Alderman Silvana Tabares held the grand opening of her new office on Saturday, May 16, at 5680 S. Archer Ave., bringing expanded hours and neighborhood convenience to Chicago’s 23rd Ward.
The office, which opened in January, is the alderman’s second location. Tabares kept her West Lawn office and moved to the new larger Archer Avenue site to serve constituents who work during traditional business hours. Starting now, the new office will be open every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
“We outgrew our space at the previous office so we’ve been working really hard in making sure that we have two Ward offices,” Tabares said. “This one in particular, we’re going to open it up every Saturday from now on. We’re going to be offering city services for anybody who wants to come in on a Saturday morning who can’t make it in during the week.”
The Saturday schedule addresses a real need. Last-minute permit requests for garage sales and block parties often come up on weekends, and the alderman’s office is now positioned to handle them.
Frank Vaickus prepares to provide musical entertainment for opening attendees. He decided to play violin because he heard a lot of CDs with violin music. “I liked how it sounded so I wanted to have a violin of my own,” he said. “I’ll keep playing until I master it and get into the Slam; it’s like the professional group.” Credit: Robin Sluzas / Southwest Regional Publishing 
“The office looks great,” said ward resident Teresa Raso. “I think they’re going to have very successful days at this location.” 
Long-time southwest side residents, Marilyn and Jim Gilroy, who met in high school and reunited to marry later, toured the new ward office on Saturday. “I wish her a long and successful run and maybe on to bigger and better things in the future,” Marilyn said.
Hub for neighborhood services
The location itself is a draw. The new office sits in a strip mall that, with the addition of the 23rd ward office, has become a neighborhood service center featuring two existing city service offices: the Chicago City Clerk’s satellite office at 5672 S. Archer and the Garfield Ridge Satellite Senior Center at 5674B S. Archer Ave., Unit B (operated by the Southwest Side Senior Service Organization and the City’s Department of Family and Support Services).
“We’re very conveniently located; we’re literally in the middle of the ward,” Tabares said. “And the Senior Center — we have a lot of seniors who are making their way to the senior center and they stop by with their concerns so it’s very convenient.”
The alderman’s office serves as a neighborhood government headquarters, handling a wide range of constituent services. Residents can learn about job fair notices, information on City of Chicago job openings, internship opportunities, fee-waived pet adoption notices from Chicago Animal Care and Control and scholarship programs via the alderman’s regular digital newsletter.
The office also helps with snow removal, sponsors back-to-school health and other resource events including senior and children’s events and resources.
Beyond day-to-day services, the office coordinates door-to-door canvassing on neighborhood issues, tracks local business openings and closures, and manages zoning and development in the ward.
Tabares and her staff also participate in and sponsor town halls and CAPS (Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy) meetings, keeping residents informed about public safety initiatives and local government action.
As an alderman, Tabares sits on eight City Council committees. Committee members sponsor, introduce, consider and vote on resolutions and ordinances representing constituents’ needs and wants. The ward office is where that work begins — listening to residents, identifying problems, and solving them.
Tabares and her team invested time and effort in the space, even with help from family members. New signage marks the office entrance, landscaping — including trees and flowers planted with help from the alderman’s mother — frames the entrance, and ample parking is available.
The alderman’s son, 9-year-old Michael, is volunteering on weekends. Michael said the large sign above the entrance is his favorite part, and he pointed out the ample parking.
The most common questions Tabares receives are about street maintenance, tree trimming, pothole filling, and street sweeping. With summer construction season underway, she expects more inquiries about ward work.
Constituents have already responded. Marilyn Gilroy, a ward resident, toured the office on opening day.
“I think it’s great,” she said. “It’s nice to get block sale permits and permits for block parties. I think Alderman Tabares is fantastic.”
Constituent Teresa Raso praised the office’s help navigating senior discounts on utility and property tax bills.
“They made it so easy,” Raso said. “If I had to fill the forms out by myself I would have never known what to do.”
The grand opening also featured live music. Nine-year-old Frank Vaickus, performed violin selections including “Samba la Bamba.” Vaickus, who has been playing for two years, just started his third year at the Peoples Music School, a free tuition program for children, grades 2 to 11, in the Back of the Yards neighborhood.
To stay informed about ward activities and services, constituents can sign up for the 23rd Ward newsletter by emailing ward23@cityofchicago.org with their name and a request to be added to the mailing list. The ward office can also be reached at (773) 582-4444.