Making Chicago More Affordable

This year, Alderman Martin cut the ribbon on 63 affordable homes in the heart of Lincoln Square as residents officially moved into this landmark development. 

He also introduced a package of ordinances to make it easier to build housing by eliminating outdated rules, and to protect renters from predatory practices like excessive move-in fees. 

As costs continue to rise, many families are feeling the squeeze while wages lag behind. In the year ahead, Alderman Martin will continue to expand opportunities for affordable housing and tackle rising utility costs. 

(Some experts expect the average electricity bill to increase by $70 per month in the next two years. Come to our January town hall to find out why and what we can do.) 

Protecting Our Democracy

In 2025, Chicagoans endured unnecessary trauma as President Trump launched an extreme immigration campaign that tore families apart. Many in our community are still living with these consequences. 

If there’s a reason for hope, it’s how our community responded. With just hours’ notice, hundreds of you showed up for an emergency rally to demand that ICE stay out of our schools, churches, and hospitals. 

And tens of thousands signed a petition calling for the release of the father of Ofelia Torres, a local high school student whose family was separated while she battled Stage 4 cancer. Because of your advocacy, he was released as he continues to make his case to stay in the country permanently.

Expanding Public Spaces

Alderman Martin continues to prioritize building more public spaces where neighbors can gather. This summer, our office hosted three pop-up events to activate the Lincoln & Berenice parking lot and invited residents to envision its future. We’re now using your survey feedback to plan out options. 

Construction around the Western Brown Line Station is now 80% complete, and we’re just months away from opening an expanded public plaza outside the CTA station. And we secured funding for major improvements at Chase Park! 

Finally, we’ve worked to make our neighborhood easier to get around with a new protected bike lane on Clark St and the ongoing resurfacing on Ashland Ave.

Supporting Strong Local Schools

In 2025, our neighborhood schools received continued capital investments, including new air conditioning at Hamilton Elementary and cafeteria improvements at Audubon Elementary. 

With our new elected school board sworn in, we hosted our first-ever School Board office hours to provide dozens of residents with one-on-one access to the leaders making critical decisions about our schools. 

We’re also incredibly proud of our student athletes, including the Lake View High School cross country team that earned a spot in the State Finals. Senator Durbin even stopped by to congratulate them on their hard work!

The City That Works: Serving Our Constituents

Our office remains committed to delivering high-quality constituent services, helping residents navigate tricky issues with our City departments, and recommending improvements to City services based on your experiences. 

This year, our office teamed up with Alderman Vasquez and others to pass long-needed reforms to the disabled parking process. The new system will significantly reduce wait times and is a direct response to issues identified by constituents. 

We also continued to advocate for a new street cleaning schedule that better reflects changing seasonal patterns like leaves falling later into the year.

Modernizing Our Public Safety Systems

Crime numbers continued to decline in 2025. Still, one violent crime is one too many. 

This year, Alderman Martin advocated to free up police officers' time to focus on violent crimes, including a proposal to shift certain 9-1-1 parking calls to the Department of Finance. 

He also passed an ordinance to make it easier for victims to access crime reports online. And as the Trump administration released individuals convicted for the January 6th insurrection, Alderman Martin crafted a proposal to ban violent extremists from working in our Police Department.

Safeguarding Our Environment

As the Trump administration dismantles environmental protections, it’s more important than ever that Chicago bolster our local protections. This year, Alderman Martin passed an ordinance guaranteeing everyone the right to using composting services – whether they live in a condo or an apartment. 

We also hosted another successful Pumpkin Smash, which diverted more than seven tons of pumpkins from landfills, and we celebrated our fourth annual EcoFest, connecting hundreds of neighbors to sustainability-focused organizations.