Harvey Park District cancels meeting, leaving residents in freezing cold

A representative at the headquarters indicated via phone call earlier that day that the meeting would be rescheduled. But since no notice was posted online or in-person, residents still showed up.

By Amethyst J. Davis

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January 25, 2026

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The Harvey Park District cancelled its first meeting of the year but a snag in communication left Harvey residents in 30 degree weather.

Staff did not indicate why the meeting was cancelled but did tell an HWH reporter earlier that day via a phone call to the Broadway Ave. headquarters that the meeting would be rescheduled. A tentative date was not provided.

That information was not posted to the district’s website, headquarters, or Gloria Taylor Center, where meetings are held, or frequently used official Facebook page. In 45-degree weather, with a real feel of 30 degrees, residents still showed up to attend the session.

The cancellation was a surprise to commissioner La’Keisha Brown-O’Neal, elected in April 2025. “I was not aware that the meeting was cancelled. Not at all. No email, no phone calls, no anything,” Brown-O’Neal said. Brown-O’Neal is the co-plaintiff in a lawsuit against board leadership, including executive director Kisha McCaskill, alleging she and others have blocked Brown-O’Neal from being able to serve. “I don’t know what we pay or how we pay it,” she said.

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The park district holds its meetings quarterly on the second Tuesday. The next regularly scheduled meeting is April 14 at 6:00 P.M. at the Gloria Taylor Center.

Author

Amethyst J. Davis

Amethyst J. Davis is responsible for spearheading the growth and development of the HWH, including outlining the editorial trajectory and content. She also produces “The Renaissance Letter,” our biweekly email newsletter, edits content, and fact-checks stories prior to publication. Amethyst was an administrator at New York University before launching her journalism career. She was previously a member of the Sounding Board, the community advisory board for Chicago Public Media, which includes WBEZ Chicago and the Chicago Sun-Times.

Amethyst is a 2023 Leader of a New Chicago award recipient, as recognized by the Field Foundation and MacArthur Foundation. She was named to Forbes 30 Under 30.

In 2022, Amethyst was a Casey Fellow with the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) Black News & Views. She is a sought after speaker on community journalism and has given talks at institutions like DePaul University and the University of Kansas. Amethyst is a regular guest on City Cast Chicago.

She was invited by Harvard University to submit a 2023 and 2024 Nieman Lab prediction. Under her leadership, the HWH has become one of the nation’s most-watched hyperlocal newsrooms. The HWH has received national coverage in publications like Poynter, Harvard University’s Nieman Lab, the National Press Journalism Club Institute, and Editor & Publisher.

A Harvey native, Amethyst is a Brooks Middle School (’11) and Thornton Township High School alum (‘15) and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from NYU (BA’19). She is an alumna of the Data and Policy Summer Scholar program at the University of Chicago.