To learn more about the new State-imposed mitigation measures, click here for an overview and here for an FAQ from the State of Illinois

In order to align with the new State-imposed regulations and allow extra operating time for bars and restaurants operating outdoors, the City will be modifying its non-essential business curfew. Effective Friday, October 30 at 12:01 am, all Chicago non-essential businesses must be closed to the public from 11:00 pm to 6:00 am. This will allow restaurants and bars that can no longer offer indoor service an extra hour of outdoor operations each evening. Additionally, the City modified its liquor curfew to allow on-site or to-go alcohol sales at bars, restaurants and other establishments with a Tavern or Consumption on Premises-Incidental Activity license until 11:00 pm. The sale of alcohol from liquor stores, grocery stores and other establishments with a Package Goods license must still end at 9:00 pm. Click here for additional information.

The Department of Family and Support Services is launching a second open application period for our Rental Assistance Program today - Monday, November 2. This application period will close on Sunday, November 15 at 11:59 pm. Click here for information and to apply.

On Tuesday, October 13th, 3rd Ward Alderman Pat Dowell and Illinois State Senator Mattie Hunter (3rd District) virtually joined Wendell Phillips Academy High School Principal Matthew Sullivan and the Chicago Public Schools' Capital team for a high-level presentation on the specifics of a $15.5M gymnasium slated for Wendell Phillips Academy. Construction is planned to begin in the 3rd quarter of 2021.

During the town hall, the Chicago Public Schools’ Capital team presented proposed renderings for the new athletic facility. The team also shared specifics about the project, along with offering thorough explanations pertaining to many constituent questions and concerns in regarding the project's scope. Please click here for a video recording of this meeting.

On Wednesday, October 14th, Alderman Pat Dowell held a virtual town hall meeting on Chicago's Shared Housing Ordinance, featuring the Office of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (BACP). During the meeting, BACP talked about the City's role in regulating the “home-sharing industry," along with how such regulations will affect the 3rd Ward.

The home-sharing companies include well-known providers like AirBnB and HomeAway. According to City officials, there are more than 8,800 shared housing units licensed by the City to be rented through these online platforms. In some instances, the usage of these rentals has culminated in rowdy parties, noise violations and other illegal actions. To report violations, please click here. A recording of this meeting can be accessed by clicking here.

As part of the new Invest South/West program, Alderman Dowell took a walking tour on 47th Street with Invest South/West staff and consultants to brainstorm on potential Request for Proposals (RFP) sites for development. On this tour, the Alderman identified city owned locations on Calumet Ave., King Drive, and Vincennes Ave. for new commercial opportunities. An RFP for this program should be released later this year.

The Invest South/West program focuses the resources of multiple City departments, community organizations, and corporate and philanthropic partners toward 10 communities on Chicago's South and West Sides, including sites in the 3rd Ward's Bronzeville community.

As part of the Together Now grant program, 76 businesses in the 3rd Ward received a total of $300,000 to help their businesses through the COVID-19 pandemic and the civil unrest that started the weekend of May 29, 2020. Together Now is a targeted fund which supports small businesses across the City.

Citywide, the program awarded $6.2 million in grant allocations to initial applicants. These grants supported more than 1500 small businesses that experienced physical infrastructure damage and/or have experienced at least a 25% revenue loss due to COVID-19. Specifically, 1600 small business and not-for-profits benefited from these grant allocations. Due to the continued impacts of COVID-19 on the small business community, the City reopened the Together Now fund for a second application period, which awarded $3.0M in additional grant allocations to second round applicants. These grants provided $4,000 each to 756 small businesses. In total, 2356 businesses and nonprofits benefitted from this funding.

The Troubled Building Initiative (TBI) is a tool to help reclaim troubled and abandoned buildings that create dangerous and hazardous conditions for residents, neighbors, and first responders. TBI works with existing owners and lien holders, primarily through the housing court process with the use of receivers and by the acquisition of distressed notes and liens, to prevent these buildings from deteriorating into a state of disrepair which may lead to displacement, the loss of affordable housing, and unnecessary demolition. Through TBI, the City has acted aggressively to improve and acquire vacant and abandoned structures and turn them into needed affordable housing.

In the 3rd Ward the city has stabilized and/or recovered four properties for a total of 73 units through the TBI MF program in 2019: 4400 S. Calumet Ave./319-25 E. 25th St., 4412-14 S. Prairie Ave., 4512-14 S. Calumet Ave., 4710-14 S. King Drive.

The TBI program began in 2004 with a focus on troubled multifamily rental properties. In 2006, the program expanded to include vacant and abandoned one- to four-unit properties. In 2008, the program grew to incorporate distressed condominiums. Collectively, these efforts have preserved more than 16,000 rental and for-sale units across the City.

The Garfield Green Line Station (319 E. Garfield Blvd.) and the building at 2218 S. Michigan Ave. in the Motor Row District have received the prestigious 2020 Preservation Excellence Award. The Green Line station received the award for restoration, with 2218 S. Michigan Ave. being awarded for rehabilitation. These awards, selected by the Commission on Chicago Landmarks, honor outstanding projects that involve notable improvements to individua Chicago Landmarks or to buildings within Chicago Landmark Districts.

The Chicago Department of Transportation signal section will be conducting a field survey at 16th St. and State St., 16th St. and Wabash Ave., 16th St. and Michigan Ave., and 16th St. and Indiana Ave. to determine whether these intersections meet the criteria for "No Turn on Red" signs. This study is being performed per the request of Alderman Dowell and members of the community to investigate if the installation of "No Turn on Red" signs would help alleviate speeding and help improve pedestrian and bicycle safety. When the field study is completed, the 3rd Ward Public Service Office will inform the community of the results.

Residents and staff of the Matthew House (3722 S. Indiana Ave.) spent a few days in October cleaning up a large vacant lot in the Bronzeville neighborhood. Matthew House routinely works with Ward Superintendent Thomas Stovall to identify locations in need of cleaning and to arrange tool drop-off and garbage pickup. Thank you to Matthew House for their consistent service to our community.

The Department of Planning and Development (DPD) and Somercor will roll out the Small Business Improvement Fund (SBIF) grant program for applications in November. Applications will be accepted in the following TIF districts from 9 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 2 to 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 1:

For additional information, including program rules and the application, visit www.somercor.com/sbif. Questions can be directed to Silvia Orozco at sorozco@somercor.com.

For a complete list of Soldier Field events, please visit www.SoldierField.net/event. The 3rd Ward is providing the list below as a courtesy to residents and visitors and does not assume liability for the accuracy of the monthly list of South Loop events. All Soldier Field events are subject to change, including cancellation or the scheduling of additional events. It is your responsibility to adhere to the parking restrictions in place. 

The Business Interruption Grant (BIG) program is a $636 million program developed by the Illinois General Assembly and Governor Pritzker to provide economic relief for small businesses hit hardest by COVID-19. BIG leverages federal funding provided by the CARES Act to help offset COVID-19 related losses for Illinois small businesses. Funding may be used to help businesses with working capital expenses, including payroll costs, rent, utilities, and other operational costs, as defined in the eligible cost list found below.

The state of Illinois and the federal government have created assistance programs for small businesses during the COVID-19 crisis. There are a variety of funds, grants and other resources that small businesses can apply for. The Illinois Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) are located throughout the state and provide information, business guidance, training, and other resources to start-up and existing small businesses – find one near you.

The Illinois Small Business COVID-19 Relief Program is an impact investment loan program under which the State Treasurer has made up to $500 million in deposits available to banks and credit unions throughout the state, at near-zero rates, to assist Illinois small business and non-profits negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. For more information, see this flyer. The financial institutions that are actively participating in the low-interest loan programs can be found here.

The Small Business Administration assists small businesses with accessing federal resources and navigating their own preparedness plans for the COVID-19 crisis. SBA is offering guidelines and loan resources during the pandemic – check out their website for my information.

Economic Injury Disaster Loan provides long-term, low-interest loans to qualified small businesses, including agricultural businesses, and private non-profit organizations currently experiencing a temporary loss of revenue as a result of the COVID-19 crisis.

To apply

Express Bridge Loan Pilot Program allows small businesses who currently have a relationship with an SBA Express Lender to access up to $25,000 quickly. If a small business has an urgent need for cash, these loans can overcome the temporary loss of revenue or bridge the gap while applying for a direct SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loan. For more information visit the website, or click here for the outline of the procedures.

For more information, check out their website.

Instacart is incredibly proud to announce the launch of EBT SNAP on the Instacart platform in partnership with ALDI. To start, Instacart will roll out EBT SNAP functionality with ALDI in the coming weeks in Georgia, to be quickly followed by California, Florida, Illinois, and Pennsylvania in the coming months. To find the ALDI location nearest you, please click here. As part of this new program, EBT SNAP participants will be able to shop from ALDI via the Instacart online site and mobile app. Once an Instacart customer profile is created, customers can enter their EBT food card information as a form of payment in their profile. Customers will need a secondary form of payment for non-food items such as taxes, tips and fees per SNAP guidelines. Customers can then enter their zip code to determine if they are near a participating ALDI store, and begin shopping and selecting items from ALDI’s EBT SNAP-eligible products. Once items are added to their cart, customers will be able to select how much of their benefits they would like to allocate to the order. ALDI delivery and pickup via Instacart will be available daily from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.

The 2020-2021 Maroon Tutor Match (MTM) parent application is now open! If you know families who are interested in having a UChicago student provide 1:1 virtual tutoring to their child(ren), please feel free to sign up at this link to be matched. Tutoring rates are $14/hr. and we have limited scholarships available to local families in need of financial support.  To learn more, feel free to reach out to maroontutormatch@uchicago.edu for more info!

Where: Click Here to Register for 11/2, here for 11/7

When: Monday, November 2nd at 6:00 pm and Saturday, November 7th at 9:00 am

Residents are invited to participate in a two-part series to creates the 2nd District's 2021 District Strategic Planning Community Conversation. Let's make a difference in our neighborhood together. Register on Eventbrite by clicking here.

Timothy Community Corporation is hosting a Drive Thru-Give Away where they will be handing out PPE kits containing gloves, masks, wipes and more. Free bike helmets and books will also be available.

Where: Timothy Community Corporation (4351 S. Drexel Blvd.)

When: Saturday, November 7th from 1:00 pm to 2:30 pm

NHS will take you through the basics of the foreclosure process, loan modification and mediation. You will also receive information on available mortgage assistance grant opportunities. This is an online course taught by a live instructor via Zoom. This webinar covers the following topics:

Where: Click Here to Register