It seems like the average SBC reader was amused by my nickname for "the mostly right-leaning folks using weekly anti-Archer [Avenue traffic safety] project protests as a political hook": "The Make Archer Great Again" (MAGA) posse.
However, at least one person was not. "It’s pretty disgusting to see Mexican-owned businesses targeted by ICE labeled 'MAGA,' while white voices from outside the neighborhood talk over them and import support instead of listening to our Archer residents," commented the artist known as Holiday Gerry on a Streetsblog Facebook post. He's a project opponent (but not one of the regular protesters) who has an art studio not far from local Ald. Julia Ramirez's office, 3868 S. Archer Ave, where the weekly dueling rallies take place.
I've talked to Holiday Gerry in person a few times, and he seems like a nice enough guy. But I need to fact-check his statement here.
"It’s pretty disgusting to see Mexican-owned businesses targeted by ICE labeled 'MAGA.'" No one is labeling Mexican-owned businesses MAGA. At last Tuesday's Pedestrian and Traffic Safety Committee meeting at City Hall, there was an organized 30-minute-plus flood of negative public comments about the Archer project and Ald. Ramirez, who signed off in it. My impression was that it was largely a political stunt to help her opponent, Claudia Zuno, who showed up to the weekly demonstrations long before she went public with her candidacy.
However, I did write last week, "That's not to say that the all the complaints voiced during Tuesday's public comment period were unreasonable." I added, "For example, some Brighton Park merchants said they've loss business because of more traffic congestion and fewer curbside parking spaces." I discussed some of the factors involved, such as a massive utility project on a few blocks of Archer just west of the rally area, which has eliminated parking and turns lanes in that section.
But, not counting local merchants, some of the people I referred to "the mostly right-leaning folks using weekly anti-Archer project rallies as a political hook" really are MAGA. The "moderate to conservative" lobbying group Urban Center, founded by perennial candidate Paul "more of a Republican than a Democrat" Vallas, has promoted the Safe Streets opposition with mass texts and press releases. The organization, which advocates for non-union charters schools, is currently led by disgraced ex-UNO Charters CEO Juan Rangel.
Urban Center donated more than $25,000 to Eva Villalobos' 2024 pro-charter campaign for the Chicago Public Schools board. Since then, Villalobos has co-organized the anti-Archer project demonstrations, and she seemed to play a leadership role in last week's organized City Hall grievance-fest against Ald. Julia Ramirez.
Rangel wrote a very flattering op-ed about Trump in the Tribune that was light on actual facts, so there's no question that he's MAGA.
Another key voice of the Make Archer Great Again movement is nearby right-leaning Ald. Ray Lopez (15th). He railed against the Archer initiative (although it's not in his ward), and the Chicago Department of Transportation's Complete Streets program in general, at last month's Traffic Safety Committee hearing. He then childishly walked out of the meeting before Ald. Ramirez had a chance to respond.
How is Lopez aligned with the MAGA movement? For starters, he attended a closed-door meeting on immigration enforcement, in Chicago on Dec. 11, 2024, a month after Trump's reelection. It was hosted by far-right activist and "Proud Boys associate" Terry Newsome, according to the Southern Law and Poverty Center, and incoming border czar Tom Homan attended. Lopez tweeted out a photo of Homan and himself at the event, declaring, "We must enforce the laws." Moreover, in January 2025 Lopez proposed an amendment to Chicago's sanctuary city ordinance to allow the police department to coordinate with federal immigration officials, but the measure was defeated in a 39-11 vote. So he, in fact, has something to do with "Mexican-owned businesses [being] targeted by ICE," as Holiday Gerry posted.
Finally, one of the regulars at the anti-Archer demonstrations, Brighton Park-raised Julie Sawicki, who sells real estate in Bucktown, said on Facebook that she likes the "Make Archer Great Again" label.
Moving on, the artist wrote, "Voices from outside the neighborhood... import support" for the Archer project. That's a very Lopez-esque statement, and it's not accurate, so please don't shoot the (former) messenger.
In reality, Streetsblog Chicago's role is to amplify local advocates, and the vast majority of Archer project supporters who show up for the rallies have told me they live in Brighton Park or next-door communities. Most are Latino, and some say they've lived in Brighton Park their entire lives.
As far as I know, no one is "importing support" at these rallies except for Urban Center and its mass texts. Yesterday's gathering of Safe Streets proponents was relatively small in numbers, but they were all Southwest Siders.
In contrast, at yesterday's event, the demographic of the anti-Archer demonstrators was... nonexistent. According to ward staff, none of them showed up at all that day.
Why was that? "One, I've been noticing that their group's been fracturing lately," replied pro-Archer rally regular Alfredo Villadares Jr. "There's less and less of the organizers out here. I think maybe their egos are clashing, and that's not letting them work together the way they thought it was going to work out. There's a few people who haven't been here for at least a month. That leaves me to believe they're no longer part of their movement." He said previous stalwarts like Dr. Kim Tee, Richard Zupkus, and even frequent Facebook commenter Julie Sawicki, seen in the video below, hadn't shown up in person lately.
"Maybe it was too cold for them to come out today," Villadares added on that unusually snowy mid-March day. "Maybe they weren't expecting us to be here every week. But it's always a good time for safety, and it should be full-time."
Ald. Ramirez provides an update
Since there were no opponents keep tabs on, I took the opportunity to step inside the ward office and ask the alder for an update on the Archer project, based on her recent meeting with officials from the Mayor's Office and CDOT. Here's a transcript of our interview, edited for brevity and clarity.
John Greenfield: Some of the businesses in Brighton Park are understandably concerned about issues with parking and congestion. Some of the congestion is being caused by the utility project.
So I know you met with some folks last Tuesday at City Hall, some of the people who testified at the committee meeting. What's happened since then?
Ald. Julia Ramirez: Yeah, we've talked about some options in designating a timeline of the work ahead this year, 2026. So what we want to make sure we do is educate folks on the investment of the [Department of] Water Management project. We want people to have an idea of the extent of the work and how long they'll be out there.
But more importantly, we've asked CDOT to make sure that they get the work done on Complete Streets, on the bookends of Archer, to make sure that people can have a smoother ride, whether it's biking, driving, and obviously feeling better walking. [Bus boarding islands will also help shorten transit trips.]
JG: So has it been determined yet whether you're going to be able to finish the Complete Streets project on either side of the utility work [taking place between Sacramento and Rockwell avenues] this spring?
AJR: Yeah, we want to make sure that, come spring, CDOT works as quickly as possible, and that they're able to show the community a finished product on the bookends. That could potentially start in April, and it could be done as quickly as two months.
JG: OK, that's encouraging. Do you have any kind of timeline on when the utility work is going to be done?
AJR: So the utility work, I've asked them to work as quickly as possible. Right now the earliest that they see themselves finishing their project is the end of September.
JG: Obviously, there was some frustration expressed at the committee meeting the other day . What are your thoughts about how local businesses are being affected.
AJR: I have some follow-up meetings with folks that attended that exact meeting. I actually had some businesses that didn't make it out to the committee meeting reach out to me. So I've had further conversations and we're going to be briefing folks like the [Special Service Area] 39. That's a big part of Archer Avenue. We're working with [Business Affair and Consumer Protection], a City department downtown, that they also get briefed, and then they can help canvas to spread more information on the project and help assist with any questions along the way.
So there does seem to be light at the end of the tunnel in terms of turning Archer in Brighton Park, at least that the part that water department's not working on, into a fully functional Complete Street. Maybe after that, the complaints about Ald. Ramirez and CDOT will die down somewhat, but surely not from the Make Archer Great Again posse. They'll surely still try to use the Archer project as a talking point to replace the with Claudia Zuno, the anti-Safe Streets candidate, in next February's City Council election.
(Note: While Streetsblog Chicago speaks out against politicians who oppose traffic safety projects, we do not endorse candidates.)
Read CDOT's FAQ about the Archer / Kedzie traffic safety projects here.
Materials about Archer Avenue can be found here.
Materials about Kedzie Avenue can be found here.
Read Streetsblog Chicago's writeup of Round 1 of the dueling Archer rallies, 12/8/25, here.
Check out our article about Round 2, 12/15/25, here.
Read SBC's coverage of Round 3, 12/22/25, here.
Read our article about Round 4, 12/29/25 here.
Check our post about Round 5, 1/5/26 here.
Take a look at our assessment of Round 6, 1/12/26, here.
Read SBC's post about Round 7, 1/19/26, here.
Take a gander at our article about Round 8, 1/26/26, here.
Check out our article that mentions Round 10, 2/9/26, here.
Peruse out writeup of Round 11, 2/16/26, here.
Read our article about Round 12, 2/23/26, here.
Take a look at our post about Round 13, 3/2/26, here.
On November 12, SBC launched our 2026 fund drive to raise $50K through ad sales and donations. That will complete next year's budget, at a time when it's tough to find grant money. Big thanks to all the readers who have chipped in so far to help keep this site rolling all next year! Currently, we're at $28,810 with $21,190 to go, ideally by the end of March.
If you value our livable streets reporting and advocacy, please consider making a tax-exempt gift here. If you can afford a contribution of $100 or more, think of that as a subscription. That will help keep the site paywall-free for people on tighter budgets, as well as decision-makers. Thanks for your support!
– John Greenfield, editor
