33rd Ward Staff – Page 21 – Rossana Rodriguez

Author: 33rd Ward Staff

33rd Ward Team’s week in Review 2/17-2/21

Monday 2/17 (closed for President's Day) Tuesday 2/18 17th District CAPS Meeting // Beats 1724 & 1713 The 17th District CAPS team discussed the recent increase in crime. Robberies are up but the police have also made 3 arrests related to recent robberies. One of the individuals in custody is tied to over 12 robberies. There is another individual in custody related to a shooting incident from February 12 on the 3200 block of Belle Plaine. This individual is not affiliated with a gang. There was also discussion about the recent shooting incidents that have taken place in the 17thContinue

Safety is Lit Brigade, Mon 2/24

One important element to community safety is making sure that our streets are will lit by our street lights. Our office recognizes that in recent month there have been significant delays in the city's response time when it comes to fixing street and alley lights that are out around the city. This delay is due to low numbers in personnel but also due to high numbers of lights out issues that has been caused by the installation of the new LED Smartlights all around the city. With that said, a second barrier to getting lights fixed in our ward isContinue

Current Community Safety Action Steps for the 33rd Ward

Our neighborhoods have been hurt and shaken by gun violence resulting from a series of gang conflicts that have escalated dramatically in recent days. We have a beautiful community, and no one should be fearful to live here and enjoy it.I have been in regular communication with Mayor Lightfoot about the seriousness of this situation this week, and am pleased to announce that the city will be expanding its violence interruption efforts to include Albany Park and neighboring areas that have been hard hit recently by gun violence.Through the Communities Partnering 4 Peace program, agencies dispatch street outreach workers focusedContinue

2020 Participatory Budgeting Results

Our participatory budgeting process asked residents two questions: What percentage of our total menu funding should to go street repairs, and Which projects residents would like to see funded with the remaining money. As a result of the vote, 50 percent of menu funding--a total of about $500,000--will go towards street and alley repaving. The Department of Transportation makes the ultimate determination of which streets are priorities. (NB: Currently, aldermanic menu funds are the only funds available for street/alley resurfacing. The Inspector General thinks this should change, and so we do-- read more about that here). The remaining funding will beContinue

33rd Ward Safety Townhall

Last Saturday, we held our first Community Safety Town Hall. More than 75 residents attended and shared their thoughts on how we can build healthier, safer communities. We heard from experts in the fields of mental health, violence prevention, and restorative justice. The panelists introduced us to different approaches to violence prevention and gave us examples of what these interventions look like in practice--including the incredible work that Roosevelt High School, our host for the forum, is doing to implement restorative practices and teach students about healthy conflict resolution. As a community, we all committed to taking action. This initial meetingContinue

January Legislative Update

It was a busy week in City Council! I was proud to join Alds. Martin and Cardenas in introducing a resolution declaring a climate emergency and calling for an emergency climate mobilization in order to reach zero greenhouse gas emissions across all sectors of the economy. You can read more about the ordinance here. I also co-sponsored the Plastic-Free Water Ordinance that would ban single-use plastics and styrofoam in Chicago, joining more than 300 other cities. I was especially proud that this ordinance took into account the perspectives of the disability community. Read more here. Activists have been fighting for years to makeContinue

2020 Participatory Budgeting

The Office of 33rd Ward Alderman Rossana Rodriguez Sanchez is committed to the values of ward democracy and social justice. We invite you to participate in participatory budgeting to advance these values! PARTICIPATORY BUDGETING (PB) The 33rd Ward has joined seven other wards that will be using the Participatory Budgeting process to decide how to allocate our annual $1 million in Aldermanic Menu Funds. Menu funds are the only funds that are allocated to each ward for infrastructure improvements including all streets, alley, and sidewalk repavements. PB is a civic engagement program that increases transparency and democratic participation inContinue

Community Meeting for Proposed Development at 2801 W Montrose

This fall, our office launched the first community-driven zoning and development process in the 33rd Ward. Our elected representatives should be accountable to the people they represent, not politically connected developers. Therefore, this process makes zoning changes contingent on approval from community stakeholders, and commits our office to informing and involving community organizations at every stage. You can read the full policy we follow here. On Monday, the North River Commission and several neighborhood organizations held a meeting to brief residents about a proposed project at 2801 W Montrose, the current site of Ruby's Dry Cleaners. The developers for the project, MVAH Partners,Continue

“The Ripple”

This week, our office was honored to host the unveiling of "The Ripple," a community art and education project that the 33rd Ward Youth Council has been working on in partnership with artist Maxwell Emcays and families who have lost loved ones to gun violence. Members of the community gathered to view the mural, share stories and talk about how we move forward together. It was a beautiful example of how supporting the creativity and leadership of young people can open up new spaces for change. The mural is now on display in our office, and you can read more about theContinue

December Legislative Update

This week, I participated in a powerful subject matter hearing for the Development for All ordinance. This ordinance would help reduce segregation and generate more affordable units by reforming the affordable requirements ordinance (ARO). The ARO is currently one of the only tools the city has to produce affordable housing, but it's a vastly inadequate one that has led to the construction of just over 400 affordable units since 2007, according to the city’s public dashboard. When developers receive a zoning change or subsidies from the city, the ARO requires them to include some affordable units in their new project. But it providesContinue