Kids for Civics: Alderwoman Hosts Youth Town Hall

Ald. Maria Hadden (49th) hosted a Youth Town Hall Oct. 1 at McCormick Lounge in Coffey Hall. Roughly 20 young people attended.

Hadden and representatives from her office, including some Loyola students, gathered on Loyola’s campus to answer questions from the attendees.

It was the first time the 49th Ward office hosted a town hall for its young citizens, and was part of an effort by Hadden to provide Chicago teens with the opportunity to have their voices heard and engage with their peers on community matters.

“Our ward director Shenicka Hohenkirk attended an event where students expressed their desire to interact with the Alderwoman more,” Ashley Parks, a Loyola alum and the community and communications outreach coordinator for Hadden’s committee on the environment, said. “We want to begin a relationship here.”

The town hall quickly moved into a Q&A session, where Hadden spoke extensively about the housing crisis in Rogers Park, a topic she said she has continuously worked on throughout her career. 

“I always knew I wanted to be a public servant,” Hadden said, addressing the room. 

Students were told to talk to discuss things they love and things they want to change in their community as an icebreaker.

They were then given about 10 minutes to think of questions to ask Hadden. Each table group was delegated one topic, such as public safety or immigration — an important topic for Rogers Park’s 24.9% immigrant population, according to the 2024 release of the Rogers Park CMAP snapshot.

One student group asked, “How are you addressing gentrification along the Red Line?”

“Development without displacement,” Hadden said. “New people buy buildings and want to fix them up. In order to do so, everyone needs to move out. There aren’t a lot of houses in the 49th Ward, it’s majority renters. Creating more housing cooperatives is a more affordable solution than an individual owning a unit.”

A 2018 analysis of city records found the city of Chicago was falling below projections for the quantity of affordable housing to be built as part of the Affordable Requirements Ordinance in 2015, the Associated Press reported. 

A different group asked, “What is being done to fight crime?”

“A lot of issues in our ward come down to decreases in violent crime,” Hadden said. “We call the police after something has happened. They can’t prevent crime, which is why we push for mental health support. A lot of violence is based on poverty. If people were able to afford property and support their families, they may not have to turn to crime.”

Loyola Campus Safety released the 2023 Clery Act Annual Security Report and Fire Safety Report Sept. 30. The report outlines instances of crimes and violations committed on the Lake Shore and Water Tower Campuses.

The 49th Ward office partnered with Practicing Democracy Communities, which received a $3.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to provide resources to students and teachers to foster civic engagement in their communities, according to a Loyola press release.

“Knowing what’s going on in your community can help you be a well-functioning citizen,” Josh Tallud, a fourth-year at Senn High School, said.

Although some of the highschoolers who were in attendance aren’t old enough to vote in the upcoming presidential election, the town hall gave them the opportunity to speak directly with a municipal representative and hear about issues which impact their community.

“There are people I know who are currently nineteen, twenty, and twenty-one, voting for the first time who have no idea what these policies mean,” Libby Phillips, an intern for the 49th Ward and second-year political science and environmental policy major, said. “Witnessing these high schoolers’ excitement and engagement makes me hopeful.”

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