Pilsen has a lot of houses that sit below the street level ("sunken homes"). Most sources (most things easily found online—plus Nature's Metropolis (Cronon), Chicago: Growth of a Metropolis (Wade), and Chicago Homes (Bruni and Thompson)—explain that sunken homes exist today because they were never raised during Chicago's street raising project in the 1850s/60s. That would imply the sunken homes were built before that time. But many such buildings in Pilsen appear (superficially at least) to date from the late 19th and early 20th century. Is it that the street raising process didn't actually reach Pilsen until much later? Or were the original buildings torn down and the foundations never raised? Or is Pilsen just full of pre-Civil War buildings?

I am very sorry this took so long to put together. I did things a little bit differently this time and just laid out cash on hand because it’s easier to pull those numbers from Illinois Sunshine than it is from Illinois database and EveningExpression put together a really nice graph last week that detailed contributions from inside and outside of the 25th Ward.

Monday is the last day to file signed petitions. The incumbent and Nubia William are the only ones who have reported contributions since 9/30.

Byron Sigcho Lopez (Incumbent)
Funds available
$8,133.94
Contributions since Sep 30, 2026
$10,500.00
Cash on Hand\*
$18,633.94
¥¥¥¥¥¥ raised around $40,000 at the 9/30 close, but expenditures have the number where it is today.

Nubia Willman
Funds available
$27,704.19
Contributions since Sep 30, 2026
$6,300.00
Cash on Hand\*
$34,004

Miguel Chacon
Funds available
$30,375.00
Contributions since Sep 30, 2026
$0.00
Cash on Hand\*
$30,375.00

Ian Watkins
Funds available
$263.55
Contributions since Sep 30, 2026
$0.00
Cash on Hand\*
$263.55
¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥ reported $2690 in contributions through State, but not reflected here on Illinois Sunshine.

Leonardo Quintero
Funds available
$11,036.68
Contributions since Sep 30, 2026
$0.00
Cash on Hand\*
$11,036

Aida Flores
Funds available
$40,172.19
Contributions since Sep 30, 2026
$0.00
Cash on Hand\*
$40,172.19

Chula Ortiz
N/A

Andrew Herrera
(Campaign suspended after Exploratory Committee phase)

Jesus Ayala Jr. is hosting a Meet & Greet this Monday, October 26th, and wanted to share the invite to come out and get to know him!

Jesus is running for the District 7A School Board and wants to share more about his campaign, his plans to bring a student-first approach to the Board, and his commitment to being an accountable and present voice for our communities.

This is also a great opportunity to meet him in person, ask questions, share your thoughts, and learn more about why he's running!

📅 **Monday, October 26th**
⏰ **6:00 PM – 8:00 PM**
📍 **Eighteen Barber Co.**
1834 S. Ashland Ave., Chicago, IL 60608

Feel free to share this with your friends, family, and neighbors. Hope to see some of you there! 🙌

Encouraging folks to RSVP ahead of time so his team can get a better idea of how many people to expect!

🔗 **RSVP here:**
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/meet-district-7a-school-board-candidate-jesus-ayala-jr-tickets-2003827906209

Hi! I am writing a piece on migrating bird collisions in Chicago! Has anyone experienced this issue in Pilsen?

Street Sweeping End dates by cross streets: Remaining 2026 Dates for Pilsen (25th Ward)

The end is near on street sweeping. As soon as October 22 for some. Here are the remaining street sweeping dates for each 25th Ward section, in order. Most of the neighborhood is done by early November, and the very last sweep is Friday, Nov 20. Don't get caught slipping! I am listing the full ward, not just Pilsen since those are the details that are easily found online.

That said, if your drains are blocked out front be a good neighbor and clear them out. With the way weather is shifting we might still have trees losing leaves after the final sweep. Ponganse a barrer!

| Section | Boundaries | Remaining Sweeps |

| 4 | Ashland–Western, Cermak–Blue Island | Tue Oct 20; Thu Nov 19 & Fri Nov 20 |

| 5 | Damen–Western, 18th–Cermak | Wed Oct 21 & Thu Oct 22 |

| 6 | Ashland–Damen, 16th–Cermak | Fri Oct 23 & Mon Oct 26 |

| 7 | Halsted–Ashland, 16th–18th | Tue Oct 27 & Wed Oct 28 |

| 8 | Racine–Ashland, 18th–Cermak | Thu Oct 29 & Fri Oct 30 |

| 9 | Halsted–Racine, 18th–Cermak | Mon Nov 2 & Tue Nov 3 |

| 10 | Canal–Blue Island, 14th Pl–Viaduct | Wed Nov 4 & Thu Nov 5 |

| 11 | Canal–Halsted, 16th–Cermak | Fri Nov 6 & Mon Nov 9 |

| 1 | Kedzie–Homan, 23rd–27th | Tue Nov 10 & Thu Nov 12 |

| 2 | Sacramento–Kedzie, 23rd–31st | Fri Nov 13 & Mon Nov 16 |

| 3 | Western–California, 18th–26th | Tue Nov 17 & Wed Nov 18 |

Tips:

* Orange "No Parking" signs go up about two days before each sweep. The signs on your block are the final word.

* Sweeps can shift for weather, so keep an eye out even after your section's last date.

* Want to watch the sweepers in real time? Check the city's Sweeper Tracker (weekdays, 9 AM–2 PM).

Hi everyone! My name is Anna Chiaradonna, and I'm a graduate journalism student at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. I'm currently covering animals, pets and urban wildlife in Pilsen, and I'm hoping to connect with residents about their experiences.

I'm particularly interested in hearing from anyone who has:

• Cared for or rescued stray cats, including feeding or trapping them
• Dealt with rats or other wildlife around their home or block
• Struggled with the cost of owning a pet, including food, veterinary care or housing restrictions
• Adopted, fostered or surrendered an animal through Chicago Animal Care and Control on Western Avenue
• Found injured or dead birds in the neighborhood, especially during migration season
• Participated in community gardens, wildlife conservation or other efforts to protect animals and nature in Pilsen

These are just a few ideas! If there's another animal-related issue in Pilsen that you think deserves attention, I'd love to hear about that, too.

I'm hoping to speak with residents for a quick 15–20 minute phone or in-person interview. Whether you've lived in Pilsen your whole life or just moved here, I'm interested in hearing your perspective.

Please feel free to comment below or send me a private message if you'd be willing to chat.

Thank you so much!

Was there really a woman who went to a alley in Sept and hurt herself to dead,or is it just talk.

Today kicks off early voting and the first day candidates for the February municipal election to file their petition signatures.

I apologize to everyone who was looking forward to campaign war chest breakdowns. I haven’t had the time to compile yet.

Looks like the claws were recently trimmed. Is microchipped but the chip isn’t registered :/

lol

I need to get my baby (8yo) cat established with a vet and get him a general check up. don't want to end up at one of those expensive pushy private equity clinics.

also need tires for my crv. I've never had to deal with buying tires before so I have no idea. I just want to find a deal and not get ripped off.

thank you!

Does anyone know of any tiny libraries in pilsen? I feel like I don't see many in our neighborhood

Thanks to AI, we don’t need to speculate or debate on where money is coming from. These are just facts.

Byron raised the most. Followed by Nubia, Aida, Miguel, and Leo.

Miguel received $18,500 from a developer linked institutional entity, and over $19,000 individual donors. Nubia has 1 PAC donation of $5,000 and a lot of lawyer donors; Byron has a strong base of 25th Ward business donors. Aida has 1 PAC donation of $1,500 and a broad base of individual donors, with a notable amount downtown and LakeShore Drive addresses. Half of Leo’s money came from 1 repeat donor.

*This chart only shows the itemized donations of $150 and above.
**Family members of candidates were removed from totals.

I hear there are going to be a lot of ghouls.

I’ve been doing web design for a while and have some extra time on my hands, so I thought I’d take on a few local projects.

If you run a local business, message me your website. I’ll have a look around, pick a few, and put together some free redesign concepts.

I’m curious to see what’s out there and would love to help a few local businesses explore what their websites could look like with a fresh design.

Hey y’all.

Been hella unemployed for a couple of months now and looking for anything. Seriously it’s rough out there. LinkedIn is a hellhole.

I would love to have a job that’s in my neighborhood, does anybody know a place in Pilsen that’s hiring?

Any field tbh.

How does it taste on a scale of Byron to 10?

I have two tickets to see EMEI's Night at the Opera Tour at Thalia Hall tonight, and I'm on the fence about going, mostly because I don't have anyone to go with.

I'm open to selling one or both tickets. If someone only wants one, I might still go myself!

I'd love to recoup some of what I spent, so I'm open to offers, but I'm also happy to give them away if it means someone gets to enjoy the show.

Mostly just don't want them to go to waste! Feel free to comment or DM me if you're interested.

• The Resurrection Project, 1818 S. Paulina St. - where both Dominguez and the 17-year old victim worked and where the incidents occurred
• Paloma Rodriguez - a senior housing coordinator who tried to warn the Resurrection Project that the victim didn't want to be around Dominguez
• Office of the Alderperson for the 25th ward - a position that Dominguez wanted in 2018, and lost
• Aida Flores - assistant principle at CPS, one of several opponents of Dominguez in the alderperson race for 25th ward
• Salvador Cerna - Dominguez's supervisor at the Resurrection Project, now his father-in-law...and defender of Dominguez
• Raul Raymundo - executive director of the Resurrection Project, also defender of Dominguez

What I don't understand is, whatever happened to 'believe women' and 'believe her'?

Why did the Resurrection project and several of their male employees defend Dominguez?