Dear Hyde Park Business Community, 

On behalf of the Hyde Park Vitality Committee (Hyde Park Chamber of Commerce, Nichols Park Advisory Council, South East Chicago Commission/Special Service Area SSA #61, the University of Chicago Commercial Real Estate Operations Group/Office of Civic Engagement, and McCaffery) let us wish you a BOOtiful rest of October. 

As we are all aware, Halloween 2020 is just around the corner on Saturday October 31st! The City of Chicago Mayor, Lori E. Lightfoot and the Chicago Department of Public Health recently announced a plan to safely celebrate Halloween in Chicago that emphasizes social distancing and other safety precautions while allowing trick-or-treating and other fun activities throughout the week.   

In a recent article in the Hyde Park Herald, it was written “The long-feared second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic is hitting Chicago, and numbers are up in the Hyde Park area”. City officials are not yet taking steps like closing restaurants and other public accommodations, but Mayor Lori Lightfoot said she will if cases continue to rise. The surge is happening across gender, age, location, race and ethnicity, making a targeted intervention more difficult. “If we don’t see a dramatic turnaround in our numbers and soon, then we will not hesitate to take the steps that are necessary to save our city, to save our residents,” she said at an Oct. 19 press conference. 

While most people who come to Hyde Park on Halloween are here to enjoy the holiday, over the past five years we have seen an influx of young adults who have created chaos and ruckus in the community on or around October 31, resulting in vandalism, property damage, unruly behavior and a few minor arrests. This has not been related to civil rights protests over this past year, however, we as a community must be mindful of the current political climate and work together for a positive day for all. 

We are reaching out to you as a member of the Hyde Park business community, to do your part to help make this a safe and positive evening in Hyde Park: 

• Due to COVID-19, we strongly recommend that your business does NOT pass out candy this   year and work to protect your staff, your customers and your community by limiting unnecessary interactions that may enhance transmission of the virus.  
• Do not sell eggs 
• Have additional staff/security on hand 
• Create an emergency procedure plan 
• Turn your security cameras facing the street and front door 
• In the event of an emergency, please call 9-1-1.  

The City and University Police will be present in Hyde Park and have rapid response capability to deploy officers quickly to trouble spots. For more information regarding local safety efforts, please contact Prentice Butler at the 4th Ward Alderman’s Office at prentice.butler@cityofchicago.org or Lanita Ross at the 5th Ward Alderman’s Office at lanita.ross@cityofchicago.org.