FedEx hiring at Olive-Harvey College #ohc #ward09

Take place on Tuesday, May 2, 2018 (that's today) at Olive-Harvey College at 10001 S. Woodlawn in the Main Foyer. If you to apply or learn more about the positions available at FedEx visit watchasort.com. Refer to ig post below this event will be held from 11:00 AM to 1:30 PM.

Lakeside Center Career & Training Fair at Olive-Harvey College #Ward09

This takes place on May 3, 2018 from 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM at Olive-Harvey (10001 S. Woodlawn Ave). Lakeside Alliance is involved with the future Obama Presidential Library. Refer to the ig post below:

Update on the homeless sisters

By JP Paulus in January 2018

I'll let Worlee Glover's post from Concerned Citizens of Chatham speak for itself. We know them as the homeless sisters, however, we don't know their acutal identity. Hopefully in any further reports we'll find out soon. What is known, is that they have a brother in Ohio.

Previously: What a sad story that occurred over the weekend in Chatham

Crain's: South Works developer says project is still on

[VIDEO] What's going on with the site of the old South Works steel plant?

In a statement addressing a Chicago Tribune report last week in which Barcelona Housing Systems raised questions about the ambitious development's future, Ireland-based developer Emerald Living said Barcelona has not been part of the team behind the project for months and that Emerald "remains very committed to the New South Works project and Chicago."

The statement comes after BHS issued a statement to the Tribune that plans to buy the South Works site, which Emerald and Barcelona signed a contract last year to acquire, are "currently on hold because of soil contamination problems that need to be cleared," the report said.

An Emerald spokeswoman declined to comment on the apparent holdup but said in the statement that BHS played an advisory role when it came to "master-planning initiatives" and that it hasn't had a hand in the process since late 2017.

"The due diligence with respect to all commercial, legal, and environmental aspects of the project was handled exclusively by Emerald Living," the statement said. "BHS stepped back completely from New SouthWorks at that point and have not played any role in the project since."

Both statements cloud the prospects of the $3.5 billion proposal that Mayor Rahm Emanuel touted last year as a "major milestone" in the effort to redevelop the former U.S. steel mill site, which has sat unused since 1992.

The above video I googled searching for pics of the South Works site, is drone footage of the property recording in January 2015.

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:

Tribune: Emanuel plan to get police to buy homes in more violent neighborhoods hasn't netted many sales yet

You know I sort of get the point of this program. How likely is it criminal activity would take place in front of a first responder like a police officer or a fire fighter? Though it's good to know that city workers will still choose Chatham :)

Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s latest attempt to get Chicago cops and firefighters to spread out into the city’s struggling neighborhoods has yet to draw much interest.

Six months after the mayor dangled a monetary carrot to try to get them to purchase homes in high-crime parts of the South and West sides, just two police officers have taken advantage, according to the city Department of Planning and Development. And both closed on houses in the South Side Chatham neighborhood that’s already known as a favorite landing spot for first responders and other city workers.

Emanuel’s program offers $30,000 loans to police officers and firefighters to buy a home in certain more violent areas of the city. If they stay for at least 10 years, they don’t have to pay the city back. It’s an idea employed by former Mayor Richard M. Daley in previous decades that Emanuel restarted last year.

Because of the low participation so far, some aldermen are suggesting changes. But the mayor’s administration wants to see if the program gains steam as the weather warms up and more young officers enter the homebuying market.

The proposal set aside $3 million to pay for the loans and passed the City Council easily last year, but not without skepticism from some aldermen about whether it would spur investment in areas that need it most.

The program was organized to promote homebuying by police, firefighters and paramedics in parts of Chicago’s six most statistically violent police districts, which include portions of several neighborhoods beset by crime and disinvestment like South Lawndale and Englewood. The districts, though, also include less violent parts of the city, notably Chatham.

Vote for your Local School Councils TODAY!

Today, the residents of Chicago can vote for their Local School Council (LSC).

Did you know that?  While we know parents at a particular school would be voting, the residents who live IN a neighborhood school's neighborhood boundaries can ALSO vote, even if you don't have a student there.

The voting is a bit confusing... most schools have 6 parents offices and 2 community offices to fill. But voters can only vote for 5 candidates. Now, they can be any combination of parents and communitiy.

For more information (such as which school you are eligible to vote in), see the Chicago Public Schools website. (Note: due to high interest, the CPS website might be down or nonresponsive. Please check again) The LSC elections map will let you know where you should vote.

Urban Partnership Bank: community shred day

When: Saturday, April 21, 2018
            10:00am-12:00pm 
Where: Urban Partnership Bank
             7801 S State

Here's a posting from Concerned Citizens of Chatham with flyer:

The new 95th terminal is open

[VIDEO] It was probably open since Saturday night when they had workers pass out flyers with regards to the change at 95/Dan Ryan. As part of this extensive rehab project a new south terminal is open and is now where Red Line riders will currently board not only Pace and CTA buses also Red Line trains.

There was work on a new platform directly under the south terminal so trains will be pulling from a different location than usual. The original station house on the north side of 95th will be rehabbed. As a result it is now closed. As you see in the video above there was a ribbon cutting ceremony that shows many state & local officials.

I did go up there around the time of the ribbon cutting to just check out the scene. Snapped a few shots long the way I would've liked to have gotten the inside of the terminal where there was a black curtain blocking the view of the back part of the terminal. There was a police officer posted to that curtain so I chose not to snap a shot of it. I presume this is where the ribbon cutting had taken place yesterday.

One thing that can be said utilizing ig is that Mayor Rahm Emanuel was there for this momentous occasion which you can see in the post below. Feel free to swipe to see a more complete record of Sunday.

What would you like to see at 83rd & King Drive?

83rd/King Dr August 2009

For this post I'm sharing a link to another post about this lot from August 2009. The basic history of this lot that it was formerly a Jewel store and then was a state police facility and finally a church. The lot is currently vacant after a fire destroyed the building that former stood here where the community garden stands.

Fast forward to 2017, Worlee Glover had mentioned in one of his posts on Concerned Citizens of Chatham about a 6th ward resident wanting to get support for a Trader Joe's. Well this could be a great site for a Trader Joe's. Then again who else would want to get their hands on this lot I can only wonder.

Olive-Harvey College open house

Our IG account had just been tagged with this. Olive-Harvey College at 10001 S. Woodlawn Avenue is hosting an open house for their college. You can RSVP at the link you will see in post embed below: www.ccc.edu/ohcopenhouse. It will be held on tomorrow Saturday, April 14, 2018 from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM. Got any questions call OHC at 773.291-6100 or email them at ohcadmissions @ ccc.edu

April 6th Ward senior meeting #6wardchicago

Today is the senior meeting sponsored by 6th Ward Alderman Roderick Sawyer. It takes place at the Alderman's service office at 706 E. 79th Street from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM. Flyer is below in this ig post. Want more info call the Alderman's office at 773.635.0006

Izola White, RIP

I don't know when JP Paulus found out (he did a quick post about this on our FB page Tuesday), however, she passed away recently. She owned a well-known soul food restaurant called Izola's near 79th & Rhodes that had closed in 2010 according this Tribune article. It first opened in 1957, condolences to her friends and family.

Hiring event at Olive-Harvey College #Ward09 #6thWardChicago

Sorry for the late notice of this, however, you may have noticed this on our ig page. Whoever runs the ig for Olive-Harvey College tagged our ig Sunday night. I had reposted sometime on Monday, however you arrived across this information hopefully you're able to attend this event for PepsiCo. Especially if you're looking for a job.

Refer to the flyer above for more details any questions contact career cents at 773.291.6349. OHC is located at 10001 S Woodlawn Ave.

The new 95th station is coming along

Snapped this shot of the new south of 95th terminal  on Friday. And snapped other shots around the station Friday morning and evening. They took some of the fencing away and perhaps it won't be too long before this new station is open. Of course the original north of 95th station remains open and there is some construction there as well.

Here's a post from ig that includes the above pic and additional shots with some video included.

Community hiring event for new Englewood high school #6wardchicago

You might have seen this on our ig page and what you see below is from Worlee's Concerned Citizen's of Chatham fb page. There will be an embed of the flyer below. This new south side high school is for the one to be built on the site of Robeson High School at 6835 S. Normal Blvd.

Community Hiring for New Southside High School

• Friday, April 6
  Kennedy King College
  740 W 63rd
  10:00am-4:00pm

• Friday, May 11
  Ujamaa Construction
  7744 S Stony Island
  10:00am-4:00pm

Call the Public Building Commissioner at 312.744.3090 or visit their webpage pbcchicago.com

Sorry for this late notice on this blog of the hiring event here's hoping you have some time to go Today. If not then you have some time for the May 11th event on Stony Island. Also note that this event was posted to Concerned Citizens of Chatham, The Sixth Ward's fb and ig pages since earlier this month.

Corridor Convo for 71st, 75th, 79th & Cottage Grove April 14, 2018

This evite was posted to our fb page yesterday and is worth sharing. Just remember at the end of January all the bloggers was there for the launch of Chatham Center Chicago. The latest concept to market Chatham and promote local businesses. It doesn't hurt that this launch was held at our newly revitalized local movie house.

• Date and Time
   Saturday, April 14, 2018
  10:00 AM – 12:00 PM CDT

• Location
  Urban Partnership Bank
  7801 South State Street
  2nd Floor Conference Room
  Chicago, IL 60619

Please join us on Saturday, April 14, 2018 to hear creative ideas for how to bring more vitality and opportunities to Chatham Center Chicago commercial corridors in the Greater Chatham area. In January of 2018, the Greater Chatham Initiative invited UIC urban planning and policy students (College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs) to conduct a studio course about revitalizing commercial corridors. Over the last 3 months, these 17 students have collected data and conducted fieldwork to assess conditions. The students have prepared short presentations to share their ideas for how the corridors can be improved. You are invited to see their ideas, and share your feedback. The event is free but registration is strongly suggested.

#MLK50

It's hard to believe it's been 50 years already. Back on this date in 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. Needless to say there were events held on this day to mark his untimely demise. At this moment I don't plan to pour through them.

However, I will share this quote from Dr. King shared via ig from Harold Washington College, one of the City Colleges of Chicago. Perhaps he's right on the issue of education intelligence plus character. As we remember the movement he led and gave his life for we could ponder this quote. Of course that quote among others!

Reason: Little Pink House

[VIDEO] As stated with an earlier video from Reason magazine, one of the things I pride myself in doing with this blog is presenting ideas that get you to think. With that last video it illustrated ways that bigotry can prove to be expensive and proved to be an opportunity for an enterprising real estate entrepreneur in the 20th century.

This video takes a different track. John Stossel in his recent video with Reason talks about eminent domain. You may have heard that term fairly recently with regards to the former Dominick's on 71st/Jeffrey as there was significant interest in getting another grocery store to that space.

What Stossel discusses in this video is a movie called Little Pink House. It's about a woman who lost her house in an eminent domain fight that went all the way up to the Supreme Court of the United States. Basically the city of New London, Connecticut wanted to condemn an entire neighborhood for redevelopment which as you see in the video above still hasn't happened even in 2018. You can read up on the Supreme Court case here.

Could this be how many low-income Chicago neighborhoods can ultimately become relatively affluent neighborhoods? Is this what could happen to Englewood or Woodlawn? Is it what's happening with Bronzeville?

Let me elaborate with Bronzeville, that area for many years contained those notorious housing projects that have been demolished in the course of the past decade. Now granted these were government housing projects - and certainly not a case of eminent domain - that unfortunately trapped crime, social issues, etc and now the land where these projects stood are up for grabs. Will the future developments on these lands be housing for the rest of us or will they be for the affluent?

Feel free to chime in on what you think about the video. Better yet feel free to chime in on the "dreaded G word".

Chicagoland Hospitality Sector Center Employer Hiring Event

Wednesday, April 4, 2018
Chicagoland Hospitality Sector Center
218 S Wabash
9:00 am - 1:00 pm

Refer to embed from Concerned Citizens of Chatham below for more details.

Any questions call Herman Jackson at 312.281.7925 extension 19

Another shot of 69th & Wentworth

This was posted to the instagram profile called Vintage Tribune. In January I showed another pic of the buildings that used to stand at 69th & Wentworth. This was where the former Kennedy-King College stood before moving to 63rd & Halsted in 2007.

The Masonic Hall at the northeast corner of 69th Street and Wentworth Avenue is among buildings to be razed under a $10.2 million Englewood urban renewal plan in 1960. "The plan proposes face lifting of the aging neighborhood thru the techniques of spot clearance and rehabilitation of buildings in the south side community…", wrote the Tribune on Sept. 29, 1960. #vintagechicago #englewood #lostchicago #urbanrenewal #oldmasonic

A post shared by Vintage Tribune (@vintagetribune) on Mar 27, 2018 at 10:42am PDT

If only for this urban renewal project from the 1960s would this corner have remained a very active one. And also let's not forget that during the 1960s the Dan Ryan expressway was built so some changes were bound to happen anyway.

Reason: Whole Foods’ John Mackey on Amazon Merger

[VIDEO] Whole Foods Market moved onto a formerly vacant corner on 63rd/Halsted in late 2016. As you know it had been announced in late 2013 and took roughly three years to plan and build. People were concerned about "the dreaded G word" and the high prices and what not although lets not forget Englewood had been considered something of a food desert.

Anyway this helps justify sharing this video from Reason magazine. Nick Gillespie interviews Whole Foods founder and CEO John Mackey. He talks about last year's merger with Amazon and how it came about. He also notes how he went from a company founded by a bunch of hippies to becoming a company associated with yuppies.

Last year I noted briefly the merger between Amazon & Whole Foods with one major side-effect which is the lowering of prices for many items. For example the prices for rotisserie chicken were cut, so there's your dinner for the whole family if you will. Also say prices for some produce items such as bananas went down. Those are the only examples I can recall from last year, although only those of you who shop at Whole Foods regularly can say for certain whether or not you believe the merger as far as prices have proven to be a good thing.

BTW, I also want to note the events that go on at Whole Foods that occasionally shared on our ig page. Of course the Englewood store's long running 5 after 5 which is a wine tasting event were for only $5 you can often enjoy a wine sold at the store and an appetizer. This event normally starts at 5 PM on Fridays. If you to see a sample of what goes on at such an event then let's look at Bruce Montgomery who was a recent 5 after 5 earlier this month.

Vallas for Mayor...

Mayor Daley's former CPS CEO and Lt. Gov. running mate with Gov. Pat Quinn in 2014 and most recently involved with Chicago State University where the CSU cut ties. Wednesday it was in the news that he's throwing his hat in the ring to run for mayor in 2019.

Vallas joins Mayor Emanuel's former police superintendent Garry McCarthy in the 5th floor sweepstakes. The Sun-Times has the exclusive.

EXCLUSIVE: ‘He’s in it to win’: Paul Vallas joins mayoral race, @Sneedlings writes. https://t.co/bvGdb1R29z

— Chicago Sun-Times (@Suntimes) March 28, 2018

Vallas, who is calling his campaign “Paul Vallas for Chicago,” now joins a contentious list of candidates — including Chicago’s former top cop Garry McCarthy — hoping to unseat Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

“The filing will include a list of Vallas’ mayoral campaign officials,” said Odelson, which includes retired Cook County Circuit Court Judge Marilyn Johnson as chairperson of Vallas’ campaign and Dean Vallas, Paul’s brother, who will be treasurer of the campaign committee,” said Odelson, who was the election lawyer for Richard M. Daley during his successful first bid for mayor.

“I believe Paul can find the solutions to help Chicago’s crime, budget and school problems without the gross involvement of politics,” said Odelson.

“We may be coming to a time when many progressive groups come together and do the right thing,” he added. “I’m going to invest myself in Paul and help him through this process of getting on the ballot; winning outright in February or getting into the runoff.”

Sneed hears Vallas — who was invited weeks ago by mayoral hopeful McCarthy to a hush-hush sit-down to discuss their mutual enmity of Emanuel — has also conferred with McDonald’s franchise millionaire Willie Wilson.

Hmmm, so potential mayoral contenders conferring to defeat Emanuel. The plot begins the thicken!

McCarthy for Mayor. What do you think?

I wanted to write about this last week. It was already in the news that former police chief Garry McCarthy is running for mayor of Chicago. He was looking at it and now he dropped his hat in the ring? Can he get signatures on his petitions? Does he have good lawyers on hand to defend against challenges? Most important when he does get on the ballot, does he have support?

Well one problem with support, Rich Miller opined on this. Can McCarthy raise the money necessary to take on Mayor Emanuel?

Does McCarthy even have a path to victory? https://t.co/VDj2e2v77d

— Rich Miller (@capitolfax) March 22, 2018

A conservative Democrat in Chicago who “loathes” raising money? He’s gonna run to the right of campaign cash-loving neo-liberal Rahm Emanuel in that liberal city without loads of dough? Good luck with that, dude. Two Chicago-based members of the Cook County Board lost their re-elections Tuesday after fighting hard against the pop tax. And he wants to run as a law and order guy, but a legalizing marijuana referendum just got 73 percent in the city.

Also last week Lynn Sweet speaks with McCarthy about his bid. A series of videos shown on the Chicago Sun-Times' YouTube channel. Let's start with why McCarthy who began his police career in New York City, then moved on to Newark, New Jersey, and then was appointed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel in Chicago by 2011. [VIDEO]

And this is probably why many Blacks may be hesitant to support McCarthy and the reason is Laquan McDonald. He attempts to answer this with Lynn Sweet [VIDEO]

March community meeting #Ward09

For those of you who live in Chicago's Ward 9. In a different communication it was also referred to as a townhall meeting.

When: Tuesday, March 27, 2018
Time: 6:30 PM to 7:30 PM
Where: Pullman Presbyterian Church
             550 E. 103rd Street

And as always if you seek more information call the Alderman's office at 773.785.1100

Snapshots along 75th Street #6wardchicago

In 2009 there was a infrastructure project on 75th Street where the city had to dig out some sewer lines which resulted in traffic being shut down and reopened to great hoopla and was declared a "Black Wall Street". Although it seems that has died down since then I see this area as a center for dining & night life.

Feel free to click on the pics for a larger resolution.

This pic is a professional building for sale. Earlier in the year there I posted about a listing for this building. Perhaps a place for doctors, lawyers, or business people. Granted I noted that this is a street great for dining & night life however bear in mind this is a street that has a number of retail establishments also.

Stanley Moore: The Reintroduction of Rope a Dope

Stanley Moore

Worlee Glover wrote this post on Wednesday over at Nextdoor. I realize this is probably what many frustrated voted don't want to hear. You can run for office or be an incumbent and subject yourself to events that may prove not to be favorable. So what commissioner Stanley Moore did was use respected politicians and avoided events that were unfavorable for him. As a result Moore is assured of another term as a county commissioner.

Worlee's words are below!

Capitol Fax: Pritzker and the black vote

JB Pritzker had a strong victory in Tuesday's election. It's safe to say the general election in November will see two wealthy men face-off against each other so get ready for Gov. Bruce Rauner versus his challenger Pritzker. With those wiretaps that came out during the course of the primary with long ago conversations with former Gov. Rod Blagojevich proved to be controversial however, not enough to keep Black voters from choosing Pritzker.

Hence Rich Miller's post:

Pritzker and the black vote https://t.co/PKD7DiZaaK

— Rich Miller (@capitolfax) March 22, 2018

From Miller's post he shares a tweet that has graphics of who voted for whom in the Democrat primary on Tuesday across Chicago. Most of the areas that voted for Pritzker is safe to say are the mostly Black neighborhoods of Chicago.

75th/King Drive: What would you like to see here?

The today's post is to ask one simple question, "What would you like to see here?" The collage of 75th/King Drive was posted to our ig page and one comment by Worlee Glover stated simply that in 6 months this corner will look a lot different. We can consider the changes up to the point when I snapped these shots last Wednesday.

In 2014 we featured the corner shown in the lower right of the above collage. This was home to a store and offices of state Representative Andre Thapedi that fell victim to a fire. Once the ashes of the buildings were cleared finally now there's this vacant lot on this corner.

In the lower left another building was said to have fell victim to another fire. While I'm not a building inspector, the fact that it's still standing shows that it's potentially salvageable. It's a building looking for redevelopment in the near future and consider that next door to that building are two thriving businesses one of which - 5 Loaves Eatery - has gotten a lot of notice lately on local media.

In the upper right is a Dunkin Donuts/Baskin Robins store. The building was formerly a KFC and much more recently a JJ's fish. The choices of business to take up shop here has only reopened the worms of what types of business would we prefer in our communites. Better question as increasingly 75th seems to be a center of food businesses in our community, what types of restaurants would we prefer to frequent? What healthy foods would be like to eat in a local restaurant?

Here's the ig post of the above collage

WBEZ: What’s A Democratic Ward Organization?

We just had an election yesterday and the day before WBEZ educates us on these fabled ward organizations. Of course to bring it down to reality your alderman may be a Democrat ward committeeman or woman - such as Ald. Roderick Sawyer (Ward 6), Ald. Michelle Harris (Ward 8), Ald. Anthony Beale (Ward 9), or Ald. Howard Brookins (Ward 21).

Another controversy to bring up is how they were able to appoint - not through a special election where the voters choose - representatives to the Illinois General Assembly for example. These organizations and the committeman who run them may not have the clout they did say during the 1960s, but they still have clout regardless.

Anyway, let's allow WBEZ to educate us

While ward organizations still play a role in turning out voters on election day, they’re not the political force they used to be. https://t.co/fHPF637qZy

— WBEZ (@WBEZ) March 19, 2018

Each of Chicago’s 50 wards has a Democratic party representative called a ward committeeman or committeewoman. Elected every four years, they serve as the party’s link to the patchwork of neighborhoods and communities that makeup Chicago. In more than half of the city’s wards, the committeeman and the alderman are the same person.

“Just to open up our doors on election day, it costs you on average $10,000,” said Ald. Walter Burnett (27th Ward), speaking at a recent press conference to defend Pritzker’s gifts to ward organizations. The candidate gave Burnett’s own group $15,000 on March 5.

But Burnett said that’s nothing unusual and ward organizations need those donations from candidates to survive.

“You literally have to pay people to stand outside in the cold and pass out literature and convince people to vote,” he said. “Not one person is gonna be putting up a sign, not one person is going to be passing out literature for [a candidate] unless he’s paying them.”

Read the whole thing to know the history of these often little know elected offices. As you may or may not know each ward has not only Democratic committeemen they also have Republican committeeman (although for the most part in Chicago the Democrats are solidly the majority). Every year during a presidential election such as 2016 and we'll do it again in 2020 each of the 50 wards will elected a committeeman or committeewoman. As stated these positions don't have the clout they used to, but they're still very important!

Tribune: Ghost of old 'L' branch haunts the Obama center #63rdL

We've talked about this in the past. There is a group eliciting support for ultimately restoring Green Line service to Stony Island which used to be the terminal until 1982. Check out this map from Chicago-L.org showing the East 63rd branch.

Via Chicago-L.org

So anyway a Tribune article revisits the closure and demolition of this line past the current Green Line terminal at Cottage Grove.

When the Obama Presidential Center opens, visitors can get to it by car, Metra, bike or bus, but not by that most iconic form of Chicago transportation — the “L.”

Ghost of old 'L' branch haunts the Obama center: https://t.co/ANxIyiE4GQ (via @marywizchicago) pic.twitter.com/6yTbtIdLu5

— Chicago Tribune (@chicagotribune) March 19, 2018

When the Obama Presidential Center opens in about three years, visitors can get to it by car, Metra, bike or bus, but not by that most iconic form of Chicago transportation — the “L.”

That’s because a Green Line branch that would have led right to the center was torn down in 1997, after some community leaders complained that it was hurting development.

It is one of those Chicago decisions — like the selling of the city’s parking meter franchise — that leaves posterity scratching its head.

“It would have been so great … ” said Arthur Lyons, director of the Center for Economic Policy Analysis, which had done research in support of keeping the branch. “It was always our view that it would have helped development in that corridor.”

Let us continue how this came to be got more interesting:

You are NOT getting the people you are voting for as state representative and senator!

Sen. Trotter's name is on the ballot even though he has resigned from the office

For those who live in the 34th district (for state represenative) and 17th district for state senate: Did you know that the people you might be voting for  state represneative and state senator will NOT be the people who will take office for the term you are electing them for?

State Senator Donne Trotter resigned on January 19, 2018. This was essentially just in time to meet the deadline for people who wanted to register as a write-in candidate.

He will NOT be in office again. 34th district State Representative. Elgie Sims was chosen by Democratic Committeemen (NOT the vote of the people) to replace Trotter. Sims was in turn replaced by the same committee (and NOT the average voter)  by Nick Smith as State Representative.

The Chicago Tribune wrote an editorial about this voter omission in January.

What do our readers feel about this? Are you bothered by it? Do you feel it is a form of voter suppression? Support it? Please let us know

Time to vote!

https://chicagoelections.com/

By the time this is posted in the morning polls will have been open for over two hours. If you live in Chicago's 6th Ward or even portions of the 9th Ward you may have noticed some changes as far as who represents you in the state senate and the state house.

While you may expect Elgie Sims to be running for re-election to his old 34th state representative district, now he's the current senator for the 17th state senate district. The previous senator Donne Trotter resigned back in January. And of course Sims' replacement in the state house is one Nicholas Smith.

BTW, if you're unsure who's on the ballot before you vote go to this page at Chicago Board of Elections to find out who will be on the ballot. You will have to enter your address to find the ballot for the precinct where you reside.

We do have a contentious primary for 4th district Cook County commissioner. It seems many aren't too happy with Stanley Moore. Question is will the three challengers be able to unseat him on the Cook County board.

Finally, how many of us have been paying attention to the primary for Governor? Do you think JB Pritzker - in spite of his long ago comments with regards to Black politicos on a wiretap - will be able to pull out a victory with his vast fortune.

As always we encourage you to vote today. Take that time out to cast a vote, and of course make your choice in this year's election. After tomorrow we have a long way to November for the general election.

Simeon students trash Chatham Market Walmart on 83rd last Thursday

[VIDEO] I'm with Alderman Howard Brookins (Ward 21) where Simeon and the Walmart is located. Ald. Brookins years ago was at the front of a battle to bring Walmart to the south side and by 2011 it was time for a ground breaking to build this store. Indeed it's hard work to bring national retailers to south side neighborhoods as Chatham only for this activity to happen.

As you know last week there were nationwide protests against guns last week and high school students around the nation took part in demonstrations. Unfortunately there were a group of young people who took advantage of being allowed to take part in these protest to engage in this form of mayhem. Not just outright trash the local Walmart store, also to engage in small time theft.

From FOX 32:

Chicago police say it started when students at neighboring Simeon Career Academy were allowed to leave the school for 17 minutes to take part in the nationwide walkout to protest guns.

Police say between 40 and 60 of those students crossed the street and trashed parts of the store, knocking over product displays, yanking items off shelves, breaking packages and stealing small items like chips and candy.

In a statement, a Chicago Public Schools spokesperson says: "We are very concerned by these allegations and we are reviewing the matter."

Some of the students that FOX 32 talked to at Simeon say they're angry that a walkout intended to promote peace instead led to vandalism and violence.

In my mind, now this can lead to questions as to whether or not students should be allowed to leave school to engage in activism. I'm all for our young people engaging in various aspects of their civic duty which is certainly to protest, however, we can never tolerate unfortunate incidents such as this.

87th Street in March 2018

On Wednesday I had the opportunity to reenact the shots taken on New Year's Eve 2007 on 87th Street. Back in January I did a throwback post with an old photo of the Seaway Bank sign from 2007.

Unlike back in 2007 when these shots were taken on a simple point and shoot digital camera, these photos were taken on my iPhone with an olloclip lens.

Click on all pics for larger resolution.

Across the street is a Family Dollar store. If you can see the grand opening sign near the front entrance don't let that fool you, this particular store has been open since sometime in 2007. A local community organization wrote in their newsletters that year that they wanted a grocery store at this location. Even 10 years later no grocer has stepped forward to turn this back into a grocery store. Before 2007, this space was home to a locally owned Food Basket store.

 Moving along on 87th Street, here is a branch of Illinois Service Federal. Earlier in 2007 it was the site of a fatal bank robbery which made the local news. A teller was killed by gunfire during that violent incident. Since then ISF has gone through their own changes with a new ownership group hailing from Ghana who now owns this Black-owned financial institution.

Finally got a shot of the new sign at the former Seaway Bank which sports new signage because of it's ownership under Self-Help Federal Credit Union. Seaway Bank itself failed in January 2017 and was purchased in a FDIC auction by State Bank of Texas. Then in May 2017 Self-Help took over deposits and branches of Seaway after SBT sold them to the credit union.

There are more photos from 87th Street that I would like to post in the near future. At least on a much nicer day closer to Spring was I finally able to retake these shots. Of course there are other changes on 87th Street worth noting not captured in these three shots.

Also here is a collage posted to Instagram on Friday of the above three photos.

Lt. Gov. candidate at 95th on Friday

 QUICK NOTE: If you have a campaign event on the south side you would live for us to share for our audience feel free to send us an e-mail at blog @ thesixthward.us. Feel free to reach out to us on our social media pages facebook, instagram, and twitter.

Ra Joy is running for Lt. Gov. with Chris Kennedy in next week's primary election. You might have seen Ra Joy on CAN-TV as he was one of the rotating hosts of Political Forum that airs on CAN-TV 21. On Friday he was seen campaigning at the 95th terminal shaking hands and speaking with commuters. The video of this was posted to his ig page.

We cannot let machine politics stand in the way of meaningful progress. I enjoyed starting the day at the 95th Red Line station and connecting with voters.

A post shared by Ra Joy (@_rajoy) on Mar 16, 2018 at 10:56am PDT

Here's the most recent edition I could find of Political Forum with Ra Joy as host which aired in October 2016. Incidentally he appeared as a candidate on Political Forum earlier this month. Here's a program with him as host. [VIDEO]

Crain's: House flipping is changing the South Side - for the better

I've been meaning to post this article from Crain's this week. Dennis Rodkin of Crain's discusses how "house-flipping" in some south-side neighborhoods are changing them for the better.

When you think about it better this than a number of homes boarded up. I almost mentioned the foreclosure crisis, however, when that crisis hit that was over a decade ago. Perhaps the house-flipping is another after effect of that economic crisis that usher President Obama into the White House.

Anyway here's a bit of the article:

Ten years ago, a map of ZIP code 60629, a swath of the city just east of Midway Airport, was filled with hundreds of red dots indicating foreclosed homes. Now, thanks to a decadelong wave of rehabbers flipping distressed homes, that same area has homes that have been refreshed and resold.

In 60629, which encompasses parts of Chicago Lawn, West Lawn and Marquette Park, 692 homes have been flipped in 10 years, the most in any Chicago-area ZIP code, according to figures provided exclusively to Crain's by Attom Data Solutions. The data cover about 300 ZIP codes in the region, for 10 years, 2008 through 2017, a period in which more than 41,900 Chicago-area homes were flipped.

Five ZIP codes—four on the city's South Side and one in suburban Bolingbrook (see the chart)—emerged as the epicenters of home flipping, each of them with more than 500 properties going through the process in the past 10 years.

If you see the graphic above we see the zipcodes that include Auburn Gresham, Roseland, and West Pullman are among those neighborhoods with the most homes flipped.

"When you see these houses all redone, you might say, 'I can live here. I can help build this community back'" https://t.co/qgS4YeJDR4

— Crain's Chicago (@CrainsChicago) March 13, 2018

Are there houses in your neighborhood being flipped? Are there houses in your neighborhood worth flipping?

1956: 63rd & Halsted

Found through the ig account for Vintage Tribune. You will see vintage photos taken from Chicago Tribune photographers over the years. You see how active and vibrant 63rd & Halsted was during the 1950s. Long before the changes would occur by the late 1960s and 1970s.

A view through a bus window shows the crowded and vibrant Englewood shopping district on 63rd Street near Halsted Street in 1956. #vintagechicago #englewood #englewoodshoppingdistrict #63rdstreet #thrivingenglewood #rebuildenglewood

A post shared by Vintage Tribune (@vintagetribune) on Mar 14, 2018 at 3:05pm PDT

Voyage Chicago: Meet Asiaha Butler of R.A.G.E.

The article was actually shared to our FB page by JP Paulus last week. Time to share this on the blog with this quote:

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.

My journey started when I decided to relocate from Chicago back in 2008, after my block here in Englewood was in turmoil. A bullet went through my door, someone had climb through my daughter’s window attempting to rob us and there was shootings happening on a nightly basis. I was afraid from my life and the life of my family. After reviewing the housing market in Atlanta where most of my family lives, I was ready to say goodbye to Chicago. Then something hit me when I looked out of my window at four young children playing in a vacant lot filled with bottles, glass and dirt. That moment I decided, that instead of leaving Englewood, I need to stay and add value in order to make a change in my neighborhood.

I didn’t know where to start so I just volunteered everywhere in Englewood. After volunteering, I became frustrated that there was not many event or activities for youth on the Saturdays, which was my day off from my day job and since my husband is a DJ, I felt our first move should be creating a youthful space for young people on Saturdays. My goal, was to connect our young people with our elders, whom were the ones hosting many young programs. So we started showing a series of documentaries, inviting young and older people for “Docs & Dialogue” at libraries, parks, and other locations. We chose films to spark in-depth conversation about provocative issues such as misogyny in hip hop, violence in video games, and the ways societal ills from slavery to drugs have affected black women over time. Then in 2010, I founded alongside two other Englewood residents, a youth journalism program called Media-N-Motion, where we led young people in making videos, writing articles, and publishing a newsletter examining how Englewood was portrayed in the media.

During this time, I met countless residents who wanted more for Englewood who wanted to be a part of the change, like I did. In November of 2010, I brushed off my association experience from my day job and co-founded R.A.G.E. or Resident Association of Greater Englewood. Our mission is to mobilize people and resources to force a change in the community and our primary focus areas are Education, Youth Development, Economic Development and Civic Empowerment. We started with 13 members and looked for ways to empower leadership within the community to help take on the complex problems that impact and stigmatize Englewood. Now our association has more than 260 members with many achievements under our belt, ranging from being the civic pioneers of the Large $1 Lot program, working to repurposing vacant schools and continuing to connect empowerment tools to residents.

A year ago, after 16 years I decided to quit my day job at a real estate association to work on the efforts in Englewood full-time. I opened the R.A.G.E. headquarters in the building I owned across the street from my home, adjacent to a once-vacant lot that was my turning point that I bought from the city for $1. I use my lot for community events, place-making activities, meetings and recently a job fair that brought over 400 attendees.

My journey continues as I served as the architect and lead curator of Englewood Rising, a recently launched neighborhood rebranding campaign actively working to change the community’s narrative. In addition to boosting neighborhood pride among residents, the campaign also aims to show those outside Englewood that the violence and crime and poverty they hear about on the news is only one part of the story. I recently founded my own real estate development group to develop and rebuild the neighborhood with a mission to increase home ownership and work to counter the fears of gentrification. It is my personal mission to continue to love on and show the beauty of Englewood from the people, the movements, the assets, and opportunities. I coined the name “Mrs. Englewood”, because I am truly married to my community, I have made personal vows to see our community revitalized and rebuilt with residents leading every step of the way.

If you're looking to make a different in your communities, hopefully this inspires you. I encourage you to read the whole thing.

Jackson Park Highlands neighborhood expecting more notice with #Obama library

So as Leon's Barbecue gets notice with it's return in the Woodlawn neighborhood - and armed with knowlege that the Obama library will be coming soon to Jackson Park - another neighborhood south of Jackson Park begins to gain some notice. That neighborhood is Jackson Park Highlands. Which was seen in YoChicago's video back from 2010. [VIDEO]

Anyway with the accompanying tweet from Tribune Graphics that contains a map of Jackson Park Highlands and a link to the recent Tribune article by William Lee to how home sales are booming in the Highlands.

Ahead of Obama center arrival, home sales are booming in small enclave of Jackson Park Highlands https://t.co/MSJaTCGR8q via @MidnoirCowboy pic.twitter.com/NykLbOByFf

— Tribune Graphics (@ChiTribGraphics) March 9, 2018

And one of the people quoted in this article and the video you will see when you click to the article is Ms. Alisa Starks who formerly owned the Chatham Theaters currently owned and operated by Studio Movie Grill:

[Alisa] Starks, a lifelong South Shore resident who moved into the Highlands as a new mom in 1997, is hoping to be part of the resurgence with plans to build an entertainment complex that includes a dine-in movie theater, restaurant and bowling alley on the site of the old ShoreBank branch on Jeffery Boulevard in May 2019.

But the businesswoman, who was part of the team that founded the former ICE movie theaters in Chatham and Lawndale, said some of her hardest work has come after she was drafted to chair a special business development task force within the homeowner’s association. She and other Highlands residents are trying to learn what type of businesses and services their neighbors want while challenging them to get actively involved.

Highlands residents are insulated not only from the violence of the outer community, they’re also unaffected by the lack of options many other South Shore residents face, Starks said. Most if not all Highlands residents drive and can travel to Hyde Park and other places for grocery shopping and dine-in restaurant service, while poorer residents must rely on public transportation.

Starks blamed much of the disconnect between the Highlands and the outer community on a lack of communication, involvement and shared purpose between Highlands residents and community organizations.

“We’re complaining (about the disconnect). We’re sitting here watching it happen. We’re letting it happen!” Starks said.

The article starts off with referring to this area as something of a secret not many people know it exists. Technically speaking it is within the South Shore community area. As you see from the map the enclave is roughly within the area of Stony Island to the west, 67th to the north, Jeffrey to the east and 71st to the south. If you believe this video by Victor Maggio, the rest of South Shore is a very violent community. Of course the crime is noted in the article and I'm sure many residents doesn't want the crime from outside the community to affect it.

If the Obama library brings in more tourist to this part of town this neighborhood is in luck as the Highlands is a city landmark district. Out of town tourists can come here and check out the nice homes.

DNA Info & Chicagoist could be under WBEZ in the future....

If you've been browsing around at DNA Info Chicago recently you might have noticed a message at the top as far as the archives. The message shows a link to this press release and was published on Feb. 23, 2018. If you want a quick sum up from Robert Feder blog last month.

A comeback for @Chicagoist via @WBEZ? https://t.co/zOqp9uPjA6 pic.twitter.com/vzB8jGblBb

— Robert Feder (@RobertFeder) March 5, 2018

Chicagoist, one of the online news sites that were shut down when billionaire Joe Ricketts killed DNAinfo last year, may be acquired by Chicago Public Media WBEZ FM 91.5. Public media stations in New York, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., recently picked up the assets of Gothamist, LAist and DCist from Ricketts. Now WBEZ has been approached by WNYC about acquiring Chicagoist, including domain names, social media assets and archives. “Given WBEZ’s commitment to local journalism, as well as admiration for the work of these former outlets, WBEZ is actively exploring this possibility and determining how these assets might be used most effectively in keeping with the organization’s mission to serve the Chicago community,” Steve Edwards, vice president and chief content officer for Chicago Public Media, said in a statement.

If you don't remember in November last year, DNA Info and assorted Gothamist sites including Chicagoist were shut down by Joe Ricketts because the DNA Info newsroom in New York voted to unionize. Also just last year Gothamist merged with DNA Info and thus Chicagoist & DNA Info were shut down along with the other affiliated sites.

So hopefully the work of DNA Info and Chicagoist will ultimately be owned by Chicago's public radio affiliate. Perhaps both sites will be reborn whenever a deal will be worked about between Chicago & NYC public radio affiliates.

If this does happen where does this leave the efforts of BlockClubChi who hopes to start where DNA Info left off?

Daylight savings time returns on Sunday

You might have seen this on our FB page recently. Set your clocks ahead one hour Saturday night. We're getting closer to spring and warmer weather. This is yet another benchmark. :)

Leon's Barbecue is back, thanks to Denzel Washington

[VIDEO] Though not at the location I know about on 83rd/Cottage Grove though there remains a BBQ place there along with Dat Donuts. The new Leon's Barbecue restaurant is located near the site of the future Obama library at 63rd/Stony Island. Looking forward to visiting this location in the near future.

BTW, you're going to see references to Denzel Washington - legendary Hollywood actor - who was in a viral video from last year prompting the return of this longtime establishment. It's too bad that I'm never "hip" to these viral videos, I'd have gotten a kick out of it. For now he will get his fix.

ALSO, I know that Leon's closed their locations a few years ago. How do they explain the locations under Leon's on Archer Ave & 106th Street? I think Rev. Finney needs to check that business out! Here's their webpage referring to themselves as the Original Leon's.

Below is Denzel's video found via the Sun-Times who's tweet on the reopening of Leon's is also below. [VIDEO]