Third Ward Newsletter January 2020 Greetings! Happy New Year! As it is every year, my January newsletter In This Issue is a combination of a Year in Review for the previous year, and a brief update about what is happening this month 2019 Year in Review 2-18 (January 2020!). The Year in Review section highlights important initiatives Third Ward Update 18-22 from 2019, like all of the community meetings I've hosted and attended, transportation and infrastructure projects Important Announcements 23-24 completed, commercial and residential developments announced, school updates, park improvements and much January CAPS 24 much more. The remainder of the newsletter has the typical information included in all newsletters updated for the month of January. I hope you had a safe and fun New Years and wish you the best in 2020. As always, if there is anything my staff or I can do to assist you, please contact my office at 773-373-9273 or at [email protected]. Thank you for reading this newsletter. Please share it with a neighbor or friend. Sincerely, Pat Dowell Alderman, 3rd Ward 2019 Year in Review Community Engagement Ward Night and Ward Outreach Events Every Thursday from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm and on the 3rd Saturday of every month from 10:00 am until 1:00 pm Alderman Dowell's office is open for Ward Night. During Ward Night, residents can meet with the Alderman and her staff, no appointment necessary, on any topic of their choosing. In addition to Ward Night, Alderman Dowell visits countless block clubs, resident organizations, senior buildings and community groups from all parts of the ward. Often, the Alderman participates in existing group-led events, but regardless of what is happening at the event, she always speaks with constituents about the issues affecting their lives and takes questions and comments on a variety of important ward topics. Last, Alderman Dowell is also always available on various social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook, Nextdoor) and via email for invaluable constituent engagement. Third Ward Town Hall Meetings CTA Red Line Station Meeting Hosted by Alderman Dowell In response Related Midwest's (the developers of the "78") proposal to create a new CTA Red Line Station at the intersection of 15th St. and Clark St., Alderman Dowell hosted community meetings to gather feedback on the idea. Once the location was announced, Alderman Dowell held subsequent large and small group meetings which culminated in Alderman Dowell - by the request of the community - asking Related Midwest to shift the station to the southwest corner of 15th St. and Clark St. This counter proposal was accepted by the developer and their current plan for the "78" now includes a new CTA Red Line Station on the southwest corner of Clark St. and 15th St. Dowell Hosts Disruptive Design Town Hall Meeting On March 27th, Alderman Dowell welcomed Neighborhood Housing Services and Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives to present the three finalists for the Disruptive Design Affordable Housing Competition. Thank you to the architects and residents who shared their ideas on the future of affordable single-family housing in Bronzeville. This is a very exciting opportunity to fill a need in the community - single-family homes for under $300,000. Bronzeville is already seeing an expansion of market-rate housing and the continued construction of CHA Plan for Transformation units. This design competition will fit right in between those two types of homes ensuring that the neighborhood has an adequate mix of housing price points. In addition, at the town hall meeting Alderman Dowell welcomed Walter Katz from former Mayor Emanuel's office to discuss the Police Consent Decree, as well as the developers of the new town homes located at 43rd and Vincennes Ave. The town homes are a beautiful addition to the community. The detailed explanation of the new Police Consent Decree helped empower residents to know what Chicago is doing to restore the relationship between the police and community. Disruptive Design Affordable Housing Competition Picks Winner At a subsequent Town Hall meeting in July, the Chicago Housing Policy Task Force announced the winner of the Disruptive Design Competition. Congratulations to Adaptable House by Greg Tamborino, AIA, for being selected as the winning design! Tamborino's design will create an innovative, sustainable prototype that will transform vacant lots into affordable homeownership opportunities. Thank you to all of the architects who worked to bring their amazing ideas to Bronzeville. Also, thank you to Sarah Brune of NHS, Ciere Boatright of Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives and the countless community members who came out to the numerous meetings on this topic for your work, input and dedication to creating a reproducible model for affordable single-family housing in Chicago. In 2020, a location will be identified to build the housing prototype. Know Your Rights Seminars In conjunction with the Chicago Urban League, Alderman Dowell's office hosted Know Your Rights Seminars at Bronzeville Scholastic High School, Chicago Military Academy, Phillips High School, and Ray Graham Training Center High School. As part of First Defense Legal Aid's (FDLA) Street Law Education Initiative, this workshop is designed to build community members' knowledge of their constitutional rights and how to invoke them when in contact with the police. Thank you to Malik Malon, Intern Youth Outreach Specialist for the Chicago Urban League for presenting at these events. Students and teachers had an opportunity to tell their stories and ask questions about their rights. First Defense Legal Aid offers these workshops free of charge. For more information call First Defense Legal Aid at (708) 797- 3066. 2 2019 Year in Review (Continued) Dowell Delivers State of the Ward Address On May 30th, Alderman Dowell gave a State of the Ward address for the Bronzeville, Fuller Park and Washington Park communities at the Illinois College of Optometry (3241 S. Michigan Ave.). Thank you to the ICO, Neighborhood Housing Services, Chicago Neighborhoods Initiatives and all the residents who came out to make this a very productive meeting. The State of the Ward presentation covered all of the great work happening across the 3rd Ward from the beginning of 2018 to May 30, 2019, including: public safety upgrades, educational initiatives, housing and commercial development, infrastructure investments, legislative accomplishments and more. Multiple One Central Meetings Held in 2019 Throughout 2019 Alderman Dowell invited the relevant departments within the City of Chicago and Landmark, the developer of the proposed One Central project, to meet with the community to discuss the potential development. At these meetings, Landmark introduced their proposal and solicited feedback, while the City talked about the ground-rules for any development over the Metra tracks along Lake Shore Drive in the South Loop. Currently, there are no plans or updates about One Central. Throughout this process Alderman Dowell has tried to work with residents to inform the community on what the current "as of right" regulations are for the site, meaning what can be built on the privately-owned site today without further City authorization. This includes density regulations, height restrictions, allowed uses, unit mixes and more. However, the last proposal presented to the community by Landmark would require extensive oversight and authorization by the City and Alderman Dowell prior to any development taking place. No additional meetings are planned until Landmark submits their amended planned development application to the Department of Planning and Development. Provident Hospital Community Meeting Alderman Dowell attended a community meeting organized by President Toni Preckwinkle and Commissioner Bill Lowry to discuss plans for the construction of the new Provident Hospital in the west lot adjacent to the current facility in the 3rd Ward. At the meeting, community concerns regarding timeline, MBE/WBE contractor participation, new services to be offered, traffic studies, zoned parking, County Care and a bench at the bus stop were raised by residents. The $240 million hospital will be paid for by Cook County taxpayers. There will be more community meetings scheduled as this process moves forward. Also attending were Senators Robert Peters and Mattie Hunter and a representative from Rep. Kam Bucknor's office. South Loop Public Safety Meeting Alderman Dowell joined her colleague Alderman Sophia King (4th) to discuss public safety issues in the South Loop community which is shared by both aldermen. Thank you to 1st Police District Commander Michael Pigott, the entire 1st District Police staff and everyone who came out to share their thoughts on this important issue. At the event, the aldermen addressed safety and cleanliness issues around the Roosevelt Rd. CTA station. Improvements made to the station in response to community concerns include: a newly purchased gum removal machine to clean the sidewalks adjacent to the station, the installation of additional lights on the soffits at station entrances and exits, and upgraded LED lights under the elevated track above the four support columns lights to improve safety. Citywide crime rates, and specifically crime rates for the districts that cover the 3rd Ward were down in 2019. In the 1st Police District, which covers the South Loop and portions of the Douglas communities, murders were down 67% from last year and 41% over the last 2 years. Robberies were down 21% last year and 41% over the last two years. While burglaries were up 6% in 2019, they were down 25% total over the last two years. This was the only category where the 1st Police District saw an increase in 2019. Thefts were flat last year but down 3% over two years, and finally vehicle thefts were down 8% in 2019 and 16% over the last two years. Thank you to all the hard working officers of the 1st District who have done such a fantastic job keeping our neighborhood safe.