Chicagoland neighbors pull together to grapple with Halloween ICE fears and SNAP cuts

With Halloween tunes like the “Monster Mash” and “Ghostbusters” joining the crinkle of candy wrappers around her, Aguilera took part in Monday night’s event to try to give families “a little piece of normalcy,” the Portage Park resident said. She was one of about three dozen people who spent the evening packing treats to go at the event organized by the office of Ald. Ruth Cruz, 30th.

Last week, Cruz’s office put out a call for candy donations across her ward. As of Thursday, her office had amassed about 11,000 goodie bags of candy, Cruz said in a call with the Tribune. The office planned to distribute the bags to students at school dismissals across the Northwest Side on Thursday and Friday afternoon.