Nearly $3 million for Cameron Elementary and a six-way Humboldt Park intersection. How City school-yard money usually gets approved

Nearly $3 million in City money is headed to Cameron Elementary School, 1234 N. Monticello Ave., and to the six-way intersection of Division Street, Grand Avenue and Monticello Avenue nearby, Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36th) announced at an Oct. 27 community meeting, Block Club Chicago reported Monday. Construction on both is scheduled for 2027.

Why it matters: families told the City the intersection is dangerous for children walking to school, according to Block Club, and the school's outdoor space is worn out. The redesign changes how drivers can use several streets around the school.

What's planned

According to Block Club:

At the intersection ($900,000 in City funds):

• curb bump-outs at the six-way intersection and at Division and Central Park Avenue;
• a pedestrian refuge island on Division west of the intersection, replacing a left-turn lane;
• traffic changes on Monticello Avenue south of Division, which Block Club described as including a one-way northbound section;
• a new crosswalk at Grand and Lawndale Avenue.

Temporary bump-outs and new paint could come late this year or early 2027, with the main construction in mid to late 2027. A Chicago Department of Transportation traffic engineer described the intersection as complex and said CDOT had received complaints about student safety.

At Cameron ($2 million in City funds, plus a $500,000 state grant for a later phase): a resurfaced and larger playground, new asphalt basketball and volleyball courts, a turf field for soccer and kickball, and new fencing with 15-foot netting. Some residents at the meeting said the playground should be fixed before new fields are built, Block Club reported.

What our records add

Block Club said Villegas secured the money through City appropriations but didn't say which pot it comes from. Two common sources go through very different processes:

• Tax increment financing (TIF). When the City has paid for school buildings and grounds with TIF money, the full Council has voted on an intergovernmental agreement with the Board of Education for each school. These agreements are introduced by the Mayor. The latest two, for Harriet Beecher Stowe Elementary in Humboldt Park and Suder Montessori Magnet on the Near West Side, passed 49 to 0 on Oct. 14. We found no agreement for Cameron in our records so far.
• Ward "menu" money. Each ward gets the same yearly amount for local street work. At the Oct. 29 budget hearing for CDOT, Villegas said that amount, $1.5 million per ward, "continues to stay stagnant" as costs rise, and urged colleagues to vote line by line on the capital budget (watch). Menu projects don't need a separate Council vote.

If the money is TIF, an agreement for Cameron would be introduced at a Council meeting, sent to the Finance Committee and voted on, and it would appear on our legislation tracker. We will note it if it does.

Villegas's record. Villegas chairs the Committee on Zoning, Landmarks and Building Standards and sits on Finance and Budget, according to his ward page. He has filed to run for re-election Feb. 23; see who's running in the 36th Ward and our profile of his record.

What's next

• Late 2026 or early 2027: temporary bump-outs and paint at the intersection.
• 2027: construction of the first phase at Cameron and the main intersection work.
• Later: a second phase at Cameron, paid for in part by the state grant, which could add another volleyball court, more playground space and native plantings, Block Club reported.