Our mission at the Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (IHCC) is to contribute to the financial strength and well-being of the Hispanic community by helping businesses grow, creating jobs, and driving prosperity. Promoting public policies that encourage economic investment in Hispanic neighborhoods is critical to this mission.
We recently had the opportunity to host then-candidate, now Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson in our office for a roundtable discussion on issues affecting our Latino business community and how to make it easier – not harder – to bring in private sector investment and jobs .
Hilco Redevelopment Partners' (HRP) conversion of the former Crawford power plant into a dynamic and sustainable logistics hub in Little Village is a prime example of the investment we need to attract to our city's often overlooked industrial corridors.
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Working with cities, Hispanic business and labor organizations including IHCC, and local communities, HRP built LEED-certified facilities that reflect community priorities, including electric vehicle infrastructure, solar-ready roofs, hundreds of trees and plantings, and pedestrian and bicycle paths that make the location itself, as well as local businesses, are more accessible to the new wave of workers.
HRP also entered into the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency's (IEPA) voluntary soil remediation program and received a “no further improvement” letter.
As a result of this investment, the Exchange55 facility and its soon-to-be-completed nearby fleet storage on South Lawndale Avenue have attracted a Fortune 100 company — Target — to find and create thousands of well-paying jobs in Little Village.
We reaffirm our total belief that this project, which will generate immediate jobs and multiply local small businesses in Chicago's second commercial corridor, will be a new development engine for a region that has demanded quality investment for decades.
Jaime di Paulo, president and CEO, Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Chicago needs tough love
Thank you, Sun-Times Editorial Board. Your recent editorial on youth violence and accountability seems to speak from my heart.
I love Chicago. I believe in the city. It is beautiful, however, it faces a critical ordeal in its life. I've been telling people exactly what you said. It's two way. Good cops should be allowed to be cops, and they should be 100% supported. The bad cops need to be called upon by the good cops and their bosses. 100%.
Our youth need better opportunities. 100%. This city is not the same for everyone, and the more people who are willing to acknowledge and embrace it, the quicker change can truly occur. But don't get it twisted: Whether you're 15, 18, 28 or 50 years old, you can't be given a free pass to commit a crime simply because you lack opportunities. We all lack something sometimes.
Taking from others, sacrificing other people or businesses only makes you more part of the same system that you feel needs to change. We need tough leaders who are honest and compassionate. Love works, but tough love is what the city needs. Honest and compassionate leader. Is that too much to ask?
Juan Garcia, Wood Dale
Very unethical behavior
The consistent disregard for ethical behavior by some Supreme Court justices is destroying one of the main branches of our republic.
Warren Rodgers Jr., Orland Park