52nd & Luna Neighbors Fight City, Win

By Tim Hadac
Managing Editor
Southwest Chicago Post

You may recall the mess we brought to light 13 months ago, about how the City of Chicago installed curb bump-outs at 52nd and Luna, angering most residents of the block, who

neither wanted nor asked for the "traffic calming" measure.

Read the story and learn the background by clicking here.

Well, there's good news to report, at long last.

Susan Donner Stacken, who lives right there and who walked her block to poll her neighbors and rally support against the bump-outs (and was doubtless told she was wasting her time, because you can't fight City Hall) told the Southwest Chicago Post this week that she had "been in disbelief" (pleasantly so) after learning from the office of 14th Ward Alderman Edward M. Burke that the city would remove the bump-outs this week.

She also said she received a letter from 23rd Ward Alderman Michael R. Zalewski, saying he recommends the removal of the bump-outs. (And that's a reversal of course for him, because the bump-outs were installed at his request last year, when 52nd and Luna was still in the 23rd Ward, before the latest aldermanic re-districting went into effect.)

"I'm thrilled that Alderman Burke followed through with an issue he did not create, but [which] fell on his lap due to ward restructuring...and Alderman Zalewski reconsidered the necessity of these bump-outs and wrote a letter to Burke in agreement with removal....my neighbors are thrilled we banded together and fought something unfair...unnecessary and ridiculous....AND WE WON," Susan Donner Stacken wrote to the Southwest Chicago Post this week.

"Thank you for all your support and direction, Tim. I feel like I fought the law and I won," she added.

She was generous enough to snap a few photos and share images of the bump-outs after they were removed. You can see them below. The city just needs to pour asphalt and get the street back to its former condition, which is certainly doable.

We at the Southwest Chicago Post tip our cap to Alderman Burke and his staff for listening,

Alderman Edward M. Burke

hearing and acting upon the concerns of the large majority of people on the 5200 block of South Luna. As he has countless times in his decades of public service, Burke has come through for the people he is privileged to represent. Well done, Alderman.

Additionally, we congratulate Susan Donner Stacken for refusing to put up with nonsense from City Hall, rallying her neighbors, staying on the case for months, and being a force for good on her block and in the neighborhood.

May her actions serve as an example for us all. We truly do get what we put up with, and she (and her neighbors) refused to put up with a bone-headed decision by city officials. 

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