Season’s greetings, Chicago.
Like many of my fellow Chicagoans, I find myself during this time taking stock of the year that was and what lies ahead. While I am certainly thinking about the quality time I’ll be able to spend with my loved ones, I’m also pondering what the next year will hold for our city. Collectively, we’ve experienced our fair share of challenges over the past two years — challenges that have changed us and our city in unimaginable ways. But the one thing that’s remained the same is our commitment to sticking together and weathering any storm that comes our way.
Though there is no way to predict what 2023 has in store, I know that this commitment, which makes us the resilient and united Chicagoans we are today, will prepare us well for the future. So, with the holidays approaching and the new year around the corner, I’ve got some wishes for Chicago that will ensure our continued resiliency and unity. They’re neighborly empathy, ensuring the safety and well-being of all residents and optimism for 2023 and beyond.
Having more empathy for our neighbors is, without a doubt, one of the hopes I have for the new year. In the aftermath of a pandemic that has taken so much from us, we must be mindful of the fact that the holidays don’t look or feel the same for everyone. This is a time to be empathetic to our neighbors, accepting of one another’s experiences and being grateful for and giving with what we have.
I was reminded of these values this month when I had the great honor to speak at St. Leonard’s Ministries, an organization that is doing phenomenal work to support men and women coming home after incarceration so that they can be productive members of community and avoid being a recidivism statistic. As Chicago’s mayor and the sister of a returning resident, I know just how important it is to show up for those experiencing hardship and ensure they are not left behind — especially during the holidays.
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If we all make the effort to check in on our neighbors and lend a helping hand wherever possible, we can and will enter 2023 more united than ever before.
I also will reaffirm our commitment to the safety and well-being of every person who calls this city home. That’s because community safety remains a core pillar of my administration and why I will not rest until Chicago becomes the safest big city in America. No Chicagoan deserves to feel unsafe while traveling around our city, much less in their own communities — period.
We need to keep supporting our fearless officers and aid them in the work they do every day to keep us safe. We also need to continue uplifting the daily work of our neighbors who work for peace block by block. That’s why I have and will continue to prioritize partnerships with our community leaders, who know their neighborhoods best and are well equipped to drive positive change for our residents.
My last wish for Chicago is simple: for us to continue being optimistic about the future of our great city because we have every reason to be hopeful. We’ve grown together in ways unlike before over this past year and were able to celebrate several signs of our city’s post-pandemic economic recovery. For example, look no further than when we welcomed Google’s new headquarters downtown, as well as more than 330 new or expanding businesses to our city’s limits. Or when we marked an investment milestone by funneling $2 billion into historically underserved communities through our signature neighborhood development initiative INVEST South/West. These celebrations were then amplified by several financial upgrades.
There are great things happening across our city every day, and we need to revel in those gifts. All of this is a testament to our resiliency and shared determination to create a better city for ourselves and those who come after us. I know how hard optimism is to come by during challenging times. But what I also know is that staying hopeful about the future of our city is essential to remaining motivated and focused on our shared journey toward change.
No matter how or what holiday you’re celebrating this season, I hope that you’ll take a moment to bask in the magical beauty our city exudes during this time of the year. I also encourage you to reflect on how you can enhance that beauty as well as work with others to make our city even greater in 2023. We are, after all, better and stronger together.
Lori Lightfoot is mayor of Chicago.
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