Ninth Ward & South Side News Roundup (June 15–16, 2026)

Fellow 9th Ward residents and South Side neighbors, here's the latest community and political roundup for our blog.

9th Ward Specifics

• Alderman Anthony Beale continues steady service: Residential Nights, Juneteenth events w/ VA health resources, street sweeping schedules, and streetscape improvements. Alderman Beale's Official Site
• Pullman National Historical Park events highlight our heritage. Friends of Pullman

Broader South Side Stories

• Back of the Yards: Ongoing concerns after recent mass shootings; community intervention groups active. Positive development with United Yards project. → Block Club: Back of the Yards Shootings
• Storm Damage & Recovery: Recent powerful storms (June 10–11) caused widespread downed trees, power outages, and damage, hitting South Side areas including near the 9th Ward. Cleanup continues amid more severe weather possible this week. 
• Block Club: Storms & Outlook 
• NWS: June 11 Outbreak

Other Notes:

• Woodlawn housing pressures near Obama Center. South Side Weekly
• Hyde Park Academy student protests. South Side Weekly
• CTA Red Line Extension potential benefits.  Project Impacts

Citywide Political Notes

Bears Stadium: Momentum toward Hammond, IN continues. South suburban officials note possible South Side benefits but many prefer keeping the team in Illinois. Multiple sites under review.

• Chicago Tribune
• NBC Chicago

Ongoing city budget and safety efforts shape resources for our wards, including storm resilience.

What are your thoughts? Share 9th Ward experiences or tips below. Stay engaged and resilient.

Or feel free to send an e-mail if that's more comfortable for you. The address is in the sidebar.

Compiled as of June 15–16, 2026. 

9th Ward & Chicago News Roundup (Weekend Recap) #Ward09

Trying something a little different today. I'm offering this look at the past weekend's news using A.I. Let me know if you like this format and if you do, I will do this more often. Perhaps post more frequently with links like these.

Now let's get to it.

Op-ed: Gun violence dominates the news, but is crime out of control in Chicago

Something for you to read regarding Chicago crime, if you can get past the Chicago Tribune paywall perhaps it's worth reading.

h/t CapFax that provides an excerpt if you can't get poast the paywall.

Silent City

[VIDEO] I found this video via WBBM-AM's website. It shows a city in shutdown, especially since life had changed in light of the coronavirus. Social distancing has become the normal in addition to business shutting down for the protection of customers and workers.

Will the city be back to normal after that stay-at-home order is scheduled to be lifted after April 7, 2020?

Want to do a Pullman strike tour?

Credit: The Chicago Neighborhoods

I was awfully slow in sharing this. On July 13, 2019 there was a tour in Pullman related to the 125th anniversary of the Great Strike of 1894 and there are more scheduled through October. I believe this strike caused the President of the time a man by the name of Grover Cleveland to sent federal forces to end it.

I found out about this event through Curbed Chicago earlier this month, however, all I did was retweet this information. It would've been cool for me to take part in this as I know more about Pullman's story and architecture, but very little of some of the labor drama that took place there.

Tour the site of the Great Pullman Strike on its 125th anniversary https://t.co/IxFHGZDoQo pic.twitter.com/NkOtsl9jWh

— Curbed Chicago (@curbedchicago) July 5, 2019

According to the above link:

Labor history tends to get short shrift in history books.

The Pullman National Monument Preservation Society, created by Barack Obama’s presidential proclamation in 2015, is trying to change that. During the Great Pullman Strike’s 125th anniversary, the group is giving guided tours each month through October.
...
The next tour is scheduled for July 13 at noon. Admission is $25, and each ticket includes post-tour reception and dessert.

WTTW has more on the history of this strike in 1894 with regards to the perfect company town that was Pullman.

2019 race for 9th Ward Alderman #Ward09

Recently I procured a flyer for Paul Collins who is running for Alderman in Ward 9. He seeks to challenge Alderman Anthony Beale in 2019.

Visit his under construction website at www.friendsofpaulcollins.com and he also has a FB page Paul Collins for 9th Ward Aldermen

The Sixth Ward: Van Dyke - guilty! #laquanmcdonald

[VIDEO] Above I will share coverage from the CBS network which was live streamed on their YouTube channel yesterday. Below will be a tweet that shares the link to "The Sixth Ward" that attempted to compile various video stories about the reaction to the verdict of the Jason Van Dyke trial.

In late 2014, Officer Van Dyke shot LaQuan McDonald 16 times and McDonald died from his wounds. Yesterday among other charges, Van Dyke was convicted by a jury of second degree murder.

Van Dyke - guilty! https://t.co/6FPUQDZGsl pic.twitter.com/NnSidgglUe

— The Sixth Ward (@TheSixthWard) October 6, 2018

I'm relieved that there will be no rioting as the city was on high alert for any disturbances although there were protests around the city after the verdict was read.

CTA celebrates 70 years

On Sunday in downtown Chicago there will be activities and will include rides on vintage CTA vehicles, especially buses and trains. You can see more details here. Posters marking CTA's 70th anniversary will be handed out at a "Community Connection" bus and at select CTA stations you will find a commemorative Ventra paper ticket. The ig post below from CTA shows an example of the poster.

A post shared by Chicago Transit Authority (@chicagocta) on Sep 28, 2017 at 1:50pm PDT

Many of us take CTA for granted and yes even complains about the service or even the projects that slow down our commutes. At the same time it's a vital part of getting around our city, as easily as the streets and expressways and especially more recently our bicycles.

Straight outta...Bennett-Shedd

Even if we were too young to listen to them back in the day my generation likely heard the music of the rap group N.W.A. This month a movie - Straight Outta Compton - about that group will be released in theaters everywhere. In the meanwhile, you can rep your neighborhood or hometown with this link I discovered recently.

I used it to rep my old elementary school and did a post using it as a opportunity to rep other southside areas and even my old high school over at sixthward.us. You're more that free to create your own take on this sign.

The Cartel

[VIDEO] Close to a year ago I wrote about the documentary about public education entitled The Cartel. Now you can watch this film in its entirety on Hulu! Just click the word video within the brackets at the start of this paragraph and you will be able to watch all of the roughly one and a half hours of it. Although there will be several brief breaks for advertisements.

Hat-tip Newsalert!

Help CPS: External Affairs & Partnerships

Discovered this website that provides information for individuals and groups to support Chicago's public schools. I was interested in information for starting an alumni/friends of organization for individual schools. Alas the link on that website was broken and instead I had to rely on archive.org to give me a glimpse.

If you are interested in creating an Alumni Association or “Friends Of” group to support a CPS school, we can give you some ideas that will help you lay the foundation for a successful start. If you already have a group, we would love to know about your activities and help you promote your events when possible.

A great resource for Alumni Associations and “Friends Of” groups is www.CPSalumni.org, where you can post information about events and fund raisers, and use the online donation page to accept credit card donations.

Needless to say there's not much, however, this is something that may be beneficial an alumni or friends of organization. Let's hope that CPS is interested in encouraging the growth of such groups.