Saturday, March 31, 2012

West Chesterfield Clean & Green

A flyer posted by Worlee over at EveryBlock. It's coming April 21st and refer to the flyer below for more details!
Click pic for larger resolution!

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Burnside Academy history comes alive on Friday.



We blogged about him in January, as he was featured in the Chicago Suntimes about the desegregation effort that Burnside was a part of.

He will now discuss his story live with the current students of Burnside Academy. Kindergaretn - 4th grade will hear him from 8:30 ~ 9:30am.  At 9:35, the 5th - 8th graders will hear him speak.

Contact Burnside Scholastic Academy for details. Burnside is located at 650 E. 91st Place, with a phone number of (773) 535-3300;  Fax of (773) 535-3230;  Email =>  burnside650 (at) yahoo.com  ;  and the website is at http://www.burnsideacademy.net/

Tony Burroughs, outside of the Burnside School 650 E. 91st Place, where 50 years ago the first demonstration against Chicago Public Schools system of segregated and unequal education took place. Friday, January 13, 2012.
Brian Jackson~Sun-Times





Ward Room: Rahm's $7 Billion Chicago Redevelopment

So the next question on this is how can we get some of that money to come our way?
Mayor Rahm Emanuel reportedly has good news for about 30,000 Chicagoans out of work right now.

Emanuel is expected to announce Thursday a "major new infrastructure program" to create tens of thousands of jobs across Chicago by "coordinating the revitalization of Chicago’s infrastructure."

The plan, which includes expanding O'Hare Airport, costs $7 billion, according to The New York Times. It also focuses on improving city streets, water systems, schools, community colleges, parks and spending big bucks on renovating Chicago Transit Authority stations.

Emanuel wants to fund the renewal projects with private funds through the Chicago Infrastructure Trust that he unveiled with former President Bill Clinton earlier this month.

The mayor said during the March 1 announcement that he plans to work with the Trust and debt and equity investors to finance $200-$250 million worth of energy-efficiency projects in city buildings, which would create more than 2,000 jobs.

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Kadner: Colvin leaving House for VP job with ComEd - Southtown Star


Colvin is out of the 33rd District that includes the 8th Ward represented by Ald. Michelle Harris.
The revolving door in Springfield keeps spinning state legislators into golden jobs in the private sector.

State Rep. Marlow Colvin (D-Chicago) has announced he will resign from his seat in the House to take a job as vice president of legislative and external affairs for ComEd.

The timing of the announcement, only a week after Colvin won a primary election in which he was unopposed, seemed strange to me.

During a telephone conversation, Colvin told me he had been in negotiations with ComEd since December but the details of his employment weren’t hammered out until now.

That likely means the 8th Ward Democratic committeewoman, Michelle Harris, will name someone to replace Colvin for the remainder of his current term and a candidate to replace him on the November ballot.
We showed some videos of Rep. Colvin talking about the Chatham neighborhood last year.

There's another election coming up...

And that election will be for our neighborhood schools Local School Council. Torch of Decency author Jahmal Cole has offered us a flyer for the coming election to takes place April 18 at all elementary schools and April 19 at all high schools. Again if you plan to run for an LSC let us know blog @ thesixthward . us. We want to know what you plan to do at our local schools!

The modernist homes of Chatham


Last year Lee Bey posted about Chatham's modernist legacy. In fact I linked to it in a post where Worlee shows YoChicago's Joe Zekas around Chatham. There are a lot of houses that I say couldn't possibly fit the neighborhood because they seem out of place with the many bungalows & Georgians that dominate the neighborhood housing stock.

All the same, I have wondered how a lot of these houses got built. Were those various lots previously vacant or did they have to tear down a building in order to build the dream house they have always wanted?

The house above photographed by Lee Bey you might have seen near Neil School on 85th & Michigan. The house below you might have seen on the 8400 block of Indiana was taken a few years ago by YoChicago

It leads me to suggest that there ought to be a tour of the many unique homes that exist in Chatham. Let the city know that Chatham is not just another city neighborhood. It truly is a special place where the successful were able to build their dream home.

Also it's hard for me to describe the "Blue White House" as a modernist home it's certainly a place that should be on any Chatham house tour.

Are there other examples you would like to share with us? And free free to share any pictures you might have with us. The e-mail address is in the sidebar or post to our FB page.

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Town Hall Meeting: End Violence in Englewood




TOPIC:  WE CAN SAVE OUR CHILDREN
 
Englewood is in crisis!  Whether it is Robeson, Harper, Shields, Simeon, Nicholson or even Hyde Park or Church’s Chicken, our children sit at the epicenter of some form of gang conflict that is beyond our understanding, and young lives are at risk daily.  We lost 60 souls in 2011, and the number is rising in 2012.
 
On Saturday, March 31, 2012, Imagine Englewood if, Teamwork Englewood and other community partners will host a very important Town Hall Meeting to plan anti-violence strategies.  Among those serving on a special panel are Shango Johnson, Violence Interrupter for CEASEFIRE, State Representative Esther Golar, Mark C. Walsh, Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence, Syron Smith, National Block Club University, John Paul Jones, Community Organizer, Cordell Payne, Safety Net Works, and David Moore, former 17th Ward Aldermanic Candidate.
 
We appeal to youth, community leaders, pastors, elected officials, as well as residents to attend this meeting to create an Action Plan to combat violence in the Englewood community.  Reducing gun violence and violent crime must become a community-wide imperative.  Our strongest voices must form a united front committed to meaningful changes in public policy. We can’t afford to keep losing our children.
 
The event will be held at Imagine Englewood if730 W. 69th St., Chicago, IL, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.  For further information, contact us at 773.488.6704; fax: 773.488.6705; email: jhill705@sbcglobal.netinfo@imagineenglewoodif.org.  Food and Refreshments will be served.
 
Yours in Peace.
 
Jean Carter-Hill, Co-founder and Executive Director,
Imagine Englewood if. . .!”
Advocate for Youth Empowerment & a Lead-free Englewood
 
 
Mission Statement
 
Imagine Englewood if’s… mission is to strengthen and empower the greater Englewood community through teaching local youth healthy living, lead awareness and positive communication skills. IEi… motivates youth and their families to seek a positive quality of life and encourages them to pursue positive change.
 

Man, 80, Arrested After Shooting Alleged Burglar

This news story is out of Englewood and we see how neighborhood residents are responding to this development.
Neighbors in Englewood are not pleased after an 80-year-old bar owner was arrested for shooting a man who was allegedly burglarizing his house.

Homer Wright allegedly shot Anthony Robinson, 19, in the leg as Robinson tried to break into Wright’s home, in the 6400 block of South Morgan Street, to steal liquor around 6:30 a.m. Monday, police said. Wright operates his bar, Tanks Lounge, from the same building, and is affectionately known as “Tank,” Englewood activists say.

The bar has been in business for more than 40 years and is considered to be a community center, WBBM Newsradio’s Mike Krauser reports.

But Wright is a convicted felon, and is not allowed to own a gun, police said. Thus, he was charged with unlawful use of a weapon, a felony, police said.
They held a press conference outside of his bar located at 6458 S. Morgan St. and here is what some resident have said in Mr. Wright's defense:
The activists point out in a news release that many other senior citizens have shot suspects in self-defense and have not been arrested.

“If the Chicago Police want to build a relationship with the community, this is a bad example,” community organizer Anita Dominique said in a news release. “I have known Tank for over 30 years and he is a pillar of our community. What does it say to me and other senior citizens that we will be arrested if we defend ourselves? This is an outrage.”
They want to convince the State's Attorney Anita Alvarez to drop the charges against him, but Alvarez has made statements before she became State's Attorney that suggest she's very skittish about civilians owning guns. I wouldn't be surprised if her office purues charges against him. Still while granted Wright was a convicted felon there should be some form of discretion in this. It's not as if Wright was about to commit a crime himself if this was his own house.

What do you think?

Photo of the day

A pictured posted to flickr by Cragin Spring that shows the interior damage to the King Bowl - located at 8010 S. King Drive - after severe storms last year. It was uploaded on March 10, 2012.

Does anyone know if there are any plans with this place? As we all know the Park Manor Bowl was demolished as it was also damaged by severe storms last year.

Monday, March 26, 2012

Author speaks about the Chatham neighborhood


[VIDEO] Torch of Decency author Jahmal Cole talks about the history of the Chatham neighborhood and its history of activism at the Whitney Young Library recently. Currently reading his book right now, you can call 312-882-5028 to have his book delivered to you. It's a good read so far!

EDIT: This post is already two days old but here's more information on how you can get this book, from Cole's very own website. It's available on the Amazon Kindle e-Reader as well.

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Apology To Our Readers: We Will Not Let The Trolls Takeover

I would like to take the time out to apologize to the regular readers and contributors of  "The 6th Ward Blog" for some of the unnecessary back and forth comments that have been going on as of late. I allowed myself to get caught up in the cyber babble and I know better and apologize for my behavior.

The blog is a place to discuss community issues and whether you agree or disagree is fine, but as of late several individuals who are Internet trolls and have decided to attack this blog and the bloggers. These individuals are internet trolls who go all over the internet(i.e. Facebook, Everyblock, Twitter, etc) and stir up trouble. The cowardly acts are the result of individuals being warned that their comments violate the TOS agreements the blog has with their host. In one case, it has resulted in one individual having to be banned. This individual has decided to retaliate here and on other sites. Fortunately, the other sites know of this individual and have taken appropriate action, such as removing their comments and threatening to block them.

In the case of the personal attacks against me, I shake them off and continue because I know that these individuals do not have the courage to say these things to me personally. They only have internet courage and  that's all. I work by the motto "Haters only make you better".

I'm not a journalist and have no intentions of being one. You want journalism go read the damn Tribune and Sun Times and get all the journalism you want. I voice my opinion, you like or loathe it makes me no difference. I will speak out on and not get caught up in unsubstantiated, unnecessary personal attacks on business and property owners
http://chicago.everyblock.com/announcements/feb01-pepers-lounge-owner-tina-strikes-again-4705853/ . I will not shill for any candidate http://thesixthward.blogspot.com/2012/03/flyer-and-audio-sixth-ward-democratic.html. The 6th ward business does not stop because of elections. Application deadlines do not stop and criminals do not stop and say" I'm not going to commit a crime because it's election season". I find speaking negatively of someone's late parent cowardly and when they call you out on it you disappear.

So to all the trolls, Casey Thomas, Tina Dawson, Carmel Cutie, Stand Up Speak Up, Tayiah and all the other people with catchy psedonyms your crap has become tiring and frankly unimportant. if you haven't learned from the last two elections, personal attack ads don't work.

Friday, March 23, 2012

Emanuel says community must join fight against gangs

The Chicago Tribune reports that Mayor Emanuel was in our neighborhood today.

Check out the story here:
Emanuel says community must join fight against gangs

What's this at 95th Street?

Posted onto our FB page yesterday and it was simultaneously posted to twitter and got a response from CTA
Two-tiered bike racks, part of CTA's Bike & Ride initiatives:
Here is a direct link to parking your bike at CTA stations at racks such as those at 95th.

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Want to live in your storefront? City Council advances proposal - Chicago Sun-Times


Could this be what's necessary in our neighborhood's vacant storefronts?
Chicagoans would be free to live and work in the same place — and avoid commuting — thanks to a zoning change advanced Thursday to fill vacant storefronts and return the city to its “roots.”

“It’s how Chicago was built. Family in the back. Store in the front,” said Ald. “Proco” Joe Moreno (1st).

At Moreno’s behest, the City Council’s Zoning Committee approved a zoning change that will allow up to 50 percent of work space in low-intensity business districts to be used for living space.

Chicago’s zoning code currently allows only artists to live in their work space as well as those with home offices.

Moreno predicted that “thousands” of professionals would take advantage of the change, filling scores of vacant storefronts and building the city’s tax base.

Local School Councils need YOU as a candidate

Tomorrow is the NEW extended deadline for LSC elections. Thousands of slots remian open.
The map doesn't specify the need, but these include parent representatives (who can live anywhere in the city, as long as a child is a student), but also community representaives (who live within the school's immediate area. Contact the school for details). Community reps can include grandparents who do NOT have custody of a student in the school, but they need to live within the boundaries.

 In the 6th Ward, these include (according to the map):
  • Deneen
  • Dixon
  • Ashe
  • Neill
  • McDade (surprisingly!)
  • Gillespie
  • Harlan
  • Bennett
  • Lenart (also a surpise)
  • Westcott
  • IDOC/Healy HS (8007 S. Cottage Grove)
  • Harvard
  • Yale
  • Parker
  • Banneker
  • Robseson
  • Kershaw
  • Reed
  • Hinton
You may also run in OTHER schools, such as Ruggles or Burnside, but they have at least have enough candidates to fill open slots, but a CIVIL election with more options is preferred.  These elections do NOT have to be like our recent local elections. Not at all -- but rather ways for parents to see other motivated leaders they can choose from to help their school.

Click on the map on CPS's web site  to find your local/child's school.

The process is quick and you can even download your forms ahead of time.

Elections are April 18 and 19 (for elementary and hig schools, respectively.).

Election judges are also needed. This is a temporary paid position, and you are not tied geographically.

For any questions about this information , call the Office of Local School Council Relations at 773-553-1400

And let the blog know by comment or at blog (at) thesixthward (dot) us

State Rep. Andre Thapedi named to special investigating committee...

Rep. Thapedi is one of six members of the Illinois House of Representatives to consider the case of their colleague Derrick Smith according to the Capitol Fax. A week before this past Tuesday's primary State Rep. Smith had been arrested by federal authorities for taking a bribe from a daycare operator. BTW, here's another column that further explains the case.

The hearings of this committee will be closed to the public. If this committee finds reason for any discipline a separate committee will conduct public hearings. The end result of these proceedings will be expulsion from the Illinois House of Representatives for Smith.

Chatham on the rebound?

That's the word from Dennis Rodkin from Chicago magazine. Chatham is one of 12 Chicago-area communities that are on the rebound:
Foreclosures have given, and they may also take away in Chatham, says Neal Gillie, an appraiser at Chatham Realty Services. Our data shows improved prices and market time for condos in that South Side neighborhood. Gillie attributes those upswings to an early round of foreclosures that were bought at rock-bottom prices, rehabbed, and resold at “greatly improved prices.”

But looking ahead, he says, “there are so many foreclosed properties here that have not been put on the market yet. When they do, it’s going to cause another plunge.”

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Did you vote this morning?

EDIT: The original link is closed for new comments, a new post is now open for precinct reports over at Capitol Fax! Of course as always comment here if you want to discuss what's going on at your precinct. Thanks!

Rich Miller would like to know at Capitol Fax. Leave a comment there and if you'd like leave a comment here or at our FB page. Let's us know what's going on at our precincts today.

Polls are open until 7:00 tonight. Go out there and exercise your right to vote!

Final materials for state rep 34th district primary...

I ran out of time to post these items so this is going to be your pre-election posts. Hopefully if you vote tomorrow you see this when you go into the booth. A lot of material I will share with you after the election that I don't think will fit very well here.

First Richard Wooten shared with us another audio piece about his campaign for State Representative. [AUDIO]


Basically this piece is an hit on those candidates who are lawyers. It especially is raised against the front runner Elgie Sims. It also talks about what Wooten hopes to bring to the table as State Representative.

Speaking of Elgie Sims now I will actually post a mailer from him. Probably one of his last that I recieved.
Also received in my mailbox recently an article from nwi.com that discusses a disciplinary complaint against Elgie Sims. I would consider this a hit piece although now that I post this it's a little late for anyone to email him or call his office to urge him to leave this race. Who's responsible for this I wonder?
Finally a mailer from suburban upstart Kyle Kasparek. He did admirably in a candidate forum hosted by the GCA. Perhaps he will do very well in Tuesday's primary we shall see.
Best of luck to all candidates in Tuesday's primary! Look forward to this primary. A hotly contested Republican primary for President and eyes will be on our State of Illinois. Also the race for Democratic and Republican Committeeman Tuesday.

Monday, March 19, 2012

Flyer and audio for Sandra Wortham for state representative

Recently we received an e-mail wondering why we hadn't posted any materials from the Wortham campaign. We had in the past posted at least a flyer and a pic of a billboard but there isn't a lot of materials to be had from her campaign. I was given an e-mail address for Ms. Wortham and I got some audio and a flyer. This would certainly fit on the radio as the audio for her opponent Richard Wooten although that was used for robocalls.



The audio is below you can click the player or click the link in the brackets [AUDIO]

Basically the audio contains the voices of Sandra Wortham and her father Thomas Wortham III and especially notes their relation to the late police officer Thomas Wortham IV. It offers her goals as our state representative and mentions the issues of public education, public safety and jobs. Let us know what you think of Ms. Wortham!

Sun Times on 34th district State rep. Race

This has been on the backburner since late last-month. This article was by the Sun-Times editorial board and they interviewed all five candidates for the 34th District. I plan to post more materials about this race later today as the primary is tomorrow. Also this post was created by JP Paulus, but I supplied the quote. I suggest you click the link below and read the whole thing! - Levois

Here's the link to the article
In a race to represent a State House district that spans from 73rd Street in Chicago more than 50 miles south to small-town Momence in Kankakee County, you might expect the five candidates to represent a cross-section of Illinois.

Not so in the 34th District Democratic primary. Four of the candidates are longtime neighbors in Chicago’s tight-knit 6th Ward, living in Chatham or Chesterfield, neighborhoods that have struggled recently but long have been synonymous with Chicago’s black middle class. Three of them also work for the Chicago Police Department.

The fifth candidate, Kyle Kasperek, is a 24-year-old financial auditor from Calumet City, the largest city in the southern end of a district that grew after redistricting last fall.

The winner will replace retiring Rep. Connie Howard, also from Chatham, who was first elected in 1994. No Republicans are running.
The photo gallery is here.

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Another Congressional flyer...

Jordan Sims is running against Rep. Bobby Rush for his 1st Congressional District seat. You can visit his website @ http://simsforcongress.com/index.html.

Shooting in Chatham overnight

As reported by the Tribune:
A 35-year-old man was shot in the Chatham neighborhood about 5 a.m., police said. He was walking on the 7800 block of South Langley Avenue when someone in a light-colored car pulled alongside and opened fire, police said. He's in critical condition at Stroger Hospital, police said. The shooters fled the scene.
Please be careful out there!

Friday, March 16, 2012

Flyer and audio Sixth Ward Democratic Committeeman race...

This flyer is for Sixth Ward Alderman Roderick Sawyer who is running for Democratic Committeeman against Richard Wooten. Wooten is also running for 34th District State Representative. They also ran against each other last year against then Alderman Freddrenna Lyle. Wooten came in third in the February election and Sawyer defeated Lyle in the runoff last April.

Wooten and Sawyer appeared on CLTV's Politics Tonight earlier this month and Paul Lisnek noted that many hoped for a rematch between Sawyer and Lyle. Lyle became a Cook County Judge and it must also be noted that Ald. Sawyer is now the Sixth Ward Democratic Committeeman. So that sets us up for a race between former the former opponents for Alderman.

Another item to add about the committeeman's race, I had received an audio file from the Wooten campaign. Click the embedded player below or click the link in the brackets [AUDIO]

 

Basically this audio was of a call directed towards the residents of Roseland Heights, West Chesterfield, and Chesterfield. This audio is a hit on Sawyer based upon the ward remap which will see those communities sent to the 9th Ward. In fact it was emphatic that those neighborhoods will be sent into the mess that is Ald. Anthony Beale's 9th Ward.

That was some pretty tough audio from the Wooten camp, but I can only let you decide if this ad makes sense to you. Would this audio influence your vote for 6th Ward Committeeman?

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Congressional campaign flyer...

Last I heard of Harold Bailey, he was running for Alderman of the 15th Ward. He's running in next week's primary against incumbent Congressman Bobby Rush. You can find out more about Mr. Bailey @ haroldbailey.org.

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Flyer for candidate Richard Wooten for State Representative

Richard Wooten is the other police officer -  with the other being Paul Gregoire - in the race to replace Constance Howard in her state representative seat  for the 34th District. He's also running for 6th Ward Democratic Committeeman against the incumbent committteman 6th Ward Ald. Roderick Sawyer. Wooten was very vocal during the whole ward remap debacle  when the process began in earnest. That drives his run for committeeman in part, and hopefully voters are learning what he seeks to do as our state representative in Springfield, IL.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Chicago Neighborhood Roll Through

[VIDEO] Really this is a two-part video. Marc Sims in fact is driving around the south side of Chicago starting in Hyde Park then driving south onto Stony Island then heading west along 75th Street. Then from 75th Street he drives along the Dan Ryan on the Lafayette side driving up to about 83rd Street. As usual he is just rambling about a number of subjects including the landmarks along the way such as Hyde Park High School or even the old Moo & Oink near 71st & Stony Island. BTW, Park Manor I do believe is further west along 75th. Perhaps just past South Chicago Avenue at least. I could be wrong so feel free to comment if I am!

Have you picked a horse in next week's election?

That's the question of the day over at the Capitol Fax. Have you decided who to vote for in the Committeeman's race? Have you decided who to vote for in the 34th District State Representative race - or other state legislative races? What races have you already decided on?

Let's talk about it? Or by all means go over to the Capitol Fax and talk about who you're voting for.

Flyer for state representative candidate Paul Gregoire

As always please click on images for a larger resolution!

Paul Gregoire is a police officer running in the 34th District race for State Representative. He is one of two police officers running for that State Representative seat with the other being Richard Wooten. This flyer like the one for Bobby Joe Johnson was on a table that contained plenty of campaign literature and signs at this month's GCA political forum.

Below is a leaflet that was attached to that very flyer. It's interesting that he noted his position on marijuana. He's in favor of decriminalization particularly for medicinal purposes.


Monday, March 12, 2012

Nearby shootings, one fatality...

All incidents in this posting was reported by the Chicago Tribune, there was a shooting in Chatham that was a fatal one.
A short time later on the South Side, a 76-year-old man was found shot to death in the backyard of a Chatham neighborhood home this afternoon, authorities said.

Police were called to the 8100 block of South Prairie Avenue about 4:50 p.m. and found the man shot in the head, according to police News Affairs.

When officers arrived they found the victim's body lying in a rear stairwell outside an apartment building, police said.

The victim was found shot in the head with one of his hands underneath his body, police said. Police couldn't immediately say how he ended up getting shot. Police launched a death investigation. An autopsy is scheduled for Tuesday.
Then another shooting near Chicago State University this could either be Chesterfield or Burnside - feel free to correct this if you have a better idea:
A few minutes later, about 5:05 p.m., a 21-year-old man was shot in the left knee near 91st Street and St. Lawrence Avenue, police said.
Also another shooting in the Park Manor neighborhood:
At about 7:55 p.m., a 33-year-old man was shot in the left leg and right hand on the 7100 block of South State Street, police said. The victim was shot when someone approached him and fired shots at him, police said. He was taken toJohn H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook Countywhere his condition had stabilized.
Stay safe out there!

Flyer for Bobby Joe Johnson state representative candidate

I picked this one up at GCA's political forum at the House of Hope on March 3, 2012 where Bobby Joe Johnson was in attendance. He is running in the March 20th Democratic Primary against incumbent state Rep. Andre Thapedi who currently holds that very position in the 32nd District.

This will be a recurring feature until March 20th. Every day I will scan and upload flyers and mailers from this election. I have plenty for people running for judge in addition to plenty of mailers for those running for 34th District Representative.

NBC Chicago did a profile on both candidates. Here's one for Rep. Thapedi and one for Johnson.

Sunday, March 11, 2012

Politics: What you missed...

First off last weekends GCA forum at the House of Hope will be seen on CAN-TV. This forum featured especially the candidates for 34th District state representative in addition to Ald. Roderick Sawyer and Richard Wooten (who's in the race for state rep) for Democratic Committeeman of the 6th Ward as well as Darnell Macklin who's running for GOP Committeeman of the 6th Ward. Here is the schedule of future airings of that event as provided by GCA
  • Sunday, March 11th at 1:30 PM on Channel 21
  • Monday, March 12th at 8:00 AM on Channel 19
  • Thursday, March 15th at 1:30 PM on Channel 21
  • Friday, March 16th at 8:00 AM on Channel 19
  • Tuesday, March 20th at 1:00 PM on Channel 21
Also the following Monday there was a debate on CLTV's Politics Tonight featuring Ald. Sawyer and Wooten in their race for 6th Ward Democratic Committeeman. What factor in that debate especially was the ward remap which was concluded back in January. Click the links within the brackets to watch the two parts of that segment [VIDEO: PART 1 & PART 2]

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Deadline extension for local school councils

Anyone planning on running for an LSC? If you haven't filled out an application you have some more time to do so. CPS are looking for people to run. Of course there are some controversies involved with this as well.
With too few candidates signed up for local school council elections, Chicago Public Schools has extended the filing deadline two weeks.

The district announced Wednesday that it will delay until March 23 the deadline for applicants to declare candidacy, thus allowing CPS more time to recruit parents and community members to run for two-year terms in April. CPS says that so far, only 2,060 people have signed up to seek 6,800 seats.

Created by the Illinois General Assembly in 1988, local school councils have the power to decide how school funds are allocated and also can hire and fire principals. But from the beginning, former Mayor Richard Daley fought against their school-based authority, saying district officials needed to have the ultimate power. A former Board of Education president acknowledged in 2007 that it was one of his administration's main goals to eliminate the locally elected councils.

After this year's 17 school closings and turnarounds were announced, members of nine local school councils filed a lawsuit last month saying schools have removed local school councils from certain communities, in essence disproportionately taking away community and parent input from minority, low-income neighborhoods.
More from the Sun-Times:
LSCs — composed of elected parents, teachers and community members — have the power to hire and fire principals and oversee school budgets. However, reform groups contend LSCs are becoming increasingly marginalized by the CPS academic probation process and the creation of new schools without LSCs.

A letter Tuesday from 27 school reform organizations accused Chicago Schools CEO Jean-Claude Brizard of a “personal lack of forceful visible leadership’’ in encouraging LSC candidacy. It asked him to assume “personal responsibility” for successful LSC recruitment and demanded a deadline extension.

In his news release a day later announcing the extension, Brizard was quoted as saying that serving on an LSC is “the most important role a parent or community member can have in supporting their schools and students.’’ CPS officials said they had planned the extension before the letter arrived.
You can always drop by your neighborhood school to pick up an application or you can visit the LSC page at the CPS official website. At Harlan's LSC last Thursday one of the administrators there was handing out LSC applications to anyone in attendance at the meeting. They offered a different deadline than the previous one, but surely there is an extension of that in light of this news!

This is old news, but this video should be seen...

[VIDEO] Back in late January, artistmac made it to the Wal-Mart in the Chatham neighborhood. A few years ago he took a trip [VIDEO] to Chicago's very first Wal-Mart on North & Austin. I would've loved to have recorded a scene for that back then however it's very difficult for me to get up that early. Artistmac was there at 6 AM to get these early scenes.

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

REMINDER: West Chesterfield Candidate Forum

Advertised last week. It will take place tonight at Harlan Community Academy located at 9652 S. Michigan Avenue. The flyer below was sent to us on Sunday night regarding this forum. Featured mainly are candidates for State Representative 34th District all of whom you see pictured below with West Chesterfield Community Association President Michael LaFargue. Also expected are candidates for Congress, judge, even ward committeemen or Water Reclamation District!

Richard Wooten has made the Capitol Fax...

Wooten is a candidate for State Representative from the 34th District to replace the retiring incumbent Constance Howard. He recently put out a press release calling for churches to recieve public funds and caught the eye of Rich Miller. This is his thought:
Black churches have always been very influential on South Side politics, so this is a pretty darned blatant attempt to win over their support.
We got a release for this event - posted to our calendar - for a minister's breakfast at Josephine's on 79th Street. Sent a tweet to his campaign alerting him to the post at Capitol Fax.

UPDATE MARCH 6, 2012 12:40 AM This was part of the email. We didn't exactly get a release but we did get this image. This definitely is one way for him to garner favor among the religious in the 34th District!

Monday, March 5, 2012

Tribune: 'A really brutal admissions year' 'A really brutal admissions year'

You may be asking, is this about college?
Getting accepted to one of Chicago's elite public high schools — a process often likened to landing a spot at an Ivy League college — became even more cutthroat this year as nearly perfect application scores were not good enough for more students than ever before.

"It's been a really brutal admissions year," said Jonina Lerner, a partner at SelectivePrep, the largest test preparation class for the city's selective-enrollment high schools. "Not only did some students not get their first or second choice, but some students who scored in the top 1 percent of the city got their third choice, and some kids who are really good didn't get in anywhere."

Chicago developed its roster of elite selective-enrollment high schools in part to keep middle-class parents from fleeing to the suburbs. Now those city children go through a grueling application process in hopes of landing seats at the schools, which are among the state's best.

Admissions scores are calculated on a 900-point scale based on a student's seventh-grade academic scores, seventh-grade standardized tests and an entrance exam.

Of the 200 students admitted to Walter Payton College Prep, 95 scored 896 or above. At Northside College Prep, more than half scored 895 or higher. That means the difference between being accepted or not came down to missing a few questions on the entrance exam and landing a couple of percentiles below the top on standardized tests.
I look forward to the day all of our public schools are this attractive to our best and brightest students. We're just not there yet!

Read the whole thing!

Where is Roseland Heights?

I attended the recent Roseland Heights Neighborhood Association meeting where they discussed a number of topics that affected that particular community. It could be about landscaping, street lighting, trash, fly dumping, parks, ect. But they devoted a lot of time to the recognition of Roseland Heights.

At their November meeting they devoted a lot of time to address the remap situation. One of the subjects that came up was the recognition of neighborhoods. Look at any current map of Chicago neighborhoods or even the community area maps and Roseland Heights (which is bounded by 95th on the north, Dan Ryan Expressway on the west, Bishop Ford/Calumet Expressway on the south, and King Drive on the east)  is not to be found. The maps are made up by the city, the community area maps were created originally by the University of Chicago, and another map made up by the real estate businesses.

The maps change when the city recognizes a particular area. They may also change when real estate people decide to distinguish an area from the surrounding area. For example you build some new houses in Englewood, you may not like the general reputation of Englewood so you would elect to give your development a new name. One that is marketable!

That may well have been the case in Roseland Heights but then that neighborhood organization has been in existence since at least 1956. So why is it that particular neighborhood isn't recognized at all?

But then apparently there is another thread. It seems on a past map - according to association president Clevan Tucker - Roseland Heights did exist. He was looking up information regarding Abbott Park and he threw out the names of Olympia Park or Champion Park and I'll just assume those are the original designation for Abbott Park near 95th & Michigan.

However old that map was, what happened between now and then where Roseland Heights lost their recognition? Oh and I forgot to add that Roseland Heights according to a neighborhood map provided by the city is considered part of Rosemoor. I took a detail of that map and put an image here.

Also notice the thin Strip of Roseland in light green that comes on the west up to 95th Street. The western part appears to be State Street and the eastern part is Michigan Avenue and then it widens out by 107th Street. The purple shade is Roosemoor which does include most of Roseland Heights and Chicago State University.

CBS Chicago: Pfleger Leads Anti-Violence March Near St. Sabina


[VIDEO] Recognizing that Father Michael Pfleger is considered by many to be a very divisive figure in Chicago, I do admire his vocal activism against the violence in the neighborhood surrounding St. Sabina Catholic Church. The march was necessitated by a murder near a White Castle at 79th & Loomis where a young man was fatally shot last Wednesday.

May we have other stand-up leaders who will do everything within their power to bring peace to our neighborhoods!

Saturday, March 3, 2012

Cameraphone activism....

The other day I was on my way downtown and I saw the sign for the 79th stop on the Red Line heavily marked on with graffiti. Immediately my cell phone came out for the purposes of sending a photograph to my own personal twitter account and then made sure my tweet mentioned CTA (@cta). I got response back from CTA saying that they will get this to the sign people hopefully to clean it up.

When I tweet most the time I complain about people who are all on the cell phone and they're just loud. They have no sense of where they are and little sense of their own privacy.

But then cell phones are useful too. Perhaps you have an emergency and not just to touch bases with your friends every 5 seconds.

In my case I often use my cellphone to take picture although it was never replace a regular everyday camera. If we see something we don't like then all one has to do is snap a shot. That's my thing often enough on our FB page. A boarded up building, a tipped over bench, a pothole, standing water near a curb, etc.

If you all have a cellphone that has the ability to take pictures, you should use it. There are things that need fixing in our communities. Then be sure you send it to the authorities. For example see a station in disrepair such as the example I provided use that phone and either tweet CTA about it or post it on their FB page.

Also of course you can also send photos to the Alderman's office. Ald. Sawyer's office already encourages it in addition to reporting the issue to 311. They must know there's an issue that must be addressed in our neighborhoods. This doesn't just go for the Alderman of the 6th Ward but other wards especially our general area where I'm pretty sure most of us have cameraphones and the ability to transmit pictures.

Of course as always you can send your pics of issues that should be addressed to our blog. Send them to our email blog @ thesixthward . us, post them on our FB page, or even send us a tweet with a photo attachment @thesixthward

Friday, March 2, 2012

Another candidates forum...

Another item noted at Harlan's LSC meeting. Harlan High School (9652 S. Michigan Avenue) will host a candidates forum for those in the race for State Representative to replace the retiring Constance Howard. This information was contained in a newsletter provided by the West Chesterfield Community Association sent via email.

Also in the same newsletter starting at about the same time a judge's reception will be held that night as well at Harlan!

WCCA STATE REPRESENTATIVE CANDIDATE FORUM
Tuesday, March 6, 5 p.m. - 8 p.m.,
John M. Harlan High School, (Auditorium)
9652 South Michigan Ave
Hostess: Perri Small,
WVON Panelists: Robert Pincham, Judge John O. Steele
INVITED CANDIDATES
  • Paul Steven Gregoire (D) 
  • Kyle Kasperek (D) 
  • Elgie R. Sims, Jr. (D) 
  • Richard A. Wooten (D) 
  • Sandra J. Wortham (D)
Let's not forget about the GCA candidates forum Saturday afternoon at House of Hope! Candidates for Committeeman (Republican and Democrats) and for State Representative will be there!

Your Walgreens Experiment Could Make Food Deserts Worse

The ChicagoNow blog Dear Mr. Mayor tears to shreds Mayor Emanuel's initiatives to eliminate food deserts in poor city neighborhoods. The first target is Walgreen's:
Your corporate experiment is supposed to bring better health, jobs, and fresh food to under-served neighborhoods, but Walgreens is the real beneficiary. In addition to fresh profit from many more (city subsidized) stores, Walgreens gets the big prize: unqualified endorsement by a major market Mayor with deep ties to the Obama administration (i.e. you). Yes, you handed Walgreens an impressive public relations coup that will speed their growth in the region and other cities nationwide, and they’re getting it for free.

Walgreens and other corporations do have a role to play. The underserved of our City need, want, and deserve more services including health care facilities, a variety of retail, and more food choice. And $67B Walgreens drug empire has recognized what other chains have missed for years: food desert residents spend a disproportionate amount of their income on food and other necessities and will buy them locally if available. Is Walgreens a greedy corporation? The stock market demands they answer first to shareholders and profits, not to residents and not to good health. Food deserts are simply a new market and profit opportunity. This is a chance to stake a real estate claim in areas that are already improving, if slowly, thanks mainly to local not corporate efforts.
What do you propose for alleviating the food desert in poor inner-city neighborhoods?

Chicago teen raped at gunpoint


[VIDEO] They mentioned this incident at Harlan's LSC meeting last night. The principal mentioned that they pulled all the young women out of class to note this incident and give them some tips which includes coming to school ON TIME. It was reported that the young women pointed out the description of this man - or pervert - could match the description of any young man walking through the neighborhood. BTW, it was noted at the LSC that the victim wasn't a student at Harlan.
Police say a 15-year-old girl was sexually assaulted at gunpoint at 95th and Prairie Avenue in the Rosemoor neighborhood on the Far South Side.

On Friday, the Guardian Angels are in the neighborhood escorting children to school.
The victim told police she was raped at gunpoint after the suspect approached her from behind.

The victim describes her attacker as a 17-year-old male who is about 5'7" and 120 pounds. She said he was wearing a black skull cap, a hoodie, blue jeans and tan Timberland boots.

Police say on Wednesday morning at around 9, he engaged her in conversation, pulled the gun and then forced her into a nearby yard where he raped her.

According to detectives, he ran away when a stranger came to help the girl. A similar rape happened last week in West Englewood.

In addition to escorting students to Harlan Community Academy., the Guardian Angels were also handing out sketches of the suspect.
Let's find him and put him behind bars for this!