It’s been another busy week in the district. As you’ll read below, the team got to hit the Illinois State Fair this week while I held down the fort here at home. Happily, this week didn’t involve getting dunked by the Mayor or any Alderpeople. The work of the Reproductive Rights and Dobbs Decision Working Group continues to be a big part of every day, but preparation for the next session is well underway with several meetings and discussions this week concerning both pending bills and new initiatives for next year starting to heat up. Our team was thrilled to take part in the Senn Back to School Fair with Alderman Osterman and Senator Simmons. The office is a riot of colorful backpacks and school supplies due to the generosity of our neighbors. We’ll be distributing these soon, so if you’ve been procrastinating, now is the time to get your donations to us.

We’ve got a busy few days ahead. Friday night brought the return of the Glenwood Avenue Arts Festival. Our team will be there Saturday and Sunday to meet our neighbors and enjoy one of the very best street fairs in the city, so please stop by and say hi! Sunday morning, I’ll be joining Governor Pritzker, Mayor Lightfoot, and Alderwoman Hadden as Loyola University honors our beloved Sister Jean for her 103rd birthday by renaming the plaza. 

We’re working to keep the Reproductive Health page on our website up to date and will be sharing news of the positive developments in Michigan this week as a judge ruled against a group of Republican county prosecutors seeking to force enforcement of that state’s trigger law making nearly all abortions in that state a felony. Based on this decision, abortion remains legal in Michigan, for now. The group of prosecutors plans to appeal, so the ultimate outcome remains unknown. The working group has continued to meet with stakeholders here in Illinois and in affected states, comparing approaches taken by other states that have already passed expanded protections and looking for the best fitting policies for our state. We’ve also added some handy resources from Attorney General Kwame Raoul’s office offering tips for potential patients, providers, and caregivers on data privacy. You can find more about them further down in the newsletter as well.

I hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable weekend. If you see me out and about, I’ll likely be sporting some gear cheering on our amazing Chicago Sky as they defend their championship facing the New York Liberty in the playoffs!

Illinois State Fair 

The theme for this year's state fair was “Grow With Us”. Our office was excited to attend the fair on Tuesday and Wednesday! Torrence and Taylor have never been and our colleague Wade, who is from Springfield, and his mother Carolyn served as our official guides. We started our visit by seeing the Butter Cow in the Dairy building, which was followed up with a milkshake and cream puff all made from dairy produced in Illinois. Our next stop was to Vose’s Corn Dogs. The corn dog and lemonade shake up were so good! After that we had to have Cullers French Fries with malt vinegar! Our next stop was the Illinois Dept. of Agriculture tent where we tasted amazing food all grown in Illinois! The apple cider float was also equally good! After all of this food we were stuffed but had to save room for more! Our next stop was a Ribeye sandwich! All of the foods that we enjoyed were all local to the fair and have been around for decades! We were able to see some livestock too! Sheep, Holsteins, and Quarter horses rounded out our tour. The Illinois State Fair runs through August 21st. Please reach out if you need any recommendations on where to eat or visit while attending the State Fair.

The Attorney General's Office has released these helpful informational packets on the subjects of Protecting Your Personal Information in regards to reproductive care and Knowing Your Reproductive Rights. To view enlarged PDF versions of these packets available for download as well as to read this week's update on working groups, visit repcassidy.com/reproductive-health.

The Illinois Link Card System will be down this Saturday, August 20th from 11:00pm through Sunday, August 21st at 6:00pm due to Illinois transitioning to a new system. To read more about this change, you can visit IDHS' website here.

Our team had the pleasure to participate in the ribbon cutting for DMApothecary (5230 N Sheridan), co-owned by Deidre Monique Austin and her 20-year-old son, Matthew. The store specializes in all-natural skincare and cosmetics that are a true work of art. In addition, Matthew puts his talent into making graphic t-shirts and other artistic items that are on sale in store as well. The store also has an open work space where they hope to host classes and private events on soap making. 

They currently plan to open on September 2nd — so stop there this Labor Day Weekend to support this new, local Black-owned business and purchase handmade care products for yourself and your loved ones! 

Join us this weekend for the 2022 Glenwood Ave Arts Fest. The festival features over 120 artists and local food and drinks! Attendees will also have the opportunity to browse and purchase handmade artworks directly from creators on the cobblestone streets of the Glenwood Avenue Arts District.

The event offers free admission for all ages with easy access off the Morse CTA stop (1400 W. Morse) 

For more information, click here. 

On Friday, August 26^th the Pottawattomie Park Advisory Council will host its annual Picnic and Movie In the Park featuring 42, The Jackie Robinson Story.

Come celebrate the generous grant the park received from the Cubs Charities Diamond Project with a groundbreaking of the new infield. After the groundbreaking, the movie will be screened.  

Join in on the fun at Pottawattomie Park, 7340 North Rogers on Friday. The fun kicks off at 6:00 pm with music, crafts, games, and more. The movie will start at 8:30 pm. 

Fresh Produce, a festival or new works by women, is back this year at Rivendell Theatre! 

Starting August 18th through August 29th, public readings of three new plays will be shared in a part of a "developmental workshop process."

For more information and to purchase tickets, click here. 

Head over to Raven Theatre to see a new adaptation by Bryan McKnight of Orson Welle's Dracula!

This Glass Apple Theatre production is running from August 26th through September 25th.

For more info and to purchase tickets, click here.

The Factory Theater presents The H.O.A. Cassie and Steve, both successful professionals, are moving to a new city after Steve receives a promotion. Their new neighbors seem nice, but it becomes clear to Cassie that something is really off. See what happens when a local couple finds their dream home in a neighborhood that’s not quite right.

Written by Angelina Martinez and directed by Christy Arington, The H.O.A. will preview Friday, September 9 through Sunday, September 11. Opening night will be on Friday, September 16, at 8 pm. The show will run on Fridays and Saturdays through October 22. Tickets cost $25. More information is available on The Factory Theater's website. 

The annual Newgard yard sale will take place on Saturday, August 20, from 9 am to 4 pm, on the 6400-6700 blocks of Newgard. This annual yard sale was crowned the Reader's Best Neighborhood Yard Sale in the past. Swing by and see what great deals you can snag! 

August 19th Update:

• Total new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 IL residents:197
• Daily new COVID-19 admissions per 100,000 IL residents: 3.7
• Percent of staffed inpatient beds occupied by IL COVID-19 patients: 6%
• Statewide Totals: 3,645,961 confirmed cases and 34,595 deaths

For more details regarding the status of COVID in Illinois click here.

Please click here to see the status of COVID in our zip codes.

Being vaccinated and boosted is critical to limit the major impacts of future pandemic waves we are to face as new variants come along. Please be up to date with your vaccines and continue to test when needed.

To find a vaccine clinic within the City of Chicago click here.

For questions or info regarding COVID-19 testing click here.

If you have questions related to COVID-19 you can contact the

Illinois Department of Public Health:

Hotline: 800-889-3931

Email: dph.sick@illinois.gov

City of Chicago's Department of Public Health:

Hotline: 312-746-4835

Email: coronavirus@chicago.gov

The Department of Family Support Services is currently accepting applications for scholarships for the 2022 fall semester/quarter. Scholarships range from $1,000 to $5,000 and can be used for the purchase of tuition, books, uniforms, and fees related to course study paid directly to the designated institution on behalf of the applicant.

DFSS highly encourages any Chicago student aspiring to achieve higher education and employment to apply, including displaced and under-employed workers, adult learners, high school graduates (or equivalent), undocumented individuals, and others.

Students enrolled full-time in an Illinois college, university, or vocational/certificate program by September 15^th may qualify for a scholarship. Applicants must reside in the city of Chicago and meet the established income guidelines (at or below 200% FPL) based upon one month (July of 2022) of gross income. 

Applications must be received by the Chicago Department of Family and Support Services via the web-based CSBG Scholarship Application Platform on Friday, August 26, 2022, by 11:59 p.m. 

DFSS will host a webinar on August 15^th (at 12:00 pm and at 3:00 pm). To register for a webinar, applicants should email their choice of date and time to DFSScsbgscholarship@cityofchicago.org, as well as any further questions. 

The link to the web-based application can be found at www.cityofchicago.gov/fss/scholarship.

The Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) announced that the City of Chicago will receive up to an additional 20,000 doses of MPV (monkeypox) JYNNEOS vaccine from the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS), and will distribute them to clinics across the city over the next week.

Center on Halsted (3656 N. Halsted Street) is offering 500 appointments for vaccinations on Saturday, August 20 from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the CDPH MPV Vaccination Clinic. Registration is required. Appointments can be scheduled at https://events.juvare.com/IL-IDPH/g3fcd/.

Additionally, MPV vaccine appointments are now available up to six days per week at three CDPH STI Specialty Clinics around the city by visiting getvaxchi.chicago.gov. These clinics include:

• Lakeview STI Specialty Clinic, 2849 N. Clark Street, 1st Floor

• Austin STI Specialty Clinic, 4909 W. Division Street, Suite 411

• Roseland STI Specialty Clinic, 200 E. 115th Street, 1.5 Floor

CDPH has also announced that vaccine eligibility has been expanded. For more information, you can read their full announcement here. For more information on MPV, visit here. We will also continue to post updates on our website at repcassidy.com/mpv-information.

The city has launched the My CHI. My Future. app. Chicago teens and parents can access over 7,000 opportunities with customized recommendations based on age, interests, and locations. Teens ages 16-24 can enter to win a FREE Lolla 4-day pass by downloading the MCMF app! Download it now in your device's app store!

The Chicago Northside AARP Community Group will hold its next monthly meeting on Tuesday, September 6, at 12:30 pm. Congressman Mike Quigley will join to share what's new in Washington. Make sure to submit questions in advance of the meeting. 

Participants are welcome to join the meeting in person at the Lake View Presbyterian Church, 716 W. Addison, or via Zoom. To register to join the Zoom meeting, email northsideaarpcommunitygroup@gmail.com. For more information on the AARP community group, click here. 

The Part-Time Job, Internship & Service Fair offers students of all majors and levels part-time opportunities (paid or unpaid) while balancing their studies but is also open to the public. There will be 60 employers at the fair with part-time, full-time, internship, and service positions available for those looking for employment. The fair will take place Wednesday, September 7th, in person at Damen Student Center located at 6511 N. Sheridan Rd. Visit the website for additional information and employer registration.

CTA Human Resources is hosting a Virtual Career Fair for career opportunities in its Law, Engineering, and Training & Workforce Development departments on Wednesday, August 14, at 12 pm. 

To learn more or register to attend, visit bit.ly/3BFlpYO.

Disability Lead is gearing up for its 2023 Recruitment season and that means they're seeking leaders with disabilities to connect with.

Disability Lead builds a network of positive disruptors with disabilities to increase civic engagement and diverse leadership. As the leading disability leadership nonprofit, Disability Lead commits to advancing leaders in an ever-evolving world where the need is high for disabled innovators who are positive disruptors. 

The deadline to apply is October 14, and the early bird deadline is September 23. The early bird applications guarantee an interview.

For more information and to apply, click here. 

Gale Community Academy is seeking coaches for its 

• Girls on the Run (Grades 3-5)
• Heart & Sole (Grades 6-8) 

Gale needs a minimum of 2 COACHES per team. New and returning coaches must submit the 22/23 Volunteer Application and begin moving through the training and requirements.

Things to know:

• Practice will start on Tuesday, September 6th
• Practice will be twice a week
• Practice will be on Tuesdays and Thursdays
• Practice time will be 3:45 PM to 5:15 PM
• The 5K has not been scheduled yet BUT is usually a Saturday morning in November
• RECRUIT GIRLS! FALL 2022 Girl Registration is OPEN!

NAMI Chicago has positions in Mental Health Services and is looking for outstanding and dedicated people to join its growing team. 

Since 1979, NAMI Chicago has fought for families and individuals impacted by mental health conditions. It promotes community wellness, breaks down barriers to mental health care, and provides support and expertise for families, professionals, and individuals in Chicago and beyond.

NAMI Chicago currently has openings for the following positions (click on the job title to view the job descriptions):      

• Helpline Coordinator
• Clinical Manager
• Helpline Peer Support Specialist
• Helpline Specialist
• Clinical Support Manager
• Mental Health Court Clinical Support Manager
• Controller
• Training & Education Trainer (ETS)
• Clinical Operations Coordinator

Care for Real is excited to welcome new volunteers at both its Edgewater and Rogers Park food pantries! Volunteer opportunities are available for the entire family seven days a week, offering both day time and evening shifts that are client-facing and behind-the-scenes. To learn more about how to get involved and give back to the community, visit www.careforreal.org/volunteer.

Sincerely,

Kelly Cassidy

State Representative, 14th District



Office of State Representative Kelly Cassidy

5533 N Broadway

Chicago IL 60640