Politics & Government News
New Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot visited the McKinley Park branch of the Chicago Public Library on Monday, June 24, to kick off the library system's Summer Learning Challenge. While there, she acknowledged the central role that libraries play in communities, especially for children.
"Libraries are where magic happens," Lightfoot said. "It's where kids can come ... and use their imaginations for endless possibilities to really grow themselves."
Read more: Lightfoot Inaugurates Summer Learning Challenge at McKinley Park Library
New Chicago LISC Board Chair Gery ChicoCommunity organizer and former Chicago mayoral candidate Gery Chico has moved to a new role that he hopes engenders the opportunities and community he enjoyed as a child growing up in the McKinley Park neighborhood, he said. Now serving as the new board chair for Chicago's Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), Chico is spearheading efforts to help neighborhoods inspire commercial development, engage in community planning and support youth programs.
"I understand what neighborhoods need, especially when they’re being invested in," Chico said, pointing to the local investment a LISC can help inspire. “I want people to think when they’re older, 'Wow, I really had a nice experience growing up in that neighborhood, and it enables me to do what I do today.'"
On Wednesday, June 5, the McKinley Park Civic Association held its last meeting until next fall at the McKinley Park branch of the Chicago Public Library. In addition to recapping the hugely successful (and rain-free) Memorial Day Parade, the association set a date of March 8, 2020, for its annual banquet and educators awards dinner.
Local attorney Steve Demitro shared a brief "Lecture on the Law" that included questions and answers on community-focused legal topics. Among other things, Demitro highlighted the obligations and restrictions enacted through the Chicago Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance, one of the strongest renters protections in the country, he said.
Read more: Civic Association Signs Off for Summer, Slates 2020 Banquet Date
The McKinley Park neighborhood and the rest of the Chicago Police Department's Ninth District is getting a new commander, thanks to recent changes in police command structure, said Officer Jason Sollis at the May 8 meeting for Beat 912 of the Chicago Alternative Police Strategy (CAPS) program. Current commander Randall Darlin is getting promoted up the ranks, Sollis said, and 9th District Cpt. Don Jerome will rise into the commander position.
"He is very active," Sollis said of Jerome's on-the-spot presence at Ninth District crime scenes. "If you listen to the scanner, he is everywhere."
Read more: New 9th District Commander, Neighborhood Crime Incidents Highlight CAPS Meeting Agenda
Thanks in part to advocacy and testimony by students from the McKinley Park neighborhood's Horizon Science Academy, the Chicago City Council and 12th Ward Alderman George Cardenas have pushed Chicago to be the first major U.S. city to officially support a Carbon Fee and Dividend policy at the federal level. The adoption of Resolution R2017-915 follows months of outreach from Horizon students, backed by other locally active environmental advocacy groups such as the Citizens Climate Lobby, to get Chicago to adopt the non-binding resolution.
On March 11, Horizon students Evelyn Munoz, Isabel Abarca and Luis Ortega were among the testifiers on behalf of the resolution in front of the Committee on Health and Environmental Protection, which Cardenas chairs. On March 13, the measure passed with every city council member present voting in favor of it.
Read more: Horizon Students, Alderman Cardenas Push Environmental Moves in City Council
