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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
“We have to pass the Peacebook here in the city of Chicago. A plan that has been worked on [by] youth to solve violence of youth – and who better to know than youth?”
— Ald. Ronnie Mosley (21st Ward) speaking in further support of organizer Miracle Boyd and GoodKidsMadCity’s efforts to pass the Peacebook Ordinance
[Chicago City Council, Mar. 12, 2025]
City OKs settlement in 2020 protest
City Council approved a $280,000 settlement for youth organizer Miracle Boyd, who was injured during the July 2020 Decolonize Zhigaagoong protest in Grant Park. The settlement ends the lawsuit Boyd filed against former officer Nicholas Jovanovich, a second officer, then-Supt. David Brown and the city.
Boyd, an organizer with GoodKidsMadCity, was filming officers at the protest when Jovanovich knocked the phone out of her hand, causing the device to hit her face and knock out a front tooth.
A public commenter speaking in support of the settlement said it, “ain’t enough for what she endured.”
Boyd said the officer avoided accountability when he resigned from the department in 2022. Both the police oversight committee and Police Board had recommended Jovanovich be fired for using excessive force and filing a false police report about the incident.
GoodKidsMadCity, the Black and Brown youth-led organization, is continuing to advocate for the Peacebook Ordinance which calls for the reallocation of police funding to go towards alternate violence prevention measures. Ald. Ronnie Mosley (21st Ward) mentioned the ordinance while addressing a shooting that happened in his ward. “We have to do more,” he said.
Chicago City Council by Bailey Hosfelt and Pachina Fletcher
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.
More bus routes, shorter wait times
Several new CTA bus routes are set to take effect Sunday as part of the recently announced frequent bus network. The initiative intends to reduce wait times to 10 minutes or fewer across 20 routes.
“Enhancements like this are what you would see if CTA continues to be funded at the level it should be,” CTA Acting President Nora Leerhsen said at the Mar. 12 meeting. “We're continuing to advocate fiercely for transit funding for CTA in the region and to continue to highlight the inequities in the current funding structure.”
Leerhsen also announced two public engagement initiatives, including the CTA connection newsletter launching Friday. The monthly newsletter will provide system information relevant to transit riders such as service-related news and station upgrades. CTA also is introducing its first podcast this month highlighting employees and transit-related topics. CTA’s outreach and engagement efforts are critical to advocating for better funding for the system, Leerhsen said.
Regular Board Meeting Chicago Transit Authority Board by Jamel Smith and Parker Garlough
What you can do:
Attend a CTA board meeting: Check for upcoming meetings here at the CTA website. To learn more about how you can give public comment in-person at a CTA meeting, click here.
Building partnerships
The Public Building Commission selected RADA Architects Ltd. for the new $20 million senior center coming to Bronzeville. RADA, a woman-led business, was selected from a pool of 136 architects and 72 engineers. The company will be working with Milhouse Engineering, which is minority-owned. The senior center is planned for 4711-4755 S. Calumet Ave.
“We want to continue to drill down to make sure that development that’s happening on the South and West Sides of Chicago — that those who are participating in that development actually reflect the values of the community,” said Mayor Brandon Johnson stressing the significance of minority-owned and woman-owned businesses.
The commission is working with City Colleges of Chicago on the $17 million Malcolm X College West Campus addition and renovations project at 4624 W. Madison St. Johnson highlighted the work as an investment bringing “great economic opportunities for the West Side, really for the entire city.”
Public Build Commission Board Meeting by Angela Arias Zapata and Anne d'Aquino
What you can do:
Attend a PBC meeting: Check for upcoming meetings here at the PBC website.
Historic landmarks receive preservation funding
The Committee on Zoning, Landmarks & Building Standards voted to designate the Rector building as a historic landmark. The approval is a part of the LaSalle Corridor Revitalization, which creates more residential units and commercial rehabilitation projects.
The committee also approved Adopt-A-Landmark grants for two historic Near West Side churches. The First Baptist Congregational Church will receive $1.46 million, and the Greater Union Baptist Church will receive $750,000, covering the majority of preservation project expenses for each property.
City Council Committee on Zoning, Landmarks and Building Standards by Nikebia Brown-Joseph
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.
A version of this story was first published in the March 19, 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.