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.

Angry about meters. Photo by Rossaroni

Two candidates challenging Gene Schulter for 47^th Ward alderman cited the city’s privatization of the parking meters as a leading factor in their decision to run for alderman.

Both Ameya Pawar, a 30-year-old independent, and Matt Reichl, a 29-year-old who is seeking endorsement from the Green party, said the privatization of the meters was a mistake; Reichl said he would actually attempt to reverse the private deal.

With the deadline for petition filling for the 2011 municipal elections coming up this Monday, both candidates are campaigning door-to-door to get a sense of the issues in the 47^th Ward, which includes the Lincoln Square, Ravenswood and North Center neighborhoods.

Pawar, who is on the board of directors at Common Pantry, a food pantry in the 47^th Ward, said he wants to initiate campaign finance reform.

If elected, he said he will not serve more than two terms as alderman and he plans to cut his annual salary from $100,000 to $60,000. He also said he will not seek endorsements or donations from political groups.

“It’s unfortunate that the size of one’s campaign account becomes a deterrent for good public policy or public discussion. To me, that is emblematic of Chicago politics,” Pawar said.

He said one of his first priorities would be to create more transparency for residents of the 47^th Ward. He has already set up a free app, available through iTunes, called Chicago Works. The app allows Chicago residents to report problems and provide direct feedback to their aldermen.

Pawar also wants set up a ward council, which is a committee made up of community members who meet regularly with the alderman and discuss the issues facing the ward as well as reviewing city legislation. The 47^th Ward currently does not have a ward council.

Dick Simpson, who was alderman of the 44^th Ward from 1971 to 1979, had a ward council during his time as alderman. He said a ward council can provide direct feedback from the community, but that many aldermen don’t have one because it can be time-consuming to set up and because the aldermen don’t necessarily want to feel bound to honor the council’s decisions.

“It’s a way of getting a consensus and an agreement in the community that makes it much easier for the alderman to vote the will of the community,” he said. “More aldermen don’t have it because they don’t want to be hemmed in, as they think of it.”

Schulter said he believes transparency is important as well. Currently, the 47^th Ward’s website has a weekly newsletter and a link to a ward Facebook page.

Reichl, who recently lost to Rep. Mike Quigley for the 5^th District congressional seat, said his priorities if elected include updating Chicago’s transit system and shutting down TIF districts.

“What we’ve found is that TIF funds are basically toxic slush funds for the machine to obtain all sorts of power,” Reichl said.

Reichl said he will find alternative ways to generate city revenue without tapping into residents’ property taxes. He suggested a pollution tax for commuters coming into the city and a financial transaction tax, which would affect money traded in stocks.

In his 35 years as alderman, Schulter said he has brought many businesses into the 47^th Ward. He facilitated the Old Town School of Folk Music’s move into the ward in the mid-90s and  just recently announced plans for a $14 million privately funded renovation of the shopping center at Roscoe Street and Western Avenue.

Schulter said he works closely with the chambers of commerce and with the Retail 47 Committee, a 47^th Ward committee that works with commercial businesses in the ward, to keep bringing those businesses in.

“We’re dealing with some really hard economic times right now, but economic development is really very important to us,” Schulter said.

The city budget proposal currently includes a $3.4 million dollar proposal to cut Chamber of Commerce funding. The 47^th Ward would lose $200,000 in funding as a result. Schulter said he would not approve the budget with those proposed cuts included.

But Pawar said he worries that Schulter is not coming up with alternative solutions to budget problems like these.

“My reaction was, ‘Well that’s great. We need to protect small businesses, we need to make sure they can survive,’” Pawar said. “But you’re going to vote no on a $6.1 billion budget over $200,000 in cuts?”

Pawar recommended cutting waste out of other areas in the budget “so that you never even have to talk about cutting funding to the chambers of commerce.”

But Patricia Martinelli, executive director for the Ravenswood Chamber of Commerce, said Schulter has been very helpful to the small businesses in the ward, especially when the city budget cuts were initially proposed.

“He is a fighter for the chambers, because if we had lost the funding we would have closed our doors,” she said.

“Her bouffant was an hourglass shape and not round, like everyone else’s,” recalled Spatz in a recent interview.

She loved styling hair so much that she got a full-time stylist position during high school. She wanted to drop out and go to work as a stylist, but her mother wouldn’t let her leave school. Instead, her mother gave her tuition to attend a beauty academy as a graduation gift after high school.

From her simple beginnings, Spatz, now 53, owns a well-known salon, Selvaggio, in the Edison Park area on the Northwest Side of Chicago, which does about 250 haircuts a week. Along with one other stylist, she earns about $10,000 a month. Spatz founded her salon in 2005.

“I can cut seven haircuts in five different techniques,” she said. “Being a well-rounded hairdresser is my favorite because I know how to do all three things well.”

She also believes that cutting and styling hair is an important contribution to other people’s happiness. “Hair is an expression of someone’s beauty, personality,” she said. “They can be a chameleon with their hair.”

Spatz, who sports an angled bob with highlights, has warm hazel eyes and a round face. Her love for her clients is contagious, and her positive feelings for her work are obvious. Of Italian descent, Spatz said she loves cooking Italian dishes and decorating her home and her salon; its walls are covered with portraits of the reggae singer Bob Marley, as well as photos of haircuts she feels most proud of.

“I think hairdressers are usually the most happy people in the world; there is a major history to hairdressing that is inspiring,” she said.

Spatz is following a tradition that started thousands of years ago. Evidence of hairdressing dates back to 30,000-25,000 BC, also known as the Ice Age, according to “Encyclopedia of Hair: A Cultural History” by Victoria Sherrow. In her book, Sherrow said this evidence came from two statuettes, as well as scientific discoveries from pictures, artifacts and writings.

Like many hairdressers before her, Spatz was fortunate enough to be trained by some of the true masters of the industry, she said. One of these masters and the most influential to her was the top international hair designer, Irving Rusk.

Before launching her own salon, Spatz was among the select few who were able to work alongside the legendary Rusk. “He would come into Vidal Sassoon and train us,” she said. Rusk drew admirers from all over world. Spatz worked with teams to collaborate on styles and accompanied Rusk to styling conventions in Chicago.

“He was a mentor of mine,” she recalled. “I loved what he did. We worked as a true team. He produced looks that took over the whole industry. People ran to his shows before anything else.”

But her career was not always one of glamor and conventions. Spatz worked for seven years in her own basement after she married and became pregnant with her daughter and, later, her son. While she was working in her home, however, she read hairdressing journals like Estetica and kept up with changes in the industry, she said.

Her previous work places included Sam Martiranos in Northbrook and Vidal Sassoon in the Gold Coast.

A free-spirited type, Spatz moved to London in 1978 to cut hair after seeing an ad for a job there. “It was the height of pure rock. I learned how to cut inversions, mohawks, punky extreme haircuts.”

She also met the rock singer Rod Stewart there.

Spatz moved back to Chicago in 1979 and has lived here since, where she has developed a large circle of admirers, loyal clients and friends.

“I think she’s the best hairdresser in the entire world,” said Glee Mangiamele, 53, Spatz’s best friend. “I don’t care where she is in the world; I’ll go. If she moved to a hut in Jamaica, I’d go out there or fly her here.”

Mangiamele said Spatz is able to make her look her best. “She always makes me feel like I have the best hair in the world.”

Spatz has clients of all ages. Tanya Quershi, 20, a student who lives in Morton Grove, said when she got her first haircut from Spatz, she thought Spatz was cutting her hair too fast. “I got a little scared because she used a razor instead of scissors, but the end result was perfect.”

Allison Spatz, 25, who is Spatz’s daughter, said she refers her friends to her mother and they “rave about her.”

Allison Spatz said her mother cuts hair in a way that enables clients to recreate the same look at home. “She makes it easy. And if you don’t know how, she’ll show you how while you’re in her chair until you feel comfortable to do it on your own.”

She also credited her mother with being able to take a woman’s look and achieve a new style that is appropriate and still fashionable.

Spatz herself said one of her goals in cutting hair is to encourage people to try different hairstyles. “Some are so attached to the same look and hair that they don’t realize what a new look can do for them. They become so regimented,” she said.

Her daughter credited Spatz with putting clients’ interests above those of her own. “She’s honest. If she doesn’t think you’ll look good with the idea you’re thinking of because a lot of people want the most popular ‘in’ look, she will tell you. She helps you create a look of your own.”

Another client, Kristen Hope, agreed that Spatz sincerely cares about her customers. “I feel like I’m taken care of, as opposed to taken advantage of,” she said. Hope said she has been coming to Spatz for haircuts for five years.

Apparently Spatz commands a feeling of deep loyalty from some of her clients.

Spatz tells the story of Delores Hank, 89, a short, bubbly, white-haired client who drives a Mercedes-Benz and always brings cakes or flowering plants to Spatz with every appointment. “She was one of my first clients, and I still do her hair today,” Spatz said, laughing.

“I would imagine more people come into the area to watch the game,” said Donna Sukacz of the South Loop Chamber of Commerce. “When the team isn’t playing, those people aren’t coming.”

Schaller’s Pump is one of many pubs and bars that suffers when the baseball season, specifically the Sox, are not in season. The family-run pub located about a mile from U.S. Cellular Field has been around since 1881 and relies heavily on baseball to make business.

Manager Kim Schaller has worked at the pub since the ’70s and is the fourth generation of Schallers to do so. She estimates about 35 percent of the pub’s business is during the baseball season, and now, with baseball season over, it’s all about survival.

“We have our seasonal people and regulars,” Schaller said. “The majority of the people say their goodbyes and ‘see you next year’ after the last game of the season.”

In order to combat this, Schaller’s Pump takes steps to make sure people still know they are around and open for business.

The pub, which is located at 3714 S. Halsted St., takes out ads in local newspapers and also hosts different events, such as quiz night.

“At quiz night, there are groups of people who pay a dollar to get in and we ask 20 questions,” Schaller said. “Whoever answers the most questions gets the money.”

Shinnick’s Pub at 3758 S. Union Ave. experiences the same post-baseball drop-off in revenue. The family-run establishment has been in business since 1938.

Manager Celine Shinnick, a fourth-generation Shinnick, estimates that 40 percent of their business comes during baseball season. However, unlike Schaller’s Pump, Shinnick’s Pub does not do any advertising.

“It’s all about being a neighborhood pub,” Shinnick said. “Most of the people who come here are from the neighborhood and we have people come out for the Bears games.”

Shinnick’s and Schaller’s Pump also rely on family to help get their business through the winter.

“The family aspect helps us out a lot because generations of families come here,” Schaller said. “Now a fifth generation of family is starting to come here and they bring their friends, so family is huge. We have customers whose grandparents came to this pub.”

Shinnick’s also keeps the family spirit alive.

“We are in the third generation of owners now, and now some of the nieces and nephews are the fourth generation, and their friends are coming so it keeps going down the line,” Shinnick said.

A lack of business can also be felt on the North Side. The Full Shilling, which sits just down the street from Wrigley Field at 3724 N. Clark St., echos this trend. An estimated 50 percent of business is made during baseball season, according to manager Anthony Smith.

“We try to keep the specials priced right and sponsor volleyball teams,” Smith said. “We also hope that the Bears win because it seems like we’re busier when they win.”

All three pubs will struggle to survive the winter and when spring training comes around, they’ll be ready — because as America’s game goes, so do they.

According to a recent survey, respondents said a hot cup of coffee or tea is more likely to put them in a better mood at work and make them more productive. And, only the Genuine Thermos Brand can provide insulated mugs that keep drinks hot and fresh for up to 6 hours. Not only will your co-worker appreciate the gesture of being nominated but they can enjoy hot coffee all day.

Thermos Brand is offering this opportunity to three people in the Chicagoland area during the week of Nov. 15. Visit the Thermos Facebook page and tell them why your co-worker deserves a Thermos Brand coffee break by commenting on any of their nomination posts, or on their wall.

Free parking is available across the street. Find out if you are line for a face-lift and spruce up your business. Aldermen from 30th, 36th, 37th and 38th Wards are working together to create the SBIF grant fund.

Last week, Southwest Airlines announced it would acquire AirTran, and some industry analysts are saying job cuts may come after the acquisition is final.

“If I’m an AirTran employee that shares a parking lot with Southwest Airlines, I’m thinking ‘Oh, boy. What’s going to happen with me?’” said Jay Ratliff, a retired 20-year veteran of the airline industry who worked as a general manager for Northwest Airlines and is the current executive director of Exceed My Expectations.

Ratliff said since each airline already has a presence at Midway, consolidation of the two workforces is inevitable, and as a result, some AirTran jobs could be cut.

“They’re going to have too many people working the gates, too many people working the grounds, working in operations as well as the ticket counters, so there will be some jobs that will be affected,” Ratliff said.

Basili Alukos, an airline analyst for Morningstar Inc., a Chicago-based investment research company, agreed with Ratliff and said cutting redundant jobs is typical of mergers in any field.

“Imagine if you have a KFC and Burger King right next to each other, and all of a sudden those two companies merged,” Alukos said. “You don’t need the same number of staff to run both stores because you’re running the traffic through just one of the stores.”

Jim Morris, a spokesman for the AirTran chapter of the Air Line Pilots Association, International, said when it comes to the future of AirTran’s employees at Midway, his organization is “cautiously optimistic” about what could happen to its members. Morris said it is too early to speculate on job cuts, but he did say he and other pilots “were shocked” when the acquisition was announced.

Southwest has not officially announced any plans regarding either airline’s workers, but Paul Flanigan, a spokesman for Southwest Airlines, said the company is already working to combine the two companies while the acquisition goes through an approval process, which is expected to be completed in 2012.

“In the interim, we still remain two independent companies operating as such, so it’s really too early to speculate what that means for the market,” Flanigan said.

Currently, Southwest is Midway’s largest airline operating out of 29 of the airport’s 43 gates, while AirTran uses only two of the airport’s city-owned gates.

Ratliff said both discount airlines are doing well financially, which makes this acquisition an oddity.

“Normally, you’ve got someone who’s kind of hurting from a financial standpoint being represented. But here, we don’t have that being the case because both of those airlines were in the process of making money,” Ratliff said.

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.

But for the owners of four stores who have for years made their living under the tracks, the renovation is not great news. Those four businesses will be forced to close, including Lakeview Foods, the oldest running business to operate at the Wilson station.

Michael Stempien, who inherited Lakeview Foods from his father, is taking the closing of his store — the loss of his livelihood and his family’s legacy — to heart.

The store had been operating for 25 years with a month-to-month lease from the CTA, Stempien said, when he was notified of the renovations in February.

The CTA said in an e-mail that it wanted to upgrade the Wilson station to beautify the neighborhood and better serve customers. The CTA worked with Ald. Helen Schiller (46th) to get $3 million in tax increment financing for the renovation.

Stempien said he pleaded with the CTA to keep his store, but to no avail; he was given 30 days’ notice to move his business. He won’t be able to open a new store due to losses he’s currently taking with his inventory, he said.

“I’m not going to have money to open a new store. We’ve taken a hit on all the inventory we have, because we’re selling it for less than what we bought it for,” said Stempien.

Stempien has begun selling his products at buy-one, get-one -free prices, and fears that he will have to throw away most of his unsold merchandise. And he has been trying to sell his equipment from the store on Craigslist.

“Hoping for the best and expecting the worst. There’s nothing we can do,” he said. “I just got dealt a bad hand. It sucks, but it’s legal.”

Other stores affected by the renovation, according to Stempien, are Popeye’s, The Wilson-Broadway Mall and Americana Submarine & Grill.

The Wilson-Broadway Mall, which also operated on a month-to-month lease, will relocate across the street from the Wilson station.

“We actually found a place across the street. We got lucky,” said My Linh Lee, who works at the Wilson-Broadway mall. Lee said her store also tried to protest the closure and were told they had to move out.

Lee pointed to the outcome of other stores and their sad departures. “It’s unfortunate for everybody else. They’ve been here for so long and they have to move out. Lakeview [Foods] has been there forever, since I was little,” said Lee.

Asif Poonja, owner of the Popeye’s restaurant at Wilson and Broadway, took out a $500,000 loan to renovate his restaurant; now, he says, it’s a wasted effort.

“All of my furniture will be gone. There’s not much I can say without [the CTA] getting mad. There’s no way we can get reimbursed,” said Poonja.

Stempien thought his relationship with the CTA was good enough to avoid closure. “I would think that 25 years of having a business relationship would’ve gotten me more than a 30 days’ notice,” said Stempien.

After the renovation, the stores will have to re-bid for their former locations.

“When the project is done in over a year, we’re not guaranteed this spot back,” Stempien said.

And the fight is not over.

On Saturday, March 13 at 10 a.m., the Coalition to Save Community Banking will meet at the Light of Liberty Church of God and Christ at 2 W. Washington Blvd. in Oak Park. The group will then march to Park National’s former headquarters at the corner of Austin Boulevard and Madison Street where it will stage a protest over the loss of the community bank that had invested heavily on the West Side. The coalition plans to assemble 300 to 500 people for the march.

“We’re gearing up a campaign around a Community Benefits Agreement that targets US Bank to continue the kind of community lending that Park National had,” coalition member and South Austin Coalition organizer Elce Redmond said.

The agreement “is a set of criteria [centered] around local hiring, around lending, around supporting community organizations,” said Redmond. “It’s about a seven- or eight-page document that we’ve had. And we’ve been trying to have negotiations with US Bank on this document.”

E-mails and calls to US Bank have not been returned. A receptionist told a reporter on Feb. 24 that no one could comment as things were still “floating.”

Mike Kelly, chairman of Park National and its parent company, First Bank of Oak Park, was known for lending to customers in Chicago’s impoverished West Side neighborhoods in Austin and West Garfield Park. After the 2007 closing of Austin High School, Park National extended a $22 million, no-interest loan to build Christ the King Jesuit College Preparatory School; students began attending class in the new building Jan. 4.

“This bank epitomized what community banking was; they loaned money to small businesses, community organizations, nonprofits,” said Redmond.

Attorney Kelli Dudley, a professor and program assistant in the Predatory Lending Program at John Marshall Law School, said Park National was well known in the community for giving “zero-percent loans to community organizations and schools, giving money to community organizations through grants” and did “things like cleaning up houses that had been subject to foreclosure and making them nice and livable and resalable and yet absorbing a little bit of that cost each time.”

Redmond also said he heard Kelly, a longtime River Forest resident, was considering filing suit against the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. over how it handled the takeover.

“I don’t know what his specific intentions are,” said Dudley, who educates Austin residents on predatory lending and avoiding foreclosures. “There might just be some legal technical issues that would make it hard to sue the FDIC, but it does seem like that the community bank and the people affiliated with it and the people who relied on it should have some kind of legal recourse, because here a big decision takes place under cover of the night and they’re not given any opportunity to have any input into it.”

Kelly recently took legal action against JP Morgan Chase, which sued the FBOP last June over a loan Chase called in and which may have contributed to the worsening financial state and eventual government seizure of Kelly’s company.

“They [Chase] sued him and he filed a motion with that lawsuit,” said Dudley. “JP Morgan Chase, it is alleged, unfairly accelerated and called in a loan, and it was a huge amount percentage-wise of their [Park National's] portfolio, which caused them to look temporarily weak.”

The protest planned for March will come less than two months after dozens of Park National supporters traveled to Washington, D.C., to attend a congressional hearing on last year’s seizure and selling of Park National and its other banks. Kelly testified as members of the Coalition to Save Community Banking looked on.

Redmond, who made the round-trip bus trip with other coalition members, said several congressional members at the Jan. 21 hearing “put the FDIC on the hot seat.”

“The FDIC sort of admitted, ‘Well, it didn’t really need to happen,’” Redmond said, “But how do you reverse it? That becomes the big issue.”

There is also the issue of big bank versus small bank in the government’s eyes, as Dudley said: “There is a difference in the standards that are applied in evaluating whether the FDIC should come in and close down a Park National versus whether they should come in and close down one of the six largest banks in the country, and it’s just frankly not fair at all,” said Dudley.

Camille Lilly, the volunteer executive director for the Austin Chamber of Commerce, said the loss of First National still ripples through the community.

“They [Park National] were community banking,” she said. “We had the leadership, we had the commitment – we had all of that at Park National for the community to develop themselves, and when we remove that opportunity, the community struggles with developing themselves.”

Park National’s community philanthropy made it unique in the banking world, Dudley said. “Rather than making all of their decisions based on what will flow the most money to shareholders and what will flow the most money into the corporation, they made some decisions that were based on doing good in the community.”

Lilly and others worry about whether US Bank will perform some of these same community bank functions. “From what I’ve heard and read, it is not their philosophy to be community banking sensitive. That is not what they built their model on, so it’s a void in our community because we once had it.”

For more information about Saturday’s march, contact the South Austin Coalition at (773) 287-4570.

With Illinois’ unemployment rate at a staggering 11 percent, employers can afford to be more selective in whom they hire. But a new bill could give job seekers with bad credit a fighting chance in landing a position.

Rep. Jack Franks (D-Woodstock) has introduced a bill, HB4658, creating the Employee Credit Privacy Act, which would protect applicants who believe they were discriminated against because of their poor credit. Washington and Hawaii have passed similar laws restricting credit checks by employers; a credit check ban approved Monday by the Oregon legislature will go into effect July 1.

While employers say credit information is vital because it is an important part of the screening process, opponents say such information is private and irrelevant to job performance.

Franks said business associations are fighting the bill, but the measure is a necessary step to help job seekers in this failing economy. The need for the bill struck him on a family road trip, he said, when he saw a former growth area littered with foreclosure signs hit hard by the recession.

“I want to protect individuals who through no fault of their own have lost their jobs,” said Franks. “Their credit goes into the tank, and they can’t get another job. It’s a perpetual cycle.”

Franks said that the rights of the business owner should be weighed against the public benefit. As a business owner, Franks said he understands both sides of the issue but doesn’t want to create a permanent underclass.

“Let people have a second chance,” Franks said.

Historically, 28 percent of companies have used credit checks on selected applicants, but over the past year that number has spiked to 47 percent, according to a 2010 survey from the Society for Human Resource Management.

Mike Walters, executive director of the Southwest Illinois Employers Association, said the bill restricts business owners and employers. Employers need to have as much information as they can get in hiring, he said, and the proposed legislation severely limits that ability.

“If an individual contracts someone for a job, they have a right to see if the person they hire has defaulted on payments,” said Walters. “If it’s good for the individual, it should be good for employers.”

Walters questioned how the bill would be enforced and whether employers would take their business out of the state if the bill passed.

“If you have any common business sense, you’d understand this is a bad bill,” said Walters.

University of California-Los Angeles Public Policy Department Chair Michael Stoll said while employers should not discriminate against people with lower credit scores, there are instances when accessing a person’s credit information can be a valuable instrument.

Stoll said employers might try to find ways around the restriction by discriminating against low-income applicants. The bill could have unintended consequences and should be limited in order to be effective, he said.

Mark Denzler, spokesman for the Illinois Manufacturers Association, said he opposes the bill because it restricts the use of an important tool employers use when evaluating job applicants. The law already protects certain individuals who have bad history, said Denzler. Under current law, credit reports can’t disclose bankruptcy cases more than 10 years old, or civil suits and tax liens older than seven years.

Denzler said employers only check a small percentage of applicants because of the credit checks’ cost — $15 per applicant.

“Employers don’t do credit checks on everyone,” Denzler said. “From the time a person applies to a final stage of interviews, there is an opportunity for employees to explain they’ve gone through a rough patch.”

Credit checks serve a more important purpose than simply providing an applicant’s credit history; they verify previous employment and former addresses, Denzler said. Credit checks also protect employers from lawsuits if they fail to properly check an applicant.

“I understand the man or woman who has fallen on hard times, but the employers have a right to vet their applicants,” Denzler said.

On a snowy afternoon on Feb. 9 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, Chicago’s Neighborhood Development Awards hosted a “Back to the Future” panel in which experts discussed the opportunities and challenges that Chicago must meet head-on to achieve economic development.

Ald. Toni Preckwinkle (4th), the newly nominated Democratic candidate for Cook County Board president, joined Scott Myers of World Sport Chicago, Raul Raymundo of the Resurrection Project, and Robert Weissbourd of RW Ventures in a discussion about what Chicago will look like in 2016 and what needs to be done to address job development and neighborhood restructuring.

It didn’t take long for education to rise to the forefront of the discussion. Preckwinkle, a former high school teacher, made it very clear that education needs to become a top priority in Chicago.

“It reflects very badly on the adults and the city that we have let the problem come to this,” she said. “Less than half of our young people graduate high school, and not having a diploma makes their future very difficult.”

Raymundo agreed. He said the graduation rate for the Hispanic population is significantly worse.

“Education is critical for our young people,” he said. “Education is critical to economic growth and development. We need to take a serious look at our education system. Reform and real action are necessary.”

Greg Hinz, the moderator for the event, noted quickly that everyone used the word “education” in their opening addresses. He then asked the panel if that was an indication of what Chicago’s most fundamental problem is: Are our young people not prepared for the workforce? Are they not educated?

Preckwinkle quickly took the question. She said she didn’t mean to “be a broken record,” but all children should receive a quality education and it is this education that is critical for all business growth.

“One of the complaints I hear from local businesses is that it is hard to find good employees,” she said. “The implication being that kids who come looking for jobs couldn’t read very well and didn’t have basic math skills. The most important factor to business growth is education.”

Weissbourd said education is vital to the success of any economy. His example: a half-percent increase in the college education rate of an area’s population would mean a 1 percent increase in regional profit.

“The single biggest impact on economic growth is human capital, and that is expressed in education,” he said. “If you have one investment in your economy, education is it.”

Raymundo said the Hispanic high school drop out rate is near 75 percent and less than 10 percent attend post-secondary school. But he said the Hispanic population is doing more in terms of opening their own businesses.

“Not everyone’s life path is to college,” he said. “We need to do more with workforce training; we need to prepare our young people for the workforce.”

Midway through the panel discussion, Hinz said, “We need money to survive.” He then said Chicago is not keeping up with the nation and asked if there was indeed a positive legacy to 2016.

Preckwinkle, a self-proclaimed “avid supporter” of the 2016 bid, said she, like the rest of Chicagoans, was disappointed when Chicago lost the Olympic bid, but she said the focus needs to shift to what’s next.

“We need to focus on the aftermath of the 2016 bid,” she said. “We need to figure out what our own 2016 should be. We have to find some consensus around this effort to have our own plan as a city, as a business community, as neighborhoods, as economic development organizations to transform the communities that we live in.”

Raymundo stressed that the key factor in real economic development has been the growth of the immigrant population in Chicago. He said comprehensive immigration reform, which, he noted, President Barack Obama supported during his campaign, is necessary.

“We need to unleash some of the talent that is out there, but so many people are unable because of their immigration status,” he said. “In Illinois in 2008, the Hispanic population generated $40 billion; $370 million of that was in Chicago. This is important information to understand how to build a strong economy.”

In the late ’80s and early ’90s, Chicago turned into a global economy and did well, Weissbourd said. But in the past 10 years, Chicago has become “stagnant” and is trailing behind most other cities.

“It is very important to get more strategic about what we are going to do with our metropolitan economy,” Weissbourd said. “Until the crash, our neighborhoods were by and large coming back, but the crash really knocked the neighborhoods out. Regional development is dependent on neighborhoods. You have to understand that these key components work together.”

Myers, who was a part of the the city’s Olympic bid team, said there are alternative routes to building the economy in Chicago. He said sports is one of the tools that Chicago can use to bring people and business into the city.

“By expanding on some of the strengths and capabilities here in the city, we can develop innovative programs that are not only good for our kids, but can also help be a foundation to strengthen our neighborhoods and attract further business into our neighborhoods,” Myers said.

There was no clear solution to the stalling economic development in Chicago, but Weissbourd said there is no reason for every neighborhood to reinvent the wheel.

“A lot of the same problems apply in every neighborhood,” he said. “It is time we start planning for both the short term and long term. We are headed in the right direction, but we still have a long way to go.”

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Located on the city’s West Side, Austin’s population is nearing 130,000, and as the population rises in what community activists call Chicago’s “forgotten child,” so do the number of fast food restaurants in a neighborhood that already lacks grocery stores and healthy sit-down options.

Elce Redmond, assistant director of the South Austin Coalition, said business owners, specifically fast food restaurant owners, decided Austin wasn’t a community that wanted or would support anything but fast food.

“For some reason, people have this idea that Austin can only sustain fast food restaurants,” he said. “I mean, no matter where you are in Austin, all you see are fast food joints. In this community, all we have are horrible fast food restaurants with their greasy, fried and deeper fried foods.”

Redmond estimates that there are well over 100 fast food restaurants in Austin and less than five family dining options.

Lavern Herron, co-owner of Caramel Café, a sandwich shop that opened at 5941 W. Madison St. just over a year ago, said Austin can sustain restaurants with healthy options and hers is one of them.

“We don’t offer the standard deep fried everything and fries,” she said. “Instead, we offer healthy options like soup and salad and sandwiches. We offer a sit-down restaurant in a warm, clean environment, and that’s something the community really needs more of.”

Woodrow Taylor, a 35-year resident of Austin, said the number of fast food restaurants has grown every year and the number of grocery stores has decreased.

“One of the biggest problems in Austin is we have no grocery stores and that is the main reason for all the fast food restaurants,” he said. “The owners of the fast food restaurants have taken advantage of the fact that it is easier for people to walk over and grab a burger and fries than it is to travel and try to find a grocery store.”

It’s not just Austin, as journalist Eric Schlosser points out in his 2001 best-seller, “Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal.” He wrote that every city across the United States is being taken over by fast food chains.

“A generation ago, three-quarters of the money used to buy food in the U.S. was spent to prepare meals at home,” Schlosser said in his book. “Today, about half of that same money is spent in restaurants – mainly fast food restaurants. In 1968, McDonald’s had 1,000 restaurants – today it has about 30,000, and 2,000 new ones are opening each year. The number of fast food restaurants that are taking over cities everywhere is alarming.”

Camille Lilly, president of the Austin Chamber of Commerce, said Austin has more than 900 businesses, but it’s been difficult to bring in family-style dining and chain restaurants like Applebee’s and TGIF.

“It is difficult to change the culture of a community,” she said. “Austin is landlocked, so it is difficult to build in Austin. That, coupled with the idea or stereotype that family dining options won’t succeed in Austin, are the biggest problems.”

One family-style option, open since 1997, MacArthur’s, located at 5412 W. Madison St., has done very well with the concept of homestyle cooking and a sit-down, family environment.

“This is a family-style restaurant that has reasonable prices and offers the food that people in the community want,” MacArthur’s Manager Sharon McKennie said. “Austin has a lot of fast food restaurants, and we offer the alternative. We offer good, everyday, full-course meals at a reasonable price.”

Malcolm Crawford, president of the Austin African American Business Networking Association, said there is a strong need for healthy options in the community, but with all the other problems, it is difficult to force the issue.

“There has been some discussion about focusing on bringing in more family restaurants,” he said. “But let’s face it, there are so many other serious issues in Austin that I don’t really think people see the lack of sit-down restaurants, and the overabundance of fast food restaurants, as a pressing issue.”

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The Queen Anne-style property in Lincoln Park, which is adjacent to the Armitage station’s east side, was partially demolished in 2006 as part of the CTA’s Brown Line expansion to make way for a wider platform. The center part of the property – which is also listed on the National Register for Historic Places – was demolished and renovated, said CTA spokeswoman Noelle Gaffney.

The 5,100-square-foot property was originally put on the market in March, and a local restaurant and bar owner, Bobby Burleson, presented the CTA with the highest bid of $850,000, which it accepted in August. However, after plunking down $10,000 in earnest money, Burleson still needed to come up with a 10 percent deposit. Instead, he didn’t execute the contract and forfeited his $10,000, Gaffney said, leading to the CTA board’s Dec. 9th vote to put the property back on the market. Burleson could not be reached for comment.

“We’re just interested in selling the property,” said Gaffney, adding that the money from the sale will go back into the Brown Line.

The expansion work at the historic Armitage station began in 2006, and early construction included partially demolishing the property at 939 W. Armitage, a masonry building with an ornamental, pressed-metal front façade and zinc panels. Because it is a contributing structure in the Armitage-Halsted Landmark District, the building was required to be at least partially preserved, so its west half was demolished and its east half saved.

Jonathan Fine, executive director of Preservation Chicago, said the CTA “kept the essence of the building,” and that it would “make a good anything.”

“There is always a need for modest, perfectly-scaled building in that kind of a district,” Fine said.

The Armitage station re-opened in June 2008, and the building has sat vacant even though the work was completed.

Paul Dawson, project manager for Jones Lang LaSalle, which is marketing the property, said at this point, it will be up to the CTA to decide how long a second bidding process will stay open. Meanwhile, neighborhood businesses say with many stores already closing on the tony Armitage Avenue, a restaurant or café would be a welcome sight.

“There are not a lot of great places to eat in the neighborhood,” said Sibyle Gander, manager of Art Effect, 934 W. Armitage Ave. “Something that opens up to the street would be great.”

Chuck Eastwood, chief of staff for Ald. Vi Daley (43rd), whose ward the property lies in, said he’d like to also see a restaurant, but “active retail” would work, too.

“Anything but a bank,” said Eastwood. “A bona fide restaurant, not a restaurant posing as a bar. I don’t think anybody wants a bar there.”

Jeff Price, president of the RANCH Triangle Association, said assuming that the building will not be torn down, it could be used for a multitude of purposes.

“I’d like to see a successful retail store on the first floor and perhaps some offices or apartments upstairs,” Price said.

[vimeo]http://www.vimeo.com/8026348[/vimeo]

With neighborhood economic development groups objecting to a major reduction in city funding at a time of growing job loss, 22 aldermen have submitted a resolution ordering the Mayor’s Office of Budget and Management to restore the funds in the city’s proposed 2010 budget.

The resolution is on the agenda for the City Council’s budget committee hearing on Monday. If approved, it could be considered at Wednesday’s council meeting.

The proposed budget for the Department of Community Development cuts spending by 21.5 percent for delegate agencies – about 120 neighborhood chambers of commerce and other groups that support commercial and industrial districts.

It’s a huge cut for a small budget item – a $1.5 million reduction from last year’s appropriation of $6.4 million. It’s a far greater reduction than other programs in the department. And it comes on top of cuts ranging from 3 to 7.5 percent each of the past six years, while the city’s budget has steadily grown.

With pressure on neighborhood businesses ratcheting up, other funding sources for the groups – especially local banks and real estate agencies, who know the value of a thriving business district — have been squeezed particularly hard, said Kimberly Bares of the Rogers Park Business Alliance.

Because the city provides only partial funding, its spending on delegate agencies seeds a tremendous amount of economic development effort, she said.

“We’re providing tremendous value to the city’s efforts, for minimal funding,” said Roger Romanelli of the Randolph Fulton Market Assocation. “We’re out on the streets every day, working directly with hundreds of businesses” in ways that would be impossible for the city.

“Most delegate agencies have staffs of one or two people doing the work of ten,” said Luis Alva of the Little Village Chamber of Commerce. LVCC’s activities include workshops for businesses on a range of topics as well as a highly successful 13-session workshop on starting a business. “These are people who go on to open businesses, invest in the community, and hire people,” he said.

The group also features festivals and sales to attract shoppers from outside the community to the 26th Street retail district, which is second only the Michigan Avenue in business activity and sales tax revenue. Local dress shops are clamoring for a repeat of LVCC’s recent bridal expo, Alva said.

Delegate agencies include groups funded under the Local Industrial Retention Initiative (LIRI), which are also facing 21.5 percent cuts, said Mike Holzer of the Local Economic and Employment Development Council. LIRI is the city’s primary delivery vehicle for direct economic development services to small manufacturers, and LEED Council manages the North River Industrial Corridor.

LEED Council has leveraged over half a billion dollars in private investment for the corridor, which includes four planned manufacturing districts, Holzer said. The Goose Island district, which was a marginal industrial area in the early 1990s, when 25 firms employed fewer than 1,000 workers, is thriving today, with over 65 firms and a workforce of 5,000, he said.

Those are jobs that allow workers to buy homes and send children to college. And they’ve been attracted during a period when the U.S. has lost millions of manufacturing jobs; Chicago lost over 100,000 manufacturing jobs from 1995 to 2005, according to the Brookings Institute.

Small and mid-size firms generate the vast majority of new jobs, said Ellen Shepard of the Andersonville Chamber of Commerce, and since local businesses use local suppliers and support charities in their own communities, they generate far more local economic activity.

“With national and international markets faltering, and many residents being laid off…we are more reliant than ever on our neighborhood businesses,” she said. The city should be “significantly” boosting funding for neighborhood development groups, not cutting it, she said.

Bares said the cuts are likely to force some neighborhood groups to close down – and adds that there are local business support groups on the South and West Sides that have yet to be included in the city’s delegate agency program.

With major corporations getting city subsidies of tens of millions of dollars, while over a hundred local groups – which serve thousands of small businesses — must share a $5 million program, it’s clear the city could focus more on locally-owned businesses. The other program supporting neighborhood businesses, the Small Business Improvement Funds provided by selected TIF districts, is being cut this year from $3 million to $2.25 million.

That means less than half of 1 percent of TIF funds go to support small business, Shepard said. Romanelli said he had 38 applicants for small SBIF grants in the Kinzie Industrial TIF last year; funds were only available for eight grantees.

With aldermen now responding, cuts may be headed off this year – but it’s a bit of a fluke. Bares learned of the cuts ahead of time only because she serves on the city’s Community Development Advisory Committee; she went on to alert her colleagues. In previous years, delegate agencies learned their allocations were being cut only after the budget had been approved.

“This has certainly illustrated to us the difficulties everyday citizens have negotiating the city’s budget labyrinth,” she said.

The “Ravenswood Station” mixed-use development would be built on a now-vacant Sears parking lot at the corner of Lawrence and Ravenswood Avenues, between the department store and the Metra commuter rail line.

Wilmette-based Crossroads Development Partners is revising its plans for the project, and the new layout will be made public in “late 2009 or early 2010,” said Robert Rawls, communications director for Ald. Gene Schulter (47th).

Original plans called for a supermarket, fitness center and a parking garage to be shared with Metra passengers, as well as a series of townhouses and an 11-story condominium building, said Dan Luna, Schulter’s chief of staff.

That large residential component drew the ire of 150 neighbors who showed up to view the proposal at a community meeting last June. While the community did not vote at that meeting, Luna said, residents’ opinions were clear.

“The temperature of that meeting sent the developers and the property owner back to the drawing board,” he said.

Ravenswood resident and realtor Eric Rojas attended that meeting at McPherson Elementary School. While he supports transit-oriented development and approves of the stores and parking garage, he worries that the condo building is too large for today’s market.

“I think six or seven (stories) may be fine, but 11 is going to be weird,” Rojas said. “If they’re all market rate condos, they’re not going to sell unless they’re priced absurdly low… Some would have to be rentals.”

Rojas and other residents may get a second crack on the proposal at a meeting scheduled for Dec. 1, according to a Vivian King, a spokesperson for Roundy’s Supermarkets, which will likely lease a spot in the development.

Representatives of Crossroads Development referred questions to their partner, Chicago-based Sierra Realty Advisors, who did not return phone calls by press time. Planners in the Chicago Community Development Department said they had no new information on the project.

Luna declined to comment on how the alderman felt about the original proposal or how the plans may have changed, but said he “would hope” that the condominium complex has been scaled back.

Most important to the alderman is the presence of a grocery store and parking facility in this spot, Luna said.

“That’s really the driving force behind this,” he said.

Roundy’s Supermarkets, the Milwaukee-based owner of Pick ‘n Save, Copps, Rainbow Foods and Metro Market stores, is “moving forward toward getting approval” for a spot in Ravenswood Station, King said.

Planners are still considering several possible fitness centers, Luna said.

Metra spokesman Michael Gillis said the rail corporation will continue talks about sharing the cost of the proposed parking garage.

“We’re always interested in cooperating with the community and developers to help out on the parking situation near our station,” Gillis said.

Adolph Parker opened his furniture store on South Cottage Grove Avenue in 1934, at the height of the Great Depression.

Despite record unemployment, Parker’s business grew because he established good relationships with his customers, offering payment plans and credit, said Loron Kaplan, Parker’s great grandson and a member of the fourth generation to run New Age Chicago Furniture Co. at 4238 S. Cottage Grove.

“My great-grandfather laid a foundation based on trust and nothing else,” said Kaplan. “We would trust customers and help them get credit established. We were able to build relationships early on with our customers. The relationships continue with their kids and grandkids.”

While today’s economy isn’t as bad as it was during the 1930s, the economic issues Kaplan sees – high unemployment, foreclosures, limited discretionary spending – are similar to what his great grandfather faced when he started the family-owned business 75 years ago.

New Age Chicago Furniture, photo by Juan Francisco Hernandez

But Kaplan and other business owners on Cottage Grove, between 43rd and 47th streets on Chicago’s South Side, aren’t confronting the current recession alone. Many are members of CG43, a business association designed to develop marketing strategies that help local retailers spotlight high-quality products available in the community. (To read about a complementary effort to conduct retail tours in Bronzeville, please click here.)

The business association, which serves North Kenwood, Oakland and portions of Douglas and Grand Boulevard, is a program of NCP lead agency Quad Communities Development Corp. (QCDC).

“CG43 creates a sense of density and allows the participating businesses to co-brand and co-market,” said Bernita Johnson-Gabriel, QCDC’s executive director. “The key for a lot of businesses is to give them the tools to move forward, to be a little more prepared.”

One of those tools is Chicago Community Ventures, a consulting firm that develops, manages and provides coordinated business assistance to residents and business owners in underserved neighborhoods. Johnson-Gabriel said that CCV helps businesses “make forecasts properly in this downturn and make sure everything is O.K.”

Chicago’s bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics also focused attention on the Cottage Grove corridor with nearby Washington Park as the proposed site for the Olympic Stadium.

Despite the poor economy, economic diversity in the area has improved. Since 1990 households making more than $50,000 have increased by 88 percent.

But along with this increase in income diversity, the area has experienced a modest population decrease and a modest decline in family size, as has been true for the rest of the region. Age diversity, however, is continuing to grow. In addition, rates of homeownership have increased since the early 1990s. These factors all imply that the Quad Communities area has a stable residential base for neighborhood-oriented retail.

$2 out of $3 spent elsewhere
The corridor, a prime area for commercial and residential development, has an annual buying power estimated at $675 million, according to a recent analysis by LISC/MetroEdge. Currently $2 out of every $3 is spent outside of the neighborhood – revenue that could be coming directly to local businesses. In particular, the area lacks dining opportunities and has unmet demand for general merchandise stores.

QCDC and the CG43 members want to keep those dollars close to home. The agency, said Johnson-Gabriel, worked with the city to get sidewalks repaired and bicycle racks installed on Cottage Grove, making the street more pedestrian friendly.

Planters in front of Sensual Steps, photo by Juan Francisco Hernandez

Distinctive acorn lighting fixtures were added, as were 16 planters and four murals between 43rd and 46th streets. The effect, said Johnson-Gabriel, was to “create a sense of place and beauty; to tell people something is different here.”

Those amenities alone, however, haven’t been enough to stop business from falling at Kaplan’s furniture store. But were it not for rebuilding in the area during the last five years, Kaplan said the impact on his business could have been worse. Construction and rehabbing in the Cottage Grove corridor “helped quite a bit,” he said.

In general, other CG43 business members also reported a decline in foot traffic earlier this year. As a result, many of them are taking innovative steps – such as renting out their space for other events – to promote their businesses.

Sales at Sensual Steps, a shoe store at 4518 S. Cottage Grove, are down 20 percent this year, said owner Nicole Jones, former NCP director at Greater Auburn Gresham Development Corp.

“Business was a little tough and it took a strong effort to sell,” she said, “but I’m not waiting for foot traffic.” She’s using Facebook and MySpace pages to promote her store.

“It allows products and services to be seen across the board – not just locally,” she said. “It‘s a way to be proactive, retain business and reach out via the Internet.”

The store, which opened in April 2005, is also the site for special events when Jones rents out the space. “It’s a way to bring in revenues during this economy and partner with other CG43 businesses,” she said.

Jones also offers Heels on Wheels, where she brings her shoes and accessories to customers through private parties. “I’m very hopeful that everything will work out,” she said. “It’s not easy right now. Customer service is everything to me.”

Margo Strotter and Ed Singleton, owners of Ain’t She Sweet Café at 4532 S. Cottage Grove Ave., said business earlier in the year was “decent, but it could be better.” Like Jones, Strotter also rents out the café for meetings and workshops during off hours.

Toughing it out
And so it goes for businesses throughout the neighborhood; for Chris Brack and Milton Latrell, owners of Agriculture, an upscale men’s clothing, shoe and accessories store at 532 E. 43rd St.; for Trez Pugh and Richard Chalmers, of the Bronzeville Coffee and Tea, 528 E. 43rd St., who recently opened a second store, Regents Cup, at Regent Park at 5020-5050 S. Lake Park Ave.; for Adama Ba and his brother, Djibi Ba, who opened Goree Shop five years ago at 1122 E. 47th St., selling authentic African clothing, jewelry and accessories; for Tim Schau’s Zaleski & Horvath Market Café at 1126 E. 47th St., which he describes as a neighborhood store; for Faye Edwards, owner of Faie African Art at 4317 S. Cottage Grove Ave. They’re all toughing it out.

Bronzeville Coffee and Tea, photo by Juan Francisco Hernandez

Edwards participates with other CG43 members in events to promote the Cottage Grove corridor and rents out gallery space for special events. “This year feels better,” she said. “More people are coming in. Some of the fears about what is happening in the economy have dissipated a little.”

Despite the slow economy, the business climate in the Cottage Grove corridor is looking up, said QCDC’s Johnson-Gabriel. “We try to attract retail to the community. People are interested, despite the downturn. It’s not doom and gloom.”

Johnson-Gabriel acknowledged that the neighborhood isn’t without challenges, particularly considering that for so long there was “so much disinterest in the area. It takes a while to get things done. It’s important for people to see something tangible. The planters, the acorn lighting, the murals and the businesses – there’s an investment in this community,” she said.

And there’s the example of Adolph Parker, whose business started in the hardest of times 75 years ago and is still going strong.

CG43 Business Members:
•    Faie African Art, 4317 S. Cottage Grove Ave. Gallery specializing in quality African art and education.
•    New Age Chicago Furniture, 4238 S. Cottage Grove Ave. Furniture, appliances and electronics.
•    Goree Shop, 1122 E. 47th St. Hand-crafted, authentic African wear for men and women.
•    Agriculture, 532 E. 43rd St. Upscale men’s clothing, shoes and accessories.
•    Sensual Steps, 4518 S. Cottage Grove Ave. Women’s designer shoes, handbags and accessories.
•    Bronzeville Coffee and Tea, 528 E. 43rd St. Community coffeehouse with high quality coffee roasts, teas and pastries.
•    Ain’t She Sweet Café, 4532 S. Cottage Grove Ave. Healthy sandwiches, smoothies and desserts.
•    Zaleski & Horvath Market Café, 1126 E. 47th St. Specialty grocery and café offering sandwiches, coffee and catering.
•    Little Black Pearl Café, 1060 E. 47th St. Art café offering a variety of beverages and pastries.

For an article about retail tours being conducted in Bronzeville, please click here.

The Chicago Institute of Neurosurgery and Neuroresearch Medical Group pleaded its case for closing the hospital it has operated in Ravenswood since 2003 in a public hearing before state health officials at the Sulzer Library last week.

CINN announced plans in August to join forces with the NorthShore University Health System in Evanston and close the Neurologic and Orthopedic Hospital at 4501 N. Winchester. CINN’s agreement with NorthShore is conditioned on obtaining the governmental approvals from the state. The hospital treats a wide range of complex neurosurgical, neuromedical and orthopedic cases.

In his testimony before the Illinois Facilities Service and Review Board, CINN Chief Operating Officer Peter Breen blamed low occupancy levels and the changing healthcare environment, coupled with multi-million dollar loans for the hospital’s poor financial performance. While clinically successful, the hospital has suffered losses of $30 million over the past two years.

“While regrettable, the only option available is to discontinue operations,” Breen said.

CINN leases the 8-story building adjacent to the former Ravenswood Hospital Pavilion from Health Care REIT, a Toledo, Ohio-based trust that invests in senior housing and health care properties. Breen said that REIT worked with the medical group to consolidate its outstanding debt.

“Despite this unusually high level of cooperation between the property owner and the hospital,” Breen explained, “the stark reality is that Neurologic and Orthopedic Hospital cannot even pay debt service on the loans, let alone pay down principal.”

Dr. Leonard Cerullo, founder and medical director of CINN, stated that the hospital falls below the state hospital occupancy standards. He added that other hospitals in the surrounding community–Weiss, Aurora Chicago Lakeshore, Thorek, Methodist and Swedish Covenant Hospitals–have already said they would take patients normally accepted by Neurologic and Orthopedic Hospital.

Jeffrey Miller, vice president of operations and general counsel for Health Care REIT, said his firm was already at work on a comprehensive leasing or re-use plan.

“Let me assure you that Health Care REIT will aggressively pursue alternative users who will occupy the facility and build the economic bases of the community,” Miller said.

Ald. Gene Schulter (47th) called the impending sale of the medical group and the hospital “disastrous” for the community. In addition to a loss of 300 jobs, Ravenswood Hospital’s former owners, Advocate Health Care, enacted a “non-compete” clause prohibiting specific medical uses from being conducted on the site when they sold the property.

“This means that there will be a technologically-equipped hospital sitting vacant and unusable in the middle of the 47th Ward,” Schulter said. “I am very disappointed in our suburban neighbors. While they rely on the stability and access to clients brought to them by their proximity to the city of Chicago, they are actively undermining my community’s quality of life.”

Schulter further cited the ongoing vacancy’s negative impact on surrounding businesses, crime rates and property values in the Ravenswood neighborhood.

“I oppose this application,” Schulter said.

State Sen. Heather Steans (D-7th District) and state Rep. Greg Harris (D-13th District) supported Schulter’s opposition to the sale of CINN and the closing of the hospital.

“The abrupt nature of the closing of this facility, in my opinion, is not being carried out in an orderly or timely manner and will decrease rather than guarantee the availability of quality health care… to the surrounding community and to existing patients,” Harris said. “I speak for my constituents to oppose this application for closure to benefit a suburban hospital and small handful of investors.”

Harris also urged the Illinois Director of Public Health and the planning board to examine the legality of the anti-compete covenant implemented by Advocate “to see if its existence threatens the general public health of this community by denying access to adequate healthcare facilities.”

At Schulter’s urging, neighborhood residents, many of them employed by CINN, testified at the hearing, supported closing the hospital.

“I don’t know anyone who lives in the neighborhood who uses this hospital and don’t think it will be a problem,” Ravenwsood resident Patty Tillman said. “I support the application.”

After the public hearing, Schulter lambasted CINN for putting up its own employees or their family members to testify in favor of CINN’s application, stating that it was an insult to the community and to themselves. He also chastised officials from nearby Weiss and Thorek Hospitals for their favorable testimony.

“Their only concerns are the bottom line; it means more money for them,” Schulter said. “They haven’t come to the table to say how we’re going to solve these empty buildings in the Ravenswood area. They’re greedy people.”

The state review board’s rules that public hearings be held during the day precluded many working residents from attending the hearing, Harris said.

“Had this meeting been held at night, you would have had a roomful of angry people here,” he said.

The Illinois Health Facilities and Review Board is scheduled to meet in December to review and vote on CINN’s application to close the hospital. Pending the review board’s approval, CINN could pull up stakes and relocate to Skokie by the end of the year.

The review board will continue to accept public comments up to 9 a.m. Nov. 12. Comments should reference Project 09-045 and be sent to Mike Constantino, Supervisor, Project Review Section, Health Facilities Service and Review Board, 525 W. Jefferson, 2nd Floor, Springfield, IL 62761, or by fax at 217-785-4111.

For the picketers in the longest strike of the Congress Plaza Hotel’s history, this ordinance could give the workers a strong advantage in their six-year battle. The strike began on June 15, 2003 as a result of wage freezes and employee health insurance cuts.

“Every time the city contract comes up, the city council comes up with bills to support the union,” said Mark Souder, Director of Human Resources at the Congress Plaza Hotel.

Souder would not comment on whether he supports or opposes the proposed ordinance, but he says he does not think anyone from the hotel wants the strike to continue. The hotel met in negotiations with the union, Unite Here Local 1, on Sept. 8, but Souder would not comment on the outcome of the negotiations or whether they see an end in sight.

Peter Andjelkovich, attorney and spokesperson for the Michigan Avenue hotel since the strike began, opposes the proposed legislation and says it is unconstitutional. “When (aldermen) tried to pass the ordinance in 2006, they were advised it was illegal,” Andjelkovich said.

Souder said that the hotel decided to voluntarily notify guests of the on-going strike when it initially began.

“Reservations people were instructed to tell (prospective hotel guests) about it a while ago to save them from complaints and surprises later,” Souder said. “To what degree they follow it, I don’t know.”

On the website for the Congress Plaza Hotel, there is a notice of the strike, but if prospective guests are making hotel reservations through online reservation sites, such as expedia.com and hotels.com, they may be unaware of the strike until they arrive.

Andjelkovich says that the hotel’s initiative to notify guests is clearly within their discretion, but government involvement is a completely different matter.

“This is a government action that is against federal law for a municipality to interfere with a business,” said Andjelkovich.

Andjelkovich says that the proposal is a political move more than anything.

“The aldermen are supporting the unions,” Andjelkovich said.

The effect that the ordinance might have on the hotel’s business may be difficult to predict. Souder said he could not measure how the strike has impacted business considering the economic climate.

“We lost some business initially,” Souder said. “I don’t know to what degree it has hurt it.”

Darren Theriault, a guest at the hotel traveling from Nashville, Tennessee, said that he did not know that there was an ongoing strike when he arrived but would return if his rock band had another show in town.

“When we came, there were picketers outside. They didn’t saying anything to us,” said Theriault. “The room was clean. I would stay here again. It’s a beautiful hotel.”

The Chicago City Council is scheduled to vote on the ordinance at next month’s meeting on Oct. 7. If passed, Andjelkovich said he very well might be the one to challenge the measure in court.

Getting ready for the Aug. 9 Chicago Carrotmob, a larger-than-life carrot is carried into Fox & Obel by volunteers Alana Clark (left) and artist/carrot-creator Jenny Tiner. Photo by Mark Campbell.

To help make those improvements a reality, Carrotmob stages what they call “reverse boycotts.” In one-day events, Carrotmob participants descend on a business of choice to purchase stuff. Although there is no contract, the business verbally commits to dedicating a portion of the money made during the “mobbing” toward energy upgrades.

Carrotmob Chicago is scheduled to descend on the Fox & Obel Market at 401 E. Illinois, near Navy Pier, this Sunday from noon to 6 p.m. The store has committed to set aside 50 percent of the business the mob brings in for efficiency upgrades. The Greater Chicago Food Depository will also be accepting donations from mobbers throughout the afternoon.

Laura Flanigan, co-vice president of action projects for the Net Impact’s Chicago Professional Chapter, is one of this Carrotmob event’s lead organizers. She answered a few questions about mobbing, consumer activism and what’s going on this Sunday.

Q: What process does Carrotmob use to select a business? And how was Fox & Obel chosen to be mobbed?

Flanigan: The idea came to us in conjunction with the Academy of Management Conference. The conference has the theme of green management this year. Doing a Carrotmob was a natural fit.

The process is, a volunteer Carrotmob team will identify an area of the community and then canvass a specific type of business within that area. It has to be an independent business, locally-owned, with enough capacity to get 100 people in and out of the store within an hour. It also has to be a store where you can spend a little bit of money or a lot of money, as to not exclude anyone from participating.

It’s difficult to dedicate money [to energy-efficient upgrades] when you’re a small business, so the focus is really on bringing the tools to smaller, independently-owned businesses to make it happen.

Businesses then compete with each other, so the one selected would have committed the largest percentage of funds from the mob to go towards improvements. The business does not pay any fee to Carrotmob to participate. The San Francisco group is actually having the neighborhood vote, so the community chooses the mobbed business.

Fox & Obel here in Chicago was willing to dedicate a portion (50 percent) of the proceeds from the event to make improvements. They also have a variety of price points and space so a large group of people can come in and support mob. That’s how they were chosen.

Q: What kind of improvements do businesses make with the dedicated funds?

Flanigan: It’s generally energy efficiency upgrades to reduce their carbon footprint. We just did an energy audit on Fox & Obel with the Illinois Smart Energy Design Assistance Center, which is affiliated with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and assisted by the state. That audit is being processed and will show which improvements should be made, such as lighting and refrigeration.

Q: How will you follow-up with the store once the event is over and people move on?

Flanigan: Our team will stay connected to the store and we’re going to be working with an energy contractor to do the work. We will actually see the work as it happens. We are in a position to stay connected and we’re hoping that relationship drives the accountability once the mob is over.

Q. What kind of turnout are you expecting this Sunday?

Flanigan: We’re hoping we get at least 500 folks into the mob. We want to send a clear message that Chicagoans care about and reward the companies that go above and beyond on their environmental commitment. We hope there will be lines out the front door all day.

Q. Are there any requirements for participating in the Carrotmob?

Flanigan: No, definitely not. For citizens to participate, it’s just showing up the day-of.

Q: What sets Carrotmob apart in terms of its activism?

Flanigan: It’s the closest thing to a win-win situation when it comes to environmental activism. Individuals don’t have to sacrifice in order to demonstrate their commitment and their values. There’s a lot of ways we can send market signals about our values, but we’re not necessarily sure if they’re being interpreted correctly. Doing something like this as a mob is always more effective. It’s an easy way to send a loud message. It just so happens that the company is being rewarded with a “carrot” rather than getting the stick. There’s a reason a business would want to participate and seek out participation in Carrotmob. If there’s only a way we can do this for the types of things we buy, not just from where we buy them. Maybe that’s the next phase of Carrotmob.

Q: A lot of environmentalists point to consumerism as being one of the root causes of our environmental problems today. How can Carrotmob reconcile that in its efforts?

Flanigan: One of the reasons Carrotmob has worked is because they’re supporting stores that offer things people need. We’re not talking about large chain stores. We’re talking about food and other necessities – about healthier food – Fox & Obel does try to support local and organic produce providers. That’s one way it’s reconcilable. But that question certainly isn’t lost on Carrotmob – the kinds of stores that work well with the Carrotmob model sell things people need everyday.

Q: Are there any other ways Chicagoans can get involved?

Flanigan: They can start their own mob. Anyone can do it. You don’t have to be affiliated with anybody to do a successful Carrotmob, you just have to get the word out and find a business that’s willing to commit.

This idea that Chicago seeks to be the greenest city in the world can only be supported by actual Chicagoans getting off their butts on a Sunday and demonstrating their commitment.

Metropolis 39th and State LLC wants to turn a vacant lot at 39th and State into a community shopping center.

The original plan for housing and retail development was modified because of a slow economy, said Matt Braun, an analyst for Capri Capital Partners LLC.  Braun added the new community shopping center would cost less than the original plan but declined to comment by how much.

“We wanted to make sure we saw this through. We made necessary adjustments to the plan to make this a viable option,” said Braun in reference to the project’s downsizing.

The Metropolis, located along Pershing Road between State and Federal streets and blocks away from the Dan Ryan Expressway, plans to develop retail and grocery store space in eight separate buildings.

So far, the only retailer to commit is Roundy’s, a Wisconsin-based chain of grocery stores. The 60,000 square-foot, full-service supermarket is scheduled to open in fall 2010.

“It’s a great retailer for this neighborhood,” said Bronzeville Community Club House President John A. Cook. “(Roundy’s) would be successful because there is no other retailer here. There’s nothing but upside in this community.”

“When a private sector company makes an investment like (Roundy’s), it helps attract other investors and retailers to the (community),” said Ald. Pat Dowell (3rd).

Bronzeville currently has few retailers and no grocery stores in the neighborhood.

“We have limited shopping options,” said Ald. Dowell. “We are in desperate need for a full-scale store to provide basic staples without leaving the community.”

The shopping center will bring money and jobs to a community where 38 percent of households were below the poverty level in 2000, according to the U.S. Census.

Quad Communities Development Corp. spokeswoman Lynn Kardasz said besides creating jobs and keeping money in the community, local retailers are better for the environment, increase home value and build a stronger community.

“It’s a very holistic approach to how we can get things done,” said Kardasz.

“(Redevelopment) creates a safer and denser environment where folks do not have to travel so far to get what they need,” said Kardasz. “As the community grows, they will know their neighbors better and create a better quality of life all the way around.”

In 2006, the population of the 39th and State Streets area was close to 220,000 residents, a 2.1 percent decline since 2000, according to national real estate researcher CB Richard Ellis Group, Inc.

“There is a lot of opportunity for the community to grow,” said Cook. “I think that will happen with proper placement of retailers.”

June 15, 2009 – Gov. Pat Quinn will join a mass picket of the Congress Hotel on Monday, the sixth anniversary of a strike there by members of UNITE-HERE Local 1.

Monday will mark the sixth year since Local 1 members voted to strike after hotel management unilaterally froze wages and cut benefits.

In the past six months strikers have dramatically stepped up outreach, with over 500 meetings with political leaders, convention planners, and others, said Annemarie Stassel of Local 1. They have diverted $700,000 worth of business from the hotel, she said.

In addition, 42 aldermen have cosponsored an ordinance that would require hotels to notify customers when they are undergoing a prolonged strike.

The strike takes on added significance with the citywide contract covering the rest of Chicago’s unionized hotels expiring at the end of the summer. That contract covers 6,000 Local 1 members, Strassel said.

At this point, a housekeeper at the Congress earns $8.83 an hour, compared to $14.60 an hour at other unionized hotels, she said.

Drawing support from the broader labor movement and community organizations, the annual mass picket and rally – which then-Senator Barack Obama joined twice, most recently in 2007 – will take place from 4 to 6 p.m. on Monday, June 15.

June 11, 2009 – After a period of sometimes heated community discussion, an Aldi grocery store is set to open in Edgewater.

Bill Platt of the Access Realty Group estimates that in about two months the store will take over half of the Clarovista condominium building’s ground-floor retail space.

Platt said there was a meeting with representatives from Aldi and about 200 people from the neighborhood.  At first there were concerns, but Platt stated that when Aldi explained their business concept the group reached what he called “a consensus.”

Edgewater citizens wanted to know “what kind of neighbor they’re going to be,” Platt said.

Edgewater resident John Redell said he is happy to have Aldi coming to the neighborhood, even if some others are not.

“Somehow some of our neighbors think Edgewater is too classy for this,” Redell said.  “Go to the intersection of Granville and Broadway and count the vacant store fronts,” he continued.  Some he said, have been vacant for years.

Instead of “thumbing their noses,” Redell said, Edgewater residents should be concentrating on the new jobs Aldi will produce.

Ald. Joe Moore (49th)  said Aldi is working “well with the office.”  He said they listened to requests made by the 49th Ward office, including using the layout of their new concept stores.

Aldi’s new store concepts are brighter, more open and sell more fresh produce,  Moore said.  He visited Aldi stores in the suburbs with the new store layout.

Although Moore said he is happy with Aldi being in the neighborhood, he also said “I would love to have a Trader Joe’s in the ward.”

He went on to say that he has “no doubt” that Edgewater residents would be able to sustain a store like Trader Joe’s.

Redell disagrees. “This isn’t 900 N Michigan, it’s Edgewater,” he said.

The commercial section of the Clarovista condo was going to be filled with a Staples.  Platt said that there was a sign date and a delivery date that wasn’t met because the city held it up.

Instead Access Reality Group is looking for a different retail store or restaurant to fill the other half of the ground floor.

The search is still on-going because of the economy. “The market continues to be soft,” Platt said. “[There is] not a lot of activity.”

The Clarovista, formerly known as The Granville according to Platt, is located on the corner of Broadway St. and Granville Ave. It’s a location that is just north of the dividing line between Chicago’s 48th and 49th Wards.

The office of Ald. Mary Ann Smith (48th) declined to be interviewed for this story, citing a policy of not commenting on matters happening in areas outside her ward.

May 7, 2009 – Brendan Telzrow is a publicist at Biz 3, one of the two major music publicity companies in the Chicago area. He’s a quiet guy-sort of the quintessential man behind the scenes.

But through his job at Biz 3, Telzrow has met and traveled with some of the biggest acts in the independent music scene. Biz 3 now handles Daft Punk, The Cool Kids, Asher Roth, Flosstradamus and Atmosphere as well as other artists.

Telzrow, 25, joined the company soon after it was started out of the apartment of Kathryn Frazer, CEO and owner of Biz 3, in Wicker Park.

Wearing an old button-up shirt with a dark undershirt, Telzrow walked into Rodan, a bar in Wicker Park, one recent day. He flopped down into a chair and let out deep sigh. “Man, what a day,” he said.

Telzrow sports very short hair; in fact, any shorter and he would be bald. He’s of medium height and his beard is just to the stage where it’s grown in, but he doesn’t need to start taking care of it. He nervously glanced at a reporters notebook during a recent interview. It isn’t until after drinking a beer that he started to loosen up.

Telzrow is originally from St. Paul, Minn., and said he always had music in his life while growing up. Neither of his parents were musicians, but he grew up listening to all different types of music. “There was always music being played in the house, so I did grow up with some good influences,” he said.

Telzrow moved to Chicago six years ago to attend Columbia College. He wanted to earn a degree in music composition. But like his parents, Telzrow wasn’t at all musical; he only played guitar at the time and hasn’t played in years, he said.

“Now the only thing I really do musically is DJ part time,” Telzrow said. But while trying to earn his degree, Telzrow got sidetracked by the other aspects of college life. “Things got complicated and I got distracted, so to speak,” he said, finishing the last sentence with a childish grin like he just caught spoiling his dinner.

Telzrow then decided to move in with a friend of his named “Johnny Love,” who was promoting parties at the time. The duo moved into a loft right off the Damen Blue Line stop on the Northwest Side of Chicago in Wicker Park.

“That didn’t last for long though; after a few parties our landlord had to evict us,” he said laughing. “And the next landlord kind of had it out for us, so the second we had anything close to a party he evicted us as well. Ah, fun times.”

His eyes lit up by the nostalgia. He stopped for a second to reflect and quietly chuckled to himself.

By throwing parties, Telzrow met Frazer, who asked him to host a party sponsored by Biz 3 and Puma. He then began an internship at Biz 3 and worked his way up through the ranks to be a publicist.

Telzrow explained the job of a publicist. “I sit at my computer and communicate with people like you all day long. Being a publicist just requires you to be flexible to work long hours and be really organized.”

Telzrow said he sits down at his computer around 9 a.m. and starts pounding out e-mails and making phone calls with bloggers, reporters, managers and artists themselves, with the sheer intention of getting an artist’s name out there for someone to see or hear.

And the traveling?

“Depends, but I usually get to travel three to five times per year. Regularly go to CMJ, SXSW, Coachella” Telzrow said, all of which are major music festivals for the independent music scene. “And random press trips to NYC or LA if the situation arise,” he added.

He is happy with his salary.

“I mean I didn’t roll up here in a Mercedes Benz or something, but I am at a place where I am making more money than I ever have before, and I am pretty comfortable,” he said.

Giselle Wasfie, a former editor at the popular independent music magazine URB, has worked closely with Telzrow and Biz 3. “I know the founder, Kathryn (Frazer) doesn’t take on any artists she isn’t personally passionate about and I respect that to the fullest,” said Wasfie.

Wasfie recalled hitting it off with Telzrow the first time they met. “I first met Brendan at a show here in Chicago last winter. I kind of felt like I already knew him because we’d worked together so much via e-mail and over the phone. Then he started buying me drinks and I liked him even more,” said Wasfie.

And when it comes to the bigger issues, like the recession and the struggling music industry, it doesn’t seem like anything is really bugging Telzrow. In fact the struggling economy has only helped his business, he said.

“Before, all the major labels had an in-house publicist work with their artist. Now they’re getting rid of those departments and hiring us for specific artists or bands, which is nice because now we are able to work with more well-known artists,” according to Telzrow.

Telzrow has considered moving to either New York or Los Angeles, the music industry’s two major locations. “My whole life I have lived in the places that have rough winters,” he said. “I wouldn’t mind living somewhere where it is warmer all the time.”

On a more serious note he said Chicago has the right mix of “big city in the Midwest.” “There are so many great artists and venues here in Chicago, you really get a good variety here,” Telzrow said.

Telzrow said he is unsure about his plans for the future. He has thought about going back to school to get a degree, but not anytime soon.

“I don’t think I will be a publicist forever, but for right now I am really happy with what I am doing and that’s all that matters to me.”

But an overnight sudden injection of 40 online donations to the struggling non-profit organization had Crane believing otherwise.

“[If] you asked me two weeks ago would we do it? I’d say, ‘I’m pretty sure. I think I can. I think I can,” said Crane, executive director of Streetwise. “But with the outpouring I’ve felt in the last two days, yea, we will do it.”

Since 1992, Streetwise has enabled unemployed and homeless Chicagoans to support themselves by selling newspapers as vendors. And, if Streetwise does not raise new funding, the operation could be shutting its doors in about 40 days.

At the Chicago City Council’s Human Relations Committee meeting April 15, Ald. Billy Ocasic (27th) questioned Streetwise board members several times over the publication’s monthly operational costs.

Rob Federighi, current board president of Streetwise, explained the publication is dealing with declining revenue due to economy, sales and charitable support which has dropped from $200,000 to $65,000 a year.

According to its 2007 taxes, Streetwise reported over $280,000 in profits for 2007 however its operating budget was more than $541,000, as reported to GuideStar, an online database.

In 2008, the 16-year-old publication transitioned from a newspaper to magazine format, raising printing costs to 35 cents, allowing vendors to make a $1.25 profit.

Currently, 8,000 vendors are registered with Streetwise.

However, Federighi didn’t present exact current budget needs to the committee. He told the committee the organization would need $75,000 to move toward sustainability over the next three to four months.

Meanwhile, they have entered into negotiations with their landlord to reduce rent and space, the $75,000 salary for the executive director position has been eliminated and pushed to increase ad revenue.

Crane, who is working for free until July 1, is optimistic about the future of Streetwise, pointing to a $3,000 increase in advertisement revenue last month. But said the work is challenging but he’s not deterred.

“I’ve been involved with lots of charitable boards,” said Crane. “Streetwise doesn’t have any of that glamor. You’re on this board because you want to work and you’re going to be in the trenches, and there’s not a lot besides the personal reward of knowing you’ve made a difference.”

“People need to use extreme caution and read the fine print before handing over their credit card information to a an online advertiser,” said Steve J. Bernas, president and CEO of the Better Business Bureau of Chicago and Northern Illinois in a press release. “Just because an ad appears on a website they trust, it doesn’t mean they can always trust the advertisers.”

Recently, the BBB has dealt with several complains about deceptive weight loss ads where the consumer was charged more than the trial fee.

Cindy Pearson clicked on an ad for acai (pronounced a-sigh-EE) berry, which promoted weight loss and colon cleansing. Pearson said she read all the information before ordering the product for its $4.95 trial fee.

What she received was the product, gum and oil, along with a $40 charge.

Pearson attempted to contact the company, Central Coast Nutraceuticals, Inc, to find out how to get instructions on how to send it back. But to no avail, she could not reach anyone at the company and had to turn to the BBB for assistance.

“It’s kinda of nasty, because I read all the fine print and I didn’t see anything telling me I was getting extra products… but if you can’t get anyone to answer the phone, you can’t get the paper work or authorization you need to return it,” said Pearson.

Representatives at Central Coast Nutraceuticals, Inc. did not respond to e-mail requests for an interview.

The BBB was able to resolve Pearson’s complaint on her behalf, but she was still charged a  $15 restocking fee.

The consumer advocacy group, the National Consumers League, said the acai berry scams are attractive because they are not high profile, like phishing or wiring money.

“I think people, after awhile get used to certain scams. So, they don’t fall for them anymore. When people see something like acai berry, they’re like ‘what’s that?’ and they might be a little more curious and click on the link,” said John Breyault, vice president of public policy and telecommunications and fraud at the National Consumers League.

Breyault said his organization has seen a recent “anecdotal” rise in complaints with online weight lost scams. He said there are several ways to determine if a company is legitimate.

Breyault advices consumers to check the websites for contact information about the company, such as a physical address or phone number. If there is contact information, you can check further by calling your local BBB or chamber of commerce to see if the company is actually registered where they claim to be operating from. Also, companies are required to register with their state corporation commission and local business licensing departments.

Breyault said that most companies also register with their local chamber of commerce and BBB.

Central Coast Nutraceuticals, Inc. has received an “F” rating, according to BBB.org. In the past 36 months, the BBB has received a total of 1,997 complaints, 719 of them dealing with refund practices. In December 2008, the Arizona Attorney General’s Office filed a lawsuit against the company and its president and CEO alleging violations of consumer fraud.

The Dill Pickle Food Co-op, Chicago’s newest grocery co-op opening in Logan Square this summer, and will attempt to fulfill the need for natural and affordable food on the Northwest Side. 

Surprisingly, Chicago has played host to few such stores.

When Dill Pickle founder Kathleen Duffy moved to Chicago from New York in 2001 she was disappointed by the lack of independent grocery stores near her home. Duffy frequented the same tiny health food store for years in New York, and hoped for something similar in Logan Square, but found none.

“When I came out here I was looking for a little place like that, where I could just go in to get some milk, or a sandwich,” said Duffy. “There wasn’t even a privately owned store you could go to.”

At that time Chicago was home to just one grocery co-op, in Hyde Park. The inaccessibility of a Hyde Park grocery store and the lack of local stores inspired Duffy to take matters into her own hands. In 2004 she sent an e-mail out to 20 friends, mostly artists and activists living on the Northwest side, about organizing a food co-op. Duffy received 300 responses to her e-mail. Five years later, the Dill Pickle Food Co-op is months away from becoming a reality.

The Hyde Park Co-op Market closed last year after 75 years as the only grocery co-op in Chicago. The Dill Pickle Food Co-op, therefore, has big shoes to fill - and hopes to step into them by late spring or early summer.

The co-op, which is funded primarily by member equity, will function as a member-run, democratically operated grocery store offering locally produced, organic and fair-trade products. An annually elected nine-member board of directors will set policies and oversee activities.

Unlike some food co-ops, members and non-members alike will be able to shop at the store, to be located at 3039 W. Fullerton Ave. Members will also have the option of volunteering at the store and making decisions about products.

Any financial surplus the Dill Pickle has at the end of the year will be distributed back to members as a “patronage fund.” Memberships cost $250 but can be paid in $50 installments over five years. According to board president Bill Burdett, the co-op already has 330 members and they hope to reach 500 before opening.

The Dill Pickle Food Co-op takes its name from the Dill Pickle Club, which existed in Chicago from 1913 to 1932. A “coffeehouse, art gallery and speakeasy,” the underground club was frequented by writers such as Carl Sandburg and Sherwood Anderson, as well as radicals, artists and other intellectuals. In the spirit of the Dill Pickle Club, the co-op seeks to build more than just a grocery store in Logan Square.

Burdett said the co-op’s long-term goal is to become a “community hub,” supporting local producers, and offering alliances with community organizations and neighborhood businesses. Some of these include the Chicago Food Co-op, a buying club in Wicker Park, and the Logan Square Farmer’ Market, which is organized by the Logan Square Chamber of Commerce from June to August.

Executive Director Paul Levin says the Logan Square Chamber plans on working with the Dill Pickle in the future, and expects the co-op to be “quickly perceived as a new neighborhood amenity.”

Duffy is passionate about the store’s plan to build a strong community and meet local residents’ needs, explaining that the effort includes education, member involvement and quality products.

 “We have to teach them about what a co-op is, how it functions and why it is superior to walking into a Jewel,” said Duffy. All co-ops are different, she said, and this one must function as a reflection of the neighborhood and its residents. “A co-op in Logan Square is not going to be the same as one in Uptown.”

Another important aspect Duffy hopes to bring to the co-op is affordability. She said that while the co-op needs to promote healthy living through organic and fair-trade products, it should also meet the needs of its members, and the community. That may not always mean organic products, which tend to be more expensive and can’t always be locally produced.

“This is not just about being able to express our ideals, but also about being a viable business,” said Duffy. “There is a fairly large income disparity in Logan Square. We don’t want to exclude anyone from accessing these products.”

Duffy wants Dill Pickle to be a one-stop shop for all local residents, and to reflect the needs of the community, non-members included. A code of ethics being drawn up will ensure that every product in the co-op fulfills one standard, whether it is locally produced or affordable, though Duffy hopes most will meet more than one requirement.

Construction is currently underway. Board members are still waiting on several permits, but Duffy is still confident that the Dill Pickle will be open in about three months.

As resident of the community for 65 years, Velitotis recalls the commercial strip between 31st and 35th streets as a mix of businesses where residents didn’t have to leave their community to have their needs met.

Now, the Chicago Public Library is looking to expand into adjacent properties and residents are concerned over losing a 100-year-old neighborhood grocery store.

Several residents voiced concerned for elderly residents having to travel further if the Richard J. Daley library branch, located at 3404 S. Halsted Street expands, while some questioned the need for the expansion.

“I think it’s crazy. Why do we need a big library?” said Donna Cardoza, a cashier at Halsted Foods for 12 years. “You don’t. They got this building.”

Cardoza said the expansion has her concerned about the loss of her job because she is her family’s main provider. She said the store, which offers delivery services, has customers who come from as far as 147th and Tripp Street to purchase meat.

Carrie Root, a senior who has lived in Bridgeport since 1972, recalls when the store was an A&P.

“I feel awful because it’s the closest one,” said Root. “I don’t know what I would do without the store. I don’t drive anymore.”

In the fall of 2007, a Jewel-Osco located at 3033 S. Halsted closed, leaving residents with a nearby produce market and Halsted Foods. The closest large chain stores are Jewel at 34th and King Dr. and a Dominick’s at 31st and Ashland Ave, which many residents to express concern over having to travel such a distance.

Rick Lilley, store manger of Halsted Foods, located at 3416 S. Halsted, for 20 years, called the expansion “good for the neighborhood.” Lilley and part-owner, Kishore Gunda, have met with 11th ward Alderman James Balcer about the expansion.

Lilley and Gunda have not received a formal letter from the city about the impending expansion. Yet, Lilley said in a meeting with Balcer, they were guaranteed the store “would be relocated somewhere across the street” when the expansion began.

Gunda said the 10,000 square-foot store does about $2 to 3 million a month in sales, with 600 to 700 customers, including repeats, visiting each day. They have 18 years left on their current lease and Lilley’s biggest concern is being relocated to an equal space.

Mary A. Dempsey, commissioner for the Chicago Public Library, said the Bridgeport project “will probably not even begin construction for several years” while the CPL is still looking at acquiring land for the expansion.

While that may be true, the Mayor Daley chaired-Public Building Commission board moved on January 13, 2009 to approve the acquisition and designation of 3410 and 3416 S. Halsted Street for the expansion.

In November 2005, Guishi and Anna Li opened a house-ware store neighboring the library – only one month before the city’s Housing and Real Estate Committee, which includes Balcer as a member, authorized the acquisition of the Li’s property.

Court records show the city used eminent domain in 2006 to acquire the now-vacant property because it fell within the 35th/Halsted Street tax increment-financing (TIF) district. TIFs are property tax revenues set aside for public use to develop areas that are considered “blighted” or need conservation.

“At the beginning we didn’t want to sell,” said Anna, who owns other property in Bridgeport. “Because in 2005 we [just] bought it.”

Anna said she and her husband were initially offered relocation by the city or $880,000, which they rejected. For two years they battled in court for a fair market value offer and in 2008 they received $950,000 plus 6 percent in interest and $20,000 in returned property taxes, according to Anna.

Corporation Counsel, the city’s legal department, said the Li’s were provided relocation assistance as a part of federal stipulations.

The five-block corridor could be described as an urban ghost town. Two condo developments sit uncompleted and 20 storefronts, one with a portrait of John Wanye and Vespa scooter collecting dust, stand vacant or boarded up as past evidence of a once-vital thoroughfare. Halsted Street has attracted few businesses, a gym, restaurant, and dog groomers, in the last two years. In December 2008, the Ninth District Police Department opened a $29.9 million state-of-the-art facility at 3120 S. Halsted.

Dempsey said CPL has looked at other sites within Bridgeport and will hold the land until they have the funds to build the new branch. She would not speculate on the costs of the project, but did say a CPL project could range from $5 to 13 million depending on several factors.

“It’s premature to say what the eventual cost of the library will be there,” said Dempsey. “We are at the very, very, very, very preliminary stages of simply designating a site.”

The Bridgeport library branch is one of five buildings in Chicago dedicated to the late Mayor Richard J. Daley. Total building costs were $2.5 million and Daley’s son and now 11th district Cook County Commissioner, John, helped secure $1.2 million in state funds, according to a 1989 Sun-Times article.

It opened with two personal computers with printers, 1,400 videotapes and nearly 9,000 books. It has grown to a collection of 51,080 and 21 computers, offering one-on-one computing, GED and English classes, eight parking spaces and seating for just 56 patrons, according to Ruth Lednicder, director of marketing and press for CPL.

The new library could be based on a prototype that is 16,000 square feet and has state-of-the-art technology like recycled flooring and Wi-Fi.

Currently, the CPL has five libraries slated for construction next year and building a new library generally takes 14 months to complete, according to Dempsey.

Ald. Balcer said community members have been supportive of the expansion. He could not say if TIF funds would be used for the new library, only saying the process will take time because his ward is behind several other wards that will be receiving libraries projects.

But while the bill could extend coverage for a majority of Illinois’ 1.4 million uninsured, many small business owners say they oppose mandates, which could help drive struggling companies into bankruptcy, forcing cuts on employee wages and hours at the benefit of private insurers.

Under Senate Bill 1331 and an identical bill in the House, House Bill 1081, all Illinois employers with 50 employees or less not offering health benefits would be charged a payroll tax of 1.5 percent for each full-time worker. The Senate bill passed an Executive Committee hearing March 11 and is scheduled for a 2nd floor reading today.

The bills, introduced last month by Sen. David Koehler (D-Pekin) and Rep. Kathy Ryg (D-Vernon Hills), would also force insurance companies operating in Illinois to offer a low-cost – or, “community rating” – option for small business owners, workers not covered by their employers and the unemployed.

“Access to health care is even a bigger issue than it was a few years ago, because the loss of jobs has meant a loss of health care,” said Ryg. “We’re missing a safety net.”

In Illinois, only about 40 percent of small businesses currently offer health care, said James Meerdink, organizer for the Main Street Alliance in Illinois, a small business trade group that focuses on health care issues and operates in 11 states.

“When the rates go up 10 percent, 20 percent, 30 percent a year, at some point it reaches a breaking point where [small businesses] can’t afford it anymore,” said Meerdink. “It shouldn’t be the responsibility of small business to prop up a system that’s designed for them to be paying too much.”

Under a community rating plan, premium prices are determined by age, location and lifestyle choices – but are not affected by preexisting conditions, which disproportionately raise health care costs for small groups.

The bill could mean relief for small business owners collapsing under the cost of providing health insurance.

David Borris, owner of Hel’s Kitchen Catering in Highland Park, spends about $8,000 a month – almost $100,000 a year – on health benefits for 13 of his 25 part-time workers. That cost has doubled since 2002, he said. Last year, amid huge rate increases, Hel’s Kitchen employees were asked for the first time ever to begin contributing 10 percent of the cost of their premiums.

But Borris said he worries about a health mandate that requires consumers to purchase insurance on the private market.

“I’m deeply skeptical of taxpayer money subsidizing private health insurers and using me as a conduit,” he said. “If the mandate were pure, single-payer, government-funded health care, I’d be in favor of it. But if we’re mandated to purchase a product from a private health care company, I would be skeptical.”

Steve Vidmar, owner of Friendly Farms in DeKalb, agrees. Vidmar said mandates exploit small businesses that can’t afford health care, even at deeply discounted rates.

“I’m not in favor of any new tax on business at all,” he said. “You can’t put [health care] on the backs of businesses.”

Illinois is not the only state pursuing health care reform. Almost all states have proposed bills that would lower the cost of health care for consumers, but only two – Massachusetts and Vermont – have been successful.

In 2006, Massachusetts passed a health care package similar to the one introduced in Illinois, but which also requires individuals to carry health insurance. Since it was passed, more than 400,000 previously uninsured people have bought coverage and about 97.5 percent of the state is currently insured, said Christine Barber, senior policy analyst for Community Catalyst, a Boston-based health advocacy center.

Koehler said the bill would slow a snowballing health care crisis. Currently Illinoisans spend about $80 billion to $90 billion a year on health care, he said, and the costs are only going to grow.

“It’s not a question of whether the state of Illinois can afford to do this,” he said. “It’s a question of whether we can afford not to do this.”