Dear New Mayor of Chicago

Dear New Mayor of Chicago, 

Growing up in Englewood on the south side of Chicago in the late 1970s through the 1980s reminds me of walking from 72^ndand Green Streets to 68^thand Morgan to my aunt’s house on a Friday afternoon to spend the weekend with her. It reminds me of the huge pot she used on Saturday to prepare the “After Church Meal” that I thought about so much during Sunday’s service that it was hard to concentrate on the pastor’s message. Englewood reminds me of my beloved 8^thgrade teacher, Mary Tracy, at Simon Guggenheim Elementary (now Excel Academy of Englewood), who was the only person who believed I could become a writer. Englewood reminds me of our rival a few blocks away, Amos Alonzo Stagg Elementary (now Stagg School of Excellence), who made it their business to challenge us to the long-standing fight on Fridays after school. My husband of 30 years graduated from Stagg. The Englewood I knew is gone. Englewood and so many other south and west side neighborhoods have become a shell of themselves.  

A never-ending sea of vacant and ugly lots now replaces the land where once burgeoning businesses and modest, yet tidy houses stood. Lots that look like the sets of futuristic science fiction movies where all the humans have been wiped away line the streets, block after block, back-to-back, side-by-side. The absence of humanity and care will change a landscape. Weeds and grass make their way up from the concrete graves that covered them so long ago. Debris takes up permanent residence like squatters. Tumbleweeds, like the desert plains of the Wild West, blow untamed down sidewalks. Shopping centers once frequented by the young and young at heart looking for their next spiffy, slick, or sharp outfits are now abandoned wastelands. Their rusted and dilapidated marquis are bent like the arthritic backs of old men. The sides of buildings that have the nerve to still exist are hard on the eyes and heavy on the heart. It would be better if graffiti artists had their way with them. However, Englewood can rise to new heights because of the slivers of improvement there. 

Kennedy-King College underwent a makeover and is a strong presence. The new Englewood Square at 63^rdand Halsted Streets house a new Whole Foods, Starbucks, Chipotle, and Dress Code clothing store. Community activists are taking matters into their own hands. In fact, one woman's crusade turned a dilapidated home into a community center¹. The Resident Association of Greater Englewood (R.A.G.E.)² is an organization that is fighting hard to address problems in the community. But much more can be done. You, New Mayor of Chicago, have the power to change all of this. 

Downtown Chicago is, without a doubt, one of the most beautiful parts of our city and nation. It attracted 55.2 million tourists in 2017³, while parts of the city like Englewood, the west side, and other neighborhoods are left in squalor. I want you to attract more new businesses to Englewood and other ignored areas on the south and west sides of Chicago. Allocate the Tax Increment Financing (TIF) to bring economic development to the forgotten parts of this great city. After all, “nearly half of the $1.3 billion in TIF went to downtown and surrounding areas.”⁴ Restore my beloved Englewood and other neighborhoods to places where our children and grandchildren can create beautiful memories like mine. You can do it, New Mayor. 

Sincerely, SAGFE

¹Micah Materre, “Woman, Neighborhood Turn Dilapidated Englewood Home Into Community Center.” WGN News on the Web. 1 Dec. 2017. 22 Oct. 2018. 

²https://ragenglewood.org

³Josh Noel, “Chicago Tourism Numbers Hit Record High, Topping 55M in 2017.” Chicago Tribune on the Web. 13 Jan. 2018. 15 Oct. 2018. 

⁴Ben Jaravsky, “Who Wins and Loses in Rahm’s TIF Game?” Chicago Reader on the Web. 26 Mar. 2015. 15 Oct. 2018.