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

“My question is, how is that possible, with any kind of training, that something was mishandled so incredibly? And what is being done to rectify that so that these things don’t happen in the future?”

— A constituent’s question to the 14th Police District commander. The neighbor read a statement from a victim’s loved one detailing how Chicago Police failed to properly respond and investigate a sexual assault in December.

[14th Police District Council meeting, March 4, 2025]

Demanding answers about sexual assaults

The 14th Police District Council responded to concerns about  investigations into ongoing sexual assaults in Logan Square dating back to 2022. At a packed beat meeting, victims and their loved ones shared their personal accounts of the assaults as well as ways in which they felt Chicago Police had mishandled their cases.   

District Police Commander Melinda Linus said she couldn’t provide details on specific cases because the investigation falls within the Bureau of Detectives.

“Clearly this is a primary concern of the district and the department right now,” Linus said. “As discussed at the beat meeting, from the district level we have increased our patrols, both uniform and covert operations in the area, and we continue to work with the Detective Division on any leads [and] assistance that they may need.”

The council also responded to questions about district protocols when contacted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement as fears persist over ICE activity in Chicago. According to Linus, the district does not assist with enforcing civil immigration law in accordance with Special Order S06-14-03. “Department members will not threaten to deport or verbally abuse someone because of their immigration status,” Linus said.

What you can do:

Follow and join the Get Home Safe Chi group chat – a safe space encouraging community care that is accessible to everyone wanting to get home safely at the end of the night.

Reach out to Resilience – an advocacy organization providing support for sexual assault victims and public education to prevent sexual violence.

Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35th Ward) urges anyone who may have information on recent sexual assaults in the district to contact Area Five Detectives at 312-746-6554.

East Garfield Park: Going Through Changes

Single family affordable homes and a community arts center are coming to East Garfield Park. The committee on Housing and Real Estate passed an amendment for the sale of nine lots on the 3200 and 3300 blocks of West Walnut Street under the City Lots for Working Families program. The project developers have already built two other affordable homes on the 3200 block of West Walnut which they said were built for $340,000 with a market rate sales price of $390,000. 

Ald. Jason Ervin (28th Ward) said community members are seeing the effects of gentrification in many areas of East Garfield Park. He assured, “This product they have built is affordable and will keep families intact in the community.”

The committee approved the sale of another nine lots on 3312 to 3344 West Lake Street to Firebird Community Arts Support Corporation for the construction of a community arts center. The organization has been operating in the community for seven years. The $6.7 million development is half a block from the Kedzie Green Line station and will include retail space, classrooms and meeting rooms, glass blowing and ceramics studios, outdoor workshop spaces, an arts garden and parking lot.

What you can do:

Attend a City Council meeting: Check for upcoming City Council meetings here at the Chicago City Clerk website. To learn more about how you can give public comment – in-person or virtually – at a City Council meeting, click here.

99 years and more to come

Plans to rehabilitate the 99-year-old Congress Theater in Logan Square are moving forward. Committee members approved a tax incentive for the historic landmark, part of a larger redevelopment agreement including $27 million in TIF funds. The plan is to turn the theater into a music venue with commercial space and 16 affordable apartments. The total project cost is $87.8 million, and the building is slated to open in 2027. 

“Even beyond what we might consider the tax savings here, I think it is more than made up for with the benefit that this project brings and the interest that it brings to the parcels around it,” said Ald. La Spata (1st Ward).

What you can do:

Attend a City Council meeting: Check for upcoming City Council meetings here at the Chicago City Clerk website. To learn more about how you can give public comment at a City Council meeting, click here.

High water standards

The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District will continue to uphold the jurisdiction’s water treatment standards despite recent and less stringent federal regulations. Mic reported the Supreme Court ruling will “allow cities like San Francisco to increase their sewage discharges without facing significant federal oversight.”

“We need to be committed to the current standards that were done under the previous administrations,” Chair of Finance Marcelino Garcia said at the recent MWRD Board of Commissioners meeting. “We need to do more, especially in the next four years because we don’t want to be swept aside – and four years from now – hopefully, we will be back to where we are.”

What you can do:

Attend the PFAS protection webinar: Attend an upcoming educational webinar on what you can do to reduce forever chemicals around your homes on Mar. 19 at 6:30 p.m. Register for the virtual event to hear from professionals and learn more about key PFA bills HB2516 and HB2954. 

Attend a MWRD meeting: The next MWRD Board of Commissioners meeting is 10:30 a.m. Thursday, Mar. 20 at Barbara J. McGowan Main Office Building (100 E. Erie St.). Public comments can be made in-person.

A version of this story was first published in the March 12, 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.