July 26-August 1, 2023

4 6 8 12 15

Arts & Entertainment Event highlights of the week!

SportsWise

The SportsWise team recaps Wimbeldon.

Cover Story: Summer Concert Guide

In 1959, Barbara Millicent Roberts was born into the world an adult woman, with hopes, dreams and lots of hair. Since then, Barbie hasn’t aged a day – but she’s certainly grown in stature, becoming the world’s most famous and fascinating doll. After the release of the highly anticipated – and much memed –movie, The Big Issue Australia delves into Barbie’s history.

From the Streets

Sarah's Circle breaks ground on 28 studio apartments for women in Uptown.

Mayor Brandon Johnson receives 200-page report from his transition team, designed to be a a blueprint toward a better, stronger and safer Chicago.

Full-time workers in Illinois must earn $24.59 per hour to afford a modest, two-bedroom apartment at fair market rent, according to this year's "Out of Reach" report by the National Low lncome Housing Coalition (NLIHC) and Housing Action Illinois (HAI).

The Playground

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT RECOMMENDATIONS

Compiled by Kyra Walker

Live Podcast Recording!

Voices for Justice: 'Help This Garden Grow' Celebrate the release of a new podcast docuseries, “Help This Garden Grow” at the 9th floor Harold Washington Library Winter Garden, 6-7 p.m. July 27, 400 S. State St. The docuseries tells the story of Hazel Johnson (pictured), a visionary of the environmental justice movement, and resident of Altgeld Gardens on the far South Side of Chicago. Johnson founded People for Community Recovery, a 40-year-old organization that addresses toxic industrial pollution, which had been killing members of her community. Doors open at 5:30 p.m., first come first serve. FREE. No registration required. This event is suitable for those 18+. Masks are strongly encouraged in all library spaces.

German Cooking!

Kulturküche: Radish Cooking Class

Learn how to prepare Bier-Rettich with Ron Eberle, 7-8:30 p.m. July 28 on the fifth floor of DANK Haus

German American Cultural Center, 4740 N. Western Ave. Bier-Rettich is a white radish that can be used in salads. Ron is the son of a German immigrant from Bavaria who has shared his family’s recipe for white radishes with many people. Attendees will receive a complimentary drink and pretzel. $15 for friends of DANK Haus, $20 for all others. Space is limited. Register at dankhaus.com

Beyond the Grave!

'Princess Di: Gone But Still Kicking'

Many people were shocked by the death of the iconic Princess Diana in 1997. Jilliann Gabrielle has her speaking from her grave as a spirit haunting the halls of Kensington Palace. Making a deal with St. Peter at heaven’s gate, she’s allowed to stay with her sons at the palace, but she ages as a consequence. The play runs at the Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave., through August 6. Tickets $36 at greenhousetheater.org

Dance + Culture!

Chicago Korean Dance

Chicago Korean Dance Company presents the Korean interpretation of Cinderella, and the Korean Drum Ensemble. This colorful and professional performance intersects traditional and modern Korean dance for all audiences, 5 p.m. July 30 at the North Shore Center for Performing Arts, 9501 Skokie Blvd. Tickets are $40+ at northshorecenter.org

Drive Time Tunes!

Rush Hour Concert: Deborah Sobol Memorial

Enjoy music from Reena Esmail (pictured), Robert Schumann, and the Avalon String Quartet in this 45-minute concert. The Rush Hour Concerts were founded in 2000 by Deborah Sobol. Relax and soak up some beautiful music after work in a short, but lovely format, 5:45-6:30 p.m. August 1 at St. James Cathedral, 65 E. Huron St. FREE.

The

Writings on the Wall!

Movies in the Lot: "Pioneering Women Muralists of Hyde Park"

Chicago Public Art Group will screen "Pioneering Women Muralists of Hyde Park," 8-10 p.m. July 27 at the Hyde Park Art Center, 5020 S. Cornell Ave. A panel discussion with the artists -- Caryl Yasko, Astrid Fuller, Carolyn Elaine, Olivia Gude, and Mirtes Zwierzynski -- will follow the screening. FREE, but register at hydeparkart.org

Shopping Al Fresco!

Englewood Village Market

On July 29, purchase fresh produce and goods, and enjoy music and fun for the whole family. The Village Market will be 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at the Englewood Village Plaza, 5822 S. Halsted St. Stick around to learn more about the Englewood Food Sovereignty Network and the Englewood Nature Trail, a two-mile linear park that’ll serve as a connector between Englewood’s growing network of urban farms and gardens.

Honoring Ancestors!

Bon Odori Dance Classes

Bon Odori is meant to bring people together to honor their ancestors, express their joy, respect, and feeling of community, 10:30 a.m.-noon July 29 at the Hyde Park Art Center, 5020 S. Cornell Ave. Feel a connection with ancestors and everyone else. The dances are simple and easy; no previous dance background is required. Attendees will learn 2-3 dances. Make sure to wear comfortable clothing and bring something to drink. FREE. Register at hydeparkart.org

Stroll & Shop!

Andersonville Sidewalk Sale

Find one-of-a-kind merchandise, fashion apparel, and local treasures at the Andersonville Sidewalk Sale, 4800-5800 N. Clark and adjacent streets on July 28-30. Times will vary according to regular store hours. The Swedish American Museum, 5211 N Clark St., will be open 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Sipping Amid the Animals!

Summer Wine Fest

Enjoy 50+ varieties of wine from 20 wineries while wandering through the zoo’s lush garden and animal habitats, 6:30-10 p.m. July 28 at Lincoln Park Zoo, 2400 N. Cannon Drive. General admission tickets ($55) include souvenir tasting glass, free rides on Endangered Species Carousel, lawn games, event-exclusive food for purchase, and more; VIP tickets ($75) provide 5:30 p.m. access. Must be 21+. Register at lpzoo.org

Wimbledon: Missing the Williams sisters

Patrick: Wimbledon’s here and, as of this article’s recording, we’re on Day 8 of 14. I know we all have feelings about the Williams sisters, so let’s kick it off with that. Russ?

Russ: Well, there’s no Serena Williams, seeing as she retired in September. Man, a tennis tournament—men’s or women’s—just doesn’t mean as much to me when Serena’s not involved.

Patrick: You know her sister, Venus, entered this year, right? At 42 years old, and the older of the two, Venus is still giving it a go out there. Venus has always been my draw to modern tennis. Maybe it’s that she was first Williams to succeed; whatever the case, it was unfortunate to see her lose her first match.

Donald: I miss 'em both, but we do have to move on, right?

Russ: Right. It’s tough to get motivated, though. I get it, you know, considering there’re others still out there continuing to compete.

John: Agreed.

Patrick: So, John, what’s the biggest story—other than the Williams sisters—for you?

John: Well, initially, I hadn’t been closely following the seedings and things, but when I realized that Novak Djokovic was seeded No. 2, I became more interested in this year’s men’s Wimbledon. Turns out that Carlos Alcaraz is the No. 1 seed.

Donald: Wow…I didn’t know Djokovic wasn’t No. 1. Where’s the other guy…uhm….

Patrick: Nadal. Rafael Nadal.

Russ: He had to pull out of the French Open in May due to injury; it’s serious enough that it’s keeping him out of Wimbledon, too.

John: Also, I recently read that Nadal—aged 36—said 2024 is his last year.

Patrick: It’s funny, John, that someone else out there had the nerve to be seeded higher than Djokovic—and his name wasn’t Rafael Nadal. I say that because the other day I read through the men’s seeding, and I was shocked to realize I knew of more of these cats than I thought. Daniil Medvedev, Casper Ruud, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Americans Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe— man!

Russ: Good. I enioy Wimbledon because it's not a weekend sport like golf. This year, Wimbledon went from July 3 through July 16, so we had time to soak it up before unseeded Markéta Vondroušová of the Czech Republic took it all from last year's runner-up, Ons Jabeur (the first time an unseeded woman won the final in 60 years) and Alcaraz took the men's title from Djokovic--his first defeat at Centre Court in 10 years.

Patrick: Me, too. So, does either of y’all know the women’s seeding for the tournament?

John: Iga Swiatek of Poland at No. 1, Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus following her, Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan and, then, the highestseeded American, Jessica Pegula, with Caroline Garcia of France at 5.

Patrick: A lot of foreign names in there. But, of course, I’m not shocked by your recall…

just impressed. Time to wind down, fellas. Last words? Don?

Donald: I’m missing the Williams sisters like everybody else, but it’s time.

John: I may not tune in, but I’ll be checking out SportsCenter to see who wins.

Patrick: Real quick, Russ, before you have the floor: I miss the Williams sisters, too. That familiarity and higherexcitement level they bring’ll be missed; that said, there’s talent in this tournament, so I’ll watch.

Russ: Thanks for the last word, Pat. With regular life going down, sports seem so unnecessary…but, then, when I sit down and watch, or we talk and/or write about sports, I come back. I have priorities, but I also have a love of the overall game. Enjoy, people.

Rashanah Baldwin

Vendors (l-r) Russell Adams, John Hagan, and Donald Morris chat with Patrick Edwards about the world of sports.

Welcome to The Doll House Barbie through the

100 Barbies are sold every minute.

150 countries stock the doll.

250 careers and counting adorn Barbie’s résumé.

$900 was the going price in 1996 for Pink Splendor Barbie, the most expensive Barbie ever produced for retail.

$302,500 is the most a Barbie has ever gone for at auction (thankfully, to raise money for breast cancer research).

1 billion Barbies have been sold globally since 1959.

18 billion minutes of user-generated Barbie content are said to be created every year.

In 1959, Barbara Millicent Roberts into the world an adult woman, with dreams and lots of hair. Since then, hasn’t aged a day – but she’s certainly stature, becoming the world’s most fascinating doll. by

Aimee Knight

She’s a swimsuit model and a CEO. As both an airline pilot and a flight attendant, she can navigate an A380 and bring you your complimentary peanuts. In 1992, she even ran for President – 24 years before Hillary’s name appeared on the ballot. Who says women can’t have it all? Not Barbie! The plastic fashionista has been breaking the PVC ceiling for well over half a century, stepping in as a miniature role model for children around the globe. But for just as long, Barbie’s Dreamhouse has been a hotpink hotbed of moral panic.

Scorned for spreading sexist stereotypes, brainwashing kids

Image courtesy of Mattel, Inc. Right: Ryan Gosling as Ken and Margot Robbie as Barbie in “BARBIE,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release (courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures).

House the ages

Roberts was born with hopes, then, Barbie certainly grown in famous and

into mindless consumerism, and implanting young people with unreal ideals about the human form, the world’s most popular fashion doll has a lot to answer for.

Is this a Barbie world? Are we just living in it? With Greta Gerwig’s live-action feature film "Barbie" out now, hop in the candy-colored camper as we trace how this figure of femininity became a beloved, reviled, instantly recognizable icon. Because, in the words of her creator Ruth Handler, “she is far more important than I myself could have ever understood.”

Hailing from the fictional township of Willows, Wisconsin, Barbara Millicent Roberts – as her parents call her – is 11.8 inches tall, 64 years old, and barely looks a day over 20. That’s all thanks to Handler. When masterminding Barbie’s design, she really broke the mold. Well, “borrowed” may be more accurate.

On a European holiday in 1956, Handler chanced upon a German doll called Bild Lilli. Risqué Lilli’s mature proportions set her apart from her infantile peers –those wide-eyed, hard plastic baby dolls of yore. Handler, who just so happened to work at the burgeoning toy company Mattel, naturally took note…plus three Bild Lillis back home to California, where she’d already identified a gap in the market.

Years earlier, while watching her young daughter project grown-up personae onto flimsy paper dolls, Handler had wondered, 'Don’t little girls deserve something more substantial?' When she pitched the idea of a Lilli look-alike to her Mattel colleagues, the largely male staff – including her husband – squirmed. “They didn’t think a doll with breasts was exactly appropriate,” Handler said in 1994. The (m)ad men at Mattel were the first (though certainly not the last) folks to have strong opinions on the doll’s physique. But, after some convincing, they debuted Barbie – named in honor of Handler’s daughter, Barbara – at the American International Toy Fair in 1959.

“A lot of the early marketing was around the idea of Barbie as someone you could grow up to be, as opposed to this baby you had to take care of,” says Dr Madeleine Hunter, whose PhD research at the University of Cambridge explores children’s media

franchises. “It was still a very hyper-feminine, heterosexual, white model of femininity, but it was this subtle shift away from training you to care for a child to having these other aspects of adult femininity – the clothes, the fashion – which would appear, for children, to be the privileges and freedoms of adulthood.” For the low, low price of three buckaroos, little girls (being the exclusive target market back in those days) could test-drive lifestyles that veered away from the typically restrictive post-war path of domesticity that was laid out for their mothers. As a glamour model, Barbie had a career –the first of many. She made her own cash and, crucially, she wasn’t married to her boyfriend, Kenneth Sean Carson (aka Ken, named after Handler’s son).

Of course, it’s easy to dismiss Barbie as an empty vessel. “That’s the double bind of femininity,” says Hunter. “It’s ‘girl shaming’. We specifically make these things for girls to like, and then we think of them as stupid because girls like them.” Look harder and you’ll see how Barbie embodies – both figuratively and literally – all the social shifts that have occurred in bedrooms and boardrooms for 60 years and counting.

After thriving in the fashion-forward 1960s, Barbie’s star began to wane amid the 1970s political tumult. Pushback against materialism put a dent in Barbie’s income, while the women’s liberation movement put the doll’s improbable physical proportions under the microscope. “There were protests in Berkeley,” says Hunter. “They burned Barbie.” The tradition continues on TikTok today. But in step with women’s increased social mobility in the 70s came greater flexibility for Barbie, too, as new lines featured bendable limbs, wrists, torsos and necks. In a glow-up reflecting America’s changing tastes, out went her matronly Jackie Kennedy bubble cut, and in swept the long, blonde mane of Malibu Barbie. A super-tanned beach babe with glistening pearly whites, she was the first Barbie whose eyes no longer faced off sideways, but square at her handler with sparkling confidence. She surfed Mattel’s waves of financial instability all the way to the discotheque, alighting in 77 as Superstar Barbie, who heralded an oncoming decade of decadence.

Synonymous with glamour, excess and shopping montages, the 1980s were a new dawn for Barbie. Though the foundations of her playroom empire were laid with the Dreamhouse (which debuted in '62) and Corvette (rolled out in '76), this era cemented her extended universe. She got a cavalcade of new outfits – including diminutive couture by Oscar de la Renta – plus fresh accessories, associates and aspirations.

“We Girls Can Do Anything” went Barbie’s new catchcry in 1985, foreshadowing the “girl power” stylings of 1990s thirdwave feminism. Mattel started broadening not only Barbie’s career prospects but also her cultural heritage, as diverse Barbies appeared on shelves in the traditional dress of such far-flung lands as India, Spain, Peru, Nigeria and Australia (the white Down Under doll came decked in a brown denim outfit described as “typical of an outback jillaroo" - sheep rancher).

Hunter agrees that the 80s were “a big decade” for Barbie. “Celebrity becomes a much more important part of Barbie’s identity,” she explains. “She’s very much in keeping with different trends that people idolize,” like the pop star, the rapper, the actress and the pageant queen. As such, parents, teachers and child psychologists further interrogated Barbie’s part in crystallizing society’s notion of femininity as one that’s thin, white and superficial. In response to this critique, Mattel further diversified Barbie’s body shapes, skin tones and physical abilities. What’s more, in a nod to the 21st-century maxim, “If she can see it, she can be it,” Barbie now regularly steps out in the real-life likenesses of her “Sheroes” – such as artist Frida Kahlo, aviator Amelia Earhart, Paralympian Madison de Rozario and tennis champ Naomi Osaka, whose mini-me sold out within hours of going on sale in 2021.

“If Barbie is the only toy your child is playing [with], and they’re only watching Barbie cartoons, and they only have Barbie merchandise, yeah, maybe that could be a problem,” says Hunter. “But chances are, she’s one figure in a

1959

BARBIE DEBUTS AT THE NEW YORK TOY FAIR ON MARCH 9.

much larger diet of media, as well as a much larger representation of women that your child encounters every day –including you. It’s a lot of responsibility to put on one doll.” Citing Mattel’s contemporary sales pitch that Barbie can be anything, Hunter adds, “She shouldn’t have to be everything.”

It’s at this time we must ask not what your Barbie can do for you, but what you can do for your Barbie.

“I have two dolls I travel with,” says Nerida Stig, a Brisbanebased Barbie connoisseur. “One is named Margie after my mother, Marjorie. She goes everywhere with me.”

Stig has travelled with Margie for 12 years, attending doll conventions across Australia and the U.S. (the pair were “living and breathing” pink at Barbie Con in Florida, July 4-8). Her ever-growing collection is easily in the hundreds, and her fascination goes back to her very first Growin’ Pretty Hair Barbie in childhood. “I got so much pleasure out of that doll, it was ridiculous,” she says. “My neighbors got Malibus and we played, and played, and played, the three of us. I always liked the fashion.”

HelloDollies

1968

1961

BOYFRIEND KENNETH SEAN CARSON – AKA JUST KEN – ARRIVES IN BARBIE’S LIFE. FOLLOWED BY BEST FRIEND MIDGE IN ’63, AND LITTLE SISTER SKIPPER IN ’64.

1962

GERMANY’S BILD LILLI LAUNCHES, SOON TO INSPIRE MATTEL’S ALLAMERICAN GIRL.

THE ICONIC DREAMHOUSE HITS SHELVES, WITH FURNITURE AND ACCESSORIES MADE NOT FROM PLASTIC BUT CARDBOARD.

MEET CHRISTIE! BARBIE’S FIRST BLACK FRIEND WAS INTRODUCED IN STEP WITH THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT.

SPACE IS THE PLACE FOR ASTRONAUT BARBIE, WHO WENT TO THE MOON FOUR YEARS BEFORE APOLLO 11 TOUCHED DOWN.

1971 1980

BARBIE HITS ANDOUTDOORSEXPLORES CAMPERVAN.

While today she may not play with her dolls in the traditional sense – she’s not hosting tea parties, let alone doll-on-doll make-out sessions – a sense of fun, frivolity and freedom rings in her fandom. “My collection is part of me. It’s part of my home,” Stig explains. “It’s not about the money to me. It’s the friendships I’ve made over the last 20-something years of collecting. I have friends all over the world.”

And Stig’s not the only one who’s been inspired by Barbie the blank canvas. The passive doll, and all her pliable possibilities, have long had a symbiotic relationship with pop culture. In 1986, Andy Warhol – who once famously proclaimed, “I love plastic. I want to be plastic” – painted Barbie’s pastel portrait. Thirty years later, his wish came true when his muse donned his trademark 1960s look (black jeans, biker jacket, icy white wig) for a limited-edition collectable figure.

Forever dedicated to caring for others, Barbie also provides artistic fuel for her detractors – just take a look at the satirical Instagram accounts starring Barbie as a coffee-swilling hipster, an inspirational mommy blogger, and a white savior preaching wellness culture in African countries. Barbie’s malleable capacity to be dressed up and down, perpetually made over, also drives Greta Gerwig’s irreverent (yet affectionate) take on the doll’s multitudes in her film.

Though the Barbie brand went multiplatform some years back – via video games, web series and CGI-animated films – the doll remains, primarily, an analogue plaything. Her highestselling incarnation is still 1992’s Totally Hair Barbie, whose opulent locks offered hours, days, of touchy-feely play that’s inherently different to the screen-centric modes that prevail nowadays.

“I never dreamed of trying to change the world. I wanted to show the world as it is,” Handler once said. “My whole philosophy of Barbie was that through the doll, the little girl could be anything she wanted to be.” It’s the dreams, fears and secrets whispered by whoever looks upon Barbie’s golden coiffe that truly mobilize her posable limbs and drive her conversations –not to mention her Corvette. She may be a model, a prop, a mirror, a money pit, a surgeon, a blank slate, a confidante and an icon, but – above all – Barbie is what we make her. Think pink.

Courtesy of the International Network of Street Papers (www.insp.ngo) and The Big Issue Australia.

HITS THE HIGHWAY EXPLORES THE GREAT OUTDOORS IN HER FIRST CAMPERVAN.

IT’S A TAKEOVER:PASTEL DAY-TO-NIGHT BARBIE GETS SHOULDER PADS, A BRIEFCASE AND A CEO SEAT AT THE TABLE.

MATTEL RELEASES THREE NEW BARBIE BODY TYPES – CURVY, PETITE AND TALL – TO BETTER REFLECT THE DIVERSITY OF REALLIFE HUMANS.

MATTEL RELEASES THE FIRST BLACK AND LATINA BARBIES.

TOTALLY HAIR BARBIE – AVAILABLE IN BLONDE AND, FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 20 BRUNETTEYEARS,–BECOMES THE BESTSELLING BARBIE OF ALL TIME, WITH OVER 10 MILLION SOLD TO DATE.

PINK GOES GREEN WITH THE LAUNCH OF BARBIE LOVES THE OCEAN, THE FIRST OF HER KIND MADE FROM RECYCLED OCEAN-BOUND PLASTIC. MATTEL HOPES TO USE 100 PER CENT RECYCLED, RECYCLABLE OR BIO-BASED PLASTICS BY 2030.

Sarah's Circle builds out campus with new building in uptown

by Kyra Walker & Suzanne Hanney

Sarah’s Circle, a 44-year-old nonprofit dedicated to women who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, broke ground June 27 for Sarah’s on Lakeside – 28 furnished studio apartments at 4737 N. Sheridan Road, its third building in Uptown. The $17.5 million structure is scheduled to be completed in fall 2024.

“Today we’re doing more than just building housing - we’re breaking ground on permanent solutions for homelessness,” Sarah’s Circle Executive Director Kathy Ragnar said.

“To have my own place where I can cook, bathe, and wash my clothes is so important,” said Sarah’s Circle Board Member June Merritt. “With what I’ve been through, I take nothing for granted.”

Joining Ragnar and Merritt at the groundbreaking were U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Chicago), Chicago Commissioner of Housing Marisa Novara and Ald. Angela Clay (46th ward).

Roughly 30 percent of people who are homeless are women, Schakowsky said. “The fact that we in this country tolerate homelessness at all as well as hunger, it’s intolerable. Part of our fight is to not only support Sarah’s Circle, but that we continue to fight for equity in this country.”

According to Commissioner Novara, “Homelessness can mean that you’re literally sleeping on the streets; sometimes it can mean that you’re sleeping on a friend’s couch. No version is ideal for trying to be your fullest and healthiest version of yourself.”

On any given night in Chicago, 2,000 women are homeless, according to the Sarah’s Circle website.

FROM THE STREETS

"We know that homelessness is on the rise in this country," Novara added, and commended Sarah's Circle for creating permanent solutions for women, transgender women included. Besides the Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) and the Chicago Housing Authority, she said the City contributed $8 million in various grant funds and $1.5 million in donations tax credits: a 50-cent state income tax credit for each $1 of a minimum $10,000 donated to an affordable housing project.

In addition to $9.5 million from the City of Chicago and $6 million from IHDA, Sarah’s Circle contributed $2 million of its own toward the $17.5 million construction cost. Tenants pay 30 percent of whatever income they have in rent.

Clay grew up in affordable housing in Uptown for 27 years. She’s serving her first term on the Chicago City Council after winning the election in April. “In the 46th ward we are a pillar of affordability in the city of Chicago,” Clay said. “I wanna make sure that we continue that message while we are in offices, outside of offices, while we are making friends all around this city. I know how privileged we are as a ward to have Sarah’s Circle. I know how privileged we are to have an abundance of affordable housing for

our neighborhoods. All of our neighbors in this city truly deserve affordability, no matter where they live.”

Sarah’s Circle client Brooklyn Silas performed a spoken word piece comparing her experience moving between foster homes until age 9 to the stability she has found at Sarah’s Circle. “A studio that God has provided for me through Sarah’s Circle. He made a way. There’s so much more than I can say in the peace of having a home: a place where I have significantly grown. I have a community here. I’m not alone.”

Silas recently earned her high school diploma and has been accepted into several programs to pursue her bachelor’s degree.

Scattered PSH Apartments 25 Permanent Supportive Housing apartments located around the city

Attending the groundbreaking ceremony at Sarah's Circle June 27 are, from left, Chicago Commissioner of Housing Marisa Novara, Sarah's Circle Executive Director Kathy Radner, Ald. Angela Clay (46th ward), Sarah's Circle client Brooklyn Silas, and U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Chicago).

Mayor Johnson's transition report

Mayor Brandon Johnson heard testimony concerning the most pressing issues facing Chicago July 6 and received the 200-plus page report offered as a guide to his administration for building a better, stronger and safer Chicago.

Representatives from 11 subcommittees spoke on behalf of nearly 400 members who made recommendations on challenges ranging from education to housing, to public safety, and more.

Recurring themes reflect complex and layered issues that confront Chicago, such as:

• community abandonment co-existing with inspiring narratives of community resilience;

• the need for greater transparency and accountability in government;

• unequal access to power and decision making across race, class, age, and ZIP code simultaneous with a new commitment to inclusive co-governance;

• the crucial need to address race and economic disparity with an understanding of Chicago’s history and how this disparity impacts our communities differently and unevenly.

U.S. Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Chicago) kicked off the event in Spanish and English. “I want to extend my deepest gratitude to you, Mayor Johnson, for bringing together a truly diverse and deeply committed set of stakeholders. Together we have developed a historic blueprint for building a better, safer, and stronger Chicago for everyone,” she said.

Dr. Barbara Ransby emphasized the collaborative nature of the committtee’s work. “It was intense, it was short, it was imperfect, but it was extremely important work. It was an exercise in democratic practice, truth telling and consensus building,” she said.

Sarah’s Circle's Campus

Sarah’s Circle opened its first drop-in center in an Uptown apartment in 1979. Its full continuum of services provide 600 women a year daytime support, life necessities, supportive services, interim housing, rapid re-housing and permanent supportive housing (PSH). It operates 10 units of PSH and daytime support at its Judy Krueger Apartments, 4838 N. Sheridan Road; 38 units of PSH and a 50-bed interim housing shelter at Sarah’s on Sheridan, 1005 W. Leland Ave.; and 25 more PSH apartments across the city.

Business leader Charles Smith said he was privileged to deliver the report to the mayor, “a blueprint that captures the views, hopes, experiences and best thinking of all of us here today, and of many others with whom we consulted and encountered in this journey. May it help us work together as a city to grow the Soul of Chicago.”

The final report is designed to serve as a blueprint, for building bridges between the city’s diverse communities and voices and between vision and action, so that every child, every family, and every neighborhood can experience the fully embodied Soul of Chicago that the Mayor invoked in his inauguration speech—so that all of our neighborhoods are safe, equitable and truly thriving.

It can be downloaded at https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/mayor/supp_info/transition-report.html and will be available in Spanish.

report on salary needs for housing

Full-time workers in Illinois must earn $24.59 per hour to afford a modest, two-bedroom apartment at fair market rent. This is Illinois’ 2023 Housing Wage, according to the recent “Out of Reach” report by the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) and Housing Action Illinois (HAI), a 35-year-old, statewide coalition of 160+ members that includes counseling agencies and providers of affordable housing and homeless services. Released annually, the report highlights the gulf between wages and what people must earn to afford rent at no more than 30 percent of their income.

Other key findings from the report include:

• A person earning the state minimum wage of $13 per hour must have 1.6 full-time job(s) or work 65 hours per week to afford a modest one-bedroom apartment.

• A person earning the state minimum wage must have 1.9 fulltime job(s) or work 76 hours per week to afford a two-bedroom apartment.

• Minimum wage in the Chicago area is higher, and so is the Housing Wage: $27.69.

• The lowest Housing Wage, in more affordable counties, is $14.88.

• In Illinois, the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment is $1,091. A person receiving the federal Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefit of $913 per month can afford no more than $274 monthly.

The recent debt ceiling deal will lead to harmful cuts in programs

such as Housing Choice Vouchers, public housing and homeless assistance grants. Said HAI Policy Director Bob Palmer, “Because the cost of providing housing in the private market has continued to go up, the spending caps that were part of the agreement to suspend the debt ceiling have the impact of a budget cut, reducing the number of people receiving assistance to help pay for a home.”

During Fiscal Year 2024, HUD will need at least $13 billion more to maintain current levels of service due to inflation, higher rents, and interest rate hikes. It will be challenging for Congress to keep housing and homelessness programs whole.

“I’m hoping everyone will support HUD budget increases for housing, because everyone needs a home,” said Hugh Brady, a board member for the National Alliance on Mental Illness of Illinois (NAMI Illinois), NAMI’s Barrington Area chapter, the Housing Task Force and the Alliance to End Homelessness in Suburban Cook County. “In the communities I know best, the northwest suburbs of Chicago, I have seen firsthand how community-based non-profit organizations use HUD funding to create affordable housing for people who have been chronically homeless, often struggling with severe mental illnesses and other disabilities. To end homelessness, we need to significantly increase HUD funding, not reduce the number of people served.”

For additional information, and to download the report, visit: http://www.nlihc.org/oor

-Suzanne Hanney, from email

To

Last week's Answers

How StreetWise Works

StreetWise exists to elevate marginalized voices and provide opportunities for individuals to earn an income and gain employment. Anyone who wants to work has the opportunity to move themselves out of crisis.

StreetWise provides “a hand up, not a handout.”

All vendors go through an orientation focusing on their rights and responsibilities as a StreetWise Magazine Vendor. Authorized vendors have badges with their name, picture and current year.

Vendors purchase the magazine for $1.15 and sell it for $3 plus tips. The vendor keeps all of their earnings.

Buy the Magazine, Take the Magazine

When you buy the magazine, take the magazine, and read the magazine, you are supporting our microentrepreneurs earning an income with dignity.

New vendor orientation is every Tuesday and Thursday at 10:00 a.m. at 2009 S. State St. Find your nearest vendor at www.streetwise.org