Posted inInvestigations

Invited in Only to be Shut Out

The city’s premiere development initiative, Invest South/West, has brought hope to areas long ignored by developers and the promise of hundreds of millions of dollars. But some residents say they’ve been left out of real decision-making on the major projects coming to their areas.

by Rachel Hinton and Sidnee King Pineda January 5, 2023March 2, 2023

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Invited in Only to be Shut Out

by Rachel Hinton and Sidnee King Pineda, Illinois Answers Project
January 5, 2023

<h1>Invited in Only to be Shut Out</h1>
<p class="byline">by Rachel Hinton and Sidnee King Pineda, Illinois Answers Project <br />January 5, 2023</p>
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Bill Smiljanic-Pérez, a community organizer who took part in the city's Invest South/West planning process, called it "a facade, it's a veneer. The city talks about engaging communities, but they drag you along and then do what they want in the end.” He is seen above next to the former Pioneer Bank at North Avenue and Pulaski Road, a site for city redevelopment. (Victor Hilitski/For the Illinois Answers Project)

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Tagged: Invest South/West

Rachel Hinton

Rachel Hinton is an investigative reporter with Block Club Chicago and had a similar role at the Illinois Answers Project from 2022 to 2023.

More by Rachel Hinton

Sidnee King Pineda

sking@illinoisanswers.org

Sidnee King Pineda joined the Illinois Answers Project (BGA) in late 2020 as an investigative reporter covering the impacts of Chicago, Cook County and Illinois government action on communities of color. Sidnee is a metro Detroit native who received her master's degree from Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism just before joining the BGA. She is also a proud graduate of Howard University in Washington, D.C. She joined The New York Times’s Local Investigations Fellowship last year. You can find some of Sidnee's previous work published in outlets like The Washington Post, Vox.com, and the Michigan Chronicle.

More by Sidnee King Pineda