The Renaissance Letter: Mayor Chris Clark announces bid for Thornton Township Supervisor

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Embattled Mayor Chris Clark has officially thrown his hat into the race for Thornton Township Supervisor in 2025. Here are the top five things you need to know for the week of November 25, 2024.

5. With 154th St. road improvements delayed, downtown businesses begin to fill pinch

Local restaurants on 154th St. are lamenting to customers that delayed infrastructure improvements along the commercial artery are driving customers away, the HWH has learned. Since July, the strip has been closed between Wood St. and Broadway Ave. to make way for street improvements, ending in November. Once complete, new curbs, paved streets, and gutters will greet residents. But the project is severely delayed. City officials have not provided an updated timeline as to when the area will be welcoming again to pedestrian and vehicle traffic, the absence of which is causing mom-and-pop shops to fill the pinch on revenues.

4. Three people killed after struck by train along Park Ave.

After passing through lowered cross gates, three people were killed as they struck a moving train the early afternoon of November 20 on 152nd St. and Park Ave. One of those confirmed deaths is Keith A. Walker, 32, of Blue Island, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office. The other two individuals have not yet been identified.

3. Building department closed until January 2025 for digital modernization

Harvey residents who must access the building department in-person will need to resort to online means through the new year, the city announced via website community alert. Between December 2, 2024, and January 17, 2025, the building department, located downstairs at City Hall, will be closed to the public to “digitize procedures and important records.” Business license inquiries can be directed toward Director of Economic Development Cesar Suarez at csuarez@cityofharveyil.gov. Access contractor licenses, permit, and building forms on the city’s website. Address additional concerns here.

2. Cook County approves annual budget with $15 million earmarked for homeowner property tax relief

The fiscal year 2025 budget, approved by the Cook County Board of Commissioners last week, sets aside $15 million in the general fund to assist homeowners who have experienced sharp increases in their property tax bills. The idea was pitched this September by Commissioner Bridget Gainer (10th). Commissioners John P. Daley (11th) and Bill Lowry (3rd) co-sponsored the amendment, allocating the funds from the county’s general fund. Additional procedural details, including eligibility, are still forthcoming.

1. Mayor Chris Clark announces bid for Thornton Township Supervisor

This summer, after Clark filed his “Reform Thornton Township Party” paperwork with the state, community speculation abound he was eyeing a run for the supervisor position, arguably the most influential in the south suburbs. The news is officially out: he’s running on a five-person slate that includes City Administrator Corean Davis, who is also a South Holland School District 151 board member, and Ald. Dominique Randle-El (5th). They filed petitions November 18, the deadline for those in non-established parties to file. 

But township electoral politics are different than those of municipal or state races; there’s a caucus to select Democratic candidates. That said, the Democratic Party will nominate a candidate for supervisor, four trustees, the highway commissioner, clerk, and assessor on December 3 at 7:00 P.M. at the Homewood-Flossmoor Park District Auditorium, according to public notice.