I blogged about on Thursday. I basically railed against the mentioning of Harlan with a certain amount of context. Students from Harlan got shot in this incident near 100th & Michigan. Of course other than the blurb from EveryBlock that included Harlan's address. A young man from another city school died of his wounds and the Tribune wrote more about this incident: Relatives remember Jeremy Harris as always smiling, always respectful. So they can't understand why someone gunned down the 17-year-old not far from his Roseland neighborhood home. "He was my favorite little cousin," said LaRhonda Harris, 33. "When I used to drive past, he used to always stop me just to ask me where I was going. And then once I'd tell him I'm going to the store, or somewhere, he'd say, 'OK, you can keep going.' '' So the other three teens who were shot (four were shot) attended Harlan according to this story. Harris  still had a Harlan connect

This is from Chicago Public Radio's Vocalo blogs, Achy Obejas' Citylife: Adventures in Urban Living Footworking in Chatham: Battle Groundz takes dance to a new level Footworking in Chatham from WBEZ on Vimeo . It doesn’t really look anything like a typical dance club. For starters, the lights are on, blazing. They serve zero, zip, when it comes to beverages. And it only happens on Sunday nights. But Battle Groundz, on 87th just east of Stony Island in Chatham, isn’t a very typical place. This is where a good bunch of Chicago’s hardcore footwoorkers -- from the South Side, the West Side, the suburbs, even a few stragglers from the North Side -- come to practice, compete, and hang out. For the rest of the story, check it out here -> Footworking in Chatham:

UPDATE 11:13 AM One of the teen boys who were shot in this incident (he was shot in the heat) has died of his wounds. It's unclear in this if he went to Harlan however. I just got to say this story was difficult to follow . You may have seen this story through our Blotter . And this article made special mention of two young people who were shot, a brother and sister, were students at Harlan. They weren't the only young people involved in this story but yet the nearby high school was mentioned. BTW, this story took place at 100th & Michigan. Either way not sure what the point of this being brought up in this piece was. It was easy for me to have a knee jerk reaction seeing a brief blurb about this piece especially reading a brief at EveryBlock . I could've just assumed there was another shooting near Harlan only to find that well this shooting took place down the street. Even worse the Harlan students were victims. The way this article was written it doesn't

In Parent and Community Engagement A new study released Wednesday found more than a quarter of Chicago students are in after school activities, compared to just 15 percent nationwide. But of those students who are not, 30 percent spend their afternoons home alone. That a third of Chicago’s children are not supervised for so many hours worries officials. More funding is needed, said Jodi Grant, the executive director of Afterschool Alliance, which released the Chicago After 3PM at a press conference. “When we passed No Child Left Behind, they promised $2.5 billion in after school funding,” she said. “We’re at $1.1 billion. We need a lot more from our federal government to be supporting this.” The results of the Chicago After 3PM report were announced at a press conference that came on the eve a national event called “Lights On Afterschool.” “Lights On Afterschool seeks to bring attention to the need for quality after school programs. Chicago has been at the forefront of the movement to

You can read it at Seaway's official website . I know that this news broke over the weekend, but I think it's necessary to see the official statement from the bank itself. You can also check out First Suburban National Bank website as well. CHICAGO (October 25, 2010)- Seaway Bank and Trust Company announced today that it has acquired the banking operations of First Suburban National Bank, through a purchase and assumption agreement with the Federal Deposit and Insurance Corporation (FDIC). The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency declared First Suburban National Bank closed Friday, October 22nd, and appointed the FDIC as receiver. As of October 21, 2010, First Suburban National Bank had approximately $140 million in deposits and $149 million in assets. Loans of approximately $116 million are subject to a loss-sharing agreement with the FDIC. The four offices of First Suburban National Bank opened Saturday, October 23rd as offices of Seaway Bank and Trust Com

Greg Hinz : What's needed to restart Chicago's job-creation engine?    I talked about everything from finishing the job of expanding O'Hare International Airport to fixing Chicago City Colleges and thinking more regionally in a story in the latest edition of Crain's .   But the best question may be why the city won't do one thing that seems mind-numbingly obvious: Cut red tape so entrepreneurs can get started.    Outgoing Mayor Richard M. Daley took a couple of stabs at one-stop-shopping for permits and the like, but the fact is, Chicago remains an extraordinarily difficult place for someone with a good idea but little time and capital to get on his or her feet. This is something worth reading. I hope the Aldermanic candidates are seeing this as I think this may be important for jumpstarting our ward's business areas. We should look as busy and active as many such areas are in other parts of the city. Via CapFax morning shorts !

Thanks to our reader Mrs. Hayes for the information. ‎"Getting on the Map" is an Open Studio exhibit at Tuley Park Cultural Fieldhouse as part of the city wide Chicago Artist Month activities. Open studio is every Wednesday and Thursday 11am to 5pm. Meet and greet artists living and working in Chatham, Burnside and West Chesterfield; Oscar Lester of Chicago State Universi...ty's African American Male Resource Center, Marian Hayes of Cafe Yeye-WCSU radio, Chicago State University, Chris Tomorrow, Floyd Payne, Robert Nelson and Samuel Clark. Also Jim Heard and George Hayes.

On October 26 @ Temple of Glory International Church 311 E. 95th Street. Just three blocks away from that storefront I took pictures of. If you plan to be there feel free to let us know what happened there. Visit Wooten's official website !

While it looks like one Chatham neighborhood bank is getting larger as per the failure of another bank in our state, it seems as if Urban Partnership Bank (the former ShoreBank) is still getting their personnel together: Peggy Myles, 58, formerly a senior banker at First Chicago and later at successors Bank One and J. P. Morgan Chase, will be chief risk officer at Urban Partnership Bank. Her appointment awaits regulatory approval. She will be in charge of credit risk management and working through delinquent loans. Kristine Rull, 52, another First Chicago alum, takes over as director of specialized markets, focused on collecting deposits from socially responsible investment groups and handling non-profit customers and relations with foundations. She also worked with Urban Partnership Bank Chairman David Vitale when he was head of operations at Chicago Public Schools. And Jan Hoffenkamp, 54, will oversee customer service, facilities and vendor relationships for the b

That JP Paulus wrote about in December of last year. Well that Church appears to have found a buyer. Once called New Calvary MB Church, the sign on the property is now for New Start MB Church. I took this picture last week at the corner of 87th Street & Indiana. Oh yeah that post got JP and Worlee on Chicago Public Radio last year as well.

Chatham's own Seaway bank has bought the assets of First Suburban National Bank of Maywood. This is ironic, as ShoreBank (with a significant Chatham presence) was in Maywood 's situation recently. From Chicago Breaking Business News : Regulators have shut down First Suburban National Bank of Maywood, Ill., late Friday and sold its $140 million in deposits to Seaway Bank and Trust Co. of Chicago. Depositors of the First Suburban National Bank will be protected by the purchase deal with Seaway Bank and Trust. The four branches of First Suburban National Bank will reopen Saturday as branches of Seaway Bank and Trust. Seaway did not pay a premium

Chicago Breaking News : A firefighter sustained minor injuries this morning after a fire broke out in a home in the Chatham neighborhood, officials said. The fire broke out about 6:25 a.m. in a 1½-story bungalow on the 8200 block of South St. Lawrence Avenue, said Chief Joe Roccasalva, a fire department spokesman. He said there were no injuries to occupants of the building, but a firefighter sustained a minor eye injury and was taken to the University of Chicago Hospitals, he said. He said the house was badly damaged and heat had spread to adjoining buildings, where it damaged the siding on both.

Well she was when this article was published in the Defender the Chief Education Officer of CPS. The position remains unfilled currently however this is what she has to say about Harlan: She pointed to modifications CPS instituted at Harlan and Harper high schools on the South Side as an example of schools in Black communities benefiting from changes. “Those were two schools that once struggled to produce satisfactory graduation rates. But with changes we incorporated at both schools attendance and graduation rates have improved and continue to improve,” she said. “Principals play a critical role in a school improving. That’s why it is so important to have the right leadership in place at schools.” I wonder what those modifications were? As always this is considered very good news. Oh yeah, need to work on that LSC blog post.

Just a glimpse of history: St. James Lutheran Church,at 80th & Michigan, used to be Golgotha Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church. Rev. Booker Vance is the current head of the church (he has also led another local Ev. Lutheran Church)

Mick Dumke talks about Ald. Lyle and her campaign for re-election as our Alderman. They talk about her blunt announcement that she IS running for re-election in this month's newsletter. If you haven't seen it yet you can read that here! October 2010 Newsletter

I made visits this week to visit the LSCs of both of my alma maters on the elementary and secondary levels. Oh yeah, this post doesn't leave out those of you who have experience at the middle school or junior high school levels. Questions : Have you returned to your old elementary or secondary schools? Have you chosen to volunteer when you're able to do so?

Oh yeah if you're bothered by vulgar language then feel free to not take a look at the picture. It was taken near 87th & St. Lawrence and it was written on a garage. Pirie School is a local elementary school. This unfortunate graffiti just seems very dumb to attack an elementary school.

Click pic for Harlan's website When Ald. Lyle showed up at the Roseland Heights meeting last month unannounced she mentioned improvements to one of Harlan's courtyards. Wow they largely filled in that courtyard with concrete although there is still grass in that area of the school. I only know this because security directed us through the courtyard to get to the social room where the LSC was meeting. I remember that there used to be bricks for walkways in addition to perhaps picnic tables or what not if you want to sit down. This looks like a great place to hold an event or two when the whether is warm. Hopefully it will be available to the community if they can figure out how best to do that. I have to mention that I came a little early for this one and the front doors were locked. If you have public meetings where you expect members of the public the doors shouldn't be locked. Also the students shouldn't have to open the door when they see someone from the outs

JP wrote this post on Sept. 14th, but I edited this to post because I see that Early & Often added him to the list of candidates for Alderman of the 6th. What you see below was largely written by JP, but left it as a draft for over a month. Also refer to our 2011 page where he will also be added. Any more news don't forget to let us know about it! - Levois We also have another candidate He currently has a Facebook Page with nothing on it. He also has a Twitter page as well His Tweets include: Hello 6th ward registered voters. My name is Burundi Davis and i am running for 6th ward alderman. I am a recently retired Army veteran that served 22 years active duty. I returned to my native city chicago to serve the community... 

Well let's focus on Ald. Lyle's comments, but this issue requires more attention than what one Alderman might say about 911 response times: "We have two different agencies that are both directly involved in providing safety for our citizens that stand up at CAPS meeting and community meetings all over the city and they point the finger at each other. It's intellectually dishonest," she said. "Maybe people should stop lying to the citizens. They begin to understand that it's a lie — and nobody wants to wear the jacket. But somebody is getting paid to wear the jacket. It's very frustrating for us." As for the 311 hang-ups, Lyle said, "I just thought it was some mechanism that was built into the system. You got too many calls. You don't feel like being bothered. Just disconnect the people after they wait. I don't think that's what taxpayers expect to pay for."

Most of us who have been watching what's going on with Chicago Police know that our police chief has been taking a beating. It could be from other city politicos, citizens, even within the ranks of Chicago Police. Even from the former police chief of the LAPD . Whether or not Weis remains police chief after the new mayor enters City Hall's 5th floor I hope that the issue of shifting police to where the crime is will be visited. This will not be a beat realignment - that is redrawing the city's 281 beats according to changes in crime and population - which would have to wait until the city's wards are redone. Instead: But two years into a hiring slowdown that has left the Chicago Police Department more than 2,300 officers a day short of authorized strength, Weis is prepared to take decisive action. "We anticipate in the very near future of having a resource re-allocation that will better balance the workload of our officers throughout the entire city. We w

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

Syron Smith who just so happens to be a candidate for 15th Ward Alderman in the 2011 election talks to Christine (sp?), the former governor of zipcode 60621, to discuss the issues at Lowe & Marquette Road. It was near that intersection where in July 1998 Ryan Harris' body was found. They talk about an undone alley, the lack of attention to overgrowth of weeds and bushes, and even a mural to memorialize Ryan Harris that was never created.

It was just last November 1st, 2009 that the Chicago Department of Revenue began 24 hour booting. Not surprisingly, in that almost year’s time, booting is up from last year based on numbers provided by the DOR during city council budget hearings today at City Hall. Total boots placed through August, 2009 was 41,469, according to DOR documentation. DOR booters have increased booting by 7.5% this year with 44,581 boots placed through August 31, 2010 The city’s number one ward for booting comes as no surprise, and is the same as last year. The 41st ward, where booters found easy pickings in the O’Hare Airport parking lot with 1,587 cars booted through the end of August. The 23rd ward, where Midway Airport is located is number two again with 1,540 booted vehicles. The 2nd ward ranks third with 1,423, the 27th ward was number four with 1,408 and the 32nd ward was fifth with 1,293 boots. Here are the top 10 wards for booting. Rank Ward Boots #1 41 1587 #2 23 1540 #3 2 1423 #4 27 1408 #5 32 1

We were just alerted by the filmmaker himself, Jamal Cole about a documentary about Chatham. From his website : Are you an original African-American family who moved to Chatham in the 50′s? WE want to interview you! Are you a resident who wants to share memories, the history & document changes as you’ve seen them occur in this area from the 60′s until 2010? Email us: jcole@rolemodelmovement.com to set up an interview time. Leave name, telephone number and age. You can read more about his project here ! Perhaps you would be willing to donate money to this project. Hopefully some of you will be credited as producers. :)

I took this picture on October 13, 2010. A block club sign on the 7300 block of South Prairie. Questions : Are you currently active in a block club? Have you thought about forming a block club? Were you able to start a block club? Whatever your answer, feel free to tell us about your block club. Tweet, e-mail, post a comment here or even Facebook your response!

If you have any addition information on this candidate for us to submit to our 2011 page feel free to share. Write a comment in this post or on the page or send an email at thesixthward @ 1chicago.net . Remove the spaces around the @. Thanks - Levois We have one other person distributing literature. Unfortunately, there is no contact info of any kind, so we don't know any other details. This flyer was found the Quence The Cafe on79th near St. Lawrence I apologize for the poor quality of the photo. Perhpas someone can post a link to a better graphic. Check our 2011 Election page for a current list of potential candidates. We in the 6th currently have 7 candidates, the same as the 46th ward on the North Side.

I saw this over at Earlyandoften.org . They actually got one on us. :P Anyway I added her name to the list of candidates for Alderman of the 6th Ward. The information includes a website as well @ http://www.goodrumburtonfor6thwardalderman.com . Once again if you have any addition information for current candidates or any new candidates feel free to e-mail us (e-mail address is just below the recent comments), contact us on our FB page , and/or post a comment either in this post or on the 2011 page .

AP : Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the king of the big-box discount retailers, will shift its attention from supercenters to smaller stores in an attempt to gain new customers, according to a report—and Chicago will be a prime market for this expansion, receiving 24 new stores of three different sizes. A Wal-Mart spokesman did not immediately return a call seeking confirmation of the news which was reported by the Chicago Sun-Times. ... Wal-Mart also is redirecting money from remodeling existing stores toward opening smaller new stores. Over the next two fiscal years, it plans to build 30 to 40 smaller stores, mostly in urban areas, Bill Simon, CEO of Wal-Mart U.S., said during an investor meeting in Rogers, Ark., on Wednesday. About half of those will likely be "Neighborhood Market" concepts that offer produce and dairy products. Meanwhile, the average size of Wal-Mart's largest, supercenter-format store has shrunk to 180,000 square feet from 195,000 square feet. Mr. Simo

This story takes place in Englewood and Ald. Lyle is quoted in this article about this problem: Trash pickup for the 7000 block of South Parnell is every Wednesday but within a week not only is the trash twice as much but twice as bad, said Ruthie Shivers, 80, who lives at 7041 S. Parnell. ... Alderman Freddrenna Lyle, whose 6th Ward includes portions of Englewood, said she previously spoke to residents living in the 7000 block of South Parnell about the situation and informed the city’s Department of Streets and Sanitation to look into the matter. “I had previously spoke with the Streets and Sanitation superintendent for my ward about this matter but I did not know the situation had not been cleared up (in regards to the items illegally dumped),” Lyle told the Defender. “I do know that the city baited the alleys this summer to help combat the problem but it appears that more illegal dumping has since taken place and we are working on a long-term solution to prevent further illeg

View Larger Map The approximate location of this storefront you see above in Google Street View. Check out the pictures below. Drove by one day and saw a storefront dominated by pictures of a person and other posters. Walked by earlier today and saw that this could be an eventual campaign HQ for Richard Wooten for Alderman. You can visit his website at http://www.chicago6thward.com . The middle poster he claims to live in Chatham has a church in Englewood, but has business interests in Grand Crossing and Park Manor. Hmmm sounds like a guy who wants to reach out to the various neighborhoods of the 6th. Aside from this visible presence the storefront itself is gated up, but I look forward to them opening up shop. If anyone else running for Alderman next year has a campaign HQ, I look forward to you opening up shop as well. Let us know on our 2011 page !

Courtesy of ABC7 and thanks to EveryBlock for noting the sites in our community on certain days: Wednesday OCT. 13 Chatham Satellite Senior Center 10am-1pm 8300 S. Cottage Grove Thursday OCT. 21 6th Ward Office 10am-1pm 406 E. 75th Street Monday NOV. 1 Abbott Park Satellite Senior Center 10am-1pm 49 East 95th St. Wednesday NOV. 3 Mather's More Than a Café 9am-3pm 33 E 83rd St.      You can see a complete listing of all the dates and all the sites where you can get a free shot around the city at the link to ABC7 . Also watch this video with regards to why you should get a flu shot why you shouldn't get a flu shot.

Last year I attended the Chicago Public Schools High School Fair and noticed that the prospective students were gathering around the Selective Enrollment/Magnet Schools and the Military Academies. This year I attended the open house for Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences(CHAS). There were over 350 parents/guardians in the school's band room . The principal stated that he only had 150 spots open and some of those spots were restricted. Also, that students would not be notified until February- March if they were even eligible. The eye opener came when he mentioned that there were over 1800 applications last year and he expected that number to increase this year. As we were waiting to take a tour I saw the jockeying by some teachers who brought students to the open house and it made me ask the question were they doing this for all their students? In the end, I asked did this process make sense and who really wins when high enrollment becomes a mathematical formula? It does

So my family is watching some minutes of the CHicago Marathon, and seeing how the coverage highlights neighborhoods, and shows large crowds in the Downtown, near South, and North side Lakefront neighbrohoods. NBC just featured Lakeview, with the coverage highlighting the Boystown portion (which is approximately 3200 North). Would Chatham )(and the South Side in general) benefit form having the Chicago Marathon, or (more realistically) another type of race, wther walking , running, biking, or even skateboarding? Would a race bring business in, and expose new customers to what we have to offer. Or would the hassle be too much?  We know closing down 75th for an extended time hurt...but how about for a SHORT time, such as EARLY Sunday morning?

Early Voting sites will open Tuesday, October 12. By law, Early Voting for this election will end Thursday, October 28. During Early Voting, Chicago voters may use any of the 54 Early Voting sites in the City, regardless of where they live. Voters don't need a reason or excuse to use Early Voting. During Early Voting, voters must present government-issued photo identification. After casting ballots in Early Voting, voters may not return to amend, change or undo a ballot for any reason. Ballots cast in Early Voting are final. It is a felony to vote more than once -- or to attempt to vote more than once -- in the same election. LOCATIONS & HOURS Ward - Location - Hours 1st Ward - Goldblatts Building 1615 W. Chicago Ave. - Opens Tues., Oct. 12: weekdays and Saturdays, 9 am - 5 pm 2nd Ward - Mabel Manning Library 6 S. Hoyne Ave. - Opens Tues., Oct. 12: weekdays and Saturdays, 9 am - 5 pm 3rd Ward - Chicago Bee Library 3647 S. State St. - Opens Tues., Oct. 12: weekdays and Saturdays

You can always watch the embedded video above, but at the same time here's what she is responding to: The Kirk campaign confirms the congressman was secretly taped this week while telling state Republican leaders about his hiring of a voter integrity squad to concentrate on four regions that happen to be areas populated by large numbers of African-Americans who vote heavily Democratic. "These are lawyers and other people that will be deployed in key, vulnerable precincts, for example, South and West sides of Chicago, Rockford, Metro East, where the other side might be tempted to jigger the numbers somewhat". "For him to insinuate that there is some vote fraud going on in these communities is just an insult to the hundreds and hundreds of people who serve as election judges on elections. I find it disgraceful and insulting," said Ald. Freddrenna Lyle. Lyle, a Democratic Committee member and an Alexi Giannoulias supporter, and others were offended by Kirk

PROGRAM The Barbara Jordan Health Policy Scholars Program brings talented college seniors and recent graduates to Washington, D.C., where they are placed in congressional offices and learn about health policy issues, with a focus on issues affecting racial and ethnic minority and underserved communities. Through the ten-week program (May 23, 2011 through August 6, 2011), Scholars gain knowledge about federal legislative procedure and health policy issues, while further developing their critical thinking and leadership skills. In addition to gaining experience in a congressional office, Scholars participate in seminars and site visits to augment their knowledge of health care issues, and write and present a health policy research memo that addresses a problem of concern to disadvantaged populations. PURPOSE The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation established the Barbara Jordan Health Policy Scholars Program at Howard University to honor the legacy of former Foundation Trustee and Congress

Talbots Charitable Foundation In keeping with its long-standing tradition of helping women succeed, the Talbots Charitable Foundation is proud to present the 2011 Talbots Scholarship Foundation and the Nancy Talbot Scholarship Award for perseverance and ingenuity, which is presented in memory of the founder of Talbots. This program empowers women to enrich themselves through learning and achieve a college education later in life. Completely re-imagined, the Talbots Scholarship Foundation will award $180,000 in college scholarships for the 2011 academic year, including up to ten (10) $15,000 scholarships and one (1) $30,000 scholarship to an extraordinary finalist demonstrating courage, conviction and an insatiable entrepreneurial spirit. Learn more about the program and how to apply by visiting https://www.talbots.com/scholarship starting Monday, October 4, 2010. The deadline for applications is Monday, January 3, 2011. Only the first 5,000 eligible applications received will be proces

At least for now more studies. I ought to look into what it takes to build expansions of a rail network such as the CTA L. Ok we have studies and public input OK after getting approval when does construction start? Anyway here's more from Transport Politics : Last week, the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) announced that it had received $285,000 in planning money from the federal government to pursue a draft environmental impact study on the extension of the Red Line rapid transit corridor south to 130th Street. The agency says that this project, which will bring rail transit service to the city’s southeastern border, is its top priority. ... Nonetheless, with most of the system upgraded to at least workable standards, the CTA is now promoting a 5.8-mile, $1.4 billion extension of its network, designed specifically to ensure rapid and transfer-free travel from the city center to its southern edge. This Red Line scheme, in addition to further extensions of the Yellow and Orange

Chatham/Avalon Park Community Council: Blog Question : "Which blog best serves the interests of Chatham, the Sixth Ward blog or the CAPCC blog, and why? Leave your comments on the comment line." That was posted at the CAPCC blog yesterday and I promised an answer which is that I believe both blogs serve a niche. The Sixth Ward was named for the city council district. The 6th is also a very broad area that covers not only one neigborhood but several such as Park Manor, Chatham, Chesterfield, Englewood, and Roseland Heights. CAPCC, on the other hand, serves more a neighborhood that this blog might and in addition they are connected by name to a neighborhood organization. While at the Sixth Ward we do attempt to cover what is going on in the neighborhoods, the CAPCC is the direct source for news as it pertains to the Chatham neighborhood. While the CAPCC might cover issues and then seek to lobby the federal government for neighborhood improvements. The Sixth Ward will als

This quote courtesy of the Chicago News Cooperative : Ald. Freddrenna Lyle (6th) said of Emanuel’s embryonic mayoral campaign message: “I am not excited at all about this rebirth that he is giving himself, redefinition. It’s marketing, you take the same package and put some different colors on it and call it something new.” Here's Part 1 !

Well I do want to cover LSC's and this one I could make depending on my schedule. Of course Shedd School is a branch of Bennett and the Oct. 20 (starting at 4PM) LSC meeting is actually there located @ 10115 S Prairie Ave. Right across the Calumet (Bishop Ford) Expressway in the Rosemoor neighborhood. It's unfortunate that the only way I can know of events at Shedd School is by having to look at the sign outside of the school. Surely members of the surrounding community would want to know what's going on at the local elementary school just as easily as they're worried about Harlan. At least to Harlan's credit we don't have to search far and wide for events. All we have to do, especially if we're web saavy is to check out Harlan's website . Unfortunately they utilize other social media such as Ning , Twitter or even Blogger and yet they don't update those as much as perhaps I would like them. Although it's understandable that doing so takes

This is sort of big news, but you know the new mayor should have the ability to pick their own team: Chicago Public Schools chief Ron Huberman has told Mayor Richard Daley he has no intention of serving another mayor and intends to leave his $230,000-a-year job before the mayor leaves office in mid-May. Huberman's departure could mean Daley would have to turn over the nation's third-largest school system in mid-school-year to a caretaker CEO who would be replaced after a new mayor takes office. All this threatens to occur over a critical set of months, when CPS traditionally devises its budget, prepares for state tests and decides which schools to close. It must tackle the tasks with an administrative staff decimated by budget cuts, teachers left disgruntled by cost-saving layoffs and the specter of even worse budget woes next school year. In addition, news of Huberman's planned departure comes after the school system has languished for months without a chief educat

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The first video is from ABC 7 . JP blogged a story where Rahm had gotten an earful at Izola's located at 522 E 79th St in Chatham. On WGN, Izola's was mentioned as a favorite hangout of Chicago's first black mayor Harold Washington. Finally CBS 2's Mike Pucinelli was outside of Izola's when he filed this report Monday morning. A guy was there asking about why the federal stimulus hadn't created any news jobs! This video filed Monday evening showed a division of opinions with regards to Emanuel. Nothing appears to have been taped in Chicago in this video. But they did mention one thing, the video that was shot of him announcing his listening tour. Well it was filed in Washington, DC.

Here's the update of the story we reported yesterday . Well, it looks like it didn;t go so well for Rahm Emanuel at Izola's But as he wolfed down scrambled eggs and sipped coffee at Izola's Restaurant on 79th Street with three patrons, some residents tried to interrupt, blaming the former White House strategist for a lack of jobs on the South Side. As the cameras rolled, Emanuel stood up and tried to quell the simmering scene, explaining how he felt the Obama administration had helped create jobs. "You are going to be asked some hardball questions and get your bat out," Paul Johnson, 49, eventually told Emanuel. "Welcome to Chicago." Read the rest of the story at Chicago Breaking News . Anyone have any stories or photos?

Sun-Times and this may not bode well for that Red Line extension from 95th into Roseland: "We've got to stop raising expectations that we're going to be able to expand the system," said [RTA Executive Director Stephen] Schlickman. He pointed out that the CTA alone needs $10 billion in capital funding over the next 10 years just to stay in a state of good repair, let alone create something new. "There's not a feasible financial plan for any of the new start projects proposed by any of the agencies right now," said Schlickman. That includes the proposed expansion of the Red Line to 130th Street. "The federal government will not allow them to advance [out of the alternatives analysis phase] unless they put forward a credible financial plan, and they don't have it." This article is worth your time if you're into transit policy. Lot's of numbers and some other proposals can be read here, but I want to stay focused on this Red Line

UPDATE 11:13 AM - CAPCC Blog reports that Emanuel was at Izola's this morning! Just saw this from AP News. Emanuel, who stepped down as White House chief of staff last week to run for mayor of Chicago, appeared at an elevated train station on Roosevelt Road on the city's near South Side, shaking hands with commuters. Emanuel plans at least two other stops Monday morning — in the city's Chatham neighborhood and then in the Pilsen neighborhood. In a video released over the weekend, he said he would embark on a "Tell It Like It Is" listening tour of the city. The rest of the story here -- Rahm Emanuel visits Chatham Sorry we didn't weren't able to get any specific info (i.e. the restaurant...guessing it's either Izola's or Army & Lou's..maybe Captain's Hard Time Dining), or ahead of time (in case you were interested). We would love any photos, comments or stories about all mayor candidates having a big event here.

Well I know that there are others who are already in the race for Mayor, but today Rahm Emanuel announces his entrance into this race via....a YouTube video . Well this is probably a big deal in Washington since he was expected to give up his Chief of Staff job at the White House for this. It's been expected for a while! Via Chicagoist ! So does this YouTube video seem distant to you? Oh yeah here's his campaign website . I think I will keep an eye out for other candidates for Mayor though probably not as extensively as checking the candidates for Alderman of the 6th.

This foolishness is a little too close to home ! A 50-year-old near west suburban man has been charged with a dozen counts ranging from aggravated battery of a police officer to running a stop sign following an incident early Saturday in which he allegedly tried to run over police officers on the South Side. The incident happened about 12:40 a.m. Saturday on the 100 block of East 95th Street. Police shot at a tire of a vehicle that was being driven at an officer, Calumet Area detectives said. Nobody was struck by gunfire and nobody was injured, police News Affairs Officer Hector Alfaro said. Alvin Herbert, 50, of the 500 block of Des Plaines in Forest Park, was charged and cited following that incident, according to police News Affairs. Herbert battered, resisted, and attempted to assault police officers who were conducting a traffic stop after they observed Herbert's vehi

An AP article on the Mayor's race. Which mayoral candidate(s) do you think will be able to put volunteers in the neighborhoods for 2011?

Sun-Times : Fewer than one of every three Chicago homeowners has a water meter, which would ensure that they pay only for the water they use — and are able to lower their bill by reducing their consumption, even in the face of what have been steep rate hikes. Homeowners who don’t have a meter also have faced those same rate hikes, no matter how much water they use. They’re charged a flat fee for water based not on usage but on a century-old formula involving the width of their lot and the height of their house. The result is that many people who don’t have meters pay more for water than their neighbors who do. Most of those unmetered homes — including those of about half the city’s 50 aldermen — live on the Southwest Side or the Northwest Side, the bungalow belt. At the link there is a listing of the 50 wards and where they sit as far as the percentage of homes that have water meters. The 6th had only 20% of residences with a meter. 2,414 residents have a meter while 9,694 are

Notice of this event is courtesy of Kari Steele who not only was a candidate for commissioner of the Water Reclamation District, but also Chairwoman of the 6th Ward Young Democrats On Wednesday, October 6, 2010, the Chicago Alumnae and Lambda Chapters of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. in partnership with the Chicago Urban League will host a Candidates Forum to hear from those running for the office of Governor, United States Senate, Treasurer and Comptroller. It will be held from 7:00 to 9:00 PM (doors open at 6:30 PM) at Chicago Urban League, 4510 South Michigan, Chicago. We recognize the importance of the upcoming election and are committed to increasing political involvement and awareness throughout metropolitan Chicago .  Please plan to attend the forum and invite your family, friends and neighbors to attend as well. Remember, the mayoral election isn't until next February. We vote on November 2nd for various offices such as Cook County Board President, County Assessor