Editor’s Note
Welcome to Newswire — your weekly guide to Chicago government, civic action and what action we can take to make our city great, featuring public meeting coverage by City Bureau’s Documenters.
Quote of the Week
“I unexpectedly inherited a record shop from my uncle and my original plan was to get my money out as fast as possible, but the community in so many ways told us that they didn't want another vacant storefront.”
— Clifton Muhammad, owner of the Record Track, explaining how his plan for turning a vacant city lot into an outdoor “hands-on music experience” and community space came to be.
[City Council Committee on Housing and Real Estate, Jan. 7, 2025]
Putting land to use
Alders approved the sale of four vacant, city-owned parcels of land to be redeveloped as outdoor community spaces. The sales — for land located in Englewood, South Chicago and West Garfield Park — happened through ChiBlockBuilder for 10% of market price.
The city of Chicago has acquired thousands of lots through foreclosures, scavenger sales, property condemnation, and other scenarios. Much of the land has belonged to the city since the early 1980s. ChiBlockBuilder, launched just over two years ago under then-Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Department of Planning and Development Commissioner Maurice Cox, is designed to encourage sale and redevelopment of city-owned land that would otherwise go unused.
Plans for the lots include a plaza in collaboration with artist-activist Tonika Lewis Johnson and a garden music venue connected to The Record Track music shop.
Also at this meeting, alders approved acquisition of additional land for the city’s Englewood Nature Trail project.
City Council Committee on Housing and Real Estate by Charlene Rhinehart and Eric Sutton
Breaking (not really): Developer wins
A developer wins a lengthy zoning change battle in Wicker Park. Plans to continue additional development on a multi-use building located at 1239 N. Wood St. in Wicker Park was approved by the Zoning Committee after years of community pushback and a threat to sue. The approved zoning change will allow the developer to complete a fourth-floor addition and construct a new addition east of the existing building for a total of 26 residential units and 11 parking spaces.
The property’s owners Yourgie, LLC and Michael Mertz, changed the original proposal after much community pushback. Neighbors said that the developer was over-reaching, the expansion would cause density issues on the streets, and the project would disturb the look and feel of the historic Wicker Park neighborhood. The building was originally a Jewish children's orphanage in 1903, later serving as the site of the Army Veterans Association, then a gallery prior to its current multi-unit use.
Committee on Zoning, Landmarks, and Building Standards by Adlyn Morrison and Anna-Lena Schmidt
At City Bureau
Our biweekly look at what’s happening within our own programs, events and other work at City Bureau. This week, we’re sharing our latest work from our Civic Reporting Fellowship program.
Happy New Year, friends! This is Dawn Rhodes, Civic Editor at City Bureau.
Last year, our reporting fellows tackled a key question: How were thousands of newly arrived immigrants finding work as they started new lives in Chicago? Led by Senior Reporter Sarah Conway, our fellows found that numerous migrants, facing tough paths to getting work permits, turned to the perilous industry of day labor. There, many faced abuse, violence, exploitation, wage theft and more. Other migrants used entrepreneurship, making the most of skills and trades they built in their home countries to survive – even if it meant they may be targeted by law enforcement.
Our latest stories, from fellows Abena Bediako and Erika Perez, dive deeper into both of those issues. I’m thrilled to share them with you.
Haircuts, Tattoos and Punch: Newly Arrived Migrants are Using Creativity and Cultures to Overcome Work Barriers
Some of Chicago’s newest residents apply entrepreneurial skills to survive in a new country.
By Abena Bediako
What Makes Day Labor so Difficult for Chicago Migrants
As asylum seekers navigate the day labor sector, labor organizations are stepping in to help them advocate for their rights.
By Erika Perez
In collaboration with Latino Union of Chicago, our reporting group created a bilingual Know Your Rights guide to help day laborers understand the broad protections Chicago and Illinois offer – regardless of immigration or work authorization status.
Big thanks to Talia Sprague and Gaby FeBland for their photography and illustrations, as well as to Octavio Lopez and Aries Gomez for interpretation and translation.
And shout out to our friends at Block Club Chicago for co-publishing our work.
We have big plans for our fellowship in 2025. I look forward to sharing more of our work with you. You can support our Civic Reporting fellowship by becoming a recurring donor.
A version of this story was first published in the January 15, 2025 issue of the Newswire, an email newsletter that is your weekly guide to Chicago government, civic action and what we can do to make our city great. You can sign up for the weekly newsletter here.
Have thoughts on what you'd like to see in this feature? Email Civic Editor Dawn Rhodes at dawn@citybureau.org.