Third Ward Alderman Pat Dowell’s accomplishments are the highlight of this week’s aldermanic report.
Dowell has served the 3rd Ward as alderman since 2007. Currently, she is serving as the chairman of the City of Chicago’s Committee on Human Relations and the Joint Committees on Human Resources and Special Events, Cultural Affairs and Recreation, respectively. Prior to taking public office, she was employed by the City of Chicago as a City Planner and Deputy Commissioner for Neighborhood Planning, and she worked in the nonprofit sector.
Below are details regarding a few of the schools located in the 3rd Ward.
Schools
Edward Beasley Elementary Magnet Academic Center – 5255 S. State Ave. – Level 2+ (Good Standing)
The school accommodates 1,313 preschools to eighth-grade students, according to its CPS profile.
The school is comprised of 96.8 percent African American students with statistics showing 85 percent are low-income students and 6.1 percent are diverse learners.
The pre-K services offered are both full and half day. The kindergarten service is full day.
Wendell Phillips Academy High School (WPAHS) – 244 E. Pershing Rd. – Level 2 (intensive support)
WPAHS is a neighborhood high school with a listed enrollment of 536. The student population is 98.1 percent African American with 96.5 percent being low-income students and 22.6 percent are diverse learners.
Edward Tilden Career Community Academy High School – 4747 S. Union Ave. – Level 2 (intensive support)
Tilden is listed as a neighborhood school with 266 students. The school’s demographics are diverse with African Americans making up 58.3 percent of the student body, Hispanics at 27.8 percent, and Caucasian at 9.8 percent.
Over 95 percent of Tilden students are low-income students and 35.7 percent are diverse learners.
Crime
The third ward consists of two separate Chicago Police Department districts — the first and second districts — which combine to encompass the entirety of the ward. For the purposes of this report, we will focus on just District 2.
The following statistics were collected from the City of Chicago’s Police Department (CPD) CompStats for Week 17 (April 24-30).
Overview: This year marked the highest number of violent crimes reported in the past four years with 776. The year with the fewest incidents in the past five years was 2015 with 584.
Murders/Shootings: According to CPD’s statistics for the 2nd district, the number of shooting incidents is down 29 percent from 2016 to 2017 with the total changes going from 36 to 31. There were seven murders in the district as of Week 17, which is a consistent rate for the last four years.
Criminal Sexual Assault:
The total number of incidents of criminal sexual assault in the district is at a five-year high with 26 reports, which is a 30 percent increase since 2013. The lowest rate was in 2015 with 11 reported incidents.
Robbery:
The total number of robberies recorded for 2017 (142) is second lowest in the last five years only behind 2015 (134).
Theft/Motor Vehicle Theft/Burglary:
Beginning in 2013, all three categories saw similar declines by 2015 before going on the rise again by 2017.
Aggravated Battery:
The number of incidents of aggravated battery was on a steep incline from 2013 (67) to 2016 (93) before taking a dramatic dip this year (75).
Legislation Detailed below are a few of Alderman Dowell’s pieces of legislation she either introduced, sponsored or co-sponsored in recent years.
Dowell co-sponsored a resolution (R2017-121) in March that called for Gov. Bruce Rauner to renew negotiations with state employees represented by AFSCME Council 31 and other public employee unions; the resolution passed.
Dowell co-sponsored a resolution (R2016-877) in December 2016 that condemned hateful speech and violent action directed toward Muslims, immigrants, and people of color. The resolution was adopted.
Dowell along with Alderman Roderick Sawyer sponsored a resolution (R2016-863) in November 2016 to honor the late Herb Kent; this resolution passed.
Dowell co-sponsored a resolution (R2016-742) that, according to its synopsis, called for the chairman of the City Council’s Committee on Finance to gather information for a possible appeal of Illinois Appellate Court decision to stop Rock Island Clean Line LLC project to deliver wind energy electricity to Illinois customers. The resolution passed.
Dowell repeatedly proposed an amendment of Municipal Code Sections 4-60-022 (3.58) and 4-60-023 (3.62) to disallow additional alcoholic liquor and package goods licenses on a portion(s) of S. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. and E. 47th St. in February 2016 and May 2016. The amendments passed.
Dowell co-sponsored a resolution (R2015-407) that called for hearing(s) on methods and programs used to educate children, young adults and adults about dangers of violent responses to conflict; the resolution was not passed.
TIF
Given the large number of TIF related projects populated throughout the 3rd ward, below is a list of a few of the major TIF regions and their budgets.
* Bronzeville:
TIF Investments – $20,234,378
Non-TIF Investments – $36,879,558
Total Project Investments – $57,113,936
* 24th & Michigan Avenue:
TIF Investments – $34,818,000
Non-TIF Investments – $121,397,533
Total Projects Investments – $156,215,533
* 47th & King Drive:
TIF Investments – $45,233,249
Non-TIF Investments – $150,310,224
Total Project Investments – $195,543,473
* 47th & Halsted Avenue:
TIF Investments – $8,112,000
Non-TIF Investments – $6,950,064
Total Project Investments – $15,062,064
* Michigan & Cermak:
TIF Investments – $4,500,000
Non-TIF Investments – $53,000,000
Total Project Investments – $57,500,000
* River South:
TIF Investments – $43,487,881
Non-TIF Investments – $79,750,000
Total
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