Bikes are Fun

The currently scheduled events are outside Chicago in Homewood and Oak Park.  Both suburbs offer good public transportation options, including being able to get downtown easily without resorting to driving a car. These two suburbs are bike-friendly, and they are looking to lure Chicagoans who are used to bike lanes and are considering moving.

The Homewood event will be held Saturday, June 19 and the Oak Park ride takes place Sunday, June 13. The bike tours will include maps featuring open houses, local businesses, schools, parks, transit and other amenities. The Homewood ride is a “led ride”; in Oak Park, riders navigate to the homes by themselves and the realtors show the homes.

“A neighborhood great to ride in is a neighborhood great to buy in!” said Active Trans Southland Coordinator Steve Buchtell. “Search for neighborhoods with good home values, school districts, and walking/biking connections to the things you need, and you get the American Dream without the rude awakening of weight gain, traffic headaches, and dollars down the tank.”

In Oak Park, participants visit  homes at their own pace, and they can pick up a ticket at each stop. Riders can exchange four tickets for a gift or coupon from a local business. Details of the tours are below.

For Chicagoans and anyone else who wants to see what the city has to offer, there is one tour left in the Big Shoulders Realty THE CHICAGO BIKEXPOSITION 2010 series. On Sunday May 23 beginning at 1 p.m. is a ride through Humboldt Park . The ride starts at California and Division (see the starting point .)

Located four miles west of the Loop, Humboldt Park is a community area, a neighborhood and a huge city park, all three named for Alexander von Humboldt, a German naturalist. The neighborhood extends from Western Avenue to Pulaski Road and from Armitage to Chicago Avenues, leaving half the total neighborhood and half the park in the community area of West Town.

The tour is roughly 15 miles and 4 to 5 hours in length and is completely free, but Big Shoulders asks that you make a free will donation to West Town Bikes. Please visit the following link and put “HUMBOLDT PARK TOUR” in the space for “Designation” to make a donation in the amount you see fit.

Here is the fine print for the Homewood and Oak Park tours:

Homewood Tour:

• When: June 19, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• Register at activetrans.org/greenstreets. The deadline is 5 p.m. June 11.
• What: Tour a mapped route through Homewood with other homebuyers. Maps highlight up to five homes in a range of prices currently on the market, as well as village parks, schools and amenities. Total tour time: 2-3 hours.
• Where: The tour begins and ends at the Homewood Art Festival on Martin Avenue and Ridge Road (one block east of the Homewood Metra Station – bring your bike on the train!). Homewood is located about 25 miles south of the Loop.
• Who: Active Transportation Alliance and the Village of Homewood.
• How it works: Real estate agents will host showings at each stop, and “score cards” will include listing information for each house so you can follow up on your favorite homes. Enjoy a hosted luncheon after the tour at the art festival.

Oak Park Tour:

• When: June 13, from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. (No pre-registration needed.)
• What: Take a bike tour visiting homes for sale in Oak Park. Participants use a map to take the self-guided tour.
• Where: Check in at the Pasta Shoppe & Café at 116 North Oak Park Ave. in Oak Park. This is where you pick up a map of the homes that are participating.
• How it works: Participants pick up one ticket at each home. If you bring back four tickets to the Pasta Shoppe after the tour, you’ll get a coupon for a local store or restaurant.
• Who: The Active Transportation Alliance is co-sponsoring the event with the Oak Park Area Association of Realtors and the Oak Park Area Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Contact the Active Transportation Alliance or call 312.427.3325 for information.

Frandsen was the winner of Brita’s Filter For Good green room contest, a national competition rewarding the college student with the greenest apartment with two tickets to Sundance.

“I developed my greenness on my own,” Frandsen said. The contest didn’t motivate this lifestyle change, it was instead a way for her to showcase her green lifestyle already in progress. “Usually it saves me money, and it’s just a matter of changing your routine.”

Frandsen has been living totally green since moving into her own apartment this year. She admitted that in the past having roommates hindered her from living in a totally environmentally friendly way, but now it is all simply habit. Her green lifestyle choices range from unplugging appliances to not flushing the toilet to getting rid of food scraps in worm composts and, of course, using a Brita water filter.

Her studio apartment lends a hand to her greenness by providing floor to ceiling windows which let in light throughout the day, even on cloudy days, eliminating the need to use electricity for light throughout the morning and afternoon. The furniture, found through dumpster diving, are colorful additions to the room, with a Japanese room divider and a bamboo plant over 3 feet tall adding artistic flair to the apartment. A drying rack used in place of a drier and two worm compost bins are reminders of the room’s environmentally friendly-nature.

“Things to me that I don’t even think about my friends are like, ‘how can you do that?’” Frandsen said. Once she discovered the advertisement for the contest on the sidebar of the Web site Pandora Radio, all her friends encouraged her to enter, knowing she already lived that way.

“Most of all we wanted to know what college students are doing because we know they are some of the leaders in making small changes,” said Lisa Ptak, the public relations representative for Brita, a company that promotes the use of their filtered water in reusable bottles instead of forcing customers to buy plastic water bottles. She said the main purpose of the contest was to reward students who are already engaging in a green lifestyle. Brita recently has been giving out $50,000 worth of eco-grants to further reward green college students.

“When Britt told me about the contest we rearranged her room, and I helped take over 50 pictures,” said Erica Ravi, Frandsen’s girlfriend and her plus-one for the trip to Sundance.

Entering the contest required a photo showcasing the green qualities of the room, as well as the creative decor, and a 100-word essay describing the actions taken towards a greener apartment. Once entered, 10 finalists were chosen and the overall winner was based on a voting process that took place on Filter For Good’s Facebook page.

According to Frandsen, she was one of the last to enter in order to ensure everything about her entry was perfect. The first day of the six day contest she was in second place until 7 p.m., and after that she never dropped down from first place. However, she never felt fully confident she had won until it was officially announced.

“There was never a vote tally so I never knew how close it was,” Frandsen said. “On Saturday night [when voting closed] it was like, ‘We won! Maybe…’”

The following Tuesday Frandsen got a confirmation call that she had won the trip as well as a Flip video camera and a Brita prize package, including a Brita filter, a faucet mount and five Nalgene bottles. She was then debriefed on her trip to Sundance and certain responsibilities she would have once there as contest winner.

“Brittany will be doing updates from Sundance with her Flip cam, and the footage will be shared on the Filter For Good Web site and the Facebook page,” Ptak said.

“I think [Frandsen] deserved it, but I think she could have tried to be more green,” said Daniel Burg, a student from Idaho who got fifth place in the contest. “I think it’s cool to bike everywhere and not use water bottles, but you need to have more.”

Malia Griggs, 20, a student from Columbia, S.C. and the third place contestant, wishes Frandsen the best of luck on her trip to Sundance and doesn’t feel upset that Frandsen beat her. Unlike Burg, she felt Frandsen was going above and beyond with some of her green choices.

“I was really impressed by the stuff people were doing,” Griggs said. “I was glad to know there were other people who were interested in the environment.”

The schedule of films playing at Sundance was recently posted, and Frandsen will be picking out films as part of her preparation for the trip, hoping to see two a day for the four days she is there. Once in Utah, Frandsen will have access to all things Brita, including the Brita Green Room where the filmmakers and stars will wait to be interviewed for the Sundance Channel.

“Ideally, I want to finish my Web site and hand out business cards for it there,” Frandsen said, taking advantage of the fact that she will be a film student at a major film festival.

Frandsen is grateful that Brita acknowledged her green living and encourages others to do the same.

“It’s pretty simple and you can do as much as you want to,” Frandsen said. “It’s as simple as just adding the step of unplugging the computer after turning it off.”

The Sundance Film Festival will take place from Jan. 21-31 and Frandsen’s videos from Brita’s Green Room and the streets of Park City will be on Brita’s Filter For Good Web site at www.filterforgood.com.

“Every single day it hurts that I won’t see my daddy,” said McKinnley. “Since my daddy got sentenced to prison, my life changed for the worse.”

McKinnley, her older brother and her mother currently live in North Lawndale, where she is a freshman at North Lawndale College Prep High School. After her father’s incarceration, she said she became severely depressed and began to rebel in school. She also often found herself in violent confrontations in her neighborhood.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, black children are nine times more likely than white children to have an incarcerated parent. Studies have also shown children with incarcerated parents are more likely to end up incarcerated themselves.

Dr. Betty J. Allen-Green is on a mission to change this.

With a shoestring budget, Green is helping kids in North Lawndale and beyond create a path different from their parents.

She is the founder and executive director of the Lawndale Amachi Mentoring Program (LAMP), which offers mentoring services to young people with incarcerated parents living in the North Lawndale community.

“Our object is to break the cycle of incarceration,” said Green.

According to the Council of Crime and Justice, children with incarcerated parents face several different challenges. These challenges can include the loss or change of a caregiver, limited access to a parent during and after incarceration and behavioral and emotional issues such as academic failure, juvenile delinquency and developmental issues.

LAMP was launched in 2006 by staff including Green at Theodore Herzl Elementary School located at 3711 W. Douglas Blvd. in North Lawndale. Green was the school’s principal at the time and there were several students with jailed parents, including McKinnley.

“Children need a program like LAMP because they tend to have instability, especially if it’s the mother who’s incarcerated,” said Billeka Palmer, an AmeriCorps Vista volunteer with the program. “Children need the stability in knowing that someone will be there.”

A 2006 investigation by the Chicago Reporter called “Uncounted and Unseen” found that “children of incarcerated parents are disproportionately poor, African-American and Latino, and for many, their lives are shaped by the same cycle of poverty, violence and recidivism that ensnares their parents.”

According to the Department of Justice, in 1999 an estimated 767,200 black children, 384,500 white children and 301,600 Hispanic children had a parent in prison.

“Many children with incarcerated parents become invisible victims of crime, part of an ill-defined population that often sees its needs unmet,” said study co-author Jeff Kelly Lowenstein.

Kelly Lowenstein and his colleagues found that children’s needs are not a legal priority in the judicial process. Programs for children with incarcerated parents that do exist are specifically dedicated to reuniting families before the parents’ release. However, he believes that positive intervention needs to take place in these young people’s lives throughout their parents’ incarceration.

The impact of incarceration is especially harmful in a community like North Lawndale that already struggles with so many social and economic problems. LAMP focuses mainly on the North Lawndale community, collaborating with 13 elementary schools and a high school in the neighborhood. Green also works on the issue city-wide.

LAMP was patterned after the nationally recognized Amachi program in Philadelphia. The word “Amachi” derives from Nigerian language, meaning “Who knows what God has brought us through this child.”

Robert Davidson, president of the Lathrop Homes Local Advisory Council, said the CHA wants to move forward with soliciting developers to revamp the 35-acre site, despite the protests of residents.

“There’s no consensus on that,” Davidson said.

Renters, preservationists and community leaders have been pleading with Mayor Daley and the CHA to preserve the 35-acre Logan Square property since the agency announced plans in 2006 to level it and build a mixed-income development in its place.

It is not an uncommon occurrence. For the past 10 years, the CHA has been renovating and tearing down housing projects and replacing them with mixed-income communities as part of its “Plan for Transformation.”

Since March, Lathrop resident groups and CHA officials have been arguing over how much of the rehabilitated project should be set aside for public housing; residents are pushing for half, while the CHA wants one-third, said Stephanie Villinski, an attorney representing the community council.

The number of units is also a concern, Villinski said, with CHA officials backing plans for 1,200 units, almost 300 more than currently sit on the site.

Scott Shaffer, a former resident and leader of a Lathrop “alumni” organization, said the changes promoted by the CHA would destroy the character of the development, which is located at the intersection of Clybourn Avenue and Diversey Parkway.

“The CHA’s push for 1,200 units would lead to massive demolition at Lathrop,” Shaffer said. “It would take away the playground, the sports fields and green spaces and replace them with parking lots and buildings as tall as eight and nine stories.”

The CHA responded on Wednesday with a written statement saying that no decisions have been made on the number of units or income breakdown in the rehabbed Lathrop Homes, and that there are “no plans to demolish Lathrop.”

The statement provided no timetable for when a decision on the complex would be made.

However, USA Today on Wednesday quoted William Little, CHA’s executive vice president of development, as saying work would begin next year.

Preservationists are also pushing for the development to be preserved and re-used, arguing that its 27 Depression-era brick buildings and open site plan were created by a “dream team” of architects and landscaper designers.

“These historic brick buildings are structurally sound, still, 75 years later. They can easily be reconfigured for larger housing units,” said Jim Peters, president of Landmarks Illinois. In 2007, the state-wide preservation network added Lathrop Homes to its list of the “Ten Most Endangered Historic Places in Illinois.”

Since the CHA announced plans to redevelop the site, the agency has ceased to accept applications for Lathrop apartments and the population at Lathrop has dwindled. Today only about 210 of the development’s 924 units are occupied.

George Baez, 59, recalls sitting on a waiting list for 17 years before he landed a two-bedroom row house for his family in 1987. Today, he says, he and his wife are surrounded by empty homes and boarded windows.

Still, Baez said, Lathrop is his home.

“I feel safe there,” he said at a downtown press conference organized to stir interest in saving Lathrop. “When I wake up, I open my door, and it’s open until I go to sleep. They’re good people there.”

The proposed legislation would allow gay couples to wed in Illinois. As the new bill waits in the legislature until next year’s session, opinions vary widely on the issue in the Chicago area.

“I don’t believe in it,” said Shirley Anderson, 51, of Woodlawn. “I don’t believe in it from a religious standpoint, but I don’t judge – that’s God’s job.”

“I think it’d be a good thing,” said Paula Botha, 25, of La Grange. “I don’t see why it should be any different for same-sex or opposite sex [couples].”

State Sen. Heather Steans (D-Chicago) introduced the Equal Marriage Act in the Senate on Oct. 1. Steans said the bill would be heard by Senate committees as soon as February or March.

“I’ve had a strong response and support in the Chicago area,” said Steans. “I will continue to work with like-minded advocates to advance the bill and am looking for as much help as possible in every area of the state.”

The bill is the first of its kind in the Illinois Senate, but succeeds a civil unions bill introduced in the Illinois House of Representatives in February by Rep. Greg Harris (D-Chicago). Harris also introduced an equal marriage bill, but it failed to move beyond the committee.

Supporters of the new bill hope to reignite the debate around same-sex marriage in Illinois now that the civil unions bill has stalled, after squeaking through the House Youth and Family Committee on a 4-3 vote in May.

While public opinion varies, activists are charged up on both sides of the issue.

“We’re trying to educate people about the harm that this bill will do to religious freedoms and First Amendment rights,” said David Smith, executive director of the Illinois Family Institute, a religious organization that opposes same-sex marriage.

“There is a reason why the state recognizes natural marriage. It encourages it because it benefits the state,” Smith said. “It provides the ideal environment to raise children. What does gay marriage do? Nothing. It doesn’t benefit the state one iota.”

As religious institutions lobby against these bills, activists in the gay community are fighting for more than just marriage.

“I am for the equal marriage bill, but people need to remember that even with marriage equality in the state of Illinois – if it were to pass – it still means that most benefits of marriage are not accruable to gays and lesbians,” said Sherry Wolf, independent journalist, activist and author of “Sexuality and Socialism: History, Politics, and Theory of LGBT Liberation.”

“Most rights come from the federal government, not the states. So it is not enough,” she said.

Wolf was a committee member for the National Equality March in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 11. She said the march was a great start for activism.

“It was just the beginning. And what we need is ongoing speak-outs, rallies, speeches, film showings, sit-ins – all sorts of activism and public expression of dissent,” Wolf said.

“I have a positive outlook no matter what,” said Sidney Stokes, student and president of Common Ground, the LGBT group at Columbia College Chicago.

“If it doesn’t happen right now I know that Illinois, like the country, will one day have it,” he said. “I think the most important thing is to send a message to the legislature that Illinois wants this.”

Smith said the bill would not become law.

“It’s going nowhere fast,” he said. “It does not have the traction, despite the fact that the Democrats have a super-majority in the House and a majority in the Senate.”

For the last six years, the Illinois Family Institute has unsuccessfully lobbied to amend the state constitution to permanently ban same-sex marriage.

“Our amendment is not going anywhere,” Smith said, acknowledging House
Speaker Michael Madigan’s (D-Chicago) refusal to move the legislation to the committee. “It’s status-quo as of now,” he said.

Same-sex marriage rights were repealed in the state of Maine this month by a ballot measure called Proposition 1. Gay couples may marry in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, New Hampshire and Vermont.

A few years before that, Kessler’s son, then in his 20s, was also mugged. Kessler —who has lived in the area more than 30 years—said she feels like the “neighborhood nut,” because when there’s any kind of meeting on safety, she stands up and complains that nothing has been done on Morse Avenue—which is just a few blocks from her house— in more than a decade.

“It’s like nobody cares,” Kessler said at a Nov. 16 public safety seminar held at the Loyola Park fieldhouse. “I don’t go out. I feel like I’m trapped.”

Kessler’s sentiments echoed many of those expressed by some of the more than 30 people who attended the forum, held by state Rep. Harry Osterman (D-Chicago) and state Sen. Heather Steans (D-Chicago). Osterman scheduled the event after his office saw an increase in calls from constituents upset about crime in the Far North Side neighborhood.

“It’s getting darker out earlier, and we all have to protect ourselves and be safe,” said Osterman. “That doesn’t mean we have to be Charles Bronson. We just have to be aware.”

Osterman said he’s working to restore CeaseFire, an outreach program for at-risk youth whose funding was cut by former Gov. Rod Blagojevich. CeaseFire is currently active only in the 11th Police Distict’s West Humboldt and West Garfield Parks, and also on the South Side in West Englewood.

Yet it should be restored in 16 other neighborhoods by Dec. 1, Tio Hardiman, director of CeaseFire Illinois said. Osterman said he hopes to have it up and running in his area by Jan. 1.

Osterman also said he’s working with the Chicago Public Schools to get Sullivan High School “a little more under control” and to offer after-school and put-kids-to-work programs. And Osterman said he’s working with the new police commander to address concerns.

“People gotta involved,” Osterman said. “They have to call the police and get engaged.”

Besides the usual suggestions such as attending CAPS meetings and calling 9-1-1, the most valuable information was offered by Officer Jim Olszanski, who holds preventative programs for the Chicago Police Department. Olszanski provided helpful tips on what to do if you’re a victim of robbery, purse snatching, burglary, pick-pocketing or other crimes. He told attendees to kick, scream and do everything in their power to escape if they are a crime victim.

“Act crazy if someone approaches,” Olszanski said. “Have a conversation with yourself.”

The 24th police district, which includes Rogers Park, West Ridge and part of Edgewater, is bounded by Howard/Juneway Terrace, Lake Michigan, Thorndale and the North Shore Channel. Between January and October 2009, out of 25 districts, the 24th ranked No. 24, meaning it had the next to the highest increase in violent crimes, which include murder, robbery, aggravated sexual assault and criminal sexual assault, according to Chicago Police Department statistics. Only one district ranked higher — or worse— the 14th, Shakespeare District, in the North Side’s Logan Square neighborhood.

Through October in the 24th District, violent crimes were up 7.7 percent from the same time last year with three murders, 48 criminal sexual assaults, 447 robberies, 117 aggravated assaults, and 194 aggravated batteries. The same time span in 2008—January through October— saw seven murders, 39 criminal sexual assaults, 416 robberies, 111 aggravated assaults, and 178 aggravated batteries, police statistics show.

However, overall index crimes— which include property and violent crimes combined — were down 5.1 percent from the same time period in 2008. Property index crimes include arson, burglary, motor vehicle theft and theft.

“It’s certainly a lot quieter than it was,” said Ald. Joe Moore (49th), who sent his chief of staff to the meeting. “That doesn’t mean there aren’t significant issues to work on.”

Moore said Howard Street and Morse Avenue have improved considerably, “but there’s still work to be done,” he said. “They’re a work in progress.”

Kessler suggested a police outpost on Morse Avenue, where there was one several years ago. Jeanette Cotledge, president of the Birchwood Townhouse Association at Birchwood and Western, said in spots such as Morse Avenue, she has “a heightened sense of alert.”

“I’d like to feel safer,” she said. “I don’t feel as safe as I want to.”

The Triangle Neighbors Association, which oversees the Lakeview community between Belmont and Addison avenues, and Halsted and Clark streets, has joined forces with Ald. Tom Tunney (44th) and the Chicago Police Department in an attempt to prevent violence in their neighborhood.

Jim Ludwig, president of Triangle Neighbors Association, said the “Take Back the Streets” effort began two years ago when residents became fed up with the increase of theft, forced robbery and violence in their neighborhood.

“Kathleen Boehmer (23rd District Commander) suggested we become more visible on our streets late into the night and into the early morning hours,” Ludwig said.

Through meetings with the North Halsted Business Alliance and the alderman’s office, the Triangle Neighbors Association put a plan in action to take back their neighborhood.

So far, monthly gatherings have been successful, police commander Boehmer said.

“The last walk, on Oct. 24, resulted in three arrests,” said Boehmer, who wouldn’t elaborate on the arrests, but said they were drug and weapon related. “There were two walks that night, one at midnight and one at 2 a.m. and over 100 people participated, it was a great turnout.”

“On the last walk, we confiscated a lot of weapons, mostly knifes and broke up several fights,” Ludwig said. “We even saw one guy trying to break into a house at the corner of Halsted and Belmont. If we have a feeling that they are up to something suspicious or out of place, we approach them and find out what is happening.”

John Dalton, Lakeview resident and co-owner of Minibar, 3341 N. Halsted, said the walks have been a great success in preventing crime and cleaning up the streets.

Jay Lyon, executive director of the North Halsted Business Alliance, who’s participated in the safety walks, said it is an attempt to prevent crime before it happens and show that the Lakeview community won’t tolerate crime. The Uptown neighborhood is using the same “positive loitering” technique.

“Being active in keeping the streets safe and promoting this type of community involvement is good for everyone,” he said. “It helps prevent crime towards both business owners and home owners, and we will continue to participate and promote these types of activities.”

Boehmer said the safety walks show a community is willing to take action.

“The idea is to have people out at times where there wouldn’t normally be a street presence by the neighborhood residents,” she said.

Max Bevar, spokesman for Tunney, said the alderman’s office not only supports the “Take Back the Streets” effort in the Lakeview community but joins in on the effort by participating in every walk. Both Bevar and Bennett Lawson, deputy for the alderman, have participated in the walks.

Boehmer said Lakeview is a safe neighborhood because there are residents who will not accept it any other way.

“Lakeview is one of those areas that have a lot of support from different community organizations that want to keep the neighborhood safe,” she said. “We will continue to work with these different organizations, whether it is a safety walk or providing tips on crime prevention.”

Ludwig said an official date hasn’t been set for the next walk, but it will be within the next two weeks.

“This is definitely a crime prevention tactic for our community, and we plan on continuing the walks as long as we have participants,” he 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.

In the continuing saga of Reggie, Lincoln Square’s most wanted cat, his person, Luise Jochum, schlepped out into the cold on a rainy, October afternoon for Reggie’s administrative hearing at 400 W. Superior.

Reggie, the pumpkin-shaped, 20-pound, orange tabby was busted for violating a city ordinance that requires pets to be leashed by the same cop who nabbed him two years ago for being an animal-at-large. Because this was Reggie’s second offense, he faced a fine of up to $500.

For nearly a month Reggie’s neighbors, who have appointed him the “Mayor of Lincoln Square,” have been taking turns walking the friendly, roaming cat on a leash. Reggie has been thrown out of some of the finest coffee houses in Lincoln Square, and according to neighborhood legend, once spent 11 days in the basement of the Davis Theater.

Sliding her cane and purse on the conveyor belt at the security checkpoint in the Chicago Department of Administrative Hearings building, 81-year-old Jochum, sans Reggie, grabbed the sides of the metal detector for support and walked through it, setting off the beeper. Jochum, who apparently doesn’t pass through too many metal detectors, forgot to take off her jangly bracelet.

Standing precariously without the support of her aluminum cane, the security guard waved a wand over Jochum, which was set off by more of her jangly jewelry. Not wanting to see Jochum topple over in the lobby of the administrative hearings building, the guard quickly handed back Jochum’s cane.

Taking the afternoon off from being productive members of society were Jochum’s neighbors: Wendy Carlstrom, who drove Jochum downtown, Pat Kovar and Maureen Sanderson. Neighbor Charles Fowler, wearing a suit and reading the Wall Street Journal, was already waiting for them in the lobby. Kovar carried pictures of Reggie crashing one of her backyard cocktail parties to show to the judge.

Susan Dimanno, co-founder of the Tree House Humane Society and a volunteer court advocate for animal abuse cases, greeted Jochum and her neighbors. Ald. Gene Schulter (47th) also sent his aide Patrick to assist in the delicate legal negotiations. (For the record, the damn pay box on Sedegwick ate five of Lake Effect News’s quarters, crediting us with only 45 minutes of street parking when we paid for two hours.)

Reggie’s dream team ran into its first obstacle when it approached the information desk. The room number recorded on Reggie’s ticket was “404,” which we soon found didn’t exist because there is no fourth floor at the administrative hearings building on Superior.

After several minutes of docket checking, Reggie’s dream team was redirected to the courtroom of Administrative Law Judge Diedra A. Cato, which greatly resembled a double-wide trailer. Jochum, Dimanno and Patrick disappeared into a side room to beg the court’s mercy for Reggie.

The rest of us sat in the courtroom watching the other live administrative hearing drama unfold. (Note to readers: they don’t fool around in administrative hearings, a department that serves to enhance the quality of life of all Chicagoans. It’s not like Cook County Circuit Court where, if the judge is in a good mood, he or she lets you off on your speeding ticket or disgusting building code violation. Nope, the administrative hearings department’s job is strictly to collect people’s money to help the city with its budget deficit.)

The cop who arrested Reggie wasn’t there. The ticket alone, we later learned, served as an affidavit. Jochum reappeared moments later and waved the other dream team members down the pew with her cane. Dimanno and Patrick took their seats in the row ahead of us, looking frustrated.

Finally, the administrative law judge called Reggie’s case: “The City of Chicago Vs. Luise Jochum.” Jochum approached the bench, and, raising her right hand, swore to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Reggie’s dream team was able to negotiate a plea bargain, reducing his fine to $100, plus an additional $40 for the administrative hearings department’s valuable time.

Waiving her rights to an appeal, Reggie’s, or rather Jochum’s violation was reduced from an animal-at-large to a disorderly conduct violation. An audible sigh of relief could be heard from the other alleged offenders waiting for their own hearings that Lincoln Square was now a little safer from this reckless, marauding elderly woman with a cane and her chubby cat.

“We tried to get it dismissed,” Patrick from Ald. Schulter’s office said apologetically after we had reconvened outside the courtroom. “They said it was a good ticket.”

Reggie’s dream team was still left with lingering questions. Had someone complained about Reggie, who couldn’t outrun a pigeon? Why was Reggie being singled out, when there were clearly other cats out there selling crack and driving without insurance? What if Reggie slipped out the door again and invited himself to one of Kovar’s cocktail parties?

“Reggie brings so much love to the neighborhood,” Sanderson said, as Fowler went to pay Reggie’s $140 fine. “Everyone is going to miss him.”

“Well,” Carlstrom said, “I guess we better start lining up some volunteer cat walkers.”

As a part of a nationwide event, Illinois visitors will be able to explore solar-powered homes and businesses in the Chicagoland area. At some locations visitors will be able to discuss the various forms of solar energy used with the home or building owners, according to Lisa Albrecht, tour coordinator with the Illinois Solar Energy Association.

“The systems are incredibly efficient and the technology is remarkably reliable,” said Albrecht. “[Solar panels] are about 70 percent efficient. And unlike any other appliance in your home, they will continue to pay for themselves for decades at a time. Because of all of those factors, they just make good sense.”

Albrecht said owners could see savings up to 25 to 40 percent on their energy bills and up to 70 percent with solar hot-water heating.

As the nation moves towards using more alternative energies, the Illinois General Assembly and Governor Pat Quinn authorized the Illinois Finance Authority to grant low-interest loans to finance studies and installations of solar and wind power systems on school district facilities and land.

One hundred-fifty locations will be a part of the free, self-guided tour on which participants will be able to bike or walk along suggested routes between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. An after-party at Uncommon Ground, located at 1401 W. Devon Ave., will be held for tour participants to mingle and enjoy food and drinks, while learning more about alternative energy.

To find out more information, visit http://tour.illinoissolar.org/ or email [email protected].

By LISC Chicago’s New Communities Program

Enjoy three short tours of South Chicago online, thanks to YoChicago.com and NewHomeNotebook.com.

Personal story of beating cancer by Scott Seaman and Charlene McMann-Seaman

Instead of a week of Mickey Mouse and basking in the Florida sun, it was ten months of surgery, chemotherapy and radiation.  Scott, a renowned corporate trial lawyer at Meckler Bulger Tilson Marick & Pearson LLP in Chicago and Chairman of the firm’s Insurance Coverage Litigation & Counseling practice group, was now battling for his life against non-Hodgkin lymphoma as well as battling adversaries in the courtroom.

Lymphoma is the most common form of blood cancer, impacting 500,000 Americans and killing over 20,000 a year.  Scott was reluctant to endure the cancer treatments, but Charlene says “I told him the cancer won’t kill you and I will help you get through the treatment.  But if you don’t do whatever it takes to beat cancer, I will kill you.”  Not surprisingly, Scott credits Charlene for his beating cancer.

Once the treatments were done, Scott did not want the words “cancer” or “lymphoma” spoken in the house anymore.  Charlene had a different view.  She insisted that they work to cure cancer and help people who are battling the disease.  Scott jokes, “I’m a lawyer and the idea of helping someone else never occurred to me.”

As part of their mission to cure cancer, the couple co-founded the Chicago chapter of a national blood cancer organization and spearheaded an annual 5K walk and run at Montrose Harbor that now takes place in 16 cities across America.  They engage in public policy activities and work directly with cancer patients and their families.

Last year, Charlene received a Jefferson Award for Public Service for her public service. The NBC 5 Chicago Web site notes Charlene’s “activities and efforts in organizing charitable organizations, educational events, and fundraisers have had a tremendous impact of the lives of countless patients and families living with cancer in the Chicagoland area and on a national basis.”

Former Corporate Executive-Turned-Cancer Champion Fights For Cure, the couple is quick to credit the generosity, help and big hearts of so many Chicago area people and companies.

Their new book “Battling And Beating Cancer – The Cancer Survival Book” is inspiring and informative.  Scott and Charlene provide readers with a front row seat for diagnosis, surgery, chemotherapy, radiation and living as a cancer survivor.

They tell their story in an engaging, candid and powerful manner – with a mixture of wit, wisdom and sarcasm.  At the same time, they actually are telling the story of many cancer patients and  demystifying the experience for others.  They provide important insights on selecting doctors, surviving a hospital stay, being on the right side of survival statistics, obtaining a proper diagnosis, selecting the proper treatments, and understanding clinical trials.

They write about developing a “cancer warrior” mentality, “chemo brain,” the role of the immune system in cancer, healthy life style issues, and so much more.  They believe cancer survivors have a responsibility to help others with cancer and they provide numerous suggestions as part of their national “call to action to cure cancer.”

The book is something that cancer patients and caregivers will want to carry with them because it contains helpful checklists, pointers, questions to ask the doctors, and a listing of cancer organizations and resources.  It also has a patient’s medical information notebook and weekly schedules to record important information.  The book features a foreword by Dr. Stephanie Gregory and Dr. Henry Fung, prominent oncologists as Rush University Medical Center.  Battling And Beating Cancer – The Cancer Survival Book” is aptly named and now available at www.charleneandscott.org.

Scott and Charlene remain in the front lines on the battle against cancer.  They also are involved in launching a landmark program with the Jefferson Awards for Public Service aimed at promoting healthy diet and exercise and reducing obesity in students.

June 1, 2009 – Hyde Park on Chicago’s South Side is generally considered an upscale community with lakefront property, moderate-to-high-income households and the Midwest home of President Barack Obama.

But as the economy worsens, Hyde Park demonstrates that even a neighborhood with a median household income of $44,142 is not immune to the mortgage foreclosure crisis.

Ald. Leslie Hairston (5th) expressed her concern for her constituents at a foreclosure prevention and intervention seminar held in April.

“Hyde Park is right in the middle of the pack when it comes to foreclosures,” said Hairston.  “We don’t have the most, but we definitely don’t have the fewest.”

According to Irma Morales of the Chicago Department of Community Development, there were 13,872 foreclosures in Chicago in 2007.  That number rose to 20,592 in 2008 with 68 foreclosures in Hyde Park.  The department expects the number to continue rising in 2009.  According to the Woodstock Institute and EveryBlock.com, there have already been 21 foreclosures in Hyde Park this year.

“We all know the foreclosure crisis is a national epidemic,” said Gregg Brown, president of the South Side Community Credit Union.  “But now we’re starting to see it hit closer to home, in our communities.”

In fact, some foreclosed homes in Hyde Park are abandoned.  Paula Grantt, Business Development Officer at Shore Bank and a Hyde Park resident, said that when buildings sit abandoned in a neighborhood they can cause property values to drop and increase the crime rate of an area.

“It becomes a blight on the neighborhood,” said Ald. Hairston.  “In our ward, we’re cracking down hard [on maintaining abandoned buildings].  You’ve got to have it secured, you’ve got to have it boarded-up, you’ve got to have it lit.  We still have active people living in the community with these abandoned buildings.”

Hairston said banks that own the mortgages on the buildings will eventually be fined by the city if the properties are not kept up.

Mike van Zalingen of the group Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago said that about 20 percent of  foreclosures in the city will be prevented by homeowners who work with their lenders and applying for loan modifications.

Hairston said education and support are key in preventing and fixing mortgage foreclosures.  “It’s not that people are unaware,” said Hairston.  “It’s that they’re scared and embarrassed. Educated people who have always paid their bills on time are finding themselves losing their jobs and not being able to pay their mortgages.  These are my constituents, people who have fallen on rough economic times and people on fixed incomes.  These are the people I am trying to help.”

May 4, 2009 – Chicago homeowners have suffered greatly from the mortgage crisis.

According to the Woodstock Institute, property foreclosures in Chicago increased by 85 percent between 2005 and 2007, and aren’t expected to peak until late 2009. Many of the hardest hit neighborhoods in the city are also receiving funding through Local Initiatives Support Coalition/Chicago’s New Communities Program (NCP), the nation’s largest comprehensive community development program.

In Auburn Gresham and Englewood, where foreclosures are high, the NCP and local community organizations have decided to fight back.

Every Thursday, now through September, Neighborhood Housing Services (NHS) in Auburn Gresham is offering free foreclosure prevention workshops, including counseling and an information session with a housing expert. The workshops are 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the NHS offices, 449 W. 79th St.

The effort, primarily funded through NCP and a grant from the MacArthur Foundation, has given frightened homeowners an opportunity to educate themselves about foreclosure prevention, and maybe a chance to keep their homes while protect themselves from even more debt.

The workshops aim to work through the embarrassment that comes with the threat of foreclosure, to bring the issue out in the open and to educate local residents – many who have been victims of predatory lenders and dishonest legal counsel.

“People don’t like talking about their financial problems, especially to strangers,” said Carlos Nelson, executive director of the Greater Auburn-Gresham Development Corporation (GADC). “And sometimes people don’t know that they’re experiencing danger.”

Nelson and the GADC are using the MacArthur grant to fund outreach work, using noisemakers, signs and brightly colored T-shirts to catch the attention of local residents at block clubs and other community gatherings. Giant cardboard signs bearing a picture of a boarded-up house read “Save Your Home” and list a phone number for NHS, along with information about the workshops.

“It’s kind of a roving tent revival-style approach,” said Nelson. “This sign is really to say ‘Hey, you’re not alone.’”

So far, the effort has worked. An April 2 workshop was packed with local residents. Latecomers were left with standing room only during housing counselor Sandra Well’s information session, which offered the when, why and how of home foreclosure, as well as the basics of forbearance and how to gain more time before having to move.

As Wells explained the reasons for foreclosure, loss of income being the main cause currently, workshop attendees slowly began to speak up and tell their own stories of dubious lenders and unforeseen Adjusted Rate Mortgages (ARMs).

“If you have money, any kind of money, save it towards your mortgage,” said Wells, warning that the longer homeowners wait to pay, the more expensive it becomes, and non-negotiable legal fees will only mean more debt later on. Wells also strongly advised residents not to pay any money to those promising to get them out of debt. Most of the time, dealing with forbearance or organizing payments is something homeowners can do themselves or with free counsel from an agency accredited by the city.

“Be aware of the scams,” Wells said. “Question people that are wanting to get money from you to provide the service.”

Residents at the workshop could also sign up for a counseling session afterward, which many took advantage of.

In Auburn Gresham, where 60 percent of the population is 50 or older, many homeowners have lived in their homes since the 1960s and ‘70s, and have only recently fallen into debt and fear of foreclosure. Nelson said lenders have preyed on the neighborhood’s seniors, many of whom inhabit historic bungalows throughout Englewood and Auburn Gresham. He and the GADC have reached out to community groups, churches and preachers in the hope that the workshops will help older residents and young families, whom the GADC has worked hard to bring into Auburn Gresham, from losing their place in their neighborhood.

“At the end of the day, this issue will subside,” said Nelson, adding that he thinks the efforts by the GADC and NHS should be replicated in other neighborhoods around the city to help eradicate a widespread problem.

Feb. 26, 2009 – Credit experts active in LISC Chicago’s New Communities Program Foreclosure Response Fund say they’re optimistic President Barack Obama’s plan for modifying bad mortgages will begin to cure Chicago’s alarming epidemic of home foreclosures.

They do have one regret:  Something like this plan should have been implemented two or three years ago.

“If we had done this two years ago we might have avoided a lot of the economic damage and job losses we’re seeing now,” said Jim Capraro, who has led the fight against predatory lending as executive director of the Greater Southwest Development Corp. “No mortgage modification works once the homeowner loses his job and has no income.”

Both Capraro and John Groene, associate director of Neighborhood Housing Services of  Chicago, agreed the Obama plan has two highly desirable features: 1) it waives existing rules to allow homeowners-especially owners current on payments-to refinance at today’s lower rates even though they’ve built up zero on-paper equity because of falling home prices; and 2) it provides a series of incentives to lenders so they’ll negotiate monthly payments down to 31 percent of income… the historic level above which borrowers run into trouble.

“This is the level that has worked for the last 30 years and if they [sub-prime lenders] had stuck with it over the last five years, we wouldn’t be in this mess,” said Groene, who advises the many NHS mortgage counselors working in NCP neighborhoods.

President Obama outlined the basics of his program on Feb. 18 in Mesa, Ariz., a foreclosure hotspot. Full details were to be released at the program’s start-up on March 4.

Download the details

As with so much about home mortgages, the program’s specifics are relatively complex.

A four-page executive summary can be downloaded at: http://www.treas.gov/initiatives/eesa/homeowner-affordability-plan/ExecutiveSummary.pdf

A more detailed eight-page summary is at: http://www.treas.gov/initiatives/eesa/homeowner-affordability-plan/FactSheet.pdf

In general, however, the $275 million Homeowner Affordability and Stability Act has three components.

The first will help homeowners still current on payments, but who are paying high interest rates on federally “conforming” mortgages and cannot refinance because they do not have enough equity in their homes. Families seeking help in NCP neighborhoods often are already in arrears and would not be helped by this provision, but there are at least 5 million Americans who will fall behind in the months ahead unless they can refinance at today’s lower rates.

Doing so had been difficult given a Fannie Mae rule requiring borrowers to make a substantial down-payment – most often obtained by using the appreciation in a home’s value, or owner’s equity,  accrued under the previous mortgage.

A second component would assist about 4 million people who, like many NCP help-seekers, are already behind and at risk of losing their homes. It provides incentives to lenders to make loans more affordable. Specifically, if a lender or their hired servicing agent renegotiates monthly payments down to 38 percent of a borrower’s income, the federal government will pick up half the cost of lowering those payments down to just 31 percent.

In addition, the government will pay servicers $1,000 for making the effort, and a like amount for three years thereafter if the borrower stays current. After five years, however, the terms head back to the original.

A third component would try to increase the credit available for mortgages in general by giving $200 billion of additional financial backing to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

NCPers react

Besides luring lenders with government money, the plan also calls on Congress to give bankruptcy judges the power to change the terms of mortgages and reduce monthly payments.

These so-called “cram-downs” are a reform long-sought by Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.). At a recent congressional hearing Durbin said he was alarmed at the pattern of foreclosures displayed on dot maps of the Southwest Side prepared by NCP partner Southwest Organizing Project.

“We’re headed into a situation where we’re averaging five boarded-up buildings on every block,” said Capraro. A national authority on neighborhood credit issues, he participated in an explanatory conference call held by the White House following Obama’s announcement. Capraro said the write-down to 31 percent of income would have been enormously useful two years ago … but now his neighborhood’s biggest mortgage problem is job loss.

“It’s the perfect storm,” he said. “In the movie it was a northeaster meeting a hurricane. Here it’s predatory lending meeting a severe recession with huge layoffs.”

NHS’s Groene said the best part of the Obama plan is its potential to motivate lenders – including distant investors in collateralized mortgage bonds – to come forward and contact borrowers instead of playing hard-to-reach.

By working with the program they can recapture their principal and most of the originally-promised interest. With foreclosure they’re lucky to recapture 50 percent of what’s owed, said Groene, with losses of 75 percent becoming common as the housing market deteriorates.

Groene said the core work of the NCP Foreclosure Response Fund – reaching out to troubled borrowers and getting them to counselors for help – will be more important than ever. “With the lenders now coming to the table, there’s a role for all of our partners in this. We can make a difference.”

NHS Foreclosure Prevention Hotline: 1-773-329-4185

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Aug. 29, 2008 – It’s a summer Thursday evening in the basement of the 11th District Police Station, and aerobics instructor Keith Spurlin is cranking up the R&B on a boom box to get the room full of about 20 adult participants moving and grooving.

WalkForce members generally 10 laps around the Garfield Park Conservatory, or about 2 1/2 miles.

Photo: Rishona Taylor

“Work that. Work that. Work this,” he intones. “Arms out. Little circles. Here we go. Arms up and down.”

Then he starts stepping up and down at the same time and pumps his fists like a boxer. “Here you go. Straight out.”

Then it’s toe-touches, stepping to the left and right, and stepping up and down while bent over.

“Hey!” yells out one woman, in mock indignation. A call of “jump!” provokes exhausted laughter.

After touching elbows to knees and kicking legs out in front, Spurlin calls out: “Is everybody loose? Is everybody loose?”

The Thursday night class, which began this summer, is a recent addition to a 5-month-old walking club, called WalkForce, that’s been motoring past the ferns and flowers at the Garfield Park Conservatory from Monday through Wednesday nights.

Club members, who number nearly 70 but usually total about 40 on any given night, generally do 10 laps around the conservatory, or about 2 1/2 miles, says Mike Tomas, New Communities Program director for the Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance.

The aerobics class on Thursday nights leaves some participants in pain — but with gain — on Friday.

Photo: Rishona Taylor

With funding from Advocate Bethany Hospital , WalkForce is free to members, Tomas says. In addition to the evening walks and Thursday aerobics, the club offers Saturday morning community walks and monthly health screenings for glucose, blood pressure, weight and body fat.

Spurlin, a personal trainer who holds a day job at the 11th District, said the local CAPS coordinator recruited him to teach the aerobics class on Thursdays. “Everybody gets up, and they give me their all,” he says. “I love it. We’re in this life to live as long as we can live. We all know friends who left too young.”

Health concerns prompted Diana Cancer, a member of the New Communities Housing Committee in East Garfield, to join the WalkForce after “a young lady called me. I said, ‘How did you know I was fat over the telephone?’ We had a laugh,” she recalls.

Sherry Lawyer has high-blood pressure, suffered a stroke on New Year’s Day and learned she had an aneurysm a month later. “The doctor told me I had to do a lot of walking,” she said. “My cousin recommended [WalkForce] to me.”

Health concerns have prompted many of the 67 members to join WalkForce.

Photo: Rishona Taylor

Her sister, Shellia Lawyer, said the high-blood pressure runs in their family, on their father’s side.

“It’s been educational because of learning how to eat better,” she says. “Keith kills us on Thursdays. We can barely walk on Friday.”

Marvin Adams, a diabetic who’s had back surgery four times, walks about two miles every day and has dropped from 223 to 201 pounds in less than two months. “They told me to leave the remote alone and do some exercise,” he says.

Darlene Hooper lives within walking distance of the conservatory and likes to get involved in activities there. “It was free,” she says. “There were a lot of incentives [listed] on the flyer. The health piece is very important.”

Vanessa Jackson says she’s been active in sports her whole life. “It was refreshing to know that we had something like this in our community,” she says. “The whole experience is wonderful. It’s been very motivational to see the older members of the community.”

To learn more about WalkForce, contact Rishona Taylor at the Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance, (773) 638-1766 x17 or [email protected].

“This is what works for me right now,” said Rondinelli.

While it may seem like Rondinelli is lazy, he is part of an ever-growing population of twenty-somethings that for financial or personal reasons have decided to return to the nest. They have been labeled twixters, boomerang kids, and have what is known as quarter life crisis.

Betty Frain, Ph.D. in Growth and Development attributes several factors to the growing number of “boomerang” kids. In the past ten years, housing costs have doubled and school related debt is 85 percent higher; pay for entry level jobs has remained stagnant, said Frain.

“They want to grow up, they want to be independent,” said Frain. “There are so many forces stacked against them; they just remain between adolescence and adulthood longer.”

According to the U.S. Census, in 2006, 54 percent of men and 47 percent of women ages 18-24 resided at home with their parent or guardian. For adults 25 to 34 years of age, 14 percent of men and 9 percent of women reside at home. In 1970, only nine percent of men and less than seven percent of women 25-34 lived with their parents.

“The baby boom generation has been obsessed with perfect parenting,” said Frain. “[They] are creating a home that is nurturing and comforting for their children- too comfortable that adult children don’t want to leave.”

For Rondinelli, this is true. He spends a lot of time with his parents; he watches baseball games with his dad and helps his mom in the kitchen sometimes. He said he enjoys spending time with them, and they make living at home comfortable and easy.

“There is a comfort in the things the generations share, they have things in common,” said Frain, who shares interests with her children in music like Bob Dylan. “The generation gap has closed,” said Frain.

Rondinelli has held several jobs from telemarketer to bartender. He now drives a van and delivers sheet metal parts; he said he enjoys the freedom of being on the road all day. The job, however, does not offer benefits such as health insurance, which he pays out of pocket. He has worked for the company for two years, and soon he hopes to be promoted to management, which means a pay increase and benefits.

“So many [young adults] are working without the things their parents took for granted like retirement, health care, the cost of housing,” said Frain. “I wonder if this generation will ever be able to afford a home.”

Bill Ahmann has a different story than Rondinelli’s. He went to school for four years and graduated (with honors) without any school-related debt. Between savings and scholarships, he had paid for school by the time he was done. He also lived at home for those four years to save money.

After a year in the workforce, he decided to attend law school and make the move from mom and dads in the suburbs to downtown Chicago. After only two semesters, school related debt put Ahmann in the hole $47,000. He also decided that he no longer wanted to pursue a degree in law.

After three years of living on his own, Ahmann, 26, moved back home in October last year. After his stint in law school, he got a job as a paralegal, although he has been actively searching for a job relative to his degree, finance and economics.

“I’m taking advantage of living at home,” said Ahmann. “Living expenses here are fixed, and I don’t want to incur expenses not knowing what my income is going to be.”

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, during the 1992- 1993 academic year, school related debt was $9,000. During the 2003-2004 year, average debt had sky rocketed to just shy of $20,000, doubling in just over ten years.

Ahmann said the economy did not help his job situation, and people with three to four years of experience were taking entry-level positions when he graduated.

“I’m not using the skills I learned in school at work,” he said. “That puts me at a disadvantage to new graduates.”

Ahmann is considering going back to school to get his masters degree or CFA to make himself “more marketable” to the companies he is seeking employment with. More school, however, means more debt. He said he will not be able to move out until he is on a career track, which now he is not.

“The finance market is an unfavorable, almost hostile environment,” said Ahmann. “Unfortunately, I’ll be taking a pay cut, but if it is for a job I love, it is worth it.”

Social factors have played a large role in the changing demographic of adults in their 20s, as well as economic factors. According to the American Sociological Association, in 1960, 70 percent of women age 25 had attained “traditional adult status” – meaning marriage, having children and a set career. In 2000, only 46 percent of woman had reached those achievement markers.

Jeannette Castillo graduated from DePaul University Chicago in February. She commuted from home in the South Suburbs for four years and since graduation, has had little luck finding a job. After several unpaid internships, she landed a part-time job on the weekends. Castillo, 23, is continuing her search, and keeps her internship during the week in hope of bulking her resume to impress potential employers. She is in no hurry to get married or have kids- she wants to figure her life out first.

“It’s so hard,” said Castillo. “But I like living at home. My parents help me out so much with everything, and they understand that it is taking some time to get my career and life headed in the right direction.”

The phenomenon of adult children living at home with their parents has become so popular, that in 2006, Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew McConaughey starred in a movie, Failure to Launch, about the issue. McConaughey plays a 30-something who still lives at home, with his mom waiting on him hand and foot. Frain commented on the situation for the DVD.

“A lot of parents are wondering if they are giving too much,” said Frain. “They wonder if by allowing their grown children back into the house, they will ever get them out again.”

Social acceptance of young adults has grown with the shrinking economy. While at one point, moving back home was seen as taboo or a sign of failure, people are now more understanding of factors that may hinder a recent grad or young professional from living on their own.

Ryan O’Reilly, author of Snapshot, is all too familiar with the quarter life crisis. He graduated college, had a house with a white picket fence and a good job. One day at work he realized he was “staring at the next 30 years right here.” He quit his job, moved across the country, and ended up on the road managing a band for the next three years.

His book is loosely based on his own experiences. The main character has a quarter life crisis, leaves corporate America and takes off across the country on his Harley Davidson. Along the way, the unnamed main character meets people and has experiences that help him to identify who he is and what he wants in life.

O’Reilly said that part of what comes after school is this identity crisis. If you do not build some time in after you graduate to figure yourself out, you may end up like the character in his book and lose yourself he said.

“Our society is getting to the point where we’re not quite as traditional as we once were. We don’t have this set process we have to follow,” O’Reilly said. “You have to go to school, graduate, have a career. I think we are finally getting to the point where we don’t have to do that. We don’t have to get locked into that routine.”

People like Rondinelli (twixter), Ahmann (boomerang kid) and O’Reilly(quarter-lifer) are doing just that, using their youth to figure out the rest of their lives. Rondinelli said he has the rest of life to be responsible, he just wants to make sure when he gets there, he knows he is where he wants to be,

“You may make a little less money, and you might feel a little lost from time to time, but you are doing it on your own terms,” said O’Reilly. “It is important to find something [in] the world that you are truly passionate about and still be able to balance needs, wants and obligations.”

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