Tribune: Police call on Pfleger to not shut down Dan Ryan with July 7th peace march

Via Chicago Mag

Unless something changes during the course of the next week this march on the Dan Ryan Expressway is going to happen.

A top Chicago Police Department official on Thursday implored Rev. Michael Pfleger not lead a peace march onto the Dan Ryan Expressway next month, saying hundreds of officers would need to be pulled out of neighborhoods on a busy summer weekend.

But Pfleger, the pastor at St. Sabina Catholic Church with a long track record of activism, said he plans to go ahead.

“We are not gonna roll over and be quiet,” he said.

Pfleger this week announced a protest march for 10 a.m. on July 7 in the northbound lanes of the Dan Ryan, from 79th Street to 67th Street. He said the goal is to demand city officials do more to address violence.

Chicago police First Deputy Superintendent Anthony Riccio contended Thursday the expressway route could be detrimental to that aim.

“The very thing that they’re trying to accomplish — stop violence and stop shootings — has the potential to actually escalate because we’re pulling police officers out of the neighborhoods where we need them in order to escort the protesters down the expressway,” Riccio told reporters after a City Hall hearing on Police Department crime statistics.

Riccio said it could require 200 or more police officers to shut down the Ryan to protect marchers. He said Pfleger has not been receptive to suggestions from the department that he instead hold the march on a neighborhood street.

Pfleger said he has a good relationship with Chicago Police but was surprised to hear the comment about them pulling officers for the protest. He said he hasn’t heard that concern before when there are marches downtown, or for Blackhawks and Cubs championship parades.

RELATED: Sun-Times: Pfleger plans to shut down Dan Ryan on July 7 by marching on roadway

Future Ald. Beale town halls #Ward09 #BuildingwithBeale

Ooops, I've done pretty badly with Ald. Anthony Beale's town halls having only attended two in recent years. So here are a list of remaining meetings for the rest of the year with a break in August and of course taking a break for the rest of the year after October.

Unlike former 6th Ward Ald. Fredrenna Lyle his office doesn't seem to announce who'll be speaking before hand. However he does have various officials with city government and some people from the community talking about what they're doing for their neighborhoods. It's worthwhile to come pay a visit. Of course he'll have his ward superintendent which was formerly Nicholas Smith who's now a state representative give updates from the streets and sanitation side.

The two times I attended a former police officer talked about utilizing local high school students to help paint murals. Another time representatives from the Chicago Transit Authority gave us an update on the future red line extension. Like I said these are worthwhile meetings to attend.

All of Ald. Beale's town halls or community meetings are held every 4th Tuesday starting at 6:30 PM at the Pullman Presbyterian Church 550 E. 103rd Street. Call his office at (773) 785-1100

BTW, I have to admit that I liked the branding the office seemed to have started "town halls" as opposed to "community meetings". Perhaps I'm being a tad nit-picky, but as far as an event discussing ward issues I just like town hall better than a community meeting. Anyway just my two cents that no one asked for... :P

sixthward.us

Chicago Public School system removes 2 principals amid investigation into how sexual abuse allegations handled

Simeon High School (8147 S Vincennes Ave) by Eric Allix Rogers

We've shared a few piece with regards to sexual abuse allegations within Chicago Public Schools. For our purposes we're just going to focus on the removal of the principal of nearby Simeon High School over sexual abuse allegations by a school volunteer:

Sheldon House, the principal of Simeon Career Academy, was removed amid a newly disclosed allegation of sexual abuse lodged against an unnamed school volunteer. District officials said that allegation was discovered during an audit of “systemic issues” in the school’s background check process.
...
“As a result of district-led investigations into allegations of sexual abuse, two CPS principals were removed from their positions today due to initial findings that suggest they did not effectively safeguard their students,” Chicago Public Schools CEO Janice Jackson said in a statement.

“Investigations into both cases remain ongoing, and we will keep the school communities updated as this process moves forward,” she said.

The district announced the administrators’ removal barely more than a day before a scheduled Chicago Board of Education vote to change how CPS investigates allegations of sexual misconduct by adults against students, as well as new practices that would require employees to inform child welfare authorities and supervisors of “any interactions or behaviors which suggest that an adult has or had an inappropriately intimate relationship with a child or may be grooming a child,” even if the employee does not have “reasonable suspicion” of whether any abuse occurred.
...
At Simeon, CPS officials said they launched an internal review of “management practices designed to keep students safe,” which occurred amid a Tribune investigation that documented the school’s failure to conduct a mandated criminal background check before making Gerald Gaddy an assistant coach of the boys wrestling and girls track teams starting in 2010.
...
CPS officials said the Simeon audit found “systemic issues” in the school’s handling of volunteer background checks, while uncovering an unspecified, new allegation of sexual abuse by an unidentified Simeon volunteer.

The recent allegation “was not handled in accordance with CPS policy,” according to the district. The volunteer is now barred from the school, and the allegation is under investigation.

CPS said it selected Patricia Woodson, a retired former principal, to lead the school until a new principal is selected by Simeon’s local school council.

 Hat-tip Newsalert

Washington Monthly: South Side story

The Chicago Neighborhoods

 Sorry to have sat on this since the spring. A story about the Pullman neighborhood. Or "How a historic Chicago neighborhood became a national model for community revitalization."

Yet one lower-income South Side neighborhood manages to defy the ironclad logic of the favored quarter: historic Pullman, a vibrant enclave in the middle of the South Side that is home to equal numbers of African Americans, Latinos, and whites. (Not all South and West neighborhoods are poor, but most of those doing well economically—Hyde Park, the Near West Side, Bridgeport, and Beverly—are predominantly white and Asian.)

Strolling down Pullman’s St. Lawrence Avenue, whose shaded sidewalks are fronted by side-by-side duplexes, you notice the same redbrick charm that characterizes the North Side. Yet in Pullman, you can land a well-kept three-bedroom duplex down the block from a cozy café and around the corner from one of the city’s top-rated public elementary schools at a price that wouldn’t go far in swank precincts across town. Residents enjoy many of the conveniences of North Side living, too. At the new Pullman Park development, there’s a Walmart (watering this former food desert), a clothing store, a Planet Fitness health club, a locally owned dry cleaners, and Pullman’s first sit-down restaurant in decades.

The relative peace and prosperity of Pullman in the midst of the hard-hit South Side highlights the promise of “asset-based” community development—the idea that focusing on the strengths of a particular place is just as important as targeting the problems. This model offers practical lessons for other neighborhoods across the country suffering from economic disinvestment and social unraveling. In Pullman’s case, a remarkable degree of resilience has arisen from these assets: high levels of civic engagement; a physical environment that encourages walking and social interaction; access to resources tied to historic preservation; and an ambitious community developer planting stakes in the neighborhood.

If the name Pullman sounds vaguely familiar, it’s likely because of the legendary railroad sleeping cars built here from 1881 to 1955. Pullman was no grimy slum, but actually one of the most celebrated urban planning projects of the nineteenth century—providing a good place to live was part of owner George Pullman’s mission to elevate the character of his workers. The London Times declared the elegant public buildings and squares flanked by single-family homes for managers and handsome brick townhouses for workers “the most perfect town in the world.” The other reason you may have heard of Pullman is that in 1894 the company’s workers responded to wage cuts with no reduction in rent at company-owned housing with a historic strike.

Read the whole thing!

A streetcar named retire

According to an ig post from CTA the last streetcar ran in Chicago on June 21, 1958 - 60 years ago. The last streetcar route was the 22A which after that date was converted to buses and survives currently as the 24 Wentworth. The 22A was split from the 22 Clark in 1957 according to chicagorailfan.com - relevant page here. Note that many of the numbers for CTA bus routes are derived from the streetcars that formerly ran throughout the city.

TBT: 60 years ago, CTA ran its last streetcar. So, you could call this final Green Hornet run down Vincennes Ave. on 6/21/58, “A Streetcar Named Retire.” Bus service replaced streetcars, but tracks are buried under many streets.

A post shared by Chicago Transit Authority (@chicagocta) on Jun 21, 2018 at 9:44am PDT

While buses replaced streetcar service 60 years ago, evidence of streetcars exist throughout the city. Michigan Avenue was once host to a streetcar route. You may see former streetcar tracks near the intersection of 95th & Michigan which often surface once the pavement is worn down. I snapped this shot for The Sixth Ward over 10 years ago.

Pic from The Sixth Ward May 2008

BTW, just think there's a current light rail - a more modern name for the streetcar - proposal on the north side. Question to ask is whether or not transit starved areas of the south side can get some action as far as light rail. Especially in those areas that doesn't have ready access to the L. Some of which are located in Chicago 8th, 9th, and 10th wards.

Chicago Reader: Roseland’s transformation captured in 1970 student film

Via thechicagoneighborhoods.com

I tweeted about this last week and unfortunately it doesn't say about when this film will see the light of day. Roseland - like say Englewood - had seen better days though residents of both communities I'm sure want to see better days returns. And certainly Englewood is working to make their community better.

On the other hand Roseland is looking for a jumpstart which could be the red line extension whenever CTA gets the necessary funding to start the project. However, that future project will be one development among many to bring Roseland back to what it used to be 50+ years ago.

Read this article from the Chicago Reader also there is a podcast where these students two men who shot this film in the 1970s were interviewed talking about this film. Give it a listen.

"You knew that if you went out into the streets of Roseland with a camera, you were gonna see something." https://t.co/KQLjSYwEnB

— Chicago Reader (@Chicago_Reader) June 6, 2018

Chicago Reporter: Instead of extending the Red Line, some see promise in the Metra Electric

Red Line Extension

The future of the greater Roseland area will be affected by the future CTA red line extension. It's something that I'm very excited for and evidently the debate continues over whether or not this is the transit project the far south side of Chicago needs right now.

Another part of this debate - especially with the uncertainty of funding for this project which is only expected to be built during the course of the next decade - includes improvement of the Metra Electric line. Better yet should the Metra Electric (or IC for you old timers) be converted to a rapid transit line operated instead by CTA.

In January, the city announced the final alignment for the 5.3 mile extension to 130th Street. That’s key for the CTA to secure $1 billion in federal funding needed for the project that wouldn’t see construction start until 2022. Though the city has proposed using transit TIFs (tax increment financing) to fund part of the extension, some transit advocates contend that wouldn’t be nearly enough to make a dent in the cost. And others question whether the Trump administration would give the city $1 billion for a project of this scope.

Some transit advocates say there is a quicker and less costly way to improve transit on the South Side by converting the Metra Electric District (MED) main line into rapid transit. Retrofitting Metra’s existing rail infrastructure to accommodate rapid transit, they say, could be completed in less time than it would take to build the extension and without displacing privately owned properties, as the Red Line extension would.

But putting the Red Line extension on the backburner where it has sat for decades would be a disservice to the Far South Side, community members say. Mayor Richard J. Daley promised to extend it beyond its 95th Street terminus when he cut the ribbon on the transit line nearly 50 years ago.

A former candidate for 9th ward alderman - well not identified as such in the article - was quoted in this piece:

South Side resident Michael LaFargue says extending the Red Line south is all about equity – transit equity, economic equity and environmental equity. The loss of manufacturing jobs, he said has devastated the Roseland community economically while lack of rapid transit has made access to jobs and opportunities even more difficult.

The 111th Street station, LaFargue added, could be branded as Greater Roseland Hospital Medical District similar to the Blue Line’s Illinois Medical District. The Michigan Avenue station could reinvigorate that mile-long business corridor, making it the ‘Magnificent Mile South,’ he said.

“This is a catalyst for economic development and branding,” said LaFargue, president of the Red Line Extension Coalition, a community-based group.

And what's the difference in cost?

Policy analyst Daniel Kay Hertz of the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability says both projects are important and would have significant impact. He estimated a cost of $27 million per mile to convert the Metra Electric’s South Chicago branch into rapid transit. Hertz based that figure off a 2012 Chicago Department of Transportation report  which puts the cost of converting MED’s South Chicago branch to Millennium Station — not the entire line — at $350 million. Hertz said there’s no reason the per-mile costs would differ substantially to convert the entire MED line. In comparison, the Red Line extension would cost about $434 million a mile.

“It is basically logistical stuff that they need to do as opposed to the physical engineering and  construction of several miles worth of new rail lines and stations,” Hertz said.

Finally a brief history of the Metra Electric and the advocacy for it's conversion to a CTA rapid transit line:

The MED originally ran as rapid transit and the line’s South Chicago branch ran every 10 minutes during the 1940s under its then-operator, Illinois Central. That frequency reduced when it became part of the Regional Transit Authority. Now the line has frequent service during peak evening and morning hours but runs every one to two hours during the mid-day.

The idea to convert the commuter-rail into CTA-style “L” service resurfaced again when transit advocate Mike Payne touted the plan as the Gray Line in the 1990s. It has gained traction in recent years thanks to advocacy groups like Coalition for a Modern Metra Electric and Active Transportation Alliance who want the MED to run every 10-15 minutes. Last year Metra increased mid-day frequency on the line to every 20 minutes between Hyde Park and Millennium Station.

But Metra’s fare structure could create a burden for low-income riders. Metra’s fares are distance-based where CTA charges a flat fee. And since there is no fare integration between Metra and CTA, riders would have to pay two full fares. There’s no fare discount to transfer from one transit system to the other.

What do you all think? Metra Electric (especially serving segments within the city) converted to the "grey line" operated by CTA  or the red line extension which certainly could benefit residents south of 95th through to Altgeld Gardens or perhaps there is a way to make both happen?

Found this article via Chicago-L.org.

Tribune editorial: US Senators give Emanuel a pass on CPS scandal

Found this editorial on the sex assault scandal within CPS via Newsalert:

Days after the Chicago Tribune began publishing stories of alarming and unreported sexual abuse and assault within Chicago Public Schools, Illinois’ two U.S. senators fired off letters demanding accountability and transparency.

But something — or rather someone — was missing from their missives. No mention of Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Must have been an oversight.

Instead of directing their concern at the person who actually oversees CPS, U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth sent letters to U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and Illinois schools Superintendent Tony Smith expressing their alarm and requesting more data collection at federal and state levels. By threading the needle carefully, they honed in on narrow aspects of the Tribune’s investigation that touched on state and federal data collection and transparency, not CPS’ failures.

Interesting.

Interesting indeed! Read the whole thing.

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City stickers sale on June 18, 2018 #Ward09

City stickers will be on sale at the office of 9th Ward Alderman Anthony Beale. No only city stickers, also parking zone stickers and parking visitor passes. Here's the where and when:

When:

•  Monday, June 18, 2018
  From 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM

Where:

• 9th Ward Service Office
  34 E. 112th Place

Want more information give the service office a call at (773) 785-1100


Refer to flyer below. Refer to flyer below. Also visit the city clerk website www.chicityclerk.com to buy your city sticker online via EZ>Buy.

Chicago Dept. of Aviation Community Career Fair June 13, 2018

Chicago Dept. of Aviation Community Career Fair. The city's Dept. of Aviation will host a community career fair to meet representatives from those companies looking to hire people to work at O'Hare and Midway Airports.

When:

• Wednesday, June 13, 2018
  9:00 AM to 1:00 PM

Where:

• Kennedy-King College - Gymnasium
  6301 S. Halsted Street

Refer to the flyer below to see what areas those companies are seeking to hire in.