Tribune: Emanuel defends Chicago schools

Just another salvo from Mayor Rahm Emanuel against President Donald Trump as the current President continues to take shots at Chicago. Many of those shots are regarding the gun violence issue. Emanuel also took shots at his old friend Bruce Rauner as he has also made statements against Chicago's schools.

Click the embed tweet below

Emanuel defends Chicago schools after Trump criticism https://t.co/emUVnR765w pic.twitter.com/XtwqFXhRiG

— ChiTrib Clout Street (@ChiTribCloutSt) April 5, 2017

Chicago flag 100 years

Today the Chicago flag that you see in the sidebar celebrates 100 years. You can read more about the flag and it's history over at Curbed Chicago.

Happy 100th birthday of the Chicago city flag! pic.twitter.com/oOYvc1XABj

— Dennis Rodkin (@Dennis_Rodkin) April 4, 2017

Standing water at Abbott Park

After Thursday's heavy rain this is how Abbott Park at 95th & Michigan had fared earlier this afternoon. After the heavy snow melts and with heavy precipitation it seems prone to standing water in the grassy areas of the park. And standing water on the sidewalks surrounding the park.

Abbott Park flooded #weather #rain #chicagogram #chicagoparks

A post shared by The Sixth Ward (@thesixthward) on Mar 30, 2017 at 12:20pm PDT

If you have any weather related pics send them to us or tag us on Instagram.

Crossposted from sixthward.us

Curbed Chi: Proposed Trump budget could threaten Chicago’s mass transit network

Future 103rd St. Red Line stop

A variety of transit projects in our fair city could be on the gun but I want to emphasize one project that could be derailed - no pun intended - by the priority on people who drive their own vehicles:

Amtrak isn’t the only transportation network expected to feel the squeeze from Washington. While CTA’s $2.1 billion Red-Purple Line modernization program managed to secure $1.1 billion in matching federal funds during the waning days of the Obama Administration, Trump’s proposed budget could cast serious doubts on a plan to extend the Red Line beyond 95th Street to Chicago’s Far South Side.

If there was a time for Chicago's south side leaders to make sure we get that extension funded now, this is the time. And yes I realize Trump doesn't have many friends or allies here in Chicago.

Crossposted from The Sixth Ward

Tribune: Chicago area pays steep price for segregation, study finds

Another article I saw referred to Chicago as "Balkanized" i.e. divided. There's a price to this division:

The seven-county area's murder rate could be cut by 30 percent, its economy could churn out an additional $8 billion in goods and services and its African-American residents could earn another $3,000 a year if it could reduce racial and economic segregation to the median level for the nation's largest metro areas.

And 83,000 more residents could have earned bachelor's degrees, spurring another $90 billion in collective lifetime earnings.

Those were the findings of a study by the Metropolitan Planning Council, a Chicago-based public policy research group, and the Urban Institute, a Washington think tank.

The Capitol Fax has more on this and the full study.

Crossposted from The Sixth Ward

HINZ: Chicagoland leads U.S. in population loss

What are we going to do to change this decline?

The estimates are that the three-state Chicago metropolitan area lost 19,570 people in the year ending last June 30, dipping to 9.513 million. That's bigger than the drop of 11,324 people the year before, according to the bureau.

The region did gain a little bit since the last census in 2010, moving from 9.461 million then. But the increase of .4 percent is a small fraction of the hike in the same period by large peer cities like Los Angeles (up 3.6 percent), New York (+2.8 percent) and San Francisco (+7.7 percent).

However, Chicago's decline last year and small rise over the past six years is roughly similar to that of other big Midwestern cities, lagging the Minneapolis/St. Paul area and Indianapolis, but ahead of Cleveland, Detroit and St. Louis. Even so, all of them did better than Chicago in the last year alone.

The metro area declines are heavily concentrated in Cook County, but show signs of spreading to outlying counties, too. For instance, the bureau estimates that DuPage County lost 3,000 people in the past two years, and that Will and Grundy Counties had small population losses last year.

Though the percentage drop was more elsewhere, the numerical population of Cook County dropped more last year than in any other county in the country, according to new U.S. Census Bureau estimates.

The bureau did not break down the data by municipality, so it's impossible to tell for sure if the Cook County decline was in Chicago proper, suburban areas, or both.

Somewhat related

• HINZ: As Loop population booms, South Side's plummets 

Curbed Chicago: Plan to renovate Pullman’s historic 1880 factory building is moving forward

Plans are being made to turn the historic Pullman factory and clock tower - located at 111th Street and Cottage Grove Avenue - to become a visitor center. In addition there will be a interpretive center and HQ for National Park Service operations. This is an initiative of the National Park Service and Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives.

The NPS’ ambitious plan to renovate Pullman’s historic factory building is moving forward https://t.co/ptHf4K9tPO pic.twitter.com/7bDVOaqk7u

— Curbed Chicago (@curbedchicago) March 20, 2017

1970: 95/Dan Ryan CTA terminal

As of now the CTA terminal at 95th endures. It has undergone some changes over the years, a reconstruction in 2003-04, the shutdown & reconstruction of the Red Line south in 2013, and of course the expected overhaul expected to be completed in 2018. The ig post below from the CTA's ig profile shows a scene not too unfamiliar to today's transit riders who begin or compete their commutes at 95th street.

This 1970 photo (from our historical photo collection) shows a busy 95th/Dan Ryan bus terminal as people get off of buses and make their way to the train, not long after it opened. In 2014, construction began on the 95th Street Terminal Improvement Project, which will expand and greatly improve the 95th/Dan Ryan station (the south terminal of the CTA Red Line). #cta #cta70 #chicago #ctaredline #buses #terminal #busterminal #princetonpark #westchesterfield #roseland #longwoodmanor

A post shared by Chicago Transit Authority (@chicagocta) on Mar 11, 2017 at 5:20pm PST

Re-entry education summit at Olive-Harvey College

Thursday, March 16, 2017
11:00 AM to 2:00 PM

Olive-Harvey College
10001 S. Woodlawn Ave
Chicago, IL

Refer to flyer below for more details on this event.