Tribune: Police call on Pfleger to not shut down Dan Ryan with July peace march

Via Chicago Mag

Unless something changes during the course of the next week this march on the Dan Ryan Expressway is going to happen.

A top Chicago Police Department official on Thursday implored Rev. Michael Pfleger not lead a peace march onto the Dan Ryan Expressway next month, saying hundreds of officers would need to be pulled out of neighborhoods on a busy summer weekend.

But Pfleger, the pastor at St. Sabina Catholic Church with a long track record of activism, said he plans to go ahead.

“We are not gonna roll over and be quiet,” he said.

Pfleger this week announced a protest march for 10 a.m. on July 7 in the northbound lanes of the Dan Ryan, from 79th Street to 67th Street. He said the goal is to demand city officials do more to address violence.

Chicago police First Deputy Superintendent Anthony Riccio contended Thursday the expressway route could be detrimental to that aim.

“The very thing that they’re trying to accomplish — stop violence and stop shootings — has the potential to actually escalate because we’re pulling police officers out of the neighborhoods where we need them in order to escort the protesters down the expressway,” Riccio told reporters after a City Hall hearing on Police Department crime statistics.

Riccio said it could require 200 or more police officers to shut down the Ryan to protect marchers. He said Pfleger has not been receptive to suggestions from the department that he instead hold the march on a neighborhood street.

Pfleger said he has a good relationship with Chicago Police but was surprised to hear the comment about them pulling officers for the protest. He said he hasn’t heard that concern before when there are marches downtown, or for Blackhawks and Cubs championship parades.

PREVIOUS: Sun-Times: Pfleger plans to shut down Dan Ryan on July 7 by marching on roadway

Have any events? Send them to us...

Making another call for those who have events they want to share.

As always if you have events that are worth sharing send them to us. It could be a community meeting, LSC, parent advisory council, PTA, park advisory council, political event, a new business, etc. Send them to us.

Feel free to post to our FB page, tweet us, or if you got a ig ready flyer tag us. As always feel free to send an e-mail to the address below.

blog @ thesixthward.us

 Also bear in mind election season is upon us, we do expect more readership during this period from now to the November elections and through to next year's city elections. This would be a good time to get some exposure for your events, especially if you don't have a significant social media presence.

• facebook.com/thesixthward
• facebook.com/lovechatham (i.e. Concerned Citizens of Chatham)
• twitter.com/thesixthward
• instagram.com/thesixthward

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.

NY Post: Why the middle class can’t afford life in America anymore

For the most part I started this blog to discuss the middle-class enclave of Chatham. It's been a while since we've really discussed middle-class issues. So here's a recent NY Post article about how middle-class families can't afford the standard of living in this nation:

After spending his days teaching AP American history and economics at the public Live Oak High School in San Jose, Calif., Matt Barry drives for Uber.

Barry’s wife, Nicole, teaches as well — they each earn $69,000, a combined salary that not long ago was enough to afford a comfortable family life. But due to the astronomical costs in his area, including real estate — a 1,500-square-foot “starter home” costs $680,000 — driving for Uber was a necessity.

“Teachers are killing themselves,” Barry says in the new book, “Squeezed: Why Our Families Can’t Afford America” (Ecco), out Tuesday. “I shouldn’t be having to drive Uber at eight o’clock at night on a weekday. I just shut down from the mental toll: grading papers between rides, thinking of what I could be doing instead of driving — like creating a curriculum.”

In her book, author Alissa Quart lays out how America’s middle class is being wiped out by the cost of living far outpacing salaries while a slew of traditionally secure professions — like teaching — can no longer guarantee a stable enough income to clothe and feed a family.

Reading this article it seems this issue is directed towards teachers whether at K-12 or at universities. Of course more broadly the article notes:

“Middle-class life is now 30 percent more expensive than it was 20 years ago,” Quart writes, citing the costs of housing, education, health care and child care in particular. “In some cases the cost of daily life over the last 20 years has doubled.”

In one of her book’s many striking findings, Quart writes that according to a Pew study, “Before the 2008 crash, only one-quarter of Americans viewed themselves as lower class or lower-middle class. No longer. After the recession of 2008 . . . a full 40 percent of Americans viewed themselves as being at the bottom of the pyramid.”

One of the book’s main messages, therefore, is that people finding it impossible to make ends meet shouldn’t blame themselves. It’s the system, she says, that’s broken.

“The main problem is a basic lack of a 21st century safety net for families,” Quart tells The Post, offering the cost of day care as just one example.

Read the whole thing

Chicago Public School system removes 2 principals amid investigation into how sexual abuse allegations handled

Simeon High School (8147 S Vincennes Ave) by Eric Allix Rogers

We've shared a few piece with regards to sexual abuse allegations within Chicago Public Schools. For our purposes we're just going to focus on the removal of the principal of nearby Simeon High School over sexual abuse allegations by a school volunteer:

Sheldon House, the principal of Simeon Career Academy, was removed amid a newly disclosed allegation of sexual abuse lodged against an unnamed school volunteer. District officials said that allegation was discovered during an audit of “systemic issues” in the school’s background check process.
...
“As a result of district-led investigations into allegations of sexual abuse, two CPS principals were removed from their positions today due to initial findings that suggest they did not effectively safeguard their students,” Chicago Public Schools CEO Janice Jackson said in a statement.

“Investigations into both cases remain ongoing, and we will keep the school communities updated as this process moves forward,” she said.

The district announced the administrators’ removal barely more than a day before a scheduled Chicago Board of Education vote to change how CPS investigates allegations of sexual misconduct by adults against students, as well as new practices that would require employees to inform child welfare authorities and supervisors of “any interactions or behaviors which suggest that an adult has or had an inappropriately intimate relationship with a child or may be grooming a child,” even if the employee does not have “reasonable suspicion” of whether any abuse occurred.
...
At Simeon, CPS officials said they launched an internal review of “management practices designed to keep students safe,” which occurred amid a Tribune investigation that documented the school’s failure to conduct a mandated criminal background check before making Gerald Gaddy an assistant coach of the boys wrestling and girls track teams starting in 2010.
...
CPS officials said the Simeon audit found “systemic issues” in the school’s handling of volunteer background checks, while uncovering an unspecified, new allegation of sexual abuse by an unidentified Simeon volunteer.

The recent allegation “was not handled in accordance with CPS policy,” according to the district. The volunteer is now barred from the school, and the allegation is under investigation.

CPS said it selected Patricia Woodson, a retired former principal, to lead the school until a new principal is selected by Simeon’s local school council.

 Hat-tip Newsalert

Sun-Times: Pfleger plans to shut down Dan Ryan on July 7 by marching on roadway

Via Chicago Mag

Saw this in the news feeds over at the Capitol Fax blog on Monday. Tweet with link to article below and a quick excerpt

The Rev. @MichaelPfleger plans to shut down the Dan Ryan Expressway on the morning of July 7 to bring attention to gun violence, @mitchdudek reports. https://t.co/QpWAwAij6h

— Chicago Sun-Times (@Suntimes) June 25, 2018

On July 7 at 10 a.m., Pfleger plans to lead a group down the Dan Ryan’s northbound entrance ramp at 79th Street and walk about a mile and a half before exiting at the Marquette Road/67th Street exit ramp.

Pfleger said several people in positions of power, he wouldn’t say who, have tried to dissuade him from marching down the highway — to no avail.

Ample notice of the demonstration will hopefully allow motorists to avoid the area, he said.

It’s unclear how many people will be joining him. Pfleger said he’s received interest from people as far away as Naperville.

He's doing this on a Saturday. Shouldn't be a heavy traffic day though guaranteed if he did this during the week, this would be very risky PR-wise. 

Mabe's Deli opening on 75th Street on Saturday

Got a new eatery coming to 75th Street. My last visit to Lem's Bar-B-Q I noticed the sign. Look at it this way another option with Soul Vegetarian on 75th/Indiana, Brown Sugar Bakery doors away, and of course with Lem's across the street. I'm liking some of the options that you can see on their website that it's worth paying a visit in the future.

Below is a press release sent to us:

CapitolFax: Does Illinois really have the highest black unemployment rate?

Upon reading this, I thought Rich Miller would look at the validity of a variety of local headlines on
this subject. It appears to be valid. As always what could we do about Black unemployment?

Does Illinois really have the highest black unemployment rate? https://t.co/qOQj2NVz1t

— Rich Miller (@capitolfax) June 25, 2018

ABC 7: Chicago Cares volunteers spruce up CPS schools for serve-a-thon #ChicagoCares #HarlanFalcons

On Saturday there were some school buses leaving Harlan there were probably four or five of them. First Harlan High School's ig feed shared a number of pics of some artwork and of people doing some work around the school.

Many of the recent posts at @harlan.falcons ig has the #ChicagoCares. Which also adorn the post title along with #HarlanFalcons.

Work on 95/Dan Ryan terminal

I wanted to share this ig post from T.A.Rountree who documented the work being done on the old 95th street red line terminal. The original station had been shut down in April for more work on the new terminal that's still a work in progress. The southern terminal opened in April as well as a new platform under the new south station.

Pride Cleaners has a new owner

You might have seen this over at Concerned Citizens of Chatham. Remember that the business and the architecturally significant landmark was on sale in 2016 and now has a new owner. That post from Concerned Citizen is below.

Healthy Homes Thursday, June 28, 2018

Saw this in an e-mail blast from the office of 6th Ward Ald. Roderick Sawyer. This event will take place on June 28 at Whole Foods Market Englewood at 832 W. 63rd Street. Refer to flyer below

#TBT: A streetcar named retire

Since we talked about streetcars (well a fatal accident involving a streetcar) on Wednesday, let's talk about the last time a streetcar ran in Chicago on this day in 1958. Today's post from CTA's official instagram account shows a streetcar with a sign "Last streetcar to run in Chicago". The caption mentions the 22 Clark making it's last run on Vincennes, presumably the the diagonal Vincennes south of 69th Street.

As it happens by 1958, the route along Wentworth & Vincennes became known as the 22A according to chicagorailfan.com. In 1976 the 22A going down Wentworth & Vincennes from downtown Chicago is now known as the 24 Wentworth. The 22 Clark was converted to buses in Sept. 1957.

Here's CTA ig post from today:

Capitol Fax: Lawmakers eviscerate CPS for sexual abuse of students at hands of teachers, staff

These hearings took place yesterday, read about it at the CapFax blog

Lawmakers eviscerate CPS for sexual abuse of students at hands of teachers, staff https://t.co/px3RKT1OyE

— Rich Miller (@capitolfax) June 20, 2018

CNN: Starbucks says it will close 150 stores next year

I share this because there are a couple of Starbucks stores in South Shore on 71st/Stony Island and Chatham on 87th/Dan Ryan. If those stores are performing then hopefully they're in no danger of closing. 

Starbucks will close 150 poorly performing company-operated stores next year, about three times as many as it typically closes.

The affected stores are located in mostly urban areas that are densely populated with Starbucks locations.

The company told investors late Tuesday that it expects same-store sales to grow just 1% for the quarter that begins next month, lowering its previous guidance. The stock slumped 3.5% in after-hours trading.

What especially mentioned in this CNN article:

Starbucks closed 8,000 stores on the afternoon of May 29 to offer about 175,000 employees mandatory anti-bias training after two black men were arrested at a store in Philadelphia while waiting for a friend. Outgoing chairman Howard Schultz said the training cost Starbucks "tens of millions" of dollars. The training also delayed the launch of Starbucks' spring and summer marketing campaign by about two weeks.

Which also prompts this headline from a "right-wing" news site: Starbucks burned by social-justice appeasement as growth stalls, stock plunges

What happened at 63rd/State in May 1950?

This post may be a bit outside of the scope of this blog. Over 68 years ago a bad accident involved a CTA streetcar and a gasoline tanker truck. Many of you may have heard about this unfortunate accident at 63rd & State Streets over the years, especially if you're an old-timer who might have been old enough to see this in the news when it happened.

I'll let J.R. Schmidt tell the story and he provides some of the period photographs from back in May 1950. If you're young Chicago no longer have streetcars - or what might referred to in other cities these days as light rail (the L would be considered heavy rail or rapid transit) - they streetcars were taken out of service and replaced by buses in 1958. Many of these bus route numbers we know today originated from the many routes of streetcars of the past.

Here's one shot of that intersection fairly recently shot by the local historian Schmidt.

Chicago Reader: Roseland’s transformation captured in 1970 student film

Via thechicagoneighborhoods.com

I tweeted about this last week and unfortunately it doesn't say about when this film will see the light of day. Roseland - like say Englewood - had seen better days though residents of both communities I'm sure want to see better days returns. And certainly Englewood is working to make their community better.

On the other hand Roseland is looking for a jumpstart which could be the red line extension whenever CTA gets the necessary funding to start the project. However, that future project will be one development among many to bring Roseland back to what it used to be 50+ years ago.

Read this article from the Chicago Reader also there is a podcast where these students two men who shot this film in the 1970s were interviewed talking about this film. Give it a listen.

"You knew that if you went out into the streets of Roseland with a camera, you were gonna see something." https://t.co/KQLjSYwEnB

— Chicago Reader (@Chicago_Reader) June 6, 2018

City stickers sale on June 18, 2018 #Ward09

City stickers are on sale at the office of 9th Ward Alderman Anthony Beale. No only city stickers, also parking zone stickers and parking visitor passes. Here's the where and when:

When:

•  Monday, June 18, 2018
  From 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM

Where:

• 9th Ward Service Office
  34 E. 112th Place

Want more information give the service office a call at (773) 785-1100

Refer to flyer below.Refer to flyer below. Also visit the city clerk website www.chicityclerk.com to buy your city sticker online via EZ>Buy

Chicago Reporter: Instead of extending the Red Line, some see promise in the Metra Electric

Red Line Extension

The future of the greater Roseland area will be affected by the future CTA red line extension. It's something that I'm very excited for and evidently the debate continues over whether or not this is the transit project the far south side of Chicago needs right now.

Another part of this debate - especially with the uncertainty of funding for this project which is only expected to be built during the course of the next decade - includes improvement of the Metra Electric line. Better yet should the Metra Electric (or IC for you old timers) be converted to a rapid transit line operated instead by CTA.

In January, the city announced the final alignment for the 5.3 mile extension to 130th Street. That’s key for the CTA to secure $1 billion in federal funding needed for the project that wouldn’t see construction start until 2022. Though the city has proposed using transit TIFs (tax increment financing) to fund part of the extension, some transit advocates contend that wouldn’t be nearly enough to make a dent in the cost. And others question whether the Trump administration would give the city $1 billion for a project of this scope.

Some transit advocates say there is a quicker and less costly way to improve transit on the South Side by converting the Metra Electric District (MED) main line into rapid transit. Retrofitting Metra’s existing rail infrastructure to accommodate rapid transit, they say, could be completed in less time than it would take to build the extension and without displacing privately owned properties, as the Red Line extension would.

But putting the Red Line extension on the backburner where it has sat for decades would be a disservice to the Far South Side, community members say. Mayor Richard J. Daley promised to extend it beyond its 95th Street terminus when he cut the ribbon on the transit line nearly 50 years ago.

A former candidate for 9th ward alderman - well not identified as such in the article - was quoted in this piece:

South Side resident Michael LaFargue says extending the Red Line south is all about equity – transit equity, economic equity and environmental equity. The loss of manufacturing jobs, he said has devastated the Roseland community economically while lack of rapid transit has made access to jobs and opportunities even more difficult.

The 111th Street station, LaFargue added, could be branded as Greater Roseland Hospital Medical District similar to the Blue Line’s Illinois Medical District. The Michigan Avenue station could reinvigorate that mile-long business corridor, making it the ‘Magnificent Mile South,’ he said.

“This is a catalyst for economic development and branding,” said LaFargue, president of the Red Line Extension Coalition, a community-based group.

And what's the difference in cost?

Policy analyst Daniel Kay Hertz of the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability says both projects are important and would have significant impact. He estimated a cost of $27 million per mile to convert the Metra Electric’s South Chicago branch into rapid transit. Hertz based that figure off a 2012 Chicago Department of Transportation report  which puts the cost of converting MED’s South Chicago branch to Millennium Station — not the entire line — at $350 million. Hertz said there’s no reason the per-mile costs would differ substantially to convert the entire MED line. In comparison, the Red Line extension would cost about $434 million a mile.

“It is basically logistical stuff that they need to do as opposed to the physical engineering and  construction of several miles worth of new rail lines and stations,” Hertz said.

Finally a brief history of the Metra Electric and the advocacy for it's conversion to a CTA rapid transit line:

The MED originally ran as rapid transit and the line’s South Chicago branch ran every 10 minutes during the 1940s under its then-operator, Illinois Central. That frequency reduced when it became part of the Regional Transit Authority. Now the line has frequent service during peak evening and morning hours but runs every one to two hours during the mid-day.

The idea to convert the commuter-rail into CTA-style “L” service resurfaced again when transit advocate Mike Payne touted the plan as the Gray Line in the 1990s. It has gained traction in recent years thanks to advocacy groups like Coalition for a Modern Metra Electric and Active Transportation Alliance who want the MED to run every 10-15 minutes. Last year Metra increased mid-day frequency on the line to every 20 minutes between Hyde Park and Millennium Station.

But Metra’s fare structure could create a burden for low-income riders. Metra’s fares are distance-based where CTA charges a flat fee. And since there is no fare integration between Metra and CTA, riders would have to pay two full fares. There’s no fare discount to transfer from one transit system to the other.

What do you all think? Metra Electric (especially serving segments within the city) converted to the "grey line" operated by CTA  or the red line extension which certainly could benefit residents south of 95th through to Altgeld Gardens or perhaps there is a way to make both happen?

Found this article via Chicago-L.org.

Tribune editorial: US Senators give Emanuel a pass on CPS scandal

Found this editorial on the sex assault scandal within CPS via Newsalert:

Days after the Chicago Tribune began publishing stories of alarming and unreported sexual abuse and assault within Chicago Public Schools, Illinois’ two U.S. senators fired off letters demanding accountability and transparency.

But something — or rather someone — was missing from their missives. No mention of Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Must have been an oversight.

Instead of directing their concern at the person who actually oversees CPS, U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth sent letters to U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and Illinois schools Superintendent Tony Smith expressing their alarm and requesting more data collection at federal and state levels. By threading the needle carefully, they honed in on narrow aspects of the Tribune’s investigation that touched on state and federal data collection and transparency, not CPS’ failures.

Interesting.

Interesting indeed! Read the whole thing.

RELATED

• Capitol Fax: Suddenly, the mayor’s race looks very different
• Will Outrage Lead to Political Change in Chicago?

 

Capitol Fax: Suddenly, the mayor’s race looks very different

I tweeted this yesterday Rich Miller of the CapFax talks about the recent stories regarding the sexual abuse of Chicago Public School students. The question we have to ask now is whether or not voters will remember this when they vote for mayor next February.

Suddenly, the mayor’s race looks very different https://t.co/tuecKeuzx8

— Rich Miller (@capitolfax) June 11, 2018

Bear in mind we noted this scandal in passing last week as the Chicago Tribune published a story with a number of allegations against CPS personnel who victimized CPS students. A question from that post is whether or not this "outrage will result in political change?

Again there is a long way between now and February 2019. Those who noticed the Tribune story will be outraged - and we should be if public school students are being abused by their teachers, coaches, etc. Then again how upset will voters be once they're in the voting booths?

Political Forum discusses Black county court judges

[VIDEO] Dartesia Pitts - she introduces herself as the outgoing President of the Cook County Bar Association - hosted this recent special edition of CAN-TV's Political Forum with guest attorney Erica Kirkwood introduced as a past president of the Black Woman's Lawyer Association of Greater Chicago. They discuss the fact that no Black lawyers were elected associate judges by county circuit court judges.

I shared this article last month about this fact which will allow you to read up on this subject. Give it a quick read.

No African-American candidates chosen as Cook County judges add 16 to bench https://t.co/KKxYLijB3R

— The Sixth Ward (@TheSixthWard) May 27, 2018

You might have seen a regram of this on our ig feed. Ms. Pitts certainly helped to put word out about her CAN-TV program on her ig. I'm sorry I didn't share this with you before it aired so that you could turn in and ask your own questions. Political Forum is normall a live call-in program.

City stickers sale on June 12, 2018 #6WardChicago

City stickers will be on sale at the office of 6th Ward Alderman Roderick T. Sawyer. No only city stickers, also parking zone stickers and parking visitor passes. Here's the where and when:

When:

• Tuesday, June 12, 2018
  From 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM

Where:

• 6th Ward Service Office
  706 East 79th Street

Want more information give the service office a call at (773) 635-0006

Refer to flyer below. Also visit the city clerk website www.chicityclerk.com to buy your city sticker online via EZ>Buy.

Chicago Dept. of Aviation Community Career Fair June 13, 2018

Chicago Dept. of Aviation Community Career Fair. The city's Dept. of Aviation will host a community career fair to meet representatives from those companies looking to hire people to work at O'Hare and Midway Airports.

When:

• Wednesday, June 13, 2018
  9:00 AM to 1:00 PM

Where:

• Kennedy-King College - Gymnasium
  6301 S. Halsted Street

Refer to the flyer below to see what areas those companies are seeking to hire in.

Capitol Fax: Quinn says “mighty” effort needed to get mayoral term limits question on ballot

I know Rahm Emanuel is unpopular as mayor, however, is mayoral term limits an idea whose time has come? Why stop at mayor why not direct term limits to other city elected officials especially aldermen? Why is our former governor just targeting term limits for mayors?

Of course this isn't new as well in addition to advocated for mayoral term limits in Chicago, he's also calling for an elected consumer advocate position. I hope he'll reveal more about that and what the duties for this proposed office entails.

Read on over at CapitolFax.com

Quinn say “mighty” effort needed to get mayoral term limits question on ballot https://t.co/Rkm4kkYStQ

— Rich Miller (@capitolfax) June 7, 2018

Will Outrage Lead to Political Change in Chicago?

If you followed our twitter feed over the weekend we shared a number of tweets with regards to an emerging sexual abuse scandal at Chicago Public Schools. I think one of those tweets has reports an incident that took place at nearby Simeon High School involving a track coach.

This tweet found at the Newsalert blog yesterday is from Dan Proft who offered his comments.

Is this enough? Is systemic sexual abuse of children in CPS enough for Chicagoans to hold their political leadership accountable for the first time in my lifetime? I ask because I honestly don't know the answer. https://t.co/1Pml7Oj594

— Dan Proft (@DanProft) June 6, 2018

The title for this post comes from the Newsalert blog and Steve Bartin added this simple statement "Don't bet on it". And I'm more in line with Dan Proft - who for those of you who don't know is a long-time Republican activist - neither of us knows the answer to that question.

It's very serious to talk about sexual abuse of public school students. And let's go further we're learning more and more about sexual harassment in state government. Just yesterday news broke of allegations of sexual harrassment towards state house speaker Madigan's chief of staff Tom Mapes which sparked Mr. Mapes to resign. Regardless who knows if this will result in long term political changes.

Operation: Help-A-Hero #6WardChicago

I'm sorry I didn't trot this out on Memorial Day which is one of those holidays that we celebrate the sacrifices of America's military personnel & veterans. If you have an item to donate to homeless - or transitioning from homeless - military veterans you can do so at any Aldermanic office, any Jewel-Osco store or select Chicago Park district locations. A complete list is available at www.cityofchicago.org/helpahero

If you've subscribed to either Ald. Sawyer's or Ald. Beale's e-mail distribution lists you will see variations of the flyer below. If you want more information call your Alderman's office. This flyer contains the contact information for Ald. Sawyer.

Refer to the flyer below to see what items to donate.

17th District Resource Fair

The flyer below you might have seen in an e-mail blast however more details are contained on state senator Elgie Sims' official webpage. On the agenda according to a flyer you'd see on his webpage are resources that includes youth employment & summer programming, senior & veteran services, wellness checks, property ownership, job readiness and more.

When:

• Thursday June 7, 2018
  6:00 PM to 8:30 PM

Where:

• South Central Community Services
  1021 East 83rd Street

Call Elgie Sims' office in Chicago @ 773.933.7715 or his Springfield office @ 217.782.3201. Flyer for this event is below

WGN: Shop owners threaten to close over uptick in violence in Park Manor

Earlier this week WGN did a story which quoted Haim Brody of Market Fisheries, 6th Ward Ald. Roderick Sawyer, and Park Manor neighbors Pres. Darlene Tribue over shooting incidents near 71st/State. The concern, the businesses are losing money because their customers are often afraid of their safety. It's hard to have a thriving business sector if business owners are losing money because the areas where they set up shop are unsafe.

Let's allow Mr. Brody to explain:

Haim Brody, the president of Market Fisheries, says his family has owned the popular fish market on 71st and State since 1957. But now he fears he may have to leave because of escalating violence, drug dealing and harassment of customers.

"We've had four shootings here in the last four days," Brody said. "It's just impossible to do business. We have open drug dealing on the street, open drug dealing, many numerous transactions here; we have little children walking to school have to go through all this stuff."

In scenes captured on tape, shoppers and community members walking near 71st St. are forced to take shelter or run away when shots ring out. Brody says 16 people have been shot on this block alone since the beginning of the year, and it's starting to take a toll on the businesses around him. He and other business owners along 71st St. are fed up.

And Ald. Sawyer let's us know what's being done about it:

"I want answers, but I know one thing: there's a cancer over there that we need to get cut out real fast" Ald. Sawyer said. "We're adding, beefing up patrols in the area and let's just say we do have ongoing, undercover operations consistently."

Here's hoping for some solutions soon! 

You might have seen something here on this blog about Market Fisheries before.

Marynook 1962: "Decision at 83rd Street"

[VIDEO] 56 years ago Hugh Hill produced this documentary for CBS Chicago (or WBBM-TV) looking at racial integration in Marynook. On the other hand, what is seen here is an anatomy of "white flight". It's mentioned that realtors are "block busting" they're attempting to stir fears in white homeowners that Blacks are coming to buy homes on their blocks. Of course as we know in the 50+ years most of the south side is mostly Black today.

I can consider the many communities of the south side that since the 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, or even 1980s experienced white flight. We can talk about Englewood, Woodlawn, Chatham, South Shore, Roseland, or Auburn Gresham. All of those communities experienced this "white flight".

I also want to note the example of Pill Hill - remember this was a neighborhood that at one point had a high prevalance of doctors working at a nearby hospital. I would recommend this book The South Side: The Racial Transformation of an American Neighborhood to see another angle to white flight. I had checked this book out of the library over a decade ago. The author contacted me years ago to clarify some points I made on another blog.

Happy Memorial Day

Photo via The New Yorker

After the odd weather we had from that late heavy snow in February to the unseasonably cold weather in April to the wetness of this month we have finally arrived at the unofficial start of summer. Hopefully you all are enjoy the nice weather of the weekend and of course having a nice BBQ on this Memorial Day. Have a happy and safe one!

Former Jewel store lot at 83rd/King Drive is for sale...

Snapshot by Levois J in March 2018

The lot on 8330 S. King Dr. that formerly housed an old Jewel store and is currently owned by the Park Manor Christian Church is on sale. If I read Worlee Glover's post at Concerned Citizens of Chatham correctly it's for sale for close to $1 million. That's a hunk of change.

I'm excited for whatever plans are in place for this lot. Of course my thought on this piece of real estate is to make it available for commercial development some form of retail perhaps. Then again whoever buys this lot will have their own plan.

Here's a recent post on this lot from this past March. Below is the post from Concerned Citizen's of Chatham with a link to the listing for this property.

Greg Hinz: Chicago population drops for third year in a row

Read on! I appears though that the decline has slowed, but there is still a decline not only in the city but for the suburbs as well:

The new figures are for the year ended last June 30. They indicate that city proper had a net loss of 3,805 residents, slipping to a total of 2,716,450 hardy souls. Last year was the third year in a row in which fewer people lived in the city, but the drop in the prior 2015-16 period was almost 5,000.

None of the declines is particularly large, with last year's drop amounting to barely 0.1 percent and likely within the range of margin of error. Also, the latest estimate still shows Chicago with more people than it had in the last full census in 2010, when the city's population totaled 2,695,598.

But at a time of rising national prosperity and growth, a decline here surely will be used in the upcoming mayoral election to argue that Chicagoans are voting with their feet about Mayor Rahm Emanuel's performance and have decided to locate elsewhere. They may also reach the same conclusion about the state of Illinois under Gov. Bruce Rauner.

Chicago's suburbs, which for decades easily outpaced the city in population gains, increasingly are showing the same growth patterns.
...
Chicago demographer Rob Paral said the new figures are roughly what's been occurring in recent years and not a big surprise. What's not clear from this data is what is happening among racial and ethnic groups, in which, for instance, Chicago has been losing African-Americans but gaining whites, Latinos and Asians, Paral said. 

Former state rep. Ken Dunkin appointed by Gov. Rauner to water reclamation district

While outside of the scope of this blog I just wanted to note this since I saw this on Friday night. Ken Dunkin as a former a member of the Illinois House of Representatives represented the 5th district of Illinois which is basically the near south side (he represents parts of the Bronzeville neighborhood). He attempted to regain his seat in March running in Democratic primary, he was unsuccessful in this attempt - also bear in mind winning the Democratic nomination in Chicago is tantamount to victory in the general election.

Back in 2016 Dunkin lost the Democratic primary to the current state Rep. Juliana Stratton. Stratton is running for Lt. Governor with Democrat gubernatorial nominee JB Pritzker. Dunkin had been heavily associated with the agenda of Gov. Bruce Rauner and that effectively hurt his chances of re-election not only with his constituents, but with his caucus. Why would anyone in the Illinois House Democratic caucus even think they can go against the all-powerful speaker Michael Madigan?

Long story short, Gov. Rauner appoints his old ally in Dunkin to a seat on the Chicago Water Reclamation District. Below you see a tweet from David Ormsby with an image of the document which announces the governor's appointment. I first got wind of this via Rich Miller's Capitol Fax blog. It's also likely that this appointment is only temporary as it arose after the sudden death of a commissioner to the reclamation district and the sudden departure of another Rauner appointee.

Ex-State Rep. Ken Dunkin (D-Chicago) tapped by @GovRauner for $70K Water Rec Board gig. #twill pic.twitter.com/KISCvl5DSo

— David Ormsby (@DavidOrmsby) May 18, 2018

The reason why this is worth sharing and probably the least important part of this whole political store is that Dunkin is a Morehouse grad. This is one primary reason why this caught my eye although where he got his degree or degrees is not entirely news. What's news is that he becomes another member of the water reclamation district via gubernatorial appointment.

Have any events to share with us?

As always if you have events that are worth sharing send them to us. It could be a community meeting, LSC, parent advisory council, PTA, park advisory council, political event, a new business, etc. Send them to us.

Feel free to post to our FB page, tweet us, or if you got a ig ready flyer tag us. As always feel free to send an e-mail to the address below.

blog @ thesixthward.us

 Also bear in mind election season is upon us, we do expect more readership during this period from now to the November elections and through to next year's city elections. This would be a good time to get some exposure for your events, especially if you don't have a significant social media presence.

• facebook.com/thesixthward
• facebook.com/lovechatham (i.e. Concerned Citizens of Chatham)
• twitter.com/thesixthward
• instagram.com/thesixthward

Community is helping to restore Josephine's

The community is helping restore Josephine's!

The Chicago Tribune has reported in today's paper that Josephine's (also known as Captain's Hard TIme Dining), is back in business. They had to shut down due to copper wiring being stolen. Thepaper reported that IBEW Local 134, electric company MZI Group Inc. and ComEd are reworking wires at cost to help restore the business.

The NextDoor Community and Jahmal Cole of My Block, My Hood, My City have been huge contributors to the restoration.

You can still contribute by going to the GoFundMe page from Jahmal Cole. The fund is currently at $5389 of the $10,000 goal, more than half way there. Keep it up, community!

Trial of the murder of Demario Bailey begins

The tragic murder of Demario Bailey began yesterday as his twin brother took the stand. The full story is in today's Chicago Tribune.

We will post more as information becomes available, including a photo of the memorial van that you may have seen along 76th street, btween King And State.

Chatham is also featured in a more positive way in today's Chicago Tribune as well. Look for the past after 4pm today.

Josephine's Dining closed due to copper theft

Our very own Josephine's was robbed last night of copper wiring, causing the restaurant to close until further repairs can be done.

Josephine's (also known to many as Captain Hard Times Dining) is located at 436 E. 79th and has been a community fixture for many years.

And another of our very own, Jahmal Cole, has set up a Go Fund Me to help Josephine's. As of 3:30pm today, they reached $2073 out of a $10,000 goal.

The story appeared on Fox 32 news at noon. Expect tosee it at other outlets soon.

Here is the full story from the Chicago Tribune:

Copper wire theft has has hit another Chicago restaurant.

Surveillance cameras recorded someone climbing to the roof of Capt.’s Hard Time Dining in the Chatham neighborhood Tuesday night, according to multiple sources.

Owner Josephine Wade, known as Mother Wade in the community, could not be reached immediately for comment. The restaurant is currently closed, confirmed employee Barbara Wade, no relation.

The soul food restaurant, open for more than 50 years, is perhaps best known for its chicken and waffles.Total damage estimates may be as high as $20,000, said sources close to Mother Wade, including repairs, refrigerated food loss and lost revenue, according to television news reports.

A GoFundMe crowdfunding campaign has been created by My Block, My Hood, My City founder Jahmal Cole. At last check, $1,933 of the $10,000 goal had been raised.

Earlier this year, Antique Taco’s Bridgeport location was also hit by copper wire theft, forcing a temporary closure. The restauraunt reopened April 2.

Capt.’s Hard Time Dining, 436 E. 79th St., 773-487-2900; www.gofundme.com/capt-hard-times-needs-your-help

lchu@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @louisachu

Let us know you have been touched by Josephine Wade and how you would like to help.

TODAY: 2nd chance adult & juvenile expungement summit

Also a job info rmation seminar for ex-offenders to take place at Kennedy-King College 6343 S. Halsted in building W on Saturday June 2, 2018. Registration at 8:30 PM doors close at 6:00 PM. Also this applies to non-federal crimes committed in the state of Illinois. For more info call 312.603.5200 or 4641. Also visit the webpage of the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County at www.cookcountyclerkofcourt.org

Here's an ig post from Kennedy-King College

Honorable Dorothy Brown, Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County and an array of judicial, governmental, legal, educational, community and religious organizations and agencies, present the 14th Annual Second Chance Adult and Juvenile Expungement Summit and Job Information Seminar at Kennedy- King College, 6343 S. Halsted St., Building W, Chicago.

A post shared by Kennedy King (@kennedyking6301) on May 15, 2018 at 10:41am PDT

Crain's: Here's how to reverse the damage of segregation

Published in Crain's Chicago Business on Tuesday morning:

The [Metropolitan Planning Council] used the help of 110 advisers and experts to draw up the recommendations, all of which view the city through "the lens of racial equity," Barrett says. Among the recommendations:

• Enact a city earned income tax credit for working households, to augment state and federal earned income tax credits. This would generate $218 million in spending from working families, according to the study. 

• Reduce local control over affordable housing decisions. If a ward has less than 10 percent affordable housing, a city council member shouldn't have the ability to reject or delay proposed residential developments that have affordable housing components. 

• Increase Chicago Housing Authority vouchers to expand options for affordable housing. Expanding the vouchers to 200 percent of fair market rent in certain areas could add 3,377 more housing units to the market. 

• End criminal justice system policies that adversely affect poor people. Among these is requiring a money bond for minor offenses, as people who can't afford bond can spend months or even years in jail while awaiting trial. Eliminating unnecessary pretrial detention could save $198 million a year. The report also suggests implicit-bias training for all involved in the criminal justice system. 

...

• Use equity as a key factor, along with safety, delay reduction and ridership, when making transportation decisions in the Chicago metro area. "The South Side doesn't have the same level of rapid transit service," says Kate Lowe, assistant professor of urban planning and policy at the University of Illinois at Chicago, one of the 110 advisers who worked on the recommendations. "Extending the Red Line would help." Transportation, she adds, intersects with all the systems that shape residents' lives: jobs, education, health care and employment. 

Put into place over two years, the recommendations could add $4.4 billion in income for African-American communities, which would in turn generate $8 billion for the local economy. The measures would add 83,000 bachelor's degrees and reduce homicides by 30 percent. If nothing is done, and the city continues on its current trajectory of segregation, income disparity will widen: The area will see a 17 percent drop in its African-American population, a 12 percent rise in the number of households earning below $30,000 a year, and a 42 percent increase in households earning more than $125,000 a year.

 Interesting?

6th ward shred-a-thon #6wardchicago #twill

Coming this Friday in the parking lot at 215 W. 71th Street from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM contact the 6 ward service office at 312.635.0006. Here's an ig post from the the alderman's office.

A post shared by 6 Ward Chicago (@6wardchicago) on May 15, 2018 at 11:03am PDT

ABC 7 Chicago: Man killed, woman critically wounded in Burnside shooting

[VIDEO] An overnight shooting took place near 91st & Cottage Grove. A man was killed, a woman who was wounded by gunshots sent to University of Chicago Hospital.

I want this violence to end, seriously!

Crain's: Our lawless downtown is threatening our city's economy

I suppose one way to look at this is some of the crime in the more violent neighborhoods of the city's south and west sides are beginning to bleed into the Loop or areas of downtown Chicago. As seen in this article gunfire at Water Tower Place, carjackings in the Gold Coast, a police commander shot to death near the Thompson Center.

That sense of security is under threat: The Loop saw a 14 percent rise in overall crime in the first quarter of this year compared to the last, with a 30 percent rise in violent crime driven largely by muggings, according to police data analyzed by CWBChicago.com. And a series of recent incidents has revived old worries about crime in the city. A police commander shot to death amid weekday crowds in the Loop. Cars commandeered at gunpoint in the Gold Coast and other neighborhoods across Chicago and the suburbs. A 15-year-old boy hit by stray gunfire as he rode a city bus. Just last week, a federal law enforcement agent was shot in the face as he worked to combat gun violence in the Back of the Yards neighborhood. Shots fired inside Water Tower Place on the Mag Mile.

All those events got national media attention, adding to a steady drumbeat of stories that raise questions about safety in Chicago. These questions trouble not only those of us who live here, but also those who might be considering a move to Chicago.

Most prominent among them is Amazon, which is vetting cities for a second headquarters that it says would bring tens of thousands of well-paid jobs to the winner. Chicago badly wants the prize, and by all rights should have a strong chance. The city has many of the attributes Amazon wants in a second headquarters—a deep talent pool, a world-class airport and an extensive public transit system, to name a few key selling points. But none of those advantages will matter if the e-tailing giant concludes its employees wouldn't be safe here.

If crime is going up in the Loop area then this is certainly a problem the city will solve. Hopefully these same resources could be used in many of Chicago's long suffering neighborhoods. What do you think?

h/t Newsalert!

The story of the Foster Sisters is now up at the Chicago Tribune

The Chicago Tribune has published the story about the Foster sisters.

You can find the story at http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-met-south-side-homeless-sisters-20180502-story.html

If you are interested in a hard copy we suggest going to a convenience store RIGHT NOW. I (JP Paulus) bought the last one at the Starbucks at 87th & the Dan Ryan. But if you are near others, i was informed that at the end of the day, they often throw out that day's paper.

We thank all of the community members who helped contribute to the story, and welcome any responses and reactions to the story, not just in the comments, but even as a guest blog post.

We especially want to thank Lolly Bowean , Abel Uribe and others at the Chicago Tribune as well as everyone who helped us on the social networking site Next Door to make this happen.

We have posted on these sisters before, such as in January when we noticed that their tarp and belongings were abandoned, to the initial report of possibly (now confirmed) one of them dying, and the obituary of Susan Foster.

What's going on with the Avalon-Regal Theater?

We've talked about the new ownership of the Regal Theater on occasion. And Worlee Glover posts on Nextdoor last month to let us know it's for sale! Whoever made the best offer has probably made it already so who knows if it has never ownership now. Regardless Worlee believes this is a tax sale...

Now I wonder what happened to Mr. Gerald Gary and those investment bonds he had been advertising.

Morehouse Leadership Lecture Series involving Starbuck's executives

I know this is essentially outside of the scope of this blog, but hopefully this interests you.

In light of the recent controversy at Starbucks with two Black males being arrested at a location - they didn't yet order any thing and were waiting for a friend - Morehouse College is hosting a town hall. This will be between two of the head honchos of Starbucks that include Spelman College alum COO Rosalind Brewer and chairman Howard Schultz.

I'm sure that the issue of that controversy is will come up in this conversation. If you wish to join this town hall. Click on this eventbrite and watch the livestream at morehouse.tv starting at 3:45 PM Eastern time on Tuesday, May 3, 2018.

BTW, I was perusing the Morehouse website and saw that Mayor Rahm Emanuel was down there to encourage students to consider living & working in Chicago. I was about to say if you're from Chicago and want to get away from Rahm, sorry he's looking for you. Although to be honest if Chicago is to become a better place we need the young men of Morehouse to give the Windy City a chance. We need their talents whatever they may be! Perhaps they can create a competitor to Starbucks! :P

Here's an ig post from Morehouse College on this event.

"The American Nurse" at SMG Chatham

Got this e-mail with a flyer to be posted below about an event this coming weekend at Studio Movie Grill Chatham on 87th.

NursingInspired🏾‍ is intentionally hosting an event during National Nurses Week 2018, as an effort to increase interest in the career of Nursing among underrepresented youth in Chicago!

ATTENTION organizations serving urban, underserved & African American youth (age 14-24),

high school students, pre-nursing, traditional & non-traditional college students, professional nurses and community members are all welcome:

Announcing a NursingInspired🏾‍

1st Annual Movie and Educational event Screening the documentary "The American Nurse (2014)"
at the Studio Movie Grill-Chatham, Chicago, IL


Mark your calendar

The event is on Sunday, May 6th
Doors Open at 2pm, Film starts at 2:30pm

NURSES| 1 CE credit for watching the film through Walden University!

Flyer below:

Identity of the deceased sister

JP Paulus' shot of the sister's collapsed tent Jan. 2018

You may have seen this already on Worlee Glover's Concerned Citizens of Chatham so here it is. The identity of the deceased sister found in a shopping cart pushed by her sister - Susan Foster.

You may have also seen this on Nextdoor. I have redacted the name of the person who posted this.

click for larger resolution

 What you see below the break is a link to the obituary.

PREVIOUS POSTS

• Update on the homeless sisters
• What a sad story that occurred over the weekend in Chatham
• What happened to the homeless sisters?

FedEx hiring at Olive-Harvey College #ohc #ward09

Take place on Tuesday, May 2, 2018 (that's today) at Olive-Harvey College at 10001 S. Woodlawn in the Main Foyer. If you to apply or learn more about the positions available at FedEx visit watchasort.com. Refer to ig post below this event will be held from 11:00 AM to 1:30 PM.