing real district officer allocation reports and releasing annual reports will come to fruition this year. These are needed to provide the public straightforward answers to our public safety needs. Merely hiring new officers alone will not fix our issues. Crime and violence in the City will only be reduced by addressing economic, education and social issues throughout the city as a whole. Here is a link to a story with a breakdown of the new hires and another on north side crime increases. Thank you to everyone who attended the CAPS meeting. The next dates for the 14th beats are February 15th and 16th, and the 19th District meeting covering our area will be in March. Neighborhood involvement and awareness of all issues is still the best deterrent to crime in our communities. Work with friends and neighbors on your block to build up community watch groups and join a neighborhood group to hear more about what you can do to improve your community.
CPS has released information on additional neighborhood public school budget cuts they've made this month. Information for all schools is available at the CPS budget page at cps.edu/budget
. The 32
nd
Ward school cuts are listed in this chart. 
CPS released a letter indicating the cuts are included in Governor Rauner's midyear budget cuts and has led to a
"
war of words" about the cause of the latest round of cuts.
Finally, a reminder with details below, that the
Cortland Street bridge will be closed to WESTBOUND traffic until Friday, February 24th for utility work.
Have a nice weekend,
Scott Waguespack
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| Cortland Bridge Will Be Closed for Construction: Here's What to Expect |
The Cortland Street bridge westbound lane and north sidewalk will be closed until Friday, February 24th for utility tunnel repair work. The Department of Transportation will also be detouring traffic as follows:
- Westbound car traffic is being detoured to Webster Avenue via Clybourn Avenue and Ashland Avenue/Elston
- Westbound trucks are being detoured to North Avenue via Clybourn Avenue and Ashland Avenue/Elston
- Westbound bicycle riders may walk their bikes on the southern sidewalk, taking care to give pedestrians the right-of-way.
These changes will also impact the westbound #73 Armitage bus through March 3rd because Cortland will be closed between Southport and Racine (westbound only) to all vehicular traffic (see above). Therefore buses will reroute as follows:
- Operate regular route to Clybourn/Cortland, (continue)
- Southeast on Clybourn to Sheffield, (turn right)
- South on Sheffield to North Ave, (turn right)
- West on North Ave to Elston, (turn right)
- Northwest on Elston to Cortland, (turn left)
- West on Cortland over regular route
Eastbound buses will not be affected.
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| Property Tax Exemption Workshop with Cook County Commissioner Luis Arroyo, Jr. |
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| Volunteer Opportunity: Bucktown Garden Walk |
The 2017 Bucktown Garden Walk committee is looking for volunteers! The Garden Walk is a unique event that gives back to the Bucktown community each summer. They are currently seeking volunteers in many areas: Event Planning & Execution, Public Relations, Social Media, Print Design, Technology, Community Relations, and Sponsorship.
If you have specific skills to contribute or just a strong interest in making an impact on our community by volunteering, please email Meredith Flagstad at [email protected] today!
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| Bucktown-Wicker Park Library Invites You to Animal Quest |
Kids and caregivers, mark your calendars and join the Bucktown-Wicker Park Library for a special visit from AnimalQuest. AnimalQuest specializes in education through entertainment as they present a menagerie of animals and allow everyone a chance to touch one of the featured critters.
Registration is not required and all kids and their caregivers are welcome.
Bucktown-Wicker Park Library
1701 N. Milwuakee
Thursday, February 23rd
10:30 a.m.
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| Attention Lakeview Residents: The Lakeview Chamber of Commerce Wants Your Input! |
The Lakeview Chamber of Commerce, sole service provider to Special Service Area (SSA) 27 in West Lakeview, is gathering information about crime activity and security measures within the SSA. The boundaries the service area are:
- Belmont (Ravenswood to Racine)
- Lincoln (Addison to Diversey)
- Ashland (Addison to Diversey)
- Southport (Belmont to Byron)
Please complete
this anonymous survey to help them identify trends and evaluate the presence of security measures. The survey contains 15 short questions and should take you approximately 5-10 minutes to complete. They hope to collect all responses by the end of February.
To ensure confidentiality, respondents ARE NOT asked to identify themselves, their exact addresses, or their business affiliations. Responses will only be shared with SSA Commissioners and other relevant parties as deemed necessary to guide decisions related to crime prevention, safety education, etc.
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| February is Spay/Neuter Month! |
 Last year, thousands of unwanted animals entered the City shelter. Preventing unwanted litters is an important way to decrease euthanasia at open-admission shelters. There are numerous benefits to your pet as well: In males, neutering prevents testicular cancer and some prostate problems, and decreases their desire to roam; in females, spaying can prevent uterine infections and breast tumors, and eliminates the heat cycle, as well as associated behaviors.
Take advantage of Spay Illinois February spay/neuter specials! Call 630-3961-8000 for an appointment.
- Female dog spay (0 to 50 lbs.) $70, (50 to 100 lbs.) $90
- Male dog neuter (0-50 lbs.) $50, (50-100 lbs.) $60
- Female cat spay $15
- Male cat neuter $5
EVENTS
General Chicago Animal Care and Control (CACC) Volunteer Orientations
2741 S. Western Ave.
CACC Auditorium
Saturday,
February 11, 2017 10:30 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Thursday, February 16, 2017 5 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.
For more information, please click
here.
CACC Low Cost Vaccine Microchip & Tag Clinic
2741 S. Western Ave.
9 a.m. to 11 am
Please click
here for more information.
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| World Chicago Looking for Homestay Hosts! |
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| 32nd Ward Office |
Chicago, IL 60614
Please note that our
office will be closed the next Monday for
Lincoln's Birthday.
Hours:
Monday - Friday
9 am to 6 pm
Ph: 773-248 1330
ward32@cityofchicago.
org
Please email or call us with any requests.
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Chicago Farmers Markets 2017 |
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