We are at a crossroads.
The best version of the 11th ward is in our grasp if we come together to build it. Our neighborhoods can be safe and well-maintained. Our streets and sidewalks can be functional, and they can even be beautiful. We can have a ward rich and alive with diverse cultures, stellar city services, and unique locally-run businesses and social organizations.
As one of the most diverse and unique wards in the city, full of knowledgeable and talented people, we are bursting with potential.
But we can’t make things better without also addressing what it is that needs work. Today, our ward is truly diverse, and traditionally it has been a home to immigrants from many nations. Yet it has also been a home to racism and violence. The 11th ward is infamous as being the backyard of the Daley machine, which has long relied on anti-Black vitriol to divide and conquer us. From the 1919 race riots, to the brutal 1997 hate crime against a 13-year-old Black child, to the vigilantes carrying weapons in our streets after a Black Lives Matter protest in 2020, the history of our ward is part of the story of who we are today. Ignoring it won’t make it go away.
We have a chance to do better. The story of the 11th ward is not over yet. The majority of people who live here believe in justice, equality, and safety for everyone. It’s time that we become the loudest voices in the room. We must stand up for ourselves and for our neighbors so that we can celebrate our multi-racial, working-class community.
This ward needs leadership that is ready to be bold. Someone who will take on the mayor and demand a reckoning of our priorities as a city—not yet another person that upholds the status quo to protect their high-profile connections with City Hall.
We are at a crossroads—what do you think it will take to put us on the right path? See our issues page to find out how to contribute your ideas. Let’s move the 11th ward forward, together.
Learn more about our campaign
Environmental Justice- People Over Polluters!
We are proud to announce our first campaign platform item, built together with residents over the past two months! Environmental racism and corrupt development deals with toxic polluters places a great weight on the wards and neighborhoods of the south side - including ours.
