I spent much of this week in hearings for the city's 2022 budget. During hearings, City Council members have the opportunity to direct questions and concerns to the heads of each city department about the budget proposed by Mayor Lightfoot. It's a key part of our role as an independent legislative body. This week, commissioners from the Departments of Family and Support Services, Human Resources and Public Health (among others) discussed topics ranging from expanding supports for people experiencing homelessness to filling city vacancies faster to improving mental-health-related programs.  Next week will be a critical one: We'll be hearing from the ChicagoContinue

This week, I have spent time meeting with neighbors to discuss the critical issue of community safety and the next steps we can take together to build safe, healthy communities for all. As a resident and mother of a young child in the ward, I share your concerns and convictions about the urgency of addressing gun violence, and I want to share with residents both the immediate steps we currently take to confront these issues and the longer-term solutions we are building towards.  On Wednesday, a shooting took place on the 3800 block of N Richmond, and two men were injured and transported toContinue

After our in-person property tax appeal help sessions filled up quickly last week, I want to invite residents to a virtual webinar we will hold next Wednesday, Sept. 15 at 6PM with Assessor Fritz Kaegi's office.  Register here After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. You can also learn more about residential appeals on the Assessor's website. Rising property taxes hurt both homeowners and renters in our ward and citywide, and I'm committed to using all available tools to help longtime residents stay in their home and to finding fairer ways to fund our city. Continue

As 33rd Ward residents receive their second installment property tax bills for 2020, I have been hearing from numerous residents struggling to pay steep increases—especially our seniors on fixed incomes.  Rising property taxes hurts both homeowners and renters in our community. That’s why I voted against the property tax increase passed through Mayor Lightfoot's budget last year and will continue to advocate for fairer ways to fund our city. As one small step toward helping longtime neighbors stay in their homes, our office offered a day-long property tax appeal workshop this week. We were able to work with about twoContinue

School is back in session, and I want to send along my best wishes to all the students, teachers and staff headed back to the classrooms, as well as the parents and community members who will be supporting them.  As the mother of a six-year-old who attends CPS, I've been feeling a great deal of anxiety about my unvaccinated child returning to an indoor setting as the Delta variant surges. This week, I signed on to a letter asking Chicago Public Schools to improve social distancing, quarantine and contact tracing protocols in schools, communicate these clearly to parents, and work withContinue

As you may have heard, starting today masks are once again required in all indoor public settings. The Chicago Department of Public Health is reinstating the indoor mask mandate because we have surpassed an average of 400 new Covid-19 cases daily. Everyone regardless of vaccination status must wear a mask while indoors in public settings, including bars and restaurants, gyms, common areas of condos/residential buildings, and private clubs. As with previous mask mandates, masks can be removed during certain activities that require it, and in offices not open to the public, when you can distance. The new public health order doesContinue

This Friday started with something unexpected for our 33rd Ward team. Some Avondale neighbors reached out to us about an Amazon delivery locker recently installed in Brands Park. When one of them sent a photo, I did a double-take: the locker was completely blocking the public sidewalk, posing a hazard for parents with strollers, people in wheelchairs, and others.  We immediately contacted the park and, in this instance, we were told that the locker was installed in the wrong location and will be removed. However, I'm looking further into the contractual relationship between the parks district and Amazon, which has apparentlyContinue

School is just around the corner, so if you're a parent or guardian of children age 12 or older, please make sure to get them vaccinated for Covid-19! There's now another great option right here in the 33rd Ward: Roosevelt High School at 3436 W Wilson Ave has a walk-up vaccine clinic on Wednesdays from 9AM - 1PM, no appointment, ID, or insurance required.  New Covid infections are on rise again, driven by the highly contagious Delta variant. Statewide, hospitalizations from Covid have quadrupled in the past month. It's important that we begin to practice more caution again. The ChicagoContinue

As you may have heard, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued updated guidance for fully vaccinated people this week. With new data and information emerging with the more contagious B.1.617.2 (Delta) variant, the CDC is now recommending that fully vaccinated people wear a mask in public indoor settings in areas of substantial or high transmission.  As of now, that includes suburban Cook County, as you can see in the CDC's heatmap of community transmission, available on their website. Suburban Cook County has brought back an indoor mask mandate this week, and while Chicago has not yet taken this step,Continue