MAYOR ANNOUNCES NEW PLAN TO INVEST IN SOUTH AND WEST SIDE NEIGHBORHOODS

Mayor of Chicago, Lori Lightfoot, recently announced the new INVEST South/West initiative that targets 10 neighborhoods on the south and west sides of Chicago for investment and revitalization. Photo Credit: Heidi Zeiger
Mayor of Chicago, Lori Lightfoot, recently announced the new INVEST South/West initiative that targets 10 neighborhoods on the south and west sides of Chicago for investment and revitalization. Photo Credit: Heidi Zeiger

Mayor Announces New Plan To Invest In South And West Side Neighborhoods

BY KATHERINE NEWMAN

During a recent press conference, Mayor of Chicago, Lori Lightfoot, announced a new neighborhood investment initiative called INVEST South/West. The initiative is designed to support revitalization in 10 underinvested neighborhoods on the south and west sides. The City will combine resources with community and corporate partners to activate millions of dollars worth of investments in the targeted neighborhoods.

The 10 neighborhoods that will be impacted by the INVEST South/West initiative are Auburn Gresham, Englewood, Roseland, South Shore, South Chicago, New City, Quad Communities, Humboldt Park, Austin, and North Lawndale.

“We are here to make a significant announcement that will not only hopefully transform the west side but the south side as well and neighborhoods that have been starving for resources for way too long,” said Lightfoot. “In order to be able to do the work that’s necessary, everybody has to be all hands on deck. Not just the business community, not just the philanthropic and faith community, not just the political leadership, everybody has to be on board and moving in the same direction and that is the way that we will transform neighborhoods.”

INVEST South/West’s will use $250 million in existing city funding by way of the Chicago Department of Planning and Development’s Tax Increment Financing (TIF), Small Business Improvement Fund, and Neighborhood Opportunity Fund programs. In addition, the initiative’s first corporate sponsorship is coming from BMO Harris Bank through a $10 million investment, according to information provided by the Office of the Mayor of Chicago.

“It is hugely important for us to be supportive of Chicago and all of our neighborhoods because we understand how important it is. We are only as great as our neighborhoods and if our neighborhoods can’t step up and people can’t feel comfortable being in our neighborhoods, they won’t want to bank in Chicago, they won’t want to live in Chicago, and they won’t want to even vote for anybody in Chicago. This is too great of a city to not be supporting our neighborhoods and we are delighted to be part of that,” said David Casper, CEO of BMO Harris Bank.

The funding from the city and corporate sponsors will be used in part to support existing community-based improvement plans that have already been developed in many of these neighborhoods by Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) and other community agencies. The Chicago Department of Planning and Development will facilitate even more community engagement in the 10 INVEST South/West communities to find even more ways that funding and resources can be leveraged in these communities, according to information provided by the Office of the Mayor of Chicago.

“What we are doing is really reprioritizing, from the city’s perspective, projects that have been in the pipeline and really focusing on not just individual projects but thinking about ways in which we can use city resources, philanthropic dollars, business dollars, to come together to really catalyze investments in neighborhoods. It’s not just about retail space, it’s not just about public spaces, it’s about all those things together that we know are critically important to creating healthy vibrant neighborhoods driven by the direction of local businesses,” said Lightfoot.

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