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Word on the Street: Alfonso Redditt

Posted  4 years ago  in  Trending

2 MIN READ – Each month, Chicago Loop Alliance will highlight a different Street Ambassador who provides enhanced hospitality services, fosters a consistent pedestrian experience, and keeps State Street safe, clean, and beautiful seven days a week. This month, meet Rogers Park resident Alfonso Redditt.


How long have you worked as a CLA Street Ambassador?

Four years. 

What’s the best part of your job?

The best part of the job is interacting with the pedestrians on the streets, particularly visitors and tourists because there’s so much to learn from other people from other parts of the city or country. Then in return, it’s also good to learn different viewpoints and perspectives about where I live—our city.  

What’s the most challenging part of your job?

The most challenging part of the job is to see so many people experiencing homelessness. It’s a challenge for me because I know there’s so much work to be done in aiding people who deal with their struggle of being homeless and living on the streets. I know so many of them, and they are great people who just came upon a rough path in their life, and they are now trying to deal with that circumstance.

What’s your funniest memory from work?

I saw trash in one of the planters on State Street, so I reached in to grab the trash, and felt a burning sensation on my neck. I knew I was stung by a bee because I saw the bee next to me on the ground struggling from the encounter. Then a pedestrian walked by and saw me holding my neck, and I told her what had happened. She replied, "Well, you are wearing bumblebee-like colors, and you’re wearing some good smelling cologne... go figure!” My facial expression from the pain instantly changed, and I just chuckled inside.   

What do you like to do in your free time?

I love movies, and can watch movies all day long. I miss going to the movies. In fact, one of my favorite movie theaters is right here downtown: AMC Dine-In at Block 37. But my absolute favorite place to watch them is at home on my big screen TV. 

How do you feel your work helps to make the Loop “Everyone’s Neighborhood?”

The work we do on State Street has an impact on everyone who enters the Loop, and I have never felt that anyone from anywhere was not welcome here in the Loop. When we clean the streets, we clean for everyone. All of the open venues in the Loop, to me, offer a shared experience from everyone else. That makes this neighborhood everyone’s neighborhood.

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