Primary Results: Bring Chicago Home Fails, and State’s Attorney Race a Nail-Biter
Chicago’s Primary Election polls closed last Tuesday with what officials called “shockingly low” voter turnout. Of the city’s nearly 1.7 million registered voters, only 22 percent cast a ballot, according to the Chicago Board of Elections. For comparison, the 2020 presidential primary saw a 37.8 percent turnout. Johnson’s marquee initiative, Bring Chicago Home, failed to pass, with 52.2 percent votes against and 47.7 percent votes for the referendum. South Shore residents voted in favor of an advisory referendum for a community benefits agreement that will protect residents living near the Obama Presidential Center from displacement due to anticipated gentrification. At press time, the race for Cook County’s State’s Attorney is still a toss-up between Eileen O’Neil Burke and Clayton Harris III, with Burke holding on to a slim lead of about 1,700 votes. According to the Sun Times on Monday, election officials said there are 53,768 outstanding mail-in ballots, though they do not expect all of them to be completed or mailed back. Officials plan on continuing to count mail-in ballots until April 2, as long as they were postmarked by last Tuesday.
Voters Overwhelmingly Favor Community Benefit Agreement Referendums
Voters in two 7th Ward precincts overwhelmingly voted to support a South Shore Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) to prevent displacement in areas surrounding the under-construction Obama Presidential Center. The non-binding referendum called for property tax relief, increased homeownership, and eviction protection, among other anti-gentrification measures. According to the Board of Elections website, out of 224 total returned ballots across the two precincts, 175 voted yes and 49 voted no. Construction on the more than $800 million center began in September 2021 along Stony Island Avenue, from 59th St. to 62nd St. Opening day is scheduled to be in 2026, according to reporting by the Sun-Times.
Art Week in April on Navy Pier
EXPO ART WEEK is back from April 8–14. The event stretches along Navy Pier and across the city with contemporary and modern art installations, performances, dialogues and galleries. There is a night dedicated to the South Side on Tuesday, April 9. With eleven locations to visit on this day, event-goers can stop by the Hyde Park Art Center, South Side Community Art Center, the DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center to name a few. The day’s full schedule can be found on their website: bit.ly/ExpoSouthSide2024. EXPO ART WEEK is in conjunction with EXPO CHICAGO which is hosted at Navy Pier and is back for its 11th year. The event at Navy Pier will feature over 170 galleries from more than twenty-nine countries; ticket prices begin at $40 for single-day admission.