January 9
At its meeting, the City Council Committee on Economic, Capital and Technology Development recommended that the full council confirm Ciere Boatright as the new commissioner of Chicago’s Department of Planning and Development. Boatright now serves as acting commissioner and promised “more shovels in the ground and more ribbons cut.” A South Side native, Boatright previously managed the Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives’ Pullman Park project and was a former vice president at CRG, a private real estate development firm. She said she has already begun reaching out to alderpersons about how the department can support development goals in their wards.
At its meeting, the City Council Committee on Education and Child Development learned that City Colleges of Chicago (CCC) is among the top community colleges in the nation in supporting students’ upward economic mobility, based on a 2017 New York Times analysis. Twenty-seven percent of the school’s students moved up two earning quintiles; 2.7 percent moved from the bottom quintile to the top. CCC representatives asked for $132 million in additional funding for adult education programs—$100 million from the state and $32 million from the city. The programs include such courses as English as a second language. After holding tuition steady for eight years, CCC is also asking for a seven dollar per credit hour increase.
January 10
At their meeting, members of the 11th Police District Council – Humboldt Park/West & East Garfield Park discussed Mayor Brandon Johnson’s People’s Plan for Community Safety. The plan focuses on heath, community environment, policing, education, economic opportunity and upward mobility, housing, adults of highest promise, youth of highest promise, and victims and survivors. It’s designed to “address historic disinvestment and work toward healing our communities,” according to its website. For ten years, a “diversion programs” plan from the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office has provided education and services as alternatives to conviction and incarceration to more than 27,000 participants.
January 11
The meeting of the Chicago Public Schools West Side – 2023-2024 Educational Facilities Master Plan Community Roundtable was intended, in part, to identify school facilities that are underused. CPS estimates that forty percent of facilities on the West Side are underutilized. This roundtable was the fifth of sixteen seeking community input on the master facilities plan. The West Side Planning Area includes Austin, Humboldt Park, East and West Garfield Park, and North Lawndale. The plan is legally mandated to assess schools’ building needs and plan five years of maintenance, spending, and construction. CPS officials have said they are not looking to close schools but to invest in neighborhood schools to ensure better learning experiences. Of the more than 36,000 students living in the West Side Planning Area, more than 11,000 attend schools in other locations.
January 16
At its meeting, the Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) Board of Commissioners heard from CHA CEO Tracey Scott that in 2023 forty-three families became homeowners under a CHA program, the authority’s occupancy rate is ninety-five percent, and more than 1,000 homes and mixed-income properties are serving residents. SEIU Local 73 and the CHA have reached an agreement on a four-year contract with a four percent annual wage increase, longevity bonuses for workers with more than ten years on the job, eight additional paid days of sick leave, and a $1,000 bonus when the agreement is ratified. Seven public commenters spoke on issues including poor response to complaints against a property manager, more work opportunities for residents, and the lack of laundry facilities.
January 17
At their meeting, members of the City Council Committee on Housing and Real Estate approved the sale of a vacant city-owned lot at 4939 S. Lake Park Ave. in Kenwood next to the former home of blues icon Muddy Waters. The lot was sold to Waters’ great-granddaughter Chandra Cooper for $7,556. Founder of the Muddy Waters MOJO Museum, Cooper plans to use the lot for a garden. The home received Chicago landmark status in 2021 and a $1.1 million grant from the Mellon Foundation’s Humanities in Place program in 2023. Set to open this year, the museum is designed to host live performances, music and wellness classes, and other public programming. The sale is subject to City Council approval.
January 20
At its meeting, the 2nd Police District Council – Bronzeville/Washington Park/Hyde Park received updates on two major programs in connection with CPD’s responsiveness and transparency: Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) for police officers and proposed controversial “behind closed doors” arbitration discipline for some officers. Some 4,300 officers have completed the forty-hour CIT training program to supply police with skills to de-escalate mental health crises. The program’s goals are to decrease 911 calls and to reduce incarceration in favor of referrals to appropriate services, said coordinator Lt. Joseph Schuler. Police are not involved in a separate response program enabled by the new Treatment Not Trauma ordinance, which dispatches teams of physical and mental health professionals. The City Council will vote a second time on a controversial piece of the new police contract to allow officers facing long-term suspension or firing to have their cases settled via arbitration, possibly behind closed doors. In December, the Council rejected the proposal 33-17 due to concerns about transparency and accountability.
This information was collected and curated by the Weekly in large part using reporting from City Bureau’s Documenters at documenters.org.