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I absolutely love Halloween, so we decided to get this week’s newsletter out a bit early so we could share all the cool stuff going on in the area to mark this fun holiday. We are “that house” on our block and try to come up with a new fun display every year. Given the proximity to Election Day, this year my yard features skeleton organizers with voter registration forms along with other election-related fun. Scroll down to find out what’s happening in our area - there are options for all ages and levels of scariness. (Believe it or not, as much as I love the holiday, I’m not a fan of the scary stuff!) Something new we found this year is a directory of haunts built by neighbors. Some are free, and some raise money for charity, but all reflect the imagination and creativity of our neighbors. There are two in particular in the district that I want to highlight: Dead on Damen and Eerie on Estes, both created by longtime active neighbors in our community, so scroll down and check it out!
We love hearing from students working on policy issues & enjoy sharing our enthusiasm for deep-in-the-weeds policy research with high school and college students. Recently, Juniors at Senn High School were tasked with selecting a policy area and researching how the state government addresses it. This led to a bunch of students emailing with similar questions about the Clean Energy Jobs Act (CEJA) passed in 2021. Rather than just cut and paste responses to these students’ thoughtful questions, we reached out to their teacher and offered to come and talk to the kids about the historic legislation. CEJA sets a clear timeline for Illinois to transition away from carbon-based fuels like coal and expand the sustainable energy sector, creating clean energy jobs and training for existing energy workers to transition into the green economy, implementing consumer protection & ethics expansions in light of the ComEd bribery scandal, and more. I had a great time taking incisive questions from the students about CEJA, gun violence prevention, reproductive justice, zoning & infrastructure, and affordable housing. Teachers reading this, if you’re considering making a legislative assignment like this, feel free to reach out in advance and see if we’re available to come to talk to the students - we love doing it and I think the kids end up getting much more thorough answers.
I hope that everyone has a safe and Happy Halloween!
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Our annual office coat drive is underway! We will be collecting until December 12th. We kindly ask that all items are laundered, and are new or lightly used. We are collecting coats, gloves, mittens, scarves, and hats to help keep our neighbors warm and safe this winter. We are not collecting light or fall items. Please make sure that all items are laundered.
For a more detailed list of items, please visit our Target wish list linked below:
https://bit.ly/winter-coat-drive22
We have added R Public House as a drop off location, located at 1508 W. Jarvis, for our Winter Coat Drive! Drop off hours for R Public House are Monday through Thursday 3:00pm-10:00pm and Friday through Sunday 11:00am-10:00pm. You can also continue to drop off items at our district office at 5533 N. Broadway, Monday through Friday between 9:00am and 5:00pm. Shoutout to R Public House for helping us host this drive!
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IHDA Reopening Mortgage Assistance Program November 1st! | |
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Mark your calendars! The Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) are reopening their mortgage assistance program designed to assist homeowners financially impacted by the pandemic. Applications will open on Tuesday, November 1, 2022. The Illinois Homeowner Assistance Fund (ILHAF) provides up to $30,000 in mortgage assistance to eligible homeowners—paid directly to the servicer, taxing body or other approved entity—while homeowners work
to regain their financial footing. Whether homeowners have a mortgage, a reverse mortgage, or are mortgage-free, the program can fund past due housing payments and up to three months of prospective mortgage payments.
The program is free and funds do not need to be repaid. Application, program information and updates can be found at illinoishousinghelp.org or by calling the ILHAF hotline at 1-866-IL-HELP (866-454-3571). Applications will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, January 31, 2023.
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Halloween Around the District! | |
Make sure to check out these in neighborhood haunts around the 14th district! | |
Eerie on Estes
2211 W. Estes Ave.
Chicago, IL
Display Haunt
Scare Factor: 3
Date: October 14th - 31st
Time: Dusk - 11:00pm
Small Chicago Yard Packed with all things Halloween. Some moving props, 12ft Skeleton and Inferno, Giant Dragon and more. Some gore. Display gets larger closer to Halloween.
https://www.facebook.com/erieonestes
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Dead on Damen
7511 N. Damen Ave.
Chicago, IL
Display Haunt
Scare Factor: 4
Date: October 5th - November 1st
Time: Daytime - 10:00pm
A free collection of gory scenes including spiders, graveyard, voodoo, scarecrows, clowns, dolls and butcher shop. A display of moving props and static decorations with live actors, refreshments and free food on Halloween night.
https://www.facebook.com/Deadondamen
Cash or Venmo donations accepted for http://chicagolanddogrescue.org/
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Carrion Farm
2122 W. Berwyn Ave.
Chicago, IL
Display Haunt
Scare Factor: 5
Date: October 5th - 31th
Time: Dusk - 9:00pm
Over the top haunted cornfield/farm display. Monsters, Lights, and Fog Galore! Free scares!
https://chicagohauntbuilders.com/archived/carrionfarm/
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If you are in Chicago or the nearby suburbs and are looking for more Halloween scares, check out Chicago Haunt Builders. Attached below are PDFs corresponding to different regions in Chicago and surrounding suburbs with different places to visit and festivities.
See below for more neighborhood specific Halloween events!
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Ghostly Garden in Andersonville | |
48th Ward Halloween Parade | |
The 48th Ward Office will be hosting a Halloween Parade on October 29th at 10am starting at Peirce School, 1423 W Bryn Mawr. The parade will end at the Catalpa Plaza on Catalpa and Clark so neighbors can enjoy the Halloween on Catalpa celebration, happening from 10am-4pm the same day. I hope you are able to join us! Additionally, if you would like to volunteer with my office during trick-or-treating on the 31st, please email harry@48thward.org. | |
Gus Halloween Show at Peirce | |
It's a Smash Pumpkin Smash Festival | |
Rockin' Haunted House at the School of Rock | |
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Andersonville School of Rock, located at 5600 N. Ridge, is hosting a Rockin' Haunted House on Friday, October 28th from 4:00-8:00pm.
For more information, visit here.
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Halloween Asana Candlelight Yoga & Meditation Class | |
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Chi-town Shakti Yoga + Meditation is hosting its annual Halloween Asana Candlelight Yoga + Meditation class on Sunday, October 30th from 7:00-8:30pm. It will be held in-person and online. After a 60 minute slow flow, the teacher will lead a 30 minute guided meditation. The class will be Halloween-themed and costumes are welcome, but not required!
For more information, visit here.
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Don’t trash it, smash it! On Saturday, November 5th from 12pm to 4pm, green your Halloween at the third annual Edgewater Pumpkin Smash presented by the Edgewater Environmental Coalition and the Andersonville & Edgewater Chambers of Commerce. Join us in the parking lot at 6040 N. Clark Street, north of the Fire Station, to have some free, Halloween-related fun while reducing waste and educating residents about advantages of composting food waste!
All are welcome to drop pumpkins off without getting out of your cars or to join in the smashing fun by tossing their pumpkins in the giant compost container. We request that all pumpkins dropped off are free of non-biodegradable materials such as candles, plastic or metal decorations.
In the last two years, the Edgewater Pumpkin Smash has diverted 8.1 tons of pumpkins from area landfills dropped off by hundreds of area residents. Join our efforts by composting your festive pumpkins, and contact Nina Newhouser at nnewhouser@gmail.com if interested in volunteering!
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The Rocky Horror Picture Show | |
Neighbors Table's Halloween Art Market | |
49th Ward Halloween Candy Crawl | |
The 49th Ward office will be hosting their yearly Candy Crawl on Halloween-Monday, October 31st. Children and pets are welcome and of course come dressed in costumes! The crawl will kick off at Alderwoman Hadden's office (1447 W. Morse Ave) starting at 4:00pm, where you can pick up your collecting bag, a map of participating businesses, and some candy at your first trick-or-treating stop. | |
Trunk or Treat at Willye B. White | |
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Wednesday, October 26th Update:
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Total new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 IL residents: 16.3
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Daily new COVID-19 admissions per 100,000 IL residents: 93
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Percent of staffed inpatient beds occupied by IL COVID-19 patients: 17%
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Statewide Totals: 3,804,665 confirmed cases and 35,208 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
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General Election Information | |
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Early voting is under way in the 50 wards! Chicago voters may vote at any Early Voting location through November 8th. The Early Voting location for the 48th Ward is the Broadway Armory located at 5917 N. Broadway. The Early Voting location for the 49th Ward is Willye B. White Park located at 1610 W. Howard.
Early Voting location hours are as follows:
Weekdays: 9:00am-6:00pm
Saturdays: 9:00am-5:00pm
Sundays: 10:00am-4:00pm
Watch for more information next week on our special general election issue of our newsletter.
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October is National Bullying Prevention Month. Buckets Over Bullying is a non-profit initiative whose mission is to stop cyberbullying of kids and teens through education, lawmaking, and legal action, inspired by the death of 15-year-old Nate Bronstein who after cyberbullying over social media.
Buckets Over Bullying is hosting a free Social Media Safety Rally on November 5th for teens and parents. The objective is to educate the City's community about the importance of not using online devices as weapons. Buckets Over Bullying Social Media Safety Rally, in partnership with The Organization for Social Media Safety and the Jesse White Foundation, will be held at the Jesse White Community Center located at 412 W Chicago Ave. on Saturday, November 5, 2022.
For more information, visit here. To register for the event, visit here. Registration is required to attend as space is limited.
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Trilogy Behavioral Health is Hiring | |
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Access Living is looking to hire a Community Development Organizer for Housing. The Community Development Organizer for Housing will recruit for, organize, and develop leadership within Access Living's Disability Rights Action Coalition for Housing (DRACH) disability advocacy group.
For more information about the position and how to apply, visit Access Living's website.
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Illinois Department of Transportation is Hiring | |
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Sincerely,
Kelly Cassidy
State Representative, 14th District
Office of State Representative Kelly Cassidy
5533 N Broadway
Chicago IL 60640
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773 - 784 - 2002 (phone)
repcassidy@gmail.com
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