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Hi neighbors,
This week was a quiet one for me regarding City Council-related meetings. The City Council’s Finance Committee on which I serve held a briefing to review several police-misconduct settlements that the Committee may ultimately vote on later this month. If that comes to pass, I’ll have more to say about the cases immediately following that hearing.
Earlier this week, I met with leaders from Montrose Metra Community Gardens to discuss their final preparations for a community composting pilot that they will be hosting at the Gardens. I also met with leaders from Organizing for Plastics Alternatives—a local environmental organization that is advocating for the reduction of single-use plastics, particularly in the food service industry.
On Wednesday, I joined 44th Ward Ald. Bennett Lawson, Cook County Commissioner Bridget Degnen, and the Lakeview Roscoe Village Chamber of Commerce at a ribbon-cutting event to celebrate the opening of the Low-Line farmers market at the Southport El Station. I also met with leaders from the Southeast Asia Center to discuss their childcare-related operations, and with researchers from Northwestern University to review new technology for testing water for lead contamination.
Yesterday evening, I hosted a Ward Night Out at Lincoln Square Tap Room, alongside 19th Police District Councilor Jenny Schaffer and the Heart of Lincoln Square Neighbors. In addition, my office welcomed five new summer interns: Gustavo del Castillo, Ignacia Pena, Greg Schaefer, Seth Torres, and Thomas Vincent. They will be helping office staff with constituent service requests, several policy initiatives, and infrastructure surveys across our Ward.
I hope you all have a restful weekend. As many of you know, June is Pride Month! On Monday, I had the pleasure of joining Brave Space Alliance at Merz Apothecary to learn more about the Alliance's work supporting our LGBTQ community and to celebrate Merz’s launch of its limited edition Pride Candle. If you’re looking for more ways to celebrate Pride Month, check out this Block Club Chicago calendar and this City website.
Yours in service,
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Government Services and Information | | |
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The World Refugee Day Chicago Celebration will be held Saturday, June 24, 2023 from 9:00am to 4:00pm CT at Foster Beach Park (5200 N. Lake Shore Dr. Chicago, IL 60611) in the Andersonville neighborhood. This annual, free festival features performances by refugee, asylee, and immigrant artists and includes a soccer tournament and family activities, which are all important to the refugee community. There will also be culturally diverse food and drinks. The event is free and open to the public. | |
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Construction Updates and Traffic Notices
You can view a list of major ongoing projects in the ward mapped out at aldermanmartin.com/infrastructure. To receive regular updates on any of those major construction projects, or to share questions and concerns, please email josh@aldermanmartin.com. If you want to find more information about smaller scale construction projects happening near you, consult our Help Desk.
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Street and Alley Resurfacings
The Department of Transportation (CDOT) will soon complete paving this year’s first batch of alleys and streets funded through Ald. Martin’s annual infrastructure fund. The asphalt has been removed for all streets and alleys. While CDOT fell behind on their original paving schedule, they now aim to put down the fresh layer of asphalt next week. This list of blocks includes:
- Hermitage from Ainslie to Winnemac
- Leland from Ashland to Paulina (in advance of the Leland Greenway construction)
- Hoyne from Grace to Byron
- Wolcott from Bradley to Grace.
The list of alleys includes:
- The alley bounded by Clark, Argyle, Janssen, and Ainslie
- The alley bounded by Ashland, Wilson, Sunnyside, and Paulina
- The alley bounded by Damen, Leland, Lawrence, and Winchester
- The alley bounded by Ashland, Cornelia, Addison, and Marshfield
- The alley bounded by Wilson, Sunnyside, Greenview, and Ashland
- The alley bounded by Wolcott, Wilson, Winchester, and Sunnyside
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Revere Park Construction
Construction at Revere Park is wrapping up. The Park District has successfully reopened the northwest baseball field, with work on repaving the path scheduled for this week. The fieldhouse is still expected to be open in June, in time for Summer Programming starting June 26th, which includes Day Camp and Camp Junior Counselor as well as Photography and Drawing & Painting. To sign up, go to www.chicagoparkdistrict.com and click on Programs and Memberships.
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Irving Park Brown Line Pedestrian Improvements
CDOT crews are making pedestrian safety improvements to the concrete on Irving Park between Wolcott and Ravenswood. This includes replacing damaged pedestrian ramps at Irving Park & Ravenswood. Crews are also constructing curb extensions on either side of the crosswalk under the El tracks, to narrow the crossing distance and improve safety for commuters using the crosswalk. Work on this last crosswalk was delayed due to a significant water leak, which the Water Department repaired late this week. CDOT hopes to complete and reopen the Brown Line crosswalk next week.
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Belmont Resurfacing and Complete Streets Project
Crews have removed the old asphalt on Belmont between Western and Kedzie and put down the first of two layers of asphalt. They are continuing to adjust utility and manhole heights, as well as patching damaged areas of roadway and curb, before a second layer of asphalt can be put down. At the same time, crews have completed repairs to the bridge over the river, with the traffic configuration returning to normal late this week.
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North DuSable Lake Shore Drive Resurfacing
The Department of Transportation is repaving portions of DuSable Lake Shore Drive:
- northbound DLSD from LaSalle Dr to Lawrence Ave, and
- southbound DLSD from Lawrence Ave to Irving Park Rd.
Crews will work extended evening and overnight hours, in addition to off-rush daytime work, to complete the work by mid-June. All lanes in the southbound direction will be fully reopened to traffic during the morning rush period and all northbound lanes will be fully reopened to traffic in the afternoon rush period. You can view an updated construction schedule weekly by clicking here.
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Ravenswood Metra Station Construction
Metra has pushed back their station opening date to July. This delay is due in part to supply chain problems (which have delayed delivery of structural glazed tile), and in part to the need to address some leaks and hairline cracks in the new platform before the it is open to the public.
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The next 19th District Council meeting will be held at Weiss Hospital Auditorium on Tuesday, June 27th at 6:30PM at 4646 N. Marine Drive. Those interested in keeping in touch with the District Council Members and working together to keep our community safe can find more information at https://www.19thdistrictcouncil.com or contact them at 19thDistrictCouncil@gmail.com. | |
The 20th Police District Council is holding their second monthly meeting next Monday, June 12th, at 6PM at Unity Lutheran Church at 1212 W. Balmoral Ave. We encourage residents to attend the meeting and get involved in building a safer and more accountable community. You can RSVP here. | |
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The Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) has opened the application for its Community Advisory Council (CAC). CAC members will serve as an important communication conduit between COPA and the broader community. They will share their perspectives from the community about the ongoing work of COPA and provide input on COPA-related issues. Members will reflect a wide ranging of experiences and backgrounds, including faith-based organizations, police reformers, policy advocates, and others. Those interested in the issues of police reform, community service, and neighborhood advocacy may be interested in this position.
Those interested in applying should do so here. The application closes June 30, 2023.
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For more information about Green Council please click HERE. | |
Repair Cafe is back! On 6/10, the team will be at Sulzer library from 10am-12pm to revive and refresh your items for free! For more information, click HERE. | |
GiGi's Playhouse Chicago will host the 2023 GiGiFIT Acceptance Challenge on June 24, 2023, at 9am in Lincoln Park. The event includes a 5k fun-run, a 1-mile walk, a dash for Down syndrome, and other fun activities for the whole family. Registration for the Chicago GiGiFIT Acceptance Challenge is $35 per adult | $15 per child under 13 | free for those with Down syndrome, with a virtual registration option available if you can’t attend in person. Email Ashley Bowman at abowman@gigisplayhouse.org if you have question about registration, sponsorship, or any other event details. | |
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Community Job Boards
Looking to work locally? Many of our local chambers of commerce offer job boards to help highlight openings at local businesses. Find more information at the following links:
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47th Ward Ald. Matt Martin
4243 N Lincoln Ave | 773-868-4747
Open 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Monday-Friday
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