32nd Ward Newsletter February 27, 2026

Dear John,

Our office will be closed on Monday, March 2 in honor of Pulaski Day. Please make sure to keep your garbage and recycling carts out all week since pickup will be affected by this City holiday.

A reminder that early voting at the ward sites starts on Monday. The location in the 32nd Ward is at the Bucktown Wicker Park Library at 1701 N. Milwaukee, but you can vote at any early voting site in any ward. Click here for more information on early voting.

Also included is a city hall update, and in case you didn't catch it, the new CPS schedule for the next two years.

Have a good weekend.

Alderman Scott Waguespack

Early Voting- Ward Locations STARTS THIS WEEK!

You can vote at any of these locations!

City Hall Notes

This week the mayor continued his road tour undermining the 2026 budget that passed city council instead of implementing what the vast majority of council voted for in December. As you may have heard, the City was hit this week with two credit rating agency downgrades to our finances. Our group of aldermen that worked on the budget continue to work on implementing what was passed, including many of the EY efficiencies and budget ideas we discussed throughout the budget process and that are mandated to be implemented as part of the 2026 budget passage.

Part of the budget we unfortunately had to pass as part of this budget included borrowing for operations firefighter retro pay and a slew of settlements going back decades. We were assured by the Administration in public meetings, that the borrowing would be paid down accordingly and not kick the can down the road but as part of the discussion in the credit rating downgrade, we've been led to believe that the Johnson administration has decided not to pay what is owed now but will instead kick the can down the road again by deferring principal and interest payments and playing games with the city finances.

Credit rating agencies have warned for the past two years that the City needed to take specific steps, including addressing its structural deficit, reliance on one-time fixes, declining reserves, implementing efficiencies and operational reforms, and failure to make responsible pension contributions. Instead of addressing those concerns, Mayor Johnson proposed budgets that took the city backward, not forward.

Chicago’s credit challenges are the result of ongoing budget mismanagement, not the City Council’s amendment to 1.6% of the Mayor’s proposed FY26 budget that ultimately made it more financially responsible. Council continues to be collaborative; however, we must also maintain our independence. The Budget Accountability Coalition is a collaborative, transparent framework that will be utilized to ensure the City’s 2026 Budget is implemented.

• Editorial: Mayor Brandon Johnson is leaving his successors with a financial ash heap. It’s worse than we thought
• City of Chicago credit downgraded, which will mean higher borrowing costs

March CAPS Meetings

14th Police District

1432- March 18, 6pm

Holstein Park

2200 N. Oakley

caps.014district@chicagopolice.org

14th District Twitter

14th District CAPS- 312-744-1261



18th Police District-

1811- March 3, 5pm

St. James Church

2101 N. Fremont

caps.018district@chicagopolice.org

18th District Twitter

18th District CAPS- 312-742-5778

19th Police District

1921/1922- March 18, 6:30pm (meeting time has been changed)

Police Auditorium

2452 W. Belmont

1931- March 24, 6:30pm (time and location change)

Lathrop Advancement Center

2820 N. Leavitt

1932- March 26, 6:30pm (date, time, and location change)

Lincoln Park Library

1150 W. Fullerton

1933- March 10, 6:30pm (meeting time has been changed)

Illinois Masonic Hospital

836 W. Wellington

caps.019district@chicagopolice.org

19th District Twitter

19th District CAPS- 312-744-0064

Beat 1434 Meeting Recap (Armitage/Wood/North/Rockwell)-

Robberies are down from 13 at this time last year to three in the last two month period. One of these robberies resulted in an arrest. This person was identified through facial recognition and was arrested on the CTA “L” platform at Western.

Burglaries were up from the prior two month period, but this is due to a change in classification regarding theft from autos. Almost all of the burglaries were to cars. If an object is taken from a car through force (such as breaking the window) it is now classified as a burglary, rather than a theft from auto. Items taken without force (such as a window being left open, car unlocked, etc) are still being classified as theft from auto.  Some of the things taken from cars in this period included laptops, wallets, and thousands of dollars worth of power tools. One of the few non-car burglaries was to Lotties, who had their ATM taken.

Thefts from autos was also up and included bags, catalytic converters, license plates, license plate stickers, tools, airbags from Honda Civics, and a handgun. A reminder in both cases to never leave anything in your car. You may know it’s just a gym bag with your dirty clothes, but a thief doesn’t.

Auto thefts was up as well, mainly with Hyundais. If you have a Hyundai and haven’t installed the anti theft software, please do so. The 14th District is planning on doing a motor vehicle safety day at the end of March focusing on the thefts of license plates and airbags. We will announce it as soon as the date and location is set.

Water Main Project Update 2/27/26

Dickens, Damen to Avondale

There will be a meeting this Tuesday, March 3rd, at Holstein Park, 2200 N. Oakley, at 6pm where residents can speak with the Water Dept about any questions/concerns you may have about this project.

Start Date: February 20th, 2026

Anticipated Completion: June 26th, 2026 (water main portion only; restoration to follow in the summer/fall)

Normal Working Hours: M-F 7:00am - 3:30pm

Monday (3/02/26) - Holiday

Tuesday (3/03/26) - Friday (3/06/2026) : Continue installing water main on Dickens from Damen to Avondale

Water Service Interruptions:

No scheduled water main shutdown unless if there is any emergency. DWM will provide advance notice before any service interruptions.

Traffic & Parking Impacts: 

No parking will be allowed within the active work zone during construction hours.

In addition to contacting our office with questions, residents can look for a crew member on the street wearing a white hard hat to have questions answered immediately. 

Fletcher Water Main Project Update 2/27/26

One crew will be working on the remaining private drains this week. Other than these, restoration of the street, sidewalks, and parkways will be starting. The street will have a concrete cap until the asphalt plants open in the spring.

Bickerdike Apartments, LLC Opens

Affordable Housing Waitlist!

This is to inform you that Bickerdike Apartments, LLC will be opening affordable housing waitlists for the following properties for a very limited time.

Properties - Accessible (ADA) Units only

• Howard Apartments (SRO)
• Lucy Gonzalez Parsons Apartments
• Nelson Mandela Apartments

Interested persons should submit a pre-application online by scanning the QR Code on the property flyer, or navigate directly to the webpage:

1. Go to www.bickerdike.org/our-properties/

(Or navigate to the “Our Properties” menu)

2. Select “Before Applying” to find links to currently open waitlists.

Applicants will receive their Waitlist Number in the mail.

Waitlists will be closed when the application target for each list is met, but waitlists for other Bickerdike Properties will be opened on a rolling basis. Please continue to check the Bickerdike website for additional waitlist openings.

Applicants who do not have web access may call the Bickerdike Apartments office at 773.227.6332, and a pre-application will be mailed. The completed pre-application card must be returned by mail. Bickerdike will not accept pre-application cards in person. No walk-ins will be accepted!

Applicants will be invited in the order of their waitlist number. The screening process will include: landlord history, income verification, and credit/criminal background check.

Burley School Spring Fling – March 6

Friends of Burley invites the community to support its annual Spring Fling fundraiser, an adults-only evening benefiting Burley Elementary School’s K–8 programs.

Community members can participate in several ways:


• Purchase a Spread Your Roots Vacation Raffle ticket (only 100 available at $100 each — no need to be present to win)

• Sponsor a Burley teacher or staff member to attend the event

• Make a direct donation to support student programs


All proceeds fund vital school initiatives including arts programming, technology, and critical staff support. Learn more or contribute here.

Metropolitan Schoolhouse’s Special Book Fair

and Author Visit

Location: Metropolitan Schoolhouse, 2464 N Clybourn

Date & Time: March 3rd- Doors open at 6:15 PM, event ends at 7:30 PM

Special Guest: Author Liesl Shurtliff, known for Rump, Grump, Jack, Red, and The Castaways series. She will give a short presentation, then sell and autograph her books.  Her website can be found here: https://lieslshurtliff.com


• Book Fair: cash or credit card
• Author’s books: Zelle, Venmo, or cash

Election Dates to Keep in Mind

Vote By Mail Reminder

The United States Postal Service cannot guarantee your Vote By Mail return ballot envelopes will be postmarked the same day that you mailed it. Any ballot postmarked after Election Day on March 17 cannot be accepted. USPS recommends voters take additional precautions and mail their completed Vote By Mail Ballot at least one week (March 10) before Election Day.

Returning your ballot close to Election Day (March 17)? You have options!

• Drop your ballot off into any of 52 Secure Drop Boxes located at all Early Voting sites in Chicago – even on Election Day!
• Starting February 12 at the New Voting Supersite at 137 S. State St.
• Starting March 2 at all 50 Ward Early Voting Sites across the city
• Go to the post office counter and request a manual postmark
• Deliver your ballot directly to 69 W. Washington St. – either at the First-Floor lobby drop box or in the 6th Floor office

All qualified ballots properly postmarked by Election Day (March 17) and received up to 14 days after (March 31) will be processed and counted for the 2026 Primary Election. The Chicago Board of Elections will send you an email when it receives your ballot return envelope, and again when your ballot has been processed and counted.

Please Note: Precinct polling places on Election Day do not have drop boxes. Precinct election judges cannot accept Vote By Mail ballots, and VBM ballots returned at precinct polling places will not be processed. Voters instead can use any of 51 Vote Centers open on Election Day to return their Vote By Mail ballot, including the new downtown voting Supersite at 137 S. State St.

Don’t risk a late postmark on your ballot – take any of the steps above to make sure your vote counts!

For more information, click here.

Reuse & Recycling Pop-Up

February 28 @ 9:00 am – 12:00 pm

Join us for our first Reuse & Recycling Pop-Up of 2026 at the Chicago Waldorf School!

Drop off common household items for reuse, repurposing or specialty recycling with:

• Reduce Waste Chicago
• Cradles to Crayons: Clothing and shoes of all sizes/ages/genders and condition. Unwearable items will be recycled.
• Share Our Spare: Baby essentials, hygiene and feeding supplies, small and large gear.
• Cook County Sheriff’s Office: Unwanted or expired, human or pet, prescription drugs. Pills only. No liquid or sharps.

Click the flyer above for more information including what is accepted.

2026 Savor Lincoln Park

Savor Lincoln Park returns as Chicago’s premier indoor neighborhood food festival, bringing together more than 25 of Lincoln Park’s favorite restaurants under one roof for an unforgettable evening of food and drink. With one ticket, guests can sample a wide variety of bites and beverages, discover new favorites, and enjoy Lincoln Park’s delicious dining scene.

Wednesday, March 18

6:00 – 9:00 p.m.

Theater on the Lake

2401 N. DuSable Lake Shore Dr.

Click here for details and tickets!

2026 Special Service Area (SSA) 27 Community Events & Placemaking Grant

Applications are now open for the SSA 27 Community Events and Placemaking Grant. The goal of the program is to support the development of more events and public programming serving our community through grants and other technical assistance. Applications due March 1, 2026 to receive consideration.

More info here.

Grab your favorite morning brew and join in for the great company and conversation. This event is hosted in partnership with the Lincoln Park Chamber, Lakeview Roscoe Village Chamber and Small Business Advocacy Council.

Wednesday, March 18

8:30 - 10:00 a.m.

Athenaeum Center

2936 N. Southport

City News

• Foundry Park, Bronzeville Apartments And Cannabis Shops Advance In Zoning Committee
• Chicago Just Named a Snowplow ‘Abolish ICE’— Here Are the Other Winners
• Foundry Park project, downsized successor to failed Lincoln Yards venture, gets City Council's OK
• 2 Lots on Bucktown Block Could Become 60 Apartments if Separate Developments Are Approved
• Chicago Primary Election 2026: Everything You Need to Know About Voting March 17
• Chicago Only Big City Where Mayor Presides Over City Council and Has Veto Power
• Chicago Credit Downgrading Could Be Costly to Taxpayers
• Chicago Credit Downgraded, Which Will Mean Higher Borrowing Costs
• Mayor Johnson Defends Choice to Lead City’s Animal Care and Control, Despite Conditions at City-Run Shelter
• Chicago’s Mayoral Election Is Exactly 1 Year Away, and Here’s the Current Field
• Brendan Reilly: 2026 Democratic Candidate for Cook County Board President
• City of Chicago Overcharged Residents for City Stickers, Other Parking Violations for Years: Judge
• Feeding a Stray Cat? Animal Rescues Unite to Fix 500 Ferals for Reduced Fees in March

Alderman Scott Waguespack

2657 North Clybourn

Chicago, IL 60614

(773) 248-1330

info@ward32.org