Happy New Year - 2022 recap sort of...

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I spend most of this past year not posting here aside from one post by J.P. Paulus regarding the 2022 primary election for the 1st Congressional District seat which was won by Jonathan Jackson - who's brother Jesse Jackson Jr. served in Congress and his father was two-time Democrat candidate for President Jesse Jackson Sr. And then a few posts within the past two months which are more or less politically inclined and in reference to the 2023 municipal elections for Alderman and Mayor of Chicago.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot is running for re-election. Ald. Roderick Sawyer had recently survived a petition challenge that was dropped by his opponent Willie Wilson to remain on the ballot in the 2023 Mayoral Race. That means Ald. Sawyer will NOT be running for re-election for 6th Ward Alderman. So there is one open seat on the Chicago City Council.

We can include in the many open seats on the Chicago City Council the 21st Ward Alderman. Longtime 21st Ward Alderman Howard Brookins has opted not to run for re-election. In the June 2022 primary he failed in his bid to become a Cook County Judge.

Another thing we have covered over the years on this blog and I think is a notable event that I'm sorry to have not written about it here is the closure of Whole Foods Market Englewood. After a store closing clearout the store had closed on November 13, 2022 having been open since September 2016. We were glad to see Whole Foods expand onto the south side as they announced in 2013.

Heralded as an oasis in the food desert the closure had been announced earlier in the spring of 2022, another Chicago store had also closed this year the DePaul location located steps away from the Fullerton Red Line station. Originally it was advertised as being designed to keep the prices of product down for the people in the community. It was certainly a well meaning experiment.

However, as a customer I have found that most of the time I went there the store was often empty. This is something that was probably appealing say if I go to other stores in the area it would be very busy. However, that's not conducive to keeping any business open small business or a national chain.

I got a souvenir shopping bag from the 2016 Englewood grand opening. I also had bought from there over the years a water bottle I can't find for the moment and another Englewood shopping bag. So I do have some memorabilia from the now closed store which had opened with some excitement. I'll give credit to RAGE, this was their vision and it was realized.

Who knows perhaps the fortunes of Englewood will turn around and as opposed to the small outpost they had for over six years, the neighborhood could one day be home to a flagship similar to the one that opened this past spring at Chicago & State. Something to look forward to as a vision for Englewood.

All the same as I had been sharing on this blog I will be doing more posting at Ninth Ward Chicago. Hopefully do more with regards to the 2023 city elections and especially look at the race for Mayor and perhaps some City Council contests. The Mayor of Chicago is said to be vulnerable however the residents of the city will make that decision as far as who they want for mayor.

I hope that 2023 finds you in better spirits. Happy New Years! 

2014: Year in review and looking forward

It's New Year's Eve and at around this time we often take a look back at some of the stories we've covered during the past year. Many of our 2014 stories will have effects lasting into 2015 and beyond.

To start, it's time for the 2015 elections. We're covering wards 6, 9 and 21 for the 2015 elections and a number of candidates are running in those wards. We're also looking forward to the Mayoral race to see who might be able give Mayor Rahm Emanuel a run for his money.

Speaking of the mayoral race, Rahm would've faced a challenge in his CTU nemesis in Karen Lewis. The Greater Chatham Alliance Chat with Karen forum story in September garnered us at least 900 individual reads. Unfortunately it turned out that she's suffering an illness and was forced to drop from contention as a result.  We'll see who else would be favored instead of Rahm.

Also, back in the community, there was concern over debris left as the result of a fire near 75th/King Drive. While the debris was cleared from the southwest corner, the northeast corner also had a fire in November. The corner contained former Alderman Lyle's ward office and the closed Army & Lou's restaurant. A recent fire in late November now has the neighborhood wondering if there's an arsonist on the loose. Here's another story regarding the fire on the southeast corner of 75th/King Drive.

A major neighborhood financial institution in Seaway Bank & Trust Company has made some changes. This includes a change at CEO and on the bank's board of directors as a result of the bank taking a loss as a result of the acquisition of two failing banks. However, as a result of a restructuring team it turns out the bank actually made a profit. Also 2015 would mark the bank's 50th anniversary.

We're still talking about that Whole Foods Market coming to Englewood at 63rd/Halsted. Even going so far as looking for other retailers to join the Whole Foods there. We're still discussing the "dreaded G word" as Curbed Chicago discussed this development under the tag "gentrification watch".

The Chatham 14 Theaters after going through ownership changes starting in 2012 - from ICE Theaters to Michael Silver in early 2013 - has new owners in the emerging chain Studio Movie Grill. While renovations and a grand opening were scheduled for the past summer now it appears the expected grand opening is expected in winter 2015 according to the SMG website.

Also we talked about the alternative spring break. A group of Morehouse College students led by then graduating senior Corey Hardiman came to Chicago for a week of community service instead of going to much warmer climates for spring break. Hardiman announced his run for 9th ward Alderman but opted to withdraw from that race before circulating petitions.

Surprisingly, the most popular post of the year (and in fact, #4 in our 7 years of posts) was on Jim's Original closing down at 95th. That closing was precipitated by the reconstruction of CTA's 95th terminal. As of Dec. 1 , it garnered 4,411 views (not including those who saw it on a front page). If only our locally owned non-chains received such views ;) (Yes, that was commentary by JP Paulus)

St. Dorothy Elementary School a long standing institution is closing its doors after 50+ years. The school will be merged with St. Columbanus Elementary to form a new school Augustus Tolton, which will be housed in the former St. Columbanus. Augustus Tolton was the first African American bishop in the Catholic church. The move by the Chicago Archdiocese has not been received well by St. Dorothy members, school parents and some community leaders. The new archbishop, Blaise Cupich  has not addressed the group as they requested and has publicly stated the decision to merge is final. He has even gone to the extend to bless Augustus Tolton with Father Bob Miller and Father Matt O'Donnell. The question for 2015 will be,what is the future for St. Dorothy Church and school?

Also, the tragic incident from this summer, the shooting on 79th Evans that killed Chicago Public School teacher/Coordinator Betty Howard, PhD. A gang related dispute that had been brewing all summer spilled onto the streets and a street thug spraying bullets over the street attempting to hit a rival sent bullets through the real estate storefront at 79th Evans and hit Dr. Howard. There was a public outcry that brought a number of civic, business , and religious leaders into the community to discuss violence prevention. Who was not at the table were the community based organizations in the 6th ward. A number of commitments were made but as of yet have not been followed up on. In 2015 we will see if the commitments will be made and will they include local community based organizations. Along with how many community based organizations will survive 2015.

Have we missed anything? Feel free to let us know! Also let us know what you're looking forward to in 2015.

DNA Info neighborhood 2014 in review

DNA Info offers their own year in review with stories they covered in 2014. These stories mainly affect Chatham and Englewood. On New Year's Eve we will offer our own year in review and hopefully you would share yours with us. :)

2013: Year in review

Looking back at the year that was and looking forward to the year that will be.

2013 started off with a special election for Jesse Jackson's old congressional seat. He had resigned after his re-election in 2012 as a result of a federal investigation into his campaign finances. Jackson later pled guilty and sentenced to 30 months in prison and is currently serving his sentence.

BTW, his wife  former 7th Ward Alderman Sandi Jackson also plead guilty to federal charges involving her husband's campaign finances and is expected to serve her sentence of one year after Jesse Jr. completes his sentence. She also had resigned from her Chicago City Council seat.

In connection with that, State Senator Donne Trotter was one of the early aspirants to succeed Jesse Jr. in the 2013 special election until he had been charged with having a gun at O'Hare. One of our more popular postings of the year showed that he took a plea deal in connection with this incident. Before the plea deal he was forced to drop out of the 2nd Congressional district race that was ultimately won by Robin Kelly.

There were some other changes to the political scene on this part of town. Jesse Jr. and his wife Sandi weren't the only ones to go down thanks to federal charges. Former Alderman and Cook County Commissioner Bill Beavers vacated his office as a result of a guilty verdict for tax evasion in federal court. He was ultimately replaced by current Commissioner Stanley Moore.

If you read Worlee's post over at Concerned Citizen's of Chatham we see that there were some success stories in Chatham in 2013. New businesses opened such as Louis Groceries & Fleck's Coffee and also a new garden at 82nd & King Drive as well as Ruggles School being taken off probation. However there were still some negatives such as some new businesses not surviving and continuing conflict among the community organizations.

Also the Red Line underwent not only a reconstruction but a makeover as well. Many stations along the Dan Ryan branch of the Red Line got new elevators for the handicapped. It was closed between May and October of 2013 with promises of faster and more reliable service. During those five months affected Red Line passengers took advantage of free shuttle buses to trains at Garfield on the CTA Green Line. That in addition to a .50 cent fare discount for bus rides south of 63rd Street. In addition to the closure and reopening of the CTA Red Line we're looking forward to 2014 is the start of the reconstruction of the 95th Street terminal which will remain open for its duration!

Also with 2012 ending at the Chatham 14 with the original owners ICE Theaters being unceremoniously evicted. 2013 started with our neighborhood movie house under new ownership and management. Many of the people who worked there and many in our communities are familiar with remain employed there. Over the holiday season they played host to a coat drive and a food/toy drive. Also any movie played there are now viewed in digital projection.

Over in Englewood, we've heard about Kusanya Cafe over the years and it's finally open for business. Also Whole Foods Market is expected to open in 2016 at the corner of 63rd & Halsted. The public opinion is basically anywhere from concern over the "dreaded G word" or how this could be a positive especially a new place to shop or more jobs. Still there were certainly concerns over whether or not Englewood residents can afford to shop there although the current plans are to sell items that are affordable at that location.

Also let's not forget the fight over a railyard expansion in Englewood. Many were active in fighting Norfolk Southern Railroad's attempt to buy off the many property owners in the area they sought to expand their railyard. Ultimately after some apparent concessions, the project was approved by the Chicago Plan Commission.

Speaking of retail, there's a new Walmart Supercenter in Chicago. It opened in the Pullman neighborhood in September. At the last minute direct bus service was implemented into the shopping center where the Walmart resides.

In any event, what shall we look forward to as we enter into the year 2014 here on the south side of Chicago. Also any stories you think we should add to the stories of the year 2013?

Looking back and looking forward...

It's New Year's and now it's time to look at where we've been in 2012 and where we'll be in 2013. A lot of events and circumstances happened this year that was of great significance.

This year the 6th Ward was drawn very differently with some residents going to either the 8th Ward or the 9th Ward. Also, the 6th will have a greater chunk of Englewood. In fact while no one is entirely certain when the remap will come into force many of these residents have in fact voted in precincts in different wards.

This leads to the future concerned of whether or not this blog can continue to cover those communities in new wards, and that lead to my "State of Mind" post last month. Another future concern if this blog needs to change names. Time will tell but no changes as far as that goes.

Also crime became a continuing concern. Our city has recorded 500 murders in 2012. Of course while we may not have seen most of them, there is still a concern over violent crime and other criminal acts. And with that in mind a group of citizens have opted to start their own citizen's safety patrol. Also note Ald. Sawyer's attempt at reaching out to find a solution to the violence that occurs in our communities.

Also it seems Chatham will gain some businesses. Eventually we will have an independent coffee shop and a bar. Hopefully a long time neighborhood restaurant will re-open under a new name. Our neighborhood movie house experienced a "hostile takeover" and remains in business.

Here's one thing to look forward to in 2013, Englewood on the rise in 2013.

Are there any other events of note that occurred in our communities this year? What are you looking forward to in the new year? Who else will be on the rise in 2013?

The New Year: Looking back and then forward

2011 was an interesting year.

First and foremost residents of the 6th Ward voted for change and elected a new Alderman in Roderick Sawyer. Fredrenna Lyle - the previous Alderman who Sawyer defeated - was herself appointed to a judgeship on the Cook County bench.

Chatham still gained attention thanks to a series of columns from Mary Mitchell (she also appeared on TV to talk about her columns) and a series of videos [Part 1 & Part 2] featuring Worlee Glover shot by the real estate website YoChicago. Chatham still has issues with crime a fatal shooting back in October. Just one of many issues to continue to work through going forward.

2010 census numbers show that a little over 181,000 Blacks have left Chicago. Total population loss for Chicago is approximately 200,000. As a result of the census data we see a ward remap fight where the Black caucus wants to maintain their level of representation on the Chicago City Council. The Latino Caucus on the other hand seeks more representation on the city council as Latinos add 25,000 people to Chicago's total population.

BTW, we also continue to celebrate the heroes of our community from Corey Ankum to Thomas Wortham IV to Michael Bailey. And speaking of Michael Bailey we now have a suspect in his murder!

Looking forward to 2012.

Now Chatham residents can ring in the New Year with Garrett's Popcorn and no longer does anyone have to go all the way downtown to make a purchase! Garrett's new store came just in time for Christmas.

Another big thing to look forward to is the Walmart Supercenter near 83rd & Stewart coming next spring. It's will be interesting to see what traffic it will bring and what traffic Garrett's will bring in the future. Let's also note that last summer Walmart had already opened an Express store in the Chatham Market development where the Supercenter will also reside.

We will have another election, President Barack Obama is up for re-election in 2012. Alderman Sawyer seeks his father's (late former Mayor Eugene Sawyer) old position as 6th Ward Democratic Committeeman. And an open seat for 34th District State Representative with several contenders seeking that seat in the state House of Representatives.

Of course the remap issue still hasn't been resolved although those 6th Warders who are concerned about where they stand see what's been filed with the city clerk so far. Since the City Council still hasn't been able to vote and agree on a map we still have no idea what the final ward maps will look like. And there could be either a referendum or litigation on the future ward map.

Is there anything you would like to add to what happened in 2011? Is there anything you're looking forward to in 2012?