LOGAN SQUARE — Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35th) is asking residents to weigh in on needed improvements in the ward at a series of big picture community meetings — one for each neighborhood he represents.
At the meetings, called “neighborhood assemblies,” Ramirez-Rosa and his staffers will lay out their four-year plan, solicit feedback and suggestions from residents and provide updates on developments in the 35th Ward.
“It’s really about coming up with a work plan for the next four years from the people who employ me: the residents of the 35th Ward,” Ramirez-Rosa said.
Ramirez-Rosa said this will be the first series of “neighborhood assemblies” since he took office in 2015.
The Logan Square/Avondale meeting is set for 12:30 p.m. Saturday at the Norwegian Lutheran Memorial Church at 2614 N. Kedzie Ave.
The Albany Park meeting and the Irving Park meeting are both scheduled for next week — 6:30 p.m. July 23 at Jensen Park at 4650 N. Lawndale Ave. and 6:30 p.m. July 25 at Athletic Field Park at 3546 W. Addison St., respectively.
The Hermosa meeting, the last in the series, is set for 6:30 p.m. July 30 at The Miracle Center at 2311 N. Pulaski Road.
Ramirez-Rosa said him and his staffers have been crafting the four-year plan for two months, but they’ve been talking about creating one since the election in February. The plan addresses public safety, infrastructure and development, among other subjects.
“When you’re running for re-election and knocking on doors, you get to hear from people about what they like and what they’d like to see changed over the next four years. In speaking with my staff, we figured we should really do something with the things we’ve learned,” he said.
With the community meetings, Ramirez-Rosa is asking, “Did we get this right? What’s missing? What’s your vision for your community?”
Also as part of the meetings, the alderman will ask residents to start brainstorming ideas for the 2020 participatory budgeting cycle.
Ramirez-Rosa is one of a handful of aldermen who open up their $1.3 million in annual ward spending to the participatory budgeting process, which asks constituents to vote on how they’d like to see the money spent.
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