Emanuel’s ‘day of service’ ignores most of South Side

Emanuel’s ‘day of service’ ignores most of South Side

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Chicago Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel has organized a community service day during his inauguration weekend in mid-May. But large chunks of the city are left out of the plan.

The community service events include trash removal from the banks of the Chicago River and planting at some community gardens. The Emanuel inauguration website invites Chicagoans to “learn which service activities are going on in your neighborhood.”

Trouble is, large areas of the city are not represented. Just two of the community service events - out of 30 - are south of 32nd Street. As shown in the map below, none are on the far South Side, or the Southwest Side past Bridgeport.

There are clusters of the events in other parts of the city: Lawndale on the far West Side, and along the North branch of the Chicago River.

Asked to explain how the Emanuel team picked the locations and whether they attempted to include all corners of the city, a spokesperson said the projects were identified with help from organizations including the Friends of the Chicago River and One Good Deed Chicago. In a statement, she said they’re also encouraging people “to create their own service projects.”

View Chicago Together Day of Service in a full screen map