Memorial Day pics in the 9th ward

Two posts from Marathon Pundit to mark the Memorial Day holiday. One was taken at the former St. Salomea Catholic Church @ 118th & Indiana Ave. (also known as Salem Baptist Church) in Roseland. That's the pic you see above.

The other pic was taken at George Pullman School located at 11311 S. Forrestville Avenue in Pullman.

Hopefully everyone had a wonderful and safe Memorial Day holiday.

Crain's: Why so many young Chicago men pull the trigger

Go Falcons!

One attempt to get a handle on the issue of gun violence in Chicago's crime ridden neighborhoods. At one point in time this blog strived to avoid issues of crime even though I recognize it as a reality in our fair city.

Regardless the fact that a shooting and the volume of them is news not just locally but nationally also is problematic. We all hope for a solution to save our young people. No easy answers, but something has to be done about the violence.

Also for this, there will be three parts to this series. I hope to be able to share the other ones as they're published.

The Walgreen's on 95th & King Drive is closing

In about one month the Walgreen's location at 347 E. 95th Street will be closed permanently on June 27, 2017. It'll just be another vacant storefront just like the former Wendy's across the street on 95th.

The flyer you see below is seen on a table as you enter the store and signs are posted in that location alerting customers of the impending closing. This particular space had only been open for roughly a decade.

9th ward monthly community meeting

This notice was e-mailed to Ald. Anthony Beale's e-mail list over the weekend regarding the next 9th ward community meeting tomorrow Tuesday, May 23, 2017 at the Pullman Presbyterian Church @ 550 E. 103rd Street. And of course if you attend you would hear updates from representatives of  city departments and agencies.

Flyer itself is below

HINZ: Illinois sees incomes rise as population falls

In order to read this article you may have to subscribe, however, I will excerpt what I can.

With that said many of us thought Illinois wasn't doing well. The jobs were leaving and as a result so were the people. How is the state's income going up?

Between 2013 and 2016, Illinois was one of only three states to lose population, dropping 0.6 percent and seeing declines in 91 of the state's 103 counties, RCF says, examining federal data.

But in the same time frame, Illinois added 200,000 jobs—slower growth than the nation as a whole, but still up. The job losses were concentrated in what might be called the Deere/Caterpillar section of the state, from the Quad Cities to Peoria.

More jobs but fewer people means the state's per-capita income rose 11.7 percent in that period. Except for Michigan, whose auto industry has been on a tear, the income growth here was greater than in every other surrounding Midwest state, including Indiana.

Capitol Fax: Unclear on the concept

Gov. Bruce Rauner was at Chicago State University yesterday. In reality I know about this thanks to this tweet:

"Let's calm down, please" CSU Provost says after she introduces Rauner and the Chicago State crowd boos him

— Tony Arnold (@tonyjarnold) May 11, 2017

And then today Rich Miller further opines on the scene at Chicago State yesterday.

We already know why though the budget stalemate has affected public universities in Illinois. We also know Chicago State has been struggling with or without the budget stalemate.

 I can only imagine if the CSU Faculty Voice has anything to say about Rauner's visit.

The decline of Black Chicago

Chicago Mag illustration Richard Mia

 Another piece courtesy of Chicago Magazine on the decline of Black Chicago:

Since the early ’80s, blacks in South and West Side neighborhoods have been steadily leaving the city, resettling at first largely in the Cook County suburbs. But over the past 15 years, more and more have been leaving the area entirely for northwest Indiana, Iowa’s Quad Cities, and Sun Belt states, says Alden Loury, the director of research and evaluation at the Metropolitan Planning Council. Today there are roughly 850,000 blacks in Chicago, down from 1.2 million in 1980.

The reasons for this are varied: The foreclosure crisis saw blacks evicted disproportionately from their rental apartments and houses; the Chicago Housing Authority leveled high-rises like the Robert Taylor Homes, scattering public housing residents; the lack of stable employment in South and West Side neighborhoods continues to force residents to look elsewhere for jobs; and school closures further disenfranchise communities. “There are not a lot of messages that Chicago cares about its black residents,” says Mary Pattillo, a sociology and African American studies professor at Northwestern University and author of the book Black Picket Fences. “When you lose the institutions that cultivate attachment, it makes it a lot easier to pick up and leave.”

How does Chicago send the message that the city cares about its Black residents?

BTW, feel free to share the article here's a tweet from @chicagomag

Today’s most-read story: The Real Problem with Chicago's Shrinking Population https://t.co/JEVokZHtIS pic.twitter.com/AXOFYvXdMn

— Chicago magazine (@ChicagoMag) May 9, 2017

 

Starting Monday, Seaway Bank is now under new ownership again

This new logo for Seaway was found on fb recently, an indication of that brand's new future.

On this day in 1983 Harold Washington becomes mayor

This ig post from @blackownedchicago marks that historic day when Harold Washington is sworn in as Chicago's first Black mayor. This is something reposted to our blog's ig.

On this day in 1983 Harold Washington was sworn in as the 1st Black mayor of the city of Chicago. #blackownedchicago #chicago

A post shared by Black Owned Chicago (@officialblackownedchicago) on Apr 29, 2017 at 6:35am PDT

EnglewoodRising.com is live #englewoodrising

Was announced last night via Mrs. Aysha Butler ig (@mrs_englewood) who is the President of the Resident Association of Greater Englewood. There have been hints of this with other posts on ig with photos of Englewood Rising billboards around greater Englewood - which had been regrammed on The Sixth Ward's ig.

Support the good folks of EnglewoodRising.com and with great hopes that this will prove to be a success in rebranding that community.

The website is live! #EnglewoodRising

A post shared by Ay-Sha (@mrs_englewood) on Apr 26, 2017 at 9:26pm PDT

Ashland/63rd CTA bus boarding 1975

With all the good news coming from Englewood it seems this blog has been posting a lot of news from that community. Even reposting from those Englewood folks who are on ig.

Today we share this ig post from the Chicago Transit Authority a scene from 63rd/Ashalnd. Riders boarding the 110 Marquette bus to 71st/Pulaski back in 1975. I got to see if that bus got cut in later years. It's even noted that the Ashland/63rd Green Line station is the terminal for some Red Line trains during rush hour period as work is underway to revamp the 95th/Dan Ryan Red Line terminal.

Bus at Ashland/63rd: CTA riders change at the Ashland/63rd station to a GMC-made CTA bus in service on the 110 Marquette route to 71st/Pulaski in 1975. Today, this station is served by Green Line trains as well as some Red Line rush period trains that operate between Howard and Ashland/63rd, a temporary routing today to allow for reconstruction work to proceed at 95th. During the era where this photo was taken, all trains serving this station went to/from Howard, via subway, in service on what was then called the North-South Route (predating the modern Red and Green Line routings and route naming by color). #cta #cta70 #ctahistory #chicagohistory #transit #buses #rapidtransit #ctagreenline #ctaredline #1970s #hats #englewood #westenglewood #westlawn

A post shared by Chicago Transit Authority (@chicagocta) on Apr 24, 2017 at 8:38am PDT

Jewel-Osco is coming to 61st/Cottage Grove

Brian Berg / MK Communications / Jewel-Osco

On Monday, it's news that there are plans to upgrade the CTA green line terminal at 63rd & Cottage Grove. You saw that post Tuesday morning, and then on Tuesday afternoon a new development out of Woodlawn. A new Jewel-Osco coming to 61st & Cottage Grove.

Tribune writes:

Jewel-Osco is planning to open a grocery store in the West Woodlawn neighborhood, with expectations for job creation and an influx of outside commerce into the South Side community.

The announcement comes on the heels of the highly anticipated September opening of a Whole Foods Market in nearby Englewood. The same developer, DL3 Realty, is set to work on West Woodlawn's Jewel.

The 48,000-square-foot grocery store is planned for the northwest corner of 61st Street and Cottage Grove Avenue. It is set to fill one of the last undeveloped parcels of the old Grove Parc Plaza, once a dense string of federally subsidized apartments that the nonprofit Preservation of Affordable Housing, or POAH, has been redeveloping for the better part of a decade.

The dilapidated Grove Parc Plaza buildings were demolished in phases, said Bill Eager, POAH's Chicago-area vice president. The Boston-based nonprofit has built or is developing 260 housing units in their place and has bought or rehabbed another 250 units so far.

The redevelopment plan also included bringing other businesses, like Jewel, into the area, Eager said.

Now we move on to some social media posts. Something I wish I had the foresight to do when the aforementioned Whole Foods Market Englewood was announced back in 2013.

POAH's Mging Dir RE Dvlpmnt Rodger Brown (behind the W) joins @ChicagosMayor Rahm Emanuel and Woodlawn neighbors at @jewelosco announcement pic.twitter.com/A3nxCObTs1

— POAH (@POAHCommunities) April 25, 2017

Jewel-Osco grocery store announced for Chicago’s Woodlawn neighborhood https://t.co/KctHSqzzKu pic.twitter.com/69kOSMt7CG

— Curbed Chicago (@curbedchicago) April 25, 2017

"Change is possible, and it's happening right here in Woodlawn, an economic revival bringing hope to our city." pic.twitter.com/Wyz2AFxGI8

— ChicagosMayor (@ChicagosMayor) April 25, 2017

Curbed Chicago: CTA to upgrade Cottage Grove station on Green Line

While I'm glad that the CTA green line stop at 63rd & Cottage Grove is finally getting the attention it deserves in light of increased investment in the Woodlawn community, here's hoping that one day in the near future we can revive the green line beyond Cottage Grove. After a two year closure to rebuild one of CTA's old rail lines this part of the green line was contracted to Cottage Grove with the remaining portions of the line ultimately removed.

Upgraded CTA station, new affordable-rate TOD headed to Chicago’s Woodlawn https://t.co/zRfT4pGmAE pic.twitter.com/MxX8X45twm

— Curbed Chicago (@curbedchicago) April 24, 2017

Mr. Greg Hinz has lots to say about this project and of course lots of questions.

 Since I brought up what happened to the segment beyond Cottage Grove [VIDEO]

EDIT 11:25 PM - Should've added this post from the Mayor's ig page. Here it is from Monday's announcement of the upgrade of the Cottage Grove green line stop

President of R.A.G.E. featured on a documentary about Whole Foods Market Englewood #teamwfm

Below I will share both screencaps shown from the R.A.G.E. instagram page. Unless someone from R.A.G.E. corrects me there didn't appear to be any advanced notice that this documentary was going to are on WCIU Too! Hopefully as indicated in the gram that was reposted to The Sixth Ward's ig we may learn about future replays.

The Whole Foods store in Englewood has been open since September 2016 to great fanfare.

Disclosure: One of the bloggers here is a Whole Foods Market team member.

A post shared by R.A.G.E. (@rage_englewood) on Apr 23, 2017 at 7:03am PDT

Spotlight on Englewood now on WCIU Too! It's a documentary about the opening of Whole Foods...#EnglewoodRising

A post shared by R.A.G.E. (@rage_englewood) on Apr 23, 2017 at 6:53am PDT

The former St. Nicholas Church in Roseland

You might see this reposted onto our ig page. In the meantime here's Eric Allix Rogers photo of this vacant church in Roseland at 113th Place and State Street.

There are some great buildings and architecture in our communities. Someone out there appreciates them, if only there was a way to keep these buildings in use so they won't meet the wrecking ball.

The former St. Nicholas church (William J. Brinkmann, circa 1900) is rotting away in Roseland

A post shared by Eric Allix Rogers (@ericallixrogers) on Apr 19, 2017 at 8:35am PDT

Chicago Reader: South Shore is Chicago’s eviction capital

The Chicago Neighborhoods

Newsalert shared a tweet from Chicago Reader with the heading: "Why Chicago's South Shore went from middle class neighborhood to the city's eviction capital." 

The tweet which will be shared at the end of this post is a link to an article discussing the high number of evictions in South Shore. Now I just want to share the context of Newsalert's heading:

South Shore's high concentration of sprawling, multiunit apartment buildings owned by large property companies and its high poverty rates appear to explain the neighborhood's dubious distinction. The area's housing stock consists mostly of multifamily apartment buildings, and nearly 80 percent of the occupied housing units are rentals—20 percent more than the proportion of renter-occupied housing units in the city as a whole. And according to the 2014 American Community Survey, half of South Shore households live on less than $25,000 per year.

Development booms at the end of the 19th century and in the 1920s combined with early 20th century white flight to shape South Shore's built environment. As more African-Americans settled in other parts of the south side, middle-class whites flocked to the lakefront. This led to the construction of stately apartment buildings in the neighborhood, especially on South Shore Drive, which runs along the water, and in Jackson Park Highlands, the area between the southern edge of Jackson Park and 71st Street.

Until the 1960s, South Shore was a middle-class neighborhood and more than 90 percent white, but by the 1980s the racial balance had completely reversed: South Shore became 96 percent black, though it remained middle-class. In recent years, however, the median family income in the neighborhood has steadily declined.

These economic realities have presented challenges for South Shore residents as rent prices in the area have climbed. According to a recent report by the DePaul Institute for Housing Studies, South Shore has one of the largest gaps between the supply and demand of affordable housing in the city. And, according to data analyzed by Chicago magazine, though the median rent price in the neighborhood is below $1,250 per month, some 64 percent of South Shore's 22,700 households are rent burdened, or paying more than 30 percent of their monthly income for rent. Even though more than 5,000 South Shore households have Section 8 vouchers, which provide a federally funded housing subsidy, the need for rental assistance doesn't come close to being met.

I will do one better here a reply to that tweet. Perhaps one answer to who - that is the leasing companies - are filing these eviction orders. The article itself is worth reading.

Pangea Prop. filed 1,000 eviction cases on their 8,000 rental units in 2016?!?! Some insane numbers from @mdoukmas https://t.co/KKJMq1Q5SS

— Daniel Kay Hertz (@DanielKayHertz) April 17, 2017

 

Englewood Good Friday Peace Walk

Occurred Friday afternoon starting at St. Benedict located at 340 W 66th Street. R.A.G.E. shared some pictures on their instagram profile. This is with Chicago Archbishop Blase Cupich.

Great turn out today for the #PeaceWalkChi in Englewood! #EnglewoodRising

A post shared by R.A.G.E. (@rage_englewood) on Apr 14, 2017 at 11:32am PDT

UPDATE 10:36 PM - Forgot to add this tweet from ABC 7's Stacy Baca

The #PeaceWalkCHI today in Englewood. pic.twitter.com/7mP4Mjn1ZI

— Stacey Baca (@StaceyBacaABC7) April 14, 2017

AP: Cardinal Cupich to lead Walk for Peace through Englewood

via @cardinalbcupich

This is certainly good publicity for the Englewood neighborhood via AP:

CHICAGO - The Archbishop of Chicago will lead a Walk for Peace through the Englewood neighborhood on Good Friday.

Cardinal Blase Cupich has invited Chicagoans to join him in tracing the Stations of the Cross and pausing along the way to remember the victims of violence. Pope Francis pledged to accompany participants in prayer as he walks the Way of the Cross in Rome's Colosseum that day.

A statement from the archdiocese says the walk has been organized as an opportunity for people to come together and demonstrate the power of peace through prayer in the wake of continued violence in the city.

The walk will begin at 10:30 a.m. Friday in front of St. Benedict the African Church .

Such a short article and helped me break my rule regarding copying whole articles.

Either way to have a Catholic Cardinal or a Chicago Archbishop come to your community to take an interest in the issues of violence is big news. Hopefully with this publicity things change, and at least for Englewood they are in a steady fashion. I hope this results in plenty of press coverage.

St. Benedict is at 340 W 66th Street.

Charges filed in death of Cook County judge in West Chesterfield

You can read the most outspoken comments of Second City Cop:

So...not random, as in targeted.

And targeted why? Judges aren't usually notoriously rich.

So from the Tribune article 2nd City Cop linked from:

At a news conference Wednesday evening at police headquarters, Chief of Detectives Melissa Staples answered few questions, emphasizing that the investigation remained "open and ongoing" and that more details would come out in court Thursday. But she did call the attack on Associate Judge Raymond Myles and his girlfriend "a targeted robbery." However, Staples wouldn't say whether it was the judge or his girlfriend who was the target of the robbery.

According to the Cook County state's attorney's office, Joshua T. Smith, 37, was charged with first-degree murder, attempted murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and armed robbery.
...
Police would not identify Smith's role in the attempted armed robbery, but multiple law enforcement sources told the Chicago Tribune that he acted as the alleged getaway driver.

As the cop blog stated at least one down and apparently two more to go...

Judge was killed this morning in West Chesterfield

Judge Raymond Myles RIP

The worst part about find out about this story is that I first found out about it on a widely-read right wing blog: Instapundit.

If you don't want to go to that site, there's Jack Leyhane's For What it's Worth blog. The blog typically follows the Cook County judicial politics.

According to an article from the Chicago Tribune, the fatal shooting occurred on the 9400 block of South Forrest and is said to be a suspected attempted robbery.