Dozens of South American migrants seek temporary shelter at the Chicago Police 12th District station near Pilsen on May 9, 2023. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
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CHICAGO — Another year of bringing you the news from every corner of the city has come and gone.
In 2023, Chicago got a new mayor, officials struggled with how to help a wave of newly arrived migrants and the city lost at least four firefighters and two police officers in the line of duty.
Amid the big headlines, we continued to share the smaller stories of the Chicagoans making a difference every day.
Moments from 2023:
Jordan Alba (blue) with team Barracks fights and defeats Ariel Salazar (red) with team Sam Colonna in Bout 2 of the novice round during the 100th Anniversary Golden Gloves championship at Cicero Stadium on April 13, 2023. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
Mayor Lori Lightfoot hosts a last-minute press conference in response to criticism from Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza a week before Election Day on Feb. 21, 2023. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
Applying the finishing touches before the big reveal. Ibrahim Sabbi, 24, of Humboldt Park, flashes their freshly-bedazzled teeth after a session with @gemmycharmedlife, aka Kati Llewellyn, at Cyprus Cosmetic Collection, 2342 W. North Ave. Credit: Linze Rice for Block Club Chicago
Carter plays in the water from a fire hydrant in Albany Park as Chicago reached record-breaking high temperatures on Aug. 23, 2023. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
Firefighters battled a three-alarm fire at 1212 N. Lake Shore Dr., where Lt. EMT Jan Tchoryk died and two other firefighters were injured on April 5, 2023. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
Mayor Brandon Johnson is sworn in as Mayor of Chicago during the 2023 City of Chicago Inauguration on May 15, 2023. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
Police and SWAT respond in the 4100 block of West Chicago Avenue in West Humboldt Park for a report of a man with a swastika flag and weapons, on June 2, 2023. The man was later found dead with a self-inflicted gunshot wound after the hours-long standoff. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
Hundreds celebrate Mexican Independence Day near the Chicago Theatre Downtown despite the city’s efforts to close traffic to Downtown on Sept. 16, 2023. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
MSGT Deker Lankford refuels the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds team over Ohio from an Illinois Air National Guard KC-135 Stratotanker as they flew to the Chicago Air and Water Show on Aug. 17, 2023. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
5931 S. Normal Blvd. is one of the two remaining homes on its block as land continues to be cleared for the expansion of the Norfolk Southern intermodal yard in Englewood on Jan. 9, 2023. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
Travis Wilkinson tends to the tulips growing in the basement at the Chicago Eco House in Englewood on Jan. 11, 2023. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
Kirby Reed and Amy Paul Giordano, executive director at the Original Gus Giordano Dance School in Andersonville, pose with Reed’s jazz dance class on Jan. 25, 2023. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
Fire Department paramedics respond as a resident experiencing homelessness shows overdose symptoms on Lower Lower Wacker Drive on Jan. 27, 2023. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
Ex-Cons for Community and Social Change Executive Director Tyrone Muhammad (foreground, at right) and 20th Ward aldermanic candidate Andre Smith (background, in yellow jacket) are led by Chicago police officers to squad cars after being arrested for trespassing Feb. 10, 2023. The two were among at least three people arrested during the latest protest against the city’s opening of a migrant shelter at the former Wadsworth elementary school in Woodlawn. Credit: Maxwell Evans/Block Club Chicago
Hundreds mark the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine with a rally outside Saints Volodymyr and Olha Ukrainian Catholic Church in Ukrainian Village on Feb. 24, 2023. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
Mayor Lori Lightfoot gives her concession speech at her election night party on Election Day in Chicago, Feb. 28, 2023. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
The Wesoly Lud Polish Folk Dance Company of P.R.C.U.A. perform during the celebration of Casimir Pulaski Day at the Polish Museum of America on March 6, 2023. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
Police honor guard fold the Chicago flag over the body of slain Officer Andrés Mauricio Vásquez Lasso as the officer is removed from St. Rita of Cascia Shrine Chapel in Ashburn on March 9, 2023. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
Noah Kelly, 24, and Rebecca Nonnenmann, 22, share a moment as they take in the dyed Chicago River for St. Patrick’s Day in Chicago on March 11, 2023. Credit: Kathleen Hinkel/Block Club Chicago
Wrestler and shooting survivor Jason Harrison, along with trainer Garfield “Gee” Green, demonstrate training at GeeFit Training Club in the South Loop on March 17, 2023. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson celebrates his win over Paul Vallas alongside his family at his election party on April 4, 2023. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson and Mayor Lori Lightfoot are greeted on April 12, 2023, as Democrat leaders celebrate Chicago being chosen to host the 2024 Democratic National Convention. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
Deivid Chacon dives into the cold Lake Michigan waters at Montrose Beach on a record-breaking hot spring weather day, April 13, 2023. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
Neighbors stopped by to enjoy thousands of blooming flowers at the intersection of East 53rd Street and South Prairie Avenue April 29. Credit: Kayleigh Padar/Block Club Chicago
People playing pickleball in May at Bauler Park said they were frustrated with the lack of community involvement in the Park District’s decision to remove two courts. Credit: Jake Wittich/Block Club Chicago
The family of fallen Officer Aréanah Preston grieve at her funeral at Trinity United Church of Christ in Washington Heights on May 17, 2023. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
Eduin Caz crushes a can of beer as Grupo Firme headlines the second day of Sueños Music Festival at Grant Park on May 28, 2023. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
A woman who said her name was Lila yells about immigrants, President Joe Biden, city crime and her property taxes during a May 31, 2023, community meeting at Swedish Hospital Anderson Pavilion, 2751 W. Winona Ave. Credit: Alex V. Hernandez/Block Club Chicago
A crowd of activists wearing a rainbow of capes with slogans like “Stop Dumping on the Southeast,” “Let Us Breathe” and “Deny the Permit Again” leads others in a chant as they protest administrative law judge Mitchell Ex’s ruling to overturn the city’s February 2022 denial of Southside Recycling’s operating permit outside City Hall June 6. Credit: Maxwell Evans/Block Club Chicago
Beaubien Woods visitors canoe the Little Calumet River as they learn more about the Ton Farm Underground Railroad site, Hazel Johnson’s role in birthing the environmental justice movement, the Black-owned Chicago’s Finest Marina and other aspects of Black history in the Calumet region. Credit: Maxwell Evans/Block Club Chicago
“I grew up a Jehovah’s Witness. … Leaving meant being on my own. I started putting makeup on my face to escape someone I didn’t like, which was myself. That was when I was 19ish,” said Rah Rah Girl, who is 28. “In Rah Rah Girl, there’s so much growth. A character who I want to be for people. It’s good vibes that I’m giving and want to be giving. I feel pretty and want people to feel pretty. I want you to feel what I was missing in my experience. I was missing someone who made me feel more confident in myself.” Credit: Kathleen Hinkel for Block Club Chicago
SailGP teams race past the lighthouse during the first day of the Rolex United States Sail Grand Prix racing at Navy Pier on June 16, 2023. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
Dramatic storm clouds loom behind the Chicago skyline after a tornado warning and storm passed through the city, as seen from Ukrainian Village on July 12, 2023. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club ChicagoVice President Kamala Harris holds hands with Rev. Jesse Jackson as he was recognized during the 57th Annual Rainbow/PUSH Convention at the Apostolic Church of God in Woodlawn on July 16, 2023. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
Some Loretto Hospital workers went on strike on July 31, 2023, at the Austin hospital, demanding better work conditions, hours and wages. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
Family, friends, teachers and classmates came together for a candlelight vigil for Serabi Medina, 9, at Reinberg Elementary in Portage Park on Aug. 10, 2023. Medina was fatally shot by a neighbor days before. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
Phyllis Keenan is known as the “Woohoo Lady” for cheering on bikers and runners alike along the Lakefront Trail, as seen on the morning of Aug. 14, 2023. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
Current and former members of Bronzeville’s Tabernacle Baptist Church stand in front of building Aug. 18. The group is working with Preservation Chicago to have the church recognized as a city landmark. Credit: Jamie Nesbitt Golden/Block Club Chicago
A KC-135 Stratotanker flies past the John Hancock Building during the Chicago Air and Water Show, as seen from Lake Michigan on Aug. 19, 2023. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
Emily Barrueta takes the temperature of her 5-year-old son, Jean Marcus, who was battling a 102.9-degree fever on Aug. 30, 2023. Nearly 200 asylum seekers have been spending the night at the 12th District police station in Pilsen. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
Supporters and organizers of the South Shore Community Benefits Agreement gather at a Downtown press conference announcing the ordinance, Sept. 14, 2023. Credit: Noah Glasgow/Block Club Chicago
Four stars adorn his uniform after Larry Snelling was unanimously confirmed as superintendent of the Chicago Police Department by City Council on Sept. 27, 2023. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
Multiple 127-year-old stage backdrops were found in the attic of The Forum, 318-324 E. 43rd St., in Bronzeville, as seen on Sept. 28, 2023. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
Recent Illinois Senior Olympics gold medalist Jason Ferguson poses for a portrait at his alma mater, Marshall Metro High School, in Garfield Park on Oct. 17, 2023. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
Police respond as Ald. Julia Ramirez (12th) (center) is assaulted as Brighton Park neighbors gathered in protest at the site of a proposed migrant tent camp at 38th Street and California Avenue on Oct. 19, 2023. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
Carlo, an asylum seeker, holds a sign asking for a job on Pulaski Road as asylum seekers await shelter in tents during the first snowfall of the year outside the Police Department’s 17th District station in Albany Park on Oct. 31, 2023. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
Karen Buendia, Josh’s mom, cries as her younger son speaks to the crowd at a ghost vigil for the 16-year-old cyclist, who was hit by a car at Long and Waveland avenues Oct. 4, 2023. Credit: Ariel Parrella-Aureli/Block Club Chicago
Ald. Rossana Rodriguez Sanchez (33rd) and Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35th) look on as Ald. Feliz Cardona Jr. (31st) speaks on his experience with Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35th) amid moves to censure him during a City Council meeting on Nov. 7, 2023. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
From left to right: Students Symphone Destin, Jasmin Antunez, Brandon Snipe and Skel Gracie prepare an autumn panzanella salad during the Farewell and Hello Luncheon at Sikia Restaurant — of the Washburne Culinary and Hospitality Institute in Englewood — on Nov. 15, 2023. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
Owner Lee Nendza poses for a portrait in Andy’s Bowling Pro Shop, 6358 S. Pulaski Road, in West Lawn on Nov. 16, 2023. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
A fight breaks out as the Chicago Blackhawks play the Tampa Bay Lightning at the United Center, losing 4-2, on Nov. 16, 2023. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club ChicagoJordan Price kisses his mother, Rochelle Price, on the head during the funeral for fallen Firefighter Andrew Price at Navy Pier on Nov. 20, 2023. Price died while battling a fire in Lincoln Park on Nov. 13. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
The historic Swift Mansion stands with extensive fire damage on Dec. 4, 2023, after a blaze tore through the over 130-year-old Bronzeville building. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
Evelyn Stell, Javier, Lidia and Naomi Galindo pose for a photo in Apollo’s 2000, 2875 W. Cermak Road, in Little Village on Dec. 5, 2023. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
The Grinch, as played by Chatham resident Chris Witherspoon, and local podcast producer Brandon Hearty set up a mobile studio in Beverly during the holidays for photos with neighbors. Credit: Crystal Paul/Block Club Chicago
A candlelit vigil for 5-year-old Jean Carlos Martinez Rivero is held across the street outside a migrant shelter in the 2300 block of South Halsted Street on Chicago on Dec. 20, 2023. Martinez Rivero was staying at the shelter when he became sick. Credit: Alex Wroblewski/Block Club Chicago
Ex-Ald. Ed Burke (14th) exits the Dirksen Federal Courthouse after he was convicted by a jury of racketeering and other charges on Dec. 21, 2023. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
