Chicago Board of Education District 7B member Yesenia Lopez speaks at the June 4, 2025, meeting of the McKinley Park Civic Association alongside association officers Chris Bania and Sylvia Cortez.

The McKinley Park Civic Association hosted elected officials and plotted the next stage of its growth and programs at its June 4, 2025, meeting at the McKinley Park branch of the Chicago Public Library .

Yesenia Lopez , the area's elected school board member for Chicago Board of Education District 7B, spoke and reviewed her role on the board, including her recently passed resolution providing more protections for the students, families and staff of Chicago Public Schools (CPS) charter schools in the wake of the Acero Schools charter network's plan to shutter several of their campuses.

She also spoke of the board's search for a new CEO and the $529 million CPS budget gap.

"Funding from federal grants for COVID-19 has dried up," she said.

Illinois 24th District State Representative Theresa Mah also attended the meeting and shared details of the intensive work required to pass a state budget for the next fiscal year, including new sources of tax revenue.

McKinley Park Civic Association President Chris Bania told how 11th Ward Alderwoman Nicole Lee and 12th Ward Alderwoman Julia Ramirez co-sponsored a joint resolution in the Chicago City Council for former association President Agnes Bednarkiewicz in the wake of her passing earlier this year.

Bania also outlined plans to review and revise the recently unearthed and long-in-the-tooth association bylaws over the summer break. He noted that 11 new members have recently signed up thanks to outreach directly and at the association-hosted Memorial Day Parade .

The next McKinley Park Civic Association Meeting is at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, September 3, 2025, at the McKinley Park public library, 1915 W. 35th St., Chicago.


Attendees celebrate Chicago's McKinley Park neighborhood at the June 4, 2025, meeting of the McKinley Park Civic Association.