Chicago Politics

43rd Ward Day in the Ward Press Conference 8.20.25

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Mayor Brandon Johnson attends the 43rd Ward Day in the Ward Press Conference.

Transcript

3:25 Good afternoon everybody. Good afternoon. My name is Ugo Okere. I'm the Director of External Affairs in the Mayor's Office of Community Engagement. I want to thank members of the press and folks for being here to celebrate our 43rd Ward Day in the Ward. Day in the Ward is an initiative created by Mayor Brandon Johnson as an opportunity for the mayor and the full force of government to visit areas of investment across the city of Chicago and today we were lucky enough to spend our time with community organizations, business leaders, and Alderperson Timmy Knudsen in the

3:57 43rd Ward. You're going to hear from those folks whose businesses and organizations we stopped by today, and of course you will hear from Alderperson Timmy Knudsen and the mayor himself. But without further ado, I will pass it to Nikki, who is the executive director and owner of Just for Friends. sorry junior junior chef's kitchen excuse me hey thank you for having me here today um

4:28 nikki cordell with junior chef's kitchen we are a kids cooking studio located at 2448 north lincoln we serve kids 2 through 18 and the sweet spot is really those six through uh eight year olds um we infuse our cooking education with nutrition so there is definitely a need right now in the city to educate kids on how they're fueling their bodies and what they're putting in their bodies. And so that's part of our curriculum. We offer after school programs.

5:00 programs where we go to schools, birthday parties, camps, and field trips. I want to say a little something about why I started this program. I have three kids myself. I am a working mom, and I know how exhausting it is at the end of the day to try to have that dinnertime battle with your kids, and that is exactly what this program offers, is a fun, friendly, safe environment for your kids to come and touch mushrooms and get their hands sticky and all of the sensory things that go along with cooking i'm very excited to say we are opening a west loop location at 1061

5:35 west van buren this december and none of this would be made possible without the grant that we received from the city on our first location which we applied for a second fingers crossed so i'm just very grateful for mayor brandon johnson and the city of chicago for this opportunity to have kids get cooking and have fun and build those life skills thank you thank you so much Nikki next up we will have Hope Pavich from care for friends hope

6:06 good morning everybody my name you made it we did it good afternoon everybody my name is Hope Pavich and I am the executive director of care for friends we work to provide easy access to food housing and health care to those who are experiencing food and housing insecurity. We're very excited to be here today with Mayor Johnson and Alderman Knutson, especially as we mark our return to the

6:36 43rd Ward this October when we move into our brand new community hub. This is a project that has been years in the making and has been made possible by a very generous grant from the state of Illinois. This is a project that has truly taken a village and we're grateful to all the state and local leaders who have helped along the way including alderman knutson senator feigen holtz chief soto mary johnson mayor johnson and his budgeting chief of staff annette guzman for their continual support we have now expanded into three

7:11 locations in the city but lincoln park is our historical home base and we've been operating here and providing support since 1968. We are thrilled to be able to use our new hub for the community, offering hot meals, groceries, housing assistance, podiatry, primary care, substance use education, and more. We have appreciated working in the city, especially as we work to address the looming SNAP and Medicaid cuts that will potentially address

7:42 hundreds of thousands of Illinoisans. And we look forward to continuing to build these efforts together. Thank you. Thank you so much. And without further ado, I would like to welcome up the person who has led us into so graciously their space today, the President and CEO of Lincoln Park Zoo, Megan Ross. Megan? That was a lovely introduction. Thank you so much. Hi, I'm Dr. Megan Ross. I'm the President and CEO here at Lincoln Park Zoo. And we're so thrilled

8:18 to have all of our amazing partners here in the 43rd ward and particularly to alderman knutson and our chicago park district partners and the conservatory and of course this beautiful lily pond we're so happy to have all of you so proximate to where lincoln park zoo resides i also want to thank mayor johnson mayor brandon johnson for his visit today to the zoo we're so thrilled to welcome you as well as welcoming all visitors to Lincoln Park Zoo every single day

8:54 here in the city of Chicago. We are so proud of our public-private partnership with the Park District. We have privatized in 1995 and are celebrating our privatization's 30-year anniversary and since that time we have been welcoming nearly 4 million visitors every year here to Chicago and to the zoo. We're very excited about having not just Chicagoans come to the zoo but all of the global visitors who come and visit our amazing city and getting them to come to our 49

9:24 acre oasis where you can really connect with wildlife, see amazing animals and plants while you walk around the zoo grounds and hopefully find a lot of joy in your visit. One of the things that we're so proud of is that not only are we this 49 acre campus here in the 49th 43rd ward we are also a worldwide leader in conservation doing global conservation efforts around the globe in the republic of congo and in tanzania and southeast asia we're also proud to have 40

9:56 scientists that are studying the animals here in our care studying animals that live in urban landscapes like the city of Chicago and studying cities around the globe to figure out how cities and people can thrive into the future. Our community engagement and learning programs, we're really connecting young people with the nature that's all around them and transforming hopefully their lives. And then also thinking about the care and welfare that we provide to all the animals that call Lincoln Park Zoo home. So we're so happy to have all of you here and to have this amazing partnership with you.

10:30 We're so proud to work with alongside the City of Chicago and also the Park District in making this possible for us to welcome all of you. And I would encourage all of you to please come to the zoo. We would love to have you here and for you to connect with this amazing landscape. Thank you. A man who needs no introduction as we are right now nestled within his community, the 43rd Ward, Alderperson Timmy Knudson.

11:01 Alderperson. Thank you, everyone, for coming today. It's been a really great day having Mayor Johnson in the ward. He's no stranger to the ward. He visited a few weeks ago to come into one of our senior homes. But our goal today, which I hope was met, was to show the 43rd Ward in a nutshell. We started at an incredible local business. Abra, which is the partner business to Soloway, started by Arthur. And we met with Arthur and his team who told the mayor the story of coming here when the war in the Ukraine began.

11:36 And Arthur still has two Soloway cafes in the Ukraine. So we are so grateful to have a very successful one in Lincoln Park. We moved on to Junior Chef Kitchen and got to meet with a lot of great kids who know so much more about cooking than I do. I got to enroll if that's okay, Nikki. And Nikki showed us around and talked about her interaction with the city and how it was made possible through the city grant. You know, her kind of growth plans, moving to potentially the South Loop, being the West Loop.

12:09 And we love when a business starts in the 43rd Ward and grows out from there. Then we went to Church of Our Savior to meet with Hope, talking about Care for Friends. Care for Friends is an incredible charity based on Fullerton. On Fullerton, we have an amazing progressive church base, and they serve the homeless population, they serve the new migrant population, and it's something we're really proud of. Hope is an incredible leader in herself, and hearing her speak as the plan finishes and the new building finishes was a really good update for us to hear.

12:41 Then we moved to the Lincoln Park Zoo, which welcomes people from all over the world. I remember when the Osaka, Japan City Council was here and we met with Alderman Robinson and a few others with their city council. One of their first questions was, hey, how is that zoo free? I was a new alder person and I was like, you know, I'm not totally sure, but it's a combination of, you know, private donations, public partnerships, great grants. And it's all held together through the amazing leadership team by Dr. Ross. And now just to put a pin in it, we're in the Lincoln Park Conservancy.

13:14 lily pond so rafael rosa the executive director is here of the lincoln park conservancy this whole stretch of park all the way up to um alder person now hoppenworth's ward is governed by the conservancy and the care that goes into this area is so important because this past weekend we saw thousands of visitors coming in for the air and water show this area is the whole cities it's really great as an alder person to to call it my home but it it really is the whole cities. And we know when people come to the city of Chicago from around

13:47 the world, they visit us in our museum campus. And it's something that we're really proud of. So perfect day. I'm so happy to have the mayor here and really to show this off. We love showing off our community. We love talking about these institutions and the people doing the hard work day to day. So I'm so happy we're doing this press conference to kind of cap it off. Everyone's always welcome in the 43rd ward we've got a lot of exciting things going on so my chief of staff is here if you want more ideas press team on bragging about lincoln park and the gold coast

14:18 and i just can't thank you enough for being here and for the mayor for joining us thanks yeah oh i get to do the honor i'm taking away i'm taking so i'm so i'm so proud in the center of the 43rd ward on chicago's lakefront to introduce mayor brandon johnson mayor johnson is really dedicating a lot of his time to today and viewing the 43rd Ward, talking about

14:48 all the community assets we have. So without much further ado, the mayor of our city, Brandon Johnson. Thank you, Alderman Knutson, for that introduction and for your leadership. You did a much better job than I think Ugo would have done. So, and you're doing a great job, Ugo, in a lot of different things, but good afternoon, everyone. Good afternoon. Today was really a remarkable day here in the 43rd Ward. I had a chance to explore so many different aspects of our city.

15:18 You could really see the soul of our city come to life here. And, of course, being a part of this historic Lincoln Park community, it's a true joy. This is really a continuation of my administration's what we call a day in the ward. It's an entire series where we aim to visit all of Chicago's unique community areas. We get a chance to meet with local businesses. and we get to meet with community groups and chart out really a path to build the safest, most affordable big city in America.

15:53 We started in the 43rd Ward at Soloway Cafe in the Lincoln Park community, but I was also grateful that we were joined by the Lincoln Park Neighborhood Chamber of Commerce, which we're glad and grateful for their leadership. And the cafe owners, Arthur, who has an incredible story, But it's a story that is, quite frankly, unique to Chicago, where you had an individual who is creating community and space for Ukrainian individuals who are fleeing a war-torn country.

16:31 And I'm grateful to Arthur as well as Iriana, if I'm saying her name right. We had a chance to discuss the vitality of Lincoln Park businesses and how the city of Chicago can ensure that these businesses continue to thrive. To date, my administration has invested over $772,000 in businesses throughout the 43rd Ward. And one of those businesses, I had a chance to hang out with just a great group of young Lincoln Parkers.

17:07 The Junior Chef's Kitchen, a business that received $250,000 from our community development grant. And the owner is just a remarkable testament to how you bring together purpose as well as a community-driven approach to how we address critical issues. And Nikki, let me just express how grateful I am to you and how impressed I am by your commitment to the people of Chicago.

17:37 and got a chance to just see how she's opened up this classroom and a kitchen space on Lincoln Avenue. She talked about her business's mission to empower children and the culinary skills, but also for a love of just nutrition and connecting people together. She is partnering with the Chicago Public Schools as well so that she can reach more children across our city. She hopes to expand her operation to a new location that allows for South and West Side communities to benefit from her conviction.

18:15 I'm really grateful to business owners like Nikki who contribute so much to the vitality of our city. Her passion and her love goes well beyond the community in which she's servicing. My administration is committed to supporting our local businesses and entrepreneurs like Arthur and Nikki so that they can have the ability to expand and create jobs and contribute to our unique and vibrant communities. Our next stop, of course, was the 43th Ward was Care for Friends.

18:45 This is a nonprofit that delivers food, toiletries, health care assistance to community members. What was so impressive about this institution was their understanding of what it means to bring community around this mission. I want to give a special thanks to Hope, Hope who has organized the residents of Lincoln Park to understand our collective responsibility to one another. And I want to thank all of the residents of Lincoln Park who have surrounded themselves around this vision and got a chance to meet our team.

19:23 So two incredible individuals. I hope I remember their names, Marcos and Mike. You need a Marcos and Mike in your life. these are individuals that allow the operation to become not just real but right on the doorsteps of families who really rely upon the services but it was also a way to reaffirm our shared goals to help residents have access to housing fresh and healthy food culturally competent health care

19:54 services in their neighborhoods and then of course our last stop here at the Lincoln Park Zoo our CEO here Regan Ross is just a brilliant mind, and I'm grateful for her leadership and partnership with our park district and making sure that people have access to visitors from around the world. I want to thank her staff, the board, and all of the other members and volunteers who contribute to the educational programs and events that bring visitors from near and far to the 43rd Ward.

20:27 My administration looks forward to continuing these discussions and partnerships so that Lincoln Park Zoo and all of the assets in the 43rd Ward have the resources that are needed to continue to show up for the people of Chicago. And throughout the 43rd Ward today in closing, we could see the realization of my administration's investments, including $772,373 invested into our businesses, $14,314,640 invested into infrastructure, and through our city's one summer Chicago youth program, we hired 105 young people for the 43rd Ward for summer jobs.

21:08 We will keep showing up for the residents of the 43rd Ward, and we will make sure that as we build the safest, most affordable big city in America, that we do that together. Thank you very much. God bless the greatest city in the world, the city of Chicago. Thank you. Thank you. With that, we'll open up to questions. Is it on? Yeah. Okay. Good afternoon, man. Good afternoon. Welcome to the 43rd Ward. Yes.

21:38 Thank you. Off-topic question on CPS. As you know, Macklin King and her team over there has presented a balanced budget with no cuts. But it looks like right now there are not the votes among the school board to pass this budget, which they have a week to do it. What will it take for this budget to pass? Well, we're going to pass the budget. That's first and foremost. And we're going to make sure that our children get the high-quality public education that they deserve. We're off to a strong start.

22:09 We've had a chance to visit schools all week. Dr. Macklin Keene has done an exceptional job getting our school year started. Here's what I've made a commitment to doing, is to ensure that for the long term in the life of Chicago Public Schools, that not only do we secure a balanced budget, but we set ourselves up for the future. And so to get this budget passed, we have to make sure that we have all of the options available to us to ensure that those cuts that some people are still trying to get us to do,

22:39 particularly at the classroom level who by the way individuals who don't utilize the services of the very people calling for cuts but you know this is really about our long-term sustainability there's 1.6 billion dollars of the state of illinois rightfully need to ensure that the people of chicago receive those dollars and here's what's what's interesting if if the state of illinois just offered up 12 of what they owe we would have a surplus right now and so again this This is not just about balancing this budget and ensuring that high-quality education exists.

23:12 This is really about setting ourselves up for posterity. When you talk about options, does the option mean alone? And it looks as though CPS is not going to budge on that issue. So how does this thing get passed? Well, it's going to get passed with the majority of the board that understands my vision for public education. We have to ensure that we have every single option and every single tool accessible to our CEO to ensure that, again, as children go back to school, smaller class sizes, we got that done. Children are going back to schools that have libraries and librarians, social workers, counselors,

23:46 all of the things that I promised that we would deliver on behalf of the people of Chicago. The goal is to make sure that we don't lose ground on those investments. So we'll get a budget that's balanced, that also reflects my values, that creates options and opportunities for us to continue to make the critical investments. Look, the bottom line is this. We have to continue to come together to ensure that Springfield shows up for not just our school district, but school districts across the state. Look, when ESSER was really essentially forced to expire, if those dollars would have extended, we would also have a significant surplus.

24:22 So the state, the federal government, has to lean in just like I have as the leader of this city, where we have essentially invested in our public schools at a tune of over a billion dollars. There's more work to be done. We'll do that together, and I'm confident that as we build a safe and affordable big city, people understand the value of investing in our children. Just one more school-related. Can you clear up what School Board President Sean Harden said yesterday about TIF money? He basically announced to the school board that the city is moving away from using TIF money to balance school budgets.

24:53 Is that true, and does that mean there won't be any TIF surplus money coming from the city this year? Well, as you know, you know, I have declared a TIF surplus a couple of years in a row, the largest surplus in the history of Chicago. But what this is really about is ensuring that the the one point six billion dollars that the state of Illinois has calculated, that is rightfully owed to the parents and the families of our city, that those dollars actually show up. It's going to take all of us to to ensure that we Trump tax proof ourselves.

25:30 right? The Trump administration has essentially shifted the largest concentration of wealth into the hands of a few people and so we know that it's worthwhile investing in our young people so we're not just we're not going to just have short-term conversations this is how we have gotten into this predicament in the first place because we have not had long-term visionary responses to what our families need. I am offering up not just a short-term element this is about the long-term vitality of our school district and i know that there are people in springfield who

26:04 understand the value of investing in the school district that is overwhelmingly made up of working families and particularly black and brown families look public education is something that i know that we all value but you know i'll say it this way i've said it before you know where your heart is there your treasure will be also that's matthew 621 so we need a matthew 621 approach to funding our education system final two questions how you doing mayor johnson i'm doing well thank you good to see you i want to follow up on the questions sarah just asked particularly as it relates to

26:34 some of the comments that came up at yesterday's um board of education listening session there was some suggestion that if the board of education doesn't make the pension payment that you've asked them to make that the city would withhold uh tiff surplus funding basically forcing the district to ask for a loan can you clarify that or disabuse us of that notion yeah well first of all you know i'm not forcing anybody to do anything even though today uh i met a vinnie and uh if we

27:05 do run into issues um all right i'm gonna leave that one alone um look there are entanglements that exist within our school district that have long been in existence the the school board is becoming an independent body, which that's what the people of Chicago voted for. And so the city and the Chicago public schools will inevitably have to work to disentangle. This is not about forcing. This is about how we come together collectively. As I've said before, no other mayor in the history of Chicago has declared larger surpluses for TIFs than me. And that's

27:42 not just for our schools. It's also for our park district as well. That's why we're able to make the critical investments in youth employment. That's why we're able to, you know, see this display behind us. I believe it's opening, what, September 8th, hopefully? September 8th, right? So these are the investments that we're making that are ultimately making the city of Chicago whole. So I have said repeatedly that in this moment we have to collaborate in order to ensure that our children

28:12 and really all of Chicago receives their just due. So this is not about the forcing of anything. This is about collaboration. And this is also about the long-term vitality of our school district as we work to disentangle those reliances so that the board could stand on its own. And I want to follow up on my own question from yesterday, which dealt with your exploration of what you call progressive revenue, particularly as it relates to funding infrastructure improvements on the southwest side. It's no secret that Lincoln Park is one of the most affluent neighborhoods.

28:45 Why did I know you were going there? You're going to put people right on the spot right here in the middle of it. That's right, I am. These are the people who are going to end up being the people affected by those progressive revenue options. How do you sell them on the idea that not only should they be okay with that, but that they should welcome it? Well, look, 70% of Illinoisans all agree that we have to invest more in public education. it turns out that whether you are a millionaire or you're a thousandaire that we all agree that

29:16 we have to invest in people in fact when when we moved for a progressive income tax the city of chicago overwhelmingly supported it overwhelmingly there were other areas of the city that really you know pull the weight of our efforts down and so i i know that there are people across this city that value these investments and you know why they value them because they work that's what people want to know how are these dollars being used that ultimately will help transform lives

29:49 31 119 young people with summer jobs i guarantee you there are people in lincoln bark just like there are people in Austin that agree that's a worthwhile investment. You know, the fact that we are mental and behavioral health care services whether you are rich or working class you know mental health challenges cut across the board people believe in those investments you know affordability you know we're on pace to build 10 000 affordable homes and we're investing in businesses it turns out that even if you are in lincoln park you can still receive a grant for

30:22 mayor johnson to grow businesses right nikki is a good example of that and so i will say this last part you know what people are most concerned about is the issue that i've been working on and tackling every single day is keeping us safe 30 percent reduction in homicides whether you're in lincoln park or roseland you agree that that's a we're heading the right direction almost a 40 percent reduction in shootings and shooting victims. Everybody appreciates that. 35 percent

30:52 reduction in robberies. Look, a lot of work to be done, but if we're going to build the safest, most affordable big city in America, we're going to have to invest in our infrastructure. There are people being flooded out of their homes because we had poor planning, you know, a century ago. We have to fix that. We have pensions, retirees who have worked for this city. We want to make sure that they can, you know, have dignity in their retirement. You know, hope is working with those who have, you know, challenges and they're unhoused right here in Lincoln Park.

31:22 So it's clear that Lincoln Parkers care about the issues that the folks in Austin care about. And so it's going to take a collective response to build the safest, most affordable big city in America. And we can do that with a shared commitment. Is that all, everybody? All right, good. Thank you all very much. Enjoy the rest of your day in the 43th Ward. And I'm sorry, let me just make this one last public service announcement. Today is the birthday of my wife, the first lady of this city. And I want to say happy birthday to my wife, Stacy. And I have to admit, because I've been so busy and inundated, I didn't really do all my due diligence, as sometimes many husbands do, and not plan the birthday party and all of the excitement.

32:04 So I've decided to celebrate my wife's birthday right here at Lincoln Park Zoo. Thank you, honey. I'll see you in a couple of hours.

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