Monday, July 25, 2016

Chatham hit hard by the storm

So we had a strong, though brief, storm last night (Sunday July 24).

As I was going through the neighborhood, I noticed that Chatham got hit pretty hard. In particular for the streets of Indiana, Wabash, and along 80th, 81st, and 82nd.

Some of it seems to be due to termites and other bugs, which have rotted away several branches (see the photos).

The damage has been so severe in some places that roads have been closed.












Do you have any stories or photos? Please share!

Or any thoughts on how we can minimize damage for the next time?

Indiana and Wabash streets closed south of 80th

We wanted to let you know ASAP that streets such as Indiana and Wabash are closed, starting at 80th and going south.

We'll write more about some the details, how last nights storm "tore up" some of our streets.




Thursday, July 21, 2016

Marathon Pundit: Abandoned homes of Chicago's violent Roseland neighborhood and my look back

"Once a bustling retail side street, 112th Street sits forlorn."
 John Ruberry's post exploring the Roseland neighborhood had been published on Monday night. I'm sorry it was never shared until now. I had been out of town and all I had was a pair of mobile devices (a tablet & smartphone) to stay connected to the web.

Anyway the Marathon Pundit had been doing some urban exploring around the Chicago area this year. Some of those posts were shared here especially Englewood, Auburn Gresham, and more recently Pullman. Of course he shares some personal anecdotes about some of those places and Roseland was no different.

Ruberry has some connection to Roseland his family left that neighborhood in the 1960s. He talks a lot about "white flight" and "blockbusting". He relates stories of Black children chasing around white children. Of course there's more to discuss from this period in addition to what happened after white flight ended. That is how this area turned out 50 or so years later.

Because Ruberry is Irish and has been documenting various parts of Chicago that are predominantly Black. He always notes the situations he has been in. He gets confronted by people in these neighborhoods. He always notes that he has a plan for these situations.

In my case I'v done my own urban exploring. Look no further than our instagram account where I've shared shots of Pullman and Roseland. And I'd be concerned about running into someone who decides that I took a pic of them and decides to object. Marathon Pundit is brave for what he is doing and sharing this with the rest of the world.

Thursday, July 7, 2016

SCam season again in Chatham!

It's that time again. Scammers are hitting our neighborhood. We last posted this 6 years ago.

Today, they hit the 7900=8100 blocks of South Calumet a few minutes ago. 2 women and a man, with orange jackets, individually going door to door They are asking to see/get your electric and gas bills, and claiming they can remove some charges.

Unfortunately, I wasn't thinking fast enough to take photos... but if you can describe them and the direction they are going, you can call 911 and they can send a patrol car.

Just some warnings/advice --


  • do NOT open the door -- use your screen door.

  • NEVER give them any info

  • Ask them about the last neighbor they talked to -- you will see if they are lying.. and if not, then call and verify with your neighbor! 
  • As soon as they leave, CALL or visit your neighbors! I was able to help one of mine with a quick text

Please forward  to social media and other community leaders. Thanks!

Friday, July 1, 2016

Greater Chatham Initiative

VIA The Chicago Neighborhood

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

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

The money will go into programs to rehab and sell now-troubled apartment buildings, attract middle-income homeowners and operate a new local workforce center that will train and place residents in existing jobs.
And two major Chicago politicians are backing this effort publicly:
Mayor Rahm Emanuel joined U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Chicago) Wednesday to announce an initiative to improve a handful of communities on the South Side, including Chatham, Auburn Gresham, Greater Grand Crossing and Avalon Park.

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

They met at the Chatham Studio Movie Grill, 210 W. 87th St. The main focus of the initiative is to drive investment in those areas and generate neighborhood redevelopment and economic growth.
I've been somewhat interested in seeing what can be done to further invest in Chatham and here's hoping that in the next 5 years we will see some progress. I especially would look forward to seeing 79th Street spruced up in the future. It needs it and can be a wonderful commercial thoroughfare for the community.

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

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