The SportsWise team discusses the college football playoffs.
Cover Story: Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Reverend Clyde Brooks discusses his friendship with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and looks back at what he inspired.
Voice of the Streets – Op-ed
Ahead of the January 20 inauguration, Dr. Victor Devinatz looks at the future of labor under Trump's presidency.
From the Streets
The Chicago Housing Authority issues draft plan for redeveloping housing on the last 43 acres at Cabrini on the Near North Side.
The Playground
THIS PAGE: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1964 World Telegram & Sun photo by Dick DeMarsico / Library of Congress). DISCLAIMER: The views, opinions, positions or strategies expressed by the authors and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, or positions of StreetWise.
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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT RECOMMENDATIONS
Compiled by Dave Hamilton
He Had A Dream!
22nd Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Celebration Concert
The Music Institute of Chicago presents its 22nd Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Celebration Concert, a free performance on Sunday, January 19 at 3 p.m. at Nichols Concert Hall, 1490 Chicago Ave., Evanston. “The MLK Celebration Concert is a platform for listening,” said Music Institute President Mark George. “The event weaves together voices from the arts, education, social justice, and interfaith communities, a powerful echo of the work of Dr. King.” The Rev. Eileen Wiviott, one of the Evanston Interfaith Clergy and Leaders, added, “It is a joy and a privilege to celebrate the life and legacy of Rev. Dr. King in this community, which is dedicated to justice, the arts, and inclusivity.” In the spirit of community with other music organizations and Evanston arts groups, Music Institute faculty and student musicians perform a program that includes Dance Center Evanston; a newly commissioned work through the Hearing in Color Young Composer Residency; young artists from Chicago Musical Pathways Initiative and Ravinia’s Reach Teach Play program; and a visual art display coordinated by the Evanston Art Center. The Rev. Michael Nabors of Second Baptist Church of Evanston delivers remarks. FREE. The performance also will be available via livestream at musicinst.org
A
Fairytale Musical
'Into the Woods’ Kokandy Productions extends its sell-out revival of “Into The Woods,” now playing through January 12 at The Chopin Studio Theatre, 1543 W. Division St. Escape into a fantastical fairytale adventure where wishes come true, but not always for free. A trove of storybook characters’ paths intertwine as they chase their deepest desires through an enchanted forest. However, once they receive their happily ever after, the unintended consequences of granted wishes unravel their worlds. Weaving a euphoric score including the songs “Giants in the Sky,” “On the Steps of the Palace,” “No One Is Alone” and “Children Will Listen” with a darkly humorous book, “Into the Woods” is a sophisticated musical twist on beloved childhood fables. $45 general admission / $55 reserved seating / $35 students or seniors at kokandyproductions.com
Making it
Hot, Hot, Hot!
‘Too Hot to Handel: The Jazz-Gospel Messiah’ Back by popular demand, "Too Hot to Handel: The Jazz-Gospel Messiah," a fresh reimagined twist on Handel’s classic masterpiece, the “Messiah,” returns to The Auditorium Theatre, 50 E. Ida B. Wells Drive, Saturday, January 11 at 6 p.m., and Sunday, January 12 at 3 p.m. Joyously reinventing the original musical material from the “Messiah” using scat, backbeats, jazz and gospel vocals, and instrumental improvisation, “Too Hot to Handel” creates an exhilarating and moving experience that leaves audiences shouting Hallelujah! In commemoration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the production begins with a newly produced video homage to King. Tickets start at $39 at auditoriumtheatre.org
The Art of Puppeteering!
Chicago International Puppet Festival
Blowing in like Chicago’s winter, the Chicago Puppet Festival brings a flurry — of puppets! With hundreds of artists and civic leaders working around the globe and here in Chicago to make it happen, the fest aims to fan a fire in you that inspires your vigor and heats your soul. It offers a unique and broad range of work from around the planet. You’ll find the puppet particularly adept at embodying the supernatural with such tales as “Dracula” or “The Cabinet.” Likewise the puppet holds the gravity of powerful dramas such as “Life & Times of Michael K” and “The House by the Lake;” and equally captures a comic world of “I Killed The Monster.” There's 100+ events in just 12 days, January 15-26, at the Fine Arts Building, 410 S. Michigan Ave. For a full schedule and tickets (starting at $15) visit chicagopuppetfest.org
Bring On the Bacon!
‘Fat Ham’
A boisterous Southern cookout sets the scene for a Black, queer discovery of self and resilience in this Pulitzer Prize-winning, five-time Tony-nominated “uproarious reimagining of Hamlet” (The New Yorker). As Juicy grapples with his identity and his family at a backyard barbecue, his father’s ghost shows up asking for revenge—on Juicy’s uncle, who has married his widowed mom—bringing his quest for joy and liberation to a screeching halt. James Ijames has reinvented Shakespeare’s masterpiece, creating what the New York Times hails as “a hilarious yet profound tragedy, smothered in comedy,” where the only death is the patriarchy. January 11 - February 23 at Goodman Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn St. Tickets start at $25 at goodmantheatre.org/show/fat-ham
Wakanda Forever!
‘Black Panther’ in Concert
After an electric sold-out debut in 2022, Chicago Philharmonic brings back Marvel Studios’ “Black Panther” in Concert. In 2018, Marvel Studios’ “Black Panther” quickly became a global sensation and cultural phenomenon, showing a new dimension of what super hero films could be. Relive the excitement of T’Challa becoming king and battling Killmonger all while the one of the country’s finest symphonic orchestras performs Ludwig Göransson’s Oscar® and Grammy®-winning score live to the film. January 18, 7:30 p.m. at the Auditorium Theatre, 50 E. Ida B. Wells Drive. Tickets start at $32 at auditoriumtheatre.org
Family fun for Mlk Day!
Chicago History Museum Family Event: Martin Luther King Jr. Day
At this family-focused celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s ongoing influence on the fight for civil rights in the US, enjoy hands-on engagements, musical performances, and opportunities to learn about how to become more civically engaged in your community. January 20, 10 a.m.- 4 p.m. at the Chicago History Museum, 1601 N. Clark St. FREE.
Tale as Old as Time. . .
‘Glassheart’
The Chicago premiere of a new play by Chicago-based playwright Reina Hardy, a modern-day reimagining of the “Beauty and the Beast” fairy tale. The Beast has moved into a low-rent district in Chicago with his last loyal friend, a lamp named Only. They meet a neighborly witch and a young woman who might, somehow, still break the curse. January 10 - February 23 at City Lit Theater, 1020 W. Bryn Mawr Ave. $35 General Admission, $30 senior, $12 students/military at citylit.org
MLK DAY 2025: Echoes of Freedom
#MlkDay2025
Hyde Park Art Center proudly presents a free public Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration, MLK DAY 2025: Echoes of Freedom on Monday, January 20, from 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. at 5020 S. Cornell Ave. Eclectic programming for all ages blends live music, thought-provoking film, art making, and creative writing workshops, to highlight art as a vessel for collective memory, liberation, and joy, while reflecting on Dr. King’s profound impact on social justice and cultural movements. Registration is recommended at HydeParkArt.org
A Question of Morals
‘The Totality of All Things’ Award-winning Redtwist Theatre presents “The Totality of All Things,” written by Eric Gernand and directed by Enrico Spada, playing through January 19 at 1044 W. Bryn Mawr Ave. The play introduces audiences to Judith Benson, “teacher-famous” for the award-winning student newspaper she proudly oversees at her small Indiana high school, a program that extols truth and integrity in journalism. At the start of a new school year, an anti-gay hate crime occurs calling everything Judith believes about inspiring the next generation of reporters and the definition of truth itself into question. Tickets start at $35 at redtwisttheatre.org/totality
College Football Playoffs
John: This is the first time the college football playoffs will have a 12-team format. Although we taped this in December, this column is coming out in the middle of the semifinals, with the Orange Bowl January 9 and the Cotton Bowl January 10. Do you think there is team that might win it all January 20 that we’re not talking about?
Russell: Could be, but it’s going to be very exciting. This year, you got more teams in the playoffs, so just sit back, relax and watch your favorite team. I like Penn State (ranked No. 6). They got good offense and great defense. I thought Ohio State was going to be good, but they lost to Michigan. Ohio State (No. 8) played unbeaten Oregon (No. 1) and was in it to within two points. One of my customers got mad at me last year when I said Notre Dame was no good, so this year, my sleeper team is Notre Dame (No. 7).
Allen: I liked Illinois because I always root for the home team, but they were knocked out, so if I had a second choice, it would be Indiana (No. 10), which is 11-1. If the home team can’t win, I like the closest one. And Russell mentioned Notre Dame, which is also 11-1.
John: I agree. As far as I am concerned, the team that could win it all, but no one talks about them, is Notre Dame. They aren’t just winning games; they’re beating up teams.
Now as far as teams no one is talking about, SMU (No. 11) won against Louisville, which is a bit of a disappointment this year. Indiana, I cannot believe they’re in the Top 10; they had a cupcake schedule, although granted, you play what’s given to you. Still, you’ve gotta do better than losing 38-15 to Ohio State. If they would have lost in overtime, I would have less of a problem about having Indiana in there. But getting routed like that....
Arizona State (No. 4), I am not puffed about them, but their beating Iowa sets up a better-stakes game of SMU against Clemson (No. 12).
Russell: I am going to sit back and enjoy this college football playoffs. Like John said, anybody can beat anybody. I want to see Boise State kick some butt.
Allen: Bottom line, I am sticking with the home team, Illinois, even if they don’t win a championship.
John: Overall, the team that’s going to win it all this year is Georgia. Of all the top 15 teams Alabama (knocked out of the playoffs) and Georgia are the most postseason sportssavvy.
Any comments, suggestions or topic ideas for the SportsWise team? Email StreetWise Editor Suzanne Hanney at suzannestreetwise@yahoo.com
Vendors A. Allen, John Hagan and Russell Adams chat about the world of sports.
A Conversation with a lifelong friend of Dr. King, JR.: Meet Rev. Clyde Brooks
by Lynn B. Sanders
Imagine a unique friendship with a world leader that motivates you to raise awareness about justice and equity for all people for over 50 years...
What would it be like to improve thousands of lives of all colors and backgrounds?
How meaningful would it be to provide college scholarships, year after year, to Illinois youth to empower, inspire and transform their lives?
Meet the Reverend Clyde Brooks, founder of the nonprofit, ICDHR, the Illinois Commission on Diversity & Human Relations, whose personal relationship and commitment to the vision of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. continues making a difference in our world.
On Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024, Reverend Brooks held his 55th Dr. King Remembrance Dinner at a crowded banquet hall in Palatine, with the theme of “Dr. King: Communities Coming Together.” I was fortunate to be there and knew it would be worthwhile to share the insights and stories of this Civil Rights champion, whose mission is to keep Dr. King's legacy alive.
What’s the purpose behind the annual King Commemoration Dinner?
“It’s to reflect on Dr. King’s works, achievements, and sacrifices in the name of equality and human rights for African Americans, the economically disadvantaged and all victims of injustice.
“Part of the legacy Dr. King left is the need for us to have a blueprint for our lives. We must have a basic principle and determination to achieve excellence in our respective fields of endeavor.
“Our annual commemoration is meant as a service to the community, designed to inform, educate, inspire and to be a call to action for individuals who are change agents – or wish to be – for good.
“Conversely, we also seek to challenge
those among us who prefer a nation which does not march forward toward change, equality, inclusion and justice for all.
Why does Dr. King’s message about educational justice resonate with you?
“When I grew up, the national curriculum instructed young children with books like ‘Dick and Jane,’ that portrayed white children from middle-class families as dressing well and using proper English. Other books like ‘Little Black Sambo,’ ‘Tarzan,’ and ‘Buckwheat’ showed images of African American children as scared, submissive and with unmanaged hair.
“The schools fed us a diet of racism. And this is where little white boys and girls learn to falsely believe they are superior, based on nothing more than the color of their skin.”
Because he was Black, Brooks couldn’t join the Boy Scouts; he couldn’t bowl at the bowling alley; he couldn’t skate -except on “colored day” (Wednesday), and he couldn’t sit in the main part of the movie theatre, just the balcony.
While working on his master’s degree, Brooks traveled with his white colleagues to Mexico on a bus. As a young adult, Brooks couldn’t sleep in the same hotel or eat in the restaurant. It was upsetting that he was being treated as inferior. In contrast, once he was in Mexico, Brooks was treated as an equal to his colleagues.
Right: Reverend Clyde Brooks. Below: Brooks participating in a march. (courtesy photos).
How did your friendship with Dr. King develop?
In his youth, Brooks worked at a Chicago YMCA, where he was asked to assist Dr. King and his family. He was responsible for taking care of their needs: grocery shopping, picking them at the airport, serving as their driver. During that time, Brooks gained valuable insights from Dr. King.
“Dr. King recognized that too many teachers failed to realize that formal education -- as well as the lack of – contributed to and perpetuated the racial divide. Students and their parents had been fed a diet of racial inferiority and white supremacy from an early age.”
Soon, Brooks became an active volunteer, marching with Dr. King and speaking up for justice. He worked with Dr. King in the Chicago Civil Rights Movement, the Selma to Montgomery Campaign and with Dr. King in planning the March on Poverty Campaign. He was also a member of the National Board of Directors of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the only organization by Dr. King, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia for more than 30 years.
What motivated you to advance Dr. King’s cause?
“I was driving down the expressway on the day that he was killed. That’s when I really got religion. That started me down this road. I got angry...for two reasons.
“One – I had been with a genius. Secondly, it came to my mind that I needed to keep everything Dr. King had been fighting for alive. I formed the suburban chapter of the southern Christian Leadership Conference and became the head
“I was inspired by giants. Most were in the church. The civil rights movement came out of the church. We had to get angry. Not physical anger. The anger of “I’ve had enough!” A determination for change. It reminds me of a gospel song we used to sing in our marches, ‘Fired up – can’t take it no more...’
“Now, they’re trying to kill books by Dr. King, and anything to do with lesbians, gays, brown and black people, women... That’s why we black people come across as angry. We get emotional because we live it.”
What perpetuates racism in our society?
“I don’t blame the KKK. The white citizens council. I blame the good folks. The hear no evil, see no evil, do no evil. “Those are the people who make it hard for Civil Rights. Evil cannot exist if good people speak up. They become an accessory to evil through their silence.
“If you are afraid and won’t speak up, you’re part of the problem. You’re an accessory. America is full of good white people. Then why do we have the turmoil over race? Where you and I live – people will say, ‘We don’t have those problems here.’ They don’t understand what institutional racism is. They don’t know.
“There was a saying I heard as a kid, “When you’re white, you’re alright. When you’re brown- stick around. When you’re black – Stay back.”
of the Chicago Metropolitan Chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
Brooks with Rev. Jesse Jackson (courtesy photo).
Brooks on the cover of Newsweek, ca. 1983 (courtey photo).
“It’s common for white people to say, ‘Why you mad at me? I have never mistreated a Black person.’
“Many institutions believe that God meant for white people to be superior. White people don’t understand what I say. Most of them look at me and think – ‘Is he telling the truth? Is he exaggerating? I’ve never read about that. I’ve never heard about that.’
“Kids don’t know all the inventions invented by Blacks – ice cream, the potato chip, the electric stop & go sign, the cotton gin, and so many others. They don’t understand that a lot of these corporations became what they are on the backs of slavery. They’re the ones who financed slavery.
What’s the solution?
“Good white folks need to speak up.
“Racism is a white man’s burden. They created it. They acted on it. White people need to decide that their skin doesn’t make them better than people with dark skin.
“We need to do more education.
“Forty states from this country are considering isolating Black history. How do you teach American history without teaching about slavery? That’s what all this book banning and censorship is all about.
“There is a war going on and most people are sleeping through it. Most people are saying, ‘We don’t have those problems.’ They don’t know what their kids are learning or not learning.
“Dr. King said, ‘The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically... intelligence plus character is the goal of education.”
What lessons in education would Dr. King teach us?
“Education should make its beneficiaries feel free.
“Education should allow students to assess and gain evidence to determine right from wrong, what is factual and what is not...
“However, gaining intelligence separate from character-building inhibits education. They must go together.”
To learn more about Reverend Brooks and ICDHR, visit: https://icdhr.org
speaker Welch on 'the infinite game'
by Suzanne Hanney
Emanuel “Chris” Welch became Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives on Jan. 13, 2021, after gathering the votes for ratification and then receiving 3,000 text messages. The reality only began to sink in the following Monday, January 18 – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
“Gee, dad, this country was founded 200 years ago and you’re the first Black person to have your job?” his young son said while sitting at the kitchen table.
“Yes, son, that’s what Dr. King was fighting for, and that’s why you’re not in school today,” Welch responded. The conversation was followed days afterward with an invitation from the superintendent to speak at his son’s school, where the third grader beamed proudly.
As keynote speaker at the 55th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Junior remembrance and commemoration dinner of the Illinois Commission on Diversity & Human Relations, which was December 14 in Palatine, Welch compared Dr. King’s “beloved community” to the book, “The Infinite Game” by Simon Sinek (Portfolio, 2019).
First of all, a community is not about “I,” it’s about belonging, about sharing goals in something larger than oneself, Welch said to the audience of suburban mayors, other public officials and corporate sponsors.
Unlike finite games of sport, the beloved community has no fixed time, no winners or losers.
“You should be playing with an infinite mindset, trying to make this world just a little bit better,” Welch said. “I firmly believe Dr. King believed with the beloved community we would build a better world. No poverty, hunger, bigotry or racism. In the beloved community is love and trust, triumph over fear and hatred...social equity. Most of all, we would feel that sense of belonging. I believe he knew this was something we would fight for in perpetuity.”
We can unite behind the goals of justice, compassion, integrity, equality of opportunity for all and we will continue to face challenges in building our community. We may never reach it in our lifetimes, “but it is my hope that we will continue reaching for it...and it is my duty as your Speaker to continue taking you all on the Infinite Game.”
ICDHR Founder, the Reverend Clyde Brooks, said regarding the question Welch raised as to “'What would Dr. King do about what is happening today,’ he would be trying to help the comfortable understand they are the same folk as the uncomfortable, they just don’t know it.”
Emanuel "Chris" Welch (State of Illinois photo).
Donald Trump’s Reelection, the Multiracial and Labor’s Future (op-ed)
by Dr. Victor Devinatz
Despite losing the popular vote, Donald Trump’s 2016 U.S. presidential Electoral College victory over Hillary Clinton due to razor-thin margins in Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin took the nation by surprise and was viewed as a fluke. Contrast that with Trump’s 2024 reelection against Kamala Harris in which he won the Electoral College, took the popular vote by some 2.5 million ballots (or 49.8% to 48.3%), and secured all seven battleground states. This outcome stunned many as well. In all Red and Blue states (and virtually every U.S. county), Harris received fewer votes than Joseph Biden did in his 2020 contest against Trump.
In the election’s aftermath, reasons proffered for Harris’ loss include global election trends resulting in voters rejecting incumbents regardless of political ideology, a brief 107-day campaign in which voters believed that they did not get to know Harris, the Vice President’s emphasis on Trump’s danger to abortion access, Harris’ focus on Trump’s character defects and his threat to democracy, and voters’ racist and misogynistic attitudes towards a biracial Black woman. While all are plausible explanations potentially contributing to Harris’ defeat, additional insight into the election’s result can be obtained by assessing the votes of union members, the white working class, and the multicultural working class.
In union households, 54% cast ballots for Harris while 44% voted for Trump, compared to 56% for Biden and 40% for Trump in 2020, respectively. This 2024 union vote slippage might be partially due to several unions that backed Biden and refused to endorse Harris, including the Teamsters, the Firefighters, and the International Longshoremen’s Association.
According to demographers, the U.S. working class is defined as Americans aged 25 and older who lack a college degree. Based on this proxy, 62% of Americans can be classified as working class in 2024. Preliminary exit polls indicate that 57% of 2024’s voters were working class, with 44% supporting Harris and 54% backing Trump, compared to 47% who voted for Biden and 51% who cast ballots for Trump.
If we analyze the 2024 U.S. working class vote by race, 34% of white workers backed Harris while 36% did so for Biden. The major problem was the loss of Democratic Party votes among multicultural (non-white) workers in 2024. Biden registered a 46% advantage over Trump in 2020, falling to 30% for Harris, mostly due to Latino men’s defection, but also resulting from fewer Black male votes.
Given the necessity of working-class voters for presidential election success, if the Democratic Party desires to attract
more of these voters, it must address working class interests. Some 67% of 2024 voters described the U.S. economy as being either “not good” or “poor,” with many angry over dramatic price increases due to the COVID-19 pandemic’s supply chain disruptions. Although U.S. inflation has fallen considerably after peaking at 9%, this global economic trend also severely affected other nations. Unfortunately, prices remained higher in 2024 than during Trump’s first presidency and Trump’s rhetoric expressed working-class voters’ frustrations.
Harris failed to connect with working-class voters especially during the last month, even though Biden was undoubtedly the most pro-union and proworking-class president since Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Steps taken by Biden that aided working people included passing the Inflation Reduction Act (the infrastructure bill) and the CHIPS Act around semiconductor manufacturing expansion. These laws led to more manufacturing jobs, which had receded under Trump’s first presidency. Moreover, Biden augmented funding for Obamacare, modified overtime eligibility rules (increasing pay for some four million workers, although this move was recently struck down by a federal judge) and boosted wages for construction workers employed on federal projects. In the process, the U.S. economy itself created an additional 16 million jobs under Biden.
What could Harris have done differently to reach more working-class voters? A recent study conducted by the Center for Working-Class Politics, Jacobin, and YouGov in Pennsylvania during September and October 2024 indicates that strong economic populist messaging performed extremely well among working-class and independent voters. Specifically, these robust economic populist messag-
Graphs courtesy of Jacobin.
Multiracial Working Class,
es that ventured beyond Harris’ mildly populist rhetoric performed better than all other messaging among Pennsylvania voters while Harris’ messages regarding Trump as a threat to democracy underperformed all other Harris messaging among all voter groups. Since Trump’s policies will most assuredly disappoint working-class voters, the Democratic Party must vigorously promote these voters’ interests during the 2026 midterm elections and 2028 presidential election and follow through with them if elected.
Even if Harris had won, she would not have been labor’s messiah, although she undoubtedly would have been superior to Trump. Moreover, her election would have provided the trade unions with needed breathing space. While there
has been a recent uptick in union organizing success, largely based on rank-and-file initiative, unionization attempts will become harder under a second Trump administration. Nevertheless, the trade unions must keep punching. They must doggedly attempt to unionize nonunion white and multiracial workers and internally organize their memberships while connecting with sympathetic social movement groups for the myriad struggles ahead.
Dr. Victor G. Devinatz is Distinguished Professor of Management, specializing in labor relations, and was the Hobart and Marian Gardner Hinderliter Endowed Professor (2014-2015) at Illinois State University. He can be contacted at vgdevin@ ilstu.edu.
US President Joe Biden signs H.R. 4346, the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, on Aug. 9, 2022. (Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP)
As of October 2024, 500 Starbucks locations have voted to unionize, representing over 11,000 workers. The labor group, Starbucks Workers United, has been one of the largest unionization movements in restaurant industry history (courtesy photo).
cha unveils 'Cabrini now' plans for near
by Suzanne Hanney
A draft plan for the final 43 acres at the Chicago Housing Authority’s Cabrini development on the Near North Side would have 4,100 units of housing, ideally one-third each market rate, affordable, and public housing, Ald. Walter Burnett, Jr. (27th ward) said at the third and final Cabrini NOW meeting hosted by the CHA.
“A lot of people thought that CHA residents would be gone; that’s not going to happen,” added Maurice Edwards, president of the Cabrini Local Advisory Council.
Planning has been expedited, Burnett said at the December 11 meeting, because the Cabrini Tax Increment Finance (TIF) district will expire in 10 years, and with it, the money for infrastructure im provements.
The public meeting, part of a series to seek com munity input that began in May, was attended by 120 Cabrini members, including 20 CHA residents. Public comments will be accepted at cabrininow@thecha.org through January 8, with publication of the draft plan early this year and the ability for more public comments before the CHA begins seeking zoning changes to begin construction.
There are 16 CHA sites on the 43 acres, nine south of Division Street (1200 N) and seven north of it.
The largest parcel, at 14.2 acres, surrounds the current, largely vacant Cabrini rowhomes around Oak (1000 N) and Hudson Streets. Elbert Whit field, senior planner at Solomon Cordwell Buenz (SCB), said that the development naturally tapers down from a 275-unit high-rise at Chicago Av enue and Hudson. There is a potential here for 1,100 new units of housing, including 784 more mid-rise units and 61 townhomes.
Adjacent to it is the second largest parcel, at 6.9 acres, roughly between Oak and Locust Street on the north and south, Orleans and Hudson on the east and west. This site could contain 680 new units, including a 285-unit high rise in the more densely populated northeast corner, with six-flats and townhomes to the west, and two mid-rises.
SCB proposed extending both Sedgwick and Walton Streets across what is now an empty “superblock,” creating normal-size urban blocks in the process, Whitfield said. “Smaller, brokendown blocks provide for more manageable size developments that can be broken up among a variety of developers.”
All renderings provided by Cabrini Now.
near north side developments
This section would include expansion of Durso Park and connection to the Jesse White Center, expansion of Seward Park and relocation of the Chicago Lights Urban Farm.
The 6.7-acre site at Division and Halsted is the third largest parcel, with the potential for 1,000 new units: a 385-unit high-rise at the corner, four mid-rise buildings and two sets of townhomes.
SEDGWICK SITES | MASSING DIAGRAM
The intersection can handle a lot of development, such as the high-rise, tapering down to the Target store east at Larrabee Street, said Nic Pryor, architect/ planner at SCB. The land is now vacant, another superblock to be broken up
DIVISION SITES | MASSING DIAGRAM
with two new north-south streets. One would be an extension of Crosby Street and another would connect Division and Scott Streets, with sidewalks and trees, to serve Skinner North School.
North of Division Street, along Clybourn and Larrabee, there is the potential for 1,300 new units of housing, in a variety of mid-rises, four eight-flats and a six-flat.
Officials said that according to feedback from the two prior Cabrini NOW community meetings, there was a strong desire for development in the neighborhood, for better connectivity in the street grid, and for preserving only a portion of the vacant rowhouses—which could potentially become a museum, Whitfield said. People wanted more contiguous green space and preservation of the two urban farms.
City Farm, which is now on Larrabee and Division Streets, had a number of supporters, according to stickie notes placed by meeting participants on diagrams at one table.
Jessica Horak said she owns a daycare center and uses the farm as an educational resource because students do not have access to greenspace. Allie Lamberson, who works with Horak, said kids learn how food is grown, bring their families and volunteer. She goes there to experience silence in the middle of the city and harvested vegetables there on Thanksgiving Day.
Edwards, the Cabrini LAC president, said that there should be a lot more housing than 4,100 units – customarily 1 in 3 of
them for public housing residents – “because more people are in need of housing.” Other past and present residents of Cabrini at the meeting talked about the “right of return” for families who had lived there when the Plan for Transformation began Oct. 1, 1999. At that point, there were 1,700 families in Cabrini, although there had been 15,000 residents at its peak.
However, according to the CHA’s 4th quarter 2023 report, 61% of these Cabrini families, or 1,084, have satisfied their Right of Return to CHA. There were 38 families awaiting their right of return; 398 families had been evicted, died or otherwise lost this right. Another 250 families had been non-responsive, but have an option for reinstatement if they contact the CHA by Dec. 31, 2028. Across all CHA developments, 177 families were awaiting return and 2,776 have an option for reinstatement.
Since 2005, more than 2,900 new homes have been built in Cabrini, including almost 1,000 CHA-subsidized apartments, according to prepared material. In addition to the Cabrini NOW planning efforts, CHA has three active development initiatives in the area:
• Oak & Larrabee (78 total homes, including 37 public housing units and 17 affordable rental units)
• Parkside 5 (99 total homes, including 37 public housing units and 28 affordable rental units
• Clybourn & Larrabee (first phase under detailed design and development)
