Owner Jose Barajas said his business has survived the recession because he knows what he has to do to be successful.

“If you have a good product at a good price, people are going to buy it,” said Barajas.

El Solazo, located at 5600 S. Pulaski Road, is a small, authentic restaurant with all the trappings of Mexico: A portrait of the Virgin Mary graces one wall and a sculpture of the Aztec calendar greets visitors as they walk in. Serving everything from tacos to Mexican seafood, prices range from $1.59 to $19 per dish.

Barajas, 29, said he already had the experience and knowledge of Mexican food when he opened his restaurant. He began working in the food industry at the age of 17. He comes from a family that owns a chain of successful Mexican restaurants; one of the restaurants is owned by his mother. He said his family members weren’t upset about his idea of launching a new restaurant on his own in 2007, but they didn’t expect him to have a booming business.

“I didn’t even think I was going to do as well. I just wanted to pay my bills,” Barajas said.

His mother supports him and helps out with his business. He said he is grateful for the experience he gained in his family business, and it was a “stepping stone” for him.

Barajas said he doesn’t know the formula behind his success, but he is sure of what he believes in and what he set out to do.

“The specialty here, I believe, is the fact that whatever we do, we do it fresh and people seem to like what we do,” he said.

Everything in the restaurant is homemade. Barajas has compiled recipes that date back to 1995. He said he is in his restaurant every day and often gets in the kitchen to cook.

“There is not a can of salsa, there is not a can of beans, there is not a can of anything in the back. Everything we do here is from scratch,” Barajas said.

Patrons described the food as authentic, fresh and well prepared.

Erica, 31, who declined to give her last name, said she came across El Solazo as she was driving and decided to stop and try the food. She said the food she finds at El Solazo is the closest she’s found to her grandmother’s style of cooking.

Other patrons offered similar praise.

“I’m very picky about my Mexican food, and this is the closest to authentic Mexican food,” said Maria Juarez.

Juarez, 37, works and lives in the area. She said her favorite plate is chilaquiles verde (tortillas with green hot sauce). The plate is served with rice, beans and a choice of eggs for $5.49 and steak for $6.99.

Other patrons said they like the prices.

“Food here is not greasy compared to other Mexican restaurants on Pulaski, and the prices are very reasonable within my budget,” said Jose Da La Torre.

Jackie Padilla, 20, started working for Barajas one month after he opened his restaurant. She said she sees returning customers all the time.

“They like the food a lot and the service. They say we treat them like friends and not customers,” said Padilla.

State Senator Jacqueline Collins (R) acknowledges several youth who participated in the Southwest Side's Smart Communities Initiatives at the Martin Luther King Skating Rink in Auburn Gresham. Photo/Ernest Sanders

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 its businesses and residents.

Digital Youth Summer Jobs (DYSJ)

In partnership with the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC/Chicago) and the City of Chicago, GADC received federal stimulus dollars through the Broadband Technology Opportunity Program (BTOP) to support a comprehensive broadband adoption campaign in its community.

As part of this campaign, GADC led a Digital Youth Summer Jobs (DYSJ) program to serve 12 youth for eight weeks. The program’s purpose was to provide an opportunity for youth to obtain digital life skills training, work readiness training, work experience and career knowledge through classroom training and internship opportunities within businesses, governmental agencies and not-for-profit organizations in technology-related fields.

To continue reading click here to be directed to LISC Chicago’s New Communities Program.

The academy is in its second school year this fall, with 50 children each in kindergarten and first and second grades.

Events on tap at the school in October and November offer a glimpse of what it means to develop young students as “global citizens.” On Oct. 20, teachers held an event to share their recent experiences in Tanzania as part of a United Nations-sponsored international organic gardening program. In November, the school will host a solar panel installation celebration, part of a larger project to power much of the building by the sun.

Ippel’s work caught the eye of the Obama administration, which invited her to visit Sept. 22-24 to tour the White House organic garden, meet with U.S. Department of Agriculture officials and brainstorm with staff at Sidwell Friends, the school attended by the president’s daughters.

Ippel is thrilled with how her students and colleagues in the education field have responded to her ideas, which include yoga and organic food as a regular part of the school day. But being different and wanting change isn’t always the easiest thing.

“We are very different from other schools,” said Ippel. “It takes a lot of energy to create change, and we are very passionate about the school, but it is very hard when you are trying to be innovative.”

She said it was originally very difficult to convince people to support the International Baccalaureate curriculum for students in Archer Heights, on the Southwest Side of Chicago just north of Midway Airport. Most of the school’s students come from the surrounding neighborhood of nearly 13,000 people, about 53 percent white and about 43 percent Hispanic (as of 2000). The area is also known as the center of Polish culture and the home of the Polish Highlanders Alliance of North America.

The school works hard to involve parents and the community. The PTA is planning an Organic Planet and Earth Day for next spring in which the community and school students and staff will come together to pick and enjoy food from the garden.

“We are working with a neighborhood that just has phenomenal parents and is a great community,” said Ippel.

Audrey Becerril, whose daughter Normandy is in kindergarten, attends her daughter’s class every Wednesday, taking part in the yoga herself.

“She likes it,” said Becerril. “It’s good for her and it is good for me.”

Anyone can apply to attend AGC by filling out an application, getting a number and waiting for the lottery. Once a student is accepted through the lottery, all their siblings are also automatically accepted.

The Chicago Public Schools funds AGC at the same per-pupil level as other schools. The school must raise funds for all its extra projects and programs, including field trips, yoga, organic gardening and world languages. Organic breakfasts and lunches made on site are part of every school day.

“At the beginning it was hard to get the kids to buy into the healthy foods,” said kindergarten teacher and school co-founder Meredith Polley. “A lot of them never had some of the food like the Swedish meatballs or salads with apples and walnuts in it.”

Students learn about the world by communicating with students in other countries over email and Skype and through hands-on lessons about their teachers’ travels. When Ippel went to Washington, D.C., she kept in touch with students and did a slideshow when she returned home.

“I met with Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Kathleen Merrigan at the USDA to share with her the exciting work that AGC is doing, with regards to organic school meals and the environmental sustainability curriculum integration,” said Ippel. “I also had the opportunity to visit the White House organic gardens, kitchen, composting and honey bees with (Chicago) Chef Sam Kass, and had the opportunity to learn more about the inspiring work within the Obama administration to support local food systems.”

Day in and day out, a lot of time and energy goes into making the kids “global citizens” and seeing that they become better all-around people, not just students, according to Ippel.

“Everything we do starts with understanding ourselves and our community,” said Ippel. “We want to connect the kids globally.”

The Sept. 28 event on the Southwest Side featured 12 local restaurant and food vendors and more than 70 crafters and stores from the area.

Darlene Myers, the executive director of the Mount Greenwood Chamber of Commerce, said she hoped for the same success that Party in the Park had in recent years. Party in the Park was an event the chamber hosted for 12 years as a way to lead up to the 100th Anniversary of Mount Greenwood.

“We stopped hosting Party in the Park because we didn’t want it to take the spotlight away from the new Play Lot that was celebrating its opening,” she said. “But we still want money for Mount Greenwood, so we [the board of directors] came up the Taste of Mount Greenwood.”

The Play Lot was completed last year as a safe environment for the children of the neighborhood to play in.

Myers said one of the reasons the board of directors decided to host the event was to help promote local businesses.

“It’s all about raising money,” Myers said. “Especially for the restaurants who aren’t doing so well.”

The vendors who participated in the event were mostly based in the area. But one couple came all the way from Pittsburgh to take part in the Taste.

Heather Kahoun, owner of Fudgie Wudgie, said she heard about the Taste through another vendor and decided to take part to help out the community where her friends and relatives live, although their facilities are in Pittsburgh.

“I came here today hoping to find fundraisers,” she said. “We do fundraisers for schools and give 30 percent back.”

The Taste of Mount Greenwood had much more to offer than just sampling food from vendors and looking at the unique crafts from the area. The event included activities for youngsters to enjoy like a petting zoo, face painting and a pop-up jungle gym donated by a local business.

Christine Hermes, 21, said she believed the event appealed to people of all ages.

“This was a really great idea,” she said. “The petting zoo is great for the kids, but the cars and band are also something that people my age can enjoy. The animals are really adorable.”

A.J. Malone, 21, said his favorite part was the car show.

“I think it was a great thing to incorporate into an event like this. I know I would come again next year just to come look at all these great vintage cars,” he said. “It’s a cool thing for the guys in the area to come out and let us drool over their cars.”

Myers hopes that this event will continue next year, and it will pick up where Party in the Park left off.

“When we started Party in the Park, not too many people knew about it, and only about 200 to 300 showed up,” she said. “By the end of it, attendance was in the thousands. I hope we can have the same success with the Taste.”

The board last week approved a $5 million contract with Youth Advocacy Programs Inc., a Pennsylvania-based national organization that offers services to at-risk youth around the world.

The anti-violence plan, put into place earlier this month, is in response to the dozens of CPS students dying each year. It will target the 200 most at-risk students through intensive counseling, mentoring and job placement, while also adding additional security to the 38 most troubled schools.

Members of the Pastors of Englewood Association, flanked by more than a dozen community supporters, told the board members they don’t want to be left out of the program that concerns the youth in their Southwest Side neighborhood.

They pleaded unsuccessfully with the board to postpone the Sept. 23rd vote until a later date.

Pastor James Dukes of the Pastors of Englewood Association said the $5 million contract that will be put in place parallels already existing efforts to help at-risk youth in their neighborhood, which has one of the city’s highest crime rates.

“For us to not even be considered for this situation is offensive. We should be the evaluators of this project, especially if it means they are coming into our communities,” said Dukes.

Dukes said his organization secures the attendance records from schools, prays for the children who are getting shot, and helps with funerals, counseling and after-school projects.

Chicago Board of Education President Michael Scott said he has no intention of trying to carry out this program in isolation.

Malon Edwards, Chicago Public Schools spokesman, said the Pastors of Englewood Association has not been overlooked and will have an opportunity to become involved in the program along with any other interested parties.

“We want to make sure we have an action plan that not just involves the Englewood community, but everybody who wants to have input in this,” Edwards said.

Edwards said a meeting was scheduled between the faith-based community organization and key members of the CPS administration.

Upset by last week’s board action, the Pastors of Englewood Association, along with other pastors from around the city, are prepared to withdraw their vote of confidence for the 2016 Olympic Games, said Dukes. He wonders what kind of community involvement will be allowed with a much bigger initiative being proposed for Chicago—the 2016 Olympics.

“If we can’t trust to be involved with $34 million, how can we trust to be involved with $38 billion?” said Dukes.

Dukes said the Pastors of Englewood Association will continue to fight for what they see is best for their community.

“Especially because lives are at stake, these decisions cannot be left to back door meetings.”

Photo by Brent Michel

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 enjoy traditional sports like basketball and soccer, as well as recreational activities such as face-painting, tag, and jumping rope. Beyond the Ball created Project Play to help families exercise together outdoors, instead of allowing gang violence to intimidate them into staying inside.

Although creating a safe haven in the neighborhood is an important part of Project Play, Beyond the Ball is also trying to help whole families adopt a healthy, active lifestyle. Amy Castaneda, a teacher at Ortiz Elementary School and co-founder of Beyond the Ball, explains, “We didn’t want to have a day camp, where parents drop off their kids and return to pick them up. We want the parents to join in on the fun!”

“Project Play allows the families to be active one evening a week; we hope this program will promote healthy activity for the rest of their lives.” says Mike Torres, a Project Play volunteer who credits his active lifestyle to his childhood experiences. “I grew up on the playground. Games like tag and kick the can opened the door for me to participate in organized sports like basketball and flag football.”

Photo by Brent Michel

Enabling parents and their children become active separates Project Play from just being a program that keeps the kids off the streets. It offers new ideas to families on how to live healthier lives. Little Village resident Lucy Rivas loves the way Project Play is promoting healthy habits for her and the three kids she brings each week. “Simple games like ‘Switch’ and ‘Four Square’ can be easily set up at home or for birthday parties to keep my kids active and away from the couch.”

A few weeks into Project Play, Siri Atma Greeley, MD, PhD, measured each child’s Body Mass Index (BMI). The purpose of the BMI screening was to give parents an objective way to assess the health of their child. “The goal is to have the kids participate in group exercise when they come to Project Play, and we hope the activity will help them lose some weight and stay in shape.” Explaining how Project Play will help families develop healthier lifestyles, he added, “One way to achieve that goal is having families come out every Tuesday to see how much fun they can have; then when they are at home they can spend more time engaging in physical activity as well.”

After the BMI screening a handout was provided to the families that gave helpful suggestions on nutrition as well as activities they could do on their own. Dr. Greeley hopes the future will include more activities for the adults. “Moving forward Project Play would probably offer nutritional and health classes for the parents.” He adds, “We will also screen the parents to make them aware of their own health. We also want to make them aware of the danger of diabetes, which is common in this community, so we could test their blood sugar and even their blood pressure.”

Armed with activities learned at Project Play, BMI data, and nutrition information, the groundwork has been laid for Little Village residents to lead healthier lives. Lucy Rivas agrees, “Exercise is the best thing you can do for your body, so it’s great that this program helps us learn new ways to stay in shape and have fun at the same time!”

Photo: Eric Young Smith The Pilsen neighborhood, home to Chicago's Mexican culture, is the site of two new affordable apartment buildings.

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 – sits on previously vacant land at 2015 S. Morgan St. that, in addition to contributing nothing in the way of taxes or services, had become a source of blight.

“It had been vacant for years before we bought it, and people began to just dump all kinds of junk there,” said Guacolda Reyes, director of community development at NCP lead agency The Resurrection Project, the non-profit developer that built the apartment building.

In April 2006, TRP purchased the plot of a little more than two acres from Alivio Medical Center, which operates a clinic at 21st and Morgan streets, within blighted industrial land that dots several blocks around the medical center and Casa Morelos.

“All of this vacant land was gray and dusty, under-used, under-everything,” said Teresa Fraga, a medical center board member.  The center, a key NCP partner agency, sold TRP’s development site for a less-than-market-rate price, Fraga said.

The seven-story Casa Morelos, completed earlier this summer, has begun leasing its one- to three-bedroom apartments, with 552 square feet to 1,116 square feet of space.  The apartments will be fully occupied by fall, Reyes said.

Under terms of the developer’s agreement with Illinois Housing Development Authority, which provided the project’s low-income-housing tax credits, most of the apartments will command affordable rents that begin at $530. Four of the apartments will be leased at market-rates from $800 to $1,050, Reyes said, and another four apartments will be leased to Section 8 voucher tenants.

A second, 73-unit building
On that same two-acre site, and directly south of the new apartment building, at 2021 S. Morgan St., TRP this spring started construction of the 73-unit Casa Maravilla.

Photo: Eric Young Smith Casa Morelos Apartments, a new building at 2015 S. Morgan St. in Pilsen, offers low-cost rental units. It displaces a former industrial site that had become a neighborhood eyesore.

That $20 million, five-story building, designed by Weese Langley Weese, will be completed by spring 2010, said Reyes. While senior buildings constructed throughout the city in recent years have tended to consist of fairly small, studio-sized apartments, Casa Maravilla will include 13 two-bedroom units.

“We want to accommodate our Latino housing needs and lifestyles,” Reyes said.  “These apartments are big enough so that seniors who want to share their apartment with a sister, a brother or a friend can do so.”

In addition to the two-bedroom units, Casa Maravilla will have a mix of studio and one-bedroom apartments. All will range from 700 to 1,100 square feet of space. Built under Chicago Green Homes program guidelines, the senior building will have several green elements, including a green roof and permeable pavement.

Income-based rents for tenants who are at least 55 years old and who earn 60 percent down to 30 percent of the Chicago area median income, will range from $350 to $550 for studios; $600 to $800 for one-bedroom apartments; and $750 to $900 for two-bedroom units.

Casa Maravilla has received up to $4 million in HOME loan funds from the City of Chicago. A combination of $800,000 in city low income housing tax credits and $883,342 in Illinois Housing Development Authority low income housing tax credits will generate an estimated $13.2 million in equity for the project, according to officials from the city’s Community Development Department.

National Equity Fund Inc. is tax credit syndicator for the project, which also received $108,400 in investment donated tax credits.

The senior building’s location next door to Alivio Medical Center is a big plus, said Reyes.  A Chicago Department of Senior Services satellite center will operate from the ground floor. Other amenities will include a large ground floor community space and a fitness center.

Finding appropriate new use for unused industrial lots – a rare opportunity to modernize segments of the long established Pilsen neighborhood where vast land tracts are rarely available for larger developments – has brought several factions of the Pilsen neighborhood together.

TRP, long involved in building affordable housing and providing social services, now works with block clubs and community groups such as Fraga’s Pilsen Neighbors Community Council. All of those factions came together through NCP about three years ago, said Fraga, and the community’s resulting quality-of-life plan articulates several goals for the neighborhood, including how to re-use those former industrial properties.

El Paseo on the way
Not the least of those plans is the eventual conversion of the unused rail tracks along Sangamon Street, between Cermak Road and 16th Street, into the north/south landscaped pedestrian corridor to be called El Paseo. Since rail cars years ago stopped serving industrial users in the area, the land around them has been threatened with blight.

Photo: David Pintor Dignitaries cut the ribbon at Casa Morelos' grand opening earlier ths summer.

El Paseo is modeled after the Mexican paseos found in so many Mexican villages – town squares where residents come to meet. TRP, Pilsen Neighbors and community leaders are now working with city officials to gain control of the rail company-owned tracks, said a spokesman from Alderman Daniel Solis’ 25th ward office.

The city, which is negotiating a use agreement with the rail track owner, already owns land to the east and west of the tracks which is slated for use as part of the El Paseo corridor, Fraga said.  Once completed, Alivio and TRP expect to share management of the paseo. In roughly five years Fraga hopes El Paseo will attract all the social factions that are today’s Pilsen.

“Historically we have had differences,” she said. “The art district on Halsted Street differed with the families who live in West Pilsen. But we are changing that and, when the Paseo is there, we will all gather as one neighborhood and all those differences won’t matter.”

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 was launched July 21.

The four pilot neighborhoods – Pilsen, Englewood, Auburn Gresham and Chicago Lawn – have developed digital excellence plans and begun their implementation, including projects like distributing low-cost, refurbished computers; training community members in using digital resources; creating community web portals (www.pilsenportal.org is an example); and helping local youth develop digital content. The neighborhood-based, wide-ranging plans aim to build awareness, skills and digital infrastructure and programming.

“If we want to improve the quality of life for everyone, we must work to make sure that every resident and business has access to 21^st century technology in their own neighborhoods and homes,” said Daley at a news conference in Pilsen..

The Resurrection Project in Pilsen, Teamwork Englewood , Greater Auburn-Gresham Development Corp. and Greater Southwest Development Corporation in Chicago Lawn – all lead agencies in LISC/Chicago’s New Communities Program – engaged more than 300 residents, public agency officials, business owners and nonprofit leaders from more than 60 institutions to develop their digital excellence plans. The neighborhoods are now implementing their plans, including working with community partners to take advantage of special Microsoft grants that will provide software to 33 nonprofits working in the DEDC sites.

With support from LISC and guidance from expert planners, the neighborhoods are also developing a cross-community “master plan” that focuses on five main goals: raising awareness/changing mindsets; providing education, training and technical support for users; providing universal, affordable high-speed Internet access; providing affordable hardware and software; and developing digital programming, skills and content. The planning process leverages the experiences and relationships developed through LISC’s New Communities Program, which over the past seven years has built a robust and effective platform for community development initiatives.

“We’re proud to build on the New Communities Program and support neighborhoods as they connect their community members to technologies they need to be successful in today’s world,” said Andrew J. Mooney, Executive Director of LISC/Chicago.

Other support for the DEDC program comes from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and Microsoft Corporation.

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 by a common experience.

Mark Noriga, one of the volunteers dishing out soup, leans forward to greet those in need with handshakes and hugs.  His friendly demeanor remains the same regardless of where he stands.   He attributes his genuine friendliness to the fact that he has been on both sides of the table.

“I know what it’s like to fall on hard times.  It was the volunteers at St. Matthew’s that brought me out of those times, that’s why I do it,” Noriga, 46, said.   In his case, falling on hard times meant watching his wife suffer with cancer for three years.

“She was just 39 when we found out about the cancer.  We did everything we could to fight it.  We mortgaged our home to pay for chemo, but it wasn’t enough,” Noriga said.

At 41, Noriga’s wife died of leukemia in 2006.

“I was depressed, mad, alone and financially drained,” he said.  “I stumbled into St. Matthew’s one day starving.  They fed me body and soul, and now I try to do the same for others.  Especially these days when it’s so greatly needed.”

St. Matthew’s, located in Pilsen at Hoyne and West 21st Street, like many soup kitchens and homeless organizations throughout the Chicago area, is seeing a drastic increase in the number of those in need.  In the last six months, St. Matthew’s has gone from servicing 200 people to 350 according to Maria Lela, the program’s director.  These numbers are consistent with those throughout the city, according to Jamie Stenesa, director of public relations at the Chicago Food Depository.  This is the reason why more churches are looking to help out.

It is help that is needed now more than ever as Illinois lawmakers grapple with a nearly $12 billion budget gap.  The temporary budget passed May 31 was only a stopgap measure that kept alive  the possibility of across the board social service cuts.

The Chicago Food Depository could see even greater demand in the months ahead.  It works as a central resource center for groups wanting to start their own pantries and shelters.  In order to use the Depository’s resources, all groups must attend classes.  Currently, the Depository helps over 600 groups in Chicago.

“We’ve seen a 33 percent increase in those requesting our services in less than a year,” Stenesa said.   “These are hard times. We’ve had a lot more people come in asking to help out.  Most of the time, they’re from churches.  As far as we’re concerned, the more the merrier,” Stenesa said.

According to a report released this year by Housing Action Illinois, 71 percent of homeless shelters throughout the state of Illinois have seen up to a 10 percent increase in the number of those needing assistance.

“Those numbers don’t surprise me,” Stenesa said.  “Those numbers fit everything we’re finding here.”

For Lela, who has been running the St. Matthew’s soup kitchen for nearly 20 years, the increase is both a positive and a negative.

“We love seeing new faces,” Lela said.   “I love getting to share God’s love and message with new people.  But the more people that come reflect the more people that are losing jobs.  So though more come, fewer can donate to help us feed the people.” Lela said.

In the early days of the program, Lela funded it herself by catering meals along with two other ladies from the church.

“I have my culinary degree, so we started a catering company, and all the money we earned went to the soup kitchen.  It worked at first, but now the program is bigger than three ladies,” Lela said.

As an experienced cook, Lela said she’s been offered other jobs over the years, but prefers volunteering.

“People need to eat, and here we try to feed them body and soul. Especially now, the number of people needing help is higher than ever, and so we try to do what God would have us do; feed his people,” Lela said.

A church is where servicing the poor should begin, according to the Rev. Stephen Hannon who currently serves as the circuit councilor for five Lutheran churches in the city and surrounding areas.

“The church should be the first place people go in times of hardship,” Hannon said.  “Unfortunately, society now sees taking care of the poor and hungry as the government’s job.  But historically, it’s been the church.”

According to a study conducted by the America Association of Retired Persons, church attendees made up the largest percentage of volunteers.  The study showed that in a survey of volunteers throughout the nation, 86 percent of those who attended a religious service on a regular basis had done volunteer work.

For Noriga, it was church volunteers who saved his life.

“The volunteers here and this program at St. Matthew’s are and continue to be my savoir.  After I lost my wife, I had no sense of who I was.  Every time I came to eat here, the people talked to me and cared for me, and prayed with me.  Slowly, my heart healed,” Noriga said.

Noriga, now a successful wedding planner, serves food to others who say they feel similarly about St. Matthew’s.

“I’ve been coming here since it opened.  It’s nice to have a day off of worrying about feeding my family.  My brother comes here to eat too.  We get to have a meal together like people without a care, ” said Connie Hernandez, 58, a regular at St. Matthew’s soup kitchen.

“I also love to come and hear the prayers.  They say them in Spanish and English, and I know both, so I get to hear them twice,” Hernandez said.

Rev. Julio Loza of St. Matthew’s says that though times are hard, churches are beginning to help out.

“We witness miracles everyday,” Loza said.  “Somehow, with our funds getting smaller, we are still able to feed hundreds.  Support from other churches keeps growing. It’s like the feeding of five thousand with the fish and the bread.”

One of those churches, Christ Lutheran Church in Orland Park, has recently made St. Matthew’s their project for their summer Vacation Bible School program.

“Our kids will bring an offering daily, and it will go to St. Matthew’s.  We will also take the kids on a field trip here to help serve food.  It’s a way to help out, and teach kids the value of service,” said Mary Lee Rauch, a member of Christ Lutheran.

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.

Several high-powered experts spoke Dec. 4 in Chicago at a field hearing of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services. But Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.), who chairs the subcommittee, and as assistant majority leader figures to play a key supporting role in the upcoming Obama administration, seemed just as impressed by the testimony of the dots.

“The red dots on this chart are for just one single ZIP code,” Durbin explained to those gathered in the ceremonial courtroom of the Dirksen Federal Building. “You can see there’s barely a block on which there haven’t been any foreclosures this year.

“This is a cancer or a blight that’s going from home to home, neighborhood to neighborhood,” said Durbin, nodding toward two oversized maps mounted on easels, “that will really threaten us if we don’t do something quickly.”

The dot maps were created by David McDowell of the Southwest Organizing Project (SWOP).

“It’s a way to get across the impact of what’s happening in our neighborhood,” McDowell said later in an interview. “It shows this is about something larger, not just individuals with a problem, but the fabric of our neighborhood.”

Subscription services such as RealtyTrac.com will tell you there are 2,342 properties within the Chicago Lawn ZIP code currently in pre-foreclosure or already repossessed by lenders. But when McDowell and SWOP merged all those addresses using Microsoft mapping software, a whole different picture emerged – a scary picture of a neighborhood on the brink.

SWOP and its sister organization, Greater Southwest Development Corp. (GSDC), developed the maps as part of an anti-foreclosure program funded by the MacArthur Foundation. A second MacArthur grant to LISC/Chicago funds the New Communities Program (NCP) Foreclosure Response Fund, which is helping NCP’s neighborhood partners reach out to those in danger of losing their homes.

More than two-thirds of families who miss three or more mortgage payments, thereby triggering foreclosure action by lenders, never seek outside help or respond to legal notifications. Many end up losing not just their home, but their credit rating and their neighborhood.

But getting families to seek professional mortgage counseling is only half the battle. Durbin’s subcommittee is exploring ways to prod lenders into modifying the terms of loans so owners can catch up on payments and save their homes. Moreover, many economists warn that until this foreclosure tsunami is reversed, there will be no recovery of the housing market and, consequently, no recovery of the broader economy

Bruce Gottschall, executive director of Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago, testified that ways must be found “to compel mortgage holders to offer proactive, standardized loan modifications to large numbers of mortgagees in a systematic manner.”

Gottschall suggested that the $700 billion now earmarked by Congress to bail out cash-starved banks, insurers and investment houses ought to carry a requirement that loan modifications-reductions of both interest rates and principal amounts-be made available to struggling families.

As it is now, said Gottschall, who fields the largest staff of mortgage counselors in Chicago, lenders and their servicing agents tend to be hard to reach and, once contacted, unable or unwilling to modify loan terms.

Durbin seconded Gottschall’s remarks, as well as those of Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, who testified about a loan modification settlement her office has reached with Countrywide Financial, once the nation’s largest home lenders but now a subsidiary Bank of America.

“The most immediate need at this moment,” Madigan said toward the end of the hearing, “is to help homeowners stay in their homes and stabilize our communities.”

It was eloquent summary, underscoring the silence of the red dots.

Gordon Walek contributed to this report

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Nov. 20, 2008 – On a chilly autumn morning at the corner of 31st Street and Kostner Avenue, young athletes competed for gold medals. Teams of three fought through the coal dig and leapt over the coal hurdle before sprinting to the bus dash, ending their journey at a cardboard cutout signifying a downtown museum.

No, this wasn't the Olympics, but instead the second running of the Coalympics, a competition in the Little Village neighborhood aimed at raising awareness of two nearby coal-fired power plants that pollute the city's skies.

The Crawford Generating Station at 3501 S. Pulaski in Little Village and the Fisk Generating Station at 1111 W. Cermak in Pilsen are two of the handful of remaining coal power plants in the state. Both plants, owned by Midwest Generation, a subsidiary of California-based Edison International, lie directly in the way of the proposed 2016 Olympics, according to local activists.

Groups such as the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization (LVEJO), which hosted the Coalympics event, want both plants shut down for the sake of their community and the possible future Olympic games.

"This is not just for the Olympics, but it's for the people who have lived here their whole lives and are affected by it every day," said Alex Martinez, 17, who took part in the event. "For all of our voices to be heard, we need to work as a group to make this happen."

Statistics from the LVEJO link more than 40 premature deaths each year to power plant pollution, as well as 1,000 asthma attacks and 500 emergency room visits. The group says health conditions could worsen in the years to come, especially considering that more than 100 schools lie within a two-mile radius of a plant.

The Crawford and Fisk stations combined produce 230 pounds of mercury emissions each year, in addition to pumping out 17,675 tons of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide, according to recent EPA estimates.

"If you look at the statistics, we need something now," said Samuel Villasenor, clean power community organizer for LVEJO. "Those numbers are just going to increase if we wait around and do nothing."

With over half the 95,000 Little Village residents under the age of 25, Villasenor knows action needs to be taken now. But he said the organization's seven-year-long fight will continue with a unique approach.

"We definitely need to be proactive and reactive," he said. "We need electricity, so we're promoting efficiency. If people can cut down on how much electricity they use, we would need to build less."

Villasenor and two-dozen other supporters gathered to hold the Coalympics, a short competition which saw youth contest three obstacles, all aimed at helping bring pollution issues to light. At the end of the games, three tie-dye t-shirt wearing competitors claimed the top prizes, which were gold-painted asthma inhalers.

The goal of the event, Villasenor said, was to build media interest and awareness of this ongoing issue.

Activists are now calling on the mayor to shut down the coal power plants and help introduce new forms of renewable energy to fill the energy void. This includes eco-friendly methods such as geothermal, wind and solar power.

"If our mayor claims to be as green as he really is, these are things that he should be indulging in his city to show off," said Kimberly Wasserman, a LVEJO coordinator. "So when the Olympics come, he can say, 'Look, not only did we shut down the coal power plants for the sake of our residents; we're trying our hand at renewable energy.'"

"That would put Mayor Daley on the cover of Time Magazine, if he could pull off something like that."

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Nov. 17, 2008

Story by Elizabeth Duffrin

Pilsen resident Omar Vega expects to save thousands of dollars in property taxes over the next 12 years in exchange for renovating his historic four flat on West 17th Street.

Vega is among the first in his neighborhood to qualify for a property tax freeze since Pilsen was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2006. Property owners within the Pilsen Historic District — which stretches between Halsted Street and Western Avenue, from 16th Street to Cermak Avenue — can earn tax benefits for renovations that preserve their buildings’ historic value.

So far, more than 40 residents have begun the application process. That process can prove somewhat daunting, however. To ease the way, the 18th St. Development Corp. set up a service to lead owners through the paperwork and site visits required by the state historic preservation agency. “Without that service, I would have hit a lot of roadblocks,” said Vega.

Called the Historic Preservation Initiative, the service may be unique in the state, according to Michael Ward, local government services coordinator with the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. It’s the only initiative his office knows of that aims to preserve affordable housing through historic preservation.

And 18th St. Development Corp. may be the only neighborhood group in Illinois providing direct assistance with applications, he said. With 4,400 properties now eligible for tax breaks, Pilsen’s historic district is the state’s largest. Ald. Danny Solis (25th) spearheaded the campaign to designate the district with backing from the 18th St. Development Corp.

19th Century structures

Many of Pilsen’s historic buildings date from the 1870s through the early 1900s, when Bohemian immigrants settled the area following the Great Chicago Fire. The neighborhood continued as a point of entry for immigrants, with Mexican families arriving in large numbers beginning in the 1950s.

In recent years, gentrification has lead to escalating property values and forced many long-time residents from their homes. “A lot of people say taxes are going through the roof,” said Kristy Menas, 18th St. Development Corp.’s historic preservation officer. “We’re using this [program] as a way to keep people in the neighborhood.”

The tax benefit will help Vega, a first-time homeowner at age 28, afford his investment in the century-old building. His parents, both Mexican immigrants, also manage property in Pilsen.

Advice for owners

To earn the tax break, Pilsen property owners can first verify with Menas that their property is on the list of registered historic structures. Staff from her office can visit the property to advise owners on the type of renovations that will likely win approval.

Owners are also encouraged to submit an initial application to the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency for feedback before completing the final application. (Renovations completed up to two years prior to an application can still win approval if they meet federal guidelines and are adequately documented.)

Ward said his office is generally most concerned with protecting a historic building’s exterior, particularly the façade, and with the more public areas inside a home such as the entryway and living room.

“You want to maintain and preserve as much of the historic fabric as you can while still making it livable,” he said. Bathrooms and kitchens are of less concern. “It’s rare to find a bathroom or kitchen that hasn’t been updated since the 19th century,” he noted.

The benefit Vega earned is available only for owner-occupied properties with six units or fewer and requires rehab work of at least 25 percent of the county’s estimated market rate value for the building, an amount substantially lower than its actual market rate.

Vega spent $80,000 — double his minimum requirement — to replace the ancient wiring and plumbing and turn a dirt-floored basement into an updated apartment. His benefit will freeze the assessed value of his property at $21,700 for eight years, and then gradually readjust it to market rate over the next four.

Owner occupied

Two other types of tax benefits exist for renovating landmark buildings: a federal income tax benefit for large buildings and a property tax benefit for commercial building owners. However, all but a few of the applicants so far have been small, owner-occupied buildings, which make up the majority of the historic district, said Menas.

Jesse Orozco, another Pilsen resident with a pending application, plans to pass the tax benefit on to the future owners of the affordably priced condos he is creating from a dilapidated six-unit apartment building on South Loomis. Orozco, a city worker who undertook the project with his brother and sister in-law, said he couldn’t have made it through the application process without help from 18th St. Development Corp.

“I’m not a professional developer, and I would not have known where to turn to or how to get the information,” he said.

His project has not unfolded without setbacks, however. The preservation agency nixed his idea for wrought iron Juliet balconies and for exposed brick on the interior walls.

Still, he’s pleased with the final design, which includes new kitchens and bathrooms and, with the removal of an unused attic, raised ceilings and skylights on the top floor. Orozco, who grew up in Little Village and now makes his home in Pilsen, doesn’t expect his renovation project to be much of a money-maker. Rather, the goal is “personal satisfaction,” he explained.

“It’s nice to feel like you’re trying to better a community that you feel really strongly about,” he said. “It’s nice to take something that’s old and neglected [and] bring it back to life and make it shine.”

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Oct. 23, 2008 – Lena Taylor came to the Englewood farmer's market for the second straight week to buy what some in her neighborhood might equate to manna from heaven — fresh produce.

"Are these organic?" Taylor asked the young farmer selling kale, cucumbers and tomatoes. They were, and as she continued to delicately clutch the cucumbers, she compared the colors of the red and yellow tomatoes.

After a little more discussion about prices, the South Side senior twisted her black handbag around her shoulder, gently unzipped it and gave the clerk a white and blue check with an Illinois Seniors Farmer's Market logo.

Taylor got the check from a neighborhood senior program. Since the market's opening June 19, some organizations like Teamwork Englewood and a local co-op that grows organic produce, Growing Home, Inc. conducted outreach to help bring business to the city-sponsored market. The market opened at noon and closed at 5 p.m.; most of the shoppers were seniors like Taylor.

The farmer's market was opened to enable more people in Englewood to buy fresh produce, but the market will close Oct. 23. When it shuts down for the year, many will lose a much-needed oasis in this "food desert."

Englewood and poor areas all over the country face what research has defined as a paradoxical situation; it's expensive to be poor. The limited access to fresh produce drives the consumption of unhealthy foods that lead to poor eating habits and that can affect the overall economic health of the family. Also, the high price of gas makes travel more difficult for poor people in a "food desert."

A 2006 study by LaSalle Bank defined many areas of the city's South and West Sides as "food deserts" because they lacked access to grocery stores that supplied fresh fruits and vegetables. The market in Englewood and other grocers in the area have brought a few more options to neighborhoods like Englewood. Ald. Toni Foulkes (15th) and Mayor Richard M. Daley called for more "mainstream" grocers like Jewel or Dominick's to consider putting more stores in underdeveloped areas.

Meanwhile, as Lena Taylor placed her plastic bags of peanuts and cucumbers in her Pontiac SUV, she said the Food 4 Less, just north on Ashland, kept raising prices. Same goes for the nearby Aldi supermarket.

As for Dominick's, "It's too expensive," said Taylor.

The residents of Englewood didn't need weeks of national headlines to understand the economy was struggling.

Foulkes, a former baker at the 95th Street Jewel, and a 36-year resident of Englewood, said the closing of the farmer's market this month will leave residents — who are already hit hard by the economic downturn — even worse off. In the "food desert," many will have no access to affordable, high-quality produce.

Tracing her finger across her ward map, Foulkes talked about people who had come to depend on the church parking lot's market for fresh produce over the summer. She wondered where they would turn during the winter drought.

When she was growing up in Englewood, Foulkes said there were competing grocery stores, like Jewel, Hi-Lo and A&P. In recent years, many have relied on convenience food at small corner stores for groceries.

"It's all people," she said, explaining that most of her ward is residential. Foulkes pointed to the challenges of bringing a large commercial development into Englewood.

She pinpointed the intersections of 66^th Street and Ashland Avenue and 59^th Street and Ashland Avenue as difficult to develop because some neighbors might have to be relocated. Asking for a re-zoning or negotiating with an owner or landlord might bring a contentious neighborhood debate.

Yet as a former grocery store employee and someone who is trying to change her own eating habits, the "food desert" issue is one she spoke passionately about. "We do need another large grocery store in the area." Foulkes said grocers like Aldi and Food 4 Less get a lot of business and other grocers should look to those stores as proof that Englewood can support another "mainstream" store.

Growing Home Inc., a co-op that grows organic produce, has a long-term vision for making fresh fruits and vegetables more accessible to Englewood. Growing Home's Executive Director Harry Rhodes said, "What people need is a choice of where to get their food."

Rhodes said Mayor Daley has been supportive of Growing Home in Englewood. In 2006, the city helped Growing Home establish a one-acre site at 58th Street and Wood Avenue. At the Englewood market the group sold lettuce and red bell peppers for one dollar and kale, scallions and Swiss chard for just fifty cents more. The co-op made $77 one week, which was about average for the summer.

Teamwork Englewood has been an important player in the neighborhood and worked with the city to coordinate this year's market. Doris Jones, of the neighborhood organization, stopped by to buy some pound cake and talk with vendors. She said that after the last market there would be an evaluation period to see where and when a site would be set up for next summer.

Chicago isn't the only city in the country that the LaSalle Bank study classified as containing "food deserts." Mari Gallagher, the author of the study, said Chicago, as opposed to Detroit where virtually the entire city is a "food desert," has the "research and strength" to deal with this issue. Her research also indicates that food deserts exist in rural, suburban and urban places.

On Sept. 24, Gallagher partnered with the City of Chicago, the Polk Street Group and the National Center for Policy Research to host a food expo. The city also released six potential sites for grocery stores in the "food desert." One was city-owned land at 63rd and Halsted. Gallagher said that the mayor and executives of Kroger, SuperValu and Roundy's dined together after the expo.

That location and prospect might be too distant for a woman like Ernestine Kelly, who doesn't have a car and walked a few blocks down Ashland to buy a watermelon at the Englewood market.

"I can't carry a watermelon," she said.

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Story by Miles Maftean

Oct. 17, 2008 – A new program in Little Village is helping future educators learn about the teaching conditions and vibrant cultures of an urban environment.

The Teacher Education Pipeline, founded by Illinois State University (ISU), has seen major success in the Wheeling community since 1995, and has recently moved to Little Village to address the need for more urban teachers.

Many educational programs are offered in Little Village and continue to thrive in the neighborhood, as well as other neighborhoods in the Chicago area, according to Evelyn Perez, the ISU Professional Development School site coordinator in Little Village. Perez said the program is a great opportunity for students to understand a real urban environment.

“You have to learn about the community in order to understand the students,” Perez said.  ”And living in the neighborhood with this program lets the teacher-students see the culture of the children they are teaching, and allows them to understand them better.”

The Local Initiative Support Corporation (LISC) in Chicago assists in the development of quality and affordable student-teacher housing in the Little Village community for ISU students. The housing has been offered specifically for the program to the colleges’ students who are majoring in elementary education.

Keri Blackwell, the program director for LISC/Chicago, said the university first noticed the Little Village neighborhood around 2005 when they were ready to expand their newest educational program in an urban environment.

“Little Village attracted the college because it wanted their students to dispel any perceptions in teaching in an urban environment,” Blackwell said.

The success of the program has been recognized locally and nationally. Perez said Chicago Public Schools has seen the success of the program and continues to hire more and more students from the program  as full-time teachers.

On a national level, the Teacher Education Pipeline program has been selected by the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education as the 2008 recipient of the Best Practice Award in support of global diversity and inclusion.

“It’s one of the best choices I have made,” said Gwen Kmiec, a senior Illinois State elementary education major who is a student-teacher in the Pipeline program.

Students in the program are beginning to see what teaching in an urban environment truly means. Jennifer Bock, who is also a student-teacher in the program, said she now fully understands how tough the lives of the children are, and how they are overcoming obstacles.

“It’s a real different experience,” Bock said. “I see what the kids are going through, but I also see the parents do really care.”

The success of this program has led to other teaching programs in Little Village.

One program has continued to increase the number of its students who enroll to study education at the university. The program is offered in seven Chicago public high schools on the Southwest Side and creates a learning experience about the education field. All students in this program are first-generation Americans in their families. In 2006, 23 percent, or 15 students, were accepted to and started at the college.

Programs are not only offered to high school students in the Little Village neighborhood, but also to community members and educational paraprofessionals. The Grow Your Own Teachers program helps people in the community complete their bachelor’s degrees with a focus on elementary education and English as a second language programs.

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Story by Lindsay Welbers

Learn more about the event, courtesy of our partners at Community  Media Workshop.

June 13, 2008 – Hoping to prevent a summer marred by gang violence, the third annual Healing the Hood street festival in Little Village has been moved up to June 14.

Mike Rodriguez, director of the Little Village Violence Prevention Collaborative , said organizers decided to hold the event this month rather in August because they want to get kids involved in their communities early in the summer, giving them alternatives to joining a gang.

“Folks wanted to set the stage for a peaceful summer with this event instead of ending (summer) with it,” Rodriguez said.

The New Communities Program worked with Rodriguez and his group to use a crime reduction strategy that they say, resulted in a 39 percent drop in gun violence and a 60 percent drop in homicides in the neighborhood between 2006 and 2007.

Two gangs divide the West Side neighborhood. The division runs so deep that children from the east side of the neighborhood cannot use the park on the west side for fear of violence and retaliation for crossing the border.

One of the New Community Program’s goals is to get a park on the east side of the neighborhood, in addition to reducing gang violence.

The street festival, presented by the Little Village Community Development Corp., takes place on the border between the territory the two gangs – the Latin Kings and 2Six – have staked out.

Organizers hope that by encouraging people to get involved in their communities through music, arts or sports that students will be encouraged to stay away from gangs and to help reduce gang-related violence.

“This year we have a specific arts component where young people will be decorating a Healing the Hood art piece to put in their window,” Rodriguez said.

Families will be encouraged to decorate a common emblem at the event and place it in the windows of their home to show that gang violence is not welcome in the community.

Event organizers this year hope to continue raising awareness year round by putting together a video in which event participants discuss their history with gang violence and how they hope to end it. The video will be featured on the Little Village Community Development Corp.’s Web site and on YouTube.

At noon June 14, several pastors of interdenominational faiths and former gang members will hold a vigil for those killed by gang violence in the past year.

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Submitted 11/19/2007

Story by Meha Ahmad

More than 200 members of the Arab and Muslim community changed recently their weekend plans and treked three miles to raise awareness for breast cancer and domestic violence in Palos Heights. The event raised almost $5,000, and participants hope it raised awareness, too.

They called it “Walk in Faith Not in Fear.” The opening ceremony and event on Oct. 27 specifically targeted Arab and Muslim women and their hesitation to discuss abuse and illness among the community.

“There’s a stigma that comes with cancer,” said Sheri Maali, vice president of Arab American Family Services, one of the two sponsoring groups of the event. “Our society looks down on it, and that’s just sad.”

In general, the community responded uncomfortably to efforts made by Arab American Family to discuss cancer in an open forum, said Tahani Hammad, director of the organization’s breast cancer program. This kind of cancer is an especially sensitive subject because the number of women being diagnosed is increasing, so it’s becoming increasingly scary, said Hammad.

Lena Tlieb, director of the Mosque Foundation Community Center, the other event sponsor, said she thinks another reason Arab and Muslim women don’t speak about having cancer is due to a sense of pride.

“We’re too independent. We don’t want to say we’re ill, that we need help,” Tlieb said. “We hesitate.”

Arab American Family Services, an Arab and Muslim community organization based in Burbank, funds a breast cancer program that helps women prevent and treat the disease by offering educational seminars and free mammograms.

The program’s calendar included a breast cancer awareness walk for the morning of Oct. 27. Meanwhile, the Community Center, a Muslim youth center in Bridgeview, had planned a walk for domestic violence the same day. When the center contacted the Arab American Family, Tlieb said the organizations joined forces and held a joint event.

Maali said the walk’s goal was “all about empowering our community.”

Several community members said they felt empowered by the event and said it’s time for the community’s mentality to change.

Nuha Hasan, 24, a grad student at Midwestern University, based in Downers Grove, Ill., participated in the walk and said she feels that both topics–breast cancer and domestic violence–are problems in the community no one wants to face.

“The walk reminded me of how big of an issue domestic abuse and breast cancer are and how widely it’s ignored,” said Hasan. “And it’s about time to bring it up. The Arab community is in so much denial.”

Hasan said she believes domestic violence exists and will grow in the community due to lack of knowledge about their religion. If more Muslims in the community knew Islam’s laws against domestic violence and women’s rights, she said, the problems would dramatically decline. In Islam, any sort of abuse or mistreatment toward women, especially toward a wife, is condemned.

Aisheh Said, vice president of the Mosque Foundation spoke before the walk began to educate walkers on the existing problems in the community. Most women in the mosque ask Said for advice on personal and domestic matters. Said stated that about 15 percent of marriage complaints to the mosque are about domestic violence.

“The reason abuse is rising is because our definition keeps changing,” stated Said. “Everyone used to think it was just physical [abuse], but now we consider emotional and verbal abuse forms of domestic violence, too.”

The Community Center director Tlieb said some “people in the community hide it really well, and others aren’t even aware of it.”

The Community Center and Arab American Family Services with the Crisis Center for South Suburbia of Tinley Park want more victims of domestic abuse to seek help. They offer free legal assistance, case management, shelter and safety plans. The Crisis Center works with area police departments to give victims crisis intervention and legal referrals.

The Arab American organization’s Breast Cancer Awareness Program will continue throughout the year, offering free mammograms on a walk-in basis.

Vice president of Arab American Family Services Sheri Maali said both organizations will help any woman who needs it, whether victims of domestic violence or diagnosed with cancer.

“I think there are a lot of women, especially Arab and Muslim Americans in our community, who think ‘Why am I being punished?’ ‘What did I do to deserve this?’ ‘Why is God mad at me?’” Maali said. “I want them to know we support our community and we support our women.”

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