SSA #4

An SSA, Special Service Area, is a term used by the City of Chicago to designate property tax districts that fund supplemental services in high-traffic urban areas. In the case of our SSA, SSA #4, property owners located within our 95th Street business corridor ( between Western-Ashland) pay an additional small tax on their property bills. The tax is collected by the City of Chicago and distributed into our SSA’s Neighborhood Improvement Program to be used for supplemental services in our business district. Specifically, our SSA dollars fund our sidewalk maintenance program which focuses on eradicating litter, weeds, etc., snow removal on 95th Street, plantings for our 25+ large pots located on 95th Street, and new perennials as needed in our sidewalk planters that line 95th Street. These dollars also allow us to provide street banners, holiday decorations, and fund small special projects designed to improve the aesthetics on 95th Street. Our SSA dollars also are used to help us recruit new businesses, market our business district, and hold special events to help attract new customers to our district.

The City of Chicago relies on a network of community organizations, referred to as “Service Providers,” to manage SSAs located throughout the city. SSA Commissioners approve all services and expenditures executed by the service provider, in our case, the 95th Street Business Association. There are currently 54 active SSAs in our city. You can learn more about Chicago’s SSA Program by visiting the Department of Planning and Development