Neighborhood you live in: West Loop

Neighborhood you work in: Illinois Medical District 

Homeowner or renter? Homeowner 

Occupation: “I just finished nursing school, and I’m studying for my NCLEX [National Council Licensure Examination]. So you can say that I’m a nurse. By the time this is printed, or within the next few months, I should be working as a nurse at one of the hospitals in the [Illinois] Medical District.”

Do you know who your alderperson is? “We are such a weirdly configured area because there are parts of us that are in [Ald.] Walter Burnett’s ward, but I think my development which is across from the police academy, is in the 28th, which is [Ald. Jason] Ervin’s Ward.” (Reporter’s note: Stephanie M.’s home was previously in the 28th Ward before the 2022 remapping). 

Have you met Ald. Jason Ervin? “Yeah, he came to our block party. He showed up and came and shook hands. It was the last thing that we had pre-COVID-19. So that would have been 2019.” 

What do you like about living in the 27th Ward? 

• Shops, restaurants and activities: The West Loop has a lot of restaurants and mom-and-pop stores. You’re very close to Randolph [Street], and Randolph is like our little Chicago Restaurant Row. 

• Green space: “This area had a lot more grassy streets and parks than other places that I looked for townhomes.” 

• Not congested like other neighborhoods like Lincoln Park or Wicker Park: “When they first started putting all these condos and stuff out this way. I thought it was very hip. It’s downtown but not congested, and I liked the West Loop compared to the South Loop or other places.” 
• Proximity to the Lakefront and Michigan Avenue: “It’s very easy to get down on Michigan Avenue. You’ve got shopping, and you have parks. I was training for the breast cancer walk, so it was easy to run to the Lakefront.”

I want to circle back to Ald. Ervin. What do you think about what he’s done for 28th Ward? “When I call 311, if I need a new trash can or if there’s a big pothole in our neighborhood, it’s usually the alderman’s office that you’re making those requests to if I ever have to report something. I feel they’re very responsive in meeting West Loop residents’ needs as far as I can tell.” 

What do you dislike about living and working in the 27th Ward?

• New developments that are decreasing available green space:  “Before, I could see straight down to Willis Tower. I could see over the horizon to some of the buildings and such that are close to the Water Tower. A lot of that is completely covered now by buildings. Even when there was like a little five-story building that was on a corner, it had a modest height and didn’t give you the feeling that you’re suffocating from tall buildings. I see a lot more of that in our neighborhood now. My favorite car wash was over on Van Buren [Street], and that is now a 12-story building. They are taking little to no space and erecting this big monstrosity, and it’s all over. I believe that it’s the alderman that is working with city development to approve that, and I don’t like that.” 

• Permit parking: “All of a sudden, a lot of permit parking has come in our area. 

We didn’t have a lot of that before. So any family member could show up and park and not have to worry.”

• Lack of diversity: “It’s not an overabundance of Black people that live in this area. You’ve got a lot of minorities, brown people of color, and Indians and Asians and Blacks. I don’t like that there is a detachment from homeless people that may be in the bus [shelters]. Sometimes there are people who are very caring and want to help, and then some see it as a nuisance.” 

You said you feel there isn’t an overabundance of Black people in the West Loop. So I wonder when you see Black people are they shopping, working, living in, or traveling through the neighborhood? “There’s a combination of maybe renters or homeowners, and I see Black people out running [exercising], or they appear to be people that probably are professionals or have some kind of professional job. There’s a large contingency of young Black people that work in Target. There are a lot of retail shops and restaurants on Randolph [Street] and on Lake Street. So there are a lot of pockets where people can work. So I do see a lot of Black people that work in this area from that standpoint.”

What do you wish your alderperson would do to improve the 27th Ward?

• Too much development: “There’s too much big business that’s coming over here. I don’t like it. I like it to be more mom-and-pop-ish.” 
• Transparency: “Chicago has always been known as a city of negotiators and wheeling and dealing. I wasn’t a big fan of [former mayor Richard M.] Daley back in the day because it seemed like somebody was always benefiting from some of the things we have set up, like this parking situation where there wasn’t any parking. Somebody is making billions off of that. And we’re paying the price. Those kinds of things are disturbing to me. (Reporter’s note: In 2008, then-Mayor Richard M. Daley sold Chicago’s street parking system to a private company, Chicago Parking Meters LLC, for $1.15 billion. The city’s contract with the company doesn’t expire until 2084. In 2022, The Chicago Sun-Times reported that Chicago Parking Meters LLC now regained its initial $1.16 billion investment and $502.5 million more with just 61 years left on its 75-year lease). 
• More opportunities for Black youth: “I overwhelmingly believe there should be more opportunities, volunteering and community-based things that uplift young people on the South and the West sides. I just feel like if that same person had something they were channeled into, that is giving them hope, that is giving them a trade or skill, then maybe they would not be less inclined to get into trouble.”