West Chesterfield moves up on leader board State Farm neighborhood assist

From The Chicago Neighborhoods

We got an e-mail recently from West Chesterfield's Michael LaFargue

• THANK those who have voted! and ask PLEASE VOTE TODAY, TOMORROW, THURSDAY and FRIDAY!
  
  UPDATE!
  We have moved up on the Leader Board to #145. We need to be at #40.
  
  VOTE:
  GO TO: www.neighborhoodassist.com
  SIGN UP: name, personal email…
  SEARCH: type in West Chesterfield
  VOTE: Today *
  VOTE: Daily **
  
  Please help the West Chesterfield Community Association Inc. win a $25,000 State Farm "Safety" Surveillance Camera Grant!
  
  Only the "The forty (40) Causes earning the highest number of votes by 11:59:59 P.M. ET, Friday, August 25, 2017 will be designated the winners"

Also there was a press release attached to this e-mail which includes reference to Cook County Judge Raymond Myles who had been murdered this past spring. The private surveillance camera network of West Chesterfield was instrumental in capturing his killers.

Greater Chatham Initiative

VIA The Chicago Neighborhood

I think it starts with a laudable goal:

Local officials [June 29th] are kicking off a multi-year, $1.5-million-plus campaign to restore some of the glitz to Chatham, a once-prestigious African-American neighborhood that lately has been going through a difficult period.

The Greater Chatham Initiative—which will include Chatham, as well as the nearby Auburn Gresham, Greater Grand Crossing and Avalon neighborhoods—is designed to "set them on an upward path in the 21st century economy . . . enhance these communities as places of opportunity and choice," according to a statement released to me in advance.

The money will go into programs to rehab and sell now-troubled apartment buildings, attract middle-income homeowners and operate a new local workforce center that will train and place residents in existing jobs.

And two major Chicago politicians are backing this effort publicly:

Mayor Rahm Emanuel joined U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Chicago) Wednesday to announce an initiative to improve a handful of communities on the South Side, including Chatham, Auburn Gresham, Greater Grand Crossing and Avalon Park.

The two — joined by community leaders, aldermen and other partners — announced the launching of the Greater Chatham Initiative, a collaborative effort to strengthen those South Side communities.

They met at the Chatham Studio Movie Grill, 210 W. 87th St. The main focus of the initiative is to drive investment in those areas and generate neighborhood redevelopment and economic growth.

I've been somewhat interested in seeing what can be done to further invest in Chatham and here's hoping that in the next 5 years we will see some progress. I especially would look forward to seeing 79th Street spruced up in the future. It needs it and can be a wonderful commercial thoroughfare for the community.

One thing I would like to see is more entrepreneurship. Training the workforce is good, but anything to revitalize Chatham should involve entrepreneurs. Chatham has a strong history of that and is dotted throughout the community.

BTW, here's one opinion on this worth noting which is Worlee's through his Concerned Citizen's of Chatham.

Chase Mission Main Street Grant nominees need YOUR vote

Last year, Dat Donut won the Chase Bank Mission Main Street Grant.for small businesses.

The 2015 round of voting has begun, and several businesses in 60619 have submitted their entries.

You can vote for all of them, but only one vote for a specific business from your individual Faceboook Account. To find businesses in our area, click this link and type in 60619 (or other ZIP Code)

Top vote getters as of last Wednesday, 4pm include Piece of the Pie, Brown Sugar Bakery, and Do-Gooder Consulting.

Disclaimer: Do-Gooder Consulting is owned by JP Paulus, a writer here at The Sixth Ward.

Please vote for all of our businesses. We know it's possible for an area resident to get a grant!

Voting ends THIS Friday. We encourage you to also share links on your Facebook page and tag your friends!

• Aaelite Towing Service, LLC.
• Chicago, IL
  60619
• Transportation
• 9 votes
  

    VOTE NOW

• Bonfire Grill LLC
• Chicago, IL
  60619
• Restaurants / Bars
• 123 votes
  

    VOTE NOW

• Brown Sugar Bakery & Cafe
• Chicago, IL
  60619
• Restaurants / Bars
• 49 votes
  

    VOTE NOW

• Do-Gooder Consulting
• Chicago, IL
  60619
• Professionals & Business Service Providers
• 41 votes
  

    VOTE NOW

• DT Sports Group LLC
• Chicago, IL
  60619
• Other
• 0 votes
  

    VOTE NOW

• Kay Ray's World of Learning Academy & Community Center
• Chicago, IL
  60619
• Education & Training
• 24 votes
  

    VOTE NOW

• Kingdom Elegance
• Chicago, IL, IL
  60619
• Other
• 3 votes
  

    VOTE NOW

• Lure Chaussures, Inc
• Chicago, IL
  60619
• Retailers
• 1 vote
  

    VOTE NOW

• medical professionals for home health care inc
• chicago, IL
  60619
• Healthcare
• 87 votes
  

    VOTE NOW

• ORIGINAL SOUL VEGETARIAN
• Chicago, IL
  60619
• Restaurants / Bars
• 26 votes
  

    VOTE NOW

• Small Business Micro System Solutions
• Chicago, IL
  60619
• Professionals & Business Service Providers
• 0 votes
  

    VOTE NOW

• Tea & Crumpets
• Chicago, IL
  60619
• Education & Training
• 2 votes
  

    VOTE NOW

• The Peace of Pie, Inc
• Chicago, IL
  60619
• Other
• 166 votes
  

    VOTE NOW

• Whatsoever Things Are Lovely
• Chicago, IL
  60619
• Other
• 16 votes

- See more at: https://www.missionmainstreetgrants.com/vote/businesses?sort=b.dba&direction=asc&page=2#sthash.UdIYwSSL.dpuf

- See more at: https://www.missionmainstreetgrants.com/vote/businesses#sthash.O7eLNLLa.dpuf

Sun-Times: Rep. Bobby Rush’s Englewood tech center dream dead, where did $1 million go?

Tech. center not to be @ 6821 S. Halsted St/Patrick Rehkamp~BGA

I write this post noting that this article from the Sun-Times was written by freelance reports from the Better Government Association (BGA). With that notice I've always wondered whatever happened to the Rebirth of Englewood Community Development Corp.

I remember going to a meeting, the meetings from former Ald. Freddrenna Lyle that she would hold monthly and a representative from this organization had a presentation. One of the things this organization was supposed to have done was build new houses in Englewood and residents would get dibs on them. There were supposed to even be classes on maintaining these new houses and financing. Renderings of the new housing was also available.

Now with all the new activism that occurs in Englewood these days not a peep until it was noted in the aforementions article that Rebirth of Englewood ceased to exist in 2010. Another issues which is why this organizations is in the news recently is the money this organization was to have recieved to create a technology center in the neighborhood. Now no one seems to know where the grants have gone.

Well let's be clear a $1 Million grant from telecommunications company SBC (now part of AT&T) and then a grant from the US Congress for $175,000. Bobby Rush who currently serves as a Congressman was part of the organization and I'm sure many questions were addressed to him by the writers of this article and at the time by the US Congress. However, it seemed to have passed the smell test back then.

The building the organization had bought proved to be a very expensive proposition. With the plans that were laid by an architect there wasn't enough money provided that could turn that building into a "Taj Mahal".

Anyway, I would suggest you read more about this development.

WATCHDOGS: Tally in Illinois grant-fraud probe so far: 13 charged, $16M embezzled

I'm going to focus on one case amongst others mentions and this involves the former owners of the Regal Theater near 79th & Stony Island. We've posted about this before and it seems like quite a mess because it involves government grants:

Defendants: Margaret A. Davis and Tonja Cook, of the Chicago chapter of the National Black Nurses Association

Filed: June 9, 2011

Charges: Mail fraud and money laundering

Details: Davis pleaded guilty, admitting that, with help from Cook, she siphoned about $500,000 in state grant money for “personal use,” including mortgage and credit-card payments. Cook, who also pleaded guilty, said “thousands of dollars” in grant money under Davis’ control went to pay campaign workers for former state Sen. Rickey Hendon (D-Chicago), who helped Davis win a $460,000 grant in 2006. Hendon hasn’t been charged with any wrongdoing.

Status: Davis to be sentenced Oct. 8; Cook Oct. 15.

Defendants: Former County Club Hills police Chief Regina R. Evans and her husband, Ronald W. Evans Jr., former inspector general for the south suburb

Filed: April 4, 2012

Charges: Conspiracy, wire fraud and money laundering

Details: The Evanses admitted spending about half of a $1.25 million commerce department grant on gifts for family members and friends and to pay off personal debt, including a mortgage on the New Regal Theater on Chicago’s South Side. State Sen. Donne Trotter (D-Chicago) helped the couple’s not-for-profit organization, We Are Our Brother’s Keeper, get that state grant, which was to be used for a job-training program that was part of theater restoration efforts. Trotter has not been charged.

Status: Regina Evans to be sentenced Oct. 15; Ronald Evans Dec. 2.

Defendants: Regina R. Evans and her brother Ricky McCoy, former executive director of We Are Our Brother’s Keeper

Filed: March 19, 2013

Charges: Money laundering, conspiracy, obstruction of justice and witness tampering

Details: The former County Club Hills police chief and her brother admitted conspiring with an unnamed witness to create a story for investigators that falsely claimed the $1.25 million commerce department grant was used for job training. Her brother also admitted taking part in the money-laundering scheme.

Status: Regina Evans to be sentenced Oct. 15; McCoy Jan. 4.

Defendant: Jeri L. Wright, daughter of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright

Filed: April 10, 2013

Charges: Money laundering and making a false statement before a grand jury

Details: Wright, described as a “close associate and friend” of Regina and Ronald Evans, is accused of aiding the Evanses in their money-laundering scheme.

Status: Trial set for Oct. 16.

It's interesting that Donne Trotter's name was brought up we may already know of his legal issues involving almost taking a gun on a flight at O'Hare Airport. If there are legal people reading this blog, on what basis could the State Senator have been charged in this case?

Chicagoist noted this and this is a last minute addition to this post. It involves former State Rep. Constance Howard:

Defendant: Lloyd Kelly, former executive director of the Let’s Talk, Let’s Test Foundation, an AIDS awareness group

Filed: July 11, 2012

Charge: Mail fraud

Details: Kelly is accused of illegally spending grant money on things including his home and office rent for since-retired state Rep. Connie Howard (D-Chicago), co-founder of Let’s Talk, Let’s Test.

Status: Trial set for Oct. 1

Defendant: Retired state Rep. Connie Howard (D-Chicago)

Filed: July 17, 2013

Charge: Mail fraud

Details: The South Side Democrat admitted skimming tens of thousands of dollars from a charity golf outing for “personal and political use, including expenses associated with the promotion of her campaign.”

Status: Sentencing set for Nov. 21.

REMINDER: Chicago Bungalow weatherization grant workshop!

This event was posted on Saturday and it's for those of you who own Chicago Bungalows that were built before 1940. You can recieve a $4000 weatherization grant for your home.

However, you may also recieve:

• if your refrigerator is over 8 years old, you could be eligible to get a brand, new refrigerator as well under the appliance grant.
• three (3), new,window air conditioners you could be eligible for too! 

Again, this event will take place St. James Lutheran church at 8000 S. Michigan Saturday March 16 from 11 AM to 4 PM. Please click this link above for more info although one page of the flyer will be show below.

Also feel free to visit www.chicagobungalow.org

EVENT: Chicago Bungalow weatherization grant workshop!

This event is for those of you who own a Chicago bungalow that was built before 1940. If you own such a home then you may be able to get a $4000 grant for some weatherization work. One side of the flyer is posted below, however, you can get both parts of this flyer at this link!

CPS gets $50,000 Fed Grant to Deal With Englewood Violence - DNAinfo.com Chicago

CPS gets $50,000 Fed Grant to Deal With Englewood Violence - DNAinfo.com Chicago

Chicago's public schools are getting a $50,000 federal grant to help deal with violence in the Englewood neighborhood.

The funds come through the U.S. Department of Education's Project School Emergency Response to Violence and are specifically meant to address 35 shootings over the past year at four high schools in the Englewood community.

“These grants provide support to students, educators and communities impacted by these senseless shootings,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.

“Tragic events damage students and entire communities, and disrupt teaching and learning. These funds will support Chicago schools as they continue to recover from these acts of violence and work to make the community safer so all children can live free of fear.”

CPS applied for the grant and intends to use it on its Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports program as well as Response-to-Intervention plans to address violence, including crisis counseling.

According to the Project website, funds can be used for mental health assessments, overtime for teachers, counselors, law enforcement and security officers, and temporary security measures such as metal detectors and additional security guards and security cameras.

I wonder if RAGE is going to get their hands on these funds.

RAGE needs your vote to help them rebrand

Former Leon's BBQ 59th & Racine

UPDATE 8:32 PM Forgot to note voting will continue until  Oct. 11th!

RAGE has been promoting this contest they hope to win. This is what's at stake:

 Do you have a good idea for improving your community? Share your plan to creatively move your community forward and you’ll be eligible for a $2,500 grant.

This is what RAGE hopes to do with the grant:

The funds will help us created and distribute memorabilia that highlight our love for Englewood such as: Bracelets, bookmarks, t-shirts, yard, window signs, stickers stating, I AM ENGLEWOOD, Good is in Englewood, Peace in Englewood, etc.

We will also like to create art pieces to display on the vacant retail shops & homes throughout the area. We will like to create “Welcome to Englewood” signs in order to offer a sense of pride and value. We will take photos of residents & use these as billboards highlighting positive stories & images. (For example, My name is blank, an attorney and I AM ENGLEWOOD). This will not only spark hope in the young people here in our area it will show the city as well as America that GOOD exist in Englewood.

You can read the post at RAGE's official website. Click this link to vote and best wishes to RAGE for entering this contest and hopefully they will succeed.