Welcome to the Kalen for 44th Ward campaign newsletter. It’s a newsletter that’s focused on how we can make a better Lakeview for All, together.
Before we dive in: This campaign is powered by neighbors — not corporations — and we need your help to run this grassroots effort. Donate to support this grassroots campaign! I need your help to fight for all of us! Thank you!
We also need volunteers to knock on doors and talk to neighbors about our vision for Lakeview. Sign up to canvass throughout the week and every weekend!
Policy Corner
Election Day is tomorrow, November 3. Make your voting plan now. Yes, right now. While the municipal elections aren’t until February 23, it’s still important to vote in this one. Federal, state, county, and local races are all on the line, and the choices made this year will shape our lives for years. Your voice matters, and the right to use it is under threat. So use it.
If you haven’t registered to vote already, you can register at an early voting site or on Election Day! You just need to be over 18 and a US citizen, and have two forms of ID (one of which needs to have your home address on it). To find where your polling place is, use this tool from the IL State Board of Elections. Again, please get out and vote!
Getting Schooled: Chicago Edition
This year’s election is particularly important for Chicago, and likely not for the reason you’d expect. On Tuesday, Chicagoans will vote for the first fully elected school board in our city’s history.
For nearly 30 years, Chicago’s mayor appointed everyone who ran our public schools. Those appointees set the budget, signed the contracts, and decided which schools stayed open–often in line with the mayor’s own agenda and political goals. It was democratic, albeit indirectly, but fostered a culture of patronage and often overrode what was best for the city’s communities in favor of city politics.
In 2013, Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s appointed board closed nearly 50 schools at once. It was the largest mass school closure in our country’s history. Most of the schools closed were in Black and Brown neighborhoods on the South and West Sides of the city, and families had no say in the drastic measure. Since then, parents, teachers, and neighbors have spent years fighting for the right to elect their own school board.
On Election Day, that fight pays off. Thanks to two state laws passed in 2021 and 2024, Chicago will be able to elect the first directly democratically elected school board in our city’s history. It should be a victory lap for democracy and organizing, but instead, billionaires and privatizers are trying to buy the result in order to instill a school board that will support additional charter schools and an expanded voucher system, which they can turn a profit on. Yes, our schools face budget shortfalls and the threat of more closures, and yes, the hybrid board has often looked more like a political brawl than a place to solve problems, but that doesn’t justify hollowing out of our educational infrastructure further–our kids deserve better, and as tax payers, so do we. Enough is enough.
Endorsement Alert!
This is where Karen Zaccor comes in. She’s running for the Chicago School Board in District 4A, which covers Lakeview, North Center, Uptown, and Edgewater. I’m proud to give her my endorsement. Karen was a CPS teacher for 29 years, and a huge part of the fight to make an elected school board in Chicago into a reality. As an incumbent school board member, she has helped keep five schools from closing, and has coordinated student patrols and worked with school administrators and aldermanic offices to stand up rapid response teams in response to ICE’s Operation Midway Blitz. She has also spent years building relationships with legislators and organizers across Illinois to win the state funding that our schools need.
Karen’s opponent is backed by more than $600,000 from billionaires and privatizers. Karen isn’t. Chicago is tired of the wealthy and well-connected thinking they can buy our elections. For decades, a mayor-appointed board worked for insiders. Now that we finally have a board we elect, it should work for us.
Karen has been a champion for our community for 40 years, and she’s the progressive fighter we need for fully funded public schools. Chicagoans have fought for and won the chance to choose who runs our schools, and tomorrow, we will be able to use it for the first time. I’ll be voting for Karen Zaccor for District 4A, and I hope you join me in doing so (either early or on Tuesday, November 3)!
I’ll see you on the other side of Election Day. Buckle up–it’s going to be a doozy.
This Week in Running for Office
What have I been up to?
Tuesday, October 27
I joined the Chi Community Jail Support Fundraiser at the Second Unitarian Church of Chicago in the evening for a Next Door Dinner. This community dinner project is fully volunteer-run and donates proceeds to mutual aid in the city.
Thursday, October 29
I participated in the monthly DSA Lakeview Social at Cheesie's Pub & Grub, which is in Lakeview right next to the Belmont Red/Brown/Purple Line Station!
Saturday, October 31
Canvassing never ends, so we continued our Kalen for 44th Ward Canvassing.
Sunday, November 1
On Sunday, Kalen for 44th Ward Canvassing continued canvassing in Lakeview.
What’s coming up next?
Tuesday, November 3
Election Day Poll Passing for Karen Zaccor and Kalen Luciano: November 3rd is Election Day! Don’t forget to vote. You can also join us on Election Day to talk to voters on their way to the polls about Karen Zaccor for School Board district 4A and myself.
Blue Wave By The Lake: I am looking forward to joining Guerrilla Press as they host Blue Wave By The Lake, a Chicago-style progressive midterm results watch party! It takes place at 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. at The Annoyance Theater. Festivities will continue until all major races are called or the bar closes, whichever comes first.
Wednesday, November 4
2800 N. Sheridan Development Meeting: I’ll be participating in this important virtual meeting from 5:30-6:30 pm called to discuss new homes that could be coming to Lakeview. We need to be sure to fight back against those who want to prioritize views over affordable, abundant homes. Join us.
Friday, November 6
Nettlehorst Bike Bus: Join the ride from 7:30 a.m. to 8:00 a.m.! More details at https://nettelhorstbikebus.org/route.
Get Involved!
Palin’ with Kalen
Happy Halloween! Even though I’m busy campaigning, I took some time to enjoy the festive Halloween holiday. It’s important to do things to relax and have fun. It reminds us of why we are out there fighting for the good life we all want to have. To my comms team’s disappointment, I forgot to take a photo of my costume, but here’s some highlights from last year!
