Wedged in among other Mexican restaurants on a busy Southwest Side street, El Solazo stands out because, as one patron says, the food is just like “grandmother’s food — really good.” Owner Jose Barajas said his business has survived the recession because he knows what he has to do to be successful. “If you...
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A news report from Ernest Sanders, Greater Auburn-Gresham Development Corporation As part of its Smart Communities initiative and efforts to sustain the greater Auburn Gresham community and nearby neighborhoods, the Greater Auburn-Gresham Development Corporation (GADC) employed and contracted with youth between the ages of 14 – 19 to increase the quality of life of...
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Traveling to 100 schools in 70 countries over the past decade helped Sarah Elizabeth Ippel craft the vision of holistic and stimulating education that is now the basis of the Academy for Global Citizenship charter school she founded in the Archer Heights neighborhood. The academy is in its second school year this fall, with...
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The Chamber of Commerce recently kicked off a new tradition in Mount Greenwood by hosting their first ever Taste of Mount Greenwood festival at the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences. The Sept. 28 event on the Southwest Side featured 12 local restaurant and food vendors and more than 70 crafters and stores from...
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In an effort to push a $30 million anti-violence plan, the Chicago Board of Education has decided to partner with a national advocacy organization based out-of-state, upsetting a group of local pastors who see no need to give the work to the Pennsylvania organization. The board last week approved a $5 million contract with...
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By Cristobal Martinez of Neighborhood Sports Chicago This summer, the open space at 31st Street and Lawndale Avenue in Little Village has been overtaken by families. They gather on Tuesday nights as part of Project Play, a creation of the non-profit Beyond the Ball. At Project Play, kids, moms and dads are able to...
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By Jeanette Almada of LISC Chicago’s New Communities Program Two new affordable apartment buildings are benefiting Pilsen residents in two ways: they’re providing residents with high-quality, low-cost housing, and they’re occupying vacant industrial sites that had become neighborhood eyesores. The recently completed 45-unit Casa Morelos Apartments – one of the two resident buildings –...
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By LISC/Chicago’s New Communities Program July 23, 2009 – Four neighborhoods are bridging the digital divide through LISC/Chicago’s Digital Excellence Demonstration Communities (DEDC) pilot program, bringing universal, meaningful participation in technology to low-income communities. Mayor Daley announced the program as an integral part of the City of Chicago ’s Digital Excellence Action Agenda that...
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By Sarah Riordan June 5, 2009 – On one side of the long fold-out table stands a group of volunteers.  On the other side stands a line of 300 people waiting to be fed.  The two groups are separated by giant pots of stew, salad bowls, fresh fruit and bread, but they are joined...
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Dec. 18, 2008 Story by John McCarron It was the red dots-scores of little red specks sprinkled across a map of just one neighborhood on Chicago’s southwest side-that spoke the loudest. Sen. Richard Durbin Several high-powered experts spoke Dec. 4 in Chicago at a field hearing of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services....
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