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

“Our goal is to not let things get into the community. So once it’s getting to the perimeter, and we are seeing that, our goal is to shut it down.”

— .Dr. Olusimbo Ige, commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health, on their plan to contain hazardous particles during demolition of the Midwest Generation Fisk Station in Pilsen.


[Midwest Generation Fisk Station (1111 W. Cermak Ave.) Complex Demolition Community Meeting, Aug. 1, 2024]

Environmentally complex

The City has no clear plan to communicate health risks to Pilsen residents should demolition at an electricity plant go wrong. The demolition at Midwest Generation’s Fisk Station is considered “environmentally complex” because it involves a coal ash silo and is close to the river. The silo will be disassembled from the top down; a citywide moratorium on implosion was put into effect following the botched 2020 Crawford coal plant demolition in nearby Little Village. 

Public health and building officials explained they will have representatives on-site, and water will be misted over the site to limit the spread of dust. Four air monitors will also take readings of particulate matter every 15 minutes. 

But when an attendee asked what their contingency plan was should the readings surpass the recommended EPA threshold, Public Health Commissioner Dr. Olusimbo Ige struggled to articulate when and how neighboring residents would be notified.

Accountability matters

At the 14th Police District Council’s July 21 meeting, council member Ashley Vargas provided an update on the investigation of a complaint against a local police sergeant. The Civilian Office of Police Accountability sustained allegations that he made threats and xenophobic statements toward a resident who was providing shelter to migrants, but no further disciplinary action can be taken because the sergeant has since retired. 

Vargas shared that she met with the heads of COPA, the city’s Office of the Inspector General and the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability on this matter and observed that their agencies don’t seem to be in communication and that this is inhibiting true police accountability.

  • 14th Police District Council - Logan Square/Humboldt Park/Wicker Park by Mona Tong

A majority of Police District Council members have now endorsed ending pretextual traffic stops in Chicago and are calling on the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability to push for a CPD policy change. 

At the 14th Police District Council’s Aug. 3 meeting, member David Orlikoff shared data showing pretextual traffic stops have declined in most areas of the city after reaching a record high last year, but in 14th and 25th districts (specifically Logan Square), they’ve actually increased. 

The Free2Move coalition collected 2,400 signatures on its petition to end pretextual traffic stops — enough to require CCPSA to schedule a public hearing about the topic. This public hearing will be taking place 6 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 27, location to be determined.

  • 14th Police District Council - Logan Square/Humboldt Park/Wicker Park by Mona Tong

Missing persons progress

At the latest meeting of the Illinois Missing and Murdered Women Task Force, a public commenter raised the issue of misgendering and misrepresentation in reporting missing persons. Mandy Sark, founder of the Chicago Missing Persons Guild, suggested the task force contact the Trevor Project for guidance on victims’ gender identity and what to do when a missing person’s actual gender identity and reported gender are different. The task force will not meet in August but was told to reach out with information crucial to its final report, which is due to the Illinois General Assembly at the end of December.

A version of this story was first published in the August 7, 2024 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 Editorial Director Ariel Cheung at ariel@citybureau.org.