The leader of the Greektown Chamber of Commerce, Yianni Theoharis, who is a 20-year business owner, has created this community association for all the merchants in the Greektown area to come together.

“The purpose of this association is to preserve and keep Greektown alive,” said Theoharis.

While a large fire destroyed three Greektown businesses located directly across the street from his establishments nearly a year ago, Theoharis has managed to keep his two businesses, Meli’s and 9 Muses, alive without having to raise prices or cut back on quality.

“We believe that in a city you should have ethnic towns and areas like this, so the city can get a little bit of flavor instead of blending everything and everything becomes like a chain, like a Starbucks or Subway,” said Theoharis.

Ald. Walter Burnett Jr. (27th) feels that the Greektown restaurants are very valuable to his ward, especially in a state like Illinois where every extra $1 million spent in eating and drinking places generates an additional 28.1 jobs in the state, according to National Restaurant Association’s website.

“The importance of the Greektown restaurants to my ward is several. For one, it attracts a lot of tourists from outside of the ward to come to the ward. Not only do they go to the restaurants, but they go to other stores. They help keep a lot of businesses in place, but also keep a lot of people working,” said Burnett.

The only business owner that was able to rebuild after the Greektown fire, James Manolakos, says his business is just as good as before, but believes it would be even better if his neighbors rebuilt as well.

“If you have a lot small businesses in one location it’ll attract more people and then there’s like a trickle down effect,” said Manolakos.

Within the last five years Manolakos has seen business at Pan Hellenic Pastry Shop, located at 322 S. Halsted St., increase despite having to raise prices to coincide with the rising cost of food commodities.

“At the end of the day if you have a good product it will stay afloat, and your competitors won’t be able to compete with you,” said Manolakos.

Demetra Markopoulos, president of The Hellenic Professional Society of Illinois, which serves as a meeting ground for individuals of Hellenic decent to network, holds their meetings and events at Greek venues in hopes of supporting their fellow Greeks.

“Greeks are known for hospitality and owning restaurants, and that is a strong presence in Chicago,” said Markopoulos.

As Greektown businesses continue to promote their well-known gyros, saganaki, and feta, Markopoulos recommends Greek Islands restaurant for traditional sit-down Greek food that will make you feel like you’re on the island, and 9 Muses for a laid back atmosphere and a great shish kabob.

Featuring a green and reflective roof, state-of-the-art security, computerized crime-fighting tools, a physical fitness room, and a special room for community policing meetings, this new building, located at 850 W. Addison St., offers incentives not only to officers, but residents as well.

Deputy Alderman for the 44th Ward, Bennett Lawson, has said there are many benefits that come with the opening of the new station, including the fact that Lakeview residents will now be able to park on Addison Street, where a long row of police cars used to reside. Since a four-story parking garage was built to house the police cars that once sat on the street, residents as well as those who visit the Lakeview community will be able to use the 111 parking spots that were set aside to generate revenue.

“We’re very excited about it; we’ve been talking about a new station for 30 years now. The community is very pleased,” said Deputy Ald. Lawson.

While the Lawson has said that they are looking into repurposing the 80-year-old “Town Hall” station and possibly turning it into a landmark, one Chicago police officer who has served the 23rd district for 32 years believes the building would best be renovated into a retirement home, but feels that the force will lose a sense of intimacy once they move to the new building.

“I’ll tell you something you can’t see, and that’s the comradery that’s going to be lost because of the closeness and the smallness of the station, the coziness of the station. When guys come in off the street to wash their hands or process an arrest they sit around and talk with you and because of the sterile and openness of that [new station] that’s all going to go away,” said police officer Don Eichler.

Arlene Cozzi, who manages a high-rise building located four blocks away from the new station, believes the enormity of the new station will bring better relations between residents and the police.

“I think the new police station is better for us because it means there’s going to be more people able to go in that section. I saw through the window that they have all those tables and chairs and I think that’ll make the police more open to the people in the community,” said Cozzi.

The official opening of the station, scheduled for Nov. 22, will end the almost two-year wait for the $53 million building, which was funded by the Public Building Commission.

“The Public Building Commission builds municipally-owned facilities that provide cornerstones to communities and neighborhoods throughout Chicago, so we expect that the new police station will bring a state-of-the-art police station to the Lakeview community as well as an anchor for the community,” said Mimi Simon,  spokeswoman for the Public Building Commission.

“I think we make life a lot easier and give people a lot of hope. We make it so comfortable people don’t often want to leave,” said Garland.

Every month over 2,600 people turn to Lakeview Pantry’s distribution centers, home delivery program, case management services, and/or clothing distribution. Families are allowed to come once a month and receive approximately two weeks’ worth of food, however, families are welcome to return once a week to pick up fresh bread and produce to supplement their meals. If a visitor lives outside the Lakeview boundaries, the pantry will serve them once and then refer them to a food pantry closer to their home.

Patricia Gorman, who has been going to the pantry for about 12 years, receives staple items, such as milk and bread, that she wouldn’t be able to obtain on her own.

“You name the different things that if I also had to buy that at the Jewel it would really pull under quite a bit. I probably walk out of there with at least $60 worth of food or more,” said Gorman.

The pantry, located at 3831 N. Broadway, distributes over 1 million pounds of food each year to individuals in need in the Lakeview community. Those they serve have an income of less than $600 per month. Nearly half of the pantry’s 2,600 clients are children or seniors, while 58 percent receive Socia Security, and a quarter have been diagnosed with a mental illness.

Jacqueline Platania, who has been diagnosed with a mental illness, has been going to the pantry for nearly two decades. She said the pantry serves a great justice to the community.

“If we didn’t have that food pantry we’d be having a lot more homeless people on the street,” said Platania.

Working with an annual budget of just over $1 million, less than 3 percent of which is provided by the government, Lakeview Pantry counts on the Greater Chicago Food Depository to provide half the food they distribute. The rest of the pantry’s food is supplemented from local businesses, including Trader Joes, Whole Foods, 7-11 and Jewel-Osco, that provide them with food items that would otherwise have been thrown away. In addition to providing groceries, the pantry helps clients address the issues of unemployment and housing instability by instituting job search programs and counseling.

Linda O’Neill, a volunteer at Lakeview Pantry, lost her job and made a promise to herself to volunteer until she finds a new one. Describing her work at the pantry as gratifying, she said this is the place where you really find out how good you have it.

“You know you have people in here that make you mad, but for everyone that makes you mad, you have others who fall all over themselves saying thank you and I’m not all about that, but I just like to see the joy,” said O’Neill.

Originally founded in 1970, this nonprofit organization recently instituted a book club for pantry members, and also hosts librarians to help sign people up for library cards. Lakeview Pantry was one of the first pantries in the city to offer food distribution to the homeless by providing them with boxed, non-perishable items.

As the Thanksgiving holiday approaching, pantry volunteers prepare to stock freezers with turkeys and chickens, as well as shelves with canned cranberries and boxed stuffing to make everyone’s holiday a thankful one.

Gunned down on July 18 while chasing robbers in front of his South Side home, Bailey was set to retire this year as he turned 63. Not only did Bailey serve and protect the city of Chicago for the past 20 years, but he also served in the United States Air Force until 1969, worked as a firefighter at Glenview Naval Station, and was a member of the local school board.

The chambers at the city council meeting were about halfway full for the ceremony, with an audience that included Bailey’s wife and children, as numerous aldermen rose to speak on the officer’s behalf. One alderman in particular spoke about the peaceful way in which Bailey kept local community meetings under control while still keeping his nice guy image.

During his time serving as a Chicago police officer up until his recent passing, Bailey personally guarded the home of Mayor Richard M. Daley, who also spoke fondly of him at the meeting. Daley said he was outraged that community members have yet to come forward with information leading to Bailey’s killer, especially since Bailey was such a prominent figure in his neighborhood.

A large, illuminated picture of a smiling Bailey in a tuxedo was projected for all to see at the meeting. The ceremony was brought to an end with final remarks from the mayor, who walked over to Bailey’s family members and shook each of their hands.

The shiny new Buick that Bailey had bought as a retirement gift for himself still stands as an everlasting memory, while Chicago police vow to catch his killer.

Illuminating the strife’s, as well as the love, shared by everyday people within these public housing buildings is the main goal of the museum.

Opening in Chicago, a city where the transformation of existing public housing is the most rapid and thorough throughout the nation, the museum serves as a cultural asset to a city where thousands of citizens receive public housing assistance.

The museum, which was originally an idea formed by resident leaders of the Chicago Housing Authority in the late 1990s, will recreate living spaces of public housing apartments during 1938-2002. CHA residents along with civic leaders, preservationists, historians, cultural experts, and a few celebrities, have come together to make the reality of life in public housing possible to the other side of the spectrum.

Executive Director of the National Public Housing Museum, Keith L. Magee, believes that public housing is part of the American story and has been home to the poor and working class for decades.

“What people don’t realize is that public housing has captured both immigrants and migrants from the American south, so most races and ethic groups in America has interfaced with public housing,” said Magee.

According to the Public Housing Museum’s website, they envisioned a “restored building as a museum and study center, a challenging place to preserve and reveal history, to foster dialogue and to create change.”

John Hilarides, exhibit designer for the Public Housing Museum, used the Tenement Museum Gallery in New York as a model to create this national museum project.

“It’s a real American story, it’s about people who have either pulled themselves up by their boot straps or who have had some help… it’s really powerful, the more you talk to people the more incredible the stories are,” said Hilarides.

The funding for this museum is based strictly on donations, with two leading founders, Chicago Community Trust and the Reva and David Logan Foundation, along with supplemental support from Boeing.

Currently, a portion of the newly founded museum resides in the first floor lobby of the Merchandise Mart until the renovation of the building on Taylor Street is complete in 2012. Here, lies a sample of what is yet to come with messages all over the wall from people who have lived in public housing, toys, food, a high chair, and a table, all of which has been collected from past and present public housing homes. A lone donation box sits in the corner next to the “add your voice” wall, which is letters from past and present public housing residents.

The museum hopes to see at least 65,000 attendees within the first year, but anticipates more since in only its fourth day showing at the Merchandise Mart it has already received over 200 visitors.

”When you think of public housing in America most people think of the television show ‘Good Times’ and that was based out of Cabrini Green, so it draws and captures you to Chicago,” said Magee.

Nancy Goodman, exhibit developer and Project Manager for the museum, had a general perception that public housing was a positive thing, but was just not managed well until working on this project. Learning more about the history and the future of public housing has helped Goodman get the idea across about the needs of people within public housing through the museum.

“It gets across ideas of how strong and resilient people can be, but I think it also tells a bigger story too, just about the human spirit… the story of public housing is much more complex than most people understand,” said Goodman.

Jordan Glover, the communications intern for the museum, believes that there are a lot of public housing mistakes that need to be corrected, and hopes that this museum will serve to raise awareness of these defects, along with causing people to realize that families in public housing are not so different from their own.

“I think it’s so easy for society as a whole to say they’re another, and this is another group of people that aren’t related to me and I don’t know them, whereas their stories are very important because honestly they’re the stories of a lot of Americans and a lot of people all over the world,” said Glover.

As a college student at Roosevelt University, Glover hopes to continue to work with residents of public housing.

With the President of the museum actually being a past resident of public housing herself, Deverra Beverly, has one goal in mind: We want to leave something so our children or grandchildren will know we were here… that we existed as a community.

Drawing its power from place and memory, the museum will serve not only as a reminder, but also as a link between individuals and their communities. According to the Public Housing Museum website, discussions are being held about incorporating an institute to study housing policy, exhibitions about other forms of affordable housing, and an interactive space for learning about new visions for sustainable neighborhoods.

“There’s no other institution in America that shares this incredible and unique history,” said Magee.

Nancy Pham polishing off a manicure in her nail salon.

Greeted with a “hi honey,” or “what can I do for ya’ sweetie,” Pham makes her clients feel welcomed and part of the Hollywood Nails family, which consists of herself and her coworker sons. But while she’s always upbeat and joyful, Pham has not always had a cheery life.

Growing up in Da Nang, Vietnam and reaching the status of master seamstress by the age of 17, Pham sought out a safer and better life. She fled from the ongoing Vietnam War, boarding a ship with a couple hundred people that headed for the Philippines.

She never expected pirates to bombard the ship, but that’s exactly what happened; they killed the majority of the men and raped many of the women. Pham remained as one of the handful of survivors that safely made it to land.

She stayed in the Philippines for under a year, finally making a series of boat trips that brought her to Florida. Once in the States, Pham continued her work as a seamstress until getting dangerously ill; taking advice from a friend, she headed to Chicago for better hospital care.

Pham recovered from her illness and moved with her children to an apartment in the Uptown community of Chicago. She went to work in nail salons and did seamstress work on the side until she received the opportunity of a lifetime from a single phone call.

A friend was selling his nail salon and was looking for a buyer. After saving for years, Pham decided it would be a good investment and reopened Hollywood Nails in 2002. Without help from family or friends, Pham set her title as an independent businesswoman and began to run a small nail salon known for great customer care.

“She’s very loving and accepts everyone as if they’re one of her family,” said Michael Dang, Pham’s eldest son, who has worked in her salon for six years now.

Her younger son agreed.

“I think she’s a very sweet, kind-hearted person,” said Long Pham, who has worked for her for four years.

Long Pham claims his mom is a perfectionist; his mother seems to agree. Nancy Pham believes that her greatest achievement in life was opening her business and gives thanks to her outstanding determination and willpower. She puts great emphasis on remembering customers’ names and making them feel at home.

“I really appreciate everything Nancy has done to make me feel welcomed as a valued customer … she’s always cheerful,” said Robin Erickson, a longtime customer.

If home is where the heart is, than Nancy Pham surely puts the topcoat of love on it, keeping all her customers satisfied. Hollywood Nails, which has recently relocated to 650 W. Cornelia Ave., across the street from its original location, remains her pride and joy and the scent of freshly painted fingers will forever keep her smiling.