Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood has seen just over 1,000 cases of COVID-19, a moderately high number compared to the rest of the city.
Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35th Ward) represents the northwest section of the neighborhood in the Chicago City Council. Over the past year, he’s emerged as a critic of Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot on many issues.
“Myself and many other progressives have felt that she has not lived up to her promises,” Ramirez-Rosa said. “First and foremost, we see that we do not have an elected school board going one year into her administration. We saw Lincoln Yards move forward despite the fact that she said she was going to block that.”
Ramirez-Rosa says the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated issues of displacement and affordable housing in Logan Square. He says his office has received hundreds of calls from residents since the beginning of the pandemic requesting assistance with various programs and relief options.
“We’ve also begun to receive an increasing number of phone calls from small-time landlords, folks who own a two-flat or three-flat, who are very nervous because their tenants haven’t paid the rent in one to two months, and they’re not sure what to do,” Ramirez-Rosa said. “We try to work with the landlord so they understand the options that are available to them and work with the tenant to figure something out.”
Ramirez-Rosa has also championed the construction of a 100-unit affordable housing development on a current city parking lot just north of the Logan Square Blue Line station.
The Chicago City Council’s Finance Committee unanimously approved the project’s financing plan Monday. The full City Council is expected to consider the proposal Wednesday.
Community Reporting Series
“Chicago Tonight” is expanding its community reporting. We’re hitting the streets to speak with your neighbors, local businesses, agencies and leaders about COVID-19, the economy, racial justice, education and more. See where we’ve been and what we’ve learned by using the map below. Or select a community using the drop-down menu. Points in red represent our series COVID-19 Across Chicago; blue marks our series “Chicago Tonight” in Your Neighborhood.
