Starting Nov. 29, the Halsted Bridge at Division Street was closed, creating a detour and extra congestion for residents living in the River North Area. The detour takes cars as well as bikes east to Larrabee Street via Chicago Avenue and Division Street.

According the Dan Burke of the Chicago Department of Transportation, the reconstruction of the Halsted Street Bridge will commence in December 2011 and the projected cost of the new bridge is $15 million.

“The Halsted Bridge had reached the end of its service life,” said Burke. “When finished it will have four lanes with bike lanes and sidewalks for pedestrians.”

Gina Bonfiglio, 27, works and lives in River North. She says that one of the reasons she lives in the area is so she doesn’t have to worry about commuting to her job.

“Everything I need is right here, “Bonfiglio said. “If I cannot get somewhere by walking I will just take public transportation, that is one of the best things about Chicago,”

According to Mike Riordan, president of the River North Residents Association, Larabee Street has always been a congested street.

“The residents in River North are already used to the congestion on Larrabee as well as Chicago Avenue. People are pretty understanding about it,” said Riordan.

Riordan also believes that people in the River North area have alternative means of transportation for work. Riordan says that most residents seem to walk or take public transportation.

“The people in River North just seem to be sucking it up, when it comes to the traffic. I have heard no complaints,” said Riordan.

River North has the Brown and Purple Line station accessible at Chicago Avenue and Franklin Street and buses run on Chicago Avenue every 10 minutes, according to the CTA website.

John Wilkinson, 27, has been commuting to work in River North for the past year; the bridge closing has not affected him and he does not believe it affects many commuters.

“The only people concerned with the closing of the Halsted Bridge at Division would be people who have to commute somewhere that won’t allow them to use the highway. The rest of us just park our cars in a garage and jump on an El,” said Wilkinson.

Sharon Romack from the River North Business Association is not concerned with the rerouting of traffic onto Larabee Street. Romack says that none of the business owners in River North has come forward and complained of the closure.

“I rode the Brown Line every day to work when I lived in the South Loop. Congestion and rush hour is just a part of Chicago. Take it or leave it,” said Bonfiglio.

Sulfer-processing plant at the Port of Stockton in Stockton, Calif. Photo from http://californiaaerialphotography.blogspot.com.

“I would like to be educated on sulfur,” Commissioner George W. Migala said before voting in favor of the project. “So that in the future, if something unusual were to happen, I would not regret my vote that I may make today.”

If ultimately approved by Chicago City Council, Savage Services Co. will use the land to operate, store and ship sulfur by boat and truck to cities across the United States and internationally.

Jason Sanders, environmental director for Savage, said the liquid-based chemical would be solidified into a pellet-form byproduct– primarily used as a fertilizer–at the refinery site to make for easier storing and shipping.

He said the process of solidifying sulfur, or prilling, would not affect the environment, and said the company has applied for air and water permits from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.

“We will have some storm water discharge from our parking lot, so we’re working with [EPA] to get that permit as soon as possible,” said Sanders.

EPA would not confirm or deny any application from the Savage Services Co.

Jim Nelson, water specialist for the Association of Illinois Soil and Water Conservation Districts, said if the sulfur pellets were to fall from the boat or somehow get into the storm water run-off, it could cost harm.

He said often times, the water being used to cool the pellets at these types of refineries is water directly from the river, and if not treated correctly can affect the surrounding marina life.

“Keeping [sulfur] out of the water would be the key. The safety precautions on the barge, or whatever they’re using to ship this product, would be my main concern,” said Nelson, of the non-profit conservation group.

Nelson said there are two types of water pollutants, non-point and point source pollution. Non-point pollution is water run-off from agriculture, and point pollution is caused from industrial and sewage treatment plants, in this case sulfur, he said.

Savage has the nation’s largest sulfur terminals and facilities in Galveston, Texas, and Tampa, Fl.; with the capacity to receive over one million tons of liquid sulfur annually, and distribute 10 million tons.

Ed Ivey, Savage general manager, said the company’s dependency on the river was crucial in deciding the location for the plant.

He said the river would make for easy access from Lake Calumet to the Mississippi River and virtually anywhere else in the country.

“It’s definitely cheaper to ship the sulfur pellets, as opposed to trying to distribute the liquid sulfate. And the river allows us to access all Mississippi ports,” said Ivey.

Ivey said this location would bring business and jobs to the Midwest region; Ten jobs would be created at the Chicago location, including two full-time positions and up to five truck-driving jobs.

Ivey declined to say how much the facility will cost to erect.

Savage has a similar processing facility where they store and prill sulfur located in Donaldsonville, La., and serves the southern part of the United Stated.

After the meeting, one commissioner said she had received a lesson in chemistry, a subject she never particularly cared for.

“I never did well in high school chemistry, but I sure did learn a lot about sulfur today. I think [Savage] has potential,” said Commissioner Doris B. Holleb.

Peter Strazzabosco, spokesperson for zoning and land use planning, said a date for the project to be considered by the Chicago City Council to vote on the proposal hasn’t been set.

The 238,000-square-foot building will include a surgical center, medical office space and a 260-spot parking garage.

The building’s first five levels will be for parking. The first floor also will include retail space, while the second level will contain office space and the third level will house the surgery center.

Swedish Covenant has had a shortage of office space for the past five years, and the hospital’s current surgical facilities are at full capacity, said Joe Gattuso, an attorney for the hospital.

“This has impeded the hospital’s ability to offer new programs and services to the community,” said Gattuso.

Gattuso told the plan commission the expansion would help the North Side hospital become more efficient and would allow the current surgical facilities to be used for more complex in-patient procedures.

No public money will be used for the expansion, Swedish Covenant Hospital President Mark Newton said in an interview with reporters after the meeting. The total cost of the project will be roughly $49.8 million.

Michael Czyrka, whose company is building the expansion, said the project has been well-received in Ravenswood.

“We’ve held public hearing, and the reaction is, ‘We understand the hospital needs to grow,’” said Czyrka, principal-in-charge of BSA Life Structures.

Czyrka said one change was to make sure hospital traffic exited onto California Avenue and not a residential neighborhood.

“That was a change based on community input,” said Czyrka.

Ald. Patrick O’Connor (40th) said the expansion will be good for the economy.

“Other area hospitals have closed. They (Swedish Covenant) employ people from four zip codes around the hospital. Those people spend money in the area,” he said.

But not everyone was happy with the expansion plan.

Plan commission Chairwoman Linda Searl questioned the need for five levels of parking for a three-level building.

“It seems to me this is overwhelming for this neighborhood,” said Searl.

Gattuso said the five levels of parking are needed to serve both the Swedish Covenant Hospital at 5145 N. California Ave. and the adjacent Professional Plaza at 2740 W. Foster Ave

Newton told Searl the hospital looked at other options, but it’s difficult to expand in an urban setting and keep the hospital growing.

“We have very limited long-term options. This is the only place that we can develop an economical building that will meet both the surgical and medical office spaces,” said Newton.

A parking lot currently sits on the site where the new facility will be built.

After the meeting, Gattuso told reporters the expansion plan has been in the works for years.

“This was the product of a long, careful process involving physicians, patients, hospital administration and after the initial design was conceived, the community and the alderman,” said Gattuso.

But the process is not over yet.

The ordinance will be referred to the Department of Zoning and Land Use Planning on Nov. 23, then onto a full City Council vote in late November.

Saliba Kokaly, Swedish Covenant Hospital’s associate vice president of facilities and construction, said he hopes construction will begin in January.

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The development plan calls for tearing down existing buildings, including three of the four structures in the 40-year-old shopping complex at 5211 S. Harper Ave. and East 53^rd Street, replacing them with a 12-story, 150,000-square-foot office building, 100,00 square feet for retailers and parking for 435.

The University of Chicago purchased the complex from the Harper Court Arts Council in 2008 for $6.5 million as part of a community planning process to revitalize the area on 53^rd Street, and will partner with the city in the plan. The city owns an adjacent parking lot on South Lake Park Avenue, just east of Harper, and the university owns the current retail properties.

“This is a magnificent project that’s been 10 years in the making,” said Ald. Toni Preckwinkle (4^th). “This will bring in hundreds of people, increase daytime traffic and be a real boost for the neighborhood.”

The first phase of the project, which is set to begin in early 2011 and end by 2013, will add 15 to 25 retail businesses to the three-acre site, including restaurants and apparel retail, as well as the office building, underground and second-floor parking and a fitness center.

The city is in talks with a few gourmet grocers to anchor the retail space, said Christopher Dillion, managing director of Vermillion Development, the Danville, Ill.-based company planning the project. Dillion declined to name possible tenants, but the Sun-Times reported that a Whole Foods may anchor the complex.

The second phase will consist of residential properties, including apartments and a condominium tower, with the hope of completion by 2015, depending on funding and the economy.

“The turn-around in the housing market will be our biggest challenge,” Preckwinkle said.

The proposal was met without opposition from South Side residents at last Thursday’s meeting and has the support of the Hyde Park Chamber of Commerce.

“We’ve been meeting for the past two years in the neighborhood, so everyone could get the chance to express themselves,” Preckwinkle said.

But some neighborhood groups worry that the project might hinder any future developments beyond the boundaries of Harper Court.

“Most of the tax increment funding money is for Harper Court and not for anything else,” said Gary Ossewaarde, former vice president of the Hyde Park-Kenwood Neighborhood Association and current board member on the Preservation-Development-Zoning Committee for Hyde Park. “The funding is tight, and we are concerned that it’s taking money away from other projects in Hyde Park.”

Ossewaarde said the association also had some concerns about the viability of small start-up business getting a space in a shopping center with an expensive overhead, and said a wide variety of retail options would best serve the community.

Yolanda Travis, who manages the McDonalds that sits next to the Harper Court property, says despite initial fears of her business being dwarfed by the construction, she’s looking forward to the development being finished.

“This plan is going to build up my business,” Travis said. “I’m always worried about competition in the area, but how can you beat McDonalds? We will be fine.”

In September, the Community Development Commission approved $20 million in tax increment financing from the 53^rd Street Fund for the project, Dillion said.

Part of the funding mix for the project is stimulus dollars and bonds, which require all planning for the project to be completed by the end of the year, Dillion said.

The City Council’s Committee on Finance is expected to vote on the plan in November, followed by a vote from the full council.

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.

Ald. Richard Mell (33rd) said he walked the entire parking lot outside of a Northwest Indiana casino this summer counting license plates – and spotted 87 percent from Illinois.

“Its not like we are inventing anything new here, it’s just across the border,” Mell said. “Elgin sucks the money out of Chicago, Joliet sucks the money out of Chicago and now Des Plaines is about to suck money out of Chicago, too.”

Ald. Bob Fioretti (2nd), who’s mulling a race for mayor, said he was also inspired by a trip to the Indiana casino located 30 minutes from downtown Chicago.

Fioretti said the casino raked in $50 million in tax revenue during July alone, with a healthy chunk of that revenue coming from Illinois residents.

“With one giant, land-based, government-owned casino, we want to change the future of the city of Chicago,” Fioretti said.

Steve Brown, spokesman for Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, said that while some members of the General Assembly would like another crack at gaming legislation, it remains a long shot. And that there is no indication that it will be added as an amendment in November when lawmakers return to the capital for their veto session.

“There have been renewed discussions on gaming,” Brown said. “But given the history of gaming legislation and how controversial the topic is, I wouldn’t predict any action any time soon.”

Fioretti and Mell mentioned the former site of Michael Reese Hospital as a possible location for a permanent casino. Mayor Daley bought the 37-acre campus for $86 million to make way for an Olympic Village, before Chicago was voted out off the running.

“We have this big white elephant sitting there in the Michael Reese Hospital that we are indebted to and all this property around it,” Mell said. “What better than a giant casino and gigantic entertainment center? Lets get some revenue instead of sticking our heads in the sand.”

In 2009, the nine casinos operating in Illinois reported gross revenues of nearly $1.5 billion, out of which the $495 million tax revenue is split among the community where the casino is located, the Illinois Board of Gaming and to education for the state, according to Tom Swoik, executive director of the Illinois Gaming Association.

“I’d like to see a stable economic environment for our business in the state of Illinois,” said Swoik, adding that gaming revenue has taken a 20 percent hit due to the economy and the smoking ban. “A casino in Chicago might help as long as it’s not diluting the pool of other revenue in the suburbs.”

But some say bringing a casino to the city may only add to Chicago’s financial woes.

“Casinos are like an 800-pound gorilla that comes into the community and takes all the money,” said Jerry Prosapio, co-founder of Gambling Exposed. “They throw out these bones to the community, they buy ballparks for kids and give seniors homes. But the bottom line is that for every dollar a casino makes, it costs the state $3 dollars as the result of the hidden costs brought on by addiction, bankruptcy and crime.”

John Patterson, spokesman for Senate President John Cullerton, said Cullerton would be open to supporting lucrative gaming legislation, but that at the moment that doesn’t exist.

“The Senate president is in favor of gaming legislation that can pass and would help our state’s revenue picture,” Patterson said. “However, at this point, no such proposal is before the Senate. Discussions continue, but when it comes to gaming, there are always ongoing discussions.”

Cook County Commissioner Tony Peraica said the “Foreclosure Mediation Program” targets the wrong demographic.

“What disturbs me in particular is that the majority of the people receiving assistance are unable to afford to live in their homes; people with no assets and low net-to-debt ratio,” said Peraica.

The Cook County Board approved the $3.5 million project in November 2009 that provides housing counseling and assistance to some 60,000 people facing foreclosures.

The program — modeled after a similar program in Philadelphia — involves four state and local organizations: Chicago Legal Volunteer Services, The Chicago Bar Foundation, The Chicago Community Trust and The Illinois Housing Development Authority.

Peraica said since the foreclosure program began nearly a year ago, there have been just 28 completed mediations out of the 412 applicants during that period. According to a report handed out at the September 15 Cook County Board meeting, more than 85 percent of the applications end up in default, meaning the applicants don’t follow through with the program, he said.

Judge Dorothy Kinnaird of the Circuit Court of Cook County said the default rates cited in the report were collected before the first mediation period in July, and said the numbers will improve by the end of the year.

“I don’t respond to commissioners,” Kinnaird said. “Commissioner Peraica has his facts mixed up.”

Kinnaird said it’s too early to tell what the default rates are now, but a report will be available during the second mediation period in December.

Periaca responded to Kinnaird’s statement and said he got the numbers from the report that was handed out at the meeting. He said until he sees facts that these kinds of programs are working, he will not change his stance.

Andrew Celis, program specialist at Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago, said the first step in dealing with foreclosure is making the applicant aware of the programs available and educating them about their options.

The reason people aren’t responding to the foreclosure programs is because they are embarrassed and unfamiliar with the situation, he said.

“That 85 percent is because of intimidation,” Celis said. “The process of going through foreclosure is intimidating to families who haven’t been in this situation before.”

Celis said he worked with a municipal worker recently who had his hours cut by 20 percent earlier this year. Being the only working member in the household, the applicant found himself in a situation that he never imagined, he said.

Celis was able to save the family’s home by refinancing the mortgage of the property to make their monthly payments more affordable.

He said more homeowners would be able to save their homes if there was more outreach and support from local communities.

“These types of programs work, but the need is larger than resources we have out there. I think we do an excellent job of the resources we do have, however,” said Celis.

Celis said Neighborhood Housing is the only not-for-profit foreclosure program in Chicago, and focuses on strengthening low- to moderate-income neighborhoods by keeping the residents in their homes. When dealing with a legal matter, he said, he refers applicants to the Cook County mediation program.

For more information on upcoming NHS foreclosure events or ways to help with the mediation process, visit nhschicago.org or needhelppayingmybills.com.

Spend a morning making the rounds with Keith Muhammad and you’re reminded why even the mightiest bridges – think Golden Gate, or maybe Brooklyn – rely on their smallest parts.

Muhammad is NCP organizer for Bickerdike Redevelopment Corp. and a builder of human bridges between mostly Latino East Humboldt Park and mostly African-American West Humboldt Park.

Little things – nuts-and-bolts things – make the difference. On this May morning it was making sure the Kedzie, Albany, Franklin, Troy For Unity Block Club (KAFT) was getting some help mowing the grass and weeding flowerbeds in the parkway between sidewalk and street. And sure enough, Kenneth Taylor from the city’s Greencorps job training program was getting it done at the corner of Troy and Ohio streets.

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Historic warehouses in Pilsen that would have been converted into low-rent workspaces for struggling artists were rezoned recently for a 200-room hotel with a restaurant and ballroom.

The Chicago Plan Commission unanimously voted to change the zoning at the W.M. Hoyt Co. building at 465 W. Cermak Road in the near Southwest Side neighborhood of Pilsen. Plans for the vacant building also include 78,150 square feet of retail.

Developer Raymond Chin, of R.M. Chin & Associates, Inc. said he was in talks with the Hilton chain as a potential client. Chin also said he planned relocate Chinatown’s Phoenix Restaurant, where he is a partner, over to the property to potentially fill space for the restaurant.

The Hoyt building has historical significance due to its role as a storage space for spices and other commodities during the beginning of the 20^th century.

Christine Raguso, acting commissioner of the Department of Community Development, said the rezoning was a natural fit for Pilsen despite the uncertainty in the current economic climate.

“It’s good for economic development, it’s jobs and it’s getting the land back on the tax roll development,” Raguso said.

Hector Saldana, of the Eighteenth Street Development Corp., said the project has the strong support of his organization.

Chin’s attorney, Rolando Acosta, said they would need to move South Grove Street, which is perpendicular to the Hoyt Building, before development of the property could begin. Acosta said the developer would move the street southwest so potential hotel guests have easier access to the hotel.

Chin said he is relying on a mix of private equity, loans and foreign investors to finance the project, which he said he thought of after visiting the neighborhood.

“I looked around and saw, ‘Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,’” Chin said, adding that he saw the hotel as a benefit for traveling businessmen looking to travel to and from the city.

The four historic structures near Cermak Bridge, including W.M. Hoyt Co. Building, were recommended for development as a creative industries district, according to a 2007 study by ULI Chicago and the Campaign for Sensible Growth.

The study defined a creative industries district as an area that could include “cafes, arts supply establishments, storage and screening rooms,” in addition to artist workspaces.

Julie Burros, director of cultural planning at the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA), said the city was not abandoning its plans to develop nearby property as artist workspaces and the two projects were not incompatible.

“Is [a hotel] what we would have picked for the space? Not exactly,” Burros said. “But we think that the retail will give creative people opportunities. We’re in favor of anything that draws investments to the area.”

Burros noted that while the the Department of Cultural Affairs was awarded a $250,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, the department had yet to actually receive any money.

Accordingly, Burros said the city was just getting started on the Cermak Creative Industries District. The department hopes to have the development work completed in a year, according to Burros.

Ald. Danny Solis (25^th) was not present at last month’s meeting, but Fernando Espinoza, project manager for the city, said the rezoning had the alderman’s approval. The plans will now move to the Chicago City Council for voting.

Chloe Riley contributed to this report

FOTP photo of the playground

The construction of a new playground in Grand Crossing Park on Chicago’s South Side is the site of the first community building project in a decade, and no one could be happier about it than Friends of the Parks’ Director of neighborhood parks and community relations Maria Stone.

“This project took about a year to put together,” said Stone, a 34-year-old Pennsylvania native. “Friends of the Parks worked with Kohl’s department stores and Children’s Memorial Hospital along with local legislators to secure $250,000 to build this park. We also coordinated with the Grand Crossing Park Advisory Council to get community volunteers to help construct the new playground.”

CeCe Edwards, Grand Crossing Park Advisory Council president, said Stone’s office worked with them and the Chicago Park District to make this project a reality.[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0C8hM_ZLdgk[/youtube]

“We need programs, we need mentors and volunteers; we need a lot of things the community people are not up on yet because the park was off the radar screen and now we got it back thanks to Friends of the Park,” said Edwards.

“One of the things my office does is help communities establish park advisory councils. I meet with concerned citizens in the neighborhood and help educate them on how to be an advocate for their parks,” said Stone. “Once a council is registered with the Chicago Park District and they start having board meetings, issues in the park such as broken swings, broken water fountains or vandalism are addressed and brought to Friends of the Parks’ attention. We, as the middleman, bring it to the Park District’s attention and make sure they do something about it.”

Stone, an impressive and energetic lady who holds a master’s degree in public administration from DePaul University, didn’t know a lot about Chicago’s rich park history before joining Friends of the Park.

“When I interned for the Chicago Park District’s Forests Initiative Program, there was a program where we served as a watchdog for the Cook County Forest Preserve,” said Stone. “We saved parcels of land from being taken and influenced the purchase of land so the Forest Preserve could increase the acreage of land they had.”

Taking on the responsibility of helping others make a difference in their communities has been a passion of Stone’s all her life.

“When I was younger, my mother would encourage my sister and me to volunteer on Thanksgiving, feed the homeless in Philadelphia. Those experiences helped guide us into realizing there’s a bigger world out there and we need to do something to help,” said Stone. “I am Ukrainian and growing up I was a member of a Ukrainian youth group where we were always doing things to help others, like doing clean ups in the park or raising money for Ukrainian projects. When I graduated and thought about a career path, I decided I wanted to do something where I could help people.”

“This job is a natural progression of how she lives her life,” said Kandy Christensen, Stone’s close friend and fellow Zumba, flamenco and ballet enthusiast. “Maria has a passion for leaving a positive footprint in the world. She’s always working on gardens, supporting local organic industries. She cares a lot about others and always tries to think of ways to incorporate fun stuff, such as kickball and sports programs, into the parks.”

“My job at Friends of the Park is so interesting. Everyday there’s something new,” said Stone. “Yesterday, I met with parks people from Milwaukee and learning about their Friends of the Park organization. Next week, I have a community meeting with Dvorak Park residents (a neighborhood on Chicago’s West Side) to help them start a park advisory council. It feels good to end my day knowing I did something to help somebody and make the parks better at the same time.”

Residents and community volunteers at Grand Crossing Park playground rehabilitation project appreciate the work Stone does on behalf of Friends of the Parks.

“A lot of community volunteers helped with the mulching and installation of new slides and swings. They’re excited to receive something so great with the help of Friends of the Parks,” said Datia Williams, a volunteer who grew up in the area. “Having something new in the community shows there is someone who cares about you. I think the good work being done here today will help the people in the community going forward.”

The biggest fans and advocates of community building projects like this are the children in the neighborhood who play in the parks.

“I used to hate it when other people say ‘You have a messed up, jacked up park. Your park is horrible.’ But now, we can finally say our park looks better than yours and we did it ourselves,” said Aaron Reese, 14, Henry Tanner Elementary School student and park patron.

And Stone likes the sound of that.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0C8hM_ZLdgk[/youtube]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Addison Park on Clark is a mixed-use development that will consist of a hotel, retail outlets and apartments located along the south side of Addison Street, from Sheffield west to Clark Street and extending south on Clark about a block.

Although the developers have made concessions with regard to the size and height of the complex since the project was first introduced two years ago, community members are upset about the fact that iO, along with other businesses in the area such as the Goose Island Wrigleyville Brewpub, are going to be demolished when construction on the new complex begins.

“iO is home to me. It’s the reason I moved to Chicago over two years ago from D.C. It brings community members together and emphasizes the importance of working in a group,” said Joe Russell, an iO student. He also noted that the building has a strong historic significance.

“I can’t imagine this area of town without it, and I don’t think developers understand what a big part of the community it truly has become,” he said.

Charna Halpern, founder and director of iO, says she was not notified that her landlord sold the property to developers until it was too late for her to find another suitable place for it.

Her lease is supposed to end in 2022; however, Tunney states that demolition could begin a year from now if the project meets approval by the plan commission.

“It’s sad the government doesn’t understand Wrigleyville is much more than just the Cubs,” Halpern said. “It’s sad as a homeowner and businesswoman, because I’m a constituent in this community,” she continued.

Tunney responded by saying that Halpern has been on notice for two years, and that she should have been looking for another place in which to hold iO classes and performances.

Other complaints addressed at the meeting from community members revolved around the issue of what type of retailers are going to lease space in the complex.

Although none of the retail spaces have been filled yet, Tunney mentioned that both Best Buy and Dominick’s are considering leasing space in the building. He said that the final retailers that move in depend heavily on the market at the time.

Constituents are also worried about the appearance of the building itself, since it is a large structure that stands at 91 feet at the tallest portion. They say the building will set a precedent in the area for high-rise structures.

“I do worry about precedent,” Tunney said. “This is where density belongs in an urban environment. The area is supposed to be dense.” Tunney concluded the meeting by reiterating his reasons for supporting the project.

“This has reached community support, regardless of how that is quantified,” he said. “I see this is a positive development because parts of this site have long been dormant. The addition of a hotel and health center will benefit the community, and we’ve seen more health-related facilities in all areas.”

In response to complaints about the façade of the building, Tunney said, “The balance of quality architecture tries to minimize the scale.” The exterior of the building will be a mixture of glass and masonry; developers say the use of different building materials will help the structure to look less industrial.

Mohamed, who lives in a 1920s property in East Rogers Park, hadn’t noticed any unusual symptoms in Zachary, now 8. She soon learned, however, that her apartment was filled with lead paint.

She was told at the time that her son’s lead level could cause a decrease in I.Q. and difficulties with behavior. Today, although Zachary is “doing excellent,” he was slow in learning to read and sometimes has behavioral issues. That could be attributed to the fact that he’s a typical 8-year-old boy.

“But you sort of wonder,” Mohamed said.

Mohamed was happy to hear about the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s new Renovation, Repair and Painting regulation that takes effect April 22. Philip King, the environmental protection specialist with the U.S. EPA’s Chicago-based Region 5 office, called the rule’s scope “probably the most comprehensive to date because it covers private homes.”

The regulation requires contractors and other paid workers to be EPA-certified when replacing windows or renovating residential houses, apartments and child-occupied facilities built before 1978, when lead-based paint was banned. The rule protects kids from leaded dust resulting from sanding or demolition in old houses.

Exposure to lead is not safe at any age; it can affect how a child’s brain grows and develops, as well as their behavior, cognitive skills, attention problems and I.Q.

The rule will protect 1.4 million children under the age of 6 annually, said Rebecca Morley, executive director of the Maryland-based National Center for Healthy Housing.

“It’s one of the most major regulations the EPA is doing this year,” Morley said.

There are 8.4 million renovation and repair jobs done annually across the U.S., affecting as many as 212,000 firms and 230,000 contractors, Morley said. Under the regulation, every job site in a pre-1978 house will need a certified renovator that has completed a $186, eight-hour course from an accredited training provider. The cost is $300 to become an accredited trainer.

The regulation will be enforced by the U.S. EPA. However, if Illinois becomes authorized by the EPA to conduct the program, it will become the Illinois Department of Public Health‘s responsibility, said Sam Churchill, manager of the Illinois Department of Public Health’s Illinois Lead Program. Non-compliers could be fined up to $32,500 per day, he said, depending on various factors.

The number of children in Illinois with lead poisoning appears to be decreasing. In 2000, 23,063 Illinois children were identified with a blood lead level of 10 or greater, which is the number that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends taking action at, Churchill said. In 2007, that number decreased to 5,280, and in 2008, slightly more than 5,000 children had elevated blood lead levels. Yet experts say that no level of lead is safe for children.

“What we hope is that the generation of a lead hazard will be decreased in kids,” said Churchill.

Dr. Helen Binns, professor of pediatrics at Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine and director of the Lead Evaluation Clinic at Children’s Memorial Hospital, said a survey of lead homes in the United States shows that nationally, 87 percent of homes built before 1940 have lead paint somewhere inside. That number drops to 69 percent for homes built between 1940 and 1959, and 24 percent for homes built from 1960 to 1977.

“So if you’re in an older house, which is most of the city of Chicago, there is a high likelihood lead is somewhere in your home,” Binns said.

Dean Amici, owner of the Chicago-based Amici Builders, said homeowners should now expect to add at least 10 percent cost-wise to a renovation. Property values and home sales on older properties could also be affected, he said.

“It’s gonna jack up the cost of remodeling for the average person through the ceiling,” Amici said.

Amici said he hasn’t seen any information or advertising regarding training or certification. “I think they’re going to have a (tough) time enforcing it,” he said. “It’ll be a field day for the lawyers.”

The Illinois Department of Public Health Lead Program is holding a series of meetings informing the public about the new rule, although none are scheduled in Chicago. Churchill said when scheduling the events, costs of the venue, parking, traffic, etc. were taken into consideration after speaking with possibly attendees.

Three Chicago-area meetings will be held at the following locations:

* Aurora Meeting
Tuesday, March 23
9 a.m. – noon
(8:30 a.m. Continental breakfast)
Holiday Inn, 2424 W. Sullivan Road

* Gurnee Meeting
Thursday, Feb. 18
9 a.m. – noon
(8:30 a.m. Continental breakfast)
Vista Hotel & Conference Center
6161 W. Grand Avenue

* Lisle Meeting
Wednesday, Feb. 17
9 a.m. – noon
(8:30 a.m. Continental breakfast)
Hyatt – Lisle Ballroom
1400 Corporetum Drive

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.”

[email protected]

On Thursday, Feb. 11, Access Living will host a Historic Six-City Listening Tour organized by the U.S. Dept. of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP).  U.S. Labor Department Assistant Secretary Kathleen Martinez will participate in the Chicago event. ODEP wants to hear from you and the rest of the interested public, including people with disabilities,  on these three areas of interest:

Access Living is a unique place, inside and out.

• Effective ways to increase employment of women, veterans and minorities with disabilities
• Identification of federal and state systems that are effectively collaborating to achieve successful employment outcomes for people with disabilities
• Top issues on which the federal government should focus to support an increase in labor force participation of people with disabilities

Employment is higher among people with disabilities than it is among the rest of the population.

Martinez will be joined by officials from key federal agencies, including the:

• Veteran’s Employment and Training Service, U.S .Dept. of Labor,
• The Employment and Training administration
• Woman’s Bureau and Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs of the U.S. Dept of Labor and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services of the U.S. Dept of Health and Human Services
• Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services of the U.S. Dept of Education
• U.S. Office of Personnel Management
• U.S. Social Security Administration

The Chicago stop of the Listening Tour  will be held on Thursday, Feb. 11, 2010,  from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Access Living, 115 W. Chicago Ave., 4th Floor, Chicago. This is an accessible location.

For registration information, contact (703) 684-0029 or visit www.disabilitylisteningtour.com. For information about Access Living, contact Gary Arnold at (312) 640-2199 or [email protected].

Austin High School, the only public school in the community, shut its doors four years ago. Its successor, Austin Community Academy, which was open for one year, was shut down by Mayor Richard M. Daley and converted into three small high schools with an attendance of 1,038 students, compared to the 6,000 students the academy held.

Austin officials worry that rising crime rates will climb even higher if CPS officials don’t take action to bring back Austin High School.

About 14,000 high school-age kids live in Austin, which has a population of 117,000, making it the largest community in Chicago. But less than half the 14,000 students can attend a high school in their neighborhood. Austin has no public option for high school, forcing students to travel long distances, apply for selective magnet schools to which they have little chance of acceptance, or their final option – drop out of school entirely.

Ald. Emma Mitts (37th) and Ald. Ed Smith (28th) have said their community needs one high school to accommodate students who live in Austin. Mitts said youth on the West Side have no high school, forcing too many of them to spend their days on the street.

On the contrary, says Kathryn McCabe, director of the Cluster Tutoring Program in Austin, a non-profit group that works with about 100 Austin students in after-school programs. She said the former Austin High School was a “horrible school” and provided “no real educational value for the students.”

“I am not sure there was much of a negative impact in shutting down a lousy school,” she said. “It was a bad school, and I am not sorry to see it go, but now we have a real problem in Austin because there aren’t enough seats for the students that live in the community.”

Malon Edwards, spokesman for Chicago Public Schools, said the district has no plans in the works for opening another school in Austin.

“Austin students have opportunities at several charter and magnet schools within the community,” he said. The public options are the three Renaissance 2010 high schools: Austin Business and Entrepreneurship Academy, VOISE Academy High School and Austin Polytechnical School.

“We have other neighborhoods that need schools as well – this is not just a problem within Austin, and we cannot approach it that way,” said Edwards.

But Mitts said there was money for a new school, noting that funding for a new school was secured through Mike Kelly, former president at Park National Bank. Since federal officials closed the bank late last year, the funds are in limbo, and Mitts isn’t sure US Bank, who took over, will honor the agreement made with Kelly.

Ald. Smith, however, said Park National Bank never committed any money for a new high school in Austin. He said the community bank was interested in funding a new YMCA on the same lot as the school.

“Park National Bank was never going to give any sum of money for a new school in Austin,” Smith said. “They wanted a collaboration with the city; basically, if the city built a new school they wanted to build a new YMCA on the same land.”

Mitts is clear on what she believes is the answer: She wants one high school open to all students in the community, and she wants it built at 1450 N. Cicero Ave.

“The answer is finding the funding and opening a school,” she said. “We need a new high school, and we need to get the process going now.”

Edwards said CPS officials have met with community members in search of a solution but said, “This is a problem that cannot be solved overnight.”

But McCabe feels differently. She said CPS’s agenda does not include building or adding schools in the Austin neighborhood, meaning they are not addressing the problem.

“There are no plans to open additional charter schools in the Renaissance 2010 plan,” she said. “There are no plans for a new high school. These kids have no where to go. It is pretty sad.”

McCabe doesn’t think one big high school is the solution; instead, she said there has been great success in charter schools.

“The emergence of these schools has been very positive,” she said. “I think the charter schools have worked well for this community because they are smaller and these students need extra help and support.”

Smith said the solution is one school for all students. He said the location is set, “the only problem now is money.”

Check out our related story: Renaissance 2010 High Schools in Austin Fight to Provide a More Quality Education for Students

The private company spearheading the project and the city’s Department of Planning and Development are at odds over how to structure the project. And the economy has thrown a wrench in long-standing plans. But residents and neighborhood leaders still hope that new homes and businesses will soon thrive on what is now empty land, home only to the ghosts of the steel mill.

“I remember the U.S. Steel’s South Works plant, it was a big thing in the neighborhood,” said former plant worker Jose Lopez. “People came from all over the city to work there.”

Many local residents, whose descendants still live in South Chicago today, built the many buildings in the U.S. Steel complex. Now the land surrounding the plant is largely infill composed of layers of slag, a byproduct of steel production.

In its heyday a half-century ago, U.S. Steel employed approximately 25,000 workers at the South Chicago plant, making it the area’s largest employer.

A website run by the Southeast Historical Society describes the plant’s socio-economic importance: “The U.S. Steel Company played a significant role in the lives of the people of South Chicago while it was in operation. The community’s economy evolved because of it, and revolved around it. Bringing so many people to the area, and providing so many jobs, it populated the community.”

To see images of the old U.S. Steel plant and hear the stories of retired workers, watch this YouTube video.

But starting in the 1970s and accelerating in the 1980s, the U.S. steel industry endured a sudden collapse that threw many out of work. U.S. Steel and other American steel companies that still depended upon large numbers of older, inefficient plants failed to withstand the combination of a decline in demand and the rise of international competition, according to the Encyclopedia of Chicago. In 1992 the massive U.S. Steel plant closed down.

“I was upset when the plant closed down. Many people lost their jobs, including myself,” said Jorge Sanchez, a former plant employee.

Although the factory has been shuttered for 17 years, U.S. Steel still owns many vacant residential lots in the neighborhood. When the plant closed, U.S. Steel put the facility and the surrounding land up for sale. Eventually developers Westrum Development Company, McCaffery Interests and Lubert Adler partnered with U.S. Steel to form the Southworks Development LLC. The new company hired the world–renowned architects Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM) and Sasaki Associates to design a new development to replace the old steel mill.

(Southworks Development LLC did not respond to numerous requests for comment for this story.)

According to the Area Chicago Web site, South Works is known as a Planned Development, designated by the city’s zoning guide as a “development scheme for a large, multi-lot area that is normally controlled by one party.”

South Works planners have stated they want to see the plot broken down into four or five separate sections or neighborhood areas. In order to finance the project, the developers have said they need up to 30,000 residential units mixed between low-, mid- and high-rise buildings. But the Planning Department would rather have a lower density development with about 5,000 to 6,000 units, according to the Area Chicago Web site. Currently, the South Chicago population is more than 40,000.

The Southeast Historical Society is proposing a museum or park be created to commemorate the steel industry and the workers who made this area one of the most important steel-making locations in the world.

”The mill also had a tremendous effect on the local economy. Bars, restaurants, stores and more had good or bad years that mirrored the success or lack of success of area mills,” said historical society director Rod Sellers. “What I remember the most was driving past the mill at night when they were pouring steel and the orange glow that lit up the area surrounding the mill.”

To view images and more information on the old U.S. Steel plant, check out this piece from Forgotten Chicago or this article from the Southeast Historical Society.

Many Southeast Side Chicago locals are hoping that new development on the site of U.S. Steel South Works will help them re-live the past and bring business to the neighborhood.

“I would enjoy seeing the U.S. Steel South Works become a shining light in the neighborhood, like it was before,” said Sanchez.

Related: Check out Michael Puente’s recent look at the charter school debate and other issues currently facing South Chicago from WBEZ-FM/Chicago Public Radio.

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.

In September, Henry Ford Power House Charter High School opened its doors.

Power House High is located inside of the Charles H. Shaw Technology and Learning Center. The public charter school is the result of a $40 million rehabilitation and the adaptive reuse of the Sears power plant. The project was funded by tax credits for historic buildings and new market tax credits, according to Kristen Dean, executive director of the Homan Square Community Center Foundation, which owns the building.

“Our school is part of a historical site,” said Power House principal Kophyn Alexander. “We are a green school, one of the few in the city of Chicago.”

Throughout the school building, the team of architects implemented energy-saving features including geothermal walls and retrofitted historic windows. The school also includes a planted “green” roof, low-flow toilets, solar-powered sinks and energy-efficient skylights.

“Power House High is designed to be a LEED Gold, highly energy efficient building,” said Dean. The foundation partnered with the Henry Ford Learning Institute, a non-profit organization dedicated to creating public schools in public spaces. Their goal was to design an exemplary school that prepares students for college and careers.

The school is home to 260 freshmen and sophomores, 30 more than originally planned, according to Alexander. The plan is to add another grade each year until Power House High is a four-year institution. The school is open to all Chicago students, selected by lottery if there are more applicants than seats. Applications for freshmen, sophomores and juniors for the 2010-2011 year are now available in the office.

“I think that my school is special because it used to be a part of a very important industry,” said Power House sophomore Regan Taylor. “Sears is still around but I know it was even popular when my parents were my age.”

The project began in January 2007. The process of renovating a 100 year-old power generating station into a contemporary, LEED-certified high school had its difficulties. However, the developers were “undaunted,” according to the project website.

Power House High’s design was based on the award-winning Henry Ford Learning Institute located in Dearborn, Mich., a national cultural attraction founded in 1997. Now, a Chicago school shares the same mission to educate students academically and prepare them for the global community of the 21st century.

“It was a complex process to see what use that type of building could serve to the North Lawndale community,” said Rose Grayson, an associate at FARR Associates, the principal designers of the project.

The building was set up for every room to tell a different story. The Great Hall, an area for both students and other members of the community, still houses the original 40-ton gantry crane and rail system from the original power house.

A project that started off as a mission to put an empty building to use turned into a recovery of a place that now contributes to North Lawndale’s youth and their futures.

“Power House High School is truly a power in the community,” said Alexander. “It provides collaboration with teachers, students and the community. It’s a place where everyone can benefit.”

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 Lakeview Action Coalition has made the clinics its top priority after conducting a survey in 2007 that indicated a need for primary health care within the community.

But one city health official says the neighborhood doesn’t need a clinic as much as other areas on the South and West Sides, and an aide to the alderman’s office said no public money is available.

Hannah Gelder, spokeswoman for Lakeview Action Coalition, said the goal is to improve access to affordable health care by bringing a community center to the neighborhood.

“The results showed that community members are leaving Lakeview for other neighborhoods to find affordable care,” she said. “The survey clearly showed a need for a clinic in Lakeview, so we are fighting for the residents of Lakeview.”

Max Bevar, spokesman for Ald. Tom Tunney (44th), said the alderman is always in support for services that benefit the residents of Lakeview. But, he said, there will be no city resources put into this project.

“We are always looking for increased and low cost health care for our ward’s most needy residents,” Bevar said. “As far as we know, Lakeview Action Coalition is looking directly to the hospitals and outside resources to provide funding and services for a free clinic.”

The exact cost of the clinics is unknown, but Gelder said the Lakeview Action Coalition is looking to secure some grant money along with getting assistance from the local hospitals.

The Lakeview Action Coalition is currently in the process of doing more research and will be conducting a health assessment need for the Lakeview community. Until then, Gelder said the statistics in the survey are enough to “get the ball rolling.”

In that survey, 10 percent of respondents have been sued over hospital bills, and 34 percent of insured and 44 percent of uninsured respondents have had their credit affected by hospital bills. Gelder said these statistics alone are proof enough that Lakeview residents need health care assistance.

Tim Hadac, spokesman for Chicago Department of Public Health, said there is some need for a free clinic in every community, but Lakeview would not rank high on the list.

“Lakeview used to have a free clinic about 10 years ago when there was a significant need, but now that need really isn’t there,” he said.

The Chicago Department of Public Health conducted a Community Area Health Inventory study that was updated in November 2007, which showed the needs in the 77 neighborhoods of Chicago. Lakeview stood out on the study, but not because of its need for services, rather for its flourishing, rich community.

The study showed that the median income for the Chicago is $38,625, and in Lakeview it is $53,881. It also showed the poverty level for Chicago is 19.6 percent, and in Lakeview it’s less than half that at 8.7 percent, with only 3 percent of its residents unemployed.

“I think if you look at Lakeview today, the levels of income are higher than they have ever been,” Hadac said. “Generally speaking, people are better off than they used to be in that neighborhood and there isn’t much poverty.”

Gelder disagreed. She said the fact that 15 percent of residents take advantage of charity care programs, which offer free or reduced care in the Lakeview community, shows the “clear need for a clinic in the community.”

Hadac said every community thinks it has a great need, but Lakeview isn’t a community that needs immediate action.

“Don’t get me wrong, we are always supportive of clinics and furthering health care throughout Chicago,” he said. “But there are a number of neighborhoods in Chicago that have a greater need than Lakeview does.”

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.

Those were just a few of the suggestions 49th Ward residents gave last week on how to spend next year’s aldermanic menu money during a community meeting held by Ald. Joe Moore (49th). In what Moore says will be the nation’s first participatory budget experiment, the alderman will let constituents of his Far North Side ward decide how to spend just more than $1 million.

Aldermanic menu money — usually a little more than $1 million — is given to the city’s 50 alderman each year to pay for ward infrastructure projects such as speed bumps, playlots, street resurfacing, etc. Moore said 1994 was the first year menu money was allocated to all 50 wards after aldermen pressured Mayor Richard M. Daley to pay more attention to the neighborhoods.

Moore said when he was elected in 1991, out of the 50 wards, the 49th ranked last in money spent on infrastructure. He said in 2007, more than half of menu funds were spent on street lighting; in 2008, 73 percent was spent on street lights; and in 2009, 61 percent of money was spent on street resurfacing after last year’s harsh winter.

“Now it’s up to you to decide,” Moore told about 45 or so people who attended the Nov. 9 forum at the Loyola Park fieldhouse.

Calling it “a novel experiment in democracy,” Moore said residents will come up with ideas and vote directly on infrastructure projects funded in the ward. Then in spring of next year, Moore will hold a ward-wide assembly to hear pitches for projects that will be voted on by the community.

“You’re really here at the birth of participatory budgeting, hopefully not just here in the 49th, but throughout the U.S.,” Moore said at the third of nine assemblies on the issue. “This is an experiment, and we may decide it’s not going to work, may decide to tweak it. But this year, we’re going to let the community as a whole decide.”

“This is only for good, old-fashioned, bricks-and-mortar, concrete-and-asphalt kind of things,” Moore said. “We’ll just go down them until we run out of money.”

Participatory budgeting is the process of democratic deliberation and decision making, where ordinary residents decide how to allocate municipal funds. The process originated in Brazil in 1990, and its success led to the growth of neighborhood associations throughout Latin America, Asia, North America and Europe, said Nicole Summers, participatory budget coordinator for Moore.

“It gives people more power,” said Summers. “It educates citizens. By being involved, they get to learn how the budget is made.”

Moore’s decision to open up the process came at the same time as Channel 2 investigative reporter Pam Zekman teamed up with the Better Government Association to examine how Chicago’s aldermen used their menu money. Zekman found that most of the aldermen are legit and spend the majority of their funds on infrastructure improvements, such as blue-light cameras, street lights, speed bumps and road resurfacing.

Moore said “long before” Zekman’s report he was working on the participatory budget concept. Last spring, he brought leaders together from more than 50 civic, religious and community organizations who appointed representatives to serve on the Participatory Budgeting Steering Committee. The committee developed a three-step process and timetable that will end next spring with the ward-wide vote meeting.

“I’m just excited for this process and a chance to get a say,” said Tim Edwards, a committee member representing the PACTT Learning Center, a therapeutic day school serving people with autism at 7101 N. Greenview St. “When I heard about the process and the power for the people, I thought it was a great idea.”

Kitty Juda, a 12-year Rogers Park resident, applauded Moore.

“Last election, people complained about not having a voice, I’m glad he’s listening,” said Juda. “It’s really empowering to have a voice.”

Former 44th Ward Ald. Dick Simpson said had aldermen received menu money when he was in office in the ’70s, he would have done the same thing.

“I think it’s a good idea,” said Simpson, head of the political science department at the University of Illinois-Chicago. “He’s the first one to open up this participation to the community. I think it would be good to allow our citizens direct access on the menu and consult citizens more on expenditures on the budget.”

Future meetings will be held:
Nov. 17, New Field School, 1707 W, Morse Ave.
Nov. 19, Sherwin Manor Nursing Home, 7350 N. Sheridan Road
Nov. 23, (Spanish language) St. Jerome Church Parish Center, 1709 W. Morse Ave.
Dec. 1, St. Ignatius Church Parish Center, 6559 N. Glenwood
Dec. 2, Gale Academy, 1631 W. Jonquil
Dec. 3, United Church of Rogers Park, 1545 W. Morse Ave.

“I would park three blocks away before I would pay any money for this frickin’ lot,” said Straus, a neighbor for 18 years. “It’s a damn shame they can’t give us permit parking. Nobody around here is rich.”

That’s why another neighbor, Maynard Krasne, thinks now that summer is over the lot should be free. Krasne said working-class Rogers Park residents can’t afford to park close to home since the price recently jumped from a quarter to $1 an hour under the privatization deal the city has with Standard Parking.

“That’s a lot of money for this community,” said Krasne, a resident since 1993. “A quarter an hour is acceptable, but when people are not using the park and beach, there should not be any charge at all in that parking lot.”

Although the lot is free from 7 p.m. to 9 a.m., neighbors say with winter coming and the park emptying out it should now be free 24/7. The lot, they say, is empty during the day because residents can no longer afford the parking, even though spaces are now available because no one is visiting the beach like they do when it’s warmer out.

They note that at $1 an hour for 10 hours a day— from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. — for 30 days a month, it now costs $300 a month to park in the lot. With the last U.S. Census reporting the median income for the neighborhood at $31,602, the meters are a “high-priced item in a working class neighborhood,” Krasne said.

“A lot less people park there now, there is no economic benefit” to the city, said Krasne. “It’s senseless.”

In June, 49th Ward Ald. Joe Moore used $89,000 of his aldermanic menu money—each alderman receives about $1 million a year to spend as he wishes on needs in the ward — to keep the lot free at night for three years, and that same amount will have to be paid annually until the free deal he cut with the Chicago Park District is up. But there will be no freebies for daytime parkers, said the alderman’s chief of staff, Betsy Vandercook.

“Nobody likes the dollar an hour, nobody’s happy about it,” said Vandercook. “But it will not be free.

“Could daytime parking be paid off?” said Vandercook. “It could probably… and us not pave any streets.”

To help alleviate parking troubles, neighbors for years have asked Moore for more permit parking in the 49th Ward, which would allow residents who don’t have a spot on their property to more easily park on the street. But Moore has not budged on the issue and has said east of Sheridan Road is a gateway to the park and lakefront, so no permit parking will be issued. Yet neighbors dispute that reasoning, and say even permit parking at night, when the park is closed, would help.

“If it’s truly a gateway to the park and beach, the lot on Lunt should be free,” said Mark Droegemueller, who lives a block away. “The people who don’t want to pay for the lot crowd the streets — Lunt, Morse, etc. — and then the residents have no place to park by their homes and are forced to pay for the lot.”

Out of 1,300 permit parking zones in the city, the 49th Ward has three, according to information provided by Kristine Williams, spokeswoman for the Chicago City Clerk’s office. Although zone sizes vary, that number is low compared to, for example, the 97 zones in the 30th Ward or the 75 zones in the 12th Ward. A parking permit costs residents $25 annually.

Williams said since permit parking was established in 1979 with the intent of establishing zones near schools and hospitals, “it’s mushroomed and grown, encompassing every area of the city.” That growth is one reason City Clerk Miguel del Valle last week asked the City Council to review permit parking, she said.

Vandercook said there will be no additional permit parking in the 49th Ward to alleviate the crunch.

“There is no plan, and I don’t believe there will be a plan,” she 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.

Because of one lecture at GreenTown, you may see changes to your neighborhood’s recycling program, or even the start of composting sponsored by your local government. City engineers from Chicago and at least seven suburbs attended a lecture by the man behind Toronto’s program for diverting refuse from landfills. GreenTown planners consider it one of the best in the world.

Geoff Rathbone, General Manager of Solid Waste Management with the City of Toronto, told the room of waste professionals and curious people that Toronto’s single-family homes and apartments now divert 65 percent of their household waste from landfills.

By comparison, Chicago diverts about 12 percent of its waste—via actions like recycling, reuse and composting—according to representatives of the Chicago Climate Action Plan. Enacted by city government a year ago, the plan’s goal is to reduce the city’s contribution to global climate change and brace for its impacts. It hopes to divert 90 percent of Chicago’s waste from landfills by 2020.

Lofty goals are achievable, Rathbone said, because his city’s residents started diverting that much waste “almost overnight.”

How did the word spread so quickly in Toronto? The city hired about 40 students to pair up and knock on doors. The students visited all 500,000 residential units in the city in a couple months’ time, and the rest is history.

The city’s composting operation is done in several stages, Rathbone said, and some steps have to be done outside the city because of the strong smell they release.

“Eighty percent of our efforts are directed at odor management,” Rathbone said.

But because the finished compost can be sold to generate additional revenue for the city, the operation only costs about $45 per household per year. The city had been spending $75 per household per year to put the same material—food and yard waste—into a landfill.

Toronto is on the verge of tapping even greater potential from its compost.

Rathbone said tests have shown that if the natural gas released during the composting process were put to use, it could power the entire fleet of more than 300 waste removal trucks. The plan may soon be implemented, he said.

In a question-and-answer session following the lecture, one woman said she had worked at a Chicago restaurant and witnessed recyclable waste continually being thrown in the garbage.

“The majority of restaurants and bars in Chicago do not recycle at all,” she said. “It’s frustrating.”

Rathbone appeared to sympathize, saying that restaurants under 5,000 square feet are eligible for the Toronto’s free recycling program.

The GreenTown conference was hosted by Columbia College Chicago as an outgrowth of its campus-wide Critical Encounters theme last year, entitled Human / Nature.

—

Toronto’s three big secrets to a successful waste-diversion program:

• Creating logical economic incentives, such as charging people by the volume of garbage they can throw away and providing composting and recycling removal for free.

• Providing free bins to families who subscribe to the city’s waste diversion/garbage removal service. (A set of bins cost the city $25, while a garbage subscription is $200-$400 a year, depending on the size of garbage removal requested.)

• Allowing people to use regular plastic shopping bags as liners for compost bins.

• Limiting garbage pickup to every other week. (Compost is picked up weekly.)

-Credit: Geoff Rathbone, Solid Waste Management Services, City of Toronto

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 past three years, an all-volunteer organization called Partners for Rogers Park has been asking residents to come together to chart a new future for the neighborhood. The group’s website (www.partnersforrogerspark.org) describes lofty goals, saying the organization’s mission is “to promote positive community development for current residents through open and inclusive partnerships that foster a healthy and just Rogers Park.”

But so far residents say the process has not lived up to the hype. About 35 people, half of them volunteers with the group, came to the group’s first meeting in August, which lasted three hours. A scheduled September meeting was canceled, and an Oct. 5 meeting drew a small and somewhat disgruntled crowd. Overall, residents showed little awareness of or interest in the process.

This month’s meeting was held at the Chicago Math and Science Academy, starting with an open house where residents brainstormed in small groups about what they would like to see in the neighborhood’s future. There were only 10 to 12 people who were not volunteers with the group at the meeting. Activist Francis Scudellari said there hasn’t been enough outreach or publicity about the meetings and the overall process.

“I think that one of the biggest obstacles is that they have to get people to know,” Scudellari said. “(Rogers Park) is a community that gets its information from word of mouth, and from what I’ve heard, many people don’t know about this plan and what is going on.”

“I haven’t heard anything about these meetings or even any of these initiatives,” said resident Adriana Zambrano, 22. “I wish I had known because I would love to hear what they have to say.”

The October meeting was focused largely on the results of a neighborhood survey. The group said they had reached out to about 1,400 individuals, either through online surveys or on the street. They were hoping survey participants, who had been notified about the meeting by email or letter, would attend. But few showed up.

Residents attending the Oct. 5 meeting said they were perplexed by the survey results. As diagrams with results were presented, it became clear that the majority of respondents (473) had lived in Rogers Park for only six months to a year. The next most prevalent group were people living in Rogers Park less than five years. Residents surmised this meant many of the respondents were Loyola University students, who are only in Rogers Park temporarily for school.

Residents said this doesn’t present an accurate portrait of Rogers Parks’ past and people’s hopes for the neighborhood’s future, since students are not a part of the past and many of them won’t stay after college.

“We can’t really trust these results because of the people that are included in them,” said long-time Rogers Park resident Michael Harrington. “I’d like to see what the stats look like without these kids in them, because that will truly tell us how the people of Rogers Park feel. Until then, none of the things found in this survey can be counted because it hasn’t and won’t affect any of them.”

One of the biggest fears in Rogers Park is that it will become heavily gentrified, reducing the neighborhood’s diversity.  Long-time residents worry the area where they have spent a good amount of their lives will become something of a “foreign land,” a place that will more closely resemble Wicker Park, an area that has drastically changed over the last 15 to 20 years.

Maintaining diversity and avoiding displacement were among the goals of Partners for Rogers Park’s project. But Scudellari and residents at the meeting said they don’t think it will achieve that aim.

“What scares me is that this (process) will end up being like past issues where the ideas were already set in stone,” Scudellari said. “The last thing you want is people shouting at one another and getting upset with the people they have been close with and associated with for many years.”

“What this community needs is just a bit of diversity in everything–in leadership, residents, everything,” Harrington said. “Until (we have) that, Rogers Park will not be the place we want it to be.”

“I couldn’t figure out what it was,” said Jackson. “All of the sudden it looked like a slum. Then I realized trees were gone. It was like, ‘What, they took the trees?’

“That was a rude awakening for me,” Jackson said. “I didn’t understand why they needed to take down trees. I’m just sickened by the whole thing.”

Jackson isn’t alone. Others, too, can’t comprehend why more than 100 trees–and that’s a conservative figure–were uprooted from the site, even before Chicago lost its bid for the 2016 Olympic games to Rio de Janeiro. That’s in addition to the removal of flower beds, shrubs, sculptures and plaques.

“They’re all gone,” said Grahm Balkany, director of Gropius in Chicago Coalition, an advocacy group working to preserve historical buildings and landscaping on the site. “We cannot identify a good reason why Chicago acted in this fashion. It was always our contention that the ruining of the campus’s landscapes would hurt the property’s value and would be considered by residents as a great detriment to the community.”

Originally designed to aid in the healing of Michael Reese patients, Balkany said the 37-acre site’s landscapes and parks were designed by renowned architect Walter Gropius and highly-noted landscape architects Lester Collins and Hideo Sasaki, who were associated with Harvard University.

“These parks were a beloved part of the Bronzeville community,” said Balkany.

Molly Sullivan, director of communications for the city’s Department of Community Development, said trees were removed to facilitate work being done, as the site had become “very overgrown.” The exact number of felled trees was “too detailed for me to know,” Sullivan said.

She said as part of the site’s redevelopment, the city expects to create a new community.
“Trees will be planted as part of the new work to be done there,” said Sullivan.

The Department of Streets and Sanitation’s Bureau of Forestry plants approximately 4,000 trees annually throughout the city, said spokesman Matt Smith. Included among trees’ many benefits are the reduction of smog and the heat island effect, noise abatement, increased psychological well-being and increased property values.

In the case of the Michael Reese property, Smith said the Bureau of Forestry surveyed surrounding parkway trees and found approximately 23 trees in poor condition needing removal regardless of any site plans. Unlike trees on a parkway, the bureau does not restrict the removal of trees that are out of the public way and on a development site. But given the large amount of trees on that site, foresters helped identify trees on that property that those handling any development might consider saving, Smith said.

Smith said shortly after the mayor entered office in 1989, he introduced limits to the numbers of trees aldermen could request to have removed.

“There is a very tough landscape ordinance in place to protect our urban forest,” said Smith.

Preservation Chicago executive director Jonathan Fine is suspicious trees were cut in the midst of a battle with preservationists over the Michael Reese campus. Fine said the landscape tear-up was “a total F-you” to preservationists.

“If this is Chicago trying to be a first-class city and this is how they express themselves, they’ll never be anything but a second city,” said Fine. “Trees grow back. Reputations don’t.”

Yet Ald. Toni Preckwinkle (4th) said the ward is not hurting for green space. She said because the community runs along the lakefront, there’s plenty of green and a variety of park developments.

“We’re in great shape,” said Preckwinkle.

Balkany said destroying all of the vegetation, particularly when it could have been incorporated into a “truly sensitive, visionary program” for the Reese campus, was an act of “extreme negligence.”

“It flies in the face of Chicago’s claim that it is turning a ‘new leaf’ as a green city,” he said.