Englewood Chicago: Investment In People, Residents Say At Packed Town Hall: ‘We Are Our Own Solution’
BY MAXWELL EVANS/ BLOCK CLUB CHICAGO
January 14, 2020
What Will Make Englewood Thrive? Investment In People, Residents Say At Packed Town Hall: ‘We Are Our Own Solution’
More than 500 people and five aldermen packed a South Side auditorium to discuss solutions to issues facing Englewood.
Englewood is one of the neighborhoods targeted by Invest South/West and the city’s Neighborhood Opportunity Fund, two economic initiatives focused on the minority-dominated South and West sides that suffer from disinvestment.
Beyond just staying in the neighborhood, resources from these programs must be funneled to less-prominent residents too — those who “can’t just go to venture capitalists and get money,” said Sheila Rogers, who has lived in the Englewood home her parents bought since 1966.
“We must have creative opportunities for people who have business ideas, but need help, need capital,” Rogers said.
With these programs, elected officials must prioritize entrepreneurs willing to hire the formerly incarcerated and others who “have a hard time finding a job,” she said. That’s the only way Englewood can “move forward, rather than keep cycling.”
Resident Willis Myers, who also pressed officials to ensure the Invest South/West program actually benefits local entrepreneurs, asked the aldermen to institute programs to “strengthen black fathers” and support black families.
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Photograph: 2018 TRACE (Teens Re-Imagining Art, Community & Environment) mural project designed and painted by TRACErs in partnership with Englewood muralist Just Flo