Dear Neighbor,

Here is a quick review of the happenings of 2013, and a quick look at what to expect in the year to come in our ward. 2013 was a trying year for our city - from mass school closings to gun violence taking the lives of so many Chicagoans. But we also saw our moments of inspiration as our community came together to build a better future, both in the 2nd Ward and beyond.

EDUCATION

There were a number of school closings in the 2^nd Ward. I opposed these closings, testified at the hearings against the closings, and based in part on my testimony, three of the proposed closings were not recommended by the hearing officers chosen by CPS. Despite these recommendations, CPS proceeded to finalize all proposed closings in the 2^nd Ward.

• Pershing West was combined with Pershing East at 3222 S. Calumet;
• Calhoun North, on West Jackson near Sacramento, and King, off Western and south of Congress, were closed. Calhoun students moved to Cather, at Washington near Sacramento; King students were moved to Jensen, at Sacramento and Congress;
• The Dett building was closed and Dett students were moved into the Herbert building on Monroe west of Damen.
• Kellman, on Sacramento south of Congress, was relocated and combined with Bethune, located across the street.
• Learn Charter moved into the Kellman building, and Ombudsman, a new charter serving students who have dropped out of high school, moved into the Learn charter building, at Western and Congress.
• Dodge, an AUSL school on Washington west of Western, was combined with Morton in the East Garfield Park area.
• Montefiore, a school for boys with behavioral issues, was a receiving school for two other similar schools.

The results of all of these closings are still being addressed. Safe Passage routes were created for all of the closed school areas, and we are monitoring the situation closely.

There were also a number of school openings in the 2^nd Ward:

• I am pleased to note that a beautiful new Jones High School building was completed on State just west of Congress. As a condition for my approval of the funding for the building construction, CPS agreed to allow students who live nearby to apply to attend the new Jones. 75 students will be enrolled in Jones through this program each year. Jones will be open for neighborhood events and activities like swimming and sports. A new artificial turf field is also being constructed as part of the Jones project for the use of Jones students at National Teachers Academy, and this field will also be available for neighborhood use.
• Ombudsman, an alternative high school, opened in 2013.
• The Marine Academy, on Campbell just west of Western, is proposed to be moved into the Ames school in Logan Square starting in the fall of 2014. That would leave the Phoenix Military Academy as the sole school in the Grant Campus.
• Finally, a new Crane Medical High School opened in 2013.
• Mayor Emanuel is currently considering the reuse of the buildings used by Calhoun North, Dett, King, Dodge and Pershing East, and the other 50 closed schools. The Mayor's Facilities Task Force is considering proposals and should come out with recommendations early in 2014. I will be monitoring these developments closely to ensure that these buildings are put to productive use in our community.

PARKS

I am proud that several park projects were begun or were nearing completion in 2013 in the 2nd Ward:

• Women's Park completed the renovation of the second and third floors of its field house, with flexible space for multipurpose dance, exercise and child activities. The top floor is being rented to Kid Science, which provides science classes for children. This is another TIF project my office, alongside the vital Advisory Council and interested residents, have been working on for several years. 
• A sculptor was chosen to prepare a statue of Paul Laurence Dunbar in Dunbar Park. The sculpture is the final element in the first phase of the renovation of Dunbar Park, another TIF project that brought a new playground, walkways, lights and other improvements to a major park on the South Lakefront. 
• Anderson Park, to be located at 16^th Street and Wabash, will include a dog-friendly area and performance stage. This park was named for Fred Anderson, an international jazz artist who owned the Velvet Lounge in the South Loop for many years, and contributed to the life and arts in the area by fostering many young musicians. Construction is expected to be completed in 2014.
• The Corps of Engineers has agreed to fund the creation of a wildlife area on the southern half of Northerly Island, with bike paths and areas to camp and enjoy nature. This project is beginning, and should be completed in 2014.
• The southeast corner of Grant Park will be renovated, including a new skate park, seating areas and landscaping.
• With the Park District and the CHA Rockwell Working Group, we finalized designs for a new park in the Rockwell Gardens area. The park is under construction, and will have a new playground and significant new landscaping. This will complement the new CHA's Maplewood Courts development, which has been approved and will be located across the street from the new park.
• I continue to advocate for multi-use of facilities in his ward. In this area, the West Haven CDC has used the gym in the Phoenix Military Academy building each summer for a basketball tournament attended by up to 800 people each night, for youth and adults in the area. I've also supported summer programs in the Military Academy for CHA-resident youth in the area.
• The final phase of Fosco Park was finished in 2013, with the opening of a new outdoor park area adjacent to the field house. This will allow park programming both indoors and outdoors.

CHA

I believe the availability of enough affordable housing is critical to ensuring that our communities are safe and healthy places to live. I am pleased to report on two important updates related to the maintenance of a reasonable level of affordable housing in the 2nd Ward:

• Plans continue to proceed for the extension of the TIF in the ABLA CHA area.
• The Maplewood Courts development has been going through the approval process and it is expected to start construction in the Rockwell area in 2015.

PROGRESSIVE CAUCUS

In 2013, I was proud to join the newly formed Progressive Reform Caucus, of which I am a co-chair along with Ald. Roderick Sawyer (6th Ward) and Ald. Toni Foulkes (15th Ward). With my Progressive Caucus colleagues, we've fought for the passage of policies to create a more fair and just Chicago:

• We opposed the mass school closings and called for increased funding for neighborhood public schools.
• We introduced a set of ordinances designed to strengthen the office of our government watchdog, the Inspector General, to ensure greater transparency and accountability for the City of Chicago.
• In the 2014 budget process, we called for the hiring of 500 new police officers to help stem the extreme level of violence we've seen in Chicago in recent years. We also called for the restoration of funding for public mental health services that were cut in 2011.

All in all, 2013 was a busy year full of challenges, but also full of many successes and great opportunities. Thank you for all that you do. I look forward to working with you in 2014.

Sincerely,

Bob