Milagros Fernández has been a lifetime resident of Humboldt Park, born at what is now Humboldt Park Health. Fernández has lived and worked in the community for more than 50 years. Just this past month, she was appointed by Mayor Brandon Johnson to the West Town Humboldt Park Program Governing Commission. Milagros got her Master’s Degree in Social Work from the University of Chicago and has since become a champion for mental health in Humboldt Park, working with the Association House of Chicago, DCFS, Infant Welfare Society, and serving on the Board of the Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos Alternative High School. Her personal and professional experience will be a guiding light in this Governing Commission.
The nine-member Governing Commission manages the West Town Humboldt Park Program funds. These funds are levied under the Community Expanded Mental Health Services Act. The West Town Humboldt Park Program is the fourth of its kind created under this Act. The Act has allowed local communities to vote on a binding referendum to approve the creation of a local program and fund it through a voter-approved property tax increase. On November 3, 2020, voters in the West Town/Humboldt Park community approved the Referendum to create and authorize the West Town Humboldt Park Program to levy a tax not to exceed .025% of the total property tax bill of properties within the Program Service Area.
