Chicago Chinatown Groups Launch Petition Over 'The 78' Stadium Traffic, Push Referendum to Lock In Five Demands
Chicago Chinatown community organizations published a statement on November 9 voicing concern that the stadium project at "The 78" development will paralyze traffic in Chinatown, and have launched a petition drive seeking a referendum to lock in five community demands. "The 78" is a large development on the south bank of the Chicago River; its planned stadium sits right next to Chinatown, and residents worry that game-day traffic and crowds will clog the neighborhood's already strained streets, affecting residents' travel and local businesses.
Groups including the Coalition for a Better Chinese American Community noted that the City Council has already approved $425 million in tax increment financing for public infrastructure at The 78, while community demands on traffic, housing and other issues remain unsecured. The coalition called for the five demands to be written into a binding arrangement and put to residents directly through a referendum.
The statement also reviewed Chinatown's recent situation: a draft Chicago Public Schools budget that would cut 760 teaching positions, and continued low midterm-election turnout in Chinatown. Community organizations said they would keep knocking on doors to mobilize Chinese American voters to speak up rather than remain a "silent minority," and to make change happen.
Source: Coalition for a Better Chinese American Community
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：芝加哥华埠牌楼（华埠广场一带）。图片来源：Wikimedia Commons，Warren LeMay from Chicago, IL, United States 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0。 Image: The Chinatown Gate in Chicago's Chinatown. Source: Wikimedia Commons, photo by Warren LeMay from Chicago, IL, United States, CC BY-SA 4.0.
