RESOLUTION FOR BOARD MEETING OF MAY 1, 2025
Title
RESOLUTION sponsored by the Board of Commissioners recognizing the Jewish Neighborhood Development Council
Body
WHEREAS, West Rogers Park is one of Chicago’s most diverse neighborhoods, and since the 1950s, has served as Chicago’s Jewish epicenter. Today there are more Jewish organizations, schools, and synagogues in West Rogers Park than ever before, as well as kosher restaurants, bakeries, supermarkets, and Chicago’s only kosher-certified fish market; and
WHEREAS, the Jewish Neighborhood Development Council (JNDC) is an organization of Chicago-area residents who want to preserve West Rogers Park and the uniquely resilient Jewish community thriving there; and
WHEREAS, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD), with support from the Rogers Park and JNDC community, partnered with the Chicago Park District to make MWRD property along the North Shore Channel available for public recreational use, transforming a former parking lot into a public open space now known as Bernard Stone Park; and
WHEREAS, the MWRD also leased approximately 30 acres of MWRD property along the North Shore Channel to the Chicago Park District for public recreational purposes, known as Park #538, which is an important open space amenity to the Rogers Park and JNDC community, providing three miles of hiking trails through woodland and prairie habitats; and
WHEREAS, last June, the JNDC partnered with Commissioner Eira Corral Sepúlveda, the Chicago Bird Alliance, and Friends of the Chicago River for a special Urban Nature Walk and Talk at Park #538. Attendees were able to learn about the local ecosystem of the park and how the MWRD offers critical support to the health of the land and waterways. This year’s Nature Walk and Talk will be held on Tuesday, May 20, from 4pm to 5:30 pm at Park 538, at 6426 N Kedzie; and
WHEREAS, the JNDC is dedicated to strengthening and preserving the City’s flagship Jewish neighborhood and its neighboring communities, and to supporting the Jewish future throughout Chicagoland; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that we, the Board of Commissioners of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, on behalf of ourselves and our staff, do hereby acknowledge the Jewish Neighborhood Development Council; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that this Resolution be spread upon the permanent Record of Proceedings of the Board of Commissioners of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago.
Dated: May 1, 2025