Family of woman struck by train at 69th on Thursday speaks out

[VIDEO] The sister of the victim - Felon Smith - of last Thursday's fatal incident at 69th Street on the CTA Red Line speaks out with regards to leaked surveillance footage of this tragic incident. Smith wasn't able to get back up to the train platform after going onto the tracks to find her cell phone.

Also of issue is the evils of social media which the sister also speaks out on. I believe social media is a great tool and certainly allows everyday people a platform unfortunately a lot of awful comments can be said by a variety of people who know very little of the situation itself. With this said I'm glad I never saw any negative comments of this incident and just stop my thoughts on this at a woman got hit by a train looking for her phone.

Also another issue discussed the above video from CBS 2 is the staffing at these stations. I don't imagine that most stations on CTA are staffed with a lot of people even at peak times. As seen in the stills of the leaked surveillance video there was a K9 security person nearby Smith before the train came, what's not clear if that individual was on duty for CTA at that moment.

I want to reiterate what's stated from the CTA's website that if you drop something of value onto the tracks you should find a CTA employee to retrieve it for you. This tragic incident will keep me off the tracks!

Sun-Times: DCFS investigating death of 3-month-old girl in Chatham

The things that go on in our community. Is there anyway to know a child is being neglected is in need of intervention?

Emergency crews responded about 3:35 p.m. to the 7600 block of South Prairie and took the girl to University of Chicago Medical Center, according to police.

The girl was pronounced dead at 4:06 p.m., according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office. A ruling on the cause and manner of her death was not immediately made following an autopsy Wednesday and was pending further investigation.

A spokeswoman for the state’s Department of Children and Family Services said the agency was investigating an allegation of neglect. The agency has not had prior contact with the family.

Area South detectives were conducting a death investigation.

Happy Independence Day

We here at The Sixth Ward blog and the folks of the Resident Association of Greater Englewood (RAGE) - who provided the ig post embedded below - wishes everyone reading this blog a happy and safe Independence Day and Fourth of July. Enjoy your bbq and fireworks with friends, neighbors, or family on this day.

We would like to wish all our members and supporters a sparkling Independence Day! Be safe out there Englewood!

A post shared by R.A.G.E. (@rage_englewood) on Jul 3, 2017 at 12:55pm PDT

CBS Chicago: 9 Chicago Kids Found Alone In Squalid Home Without Food Or Heat

I'm posting this because in a great society as we have in this great nation - yes I know many of you would debate this - this shouldn't happen. And this is without a doubt very terrible.

Chicago police said officers were called to a home in the 900 block of West 59th Street shortly before 1 p.m., when they were notified of a child allegedly left alone. Once inside, they found nine children, ranging in age from an infant to a teenager.

The two-flat has several broken windows, but no heat, and police said there was no food for the children to eat.

“We have never seen those children. We did not know they were hungry. We did not know they were being neglected,” said Apostle Willie Shears, with God’s Divine Glory Ministry, a church located just steps from the home. “We were totally unaware, and it’s a shock to us. We would have reached out. We would have helped them in any way that we could have helped them.”

The children were taken into protective custody.

“At one time, there were families in that building, and they were outgoing, they was doing food, they was doing barbecues at night, they was literally partying and everything. So it seemed as if there was nothing wrong,” Shears said.

Parents in the neighborhood were in disbelief.

Check out the rest of the story with the magic words Dept. of Children and Family Services DCFS

The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services said it is investigating the parents for allegations of neglect. The children were being placed with family members under a DCFS-monitored safety plan.

DCFS confirmed the kids are children of two mothers, and range in age from 3 months to 17 years.

What would you do if you observed such an unfortunate situation?

Via Newsalert!

Mechanics: I Ran for Local School Council and Maybe I Even Won!

The author of this article - Phil Huckleberry - discusses his experience as a candidate for his neighborhood school's LSC. He apparently won the election, but discovered at a recent meeting that the results have been challenged. That school's LSC won't meeting until next year after new elections, and the school's LSC functions would be governed instead by CPS' central office. Something pertinent Mr. Huckleberry said in his piece:

Now, this story isn't about me and my awe-inspiring 21 votes. It's not about whether or not there was some sort of problem with the election.

This is a story about bureaucracy.

I can rail against charter schools or say negative things about the mayor just like a lot of people who write words that get put on the Internet. I can talk about how great Karen Lewis is just like the next cherished Chicago journalist.

But here is the crux of the situation: Bureaucracies put bureaucracy first. And the reality is that Chicago Public Schools is a horrifically clunky bureaucracy, steeped in nonsensical inefficiencies, ultimately overseen by an unelected board who are themselves nothing more than hand-picked highly privileged bureaucrats. The system is failing its students because the system is more important than the students.

There are a lot of smart and dedicated administrators within CPS. But things are never truly going to turn around so long as everything is about CPS and not about the actual students.

I suggest you read the whole thing, and of course we hope to hear your thoughts on this.

WBEZ: How many Chicagoans were born in the city?

There are many neighborhoods in our city that have seen generations of various families maintain their home in their community. And yes, I'm sure Chatham is one example among many in our city. This article from Chicago Public Radio explores this future.

Tracy Miller noticed something about Chicago when she moved here nine years ago. “I meet many people who say they are native Chicagoans,” she says. “It seems like there are more natives still residing here than in other cities I have lived in.”

Miller came here from Austin, Texas. Before that, she’d lived in Dallas and Los Angeles. In all of those cities, she says, “Everybody is from somewhere else.” But Chicago seemed different. That prompted her to ask Curious City:

“How many people live here who were born here, and what about the previous generations? There seems to be many generational families that call Chicago home.”

It’s a simple question, but the answer is complicated — and hard to pin down. We’ll confess upfront that we haven’t been able to come up with a statistic that precisely answers Tracy’s question. But the U.S. Census Bureau does collect some data that gets us close to an answer. Those census statistics suggest that the presence of local natives varies quite a bit across Chicago's neighborhoods and racial groups — while the city, as a whole, has a "native" profile close to the national average.

You may want to listen to this segment below [AUDIO]

Tribune: Trouble in Pill Hill

[VIDEO] Above you see a nine minute video of Joe Zekas of YoChicago driving around the Pill Hill neighborhood on the south side of town with a resident in 2007. It's neighborhood that's known for nice houses many of them distinct from each other. And reading an article from the Tribune, it's undergoing changes even the police doesn't understand. The story is more human interesting talking to the family of a woman who was one of the first Black residents to move in and the story of the two later generations of her family:

No one expected gangs to find their way to Pill Hill.

That was one thing that attracted Bernice Mack to the neighborhood more than 40 years ago. More than the quiet streets, though, it was the charming red brick trilevel on South Chappel Avenue that grabbed her attention.

Mack fell in love with the four-bedroom house with a chain-link fence and a rose garden in the front yard the first time she saw it in fall 1970. Here, the registered nurse and her husband, a suburban bus driver, could live among like-minded people, building a prosperous legacy for their budding family that they would pass on through generations.

Their South Side neighborhood was named for the many doctors and pharmacists who once lived there. When whites moved out in the late 1960s, well-to-do African-Americans — entertainers, morticians, lawyers — bought their sprawling Prairie-style homes atop the Stony Island Ridge.

The nurses, police officers and teachers who moved into the bungalows at the bottom of the hill were not as affluent, but an address in Pill Hill firmly established them in Chicago's black middle class. The bottom of the hill was a step up for Mack and her husband, Gordon Dennis, who had previously rented an apartment a few miles north in Chatham.
...
After she and her husband separated, Mack raised her three children there without worries. Pill Hill was shielded from gangs by an imaginary barrier, built on class and wealth, that relegated violence to impoverished neighborhoods.

But over time, the gangs showed less and less respect for geography. With every generation, families in Pill Hill became more vulnerable.

By the time Mack's daughter, Angela Hongo, 44, an office manager at a Chicago publishing company, bought the beige brick Georgian next door in 1999, gangs had slid in from the outskirts. And by the time Hongo's children, Jarius and Jordonea, entered grade school, gangs had claimed the corner outside their classrooms.

By the time they reached high school, Jarius had fallen into their grips and Jordonea was on the fringes.

The story of teenagers being lured into gangs is a familiar one in Chicago. But not in a neighborhood like this, not in a family like this. Once gangs broke through, even a tenacious grandmother and a committed mother couldn't keep the seductive forces at bay.

Not even the police can explain what happened.

"You normally relate gang issues and gang fighting to war-torn neighborhoods, but that's not the case. The homes are well-kept, the lawns are manicured and when you go there, you feel like you're in a suburban community," said Cmdr. Scott Ruiz, of the Police Department's South Chicago District. "The violence is puzzling when you come into a neighborhood like this."

Mack, who said she is one of only three of the early black settlers still living on the block, believes she knows exactly what happened. Two decades ago, when young men started hanging out late at night at a basketball court across the street from her house, the neighbors got together and forced the city to tear up the cement and replace it with grass and flowers.

But Pill Hill is a different place now, with a new set of people living at the bottom of the hill.

I hope you'll read the whole thing.

This article helps remind why when I first started this blog I avoided doing crime stories here. The communities I hoped to cover didn't need to be saddled with news of crime that could only perpetuate the idea that the south side has nothing but crime. The truth is we have neighborhoods worthy of investment and my thinking was news of crime wouldn't only cause someone to not buy a home.

Still that's not to say this isn't a necessary conversation to have. We have to find a solution such as the one above to keep the gangs at bay from a community who don't want them in the neighborhood. If many of the gang members are young people do we shun them or do we find ways to help them?

Well, I wish there was an easy answer and that we could solve the problem at the push of a button.

Ruggles playground slide -- still NOT fixed!

On May 28, I reported how Ruggles playground has had a slide that has been broken for several months (possibly as early as last summer),

That 311 case number was 13-00586860, and it was left on May 15.

I called on Wednesday, July 24 (2 months later). No action has been done, but I have a new case number  = 13-01016700.

I won't go over the whole post (we have more photos there as well), but hundreds of SMALL CHILDREN use that park every day over the course of this summer, and especially during the school year.  How long will this problem stay a problem?

Please call 311 to get updates, as well as Alderman Rod Sawyer's office.

CTA Holiday Train - Join us NEXT Saturday!

* Join JP and his family NEXT Saturday to ride the Holiday Train. Meet us at the 95th street platform at 2pm.  Send an e-mail to blog (at) TheSixthWard (dot) us  for details.  See the following for other times & details to ride the train).

The Chicago Transit Authority has now announced their schedule for the Holiday Train, featuring a special car for Santa Claus, with specific stop times.

I have taken my daughter previous years to the Holiday Train, and it was fun. For just the cost of an El Ride, we were able to get to Belmont and take some photos.

The Holiday schedule will be posted here.

This Saturday, families can take photos from 1:45pm - 2:30pm at the 95th street station.

Some suggestions for those considering doing it this year:

1. Go to the beginning of the trip (whether it's Howard or 95th). Even just 2 stops into the "tour", at 79th, the train was quite crowded already.
2. Plan to be there at least 15 minutes ahead of schedule. It will be a lot less stressful.
3. There is a time to get a photo taken next to Santa and in front of the trains. This includes at the very beginning, but also at 1 or 2 major stops, like Belmont. But note-- it's only about 4 minutes to do so. So take your photos and hop back on! (we wound up missing it after the photos)

The dates, times and directions for the 69th, 79th, 87th and 95th el stops:

(Dec 12 Wed - Northbound)

• 95th = 4:16pm
• 87th = 4:19pm
• 79th = 4:22pm
• 69th = 4:25pm

(Dec 14 Fri - Northbound)

• 95th = 4:48pm
• 87th = 4:51pm
• 79th = 4:54pm
• 69th = 4:57pm

(Dec 15 Sat - Northbound)
photos with Santa: 2pm -2:50pm

• 95th = 3:01pm and 7:26pm
• 87th = 3:04pm and 7:29pm
• 79th = 3:07pm and 7:32pm
• 69th = 3:10pm and 7:35pm

(Dec 18  Tue- Northbound)

• 95th = 5:19pm???
• 87th = 5:22pm???
• 79th = 5:25pm???
• 69th = 5:28pm???

(Dec 22  Sat- Northbound)  <---- i="i">When we'll go!

• 95th = 3pm???
• 87th = 3:04pm???
• 79th = 3:07pm???
• 69th = 3:10pm???

Any families want to meet up this year?  E-mail us at blog (at) TheSixthWard (dot) us

CTA Holiday Train 2010

UPDATE 3:17 PM - Got a message via Tracey Swartz on Twitter with regards to the Holiday Train:

hi sixth ward, santa will be taking fotos with riders at 95th red line stop on saturday between 1:50 p.m.-2:20 p.m.: http://bit.ly/cGPk65

Will you be there on Saturday? - Levois

The Chicago Transit Authority should be setting up their schedule for the Holiday Train, featuring a special car for Santa Claus, very soon.

I took my daughter last year to the Holiday Train, and it was fun. Just the cost of an El Ride, we were able to get to Belmont & took some photos.

The Holiday schedule will be posted here.

This Saturday, families can take photos from 1:45pm - 2:15pm at the 95th street station.

Some suggestions for those considering doing it this year:

1. Go to the beginning of the trip (whether it's Howard or 95th). Even just 2 stops into the "tour", at 79th, the train was quite crowded already.
2. Plan to be there at least 15 minutes ahead of schedule. It will be a lot less stressful.
3. There is a time to get a photo taken next to Santa & in front of the trains. This ride, it was at Belmont. But note-- it's only about 4 minutes to do so. So take your photos & hop back on! (we wound up missing it after the photos)

The dates, times and directions for the 69th, 79th, 87th and 95th el stops:

(Nov 20-21 Sat-Sun- Northbound)

• 95th = 2:42pm   and   7:08pm
• 87th = 2:44pm   and   7:10pm
• 79th = 2:46pm   and   and 7:12pm
• 69th = 2:48pm   and   7:14pm

(Dec 15 Wed - Northbound)

• 95th = pm
• 87th = pm
• 79th = pm
• 69th = pm

(Dec 17 and 20,  Fri and Mon- Northbound)

• 95th = pm
• 87th = pm
• 79th = pm
• 69th = pm

Any families want to meet up this year?

Fall Family Festival (Halloween alternative) on Friday October 29

St. Mark United Methodist Church is hosting its annual Fall Family Festival on Friday, October 29th, 6pm- 8:30pm

Activities include games (with plenty of candy for prizes), crafts, food. Even more is planned than last year's festival, which was well attended.

Admission is free, but children need to be accompanied by an adult.


Costumes are welcome. However, they should be family-oriented (no devils, monsters, Freddy Krueger, etc.)

For more information, contact the church at

8441 S. St. Lawrence Ave


Chicago IL

773-846-2992

Office@stmarkumcchicago.org



If you have other Halloween / Halloween alternative activities, let us, TheSixthWard blog, know!



Halloween / Halloween Alternative activities

Officer Bailey's family moves out of the neighborhood

The family of slain Chicago police Officer Michael Bailey has moved out of their Park Manor neighborhood home less than two weeks after his fatal shooting outside the residence, according to relatives, neighbors and local officials.

The officer's widow, Pamela, and his son, Michael Jr., gave away items from their home in the 7400 block of South Evans Avenue before departing Thursday, according to several neighbors. The family then placed large padlocks on the front door and gate and boarded up all of the windows on the lower level of the two-story home.

The rest of the story is here at Chicago Breaking News

Thanks to April Branch for this tip.

We wish the family the best, and pray for their healing.

6th ward picnic THIS Saturday at Tuley Park

Just a reminder that THIS Saturday, July 17, is the annual 6th Ward picnic.

It's located at Tuley Park, 501 E. 90th Place, and will take place 11am - 5pm.

Last year they had free food & music, as well as activities for kids. They will also have a marketplace, so be prepared to shop.

If you have any questions, please contact Picnic Coordinator Francine Smith at 773-846-7006


Anyone want to meet up at 1pm? If so, we'll try to work out some details as to where.

p.s. Don't forget to buy your city sticker TODAY!

Movies in the Park -- 6th ward area movies

Sent to us from Mike Harris, from the recommendation of Uptown Update (Thanks, UU!)

Mike did a great job plugging the information into a map to help us find locations throughout the city

Friday, July 30, 2010
Guess Who's Coming To Dinner NR
Tuley Park
501 E. 90th Pl.
312.747.6763
(This movie is a part of Chicago Park District's Cultural Center "Film 'n Fun" Series)


Thursday, August 12, 2010
Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs PG
Lorraine Dixon Park
8701 S. Dauphin Ave.
312.747.6763


Saturday, August 21, 2010
The Blind Side PG-13
Avalon Park
1215 E. 83rd St.
312.747.6015


Monday, August 30, 2010 The Blind Side PG-13
Grand Crossing Park
7655 S. Ingleside Ave.
312.747.6158

The full list of Movies in The Park is available here.

Just wondering...

Why does Cricket Hill (on the North Side, east of Uptown) have so many movies (6 movies! 3 definitely for kids, 3 more geared for adults)?

Why do we have the same movie playing twice in our area?

Princess and the frog special event THIS Saturday

NOTE: the Following is SOLD OUT, according to the web site. But if you are still interested, you may want to contact the organizers. Maybe they can do another event? I would love to tak emy daughter...

Thanks to Worlee for passing on this info on an event at ICE Chatham Theater. Unfortunately, we have another event to go to.

But it sounds like some great family fun.

Please post on your experience there...or if you wish, we can even have you do a guest blog. Photos are very much appreicated.

For more information, go to www.princessandthefrog.eventbrite.com

A Cautionary Father's Day Tale

Artistmac plays his dad in this one! Words of wisdom:

So, fathers, celebrate your children. Don't force your dreams on them. Celebrate their strengths, their talents, their needs and desires, and especially, their eccentricities. History is not made by the well-behaved.

Happy Father's Day

I hope you're spending this day with your daddies and remember the ones who are no longer with you.

Made in Mississippi: It's a small world after all

I found this just looking for any hits on Lem's BBQ. A connection between different people from the same small town in Mississippi. One who owns a rib joint, another who is a famous musician, another who owns a club that was bought by the famous musician. At that the rib joint owner and the former club owner are related.