32nd Ward Newsletter September 26, 2025

Greetings!

Some fun events are taking place this weekend, including the Bloomingdale Trail Run, Oktoberfest in South Lakeview, a mix of fall fun activities throughout all the county forest preserves, and a public safety community fair. See below for details on these events and many more in the weeks to come. Lights out Chicago! Save birds! For 25 years, Chicagoans have helped to save birds by turning out the lights in upper stories of buildings and installing bird friendly window treatment- see how you can help here.

The City Council meeting started late in the afternoon on Thursday, as the Council waited nearly four hours for the Mayor to arrive and start the meeting. After failing to get necessary votes to reorganize the Council chairmanships, the delay dragged on for hours until early afternoon. Apparently, the 26 votes necessary to pass the Mayor's committee assignments were not counted until after this story came out, setting off a firestorm of disagreement on the appointments in Council. The assignments were never finalized but the meeting had to go on, so we will be hearing about possible appointments in the days to come. Other Council news is included below.

Tax appeals for West Chicago Township opened up September 22, 2025, and you may file an appeal of your property assessment through the Cook County Board of Review. Property tax appeals information may be found at appeals.cookcountyboardofreview.com. The deadline for filing a property tax appeal for property owners in West Chicago Township is October 21, 2025.

As you may have heard, Starbucks will be closing many stores in the Chicagoland area, including two in our area at Damen and Milwaukee, and in the Riverpoint mall. The closures are part of a Starbucks transformation initiative. While this is unfortunate, we encourage coffee drinking friends to support all of the great locally owned coffee/bakery shops our neighborhoods have to offer!

Have a nice extended summer weekend,

Alderman Scott Waguespack

City Council Update

The City Council meeting started late in the afternoon on Thursday, as the Council waited nearly four hours for the Mayor to arrive and start the meeting. As mentioned above, the issue was with the Mayor's appointment of certain people to chair committees. While it's not unusual for the Mayor to start many meetings late, this was possibly the most disorganized and unprofessional Council meeting delay in decades. Angry citizens who were there to speak on other issues waited for hours and ended up changing the subject to speak against the unexplained delay.

Some major legislation included a major police settlement regarding former CPD Sgt. Ronald Watts, passage of the Chicago Fire stadium in the 78 area, and citywide ADU expansion.  

The Ronald Watts settlement was for $90 million and involved Chicago police sergeant Ronald Watts' conviction in 2013 for shaking down CHA residents and drug dealers, including one who turned out to be an FBI informant. 180 plaintiffs were part of the settlement. 


The new Chicago Fire soccer stadium has been approved by the City Council. The stadium construction will begin next year, will seat 22,000 and be the new home of the Fire. The stadium will be built with private money by owner Joe Mansueto, with some city funds paying for infrastructure improvements in the area. While discussions around the Fire stadium development were public, the Mayor’s office has not released information on the negotiations and discussions it has had with the Chicago Bears, who are apparently heading to Arlington Heights. The Bears still owe a significant debt to taxpayers. As of last year, they owe the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority over $534.4 million in principal and interest debt for the 2003 Soldier Field renovations. 

The citywide ADU Expansion ordinance has passed City Council with amendments agreed to by two separate ordinance sponsors, Aldermen Quinn and Lawson. The ordinance expands the existing ADU pilot program to allow for legal construction of additional basement and attic apartments in addition to detached rear coach houses across the city.

The ordinance: 

• legalizes ADUs by right in all non-single-family residential districts (RT and RM), as well as in business (B1-B3) and commercial (C1-C2) zoning districts.
• allows for the construction of ADUs in Residential Single-Unit Districts (RS) districts in parts of the city that have opted in. All neighborhoods that were part of the ADU pilot program are immediately opted in, with the option for future expansion by further Council action.

Opted-in areas may optionally include up to three guardrails:

• requires homeowner occupancy for single family homes adding ADUs.
• limits the number of ADUs permitted per block, per year.
• requires an administrative adjustment process.

The ordinance also:

• permits both basement or attic conversions and a detached coach house on the same property.
• retains affordability requirements, mandating every second ADU be rented at a rate affordable to households making 60% of the area median income.  
• allows for grant programs to assist low- and moderate-income households, or property owners who commit to developing ADUs for low- and moderate-income households.  
• enables rear commercial conversions, allowing partial build-outs of ground-floor commercial spaces to allow for new housing while maintaining active storefronts.  
• allows builders to waive parking requirements on ADUs, supporting accessible, ground-level housing for seniors and people with disabilities.  
• ensures applicants for coach houses commit that contractors and subcontractors will participate in U.S. Department of Labor apprenticeship programs for the relevant trades.

You can read the full ordinance here. 

2025 Street Cleaning Calendar

Next week, street sweeping will occur in sections 6, 7, and 8 (West Lakeview and Hamlin 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). 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.

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 and metal 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. 

METRA UP North Construction Update

The Segment 1 construction package is ready and contractors will be bidding on the work soon. We are expecting the contractor to break ground Q1/Q2 2026 depending on permitting.

Utility relocations for Segment 1 are expected to begin September/October 2025 and include overhead power line relocation and overhead communication line relocation.

Temporary easement agreements are in progress. All offers have been presented to property owners and we are in active negotiations with several parties.

The schedule for Segment 2 and 3 construction will be updated on the website in the next several months.

METRA-UP is rebuilding the UP-N Line bridges that are 120 years old. Along with the adjacent retaining walls, these bridges have surpassed their functional lifespan and can no longer be economically repaired and maintained. This project will modernize the existing infrastructure, reduce maintenance needs along the UP-N Line, create efficiencies and reduce operating costs, and improve the customer experience with increased reliability and passenger comfort.

Public Safety Section

Winter Clothing Drive

Click here for more vaccination info.

This fall, Cleanup Club Chicago is CHALLENGING PHILADELPHIA TO A LITTER CLEANUP COMPETITION! The Chicago vs Philly Clean-Off will last the entire month of October, and all litter cleaning will count regardless of whether it’s done at a group event or individually. All litter cleanups must be submitted through the form on the webpage, and photos are required. We’ll be collaborating with 6 other litter cleanup groups to get the job done, and will be supported by Chicago Streets and Sanitation, Cook County Commissioner Degnen, and Independent Recycling Services. Spring cleaning gets all the attention, but the reality is that our city needs maintenance all year-round. It is our hope that this competition will motivate Chicagoans to clean up their neighborhoods before the leaves and snow fall! For more information on the rules and how to participate, please visit the official webpage here.

Bucktown Apple Pie Contest

Join Friends of Holstein Park for their annual fall fundraising event hosted at Leavitt Street Inn and Tavern. All funds go right back into providing better facilities and programming at Holstein Park! 

Sign up to be a baker or just come eat pie the day of! This event will be on October 5 from 3-6 pm at Leavitt St Inn at 2345 N. Leavitt. Click here for more info. The event will also feature WGN celebrity apple pie aficionado and WGN Weekend Morning News host Sean Lewis.

Get ready to make a difference in our community! From October 8th to 10th, join us for the 18th Annual Shop for Schools—a 3-day event where shopping local directly supports our neighborhood schools.

Participating businesses across Lakeview and Roscoe Village will generously donate 15% of your purchase to the local participating school of your choice. Whether you want to support your child’s school or spread the love across multiple schools, your shopping makes an impact!

Plus, the Chamber will award up to $6,000 in bonus donations to the top 6 participating schools with the most support.

Shop local. Choose your school. Make a difference.

Click here for participating schools and retailers.

City News

• City Council Lifts Ban on Coach Houses and Granny Flats, But Gives Alderpeople Final Say
• New Coach Houses, Basement Units to Be Allowed Citywide — With Restrictions in Single-Family Areas
• 5-Story Apartment Building Approved for Former Stage 773 in Lakeview
• Mayor Brandon Johnson’s Council Plan Falls Apart Under Weight of ‘Where’s Mine?’
• Mayor Johnson's Lack of Clout Weakens Granny Flat Ordinance, Stalls Council Reorganization
• Delayed Cook County Property Tax Bills Frustrate Residents Amid Tech Issues 
• Chicago Water Department Takes Heat for Sitting on Millions Earmarked for Lead Line Replacement
• Millions in Loans to Replace Lead Pipes Pumping Water into Chicago Homes Remain Unspent
• ‘Lights Out,’ Chicago. Bird Migration Will Be Intense Thursday Night and Millions Need Safe Passage
• Is Your Starbucks Closing This Weekend? Possible Closures in Chicago, Suburbs 
• 18 Things to Do in Chicago This Weekend: 312 Block Party, Hyde Park Jazz Fest, Beverly Art Walk