Wednesday, November 30, 2016

At 95th an unused disconnected phone #gogreyhound

On Tuesday I noticed the remnants of a phone which about where Greyhound buses used to stop for pick-ups and drop-offs. It's been a few years since I've taken a Greyhound from 95th Street and remember Greyhound personnel perhaps the drivers using the phone. The station where you can buy your tickets was actually in the terminal near the fare controls, however, that changed in the late 90s.

By 1999 at least one of the last few times I took a bus from 95th the actual ticket office was moved to the back where the 29 State bus starts its journey. Sometime after an overhaul which had been in 2002-03 Greyhound began drop-offs and pick-ups at their ticket office in the back of the CTA terminal.

Sometime during the past decade this phone was disassembled and then the line cut. Funny part is that I knew it was there but hadn't thought about it in years until seeing this recently. Whenever CTA finish the new 95th terminal this ancient device will be history.

Monday, November 28, 2016

CTA Red Line Extension Public Comment Period Ending

 An e-mail from the Chicago Transit Authority
  • Public Comment Period Ends November 30
    Red Line Extension Project
    Draft Environmental Impact Statement and Section 4(f) Evaluation

    CTA and Federal Transit Administration (FTA) are proposing to extend the Red Line 5.3 miles from 95th Street to 130th Street. Click here to learn more about the project.

    CTA and FTA have prepared a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) based on the technical analysis of impacts of the proposed project. The Draft EIS documents the benefits and impacts of the alternatives being considered, which include impacts to parks and wetlands. Click here to review the Draft EIS on the RLE Project website. Hard copies of the Draft EIS also are available for review through November 30, 2016. Click here to learn more about reviewing the Draft EIS.

    Comments on the Draft EIS are being accepted until November 30, 2016 at 4:30 PM. You may submit comments via e-mail to RedExtension@transitchicago.com or by mail to Chicago Transit Authority, Strategic Planning, 10th Floor, Attn: Red Line Extension Project, 567 W. Lake Street, Chicago, IL 60661.

    Do you require assistance?
    If you have questions or need assistance, contact Gerald Nichols, CTA Government and Community Relations at 312-681-2710 or GNichols @ transitchicago.com.
    Para más informacion en Español, llame al 312-681-2710
    Customer Information: 1-888-YOUR-CTA (1-888-968-7282)

    Thank you for your continued interest.

    RLE Project Team
    Chicago Transit Authority








Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Carter Temple Pre-Thanksgiving Dinner

This notice is from Carter Temple, at 7841 South Wabash Avenue (79th & Wabash, across from  Taylor Funeral Home)  Chicago, Illinois 60619



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Dear members and friends of Carter Temple, 

We are just a few short weeks away from our 1st Annual "Your Home for the Holiday: Pre-Thanksgiving Community Dinner" on Wednesday, November 23rd! This vision initiative is an opportunity to engage in fellowship and relationship-building with our community neighbors. First and foremost, however, it gives us an opportunity to serve. 

If you know of any individuals or families who are in need of a free meal during the Thanksgiving holiday season, please forward this email or have them call the church office at 773-874-0175 to register for this event. They can also visit www.ctcme.org and click the Thanksgiving banner to register.  The registration link can also be found below. *There is no income or demographic requirement to participate in this meal.*


We are looking forward to a great turnout and expecting wonderful connections to be made during this meal and engagement opportunity! 

Friday, November 11, 2016

2016 elections: Where do we go from here?

The video above is from the fb page of Morehouse College. This was shot at the bell in front of the Sale Hall annex the day after the elections. If you've seen a 20 year old PBS documentary The Morehouse Men, this bell is what a Morehouse Man should answer whenever it rings.

As we see this is one response to Trump's election. It's enough that Dr. John S. Wilson, President of Morehouse College, had to speak on this as you see here. He discussing the fact that of the 600K or so Blacks that reside in Georgia not enough go to the polls.

He's basically responding or has his response to this year's election which saw Donald Trump become the President-elect of the United States. This outcome that many are baffled by has resulted in protests around the nation especially in downtown Chicago.

Does anyone here have any thoughts to offer as far at the recent 2016 elections?

Monday, November 7, 2016

Tomorrow is election day...

Right now I'm recognizing that when many of us go to the polls on Tuesday we're voting in what I see as a polarizing election. In this part of the city many of us will vote for the former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, a minority will vote Trump and another minority still will vote for either a Green Party candidate or a Libertarian Party candidate.

Unfortunately we have something resembling a horse race election with the Presidential race and it's important to note because it's at the top of the ballot. A lot of people will turn out because of who's running at the top of the ballot. Question about tomorrow is whether or not either major party candidate can engender significant turnout.

BTW, often on this blog we want to encourage people to go out and vote. We are non-partisan so it's not very important at least for me to say vote Republican or Democrat. For me I very much hope that you don't just vote according to your respective party, just for the right person for the job.

Either way one thing this blog has often hoped to do is provide you with the information to allow you to go to the ballot box to make the right choice. More likely we do that in time for the aldermanic races more than we do for a gubernatorial race or presidential race. Which doesn't make those races and down ballot races less important.

Either way thanks for those of you who have voted early and we encourage you to go out tomorrow and vote. You may be free to just sit home and not cast a ballot and that does serve the purpose of sending a message. At the same time going out to vote also sends a far stronger message.

Whoever wins the Presidency let's remember while a lot can happen during a four year term, it's still a four year term. In 2020, we get to do it all over again. That's true on the state level and at the city level although in different years.

Either way again we encourage you to vote on Tuesday. As always for those of you who follow this blog thanks for reading.

Friday, November 4, 2016

News from the Red Line extension hearing

Rendering of the west option Michigan CTA station - CTA
 I didn't get to attend the recent Red Line extension hearing this past Tuesday at 211 E. 111th St, however, both the Chicago Tribune and DNA Info went. Judging only by the headlines two issues came up during the hearing the dreaded "G" word and eminent domain.

Concerns over gentrification:
Activist Lou Turner, though pleased the project is going forward after decades of discussion, said he also wished it hadn't taken so long and had concerns that some residents may get pushed out by gentrification once the L goes through.

"There could be unintended consequences," said Turner, director of undergraduate and graduate studies in the African-American Studies department at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. "This area has the largest stock of affordable housing in the city."

Turner said the CTA's draft environmental impact statement on the proposed $2.3 billion project does not address the issue of gentrification, which has driven up property prices by as much as 48 percent in some areas along The 606 trail on the city's Northwest Side. A final environmental impact study is needed to secure federal funding.

"It's a concern, but at the same time I am very happy," said Turner, who like Jones had pushed for the extension with the Developing Communities Project, a group that once included President Barack Obama.
And then of course the properties CTA would need to purchase to build the extension:
Under the east option, the CTA elevated structure would be built east of the Union Pacific Railroad right-of-way from 99th street to 118th street. This option would affect 260 parcels, including 106 buildings, 90 of which are residential, officials said. Under this route, more single-family residences would be affected, officials said.

Under the west option, the line would run west of the Union Pacific Railroad from 99th street to 118th street. This option would affect more commercial and industrial properties, some 205 of them, officials said. About 46 would require building demolitions; 26 are residential.

Those homes and business owners would be compensated, including for moving costs, under federal regulations.

Roseland resident Aaron Mallory discovered his four-unit building could be demolished under the extension.

“It’s an investment property, so I have mixed feelings,” he said.

Mallory said he doesn't want to lose the building, but he also supports an extension of mass transit.
By next year it's said we'll know which option east or west the CTA will pursue as their preferred routing. That way any property owner will brace themselves for the impact. Thus anyone in the way would have to move.

If you want to know more about this project click this link.

Wednesday, November 2, 2016

BallotReady.org helps voters determine their choices

We heard about the resource that BallotReady.org provides on WBEZ (Chicago Public adio 91.5 FM)'s the Morning Shift, and asked them to provide a press release, to help explain their valuable resource in helping you, the voter, make an informed decision. We hope this helps you. If you are in the city, go to ChicagoElections.com for details on where to vote and when.

11/2/16 Chicago, IL–1 Week Until Election Day, Do you know who’s on your ballot?
Nonpartisan voter info guide, BallotReady, covers every race &  referendum.

Covering more than 22000 candidates in federal, state, and local races, BallotReady offers a solution to one of this country’s most persistent election challenges: voters have no reliable guide to help them navigate their entire ballot.

Now, America’s most comprehensive nonpartisan voter guide is live with complete down ballot coverage of  Illinois, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Arizona, Massachusetts, Virginia, Hawaii,  Colorado, and California.

BallotReady co-founders Aviva Rosman and Alex Niemczewski
“Voters have needed this tool for a long time,” said BallotReady co-founder and CEO, Alex Niemczewski. The outpouring of support we’ve received from voters across the country is such a testament to this need.”
“It’s not that voters don’t want to vote informed on all of these local races,” she said. “It’s just that up until now it’s been too difficult.”

It all began in 2014 when Niemczewski decided to research her entire ballot. When her friend, co-founder and COO, Aviva Rosman, ran for local office and reached out for her vote, the two began talking and came to an alarming realization: very few voters are prepared to fill out the entire ballot.

They launched BallotReady in 2015 with funding from the National Science Foundation, the Knight Foundation, and the University of Chicago’s Institute of Politics. With the support of bipartisan advisors Mike Murphy and David Axelrod, BallotReady have since partnered with Patagonia, Governing Magazine, and many other civic organizations to bring nonpartisan down ballot information to 1 million people in 2016.

In a political climate where accuracy seems to have gone by the wayside, BallotReady has developed tech-enabled candidate coverage free of bias and partisanship. Voters can compare candidates based on stances on issues, biography, and endorsements, making it easy to vote informed on every race and referendum.

“We’re working to do something truly unprecedented that has the power to dramatically change how people vote by changing how people think about voting,” Niemczewski said “We think that if more people vote informed we can help make democracy work the way it should.”