Dear friends, About two hours ago we received our 1,000th signature! Congratulations! A year to the day that Cristopher Hoerdemann posted our YouTube promo, we celebrate crossing two important thresholds at once. Still, we have much more to do. City officials remain distant when it comes to discussing openly the issue of equitable transit access to Jackson Park via the CTA elevated lines. Too many who are supposed to represent our communities' needs are preoccupied with blaming history rather than seizing present opportunities. Worse, they continue oversimplify and falsify the narrative by making it about only what happened in 1997, rather than taking responsibility for the systemic problems which precipitated decades of divestment before any of the demolitions. And our neighbors in greatest need are still suffering as a result of such negligence. We must do better. Many outside city government, however, are vocal supporters for enacting justice in our transit decisions. Activist groups, community organizers, aldermanic candidates, county board candidates, university professors, museum administrators, sure, they've signed. Bloggers and private journalists love our grassroots too. But also folks who rode the E. 63rd Street Green Line for decades. Neighbors who fought in the 70s, 80s, and 90s to preserve and improve it. And hundreds of marginalized folks who are relying on our petition to help make their voices heard by City Hall and the CTA. Thank you for your steadfast support of our petition. Please continue to urge others to sign and share the petition online and in regular conversation. Please continue to help us find new ways to make this vital restoration project more central to the conversation about the future of Woodlawn, the Obama Presidential Center, and the Jackson Park vicinity. Let's celebrate this important milestone. More importantly, "let's make it happen!"Access. Connection. Now! Sincerely,Reuben, AKA, just the guy who wrote it.