| 3 | August 21, 1986 meeting

August 21st was a warm Thursday evening and our meeting drew about 150 people to the playlot. The turnout wildly exceeded my hopes. We passed around sign in sheets. Carrie Jacobson brought her supervisor and the14^th Police District community relations representative. The Park District agreed to regular cleanups, and the police promised more frequent patrols. But Jacobson said capital improvements had to be approved by Park District Commissioner Jesse Madison.

After the meeting, our committee “de-briefed” with Manuel, at his insistence. De-briefing became a regular feature after public meetings, where we analyzed events, observed pluses and minuses, and decided on next steps. We celebrated our “victory”, winning cleanups and police attention. We decided Carrie Jacobson lacked power to order further changes, and that we should contact Jesse Madison directly. We wanted to invite him to a “dream meeting”, where residents could say what improvements they wanted. ¹

In September, the Logan Square Free Press wrote an article about our efforts², and Carrie Jacobson arranged a meeting with Jesse Madison’s representative, who said Jesse Madison would come out and speak to our community on October 16^th. We reserved the First Spanish United Church of Christ at the corner of Kimball and Wrightwood, which also housed La Progresiva daycare center, with 50 pre-school children who used the playlot every day. The Columbian-born pastor, Samuel Acosta, strongly supported our playlot objectives. Delia sent Madison a letter, confirming his appearance.³

1^. Appendix p4 (agenda for September committee meeting, planning “dream meeting”)

2^. Appendix p5 (Logan Square Free Press article, September 11, 1986)

3^. Appendix p6 (letter from Delia Torres to Jesse Madison)