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 a sad story that occurred over the weekend in Chatham

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

Back in January 2018, JP Paulus wrote about a pair of homeless sisters. They had camped out on the lot of a now closed Church's Chicken at 87th & King Drive:

They are two sisters who sit under a makeshift tarp tent. They claim it is a church, and that as such, gives them the right to be encamped wherever they are. They seem to sit in 2 chairs under the tarp, stay there all day, and then sleep there. They only occasionally come out.

They have been encamped by the former Church's Chicken on 87th & King Drive. They seem to have been there some time after it closed, and when they took off the Church's sign.So it has been a number of weeks, if not months.

Last week, I noticed that one of the chairs seemed to be down. A few days later, the "tent" hadn't returned to normal.

Now this was back in January. What a difference three months make? Here is something of an indirect update provided by Worlee Glover at Concerned Citizens of Chatham:

Today is a great day for a birthday.

A little self-indulgence...but today is my (JP Paulus) birthday. It's also the same date as the birthdays of a diverse group of people in our community.

First and foremost, it's also the birthday of Levois, the creator & administrator of The Sixth Ward Blog.

Former State Representative Connie Howard (D) shares this birthday.

On the other end of the political spectrum, Former 6th Ward Republican Committeeman candidate Fatimah Macklin shares this day with us as well.

If it's your birthday, Happy Birthday to you! And while we're here.. Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!

Chase Mission Main Street Grant nominees need YOUR vote

Last year, Dat Donut won the Chase Bank Mission Main Street Grant.for small businesses.

The 2015 round of voting has begun, and several businesses in 60619 have submitted their entries.

You can vote for all of them, but only one vote for a specific business from your individual Faceboook Account. To find businesses in our area, click this link and type in 60619 (or other ZIP Code)

Top vote getters as of last Wednesday, 4pm include Piece of the Pie, Brown Sugar Bakery, and Do-Gooder Consulting.

Disclaimer: Do-Gooder Consulting is owned by JP Paulus, a writer here at The Sixth Ward.

Please vote for all of our businesses. We know it's possible for an area resident to get a grant!

Voting ends THIS Friday. We encourage you to also share links on your Facebook page and tag your friends!

• Aaelite Towing Service, LLC.
• Chicago, IL
  60619
• Transportation
• 9 votes
  

    VOTE NOW

• Bonfire Grill LLC
• Chicago, IL
  60619
• Restaurants / Bars
• 123 votes
  

    VOTE NOW

• Brown Sugar Bakery & Cafe
• Chicago, IL
  60619
• Restaurants / Bars
• 49 votes
  

    VOTE NOW

• Do-Gooder Consulting
• Chicago, IL
  60619
• Professionals & Business Service Providers
• 41 votes
  

    VOTE NOW

• DT Sports Group LLC
• Chicago, IL
  60619
• Other
• 0 votes
  

    VOTE NOW

• Kay Ray's World of Learning Academy & Community Center
• Chicago, IL
  60619
• Education & Training
• 24 votes
  

    VOTE NOW

• Kingdom Elegance
• Chicago, IL, IL
  60619
• Other
• 3 votes
  

    VOTE NOW

• Lure Chaussures, Inc
• Chicago, IL
  60619
• Retailers
• 1 vote
  

    VOTE NOW

• medical professionals for home health care inc
• chicago, IL
  60619
• Healthcare
• 87 votes
  

    VOTE NOW

• ORIGINAL SOUL VEGETARIAN
• Chicago, IL
  60619
• Restaurants / Bars
• 26 votes
  

    VOTE NOW

• Small Business Micro System Solutions
• Chicago, IL
  60619
• Professionals & Business Service Providers
• 0 votes
  

    VOTE NOW

• Tea & Crumpets
• Chicago, IL
  60619
• Education & Training
• 2 votes
  

    VOTE NOW

• The Peace of Pie, Inc
• Chicago, IL
  60619
• Other
• 166 votes
  

    VOTE NOW

• Whatsoever Things Are Lovely
• Chicago, IL
  60619
• Other
• 16 votes

- See more at: https://www.missionmainstreetgrants.com/vote/businesses?sort=b.dba&direction=asc&page=2#sthash.UdIYwSSL.dpuf

- See more at: https://www.missionmainstreetgrants.com/vote/businesses#sthash.O7eLNLLa.dpuf

DNA Info on monthly business breakfasts at Fleck's Coffee

JP wrote about this monthly event hosted by Bruce Montgomery at Flecks Coffee a while back. I'm very sorry I missed this write-up from DNA Info about it as well. It was written and published the same day but before the actual breakfast took place. Still worth reading however.

How many of you own businesses in the community and would take advantage of this opportunity? Even if you didn't own a business would you be open to meeting neighborhood entrepreneurs?


The next meeting is scheduled for Friday, November 7 at 8am. Flecks Coffee is located at 343 E. 79th Street, Chicago IL 60640.

The Business First Friday Facebook page is located here.

See you tonight for the Hobbit!

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Just a reminder about tonight!

Join The Sixth Ward blog as we celebrate the birthdays of Levois and JP! The Hobbit's opening night is actually on our birthdays (December 14), and we want to see it at Chatham 14 , at 87th & the Dan Ryan (210 W. 87th)

We will make a special presentation 15 minutes before the movie starts.  So buy tickets for the show at the box office, but make sure you are at the theater 1/2 hour before show time!

We will have a table where we will will share info on the blog. Please stop by BEFORE the show and say hi! We would love to meet our readers (not just from the area, but our blog colleagues such as Uptown Update and others)

The price of the ticket is the same as normal, $9.50. 

Chatham 14 does NOT do online ticketing...however you can buy tickets at the box office up to 1 week before showtime!

To summarize:

1. Be at Chatham 14 no later than 6:30 pm
2. Buy a ticket for the 7:00 show 
3. Stop by our table to say hi
4. Be in the actual theater by 6:45pm, where we'll make some short announcements before they show the trailers..

If this goes well, we'll plan another event for when the new Star Trek movie opens May 2013.

We hope to see you there!

e-mail us at blog (at) thesixthward.us to let us know you are coming, before 3pm.

See you THIS Friday to see the Hobbit at Chatham 14!

.

Join The Sixth Ward blog as we celebrate the birthdays of Levois and JP! The Hobbit's opening night is actually on our birthdays (December 14), and we want to see it at Chatham 14 , at 87th & the Dan Ryan (210 W. 87th)


We will make a special presentation 15 minutes before the movie starts.  So buy tickets for the show at the box office, but make sure you are at the theater 1/2 hour before show time!

We will have a table where we will will share info on the blog. Please stop by BEFORE the show and say hi! We would love to meet our readers (not just from the area, but our blog colleagues such as Uptown Update and others)

The price of the ticket is the same as normal, $9.50. 

Chatham 14 does NOT do online ticketing...however you can buy tickets at the box office up to 1 week before showtime!

To summarize:

1. Be at Chatham 14 no later than 6:30 pm
2. Buy a ticket for the 7:00 show 
3. Stop by our table to say hi
4. Be in the actual theater by 6:45pm, where we'll make some short announcements before they show the trailers..

If this goes well, we'll plan another event for when the new Star Trek movie opens May 2013.

We hope to see you there!

e-mail us at blog (at) thesixthward.us to let us know you are coming

CTA Holiday Train - Join us NEXT Saturday!

* Join JP and his family NEXT Saturday to ride the Holiday Train. Meet us at the 95th street platform at 2pm.  Send an e-mail to blog (at) TheSixthWard (dot) us  for details.  See the following for other times & details to ride the train).

The Chicago Transit Authority has now announced their schedule for the Holiday Train, featuring a special car for Santa Claus, with specific stop times.

I have taken my daughter previous years to the Holiday Train, and it was fun. For just the cost of an El Ride, we were able to get to Belmont and take some photos.

The Holiday schedule will be posted here.

This Saturday, families can take photos from 1:45pm - 2:30pm at the 95th street station.

Some suggestions for those considering doing it this year:

1. Go to the beginning of the trip (whether it's Howard or 95th). Even just 2 stops into the "tour", at 79th, the train was quite crowded already.
2. Plan to be there at least 15 minutes ahead of schedule. It will be a lot less stressful.
3. There is a time to get a photo taken next to Santa and in front of the trains. This includes at the very beginning, but also at 1 or 2 major stops, like Belmont. But note-- it's only about 4 minutes to do so. So take your photos and hop back on! (we wound up missing it after the photos)

The dates, times and directions for the 69th, 79th, 87th and 95th el stops:

(Dec 12 Wed - Northbound)

• 95th = 4:16pm
• 87th = 4:19pm
• 79th = 4:22pm
• 69th = 4:25pm

(Dec 14 Fri - Northbound)

• 95th = 4:48pm
• 87th = 4:51pm
• 79th = 4:54pm
• 69th = 4:57pm

(Dec 15 Sat - Northbound)
photos with Santa: 2pm -2:50pm

• 95th = 3:01pm and 7:26pm
• 87th = 3:04pm and 7:29pm
• 79th = 3:07pm and 7:32pm
• 69th = 3:10pm and 7:35pm

(Dec 18  Tue- Northbound)

• 95th = 5:19pm???
• 87th = 5:22pm???
• 79th = 5:25pm???
• 69th = 5:28pm???

(Dec 22  Sat- Northbound)  <---- i="i">When we'll go!

• 95th = 3pm???
• 87th = 3:04pm???
• 79th = 3:07pm???
• 69th = 3:10pm???

Any families want to meet up this year?  E-mail us at blog (at) TheSixthWard (dot) us

CTA Holiday Train Red Line Schedule

The CTA has posted dates for their annual Holiday Train. The actual hourly schedule will be posted shortly.

The Red Line dates are

• Wednesday, Dec. 12
• Friday, Dec. 14
• Saturday, Dec. 15
• Tuesday, Dec. 18
• Saturday, Dec. 22

On that last date, Dec. 22, The SixthWard writer , JP Paulus, will be there again with his family. Contact him at jp (at) TheSixthWard.us if you are interested in joining us. 

Want to talk about the elections?

Want to talk about the election results? Not just nationally, but more importantly, locally!

Will we see any noticeable effect from write-in candidates? How will other controversial races fare, such at the 10th district State Representative (expelled Derrick Smith) or the 2nd Congressional (Jesse Jackson Jr.)

We'll talk about it tonight through a Facebook Chat event. We'll host it through JP's special Facebook group, Talking Chicago Elections.

Join us (JP Paulus, Worlee, and Levois) tonight at 9pm , and let's talk about it!

JP personal account of Chatham 14 reopening

I edited from the original Chatham 14 reopens post. JP's personal account deserves it's own post, perhaps more of you have your own thoughts about the reopening. Did you go on Friday? What are your thoughts? What did you observe? The words below are JP's

And a personal account from JP Paulus:

My family went to see "Here Comes The Boom" starring Kevin James (sidenote: a great movie to take youth to) this Friday for their 5pm show on Friday, Oct. 26. We tried to see it on October 19, and that's when we broke the news here. What I noticed tonight: more security than usual. At least 2 cars patrolling, and at least 3 or 4 security personnel. The credit card machines were not working; it was cash only for that night. As far as attendance, the parking lot definitely had people, but not as many as on a typical Friday night. At Here Comes the Boom, at 5pm, there were only about 8 people in that theater screen. Despite the low attendance, the staff was very positive and obviously happy to be back in operation.  I also saw someone wanting to go to the Englewood Film Festival. The person at the ticket booth said, she didn't know about whether it was showing. I didn't get a chance to see the resolution of that quest.

Did you go to the opening of Garrett's yesterday?

[VIDEO] Zack Isaacs of 2CN reports from the opening of Chatham's Garrett Popcorn store near 87th & Cottage Grove. Unbelieveable a 1 hour wait for service. Also note that I've seen pictures and this video here shows a line wrapped around this entire building. People were definitely excited for this welcome addition to the retail near that intersection.

OH, I had to wait for JP Paulus of this very blog to be interviewed in this video at about 45 seconds in!

BTW, Worlee was there to take some pictures and made sure to note that Seaway Bank financed the refurbishment of this building. Believe it or not this used to be a KFC for many years, it does not look the same any longer.

In addition, on their FB page Garrett's have their own photo album. Alderman Sawyer is in the album shaking hands with artist Rahman Statik who created the mural on the side of the store.

And then check out their blog. The first customer at 11 AM yesterday was noted and their rewards for being the absolute first in line! Be sure to offer your first impressions of the newest business in Chatham.

Happy Birthday!

OK, maybe a bit self-serving...but St. Representative Connie Howard, The Sixth Ward creator Levois, and myself ( JP Paulus ) all share today as our birthday!

So Happy Birthday everyone!

MEDILL: Blizzard aftermath: Spotty mail delivery for some South Side residents

This Medill Reports article was published on Feb. 10, 2011. Was looking for this one as interest was expressed by the reporter Kelly Zimmerman and our own JP Paulus was quoted in this article. Also noted was the response from our FB page or in fact it's referred to here as our FB community. May be continue to bring issues that affect our community to the forefront.

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!

From all of us here at The Sixth Ward blog...

Merry Christmas!

Happy Kwanzaa!

Joyous New Year!

Bloggers on the radio - WBEW

Worlee Glover & JP Paulus will be on the radio today.

Dan Weissmann of WBEW/Vocalo.org (A Chicago Public Radio station) saw our blog entry on New Calvary MB Church for sale, and inivted us to be guests on their radio show at 11am today to disucss issues prompted by the entry (they have a theme of faith during the month of December).

You can find them at Vocalo.org and listen live through this link.

We hope some of you can listen, and comment on what you're hearing.

Thanks to everyone who is following us.

Happy Birthday!

2 out of the 3 writers for this blog share birthday today, along with St. Representative Constance "Connie" Howard.

JP & Rep. Howard also have causes on Facebook, to celebrate their birthdays. Rather than getting a gift themself, they are asking friends to give to their favorite causes. (These are tax deductible gifts)

Rep. Howard 's request is for Rainbow PUSH Coalition. She says about her cause,

I am a Member of the Illinois General Assembly (State Representative - 34th
District), my initiatives are focused on human rights issues. Because I believe that Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. and the Rainbow PUSH Coalition are dedicated to improving the quality of life for the down-trodden, I am committed to being supportive of this work and am reaching out for others to join me.

JP's request is for a lesser known cause. It's called PURSUE (Providing Useful Resources to Support Urban Education) from Vision Nehemiah. The goal is to help urban youth not just make it to college, but also graduate. This comes in the form of scholarships, advice, guidance, and even care packages.

Hey Guys...sorry for the late notice...and i know the economy has us all scraping by...but i was hoping you could spare some money for Vision Nehemiah's
PURSUE scholarship fund. Since being laid off from the Illinois Student Assistance Commission, I have been giving some of my time & new-found knowledge to PURSUE to help them become more effective. Your donation can help with that as well. Please give what you can...and let me know if you want to help me with this in different ways (such as involving your small group, etc.). THANKS!!!!

We encourage you to take some time and celebrate our birthdays!

Happy Birthday!

Levois, the creator & main writer of this blog, and JP Paulus, assistant writer (mostly of gas updates), in addition to living in the 6th ward, also share the same birthday -- today!

So -- Happy Birthday!