Chicago news roundup, limited outreach resources for unhoused CTA riders, city council recaps, and more

Hello. Here’s the latest news you need to know about in Chicago. It’s about 8 minutes of reading to easily tell the biggest story of the day.

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This afternoon will see showers with highs near 51 degrees. The weather is expected to be similar tonight, with a low near 31 degrees Celsius. Tomorrow’s forecast calls for highs nearing 34 degrees, with a chance of heavy rain.

top story

‘CTA is their last resort’: A night out with people helping homeless passengers

On a recent Thursday, all Malcolm Reed was thinking was how to get a warm coat and new shoes.

When he was kicked out of O’Hare International Airport by Chicago police in mid-February, he lost most of his belongings. The airport was a haven for winter nights, but the city cracked down after a national report revealed how many people were sleeping there.

That night, the 52-year-old Reid took the Blue Line train to Forest Park Station just west of Chicago, hoping to get lucky at an outreach event run by the Ministry of the Night. to help the homeless. When he arrived, over 100 people were already there, queuing for hot meals and harm reduction kits.

By the time Reed arrived at the front of the line, the outreach team was dressed for the night. Still, they provided him with Narcan, a drug to curb opioid overdoses, which he stuffed into the pocket of a thin black windbreaker.

The CTA pledged to expand partnerships with social service agencies earlier this year, frankly stating its “the moment of encounterImprovement plans that homeless and people suffering from mental health issues were affecting riders. Knight Ministry said he is one of three nonprofits that the city’s Department of Family Support Services (DFSS) would benefit from such an expansion.

Previously, the city spent at least $400,000 a year on outreach at major transit hubs, a DFSS spokesperson said. This year, we will spend another $2 million on the Blue and Red Lines alone to address growing concerns about people sleeping there.

But despite the resources, some outreach workers and housing advocates say they need more. And more people are sleeping on trains, they say, because of the shortage of beds in shelters across the city. “Because the CTA is a last resort.”

What an outreach worker said on this cold February night in Forest Park highlights the scale of the city’s homeless crisis. When shelter beds are scarce and O’Hare is no longer an option, more people will end up sleeping on trains.

Many shelters were forced to limit bed space to meet health and safety protocols during the pandemic, which contributed to an increase in homelessness on the streets. , the shelter system never recovered.

WBEZ’s Anna Savchenko is working on more outreach workers.

MORE NEWS YOU NEED

• A Chicago public school teacher has been accused of mentally and physically abusing a young student with a disability at Whistler Elementary School on the Far South Side. In a lawsuit filed this week, the parents allege that teachers routinely “inflicted harmful, physical and violent corporal punishment.”
• Chicago-area highway shootings continue to decline from high numbers two years ago, but when they do occur, they are increasingly triggered by street rage incidents, according to the Illinois State Police. I’m here. In 2022, about 40% of the 140 Chicago-area highway shootings handled by state police will report street violence.
• The wives of Margarito Flores and Pedro Flores, Chicago cocaine dealers with ties to the Sinaloa cartel, will plead guilty to money laundering charges for collecting, concealing and using their husband’s ill-gotten gains. Vivianna Lopez and Valerie Gaitan, who were indicted on federal money laundering charges in Chicago last year, plan to file a petition at a hearing scheduled for next month.
• Police Department David Brown’s tenure, marked by countless challenges, comes to an end today. A new civilian committee tasked with finding Brown’s replacement yesterday will be able to guide the department through “a time of great challenge and change” without bowing to the incoming mayor who will inevitably make the final choice. He vowed to find a “visionary man.” Tom Schuba details the search for a new CPD reader.
• Chicago attorney Jeffrey M. Leving, known for defending his father in a custody case, accused his firm of charging clients thousands of dollars not worth the work done. being accused. The charges come from a complaint filed in January by the state’s Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Board and posted online this week.
• It will be a race to the runoff vote for West Side Aldo. Chris Taliaferro (No. 29) — and he’s a sigh of relief at Logan Square Ald. Daniel La Spata (1st place). Official final results released yesterday by the Chicago Board of Elections confirm Taliaferro is one of his six incumbent aldermen who were forced to a runoff vote on his April 4th. doing. Mitchell Armentrout analyzes the final results.
• Lavinia has unveiled its long-awaited 2023 schedule, with more than 100 concerts and programs scheduled from June 6th to September 10th. A summer residency is one of the acts scheduled for the new season. The full line-up of Miriam di Nunzio.

city ​​council summary

Outgoing Mayor of Lightfoot The city aldermen who presided over held another eventful meeting yesterday city ​​council — Lightfoot’s first since coming third in the February 28 mayoral election. Here’s what you should know:

• Surveillance camera Another avalanche ticket arriving in the mail soon erupts — this time target driver People blocking bus lanes, bike lanes, pedestrian crossings, and loading zones.Mayor Lightfoot and Downtown Lead the Way 2nd Ward Ald. Brian Hopkins and 42 Ardo.Brendan Rileythe crackdown was approved by the board without a word of argument.
• ordinance defended by 47 Ardo.Matt Martin Approved.that is Chicago Department of Transportation “Prioritize” improvements to bicycling, pedestrians and public transport every time a highway is resurfaced.
• Lightfoot tried a series of appointments to oversee the board. tea, CTAs and Commission on Landmarks of Chicago was buried in rules committeealmost ending any hope of approval.
• And Lightfoot made yet another suggestion tax increase loan subsidy -This time $27 million — Revival of stalled $87.8 million mixed-use project includes restoration of historic building Congress Theater of Logan Square.

Fran Spielman details what happened at yesterday’s council meeting.

bright things

Artist Ruth Garcia came to visit Barrett Park as a little girl. Now she has restored the mural there.

Twenty-one-year-old Ruth Garcia used to live near Barrett Park, near Pilsen, when her family moved to Cicero when she was five.

“My mother used to take me to that park to play,” says Garcia. “It was very simple back then. It wasn’t as colorful as it is now.”

She played a big role in making it happen. Morton Garcia, an art student at her college, was hired last summer by Alondra Sepulveda to restore the iconic but dilapidated murals that line the walls of the park at 2022 W. Cermak Rd. With, she was one of two artists.

Entitled Libertad in Spanish, Libertad features Mexican artists Frida Kahlo, Mahatma Gandhi, Malcolm X, Rosa Parks, trade union leaders Cesar Chavez, Martin Luther King Historical figures such as Jr. Reverend appear.

The mural was originally painted in 2008 and involved the nonprofit After School Matters and Yollocalli Arts Reach, a youth program affiliated with Chicago’s National Museum of Mexican Art. However, over the years the weather and wear had caused the murals to fade and chip.

So Yollocalli hired Garcia and Sepulveda, who work in the museum’s gift shop, to rework the artwork and give it the vibrancy it hopes will last for generations to come.

Learn more about artists and murals here.

Want more public art stories? Check out our other newsletters and sign up for Murals & Mosaics. Sent to your inbox every Friday.

from press box

Your daily question ☕

What lessons have we learned from the pandemic?

Send an email to newsletter@suntimes.com. We may feature your response in the next afternoon edition.

Yesterday we asked you: What got you through as you remember your most difficult days during the pandemic?

“I see my 7-year-old twin grandchildren behind the open garage door at least once a week while they’re standing by the door of our house. That first hug when I received it — I thought I would never let them go. I think you cherish the moment.” — Kay Grub

“The vast network of forests in Cook and DuPage Counties preserves what truly wise and visionary people set aside more than 100 years ago. It kept us sane and healthy even when it was closed and our lives became more sedentary. deb stewart

“Watch certain videos on YouTube. Call friends and family. Drive for no reason to a forest reserve for some fresh air when no one else is around.” Vicky Thomas

“Being able to go outside and be with a group of people painting outside light. Enjoying what we do while being able to safely social distance.” Donna Brown Smith

“Beer, Weed, and Lou Malnati’s” — Selcuk Arsan

“Curiously, I paint my nails. The quiet moments of trimming, filing, and painting calmed me down and zoned out. It’s a dead end habit. ”— Kelly Q. Anderson

“I actually learned to cook. I can cook not only simple rice, beans and chicken, but also entrees and desserts. It saved me money and a few pounds.” Thomas Huntley

“I wear a T-Rex costume and walk around my neighborhood, handing out books to kids.” — Sarah Blasky Cup

“Books! Books of all kinds! As a librarian, I find myself escaping into real young adult novels, children’s picture books and adult memoirs at a time when many have felt trapped physically and mentally.” I was able to set my soul free.”— Brittany Drehobl

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