Since Roe V. Wade was overturned last summer, I’ve been leading the charge to make Chicago a sanctuary city for gender-affirming care and reproductive healthcare. Working with my colleagues in the 35th Ward, 47th Ward, 49th Ward, the Legislative Reference Bureau, and the Mayor, we passed the Bodily Autonomy Ordinance last year. Currently, every city agency is revising its policies and procedures to come into compliance with the Bodily Autonomy Ordinance. At the last Council meeting, we passed an ordinance that now makes it illegal for employers and landlords to discriminate against Chicagoans and people coming to Chicago seeking gender-affirmingContinue

We are happy to announce that the Maria Elena Sifuentes Apartment Building on Central Park Ave & Lawrence Ave will have an application event on Saturday, January 28th, 2023 at Roosevelt High School (3436 W Wilson Ave). The applications will be provided on a first come first serve basis and up to 250 applications will be accepted. This was made possible through TIFF funding and low-income housing tax credits through (LIHTC). Thank you, Communities United, for your tireless advocacy to make this a reality, and to Celadon Partners for developing this much-needed affordable housing site! If you need more information,Continue

Our Participatory Budgeting process for 2023 is almost to a close. We opened the voting process on December 12, 2022 and today we have reached over 1,000 votes! We are so grateful for everyone who has volunteered, voted, or spread the word about this process. In this final week of voting we are asking you to continue to help us reach our goal of 2,000 votes. Click here to view the projects our volunteers have agreed upon. The final day to cast your vote is Friday, January 20th. You are able to vote online using this link. If you preferContinue

Happy New Year! Each new year is a gift of learning, growth, and hope. May your mind and soul be enriched with love, solidarity, and more in the days to come! We wish you a successful and prosperous 2023! **** Last year we celebrated the groundbreaking for the Maria Elena Sifuentes apartment building, located at 3559 W Lawrence Ave. This was our first planned development (PD) delivered through our Community Driven Zoning Process. Through this project, we honor the legacy of Maria Elena Sifuentes, a beloved organizer in our community who fought fiercely for affordable housing and against displacement. TheContinue

Severe Winter Storm Advisory. Dec 22-Dec 24, 2022 Dear community, The National Weather Service has issued a warning for a significant winter storm beginning this evening (December 22nd) which will is projected to bring a substantial snowfall beginning this evening and continuing into the early hours of Saturday morning. It will also bring near-and-sub-zero temperatures throughout the holiday weekend and into next week.  My staff will be standing by to assist at info@33rdward.org or at 773-840-7880 for any snow-related emergencies that my arise today and Friday. The office will not be open to walk-ins on Friday to ensure that neighbors travel as littleContinue

As part of the 2021 budget, every single Alderperson received $100,000 to support community-based programs and organizations. I believe that how each Alderperson spent these city-funded microgrants says something about their values, their approach, their openness to collaboration, their boldness, and above all else a recognition of the needs of the communities they represent. I decided to spend these funds in several ways: A cash assistance program run by HANA Center, funding for a mobile skatepark for youth, Israel Gift of Hope for a community-center, anti-gun violence efforts, and Ada Garcia, formerly of Anchor Baby, who worked with North BranchContinue

    Voting for Participatory Budgeting opens this coming Monday, December 12th, 2022, and goes through Friday, January 20th, 2023! You can register to vote electronically here. Once registered you will receive an email with voting instructions. You can also vote in person at the following locations: the 33rd Ward Alderman’s Office, Roosevelt High School, and Carl Von Linne Elementary School. If you would like to know what proposals our neighbors and volunteers have selected, please visit our website. If you would like to volunteer to get out the PB vote, please fill out this form or contact Stacy in our officeContinue

    Participatory Budgeting is such a beautiful community process. We are getting ready to start the voting process in the ward! This week we gathered at the Roosevelt High School Library to talk about the projects that will go on the ballot and how to roll out voting for the whole ward. We will have events to get out the vote in every neighborhood of our ward. There will also be drop boxes at select locations and we will be knocking on doors to ensure that the word is out.   It’s always amazing to see these projects that haveContinue

This week we spent some time doing senior visits and checking on our older residents. One of our visits was to Moogoong Terrace Apartments where we learned that the residents in collaboration with HANA Center decorated Korea’s tree for the Museum of Science and Industry’s annual Christmas Around the World and Holidays of Light exhibit. There was such a beautiful sense of pride in all the seniors as they talked about their wonderful experiences. The tree, according to the Museum of Science and Industry, is decorated entirely with paper ornaments, including handcrafted items such as Beoseon (traditional Korean socks), Hanbok (traditional KoreanContinue

Earlier this week, 24 City Council members and I tried to convene a special City Council meeting to discuss placing the Bring Chicago Home proposal on the February 2023 ballot. Bring Chicago Home proposes to increase the city’s real estate transfer tax by 1.9 percent on properties that sell for over $1,000,000 – and only on properties that sell for over $1,000,000 – and use those funds to provide a permanent funding stream for affordable housing and homelessness prevention.   We needed just one more member of the City Council meeting to hold the meeting, but none came. At least nineContinue