SIDE WEEKLY IN CHICAGO
The South Side Weekly is an independent non-profit newspaper by and for the South Side of Chicago. We provide high-quality, critical arts and public interest coverage, and equip and develop journalists, artists, photographers, and mediamakers of all backgrounds.
Volume 12, Issue 13
Editor-in-Chief Jacqueline Serrato
Managing Editor Adam Przybyl
Investigations Editor Jim Daley
Senior Editors Martha Bayne
Christopher Good
Olivia Stovicek
Sam Stecklow
Alma Campos
Jocelyn Martinez-Rosales
Community Builder Chima Ikoro
Public Meetings Editor Scott Pemberton
Interim Lead
Visuals Editor Shane Tolentino
Director of Fact Checking: Ellie Gilbert-Bair
Fact Checkers: Jim Daley
Patrick Edwards
Dabney Lyles
Kateleen Quiles
Lauren Sheperd
Layout Editor Tony Zralka
Executive Director Malik Jackson
Office Manager Mary Leonard
Advertising Manager Susan Malone
The Weekly publishes online weekly and in print every other Thursday. We seek contributions from all over the city.
Send submissions, story ideas, comments, or questions to editor@southsideweekly.com or mail to:
South Side Weekly
6100 S. Blackstone Ave. Chicago, IL 60637
For advertising inquiries, please contact: Susan Malone (773) 358-3129 or email: malone@southsideweekly.com
For general inquiries, please call: (773) 643-8533
Chicago summer is a welcome respite from the bitter cold for residents and makes the city a vacation destination for tourists. The weekend that marks the beginning of the season is normally full of events, and this year that included Summer Smash, Vegandale, several Juneteenth celebrations, and Black Yacht Weekend.
Black Yacht Weekend, founded in 2020, is a boating event consisting of parties and gatherings that culminate with Black Yacht Day which takes place in the Playpen, a popular boating area of the lake near Navy Pier. Despite the name, tickets for the events do not include access to boats and the event organizers do not have a booking portal or any system to arrange rentals. The tickets do, however, include entry to a handful of participating clubs, venues, and bars.
This year, the weekend of events around Juneteenth caught the attention of the internet and first time participants traveled to the city in hopes of finding out what all the hype was about. But without an understanding of the event at large and a general lay of Chicago’s party scene, some tourists took to the same internet that influenced them to visit to voice their complaints.
According to several videos and comments on TikTok, people got finessed. Some netizens shared that promoters were overcharging for events and continuing to oversell tickets despite venue capacities, while one transplant shared that some people were even sold tickets to visit the beach.
Our beaches are part of the Chicago Public Parks…they’re free.
It seemed that some promoters took advantage of visitors not knowing which clubs and bars are free every other weekend, in conjunction with the fact that it was unclear what events were affiliated with the official Black Yacht Weekend. Meanwhile, Chicagoans made their own videos jesting at the demise of unwanted tourists, sharing advice, and explaining much needed precautions.
The disappointment didn’t stop at being scammed. The weekend of the 19th was hit with a treacherous heatwave accompanied by high winds that created potentially unsafe conditions for individuals looking to cool off at the lake. A gale warning was issued on Saturday, June 21, alerting us to the possibility of hazardous waves that could capsize vessels, among other concerns. Several boat rentals were cancelled as a result, but people still ended up on the water. The fire department ultimately responded to around ninety calls for help in relation to the heat and lake.
That Saturday claimed the lives of two individuals, one of which occurred at the Playpen, the epicenter of the weekend's events. The Black Yacht Weekend organizers took to Instagram to share condolences and clarify that the victim, a beloved celebrity hairstylist and Chicagoan Zahrie Walls, was not a part of their event. However, a friend of hers shared that it was the primary reason she’d gotten on the water. That same day, a man was seriously injured when two boats collided in the Playpen as well.
While these tragic situations have bolstered complaints, they are not unique to Black Yacht Weekend. Several people have gone missing, have been injured or drowned at Playpen in recent years. Boaters and visitors have continually made the mistake of underestimating the dangers of Lake Michigan and occurrences like this, while still heartbreaking, happen yearly around this time.
Criticism of the weekend's organization and reliability may be valid, but these tragedies have less to do with Black boaters and more to do with boat safety and precautions that need to be understood and practiced by everyone on the lake, every day.
However, there is a long history in Chicago of efforts to keep Black people away from the city’s beaches. In 1919, one of Chicago’s most violent riots started after Eugene Williams, a Black boy, was stoned and drowned when his raft floated across a racial divide in the lake. It’s important not to overshadow the fact that efforts to invite Black Chicagoans and visitors to enjoy the lake are in direct contrast to Chicago’s deep history of segregation at our beaches.
Several Black Chicago natives and tourists alike have had the opportunity to have fun and be on boats during Black Yacht Weekend in an area where this could not have occurred a few decades ago. Whether Chicagoans desire or despise the attention that our beaches attract, there’s a common thread of advice that everyone who participates in events and activities near the lake need to be better informed and safer moving forward.
IN THIS ISSUE
latino caucus blasts mayor, cpd chief on ice response
The Caucus expressed frustration about CPD’s approach to federal immigration. On Tuesday, the Immigrant and Refugee Rights Committee held a hearing on a June 4 incident involving police and ICE.
jim daley
public meetings report
4
A recap of select open meetings at the local, county, and state level.
scott pemberton and documenters .... 5 mat asphalt complaints continue even after mitigation technology installed last april
After hundreds of complaints, citations, and a classaction settlement, city inspectors’ notes show instances where MAT Asphalt continued to generate and emit “strong noxious asphalt odor.”
aydali campa, borderless magazine .... 6 opening the studio doors
A year after Hyde Park Art Center made its art classes contribute-what-you-can, new and veteran artists make up a growing and diverse student population seeking a space to create and build community.
jasmine barnes 9 the future of hip hop is alt—summer smash 2025 made it official Summer Smash 2025 showcased a new generation of genre-fluid artists who refuse traditional hip-hop categories.
nabeela washington 12 a reason to stay: why some of pilsen’s young adults live with their parents
As housing prices skyrocket in a gentrifying Chicago neighborhood, living in the family home is one way for young Latino adults to stay in their community.
alonso vidal, city bureau ................... 15 por qué algunos adultos jóvenes de pilsen viven con sus padres
Ante el aumento vertiginoso de los precios de la vivienda en un barrio en proceso de gentrificación, vivir en la casa familiar es una forma para que los jóvenes latinos permanezcan en su comunidad. por alonso vidal traducido por city bureau y editado por south side weekly .................................................... 17
‘undervalued and overworked’: how young chicago artists make a living without a living wage
Artists on the South and West sides rely on free or subsidized community housing and the support of mission-driven arts organizations to maintain their art practices.
jasmine barnes, city bureau ................. 21
Cover photo by Jasmine Barnes
Latino Caucus Blasts Mayor, CPD Chief on ICE Response
The Caucus expressed frustration about CPD’s approach to federal immigration. On Tuesday, the Immigrant and Refugee Rights Committee held a hearing on a June 4 incident involving police and ICE.
BY JIM DALEY
The City Council’s Latino Caucus was “deeply disappointed” by Mayor Brandon Johnson and Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling after a June 11 meeting about the police department’s response to federal immigration enforcement activity, according to a letter Caucus Chair Andre Vasquez (40th Ward) addressed to Johnson and Snelling. The letter was signed by Vasquez, who has been a frequent critic of Mayor Johnson, and sent on behalf of all fourteen members of the Latino Caucus.
In the letter, the Caucus expressed frustration that Johnson and Snelling did not present a strategic plan to deal with federal immigration enforcement activity or President Donald Trump’s threat to deploy troops to Chicago. They also criticized the mayor for failing to mention his imminent appointment of Macquline King as interim Chicago Public Schools (CPS) CEO during the meeting. Caucus members only learned about the appointment through an official announcement later that day, which the letter called a “serious affront.”
The Mayor’s Office did not respond to requests for comment.
The meeting was held a week after a chaotic June 4 incident in the South Loop where federal immigration agents detained at least ten people who’d arrived at an ICE facility for check-ins. As word of the detentions spread, immigrant rights advocates, family members, and Caucus alderpersons arrived to protest. Advocates and alderpersons have since raised questions about whether CPD violated Chicago’s Welcoming City Ordinance or the state TRUST Act, which prohibit police from cooperating with federal immigration enforcement.
According to a document the Weekly obtained from the Office of Emergency Management and Communications (OEMC) via a public records request, two calls for assistance were made on June 4 from 2245 S. Michigan Ave, where the ICE facility is located, before police arrived. The first was coded as a disturbance/large gathering, for which the document shows no police response. It was followed by a call to assist police, which drew more than a dozen CPD units, as well as the First District commander and other top brass. Several minutes later, a “notify” call also came in from that site.
Once there, police officers blocked access
to a parking lot adjacent to the ICE facility while the commander and at least one deputy chief entered the facility and appeared to speak to ICE agents. Demonstrators, including several alderpersons, confronted immigration agents and Chicago police officers.
The department later put out a statement saying police were on-site “to ensure the safety of all involved” and that everything CPD did was “in accordance with” the Welcoming City Ordinance.
The Council’s Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights, which Vasquez chairs, held a hearing about the incident Tuesday morning. At the hearing, Chenetra Washington, the deputy director of the city’s 911 center, said two “assist police” calls came in that day from the ICE facility. It’s unclear why the second was not reflected in the OEMC document obtained by FOIA.
Washington also said an ICE contractor made one of the calls; a Department of Homeland Security agent made another, and each identified themselves. CPD Deputy Director Glenn Brooks told the committee that police officers were nevertheless unaware the building housed an ICE facility before they arrived there.
Vasquez told the Weekly that the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) declined to investigate the incident and attempted to pass it to the Office of Inspector General (OIG), which countered that the investigation is in COPA’s purview.
“There, to this date, has been no independent investigation of anything that occurred on June 4,” Vasquez said Monday. “And that’s the larger problem.”
Inspector General Deborah Witzburg declined to specifically comment on the June 4 incident. She added: “As a general matter, the Welcoming City Ordinance says that any complaints that non-CPD City employees have violated the ordinance come to the OIG.” The ordinance requires the OIG to forward any complaints about CPD members to the police department.
A spokesperson for COPA did not respond to the Weekly’s request for comment. At Tuesday’s hearing, COPA Interim Chief Administrator LaKenya White said COPA received two complaints related to the June 4 events, and after internal discussions about jurisdiction, referred both to the OIG.
Two alderpersons told the Weekly that
shortly after the June 4 incident, Snelling privately placed responsibility for the CPD response on First District Commander David Harris, saying that Harris had made a bad call.
Vasquez said that he doesn’t know the First District commander’s name and didn’t get much detail on how the incident played out. “But I did know there was somebody on site whom I think because this was a new situation, maybe didn’t exercise the best judgment, and it might have come off a little bit tense,” he added.
According to multiple alderpersons who attended the June 11 meeting, Johnson began with a discussion about “values.” When he was asked about CPD and ICE activity, he noted the relationships the Mayor’s Office has with community organizations. Superintendent Snelling addressed Caucus members’ concerns by restating the department’s official position that officers had complied with the Welcoming Cities Ordinance.
In response to concerns Caucus members raised about police sharing arrest data with federal immigration agencies that had submitted public records requests—which the Sun-Times reported CPD did at least a dozen times between November 2022 and March of this year—Snelling reiterated that the police department doesn’t work or communicate with immigration agencies. The Caucus was not satisfied with that answer.
Their letter said the Caucus “expected a serious response to our concerns about data protection, especially in light of documented cases in which arrest records have been shared with the Department of Homeland Security through FOIA requests.”
Caucus member Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th Ward), an ally of Johnson, said he thinks Vasquez is “weaponizing” the situation against the mayor to gain political points. “I know many people have political aspirations, but now is not the time for political expediency,” Sigcho-Lopez said. He said the Caucus should be “calling out” Governor J.B. Pritzker for his statement that CPD “followed the law” on June 4. “The Latino Caucus has been critical of the [Johnson] administration, and I think they have been very silent on [Pritzker’s] handling” of the incident, he said.
Asked about Sigcho-Lopez’s comments, Vasquez said: “There’s nothing politically expedient about calling for accountability.”
In the letter to Johnson and Snelling,
the Caucus also criticized the mayor’s process around hiring Macuqeline King, a former CPS principal and mayoral aide, as interim CPS CEO. King was the mayor’s senior director of educational policy—a position former Mayor Lori Lightfoot appointed King to in 2022—before Johnson tapped her for the interim CEO role. The Latino Caucus had publicly advocated for Johnson to appoint another Latino person to replace outgoing CPS CEO Pedro Martinez and called on the mayor to partner with them on the search. According to the letter, Johnson did not do so. It also said the mayor “seemingly dismissed” their concerns about the “need for reflective representation in city leadership.”
In May, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) opened a civil rights investigation into the City’s hiring practices after Johnson spoke about his administration’s diversity at a South Side church. Johnson had said “Our people hire our people,” and noted his administration included four Black women and two Black men. He’d added: “When you hire our people, we always look out for everybody else.” The Mayor’s Office later released data showing his 105-person staff is 34.3 percent Black, 30.5 percent white, 23.8 percent Latino and 6.7 percent Asian American.
Regarding the DOJ investigation, Vasquez said, “I think that’s why we try to frame it as partnership and coalition, which is what we have been told is what the goal is in the [Johnson] administration.”
The letter also raised concerns about King’s record. King was the subject of several internal investigations between 2015 and 2019 while she was a CPS principal, as first reported by the Tribune. None of the investigations resulted in disciplinary action beyond warnings.
“You speak of partnership and coalitionbuilding, but true partnership requires respect, transparency, and collaboration,” the Caucus’s letter said. “These were not demonstrated.” The letter requested improvements to meetings and communication, as well as a “genuine commitment” to dialogue from Johnson’s administration.
“The residents of this city deserve better,” the letter closed, “and that begins with better leadership and engagement from the Mayor’s Office.” ¬
Jim Daley is the Weekly’s investigations editor.
Public Meetings Report
A recap of select open meetings at the local, county, and state level.
BY SCOTT PEMBERTON AND DOCUMENTERS
June 11
“It’s incredibly important that members of the legislature and the public are also reminded of what we can do with the money when we do receive it,” said Acting CTA President Nora Leerhsen at a meeting of the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) Board. They should also keep in mind, she said, “what we've achieved in the past few years in terms of our hiring and our workforce.” Leerhsen was speaking about the need for a plan B after the Illinois General Assembly failed to take action to address a $770 million budget shortfall for Chicago-area transit. A new Northern Illinois Transit Authority that would replace the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) is one option among several that legislators are considering, according to Leerhsen. Under such a plan, the current transit agencies would focus on running buses and trains, and a new agency would oversee regional policy issues, fares, and major projects. But Leerhsen emphasized that her priority is to secure funding so the CTA can continue delivering and improving services. An extreme funding loss would hit hard as Chicago pursues major transit investments, Leerhsen said, such as the Frequent Network to increase service for some bus routes across the city. “It's obviously a historic, unprecedented time for our industry and our region” Leerhsen concluded, “and I am going to approach that as the acting president in terms of the opportunity it presents.”
At their meeting, members of the City Council Committee on Transportation and Public Way said they support the development of a pilot program to ensure safe pick-up and drop-off services for Chicago teenagers attending public events in the 29th Ward on the West Side. “I hope this pilot program will be approved,” said Alderman Chris Taliaferro (29th Ward), noting that “all of our wards . . . are having difficulties with youth getting from one location to another” for worthwhile activities. Such a pilot program would require the Department of Transportation (IDOT) to negotiate an agreement between the City and the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) or the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA). The initiative is important because even if youth-centered activities are available, young people aren’t necessarily able to get to them, Taliaferro explained. Several Council members expressed the desire to bring similar programs to their wards. Next steps are to meet with the CTA to evaluate prospective costs and to establish funding, he said. For the moment, the item remains in committee until details are complete.
June 12
At its meeting, the City Council Committee on Workforce Development took no action on the Chicago Rideshare Living Wage and Safety ordinance. Committee Chair Michael Rodriguez (22nd Ward), delayed a vote on whether to bring a proposal to the City Council and then canceled it. Rodriguez had introduced the ordinance originally. Some 100,000 ride-share drivers in Illinois are now free to organize after the ride-share company Uber agreed to support a statewide bill designed to make such unionization possible. The Illinois Drivers Alliance, based out of the Service Employees International
Union (SEIU) Local 1 and the International Association of Machinists Mechanics Union Local 701, announced the deal with Uber. Uber agreed not to work against efforts to give drivers collective bargaining rights. Drivers would still be classified as independent contractors. The unions have not achieved a similar agreement with Lyft but are discussing the issues with the company, Local 1 spokesperson Bailey Koch told the Chicago Tribune. The legislation is being drafted, according to the Sun-Times. Also known as the “The Fair Share Ordinance,” the measure aimed to improve conditions for ride-share drivers in Chicago by establishing a living wage, ensuring safety protections, and increasing transparency in fares and deactivation processes.
June 16
At its meeting, the City Council Committee on Finance voted to authorize settlement of four lawsuits totaling nearly $25 million for police corruption and abuse dating back to the 1980s. Ways to fund the settlements have not been determined. In 2025, the City has spent at least $143.3 million to cover more than two dozen police misconduct lawsuits, according to the \Tribune—more than twice the budgeted amount. Of the cases up for settlement, James Gibson v. City of Chicago, at $14.7 million is the largest. Convicted of killing two people in 1989, Gibson spent almost thirty years in prison before the conviction was vacated in 2019 and the charges dismissed. Gibson sued the City, saying he confessed under duress after detectives commanded by former Cmdr. Jon Burge tortured him. Going to trial could result in the City paying out between thirty and one hundred million dollars, said Deputy Corporation Counsel Jessica Felker.
June 18
Mayor Brandon Johnson vetoed the “snap curfew” ordinance at a meeting of the City Council, sidelining the controversial measure. Previously passed by the City Council in a 27–22 vote, the legislation would have enabled the Chicago Police superintendent to institute a curfew to break up “mass gatherings” of minors and order them to leave a public space with at least thirty minutes notice. Months of discussion among city officials and criticism from legal and community groups preceded the vote. Johnson’s veto was the first by a Chicago mayor since 2006, when then Mayor Richard M. Daley vetoed a minimum hourly pay rate for employees of “big box” retailers. Blocking the veto would require votes from thirty-four alderpersons. “We also want to make sure that we are listening to the lifeblood of our community,” said Alderperson Angela Clay (46th Ward), who spoke against the snap curfew. “It bothers me that we have a room full of young people back here, and nobody has asked them their opinion on this issue.”
June 20
At its meeting, the Illinois African Descent–Citizens Reparations Commission received an update on a draft of the Harms Report from its research subcommittee. The report, projected to be made public in December of this year or January 2026, is the first of three phases “with the primary goal of researching and documenting past and current inequities faced by Black Americans in Illinois.” The research is conducted in partnership with University of Illinois Chicago Institute for Research on Race and Public Policy in an intergovernmental agreement. The report, which is designed to be the basis for future policy recommendations, is broken into eleven categories of harm, such as mental and physical harm and neglect, pathology of the African American family, stolen labor, and hindered opportunity. The Commission was established by the Illinois General Assembly in 2022. The Commission is to survey the state’s procurement process and to make recommendations and “perform actions” related to preserving African American neighborhoods and communities, as well as “building and developing” vocational centers. The Commission is to ensure “proportional economic representation” in state contracts and to create and enforce an Illinois Slavery Era Disclosure Bill.
This information was collected and curated by the Weekly in large part using reporting from City Bureau’s Documenters at documenters.org.
illustration by Holley Appold/South Side Weekly
MAT Asphalt Complaints Continue Even After Mitigation Technology Installed Last April
After hundreds of
complaints, citations,
and a class-action settlement, city inspectors’ notes show instances where MAT Asphalt continued to generate and emit “strong noxious asphalt odor.”
BY AYDALI CAMPA, BORDERLESS MAGAZINE
This story was originally published by Borderless Magazine. Visit their website and sign up for their newsletter at Borderlessmag.org.
Since new mitigation technology was installed last year, city inspectors have detected odor and smoke emissions from MAT Asphalt in McKinley Park, records show.
Over the last year, the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) has received more than two dozen air pollution complaints against MAT Asphalt and ticketed the facility for environmental ordinance violations, according to records obtained by Borderless Magazine.
In a handful of instances, inspectors have identified odors escaping from the plant and trucks when loaded with asphalt, a petroleum-based material, according to environmental inspection records.
The problems aren’t new. Since the asphalt plant moved into the neighborhood seven years ago, residents have filed over 270 air pollution complaints about the plant to CDPH.
Since starting operations in 2018, MAT Asphalt has also received at least 27 environmental citations, according to data obtained by Borderless. The eight-acre site is across the street from a large park and a short walk from schools and homes.
MAT Asphalt typically operates from April to December.
In 2020, McKinley Park residents filed a class action lawsuit, alleging that fumes and odors from the facility created a nuisance for neighbors. The company agreed to pay a $1.2 million settlement and make $900,000 worth of facility upgrades, including installing blue smoke control equipment to capture emissions. The facility upgrades with the blue smoke control device were also required as part of a separate 2023
settlement with CDPH for air pollution citations and dust control violations.
Despite the upgrades, residents have continued to file complaints, and the facility has been cited for environmental violations since May 2024.
“I smell strong asphalt odors in my bedroom and my entire home and neighborhood, causing breathing, headaches and nausea,” a resident complained to CDPH in August 2024, according to inspection records obtained by Borderless Magazine.
In response to the complaint, CDPH inspected the site. The inspection records show that an inspector detected a “strong noxious asphalt odor” near MAT Asphalt that “caused an immediate physical reaction,” including nose irritation and a headache.
The inspector also noted that the blue smoke control device “does not appear to be effectively controlling asphalt odor emissions,” and that MAT Asphalt did not have the required certificate of operation
and required air pollution permit to install and operate the device.
In response, CDPH cited MAT Asphalt for violating four environmental regulations:
• keeping air pollution emissions within limits set by state and federal law;
• not causing a nuisance by exposing people to substances that can pose health risks;
• missing a required certificate of operation, and
• not having an air pollution control permit.
CPDH’s environmental inspection data is available in the city’s data portal; however, the agency no longer includes inspector notes in the data, information that was publicly available earlier this year.
CDPH spokesperson Grace Adams said the agency is reviewing its environmental datasets and making changes, including removing inspection notes, or “narratives,” pending further data review “to
ensure protection of any potential private information.”
City law states that an air pollution violation typically comes with a fine ranging from $1,000 to $5,000. Fines for violating rules requiring a certificate of operation and air control permit range from $250 to $7,500.
The city did not ultimately fine the company for its air pollution citation or for its citation for violating a city rule requiring an air pollution control permit for operating regulated equipment, according to records from the Chicago Department of Administrative Hearings (DOAH).
The company was only fined by the department $4,500 for violating a city rule requiring a certificate of operation, and $600 for “nuisance in connection with a business” for the August violations.
In a written statement, Adams told Borderless Magazine that CDPH “bears the burden of proof,” and that odors and air pollution can be difficult to prove, especially when invisible.
“Further, to prevail at a hearing at DOAH, CDPH must prove that an alleged violation occurred on the date and at the time specified on the notice of violation,” Adams said. “In this case, CDPH considered the evidence and negotiated an agreement with the respondent to try to achieve the most favorable outcome for the City and the affected community.”
In April, CDPH officials said the agency faced capacity issues in conducting more environmental inspections. CDPH is the city’s main environmental regulator, granting operating permits, conducting inspections and issuing citations for environmental ordinance violations.
During the hearing, CDPH Commissioner Dr. Olusimbo Ige told the City Council’s Committee on Environmental Protection and Energy that the department only had three air inspectors
A tractor carries limestone onto conveyor belts at the MAT Asphalt plant on May 22, 2025.
Photo by Max Herman/Borderless Magazine
and was looking to fill three vacancies. As of now, the agency has four air inspector positions and two vacant positions.
MAT Asphalt plant manager Joseph Haughey defended the facility, pointing to a 2021 analysis requested by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) and commissioned by MAT Asphalt. The 800-page study monitored emissions and
concentrations of certain compounds from the facility.
He argues that MAT Asphalt is not a chemical plant, does not pose health or environmental threats, and has minimal odors.
“In a way, the McKinley Park neighborhood is lucky,” Haughey said.
MAT Asphalt, he argued, is only
emitting a minimal amount of what is permitted, and that another asphalt plant could emit more and still be within legal limits.
Haughey said nothing more can be done to address complaints against MAT Asphalt.
“I don’t know what more we can do here,” Haughey said. “We make asphalt for the city streets. We’ve gone above and beyond.”
In May, a Borderless Magazine reporter and photographer toured the asphalt plant with Haughey, who pointed out the measures taken to make the plant more environmentally friendly, including the new blue smoke controls, dust control measures, recycling of reclaimed materials and use of odor retardants. The reporter and photographer smelled mild asphalt odors inside the facility, where trucks were being loaded with asphalt.
Michael Cailas, an associate professor of environmental and occupational health sciences at the University of Illinois at Chicago, has studied the cumulative environmental burdens in the Southwest Side. Cailas, who reviewed the report Haughey referenced, said that while
the emissions measures were below the allowable limit, the emissions were studied for only two days.
He said a more accurate analysis would be of the health risk assessment within the community, especially with a concentration of industrial plants in the Southwest Side.
“It’s not one asphalt plant that might be smelling,” said Cailas. “It might be the combination of eight that produce the smell.”
Cailas cautioned that an odor is not a reliable indicator of high levels of pollutants that can cause health effects if exposed. He said there is limited conclusive evidence that measures the health risks of these compounds emitted from asphalt plants, so it is unknown whether the concentration of chemicals behind what residents might be smelling is dangerous.
Southwest Side residents constantly face this uncertainty as they smell unpleasant odors in their communities, which are surrounded by industrial zones, he said.
“Why should these communities have this problem?” he said. “Others don’t. You see, it’s a nuisance.”
Some community members still believe it is unsafe for McKinley Park residents,
During a hearing at City Council in April, CDPH Commissioner Dr. Olusimbo Ige told the City Council’s Committee on Environmental Protection and Energy that the department faced capacity issues regarding air inspections.
Photo by Max Herman/Borderless Magazine
would be great if they could [move it].”
According to complaint records, inspectors have continued to find some complaints valid since the August citations.
About twelve days after the city ticketed MAT Asphalt in August, an inspector responding to a complaint noted in an inspection report that he detected asphalt odors again that caused a headache and irritation in his nose and nose cavity.
The inspector also warned the plant manager, Haughey, about the strong asphalt odors detected, that a citation had already been issued days prior and that “further enforcement action will be taken if the air pollution and nuisance odors are not addressed.” According to publicly available CDPH air inspection data, no tickets were issued that day despite the inspector substantiating the complaint.
Haughey declined to discuss the citations.
The asphalt odors can be smelled from within the plant site but not outside, Haughey said. He noted that what residents in the neighborhood might be smelling could be coming from trucks loaded with hot asphalt leaving the facility.
Haughey argued that other plants don’t face nearly as much public scrutiny despite their efforts to address environmental concerns stemming from the plant.
“I am not a big conservative guy saying, ‘I’m here to make money,’” he said, “I’m very much involved with the environmental thing.”
Community Advocacy
regardless of whether emissions from the facility are within the required limits.
“We do not care if MAT Asphalt is cleaner than other sources of pollution, or if its emissions are less than official limits,” said Anthony Moser, board president of Neighbors For Environmental Justice (N4EJ). “We deserve clean air. We don’t know if the stack test is accurate, but we know everything listed in the report is pollution we were not breathing before they opened,” he said in a written statement.
Continued Frustrations
Frustrated residents like Moser have continued to file complaints of asphalt odors in their neighborhood.
For over two decades, Antonio Ramirez has lived in his McKinley Park home, an eight-minute walk from the asphalt plant. He said he often smells the hot asphalt and can see smoke emitted from the facility when he walks across the park from the plant.
Another resident who asked not to be identified said she can smell it in the mornings when taking her children to the nearby school and sometimes at home when her windows are open.
Brian C., a resident who lives less than half a mile from MAT Asphalt with his wife and two cats, said he has loved living in McKinley Park for 17 years. Now, he sometimes can catch the smell of hot asphalt during his morning walks to the nearby park.
“I wish it wasn’t there,” said Brian. “It
“There are many reasons a complaint may have been deemed valid but may not result in a citation, such as the complaint not being covered under the Chicago Municipal Code,” said Adams.
CDPH said they are working on standardizing the recording of environmental inspection data, including codes such as “complaint valid,” for consistency. This includes training inspectors on best practices when entering data and improving the system software “to provide a more transparent outcome from complaints and inspections.”
Kate Eakin, managing director of the McKinley Park Development Council, lives near the facility and said not much has changed over the last year. They continue to hear community complaints about the odors. She sees the facility as a hindrance to future developments in the neighborhood.
“MAT Asphalt continues to be a significant barrier to housing development in McKinley Park, as well as to revitalization of the historic Central Manufacturing District,” said Eakin.
In 2020, the city denied funding for a mixed-use development with affordable housing due to environmental concerns stemming from MAT Asphalt’s location near the proposed development site, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
“That’s where all the plants in Chicago are,” said Haughey. “We are in an industrial zone. We didn’t change zoning or anything. We’re on the edge of it, but we’re in the [Planned Manufacturing District]. Where we’re at was designed specifically for what we’re doing.”
In 2018, McKinley Park residents founded N4EJ to prevent the plant from opening and remain committed to stopping MAT Asphalt from operating and emitting pollution in the Southwest Side neighborhood, according to Executive Director Alfredo Romo.
Since word spread that MAT Asphalt would move into McKinley Park, the environmental justice group has vigilantly examined the city’s facility regulations and scrutinized its enforcement practices.
N4EJ criticized the city for lax efforts to protect residents from environmental hazards and for contracting with MAT Asphalt.
“Our objective has always been about shutting them down, and if we’re not able
as much as possible,” Romo said. Despite ongoing complaints from residents and infractions by the company, the city awarded MAT Asphalt $141 million in city contracts in 2023 to provide city crews with asphalt for street work on the same day that it settled an agreement with CDPH to pay fines and make improvements to the factory to limit emissions, Block Club Chicago reported.
McKinley Park Ald. Julia Ramirez (12th) has been critical of the asphalt plant and the city’s enforcement of air pollution violations by businesses in her ward. In 2017, former McKinley Park Ald. George Cardenas supported the plant coming into the neighborhood with minimal community outreach, sparking outrage when the plan was announced.
“If we could make it happen, and if this was an easier fix, I would definitely not want that asphalt in the community,” said Ramirez. “It’s a horrible location. It affects so many of the residents. It’s near the park, near the school.”
Amid ongoing problems with the site, MAT owner Michael Tadin bought the Damen Silos from the state in 2023. The 23-acre property is an unused grain storage structure 1.3 miles north of the MAT Asphalt in an industrial area of the neighborhood. Tadin previously told NBC Chicago he was unsure what the property would be used for, but doesn’t plan on putting an asphalt plant on the site.
The purchase came after environmental advocates and alderpeople, including Ramirez, pushed for the city to acquire the property, seek community feedback on new uses for the area and avoid another heavy industrial facility from coming into the
Moser from N4EJ thinks it is difficult to know how the issue of air pollution in the community from MAT Asphalt can be resolved. Given its proximity to schools and homes, it shouldn’t have been there in the first place, he said.
“Our whole position here from the beginning has been that there’s a fundamental problem with operating a mixed asphalt facility across the street from a park,” said Moser. “What we want to see is that this facility is shut down because it shouldn’t have been allowed to open.” ¬
Aydali Campa is a Report for America corps member and covers environmental justice and immigrant communities for Borderless Magazine. Send her an email at aydali@ borderlessmag.org.
Brian C., a resident who lives less than half a mile from MAT Asphalt with his wife and two cats, says he can sometimes smell the hot asphalt when walking at the nearby park, McKinley Park, the neighborhood's largest green space. Photo by Max Herman/Borderless Magazine
Alfredo Romo, executive director of Neighbors for Environmental Justice (N4EJ), has worked to stop MAT Asphalt from operating in McKinley Park since it opened in 2018.
Photo by Max Herman/Borderless Magazine
Opening the Studio Doors
A year after Hyde Park Art Center made its art classes contribute-what-you-can, new and veteran artists make up a growing and diverse student population seeking a space to create and build community.
BY JASMINE BARNES
At 11:59am on a Tuesday, hundreds of Chicagoans eagerly watched the time on their phones, laptops, and tablets. At noon the event of the season would begin: registration for classes at the Hyde Park Art Center (HPAC).
The center’s Oakman Clinton School and Studio didn’t always inspire the level of enthusiasm usually reserved for concert ticket sales. The need for social connection post-2020 and the lifting of financial barriers to arts education has skyrocketed the art center’s popularity.
“We have such robust waitlists— people are knocking on the studio door just to get in,” said Sarita Garcia, HPAC’s school studio coordinator.
At a moment when the national social and political climate is driven by divisiveness, social isolation and economic fear, the Hyde Park Art Center is opening its doors wider and inviting students to come as they are.
In April 2024, the center’s Oakman Clinton School and Studio became the first all-ages art school with without fixed tuition for classes. The transition to a contribute-what-you-can Open Arts model has increased enrollments by 50 percent with over 500 students enrolled per term and more than 2,000 enrollments annually.
“We say ‘contribute what you can’ because showing up and being a student— being a part of that learning environment— is a contribution,” said co-executive director Aaron Rogers. “If you're doing that, that is a value that we recognize and it's part of how the courses thrive.”
If you walk into Studio C at the Hyde Park Art Center on a weekday afternoon, you might encounter a massive portrait oil painting, witness a riveting lecture on composition, or hear
the playful chatter of an end-of-term pizza party. What you’re guaranteed to find is a student body representing a wide range of ages, races, genders and artistic experience.
“Established artists are sitting right next to an emerging artist,” said Garcia. “Someone who's sixty-five-plus is right next to a person who's just going into college. I think that's been really cool to see how diverse our community has become.”
Founded in 1939, the Hyde Park Art Center has cycled through many locations and structures. Moving to its current building at 5020 S. Cornell Ave. in 2006 provided a space with the potential to serve the thousands of students and visitors that engage with the art center each year.
The idea for Open Arts started in 2012 and began implementation in 2016, with a few classes switching from a tuitionbased to sliding scale registration. For years leading up to the transition, many classes whose registration fees could reach between $280-$350 struggled to meet the five-
student minimum enrollment. Art center admin would sometimes call students to try to convince them to sign up.
“Because of the tuition, the financial burdens, a lot of people didn't have access to this creative community. So we do want to open the doors,” Rogers said. “It's just been way more popular than we ever anticipated. We thought it would boost class sizes, but we had no sense [of] the demand that exists on the South Side for arts education and for community arts.”
With HPAC’s rapid growth under the new Open Arts model, administrators have dedicated their time and energy to finding innovative ways to manage the growth.
Tanya Gills, a professional oil painter, has been a teaching artist at the Art Center for four years. After completing an artist in residence program, she wanted to stay connected. Gills witnessed HPAC’s transformation from tuition-based classes to its current model.
“I really appreciate how the Hyde Park
Art Center did the shift very thoughtfully and slowly to make sure that they understood these quirks that were going to come up,” she said.
One of those quirks has been developing a registration system that can accommodate a high volume of registrants with a wide range of technological savvy and access.
HPAC’s unique system has a special feature that holds a student’s class registration for ten minutes so they can contemplate what kind of financial contribution they want to make before completing registration.
A few months ago, HPAC also introduced a registration clinic where students of all backgrounds who need tech support can gather in the second floor digital lab to receive support with day-of class registration.
For students who have been working at HPAC for years, lack of access to highdemand spaces such as the ceramics studio resulted in frustration when the rapid registration process left some veteran students without a spot to practice their craft.
In response to the feedback, the center piloted a non-Open Arts course in ceramics to ensure dedicated students have access to studio space. Seats filled up quickly, with most eligible participants able to enroll. The course provides a year-round independent study in ceramics, offering a production space for experienced students.
Similarly, the development of an HPAC Student Advisory Council that meets regularly with staff has allowed for thoughtful critique and conversation, creating even greater “synergy” between students and staff, said Garcia.
“Before, my classes would be people either in college or just graduated from high school, and then people who are retired and
Advanced Painting student Reggie McFly discusses art tactics with his classmate, Moon. Photo by Jasmine Barnes
maybe returning to painting after a career of work,” Gills said. Now, Gills marvels at the many age ranges and backgrounds that make up her Intermediate and Advanced Painting classes.
Aaron Allen, twenty-eight, and Isabell Hansen, twenty-six, are part of the new wave of students interested in exploring their own art practices. Allen and Hansen both live in Hyde Park and started taking painting classes at the art center for the first time this year.
For Hansen, it’s important to have a space outside of her academic environment as a graduate student at the University of Chicago studying molecular engineering. Still, the economic limitations of being a grad student make spaces like HPAC special.
“If I'm not in a place to be spending money, I'm not really visiting community locations,” said Hansen. “This [class] has been really nice, especially [the] open studio. I'm meeting people who aren't even in my class, and talking about the art they're doing—it's really cool.”
Allen said he sees the art center as a way to meet more of his neighbors and gain access to the mentorship of professional artists.
“Most of my community is still [on the West Side], so this is something that has put me in touch with more folks that are from around here,” he said. “Having access to people who are professional artists and are great teachers—that's just really the main draw for me. I'm happy I'm building my artistic community.”
Aaron Rogers attributes the successful transition to Open Arts largely in part to the co-executive director leadership model HPAC adopted in 2022. HPAC’s board decided to elevate two pre-existing directors—Rogers and Jeannette Tremblay Chambers—to share the executive director role right as Open Arts was beginning its public rollout.
Rogers credits this unique structure rooted in mutual trust and respect as a major strength in successfully executing major initiatives and navigating unexpected challenges.
One year after removing fixed tuition prices from its classes, and at the height of its student population growth, HPAC
“We are part of a larger moment when a lot of our values are really being attacked and defunded,” she said. “It's our responsibility to not only persevere and lead with our values, but inspire and build the arts community that Chicago and the South Side deserve, regardless of what's happening politically or in the larger
For teaching artists who facilitate classes and have their own art practice, the financial and structural supports the center offers are unique. Recently, teaching artists were classified as W-2 employees and given paid time off (PTO) as a part of their employment with the art center.
opportunity to continue communitybuilding and learning.
Ronnie Clark has taken Gill’s class consistently for the last two years. As an elder living in Kenwood, she said she sees the space as therapeutic and enjoys the supportive multi-generational classroom culture.
“We have a class that's more like a family than a class,” Clark said. “We all look out [for each other] and we can all learn from one another, regardless of your experience [level].”
leadership was faced with a hard decision as federal executive orders targeting diversity, equity and inclusion shook the art world.
In March, HPAC leadership shared a funding appeal letter to Hyde Park students, staff and donors, stating that after years of recurring funding from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), applying for funding under their new guidelines would require the organization to “alter our mission in ways we are unwilling to do.”
“The language [in] that executive order was really violent,” Rogers said. “We are fortunate in the sense that it is a significant contribution that we've gotten from the federal government but it is by no means an existential one. We know that for other organizations, that's not the case so this was a chance for us to really stand with those who we serve.”
As a result of their decision not to apply for NEA funding, the organization seeks to fill an anticipated $100,000 gap in its budget through community contributions.
“We've seen our neighbors, our students, [and] people who love art, support this organization in really meaningful ways for a long time,” Rogers said. “People are absolutely stepping up at this moment.”
For Rogers, the decision to divest from financial contributions that threatened HPAC’s values is simultaneously a commitment to equity, antiracism, and accessibility.
Garcia, who currently oversees the administrative management of the over 150 courses HPAC offers annually, started out as a teaching artist in 2021, teaching printmaking. She describes these new changes as “a safety net” for artists whose 1099 wages are often heavily taxed and who lack the workplace benefits that W-2 employees receive.
Similarly, recent renovations to studio spaces and staff hires to improve the student experience have been direct efforts to make HPAC’s work more sustainable.
As a result of the growing popularity of HPAC’s offerings, Gill was invited to introduce an additional Advanced Painting class this semester. The advanced class gives more seasoned painters who’ve taken her class multiple times an
Reggie McFly, thirty-seven, commutes from his home in South Loop to attend classes at HPAC and utilize its studio space. As an emerging painter whose living room doubles as his studio, having a focused space outside of his home to develop work has been hugely beneficial. The multigenerational nature of Gills’s class is a bonus.
“You get different levels of perspective [into] different parts of the journey of life,” McFly said. “It helps broaden your creativity.”
After taking the class a half dozen times, he considers it his “art family” and often feels inspired to “try something new that I never would have thought of if it was without this community,” he said. He often incorporates mixed media elements in his paintings—an artistic choice that’s encouraged and validated by his teacher and peers.
“People are here because they want to
in the print studio where she previously worked as a teaching artist.
Photo by Jasmine Barnes
Intermediate Painting students work on their art pieces.
Photo by Jasmine Barnes
be here, and they have their own personal goals to reach,” Gills said. “What I love about teaching is that the class size is small, so I can give everyone very individualized attention.”
Gills also leverages HPAC’s exhibitions as teaching tools to help her students understand techniques displayed by the multicultural and multidisciplinary artists the center exhibits. She sees the classroom visits to look at other artworks as sources of inspiration that make for good conversation starters.
“When we come together as a group, there's so much respect, and the dialogue is rich,” she said. She recalled a class from a few terms back where elders “had so many rich things to offer a younger artist who was just starting to explore issues. It was a beautiful conversation, and one that happened because of the different generations coming together.”
Gills noted that older artists have an appreciation for process and theory that balances well with the more results-
oriented approach of younger artists.
The exponentially growing enrollment numbers reveal how “vital” community arts are, especially for adults and how much value people find in diverse community spaces, said Garcia.
While the art center has continued to add staff and classes, she hopes other arts organizations on the South Side and across the city will adopt similar arts education models and work together to address the need for accessible art spaces.
If the Open Arts model has proven anything, it’s that people are willing to invest in spaces where they feel seen, supported, and connected.
“This is all possible because a lot of people come here and give,” Rogers said. “Hyde Park Arts Center thrives because a lot of people care about it.” ¬
Jasmine is a writer, facilitator and community builder living in Hyde Park. You can learn more about her work at www.jasbarnes.com.
This FREE inspirational music festival brings audiences of all ages and backgrounds together to celebrate the power of music.
HPAC student, Aaron Allen, mixes oil paints at the start of class.
Photo by Jasmine Barnes
The Future of Hip Hop is Alt–Summer Smash 2025 Made It Official
Summer Smash 2025 showcased a new generation of genre-fluid artists who refuse traditional hip-hop categories.
BY NABEELA WASHINGTON
The rage began in our pockets, but it would end with mascara dripping, a lost Pokémon Go watch, sweatsoaked layers, and mud-caked shoes. The morning of June 16 brought a barrage of notifications from Lyrical Lemonade's flagship Bridgeview hip-hop festival— each alert teasing clarity, others delivering confusion. By Thursday afternoon, less than 24 hours before the festival began at 3 p.m. on Friday, Summer Smash still hadn't released its schedule; the full lineup didn't drop until 9:02 p.m. Perhaps this was preparation for an event celebrating artists who scramble hip-hop's traditional categories. The Lyrical Lemonade Summer Smash Festival 2025 wasn't just testing Chicago's patience; it was evaluating the city's legendary hip-hop discernment against a new generation of genre-fluid performers, artists who refuse to be categorized. Over a few days, the festival would serve as a real-time laboratory for hip-hop's evolution, with Chicago's notoriously demanding audiences as the ultimate judges of authenticity.
Day 1 (June 20)
Waka Flocka's Unexpected Triumph
As a first-time Summer Smash attendee, everything ran remarkably on schedule, starkly contrasting the week's digital confusion. Less impressive were the sanitation logistics: with trash cans scarce, the grounds quickly transformed into a landfill. The extremely long lines tested patience, but Lyrical Lemonade's signature beverages and collector's cans provided solid refreshment, with Beatbox's on-site presence adding welcome variety.
Memphis rapper NLE Choppa's lastminute absence could have dampened Day 1, but Waka Flocka Flame's replacement set proved the veteran still commands a crowd. His performance of “Round of Applause” generated nostalgic excitement, while his EDM-teased “Grove St. Party” showed adaptability that younger artists could learn from. Most memorably, Waka jumped directly into the crowd, a move that epitomized the day's raw energy.
From Soundcloud to Trippie Redd
Before Trippie Redd even appeared, his signature “I love Trippie Redd” tag
played through the speakers, building anticipation. When he finally took the stage, shouting “Big 14!” energy radiating from the crowd confirmed what many suspected: that Chicago wasn’t unfamiliar with hip-hop's complexity. What followed was a crowd-pleaser setlist that showcased Trippie's proven hits rather than his artistic range. While tracks from his underrated album Mansion Musik or the vulnerable genre:sadboy EP collaboration with MGK might have tested his genre-fluid reputation, Trippie chose the path of guaranteed euphoria, and who would argue with thousands of wild fans. He opened with the dark energy of “Dark Knight Dummo” and “The Grinch” before transitioning into “Holy Smokes,” which capitalizes on
pop-inspired bitcrushed synthesizers and video game samples.
“Demon Time” ignited the audience with its aggressive energy, while “Matt Hardy 999” showcased his ability to channel raw emotion into anthemic choruses. The inclusion of “Wish”, “Topanga,” and “Taking A Walk” moved from gospel-infused melody to contemplative vulnerability, balancing emotional exploration with hip-hop's rhythmic foundation.
Near the end of his set, Trippie returned to his opening energy, shouting “Big 14!”, this time counting “1... 2... 3…” with the crowd before closing with “F*ck Love”—a song that would have been dismissed as too soft or experimental. Instead, the audience sang along to every word, suggesting a fundamental shift in what Chicago considers authentic hiphop expression. Here was proof that Summer Smash's programming wasn't accidental; the festival had correctly identified an audience ready for hip-hop's natural evolution.
Behind the Ski Mask of a Slump God
“I also go by Beyonce as well,” Ski Mask the Slump God jokingly announced before performing “Nuketown” from his 2018 Stokeley album. Ski Mask the Slump God's performance felt like hiphop staring directly into its future. His flow channeled Ole Dirty Bastard's unpredictable energy, but filtered through a distinctly modern lens.
One of the few “SoundCloud” artists to find critical acclaim, the crowd's reaction to “Catch Me Outside” and “Take a Step Back” demonstrated Chicago's appreciation for technical skill and raw
Summer Smash was hosted at SeetGeek stadium in Bridgeview, IL.
Photo by Kristian Parker
energy. But, Ski Mask's most powerful moment came when he transitioned into “Legends,” a poignant tribute to the late Juice WRLD that showcased his ability to balance reverence with lyricism.
And rather than simply covering “Look At Me!”—XXXTENTACION's breakthrough track—he used it as a celebration of his late friend's influence while demonstrating how that legacy continues to catapult his career’s experimental momentum.
Throughout his set, Ski Mask proved that tribute and innovation aren't mutually exclusive. His performance honored hip-hop's recent past while pushing its boundaries forward, evidence of a generation that views genre boundaries as suggestions rather than rules. His seamless flow between high-energy tracks and emotional tributes showed an artist comfortable with hip-hop's expanding emotional vocabulary, exactly the kind of versatility that Summer Smash was designed to showcase.
Day 2 (June 21)
Adios Post Malone, 1900Rugrat’s in Town
Among Day two acts, 1900Rugrat commanded our attention with the presence of an artist on the precipice of something bigger. The crowd moved with every gesture, defying the stiff humidity as he delivered “One Take Freestyle”— the track that launched him into viral recognition in 2024—and “Cheat Codes” with his distinctly recognizable voice cutting through the sweltering stadium.
1900Rugrat represents the festival's
commitment to showcasing hip-hop's next generation. Following the familiar trajectory of SoundCloud-era pioneers like Ski Mask and XXXTentacion, he built his foundation through social media uploads before transitioning to his debut studio album Porch 2 The Pent, released just four months prior in February 2025. His Summer Smash performance showcased the raw charisma that has quickly distinguished him in hip-hop's stifled landscape, suggesting that the festival's curatorial eye extends beyond established names to identify emerging talent worth watching.
Jasiah Deserves More Credit
Saturday's hottest moment—apart from the heat index—came from an unexpected source. Jasiah's appearance
hip-hop to its punk and metal influences, creating a sonic bridge that Chicago's modern musical renaissance could appreciate.
The crowd's response to Jasiah revealed something crucial about Summer Smash's audience: they're not just tolerating musical experimentation, they're actively seeking it. His set became a litmus test for how far Chicago's hiphop scene has evolved from its drill and house roots, and the enthusiastic reception suggested the city is ready for hip-hop's next phase.
Tfelt like discovering the festival's bestkept secret—an artist whose 2025 release, No Holds Barred represents everything Summer Smash claims to champion. His performance embodied the raw energy that connects contemporary alternative
hroughout both days, Chicago's crowd behavior told its own story. The same audiences that championed drill's aggressive authenticity embraced Trippie Redd's familiarity. Fans who grew up with house music's four-on-the-floor rhythms adapted to Ski Mask's irregular flows. This isn’t cultural abandonment, it’s maturity, with Chicago's hip-hop community proving its adaptability while reassessing the bar.
The festival's most cohesive element
Brand new One Bedroom Apartments for Low Income Seniors
Chicago rapper GHerbo took to the main stage on the final day of Summer Smash.
Photo by Kristian Parker
was the influence of XXXTentacion threading through nearly every performance. From Trippie Redd's genre-defying approach to Ski Mask's emotional vulnerability, from Jasiah's alternative aggression to the other acts' experimental freedom, X's impact on hip-hop's willingness to embrace contradiction was everywhere.
The artists Summer Smash showcased don't just rap about struggle— they explore depression, anxiety, intimacy, and loss with the same intensity that previous generations reserved for street
narratives. And they do so by deliberately questioning hip-hop’s standards and rejecting labels.
The weekend revealed that Chicago's hip-hop scene has evolved from gatekeeper to greenhouse, nurturing hip-hop's experimental future. Summer
Smash 2025 didn't just document this evolution—it accelerated it. ¬
NaBeela Washington is an Alabama-raised journalist, poet, and budding art collector whose work explores what’s possible. Learn more at nabeelawashington.com
Despite the rising temperatures, the three day Summer Smash festival drew over 100,000 festival-goers. Photo by Kristian Parker
Rising Florida-rapper 1900Rugrat performed on day two at the Summer Smash festival. Photo by NaBeela Washington
28-year-old Ohio rapper Jasiah on the Summer Smash stage.
Photo by NaBeela Washington
A Reason To Stay: Why Some of Pilsen’s Young Adults Live With Their Parents
As housing prices skyrocket in a gentrifying Chicago neighborhood, living in the family home is one way for young Latino adults to stay in their community.
BY ALONSO VIDAL
This article was published with City Bureau, a nonprofit journalism lab reimagining local news. Support City Bureau’s Civic Reporting fellowship by becoming a recurring donor.
Bibiana Saucedo’s middle-of-thenight art sessions usually end with exhausted brushes and fresh paint scattered around her family’s Pilsen home.
She stays up late so her inspiration doesn’t wane, said Luis Saucedo, her proud father, who despite having done technical drawing his whole life, said he never understood the possibilities of art until he saw his daughter’s work.
“No one messes with her when it comes to art. Take art away from her and forget it—you’re unleashing the lioness,” he said.
Bibiana Saucedo, 23, recently graduated from Columbia College with a bachelor’s degree. She has been doing “art gigs here and there,” but if she weren’t living with her parents, she doesn’t know if she would be able to afford living in Pilsen, the neighborhood where she was born and raised. At home, she also has the space to work on her art.
“I think right now, it is unaffordable to move out,” Saucedo said.
Nationally, living with family has become an increasingly common option for young adults who cannot afford rising rents and housing costs, according to a 2023 study. Around 57% of young adults ages 18-24 lived with their parents in 2024, with the rates increasing slightly since the start of the pandemic, according to federal Current Population Survey data.
While Chicago has higher-thanaverage numbers of young adults living with their parents, Pilsen's unique combination of a largely Latino population
of multigenerational households and rapid gentrification contributing to rising housing costs makes it stand out among the city's neighborhoods. In 2021, when tax bills were calculated using new assessments, the median tax bill in the Lower West Side jumped 46%, driving up rent and pricing out generations of local families.
Wages aren’t keeping up with the cost of living, and the housing supply in the neighborhood isn't keeping up with demand, said Winifred Curran, professor of sustainable urban development at DePaul University, who has extensively researched Pilsen. At the same time, some young adults say living at home isn’t a drawback—it helps them save money, contribute to the family household and stay close to loved ones.
‘The minute that home gets lost, it creates a gap’
Siblings Alejandro Reyes, 20, and Leslie
Ocampo, 19, have lived in Pilsen since they were kids. They now live with their younger brother, Kevin Ocampo, 16, in an apartment their parents divided from their property a few years ago, while their parents and 6-year-old brother live next door.
The older siblings work and contribute to household costs, staying close to family as they take on adult responsibilities. “My parents said it was time for us to start being independent, for the three of us—the older siblings—to live on our own,” Reyes said in Spanish.
Multigenerational housing is common among Latino families, and has been a frequent way for families to stay together and make housing more affordable, housing experts, nonprofit leaders and researchers told City Bureau. In 2021, 58% of young Latino adults lived with their parents, the highest share of any ethnic group, research shows.
But the changes in Pilsen’s population
have left the neighborhood with soaring housing prices, higher-income households, new housing that is less suitable for larger families, and fewer Latinos and Latino children, research shows.
Between 2010 and 2020, the proportion of households in Pilsen making less than $50,000 decreased by about 30 percentage points, and those making over $100,000 more than tripled, according to the DePaul Institute for Housing Studies.
“These wealthier newcomers are likely better equipped to absorb rising tax burdens and rents, while longtime lower-income residents, especially those on fixed incomes, are more likely to be overwhelmed and potentially displaced,” researchers said in a 2023 report.
Many of the young adults who have moved to Pilsen in recent years are from high-income families, mostly white students from nearby universities, contributing to increasing rent prices, said Carolina Sternberg, professor of Latin American and Latino Studies at DePaul University. Higher-priced, multi-unit developments have replaced older properties and driven out Latino families since the 1990s according to her research, although neighborhood leaders have consistently fought large-scale development efforts in order to preserve affordable housing.
“The minute that home gets lost, it creates a gap,” said José Muñoz, CEO of La Casa Norte, which provides housing and support services in multiple communities. “That opportunity doesn't exist for them anymore, and it definitely doesn't exist for them to live in that neighborhood.”
As kids, Reyes and Ocampo said they used to buy everything, from clothes and toys to food and kitchen appliances, at “la tiendita de Doña Elva,” a corner store near their house. That store, along with
Bibiana Saucedo showcases her in-house art space, where she spends late nights working.
Photo by Alonso Vidal/City Bureau
HOUSING
the woman affectionately known as Doña Elva, are gone; in its place is an apartment complex hosting many white families and students, Reyes said.
“It got really depressing here,” Ocampo said about the neighborhood. “Before, it was really beautiful, but now everything is gloomy. Nobody wants to go out.”
Her brother agreed. In recent months, two of their neighbors moved out because they couldn’t afford rent, Reyes said.
“The calm, the peace—it used to feel comfortable to go outside and enjoy playing with other kids, but not anymore. It feels different, like it’s uncomfortable to be out,” Reyes said. “Seeing different people outside that you don’t know.”
“Como güeros,” like white people, Ocampo said in Spanish. “It’s like there are almost no Hispanics or Latinos here anymore.”
Dinner at the Reyes-Ocampo household is a tradition—an opportunity for the family to get together and chat about what’s happening in their lives and their community. Reyes and Ocampo practically salivate as they list their favorite family dishes: Huevos con frijoles, carne asada, tacos de pastores, pozoles.
“Our parents taught us to appreciate having food every day,” Reyes said, “even if it’s something simple.”
A statue of La Virgen de Guadalupe, resting on a bed of white flowers, holds a place of honor in the living room. The family has always been devoted to its religion, attending Sunday mass since the oldest kids were small. But now, it’s hard for Reyes to go—he is constantly working at a local museum.
When his parents almost lost their home due to rising property taxes, Reyes left his computer science studies at University of Illinois Chicago to financially support them.
“It was really hard trying to study while thinking about what kind of debts my parents had,” he said. “Before, I used to see them stressed, unable to sleep … But now I see them calmer, happier.”
Ocampo followed his example and started working for a local cultural organization this year.
“I wanted to help my parents; they’ve already done too much for me,” Ocampo said.
Most young adults living with parents contribute to the household financially,
Leslie Ocampo, 19, (left) and Alejandro Reyes, 20, live semi-independently, sharing a subdivided space with one younger sibling next door from their parents. The siblings help contribute to the family’s household costs.
according to a 2024 Pew Research Center report. Around two-thirds said they pay for groceries or utility bills, and 46% said they help with the rent or mortgage.
Others, like Jasmine Monarrez, 23, contribute in different ways, such as helping with cooking and cleaning around the house.
“I think most people, when they say contributing, I guess what they mean is money,” Monarrez said. “There is a huge stigma within being at home and not contributing.”
Leaving Pilsen and losing connections
Monarrez spent her early years in Pilsen, holding her grandfather’s hand as they walked down cozy residential streets.
They used to live together on 19th Street, along with her parents, grandparents and siblings. Monarrez lived in the middle home, while cousins lived in homes on either side, allowing her to visit extended family any time she wished.
“It was like a bunch of family around all the time,” Monarrez said.
The Monarrez family eventually outgrew the space, and her mother lost her job as a teacher, prompting Monarrez, her parents and siblings to move to southwest suburban Burbank when she was 10. Her grandparents stayed put—they had lived their entire lives in the neighborhood.
The differences between Pilsen and
I’m most thankful for.”
Monarrez wants to move back to Pilsen one day. But right now, she said, “it’s just too expensive.”
‘She’ll be here until she feels ready’
Only a few hours pass before Luis Saucedo asks his wife, Claudia Saucedo: “Hasn’t Bibiana texted you? What is she doing?”
Most days, Luis Saucedo shares the upper unit of their family’s two-flat with his daughter. While Bibiana Saucedo focuses on her art, he works in a corner surrounded by plants she has methodically arranged.
The Saucedos used to rent one of the units and live in the other, as many twoflat owners in Chicago traditionally do as an extra source of income. As Bibiana Saucedo’s art career progressed, they stopped renting it so she could have a larger place to work.
Photo by Alonso Vidal/City Bureau
Burbank were obvious right away, she said.
Monarrez remembers a Pilsen of neighbors—family and friends lived across the street, loved ones she now only sees during Fourth of July block parties. In Burbank, she shares quick greetings with her current neighbors, but it’s not the same.
Monarrez attended a predominantly white high school. Although there was a Latino community, “you really had to dig deep to find those connections,” she said.
Monarrez goes back to Pilsen to visit her grandfather in the same house he has always lived in. As she walks down the familiar corridors, she doesn’t see the street vendors and local businesses she remembers.
Monarrez’s grandfather, a Mexican immigrant, speaks only Spanish, but leaving Pilsen meant Monarrez didn’t learn the language.
“[It] kind of left me conflicted, because I can't really understand my grandpa as much as my older sisters can,” she said. “In a way, that tore me apart.”
After recently graduating from Columbia College, Monarrez lives with her parents and siblings at their Burbank home while she looks for a job.
“They always have supported me in everything that I’ve done,” she said. “It's like having a little village behind you.” Her time living with her extended family in Pilsen was brief, but “learning from them has probably been the greatest thing that
Without that space, Bibiana Saucedo said it would be difficult for her to afford an art studio. She would have to share it with multiple artists for it to even be a possibility.
“She really loves murals and painting big,” Luis Saucedo said smiling, ever the proud father. “I can’t stop talking about her art to everyone.”
Bibiana Saucedo is figuring out the next step in her career, and “it’s nice to be able to do that while living at home with my parents and saving money,” she said. At home, Bibiana always has someone to go to for advice, someone who listens to her, and someone to keep learning from, Luis Salcedo said.
Luis Saucedo had never thought of a home without his daughter, until he spoke to City Bureau in a recent interview.
“I would miss her. It would be boring [without her]. What I think I’d miss the most are the times she comes in and says, ‘Look, I drew this today,’ or ‘I’m thinking of drawing this.’ She’s always asking us for our opinions,” Luis Saucedo said.
There will come a time for Bibiana to live independently, her parents said.
“I want her to be happy, to be independent, to have children and raise them the way we raised her,” Claudia Saucedo said.
But until then, “she’ll be here until she feels ready,” Luis Saucedo added. “Whatever she needs, as long as we can help her. She helps us, too, by being here.” ¬
Por qué algunos adultos jóvenes de Pilsen viven con sus padres
Ante el aumento vertiginoso de los precios de la vivienda en un barrio en proceso de gentrificación, vivir en la casa familiar es una forma para que los jóvenes latinos permanezcan en su comunidad.
POR ALONSO VIDAL TRADUCIDO POR CITY BUREAU Y EDITADO POR SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY
Este artículo fue publicado por City Bureau, un laboratorio de periodismo sin fines de lucro que reimagina las noticias locales. Apoya la beca de Reportaje Cívico de City Bureau convirtiéndote en donante.
Las sesiones de arte nocturnas de Bibiana Saucedo suelen terminar con pinceles agotados y pintura fresca esparcida por la casa de su familia en Pilsen.
Se desvela para que su inspiración no decaiga, dijo Luis Saucedo, su orgulloso padre, quien, a pesar de haber dedicado toda su vida al dibujo técnico, dijo que nunca comprendió las posibilidades del arte hasta que vio la obra de su hija.
"Nadie se mete con ella cuando se trata de arte. Quítale el arte y olvídalo: estás liberando a la leona", dijo.
Bibiana Saucedo, de 23 años, se graduó recientemente de Columbia College con una licenciatura. Ha estado haciendo trabajos artísticos aquí y allá, pero si no viviera con sus padres, no sabe si podría permitirse vivir en Pilsen, el barrio donde nació y creció. En casa, también tiene espacio para trabajar en su arte.
"Creo que ahora mismo es inasequible mudarse", dijo Saucedo.
A nivel nacional, vivir con la familia se ha convertido en una opción cada vez más común para los adultos jóvenes que no pueden afrontar el aumento de las rentas y los costos de la vivienda, según un estudio de 2023. Alrededor del 57% de los adultos jóvenes de entre 18 y 24 años vivían con sus padres en 2024, con tasas que han aumentado ligeramente desde el inicio de la pandemia, según datos de la Encuesta Nacional de Población Actual.
Si bien Chicago tiene una cantidad de adultos jóvenes que viven con sus padres superior al promedio, la singular
combinación de Pilsen, una población mayoritariamente latina de hogares multigeneracionales y una rápida gentrificación que contribuye al aumento de los costos de la vivienda, la distingue de los demás barrios de la ciudad.
En 2021, cuando se calcularon las facturas de impuestos utilizando las nuevas tasaciones, la factura fiscal media en el Lower West Side aumentó 46%, lo que elevó las rentas y dejó fuera del alcance a generaciones de familias locales.
Los salarios no se ajustan al costo de vida y la oferta de viviendas en el barrio no satisface la demanda, afirmó Winifred Curran, profesora de desarrollo urbano sostenible en la Universidad DePaul, quien ha investigado Pilsen a fondo. Al mismo tiempo, algunos jóvenes adultos afirman que vivir en casa no es una desventaja —les ayuda a ahorrar dinero, a contribuir al hogar y a estar cerca de sus seres queridos.
‘En cuanto se pierde una vivienda, se crea un vacío'
Los hermanos Alejandro Reyes, de 20 años, y Leslie Ocampo, de 19, han vivido
en Pilsen desde niños. Ahora viven con su hermano menor, Kevin Ocampo, de 16, en un apartamento que sus padres compartieron de su propiedad hace unos años, mientras que sus padres y su hermano de 6 años viven al lado.
Los hermanos mayores trabajan y contribuyen a los gastos del hogar, manteniéndose cerca de la familia mientras asumen responsabilidades adultas. "Mis padres dijeron que era hora de que empezáramos a ser independientes, que los tres —los hermanos mayores— viviéramos solos", dijo Reyes.
La vivienda multigeneracional es común entre las familias latinas y ha sido una forma frecuente de que las familias permanezcan juntas y hagan que la vivienda sea más asequible, según informaron expertos en vivienda, líderes de organizaciones sin fines de lucro e investigadores a City Bureau. En 2021, el 58% de los jóvenes hispanos adultos vivía con sus padres, la proporción más alta de cualquier grupo étnico, según las investigaciones.
Sin embargo, los cambios en la población de Pilsen han dejado al
vecindario con precios de vivienda en alza, hogares con ingresos más altos, viviendas nuevas menos adecuadas para familias numerosas y menos latinos y niños latinos, según investigaciones.
Entre 2010 y 2020, la proporción de hogares en Pilsen con ingresos inferiores a $50,000 disminuyó en aproximadamente 30 puntos porcentuales, y aquellos con ingresos superiores a $100,000 se triplicó con creces, según el Instituto de Estudios de Vivienda DePaul.
"Estos recién llegados más adinerados probablemente estén mejor preparados para absorber el aumento de la carga fiscal y las rentas, mientras que los residentes de bajos ingresos que llevan mucho tiempo viviendo en la zona, especialmente aquellos con ingresos fijos, tienen más probabilidades de verse abrumados y potencialmente desplazados", señalaron los investigadores en un informe de 2023.
Muchos de los adultos jóvenes que se han mudado a Pilsen en los últimos años provienen de familias con altos ingresos, en su mayoría estudiantes blancos de universidades cercanas, lo que contribuye al aumento de los precios de las rentas, señaló Carolina Sternberg, profesora de Estudios Latinoamericanos y Latinos en la Universidad DePaul. Según su investigación, los complejos residenciales multifamiliares de mayor precio han reemplazado propiedades antiguas y expulsado a familias latinas desde la década de 1990, aunque los líderes vecinales se han opuesto constantemente a los proyectos de desarrollo a gran escala para preservar la vivienda asequible.
“En cuanto se pierde una vivienda, se crea un vacío”, dijo José Muñoz, director ejecutivo de La Casa Norte, que ofrece vivienda y servicios de apoyo en múltiples comunidades. “Esa oportunidad ya no
VIVIENDA
existe para ellos, y vivir en ese vecindario dejó de existir definitivamente”.
De niños, Reyes y Ocampo dijeron que solían comprar de todo, desde ropa y juguetes hasta comida y electrodomésticos, en “la tiendita de Doña Elva”, una tienda de abarrotes cerca de su casa. Esa tienda, junto con la mujer a la que llamaban cariñosamente Doña Elva, ya no está; en su lugar hay un complejo de apartamentos que alberga a muchas familias y estudiantes blancos, dijo Reyes.
“Se volvió muy deprimente aquí”, dijo Ocampo sobre el barrio. “Antes era muy bonito, pero ahora todo es lúgubre. Nadie quiere salir”.
Su hermano coincidió. En los últimos meses, dos de sus vecinos se mudaron porque no podían pagar la renta, dijo Reyes.
“La calma, la paz… antes se sentía cómodo salir y disfrutar jugando con otros niños, pero ya no. Se siente diferente, como si fuera incómodo estar afuera”, dijo Reyes. “Ver afuera a gente diferente que no conoces”.
“Como güeros”, dijo Ocampo. “Es como si ya casi no hubiera hispanos ni latinos aquí”.
Cenar en casa de los Reyes Ocampo es una tradición —una oportunidad para que la familia se reúna y converse sobre lo que sucede en sus vidas y en su comunidad. A Reyes y Ocampo se les hace agua la boca al enumerar sus platillos favoritos: huevos con frijoles, carne asada, tacos de pastor, pozole.
"Nuestros padres nos enseñaron a apreciar la comida diaria", dijo Reyes, "aunque sea algo sencillo".
Una estatua de la Virgen de Guadalupe, sobre un lecho de flores blancas, ocupa un lugar de honor en la sala. La familia siempre ha sido devota de su religión, asistiendo a misa dominical desde que los mayores eran pequeños. Pero ahora, a Reyes le cuesta ir; trabaja constantemente en un museo local.
Cuando sus padres casi pierden su casa debido al aumento del impuesto predial, Reyes dejó sus estudios de informática en la Universidad de Illinois en Chicago para apoyarlos económicamente.
"Era muy difícil estudiar mientras pensaba en las deudas que tenían mis padres", dijo. “Antes los veía estresados, sin poder dormir… Pero ahora los veo más tranquilos, más felices”.
Ocampo siguió su ejemplo y empezó a trabajar para una organización cultural local este año.
hecho demasiado por mí”, dijo Ocampo.
Según un informe de 2024 del Pew Research Center, la mayoría de los jóvenes adultos que viven con sus padres contribuyen económicamente al hogar. Alrededor de dos tercios dijeron que pagan la compra o los servicios públicos, y el 46% dijo que ayuda con la renta o la hipoteca.
Otros, como Jasmine Monarrez, de 23 años, contribuyen de diferentes maneras, como ayudando a cocinar y a limpiar la casa.
“Creo que la mayoría de la gente, cuando dice contribuir, supongo que se refiere al dinero”, dijo Monarrez. “Hay un gran estigma por quedarse en casa y no contribuir”.
Saliendo de Pilsen y perdiendo conexiones
Monarrez pasó sus primeros años en Pilsen, de la mano de su abuelo mientras caminaban por las acogedoras calles residenciales.
Solían vivir juntos en 19th St., junto con sus padres, abuelos y hermanos. Monarrez vivía en la casa del medio, mientras que sus primos vivían en casas a ambos lados, lo que le permitía visitar a su familia extendida cuando quisiera.
"Era como tener a un grupo de familiares alrededor todo el tiempo", dijo Monarrez.
Con el tiempo, la familia Monarrez se quedó pequeña, y su madre perdió su trabajo como maestra, lo que llevó a Monarrez, sus padres y hermanos a mudarse a Burbank, un suburbio al suroeste, cuando tenía 10 años. Sus abuelos se quedaron; habían vivido toda su vida en el barrio.
Las diferencias entre Pilsen y Burbank
“Estará aquí hasta que se sienta lista”
S{olo pasan unas horas cuando Luis Saucedo le pregunta a su esposa, Claudia Saucedo: “¿No te ha escrito Bibiana? ¿Qué está haciendo?”.
Casi todos los días, Luis Saucedo comparte la parte superior de la vivienda familiar de dos pisos con su hija. Mientras Bibiana Saucedo se concentra en su arte, él trabaja en un rincón rodeado de plantas que ella ha ordenado metódicamente.
Monarrez recuerda a un Pilsen de vecinos —familiares y amigos vivían al otro lado de la calle, seres queridos a quienes ahora sólo ve durante las fiestas del 4 de Julio. En Burbank, intercambia saludos breves con sus vecinos actuales, pero no es lo mismo.
Monarrez asistió a una escuela secundaria predominantemente blanca. Aunque había una comunidad hispana, "había que buscar mucho para encontrar esas conexiones", dijo.
Monarrez regresa a Pilsen para visitar a su abuelo en la misma casa donde siempre ha vivido. Al caminar por los pasillos familiares, ya no ve los vendedores ambulantes ni los negocios locales que recuerda.
El abuelo de Monarrez, un inmigrante mexicano, s{olo habla español, pero dejar Pilsen significó que Monarrez no aprendiera el idioma.
"Me dejó en una especie de conflicto, porque no puedo entender a mi abuelo tanto como mis hermanas mayores", dijo. "En cierto modo, eso me destrozó".
Tras graduarse recientemente de Columbia College, Monarrez vive con sus padres y hermanos en su casa de Burbank mientras busca trabajo.
"Siempre me han apoyado en todo lo que he hecho", dijo. "Es como tener un pequeño pueblo detrás". El tiempo que vivió con su familia extendida en Pilsen fue breve, pero "aprender de ellos probablemente ha sido lo más grande por lo que estoy más agradecida". Monarrez quiere volver a Pilsen algún día. Pero ahora mismo, dijo, "es demasiado caro".
Los Saucedo solían alquilar uno de los apartamentos y vivir en el otro, como hacen tradicionalmente muchos propietarios de viviendas de dos pisos en Chicago como una fuente de ingresos extra. A medida que la carrera artística de Bibiana Saucedo progresaba, dejaron de alquilarlo para que pudiera tener un lugar más grande donde trabajar.
Sin ese espacio, Bibiana Saucedo dijo que le sería difícil costear un estudio de arte. Tendría que compartirlo con varios artistas para que fuera siquiera una posibilidad.
“Le encantan los murales y pintar en grande”, dijo Luis Saucedo sonriendo, siempre orgulloso de su hija. “No puedo dejar de hablar de su arte con todo el mundo”. Bibiana Saucedo está decidiendo cuál será el siguiente paso en su carrera, y "es bueno poder hacerlo mientras vivo en casa con mis padres y ahorro dinero", dijo. En casa, Bibiana siempre tiene a alguien a quien recurrir para pedir consejo, alguien que la escuche y alguien de quien seguir aprendiendo, dijo Luis Salcedo.
Luis Saucedo nunca había imaginado un hogar sin su hija, hasta que habló con el City Bureau en una entrevista reciente.
"La extrañaría. Sería aburrido [sin ella]. Lo que creo que extrañaría más son las veces que viene y dice: 'Mira, dibujé esto hoy' o 'Estoy pensando en dibujar esto'. Siempre nos pide nuestra opinión", dijo Luis Saucedo.
Llegará el momento en que Bibiana viva de forma independiente, dijeron sus padres.
"Quiero que sea feliz, que sea independiente, que tenga hijos y los críe como la criamos nosotros", dijo Claudia Saucedo. Pero hasta entonces, "estará aquí hasta que se sienta lista", añadió Luis Saucedo. "Lo que necesite, siempre y cuando podamos ayudarla. Ella también nos ayuda estando aquí". ¬
Jasmine Monarrez frente a su imprenta favorita en Pilsen, mientras una familia
‘Undervalued and Overworked’: How Young Artists Make A Living Without a Living Wage
Artists on the South and West sides rely on free or subsidized community housing and the support of mission-driven arts organizations to maintain their art practices.
BY JASMINE BARNES
This article was published with City Bureau, a nonprofit journalism lab reimagining local news. Support City Bureau’s Civic Reporting fellowship by becoming a recurring donor.
Rakya Graham, 23, is a painter and poet studying art at Harold Washington College in the Loop. Still, her only paying job—a server at The Cheesecake Factory—has nothing to do with her artistic passions.
“In terms of career, I think that’s almost every artist’s dream: to get paid for at least something they do in art,” Graham said.
Young Chicago artists are developing their crafts in hopes of following a rich local legacy of nationally impactful work, ranging from more contemporary performers such as singer-songwriter Jamila Woods to classic playwrights such as Lorraine Hansberry.
What would be a requirement in most professional fields—a living wage— remains a dream for many aspiring young creators. Reliable, well-paid jobs in the arts can be hard to come by.
Arts organizations consistently generate hundreds of millions in local revenue and economic impact through their work, even as the creatives who fuel them struggle to make rent in a city with one of the nation’s highest rates of inflation and a growing housing affordability crisis.
Young South and West side artists who spoke to City Bureau said they split rent with multiple roommates, live at home with family, and work service industry jobs just to keep pursuing their dreams.
Creators also are grappling with broader attacks on arts funding federally and locally, particularly as the movement
against diversity, equity and inclusion undercuts organizations that focus on underserved communities. Local artists have also criticized the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, saying “dysfunction” among leaders is delaying grants and affecting operations when groups are counting on strong local support for the arts.
In the meantime, community arts institutions, accustomed to dealing with shaky funding, are creating opportunities for artists to improve their craft and educate younger generations.
‘Everything keeps getting more expensive’
For Graham, moving from her hometown of Milwaukee to Chicago was a risk in order to invest in her artistic goals in her “dream city,” she said.
She shares a three-bedroom apartment with two roommates on the West Side, works at The Cheesecake Factory and receives financial aid for her tuition at Harold Washington College. Her $11 hourly wage as a server mostly goes to taxes, so she relies on tips ranging from $15-$40 per hour, depending on the season. Her $600 portion of rent makes the fluctuations in pay bearable, she said.
Going to school and networking with friends attending Columbia College help her build connections in Chicago’s creative community, she said. Since relocating, she has participated in fashion shows with the Black-owned collective HourNine, performed slam poetry at the Big Kid Show at Dorian’s, and started promoting her work.
“I'm not paid for most of my art right now, but I feel like I've developed my
community to be as big and resourceful as it was in Milwaukee,” Graham said.
Jala Bowers, 22, is graduating from Columbia College in the South Loop later this year with a degree in fine arts. She has made her studies possible at the private arts school by working part-time at Starbucks, getting scholarships and living rent-free with her parents in South Chicago—a half-hour Metra train ride from school.
She feels particularly aware of what an affordable and supportive situation she’s in as she faces the prospect of living on her own. She feels confident in her work prospects to become an art teacher and also hopes to pursue a master’s degree in education at Illinois State University.
“I will have a job,” Bowers said. “I enjoyed my high school [art education] experience, and I really just want to help
other high schoolers who want to go to
But higher education isn’t a panacea for an artistic livelihood. Nakiya’h Longstreet, 21, has faced recent challenges as he pursues his career and education.
In 2024, a glitch in his financial aid led to unexpected debt and forced him to take a semester off from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, he said. He’s living with his grandparents and working at a restaurant while his financial aid gets
“It’s been rough, honestly,” Longstreet said. “Everything keeps
Longstreet has been investing in his artistic practice since middle school. His multidisciplinary approach includes painting, drawing and printmaking. He’s also passionate about serving his community, which inspired him to create Skate Englewood, an initiative that provides skateboards to youth in his neighborhood.
“I’m focusing on my artistic work that’s carrying my business forward and the entrepreneurship side, as well as starting a nonprofit for the Skate Englewood project,” Longstreet said.
Andrew Michaelson, the vice president of property development at Artspace Projects, knows that affordable housing is key to providing artists some stability.
The national company’s residential properties, such as the Pullman Artspace Loft on the Far South Side, rent apartments to artists who qualify for lowincome housing. The Pullman building offers rents starting at $882 for a studio apartment and up to $1,367 for a two-
Rakya Graham stands outside Harold Washington College in the Loop, where she studies art.
Photo by Akilah Townsend/for City Bureau
bedroom as of 2025. For comparison, average Chicago rents for studio apartments in June range from $1,256 to $1,572 a month, while two-bedrooms exceed $2,000 a month.
Offering “permanently affordable, dignified space for people to live and work” provides the resources artists are least likely to have consistently, Michaleson said.
Still, it’s a grind for resident artists to cover their living costs, he added.
“Most of, if not all of, our residents [at the Pullman Artspace Lofts] are working in a certain 9-to-5 or service industry type of position, and doing their arts in addition to that,” Michaleson said. “Their economic contribution exceeds just your standard workforce, because they're also participating in that creative economy.”
Maricela Ramirez, the senior manager of outreach and youth pathway programs at Marwen, stands outside the building on April 19, 2025.
Photo by Max Herman/for City Bureau
“Your artistic skill set and your creative thinking is totally a totally transferable skill to other professions that you might succeed in,” she said.
Refusing the ‘starving artist’ trope
Working as a teaching artist is a common way artists find reliable, paid work and share their craft with others. These types of jobs pay around $30 per hour on average in Illinois, compared to just above $26 per hour nationally, according
“I feel like it's a very crucial time to have the arts as a way of bringing people together, and also for folks [to] use art as a tool for social change,” Ramirez said. “In my programming, [I] really show young people that you have the agency and you have the power and the brilliance to make a difference in our communities.”
Reflecting on her work with young people, Ramirez said financial anxiety and the fear of being a “starving artist” comes up regularly.
There are newer affordable housing spaces for artists on the South and West sides, such as KLEO Art Residences in Washington Park, the Paseo Boricua Arts Building in Humboldt Park, and the Dorchester Art and Housing Collaborative in South Shore, but they only house a fraction of the city’s creative workforce.
An entrepreneurial approach
That persistent grind is familiar for both new and established creators alike working in the arts.
Jordan Campbell, a professional photographer and co-founder of the community arts nonprofit Alt Space Chicago (styled as “alt_”), worked at fast food places, scrubbed floors, cleaned toilets, moved furniture and drove for Uber early in his career.
Campbell and his creative and business partners worked in the service industry well into starting alt_. Now 34, he makes a living providing arts education, mentorship, job training, and community resources to other artists and his neighbors on the West Side.
“I think when we're talking about wages, we're talking about systemic oppression,” Campbell said. Because artwork isn’t always seen as wholly valuable on its own and deserving of a full salary, “artists are undervalued and
overworked … and you’re seeing this very competitive and very minimal yield that’s coming out of our contribution as artists,” he said.
Campbell’s main advice to young artists is to make sure they are “incrementally, continually investing” in their arts practice, even if it’s not their main or only source of income.
“I think when it comes to entrepreneurship, there is no true road map. It's really about you recognizing who you are and what you're aiming to contribute to the world,” he said.
Englewood native and social justice artist Tonika Lewis Johnson knows how important adaptability is when pursuing an artistic, community-oriented lifestyle.
For many years, she pursued her photography and creative endeavors while working full-time as a grant writer and nonprofit leader. That started to change when the Folded Map Project, which illustrates urban segregation in Chicago, began generating local and national attention and facilitated a career revolving around her art.
[Editor’s note: Johnson began her work on the Folded Map Project as a City Bureau fellow in 2017.]
When advising young artists, Johnson, 45, emphasizes the many ways creative skills can be applied in the workforce.
Marwen, an arts nonprofit based in the West Loop, offers programs and resources for young people, often inviting them back as adults to work as emerging teaching artists. Nakiya’h Longstreet spent much of his middle and high school years developing his portfolio at Marwen offices, preparing to apply to arts school, he said.
Maricela Ramirez, the organization’s senior manager of outreach and youth pathway programs, was one
“The most common trend that we see is young people just being scared of not making money because they feel like art is just like a hobby,” Ramirez said.
Arts + Public Life, an initiative of UChicago Arts, has also brought back alumni of its paid job training programs to join the staff or become instructors.
Julia Hinojosa, the associate director of education programs, told City Bureau earlier this year she sees perceptions shifting around having a viable career in the arts.
“[More people are] finding ways to marry [their] passions with the ability to receive compensation,” Hinojosa said. Graham, meanwhile, is continuing to figure out what it looks like to balance her love for art and making a stable living. Growing up financially insecure, she was originally determined to have a sustainable, full-time arts career. Any other reality would have felt like a personal failing, she said.
Her perspective has evolved. She’s open to having a 9-to-5 job and pursuing her artistic projects separately. A few months ago, she achieved one of her dreams: selling one of her original paintings. Although she only made $40 from the sale, the acknowledgement of her talent and monetary investment in her work has motivated her “to keep
Despite the obstacles, a dedicated, entrepreneurial spirit inspires young artists to continue pursuing their dreams.
“As artists, we're gift givers,” Campbell said. “I create something that is an offering that I'm extending to the culture, to the people.”
What artists want in return for their gifts is quite simple: a living wage. ¬
SATURDAY, JULY 12, NOON Parking Lot to f .5 5S hicago
Ambulance andFireTruck Tours
Back-to-School Giveaways
DJ Entertainment Educational andInteractive Booths
