South Side residents unveiled plans for new sidewalks, a community
garden and other infrastructure needs to be created with Ald. Leslie
Hairston's (5th) $1.3 million in “menu money” at the ward's final participatory budgeting expo.
The projects are set to go up for a community vote next week.
Aldermen
typically decide how to spend their pot of discretionary funds for ward
improvements like fixing potholes and adding street signals, but
participatory budgeting puts the decision-making process in the hands of
the community.
"With your voice and your help, not only do you
get a better understanding of how much things cost and what it takes to
get a project from conception to completion, but also, I think, it helps
to walk down the street and see a light post and know that you had a
part in putting that light post there," Hairston told a few dozen
residents at the expo, held at the Catholic Theological Union over the weekend. Read more »
Opponents of a 