Janice Metzger (Jan. 28, 1950 - Feb. 22, 2010) resided in Chicago
almost all of her adult life, over 30 of those in Wicker Park where she remained involved until the end with various neighborhood
organizations and issues. When her three sons, Timothy, Andrew, and Christopher, were growing up, she immersed herself in community
issues, particularly public school issues. She held a number of voluntary positions with parent-school organizations and was appointed
to the Desegregation Monitoring Commission. In 1987, following a forty day teachers' strike, Mayor Harold Washington named Metzger one of
four co-chairs of the Parent Community Council of his Education Summit. Although Mayor Washington died shortly after naming the council,
the summit went on to propose sweeping reforms of the system, and to win most of the legislative changes needed to enact the reforms.
During this period she was also on the board of Association House of Chicago, and was vice president of the first editorial board of
Catalyst, an education reform journal published by the Community Renewal Society.
From 1995 to 2009, Metzger worked for the Center for Neighborhood Technology, a public policy and advocacy organization located in Wicker Park.
She spent a decade monitoring the regional planning agencies, advocating for more public participation (when it didn't happen, she organized a
broad-based public involvement process for transportation planning), more attention and resources for physically active travel, and more transit.
She is survived by her partner, John Paige, and her three adult sons, all of whom share her passion for Chicago and for urban
issues. Read more.
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