Development Council Expands Board, Lands 501(c)(3) Status

The McKinley Park Development Council has continued to grow with the addition of three new board members and the official designation of the group as a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. At its July 17, 2019, meeting, council members elected McKinley Park neighborhood residents Jim Hankes, Mary Carmen Moreno and Faye "Nikita" Wu to the board of directors. Tony Adams and Kara Breems successfully ran as reappointment candidates.

Being formally recognized as a non-profit by the U.S. federal government represents an important milestone for the council, said President John Belcik. "This will help us reach that goal of starting and completing projects that the neighborhood wants and deserves," he said.

Notably, donations to the council and its programs and projects will be tax-deductible, Belcik said, and the formal non-profit status opens up a lot of opportunities for working with other programs and groups. This will become increasingly important this fall as the group completes and releases its neighborhood plan project, created with the help of the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP), he said.

"Before, we were reliant on grants or pro-bono services," Belcik said. "Being a not-for-profit allows smaller sources such as individuals or small businesses to donate as much or as little as they want."

A Plan for the McKinley Park Neighborhood

The CMAP neighborhood plan represents the council's largest project to date, enabled through CMAP's Local Technical Assistance grant program. Over $100,000 in CMAP-provided professional services have been leveraged toward the project; the council is responsible for raising $15,000 in funds toward the project cost, half of which has already been paid.

The end result of the CMAP project will be a comprehensive neighborhood plan based on existing conditions, community feedback and best practices in urban planning. A draft of the plan will be made available for community review and feedback at the McKinley Park Development Council Meeting on Wednesday, November 20, at Aquinas Literacy Center. The final release of the neighborhood plan will take place on Wednesday, December 18, at the McKinley Park Development Council Holiday Party at One City Tap.

Council Board Members

The McKinley Park Development Council has existed as a grass-roots neighborhood group since its start in the summer of 2016. Founding board members included Tony Adams, John Belcik, Kara Breems, Dayna Calderon, Samantha Belcik and Justin Kerr. Current board members are Anabel Abarca, Tony Adams, John Belcik, Kara Breems, Dayna Calderon, Dan Covarrubias, Mario Diaz, Liz Gres, Jim Hankes, Justin Kerr, Mary Carmen Moreno and Nikita Wu.

The public is invited to all council meetings and to get involved with the organization and its programs, Belcik said. The next McKinley Park Development Council Meeting will take place on Wednesday, September 18, at Kristoffer's Cakes.