![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/allan-mellis-2.jpg\")
Allan Mellis (right) speaks with CTA board members the Rev. Johnny Miller and Kevin Irvine before a 2017 budget hearing, where he advocated for improved service on the No. 11 Lincoln bus. Credit: Ted Cox\/DNA Info<\/p>\nLINCOLN PARK \u2014 Throughout his years as a community organizer in Lincoln Park, small, everyday moments often revealed Allan Mellis\u2019 instinct to get involved and make things better.<\/p>\n
One of those moments started when he discovered the local library didn\u2019t have any books about spiders.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur son had to do a report on arachnids, so we went to the library and they had nothing about spiders,\u201d said Linda Mellis, Allan\u2019s wife. \u201cSo Allan said, \u2018We\u2019ve got to do something about this.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
As he often did \u2014 Allan Mellis did something about it.<\/p>\n
What began as a trip to help his son with his homework turned into a yearslong campaign to overhaul the neighborhood\u2019s library, from organizing residents and raising money to helping secure funding and shape plans for a new, modern facility.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnybody who uses that library should thank Allan Mellis for the fact that it\u2019s there,\u201d said Peter Coffey, associate vice president of community and government relations at DePaul University. \u201cI think the city should name that branch after him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mellis died Sunday at Illinois Masonic Medical Center from complications of a stroke suffered five years ago. He was 81. He is survived by his wife, Linda Mellis, as well as their two sons and three grandchildren.<\/p>\n
The Lincoln Park library save is just one example of the passion projects Mellis took up in Lincoln Park. <\/p>\n
Allan Mellis (right) speaks with CTA board members the Rev. Johnny Miller and Kevin Irvine before a 2017 budget hearing, where he advocated for improved service on the No. 11 Lincoln bus. Credit: Ted Cox\/DNA Info<\/p>\n
Mellis \u2014 affectionately nicknamed the \u201cmayor of Lincoln Park\u201d \u2014 spent more than 50 years shaping the neighborhood, pushing for development that balanced growth with community needs, pressing institutions like DePaul to work more closely with residents and helping build one of the area\u2019s most influential neighborhood organizations.<\/p>\n
Mellis\u2019 death marks the end of an era for Lincoln Park, where his influence can still be seen in everything from the library to the way major developments are negotiated.<\/p>\n
From New York To Lincoln Park<\/p>\n
Mellis was born in 1944 in New York City and moved to Chicago some 30 years later to work for IBM. He grew up in Queens and studied mathematics at the State University of New York at Buffalo before earning a master\u2019s degree in computer science from Purdue University.<\/p>\n
Mellis spent 25 years at IBM, where colleagues credited him with helping launch the company\u2019s desktop publishing division.<\/p>\n
Mellis bought a home in Lincoln Park at a time when living west of Halsted Street was \u201ca little bit riskier,\u201d Linda Mellis said. The two met at a party in Chicago in 1975 and were married three years later.<\/p>\n
At the time, Lincoln Park looked different. Homes were far more affordable, and the neighborhood \u2014 while still tight-knit \u2014 was rougher around the edges, with gangs in the area and fewer of the single-family homes and new developments that now define it.<\/p>\n
As the area changed, so did Mellis\u2019 involvement in it. He started showing up at community meetings, paid attention to local issues that affected him and his neighbors and started attending City Hall hearings, speaking out on developments and getting involved with neighborhood groups as questions about growth, density and development became more pressing.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wasn\u2019t so political \u2014 he was more community-oriented,\u201d Linda Mellis said. \u201cHe\u2019s always been a change-maker. He liked the fact that it was a neighborhood and wanted to make sure you heard voices from everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
By the late 1980s, Mellis had become a regular presence in local organizing efforts, helping shape conversations about what Lincoln Park could \u2014 and should \u2014 become as more people and investment flowed into the area.<\/p>\n
\u201cAllan was doing this work for decades,\u201d said Ald. Timmy Knudsen (43rd). \u201cIt became clear to me just from the history he has in the ward, his direct impact on certain things has been for longer, more consistent years than any alderperson today.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/040826-Signature-Room-Window-Replacement-Colin-Boyle-5780-1024x681.jpg\")
Lincoln Park and Lakeview as seen from the 95th floor of 360 Chicago, 875 N. Michigan Ave., as crews work to replace the windows on April 8, 2026. Credit: Colin Boyle\/Block Club Chicago<\/p>\n
A Seat At The Table For Neighbors<\/p>\n
Allan Mellis\u2019 official duties as a neighborhood organizer started in 1976 when he became the president of the Wrightwood Neighborhood Conservation Association.<\/p>\n
Mellis helped launch the Taste of Lincoln Avenue street festival, which grew from a small neighborhood gathering into one of the city\u2019s most recognizable summer events.<\/p>\n
Around the same time, Mellis joined the Lincoln Park Conservation Association and the Lincoln Park Conservation Community Council where he worked closely with DePaul University and Children\u2019s Memorial Hospital.<\/p>\n
From there, Mellis became a constant presence in nearly every major conversation about Lincoln Park\u2019s future.<\/p>\n
\u201cAllan\u2019s relationship with DePaul goes back at least to the 1980s when we were in our growth phase,\u201d Coffey said. \u201cHis influence on DePaul\u2019s planning is unmistakable. It can be a pain sometimes: his level of detail, his knowledge, his insistence, his repetition. But ultimately, it made DePaul\u2019s plans better.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mellis helped negotiate development plans with DePaul University and Children\u2019s Memorial Hospital, pushing both institutions to consider not just their own growth, but how that growth would affect the community.<\/p>\n
Mellis played a key role in establishing the neighborhood advisory structures that still guide those conversations today, ensuring residents had a formal seat at the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust having to work through that and change our thinking from something that might be good for the university to something that also has to be good for the neighborhood,\u201d Coffey said. \u201cLeft to our own devices, we probably don\u2019t get there. But for Allan\u2019s persistence, we do.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/092623-DePaul-University-Colin-Boyle-6306.jpg\")
DePaul University on Sept. 26, 2023. Credit: Colin Boyle\/Block Club Chicago<\/p>\n
Mellis was, as many people have said, someone who holds power\u2019s feet to the fire. He didn\u2019t let anything go, nor did he forget much. He was big on precedent, Coffey said.<\/p>\n
Mellis\u2019 persistence and unrelenting attitude toward neighborhood advocacy helped save the library with no books about spiders in it.<\/p>\n
At the time, the Lincoln Park library branch was at 959 W. Fullerton Ave. under the \u201cL\u201d tracks at Sheffield. The building was finished in 1962 and was a small, outdated branch that was increasingly at risk as DePaul expanded its footprint in Lincoln Park.<\/p>\n
Mellis led the campaign to save the library, Coffey said.<\/p>\n
In 1989, Mellis helped found the Friends of the New Lincoln Park Library, a group that pushed to replace the aging branch with a modern facility that could serve a growing neighborhood. They lobbied for public funding, raised private donations and pursued grants wherever they could find them, from local sources to national organizations.<\/p>\n
After retiring from IBM in the \u201990s, Mellis continued his public service as director of planning and development for the Forest Preserve District of Cook County, where he oversaw major projects and capital improvements before retiring in 2010.<\/p>\n
When the Chicago Public Library faced budget cuts in the early\u201990s that threatened staffing, hours and closures, Mellis and his allies kept pushing, working to secure funding through a combination of city support, state legislation and private backing.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was no way Allan was going to let the library go away,\u201d Coffey said.<\/p>\n
The campaign stretched across years of negotiations, including with DePaul, which had acquired property near the original site.<\/p>\n
In the end, Mellis and his allies won. The new Lincoln Park branch opened its current location on Racine Avenue in 1995. Today, it\u2019s one of the busiest library branches in the city.<\/p>\n
\u201cAllan was a master negotiator,\u201d Knudsen said. \u201cI always feel like the best projects, whether government or corporate, come from quality negotiation. He understood how the community can negotiate, and the work he did to bring the Lincoln Park Library branch back is just one example of something that changed the community.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/030321-Lakeview-Lincoln-Park-Files-ColinBoyle-8.jpg\")
Clark Street looking southeast from Wrightwood Avenue in the Lincoln Park neighborhood on March 3, 2021. Credit: Colin Boyle\/Block Club Chicago<\/p>\n
Mellis also pushed DePaul to incorporate community-serving spaces into its campus, advocated for retail storefronts and helped save the post office at 2405 N. Sheffield Ave. from being relocated.<\/p>\n
Another proof point to Mellis\u2019 powers is how the people in the community trust him to stand up for them.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think him being so straightforward is what made him so effective,\u201d Knudsen said. \u201cThings can get so divisive. If two sides are competing and not communicating, it becomes a zero-sum game. Allan really understood the beauty of compromise and the history behind it.\u201d<\/p>\n
That history now lives inside the library he helped save.<\/p>\n
\u201cLinda and I saved everything,\u201d Allan Mellis said in an interview weeks before his death.<\/p>\n
The Allan Mellis Papers, a collection of thousands of documents filling 93 boxes that span five decades of community service, is now housed inside the Lincoln Park branch.<\/p>\n
The archive includes meeting minutes, correspondence, development plans, grant applications and handwritten notes, offering a detailed record of Mellis\u2019 work over the years.<\/p>\n
Together, the materials are Mellis\u2019 paper trail of everything he fought against and for.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis love for the community shows,\u201d Knudsen said. \u201cThat\u2019s why people refer to him as the mayor of Lincoln Park.\u201d<\/p>\n
The \u2018Mayor\u2019 Leaves A Lasting Mark<\/p>\n
Looking back on his career in public service, Mellis said he was inspired by making a difference in the neighborhood he called home.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very rewarding,\u201d he said. \u201cThe more you learn about what\u2019s going on, the more you can influence what\u2019s going on.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/allan-mellis-1.jpg\")
Allan Mellis (right), a longtime Lincoln Park community advocate, talks with Ald. Scott Waguespack ahead of a 2016 City Council meeting. Credit: Ted Cox\/DNA Info<\/p>\n
Outside of his community work, Mellis was known for another lifelong passion: collecting ice cream memorabilia. Over decades, he amassed more than 30,000 items, from postcards to advertising signs, and parts of his collection were displayed for years at the Museum of Science and Industry.<\/p>\n
In his final years, Mellis slowed down but never fully stepped away. <\/p>\n
Mellis had a stroke in 2021, but he remained active in neighborhood meetings and advisory groups, continuing to weigh in on development proposals and community issues.<\/p>\n
At the end of 2025, he officially stepped down from the Wrightwood Neighbors Association board after more than four decades.<\/p>\n
For those who worked alongside him, the moment marked the end of an era.<\/p>\n
Ken Feldbein, a longtime board member, called Mellis \u201cone of the last of the old guard.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a tribute to his departure, former board President Dan Varanauski wrote that Mellis \u201cbrought a rare balance of gentleness and grit\u201d to the role and \u201cwas a guardian of our organization\u2019s ethical compass.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA sweet guy who could hold his own, even when the room got heated,\u201d Varanauski wrote. \u201cAnd it was often Allan who heated it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even in retirement, Mellis couldn\u2019t help himself from staying involved.<\/p>\n
He kept tabs on neighborhood developments, occasionally sending notes and feedback \u2014 including a recent email to Knudsen about a proposal moving through the ward.<\/p>\n
During the final weeks of his life, Mellis\u2019 life had grown smaller, but not quieter. <\/p>\n
\u201cDays are up and down, but his mind is still active,\u201d Linda Mellis said. \u201cHe still goes on the computer, and he still has his ice cream collection. So he keeps busy.\u201d<\/p>\n
For decades, Mellis helped shape Lincoln Park not just through big wins, but through the quieter, often invisible work of paying attention.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe guy\u2019s smart,\u201d Coffey said. \u201cHe knows city ordinances inside and out. He knows the history of the neighborhood. He\u2019s been there watching Lincoln Park change, and in his way, influencing it.\u201d<\/p>\n
For decades, Mellis made a habit of noticing what was missing and doing something about it.<\/p>\n
In Lincoln Park, the results are everywhere.<\/p>\n
Support Freedom of the Press<\/strong><\/p>\n When you support journalism, you support democracy. <\/strong>This World Press Freedom Day, help Block Club raise $20,000 to fuel high-impact investigations that hold Chicago\u2019s institutions and leaders accountable. <\/strong>Make a tax-deductible donation here.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Listen to the Block Club Chicago podcast:<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LINCOLN PARK \u2014 Throughout his years as a community organizer in Lincoln Park, small, everyday moments often revealed…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":766147,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5124],"tags":[960,5386,1818,115491],"class_list":{"0":"post-766146","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-chicago","8":"tag-chicago","9":"tag-il","10":"tag-illinois","11":"tag-neighbor-to-know"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116499906558772169","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/766146","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=766146"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/766146\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/766147"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=766146"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=766146"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=766146"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}