August 16
At its first meeting since the firing of Public Health Commissioner Allison Arwady on August 11, the Chicago Department of Public Health Chicago Board of Health learned that 47,625 Illinois residents have lost Medicaid coverage since August 1, including access to treatment and prescriptions. Acting Health Department Commissioner Fikirte Wagaw said the state estimates that number could increase to 700,000. In Chicago, the department is working with Chicago Public Schools to coordinate Medicaid enrollment. A two-year suspension of Medicaid “redetermination,” which requires reporting of income, has been lifted, and many individuals have not satisfied reporting requirements. Wagaw said that the health department is coordinating enrollment in cooperation with Chicago Public Schools. In addition, the board learned that beginning in September, vending machines in five locations will offer free naloxone, fentanyl, and xylazine test kits, feminine hygiene kits, socks, and underwear. Free Narcan nasal spray will be available at all eighty-one Chicago Public Libraries. Before Dr. Arwady’s firing, the board sent a letter to the mayor that acknowledged her work and spelled out qualities board members hope to find in her successor.
August 17
At a meeting of the Chicago Police Board, vice president Ghian Foreman expressed transparency concerns in connection with a determination that officers facing serious misconduct allegations could choose to have their cases reviewed out of the public eye. “Police accountability, and ultimately the people of Chicago, will suffer,” he said, “if the most serious police disciplinary cases are removed from the Police Board’s jurisdiction.” The board posts its decisions on the city’s website, but arbitration is a private process that uses neutral third parties to settle disputes. This approach “would be a greater disadvantage to police accountability and the people of Chicago,” he said. Deputy Inspector General for Public Safety Tobara Richardson provided an overview of 2021 findings indicating that the proposed disciplinary grievance procedure lacks the same level of transparency and that “arbitrators exercise broad, unbounded discretion.” Andrea Kersten, chief administrator of the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, reported that thirty percent of the complaints she received in July—“once again”—were for the Fourth Amendment prohibition against unreasonable searches and seizures. She is also concerned that the reform consent decree enacted recently does not apply to arbitrators and there is no timeline for the arbitration process.
An amended proposal for expansion of the Blackhawks’ training facility on the Near West Side was approved at a meeting of the Chicago Plan Commission. The expansion, which will allegedly be the first public hockey facility on the West Side and create 260 jobs, is scheduled for completion by 2026. The team’s $23.5 million land purchase from Rush University Medical Center will make the expansion possible and was approved by the City Council in April. Sankofa Wellness Village, a $50-million wellness complex in West Garfield Park, will also benefit from Rush’s planned investment of several million dollars in its development. The Commission also authorized repurposing the former Charles Warrington Earle School into affordable housing. Lincoln Park’s Royal George Theatre, which had gone unused during the pandemic, will be demolished to make way for development.
August 22
The Damen Silos are being considered for demolition and are under permit review by the City. Attended by more than one hundred individuals, a public meeting of the Chicago Department of Public Health revealed a number of concerns. Known as the Damen Silos, the structures are located along the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal near 29th Street and Damen Avenue and were featured in the 2014 movie “Transformers: Age of Extinction.” Community members are concerned about a lack of transparency in connection with demolition, which is seen to be environmentally complex and may involve issues of environmental racism. The site was purchased from the state last year by Michael Tadin, Jr., for $6.5 million. Tadin is a contractor and co-owner of the MAT Asphalt plant in McKinley Park. Public comment was filled with mentions of the 2020 Hilco smokestack implosion in Little Village, which sent a massive dust cloud rolling over the neighborhood. City officials said that the Damen Silos, five grain elevators vacant since a 1977 explosion, will be demolished by excavators; no explosives will be involved. Protests filed with the state had no effect on the sale.
August 23
The Illinois Missing and Murdered Women Task Force held its second meeting to establish fundamental processes and plan next steps. Serving as chair and co-chair are the sponsors of the bill that created the task force, State Senator Mattie Hunter and Representative Kam Buckner, both Democrats. The approximately fourteen or more task force members are required to complete three training courses on ethics, sexual harassment, and DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion). The task force has completed some research on similar programs in other states. Summaries from meetings with task forces from Wisconsin and Montana are available as is a plan for a meeting with the Minnesota program leaders. The programs vary considerably. Wisconsin, for example, has thirty-five to forty voting members and about another ninety who serve on four subcommittees—family impact/services, data, systems, and legal. Thirteen indigenous tribes are represented. Montana has thirteen or fourteen members. Each of the two programs employs one or two staff members. The Wisconsin and Montana task forces suggested these reasons that women and girls go missing: human trafficking, extreme poverty, substance use, and child/family violence.
August 24
Nearly thirty public commenters registered to speak at a Chicago Public Schools Board of Education meeting—two exclusively in Spanish with translation—about myriad topics including air conditioning, the need for a new school play lot thanks to a sinkhole (parents have raised money and have solicited support from Springfield), misappropriation of funds and funds approved but not received, the resignation of an entire special education department, discontinuation of transportation for gifted learners and others with three weeks’ notice, praise for “community circles” that celebrate success, the disproportionate closing of schools in Black neighborhoods, shootings of sixteen students over a weekend, a claim that only ten percent of students at a school can read, several invitations for Board members to visit individual schools, and more. CPS CEO Pedro Martinez provided some numbers to launch the new year: 232 more special education teachers, 365 bilingual and special education teachers, 730 education support personnel. Fifty-eight percent of new hires are persons of color. Next year—2024—is a Local School Council election year. A kickoff meeting to explain the process and answer questions is set for September 21, and potential candidates should RSVP by September 20. Revised physical restraint policy standards for schools have been updated and training requirements listed.
This information was collected and curated by the Weekly in large part using reporting from City Bureau’s Documenters at documenters.org