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.

St James and Temple of Glory churches to protest THIS Sunday re: #BlackLivesMatter

From Rev. William Hall of St. James Evangelical Lutheran church (8000 S Michigan)

Tomorrow we will march down 79th from State to Eberhart praying on each corner.Our morning worship service will start 10:00am and directly following worship we will march down 79th.Rev. William HallPastorSt. James Lutheran Church

Pastor Fredrick Wilson of Temple of Glory International (311 E. 95th st.) is also planning a protest in conjunction with their 10am service. (Home page = http://www.ttogi.org/) 

I don't usually march or participate in politics but This is IMPORTANT!! I've been inspired by my friends Chris Harris Sr. LaRue I Pastor Kidd and Roosevelt Watkins!!
I need my soldiers tomorrow!!!! Our church is participating in a protest march against the violence and injustice in our nation, from our church to 95th St. & Cottage Grove immediately after church!! We need people! Invite friends! ‪#‎blacklivesmatter‬ (wear or bring comfortable shoes and warm clothes!)
The church MUST take part in this national movement!

Any other churches participating? Let us know BOTH here as a comment, and on Facebook.

Edit: Chatham Fields Lutheran Church at 8050 S. St. Lawrence is also participating.  Their service also begins in the 10 am hour. 

Edit: Temple of Glory is joining Bethlehem Star. See Pastor Roosevelt Watkins' Facebook announcement :

Join us as Bethlehem Star Church will be taking it to the streets, Sunday, Dec. 7th directly after service 1pm. We will gather at 9231 S. Cottage Gr and march to 95th & Cottage Gr. We will be joined by PastorFredrick E Wilson Jr. & Temple of Glory

City Stickers sold at 6th Ward office on June 26

The information below is for city sticker sales at the 6th Ward Service office

• Alderman Rod Sawyer's 6th ward Service Office, 8001 S. King Drive
  Thursday, June 26, 2014, 9am -3pm

However the City Clerk office has a schedule for other city sticker sales at other city ward offices. For example

• Alderman Anthony Beale's 9th ward Service Office, 34 E 112th Pl
  Saturday, June 21, 2014, 9am-2pm 

Check the schedule for city sticker sales at a ward office near you!

Water Main down just West of King Drive!

A couple of Tweets from the Alderman's office, at 3:30pm this afternoon:

A Water Main was hit in #Chatham, water service will be interrupted from 79th - 81st west of King Dr until Wed, call 311 for info

Reports are that the outage should not extend past Prairie but please let me know if your service is affected. service@6thwardchicago.com


More info when available.

You can also check the Alderman's Facebook page or Twitter feed.

Update (after talking with someone from the Dept. of Environment): The homes affected are on the 8000block of King Drive (possible 7900 & 8100 blocks). 200,000 gallons of water filled an excavation hole where 6 gas tanks had been removed.  The owner of the property wanted to make sure the extra possible contaminated dirt was removed, but miscommunication resulted in the water main being destroyed.

Residents can get emergency water today.  Call 311, or, if crews are still there, check in with them at the SW corner of 80th & King.  The plan is re-route the lines from other water mains, so that residents water will not be affected.  If you are able to run your water, then everything is fine (no worries about contaminated water). If it is not, then they are still working on it. Water won't be released into residents homes until safe.

For the actual repair, they have to drain the water from the pit, and only then can Department of Water crews fix the problem. The owner of the property will have to pay for that drainage (the crew at 5pm would take a week with their equipment).  That drainage will haul the water away, as it is unknown if it is contaminated. (Normal leaks would be drained into local sewage systems)

It's been a crazy 24 hours with this damage as well as yesterday's mishap with the dump truck, which took out power lines on the other side of King Drive.

The Forgotten Land: 80th Wabash

Most residents of Chatham are aware that the Chicago Park District owns Cole Park, Brown Park and Tuley Park. But, most are not aware that this is not the only land they own in Chatham. The Chicago Park District also owns a parcel at the Northeast corner of 80th Wabash. There were several initiatives under the Daley administration to clear vacant properties that had become a nuisance to the community and transfer them over to the Chicago Park District to be used for recreation of some sort.

This lot has been vacant for some time now and this is the time the Chicago Park District is preparing their Capital Budget for the next 5 years. So what would you like to see happen with this site?

Click here to take survey

NOTE: The above survey is not endorsed by the Chicago Park District nor The 6th Ward Aldermandic office. The survey results are non binding and will be used for research purposes.

Greater Chatham Alliance postpones meeting until January 28

Greater Chatham Alliance is postponing tomorrow's scheduled meeting due to the snowstorm. The meeting wil take place next Saturday, January 28, at 11am at St.James Lutheran Church, 8000 S. Michigan.

The re-map will be a topic of discussion.

Contact the Greater Chatham Alliance for details = 8202 S. King Drive, P.O. Box 507 , Chicago IL 60619 *** 773.635.6500 *** gcahonor@sbcglobal.net

How did the rain affect you?

Look for a post soon detailing the progress of the sewer we have been following...

But with last night's rain, our basement received the worst flooding in the 4 years we have lived here. Did that happen to anyone else? Or could this problem have been prevented if the sewer work was completed? Or was it just a bad rainstorm?

EDIT: my wife informed me of power outages at 87th Street (including manual traffic control) and at stores such as the strip mall at 83rd & State Street. How have you been affected?

RIP King Bowl

We have discussed King Bowl in the past http://concernedcitizensofchatham.blogspot.com/2010/08/king-bowl-what-would-you-like-to-see.html on the blog. Unfortunately, it appears that the last bowling alley in our community will have to be demolished. I received a call to go stop by King Bowl because it appeared it was going to be demolished. When I got there the front of the building was intact but it appeared the back was being demolished. I went to the back and saw the walls were intact. I went to the front and spoke to some men working and was told the a large portion of the roof collapsed from the storm last week. He further stated that the bowling alley was days away from being sold and the collapse has killed the deal. He would not divulge who the owner is but stated he was planning to replace the roof.

Based on what I was able to see and what I saw at Park Manor Bowl I'm doubtful it will or can be replaced and the building will see the bulldozer.  Per the Alderman's office, no filings for demolition permits or new business licenses have been issued on the property. So we will have to see what happens here. Another piece of history gone.

My concern now is how many older structures(garages, homes, etc) were damaged by the storm last week and the damage isn't noticeable?

Sewers - repairs are under way.

I posted an entry on Sunday (but written on Friday) about the sewer problem on the 80th block of Calumet. 

Between Friday and Saturday, someone came out and spray painted information for an imminent repair, as well as laying planks to cover the hole.

Also, I drove by Tuesday morning, and regarding the problem at Calumet & 83rd, serious repairs are now under way.  Hopefully, their next stop is 8012 S. Calumet and the 7900 block of Calumet.

83rd & Calumet getting SERIOUS repair

St. James Lutheran Church history...

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)

Roderick Sawyer official campaign kickoff

Roderick T. Sawyer will officially announce his candidacy for Alderman of the 6th Ward. His kickoff will be as follows

September 30, 2010
6:00pm - 8:00pm
Caribbean Cove Restaurant
8020 S. King Drive
Chicago, IL

Note: In the spirit of full disclosure this writer is a former neighbor and has retained the candidate in the past for legal representation.

19-year-old woman shot in Chatham on Saturday

From a CBS 2 report with regards to a number of violent incidents from over the weekend:

At 6:41 p.m. Saturday, a 19-year-old woman was talking with a friend in the 700 block of East 80th Street when she was shot in the left foot, police said.

Scam alert - update

My "neighbor", Dick Wilson was back today. He apparently forgot where i lived, and immediately changed his story to looking for somebody. unfortunately, couldn't find my keys in time to follow him, so i missed where he went.

The summary is that he claims to be a neighborhor, and need ssome money because somebody dtole his car battery, and need sot travel or fix his car. He asks for approximately $13, which usually winds up being $20 being scammed.

For details of his scam, please refer to this previous entry.

So let everyone know.. don't give money to anyone claiming to be a neighbor, especially one you do not know FOR SURE if he or she is a neighbor.

Scam alert

Hey Neighbors...wanted to let you know about a man who is allegedly scamming people for money.

A quick summary...

He came to my door, and said "Hi, it's your neighbor, Mr. Wilson,"claiming to be a neighbor across the street, and needed $20 to get his car fixed.

(Someone had supposedly broken into his car, stole his battery).

I had fallen for this type of scam before (by a man, also claiming to be a neighbor and had his car burglarized and damaged; who had a CTA uniform, and "needed to get to work", and would repay the money), and told "Mr. Wilson" about my suspicions about him.

He left, and said he would ask another neighbor for the money.

I followed him, going down the 7900-8000 block of South Calumet, and saw that he did stop by one house, but then left and went down the block, away from his alleged home. He walked around the corner.

I tried to cut him off by going down an alley and walking around, and saw him on the 8100 S. Prairie, talking with a neighbor and his wife.

i was unfortunately too late. He took their money.

His story was that he worked for Crerar Presbyterian Church, and that his car was broken into, and needed some money for repairs. They thought it was the actual custodian, but "Dick" wasn't.

So let everyone know.. don't give money to anyone claiming to be a neighbor, especially one you do not know FOR SURE if he or she is a neighbor.

Unusual real estate for sale

On the 8000 block of S. King Drive, 4 lots are for sale.

According to the description on Sudler and Sootheby's :

Property is an excellent candidate for LEED ND project. oversized, with Garlow homes on the lots. 4 continguous lots,Frontage is 140' Total lots size 21000 sq ft.

The price is only $425,000

The bad part is that there are several trees, which would make development a little more difficult for someone who wanted to build something big.


Here's the contact info if you are interested:



Ray Blaney

Sudler Sotheby's International Realty

Phone 773-419-9499


The MLS # is 07379117


NOTE: There is another property, apparently adjacent, that looks abandoned/foreclosed. With enough capital, one could get a decent part of the block, and establish a large business.

Across the street is empty space that is being used for parking. I don't know the details, but perhaps that could be rented/bought and used as additional parking?

Anyone interested?

8000 & 8100 South Calumet block club meeting tonight

The 8000 & 8100 blocks of Calumet are meeting TONIGHT (Thursday, March 25th) at 6:30 pm at Crerar Memorial Presbyterian Church, 8100 S. Calumet (corner of Calumet and 81st).

We will cast a new vision for the block club, as well as share new information.
If you are just coming form work, please feel free to bring your dinner.

An RSVP is requested.

Contact JP Paulus at 312 (area code), 282- 2809 or e-mail jp ((at)) paulus ((dot)) com to RSVP.

8000 & 8100 South Calumet block club meeting on March 25

The 8000 & 8100 blocks of Calumet are meeting on Thursday, March 25th at 6:30 pm at Crerar Memorial Presbyterian Church, 8100 S. Calumet (corner of Calumet and 81st).

We will cast a new vision for the block club, as well as share new information.

If you are just coming from work, please feel free to bring your dinner.

An RSVP is requested.

Contact JP Paulus at 312 (area code), 282- 2809 or e-mail jp ((at)) paulus ((dot)) com to RSVP.

Police seek missing 15-year-old South Side girl

Just saw this story on the Chicago Breaking News website ...very concerning for me, as the missing girl lives literally 2 blocks from my home.

Police are asking for help finding a 15-year-old South Side girl who has not been seen by her family since she left for her charter high school on Friday.

Brianna "Bri-Bri" Lacey, who lives near 80th Street and South Eberhart Avenue, left for school Friday morning and has not been seen by her family since, according to a police alert issued today. She had been headed to Chicago International Charter School's Longwood Academy Campus, 1309 W. 95th St., police said.

Lacey spends time at locations near her home and also near 105th Street and Yates Avenue, according to police. She also goes by the name Brianna Wright.

Lacey was last seen wearing school clothes: gray pants, a navy blue polo shirt, a navy blue sweater, a brown coat, and black gym shoes.

She is black, stands about 5 feet, 4 inches tall, weighs about 110 pounds and has brown hair and brown eyes, with a light complexion. She also has pierced ears.

Anyone with information regarding Lacey's whereabouts
should call the Calumet Detective Area's Special Victims Unit at 312-747-8274.

8000 & 8100 S. Calumet Block club meeting Dec. 10

The 8000 & 8100 S. Calumet Block club has a meeting on Dec. 10 at 6:30pm. Meet at Crerar Memorial Presbyterian Church, at 81st & Calumet.

This is a very important meetings as not only officers will be elected, but a new vision for the club will be cast.

If you are interested, please contact JP at

Leave a comment as well..

p.s. Note that this is the same time as Alderman Lyle's monthly 6th Ward meeting