My Block My Hood My City explorers...

[VIDEO] On this blog we posted video from Jahmal Cole's trip to Altgeld Garden. This was something he recorded in the fall last year. Today he shows us another facet of his My Block My Hood My City.

He takes teens on explorations around the city. Cole likes to say you can travel the world in Chicago as there are many different cultures who live in this city. So he takes teens to Chinatown, Greektown, Pilsen and other destinations. Basically he seeks to take teens from their neighborhoods and have them see the rest of the world.

As an aside I did show a video where the red line ventures to once it leaves the south side starting from 95th Street. Beyond this part of town there is a much larger world.

Is this something you could support?

Which era did you ride public transit in Chicago?

Recently I've shown a video courtesy of CTA documenting a trip north along the red line from 95th street. It was to show what's beyond the south side as the trains head north to the other side of the city at Howard Street.

Today, I wanted to share this with you. This you might see if you were on fb and it asks for one thing: using the numbers you see on this picture which era did you ride CTA.

My picks was 2 & 3, and I'm not sure why there were broken into two different eras. That paper transfer and the token seemed to have been used hand in hand when taking CTA during the 1980s and early 1990s. Either way sometimes I miss that era as it seemed like much simpler times especially as a child.

Out of hibernation...

[VIDEO] Well we finally have our warm temps here in Chicago and artistmac talks about that. The snow that fell on Super Bowl Sunday this year is finally melting. Hopefully the cold temps that kept our young people out of school for at least 4 days within the past two months are nothing more than a memory.

Even better daylight savings time has passed as of this Saturday and then in the next week or so the first day of spring. It seems we've had a miserable winter this year and the end is only around the corner!

Those red light cameras...

Before the end of last month's municipal elections we haven't devoted much coverage to the mayoral candidates. In a field of four voters narrowed the race down to Mayor Emanuel and Cook County Commissioner Chuy Garcia.

I show this story from our local ABC affiliate regarding the mayor's decision to remove fifty of the city's red light cameras. Of course there are many who aren't feeling Rahm Emanuel who says he's just doing this because he's got a runoff next month and is looking for an edge.

I'll let you decide that and if this might cause you to swing your vote to Emanuel. I do recognize that somehow these redlight cameras have become one of the sore issues in this campaign.

Look no further than this mailer by Harold Ward when he ran for Alderman of the 9th ward.

Mayor Emanuel on Chicago Tonight

[VIDEO] I posted this to Sixth Ward last Saturday. On the February 26, 2015 edition of Chicago Tonight Mayor Rahm Emanuel talks about the run-off and other issues facing the city. Believe it or not since the start of non-partisan mayoral elections in Chicago in 1999 this is the first mayoral runoff.

On February 24, 2015 Cook County Commissioner Chuy Garcia was able to draw a runoff against Emanuel. Eventually I would like to do more posts on Mr. Garcia as I failed to do so during the course of the campaign.

CapFax: Ploy or not, Chicago has to administer exams

I've been hearing about this new round of testing CPS students are expected to take. Apparenlty CPS wanted to use this test on a limited amount of students, however, they've decided to administer it to all students 3rd through 8th grades. CPS' argument was that most students in Chicago lacked the technology & technological skill to take a test taken through a computer. Well is this good or bad?

FYI: Bennett Elementary Parent Advisory Council Meeting

Bennett School - 10112 S. Prairie Ave.

 Received this e-mail on Sunday. Hopefully there is some interest in attending this meeting:

• Bennett Elementary Parent Advisory Council is sending an invitation to the Roseland community organizer to join our first meeting on March 6, 2015 at 6pm. As the new chairwoman, I will like to provide our parents with the best support from Bennett P.A.C, 9th Ward Alderman, and community organizers of Roseland Heights.
  
  
  Bennett Elementary Parent Advisory Council Meeting
  Bennett Elementary School
  10112 S. Prairie Ave.
  Chicago, IL 60628
  March 6, 2015
  6:00 pm
  
  Thank you,
  
  P.A.C Chairwoman
  Mattie Carter
  M.A. Geography Economic Development
  Certified Community Developer
  
  

Where is this?

Via sixthward ig

I posted this over at the The Sixth Ward  ig page- of which you can see a slideshow in the sidebar. So Can you identify this piece of ornament on a building in Chicago's 9th Ward/Roseland area. It does resemble a familiar brand that probably had an office in that particular building once upon a time.

Well this question was answered on Instagram, but I do wonder who else knows where this is?

There should be an elected school board

http://www.cpsboe.org/

It took me a while to come to this conclusion but I've finally decided that there should be an elected school board in Chicago. Not saying that this is the best solution for our schools in Chicago, but it's an idea that should be considered.

The only caveat that I've considered is that there must be a hybrid board where the people can elect members and the mayor can appoint members. This has always been my thought however the Chicago Sun-Times solidified this much further in an editorial.

This Tribune editorial makes further points about the various points of school boards whether hybrid, elected or totally appointed. To be sure, I have little problem with the Mayor of Chicago having some form of direct influence on the Chicago Public Schools. This is one reason I support a hybrid board.

I also believe that the most important interest group - the parents need representation to influence the decisions of the Chicago Public Schools. I propose that a majority of the members can be elected to the board of which there are currently seven members. Therefore four members should be elected and three should be appointed. In addition those four elected should be from districts divided up at least four ways throughout the city. The mayor can appoint the people he wants on the school board with their expertise and the people can elect who they want on the board of ed.

Furthermore I recognize how at time public education can be very politicized. Unfortunately the public schools have borne a lot of negative press over the years and this may cause more politicization. I hope that future members of the board of ed can recognize that the most important thing they have to do is ensure that the youth of the city of Chicago are educated and ready for the world.

Election for 9th ward alderman...

For the 9th Ward the 2015 election is in the books Ald. Anthony Beale wins another term. Here were the results as of last night from ABC 7 Chicago. Hopefully I will have results from different sources available in the future as well. May even set up a page similar to what exists at The Sixth Ward as something of an archive which includes the election results.