🎉🎇2024 in Review: Celebrating the 39th District’s Milestones and Memories
Dear Neighbor,
As we close out 2024, I want to use this last newsletter of the year to express my deep gratitude for the privilege of representing this incredible community and reflect on all we’ve accomplished this year throughout the 39th District.
Here are some highlights from this year:
🎒Back to School Fair + Mercado: Over the summer, we distributed more than 1,400 backpacks to neighborhood families and were joined by over 40 community resources and 30 Mercado vendors, that all came together with the Kelvyn Park Advisory Council to support our students.
💬Town Halls: We held three important town halls, addressing topics like the 2024 spring legislative session and state budget with Rep. Jimenez and Sen. Aquino, healthcare affordability with The People’s Lobby, and discriminatory car insurance costs with Northwest Center. These discussions were vital in keeping our community informed and engaged.
🍂Fall Family Health Fair: With the Kosciuszko Park Advisory Council and Ald. Rosa, we provided health services and resources to neighbors, like free blood pressure and glucose checks, flu and covid vaccines, and free haircuts to kids.
📜Policy Wins: Thanks to your ongoing support and advocacy, we successfully enacted several key pieces of legislation this year that will have a lasting positive impact on our district. These are the new laws I led the way on enacting this past year that will be effective on January 1, 2025:
🏘️HB 4768: Creates the Landlord Retaliation Act, outlining protections for tenants and prohibited actions by landlords when tenants attempt to resolve an issue.
👪HB 2161: Makes it a civil rights violation for an employer to discriminate or harass based on an employee’s family responsibilities.
📄HB 3763: Allows employees to request bargaining contracts, policies, handbooks, press releases, discrimination reports, or any similar documents about the employee.
🏥SB 3288: Updates the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Confidentiality Act (MHDDCA) to facilitate HIPAA-permissible sharing of information for research purposes to, ultimately, better serve patients facing mental health issues.
⚖️SB 0426: Grants the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice (IDJJ) and Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) the ability to transfer emerging adults who qualify to earn their high school diplomas to a IDJJ facility so that they can receive those education services from IDJJ’s school district.
🤝Community Outreach: My office was all over the 39th District, holding coffee and conversations with Ald. La Spata and Commissioner Quezada, hosting senior bingos, putting on two paper shredding and recycling events, planting trees in Kilbourn Park, riding through Belmont Cragin with Northwest Center, joining turkey giveaways with Ald. Cruz and Ald. La Spata, and canvassing to connect with neighbors.
🏡Housing Advocacy: I joined Congresswoman Ramirez, state, county, and city elected officials, tenants, local and national housing organizations in ongoing, collaborative work to improve affordable housing on Chicago’s Northwest Side and to amplify critical federal housing legislation.
💚Welcoming New Neighbors: I joined the St. Bartholomew community in welcoming our new neighbors at the opening of a shelter for new arrivals, where we shared a community meal, as well as shared helpful resources.
🎊Ribbon Cutting Celebrations: I had the honor of attending ribbon cutting ceremonies for new community spaces like a new Here to Stay Community Land Trust home, Creative Cove with Hermosa Neighborhood Association, the After School Matters Lutz Family Annex, and several Little Libraries at schools across the district.
💼Support for Local Job Seekers: My office co-hosted a job fair at Portage-Cragin Library with Sen. Toro, helping to connect residents with career opportunities and local resources.
We brought together over 300 job-seekers and over 20 employers from government agencies, local nonprofits, and other organizations.
🧥Winter Clothing Drive: We closed out 2024 with our annual Winter Clothing Drive, where we collected and distributed hundreds of coats, scarves, gloves, and hats to families on the Northwest Side.
I also want to highlight the contributions of our office’s three dedicated interns, whose hard work has been invaluable in supporting our efforts throughout the year. Many thanks to Cecelia, Maria, and Cairo!
As we look ahead to 2025, with many challenges to face locally and on the national level, I remain hopeful and determined to continue working for the betterment of our communities. I’ll be sure to share my legislative priorities and continue our work together toward a brighter future.
Thank you for being such an important part of our community. Your involvement, support, and commitment make all of this possible. Here’s to the successes we’ll achieve together in 2025!
All my best,
Will
Holiday Office Closure
Our office will be closed from Friday, December 20 through Wednesday, January 1 for the holidays. We will re-open on Thursday, January 2, from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Thank you, and happy holidays to you and yours!
City Key
The City Clerk’s Office launched the City Key Online Platform. Visit getcitykey.com to apply for a CityKey online and receive your card by mail.
CityKey is a free 4-in-1 municipal ID for all Chicagoans, regardless of age, gender, immigration status or housing status. With a CityKey ID, Chicagoans can unlock access to all our city has to offer. It serves as an official form of ID, library card, Ventra card and Chicago Rx prescription drug discount card. It provides savings at local participating Chicago businesses, sporting events and cultural institutions.
Suicide Prevention Training
Learn to identify the warning signs of suicide, take immediate steps to reduce risk, and connect individuals with appropriate, professional care. This training fosters community connection and equips participants with the knowledge to address suicide and mental health challenges effectively. Upon completion, participants will receive a QPR Gatekeeper Certificate.
📅 Date: Thursday, January 16
⏰ Time: 4:00 to 5:30pm
📍 Location: Portage-Cragin Library, 5108 W Belmont Ave.
📝 Register: Scan QR code or Click Here