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Chicago’s first City Council meeting of 2022 on Wednesday could set the stage for intense debate on a series of controversial police misconduct settlements as well as a pair of long-stalled proposals to reverse a 2021 speeding crackdown and give the council its own legal representation. 

The council is set to give a final stamp of approval to a $14 million settlement to end two separate lawsuits brought by Corey Batchelor and Kevin Bailey, who served a combined 43 years in prison based on a conviction that was later overturned due to new DNA evidence that exonerated them. 

The men were convicted in the 1989 murder of a retired Chicago police officer’s wife. But the men later filed claims with the Illinois Torture and Relief Inquiry Commission, which had been established to investigate convictions that resulted from disgraced Chicago Police Cmdr. Jon Burge, alleging that their convictions were based on forced confessions. As a result, their convictions were vacated in 2018. 

Related: Aldermen to consider $14M settlement for men imprisoned for decades based on forced confession  

The $14 million payout represents a significant chunk of the $82 million the Chicago Police Department was budgeted for total legal settlement and judgment costs in 2022. Mayor Lori Lightfoot in 2019 created a Chief Risk Officer position to help tamp down settlement costs, but the post has been empty since Tamika Puckett departed in 2020.  

The Batchelor and Bailey settlement cleared the City Council Committee on Finance in a unanimous vote on Monday. But two other, smaller settlements passed on narrow margins and a third was defeated, setting up potential fireworks when they reach the full council on Wednesday.  

The finance committee voted 15-13 to advance a $425,000 payment to settle a lawsuit brought by Dejuan Harris, who was shot by police under disputed circumstances in 2016. And committee members voted 17-9 to approve a $115,000 settlement in the lawsuit brought by two brothers who were arrested in 2018 on gun charges that were later dropped.  

But the committee deadlocked in a 13-13 vote on whether to approve a $125,000 settlement to end a lawsuit brought by Lenora Bonds, whose son was shot to death by Chicago police in 2013. City Council rules spell defeat for any motion that ends in a tie vote, meaning the committee will report a “do not pass” recommendation to the full City Council during its meeting on Wednesday. 

Related: Committee rejects police misconduct settlement, narrowly approves 2 others, setting up City Council clash 

Bonds’ 2016 lawsuit centered on the death of her son, Terrence Harris, who was “suffering a mental health related episode” in 2013 when Bonds called 911, according to Chicago Deputy Corporation Counsel Victoria Benson. When one police sergeant responded to the call at Bonds’ home, Harris stabbed him in the face with a knife. The sergeant sought medical attention and Bonds left the house.  

Afterward, three police officers went inside the house and saw Harris wielding two knives. The officers then shot at Harris 32 times, hitting him 29 times and killing him.  

Bonds did not allege excessive force against the officers in her lawsuit, but rather she sued the city for its lack of crisis intervention training of police officers at the time of the shooting, according to Benson. The first police sergeant who arrived at the scene was trained to manage mental health crises, but the three officers who subsequently shot Harris to death were not. 

The City Council may vote on Wednesday to reverse the committee’s recommendation and approve the Bonds settlement. Benson warned Monday that if the case goes to trial, the city could be forced to spend upwards of $100,000 on “document discovery alone.” 

But a growing number of pro-police aldermen have grown increasingly defiant against a range of police misconduct settlements, saying city attorneys should be taking more cases to trial to ward off frivolous lawsuits. 

“If we’re opening these floodgates for people, no matter how small [the settlements] are, this is going to continue to happen,” Ald. Nicholas Sposato (38) said Monday. “It’s going to continue to cost us money.”  

Beale looks to force votes on stalled ordinances, again 

Ald. Anthony Beale (9) filed a Rule 41 notice last week in his latest attempt to force votes on two of his proposals that have stalled for months: a proposal (O2021-2901) to establish an independent legal counsel for the City Council and an ordinance (O2021-1227) that would reverse the city’s 2021 move to impose speed camera violations for people who drive more than 6 mph over the speed limit near schools and parks. 

Beale was stymied when he tried a similar maneuver in September to force up-or-down votes on both ordinances. Ald. Brendan Reilly (42) quashed the effort on procedural grounds, saying Beale had failed to file his Rule 41 notice with the required five days’ notice. 

Beale got a partial reprieve in October, when the City Council Committee on Committees and Rules re-referred both measures to their originally intended committees. But Reilly struck again at the next City Council meeting, joining Ald. Ariel Reboyras (30) to defer and publish both items. 

Related:  

• FOP contract approved as Lightfoot’s proposals on pot shop zoning, gang lawsuits stall
• Speed camera ordinance, City Council legal counsel proposal set for rescue from rules committee
• Scooter program approved; budget watchdog peppers critiques amid ‘overall support’ for Lightfoot’s 2022 plan

Beale reacted by sending dozens of new ordinances to the rules committee, but Reilly moved to suspend the rules to undo his action — a counter-maneuver that Beale called “illegal” but was quickly approved by Lightfoot. 

Ald. Michelle Harris (8), who chairs the rules committee, filed a Rule 41 notice on Monday to finish the job of re-referring both ordinances out of her committee. But Harris did not file her notice five days in advance, leaving them vulnerable to a similar procedural challenge. 

Harris did not respond to a request for comment on Tuesday. But Beale told The Daily Line that he interpreted Harris’ notice as a counter-maneuver to block a direct vote on his ordinances. 

“I’m hoping that my colleagues are finally fed up with the administration manipulating the rules and not abiding by the rules,” Beale said Tuesday. “Most of my colleagues are in agreement that we need our own corporation counsel, we need our own parliamentarian, because this administration consistently changes the rules — and that’s a problem.” 

Beale said he will “absolutely” move again to send new ordinances to the rules committee if his ordinances are sidelined again on Wednesday. 

“You can’t have it both ways — in politics, it’s a give-and-take,” Beale said. “You can’t just continue to get whatever you want, and then when we try to bring ordinances to the floor, we can’t even get them heard.” 

“That’s not a democracy — that’s dictatorship,” he added. 

A spokesperson for Lightfoot did not respond to a request for comment on Tuesday. 

Emergency procurement rules set for final vote 

Wednesday is also set to see the return of a controversial proposal Lightfoot offered last month that would have granted emergency powers to Chicago’s Chief Procurement Officer Aileen Velazquez. 

The measure (SO2021-5647), which proposes to allow the procurement officer to make emergency payments of up to $1 million without City Council approval, faced significant pushback in committee when aldermen cited the proposal for taking away their control over contracting decisions. Aldermen also said they were not given enough information about the proposal ahead of a scheduled vote.  

The budget committee ultimately advanced the measure in a unanimous vote after officials added a sunset provision to the emergency powers. But Beale and Ald. Raymond Lopez (15) deferred and published the ordinance at the Dec. 15 meeting, delaying the vote by a month. 

Related: Aldermen OK emergency powers for chief procurement officer after sunset provision added 

Lightfoot said last month that she signed an executive order allowing Velasquez to “quickly secure supplies that are essential to preserve the public health and safety in the city.” 

Related: Aldermen approve apartments over colleague’s objection, allow sports betting at Chicago stadiums and ballparks 

Still, budget committee chair Ald. Pat Dowell (3) filed a Rule 41 notice last week to bring the ordinance back up for a vote on Wednesday. 

Stolen phone crackdown 

Aldermen on Wednesday are also set to approve an ordinance (O2021-5859) Lightfoot and Ald. Leslie Hairston (5) introduced last month meant to crack down on stolen cell phones. 

If approved by aldermen on Wednesday, the ordinance would hike fines for people caught re-selling stolen phones from between $1,000 and $2,000 to between $2,000 and $10,000.  

Additionally, the measure would revoke the license of businesses caught selling stolen phones twice within two years. The business owner would be stuck to the license revocation for four years and the revocation would be attached to the physical location for one year, Chicago Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection Comm. Ken Meyer told aldermen during a committee meeting last week. 

Hairston said during last week’s committee meeting that cell phone robberies are “something that we are seeing all over the city” as a byproduct of carjackings. Hairston pointed to a recent incident in her ward when a man was murdered for his phone and the attacker immediately resold the phone for $100.  

Related: Crackdown on stolen cell phones advances as aldermen press officials on enforcement  

Municipal depositories, other ordinances  

The council is also set to approve an ordinance (O2022-274) authorizing this year’s round of municipal depositories, or banks that will hold portions of the city’s approximately $9 billion in assets.  

Despite an effort (O2021-2879) by city Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin to make it easier for smaller, community-based banks to apply for the right to hold city assets, the list of banks who applied this year is nearly identical to the roster of big-name national institutions who already hold city funds, Comptroller Reshma Soni told aldermen during a hearing last month. However, GN Bank, a Black-owned, Chicago-based bank currently designated as a Chicago municipal depository, did not reapply for the right to hold city funds. MUFG Union Bank, another relatively small institution, did not reapply either.  

Representatives of the Illinois Bankers Association and the nonprofit Woodstock Institute suggested last month that new city rules (SO2021-2872) requiring banks to disclose their home lending data could be repelling smaller banks from applying. 

Related: Chase remains worst actor on racist home lending as city struggles to expand investment pool, data shows 

The following other citywide ordinances are on tap for approval on Wednesday: 

O2021-3106 — A proposal from Ald. Brendan Reilly (42), which if approved on Wednesday would ban pedicab drivers from playing music on a radio or speaker between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m. each night. Reilly introduced the measure last July with a companion ordinance (O2021-3104) that would have created an “exclusion zone” in River North where pedicabs would be banned from operating overnight. But Reilly dropped the “exclusion zone” proposal after speaking with “members of the pedicab industry to narrow the scope and focus” of his efforts, he told his colleagues last week. 

O2021-5871 — The “encumbrance ordinance,” allowing the Chicago Department of Housing to waive city debts, fees and liens on any property the city is targeting for private “revitalization” efforts. 

Related: ‘Encumbrance ordinance’ could help spur more rehabs of blighted properties: housing officials 

O2021-5875 — An ordinance authorizing the issuance of a $75 million bond to renew the city’s TaxSmart program, which offers a 25 percent tax credit on some homeowners’ mortgage interest payments, capped at $2,000 per household per year. 

O2021-5286 — An ordinance from Lightfoot that follows up on last year’s initiative (SO2020-4817) allowing city license officials to revoke licenses of scofflaw towing companies operating in the city. The proposal up for a vote on Wednesday sets a series of “technical amendments,” one of which would double from one year to two years the life of city-issued “emblems” for tow operators. Updated rules also “clarify” that tow operators do not need to be affiliated with storage lots, and that they may tow cars to lots located outside the city. Under the new measure, companies with suburban tow lots will need an “affidavit certifying that the tow lot is in compliance with all applicable laws” before applying with the city for a towing license, Meyer told aldermen last week.    

O2021-5726 — An ordinance introduced by Mayor Lori Lightfoot last month that would prohibit restaurants from marketing sugary drinks as part of kids’ meals. Lightfoot’s ordinance is proposed as a “local implementation” of Gov. JB Pritzker’s Serve Kids Better Act (SB1846), which the governor signed into law last August. If aldermen approve the measure on Wednesday, restaurants will only be able to advertise one of five “default beverages” as part of a kids’ meal: water; sparkling water without added sweeteners; flavored water without added sweeteners; nonfat or 1 percent dairy milk; “non-dairy milk alternatives” without added sugar that contain 130 calories or fewer; or “100 percent fruit or vegetable juice” without added sweeteners, served in a container of 8 ounces or less. Customers under the ordinance would still be allowed to substitute sugary or otherwise unhealthy drinks if they prefer them over the six “default” options.  

Related: Kids’ beverage ordinance advances 

SO2021-2058 An ordinance raising the minimum wage above the city’s minimum for employees of companies that are contracted by the airlines at Chicago’s airports. 

Related: Wage hike approved for airport workers 

O2021-5842 — A proposal from Ald. Michelle Harris (8), who chairs the City Council Committee on Committees and Rules, to transfer funds within the committee for the 2021 budget year. The measure proposes $5,500 from the rental/equipment line item to be used for material/supplies, $49.74 budgeted for “contingencies” to graphics/designs and $1,760 from the phone/AMI line item to be spent on “supplies.” 

O2021-5873 — An ordinance raising the cap on a routine property transfer tax remittance that the city conveys to the CTA each year, reflecting higher-than-expected revenues each year. The approximately $76 million transfer will help the transit agency pay down its pension obligations. 

R2021-1305 — The re-referral to the Finance Committee of a resolution by Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35) calling for a study of potential city investments in weapons manufacturers. 

R2021-1304 — The re-referral to the Committee on Budget and Government Operations of a resolution from Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25) calling for the city to use federal pandemic relief money to prioritize installing new water meters for low-income households. 

R2021-1129 — The re-referral to the Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights of a resolution by Ald. Sophia King (4) “reaffirming” Chicago’s status as a sanctuary city for Haitian and other Black immigrants. 

The following location-specific ordinances are on the agenda for Wednesday’s meeting: 

O2021-5877 — An ordinance authorizing the sale of the city-owned former Maxim’s Restaurant in Bertrand Goldman’s Astor Tower. If approved by the City Council on Tuesday, the measure will authorize the city to sell the commercial condo unit at 1300 N. Astor St. in the 43rd Ward to Adam Bilter of Bilter Foundation for the parcel’s appraised value of $680,000, according to city documents. 

Related: Aldermen approve sale of former Maxim’s Restaurant 

O2021-5882 — An ordinance authorizing the city to issue about $44.7 million in Multi-Family Housing Revenue Bonds to help finance a renovation of the 272-unit Barbara Jean Wright Court affordable apartments in the 25th Ward. The loan, coupled with $4 million in tax-increment financing, will aid the Jonathan Rose Companies’ imminent takeover and renovation of the housing complex. 

O2021-5878 — An ordinance authorizing the sale of a of vacant city-owned property at 3975-77 S. Drexel Blvd. and 3981-83 S. Drexel Blvd. in the 4th Ward to John Jones for $250,000 

O2021-5876 — A proposal for the Class C tax status renewal for the property at 4535 W. Armitage Ave. in the 36th Ward. 

O2021-5841 — Expenditure of $450,000 in Open Space lmpact Fees to reimburse Chicago Public Schools for work on storm drainage, an asphalt basketball court, a play plaza area and a drinking fountain at Oscar F. Mayer Elementary School at 2250 N. Clifton Ave. in the 43rd Ward. 

O2021-5732 — Expenditure of $329,800 in tax-increment financing for Chicago Public Schools to fund mechanical upgrades at Solorio Academy High School at 5400 S. St. Louis Ave. in the 14th Ward.   

O2021-5746 — Expenditure of $3.8 million in tax-increment financing for Chicago Public Schools to fund a new mechanical system at Irma Ruiz High School at 2410 S. Leavitt St. in the 25th Ward.  

O2021-5747 — Expenditure of $4.25 million in tax-increment financing for Chicago Public Schools to fund a roof replacement at Spencer Elementary Technology Academy at 214 N. Lavergne Ave. in the 28th Ward. 

The council is also set to give a final stamp to all the measures approved by the City Council Committee on Zoning, Landmarks and Building Standards on Tuesday, including a proposal to relocate Saint Anthony Hospital within Little Village. 

Related: Zoning committee set to vote on construction code changes, relocating Saint Anthony Hospital 

]]> Wed, 26 Jan 2022 17:29:22 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/DaBPq-jBJRbXDTlSYc5E2IeLGixeGJZp https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/DaBPq-jBJRbXDTlSYc5E2BKeetMRuZbW

GRAND BOULEVARD — A grocery store once slated for Bronzeville may be back on the table after more than three years.

Ald. Pat Dowell (3rd) announced plans for a Pete’s Fresh Market in late 2018 on the former site of Stateway Gardens housing project and later Crispus Attucks Elementary, which was demolished last year.

The land, at State Street and Pershing Road, is owned by the the city, the Chicago Housing Authority and Chicago Public Schools.

The effort stalled after a handful of community meetings, but a developer tied to the project said there’s some progress to finally make the grocery store a reality.

Zeb McLaurin said his team is finalizing a development schedule with Pete’s Fresh Market to hammer out the details with the city, which may require vacating portions of Dearborn Street north of Pershing Road. McLaurin also said environmental studies for site remediation are underway, and they’ve had interest from other companies about setting up shop near a new Pete’s.

Nothing official has been filed with the city’s Department of Planning and Development, but Dowell, who recently announced she will run for Bobby Rush’s South Side Congressional seat, urged residents to write letters to Mayor Lori Lightfoot to say they support they project.

“… Our goal is to be in the ground this year to start the Pete’s construction so that they can be open by early next year,” McLaurin said.

Pete’s operates 17 locations in the Chicago area.

Credit: Provided.

The proposal dates back to Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s administration. McLaurin said a new mayor then the pandemic stymied the progress from several meetings among the CHA, city officials and the Housing and Urban Development to facilitate land swaps.

Supply chain issues affecting the construction industry were another factor, increasing potential costs for what would be a 60,000-square-foot building, McLaurin said.

Should Pete’s come to fruition, it would sit down the street from another grocery, Mariano’s, 3857 S. Martin Luther King Dr. McLaurin said the Pershing Avenue land is the only suitable location for a market that size, while Dowell said supported giving Bronzeville residents more grocery options.

“It creates a great sense of competition. I look at what happened at the Jewel on 35th Street after Mariano’s moved in, and now [company leaders] are investing in that Jewel,” Dowell said.

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]]> Wed, 26 Jan 2022 17:13:00 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/DaBPq-jBJRbXDTlSYc5E2BKeetMRuZbW https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/DaBPq-jBJRZgp0eXSpKTaK8qfTAM-Smm

NORTH LAWNDALE — A West Side woman needs help rebuilding her life after losing her home and all of her belongings in a fire earlier this month.

Latonia Matthews had lived at the apartment at 3627 W. Lexington St. for more than 10 years. The building had previously belonged to her aunt before it was sold to a new landlord, so Matthews has memories of the place dating back to her childhood, she said.

But memories are now all that’s left of her home. Matthews rushed out of her apartment before dawn to escape the Jan. 16 fire with nothing but the clothes on her back.

Her sister launched a GoFundMe to help Matthews get back on her feet. Donations will help Matthews pay for food, clothes and housing costs to “rebuild my life with the basic necessities and start creating more memories again,” she said. 

“Everybody was running out of the building just screaming for each other. It went on for some hours,” Matthews said. “If it wasn’t for my neighbors who put a coat on me and some boots on my feet, I wouldn’t have had anything.”

Matthews fled the building early in the morning around 5 a.m., she said. The fire wasn’t completely put out until shortly before 9 a.m., the Chicago Fire Department reported. A woman in her 60s was taken to the hospital in stable condition, along with two children who were taken to Stroger Hospital for evaluation, fire officials said.

She is thankful to have escaped unharmed, but the loss of all her things, many of them irreplaceable, is devastating, Matthews said. Her photographs of her family and of her experiences doing humanitarian work in Haiti are among the toughest to have lost, she said.

“I had a very large portrait of my aunt who passed away. That portrait was very important to me,” Matthews said.

Matthews initially started living at the apartment when she was between homes, and her aunt offered to have her stay in her building. Over her 10 years of living there, she had opened her home to other members of her family whenever they needed a place to land for a while, Matthews said.

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]]> Wed, 26 Jan 2022 16:37:00 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/DaBPq-jBJRZgp0eXSpKTaK8qfTAM-Smm https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/DaBPq-jBJRbQ8hWKpC8FriuZukmJ4mr4

LINCOLN SQUARE — Lincoln Square residents will see upgraded infrastructure, beautification and security cameras in the area following an annual vote on how to spend city money for the ward.

Each year, the 50 wards get $1.5 million each from the city’s budget for special projects and repairs. Since 2020, the 40th Ward has allowed neighbors to vote on how that money is spent using participatory budgeting. 

The majority of more than 2,100 neighbors who voted wanted $500,000 set aside for infrastructure repairs and paving across the ward, Ald. Andre Vasquez (40th) said.

The next most popular item was $50,000 for 95 new trees to be planted across the ward. 

Vasquez spoke to the city’s bureau of forestry about the trees and was told Mayor Lori Lightfoot plans to have 75,000 new trees across the city over the next five years. If that comes to fruition, the ward money might be able to be freed for another use, Vasquez said.

“We want everyone in the 40th Ward that wants a tree to get one and so our ward office will put out a form where neighbors can put a request,” Vasquez said. “But between now and when that’s live we highly recommend neighbors to fill out 311 requests for the trees.”

The third request was $165,000 for the installation of six police observation cameras in response to concerns about crime. 

These cameras will be installed on arterial streets that lack good police surveillance based on conversations the ward has had with the local districts, Vasquez said. 

Other items on residents’ wish list will require more planning, Vasquez said.

Neighbors wanted $75,000 for new bike lanes on Granville Avenue between Western Avenue and Clark Street. But those plans are being reevaluated after getting feedback from nearby residents, Vasquez said. 

“We’re not saying no to this but we’re putting this on hold in order to have a conversation with neighbors in the area to identify the best way to have traffic calming measures for cyclists,” he said. “Because that street is already seen as a bike path through the city.”

Neighbors also want to set aside $275,000 for an additional green alley in the ward. These types of alleys use permeable pavement to allow water to more easily filter through the street and drain into the ground, among other things. 

The cost to install a green alley on just one block of a residential street can cost about $250,000, Vasquez said. 

Because of that Vasquez said his staffers will evaluate which alleys in the ward are the “worst of the worst” and prioritize those as candidates for a green alley installation. 

Other neighbor suggestions that made the cut include $50,000 for outdoor fitness equipment at Emerson Park and $75,000 for a new pedestrian refuge island at the intersection of Berwyn and Ashland. 

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]]> Wed, 26 Jan 2022 16:19:00 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/DaBPq-jBJRbQ8hWKpC8FriuZukmJ4mr4 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/DaBPq-jBJRbQ8hWKpC8FruGrEXdXG_66

WICKER PARK — The Roberto Clemente Community Academy girls basketball team will get to play at the United Center next week and is hoping for an extra boost of support in the meantime.

The team will play Von Steuben High School at 2 p.m. Feb. 1 at the United Center before the Bulls face the Orlando Magic that evening. To attend, people can purchase discounted tickets for both games through this link. A portion of the proceeds will benefit Clemente.

Bringing high school teams to play at the United Center has been a longtime project of the team’s coach Mark Crawley. He first started doing so when he coached the Clemente boys varsity team, before leaving the school for a few years in 2012.

“Each time that we did it, it was amazing. The kids had incredible memories and if they never put on a jersey again, they would have a memory of being able to play where the Bulls play, where Michael Jordan played,” said Crawley, who is a post-secondary counselor at Clemente, where he also coaches the girl’s softball team.

When he returned to Clemente in 2019 and started coaching the school’s only girls basketball team, Crawley said it was a priority of his to have them play at the United Center too, which they did that season.

“The girls a lot of times play second fiddle to the boys in sports. And I wanted the girls to be able to experience the same thing,” he said.

Crawley said next week’s game is a chance to make up for two years of hardships his players have experienced during the pandemic.

But as recently as last week, the United Center game wasn’t officially confirmed. In order for it to go forward, the Bulls were requiring Clemente to sell 500 tickets, Crawley said.

By Nov. 16, the team had only sold around 80 tickets. That’s when Crawley called Robert Magiet, owner of Takorea Cocina in Ukrainian Village, to see if he could help out.

Magiet then purchased 100 tickets to the game through his nonprofit West Town Feeds, which he said he’s giving out to neighborhood families. Anyone interested in contributing or attending as part of his group can email westtownfeeds@gmail.com for more information.

While Clemente’s team still hasn’t sold 500 tickets, Crawley said the number is now around 350, and the Bulls have officially given the game the green light.

“Because of Roberts efforts, [the Bulls] confirmed that we could play the game, and it gave us a second wind, a second opportunity,” he said.

Crawley said every year he’s brought high school players to the United Center, they’re always in awe of the size and grandeur of the court and stadium — and it can take them a little while to acclimate during the game.

“Usually it takes them about a quarter to get used to the distance and the depth perception, because in that open arena, it’s different to shoot. So it takes them a little while to get used to it,” he said.

But Crawley said once they do, his players just “start playing.”

“Almost every athlete aspires at some point to try and play at the highest level, and 90 percent, 95 percent of them don’t get a chance to realize that,” he said. “But if you have the opportunity to play in a stadium or an arena where the highest level is played, you can live that moment out during that day.”

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]]> Wed, 26 Jan 2022 16:14:00 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/DaBPq-jBJRbQ8hWKpC8FruGrEXdXG_66 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/DaBPq-jBJRbQ8hWKpC8Frn1d0VB8z-7c

SOUTH SHORE — A mural on 71st Street aims to boost vaccine uptake among South Shore’s residents as the neighborhood’s vaccination rates lag and coronavirus deaths again outpace the citywide average.

Muralist Rahmaan Statik painted photographer Sandro Miller‘s portraits of vaccinated local teens Misael V. and Ayonna F. on the side of the former Studio 71 gallery, 1834 E. 71st St. The mural was completed earlier this month.

The South Shore mural is the first created through the city’s Face Forward vaccine project, said Ernest Sanders, executive director of partner organization South Shore Works. Many of the 200-plus young people Miller photographed also shared their hopes for the future in a virtual gallery.

The positive portrayals of vaccinated youth can spur discussion about the vaccine among their peers — “and maybe encourage [their] parents to get vaccinated if they haven’t already,” Sanders said.

Some of the young people featured Face Forward are seen on a mobile photo gallery that travels to various sites in Chicago, including a pop-up event this fall at Local Market, 2101 E. 71st St.

“I believe it is important to contribute to my community in whatever way possible,” South Shore resident Rashad B. told South Shore Works at the pop-up.

One in 222 residents has died from coronavirus in South Shore’s ZIP Code, 60649. The community’s death rate from coronavirus is three times the citywide average, according to the latest city data.

“Our fatality rates are going back up in January,” a “really alarming” fact given residents’ work to boost access to and awareness of the vaccine over the last year, Sanders said.

ZIP Code 60649 has the second-lowest vaccination rate in Chicago, and the fourth lowest of any ZIP Code entirely within city limits, as 50.3 percent of residents aged 5 and older are fully vaccinated. That’s compared to 70.6 percent citywide.

South Shore’s “vaccine hesitancy didn’t happen overnight,” Sanders said. “Folks became that way because they got misinformation or they didn’t have good information. [Projects like the mural] are committed to addressing the hesitancy that exists and getting people informed.”

South Shore Works is planning a wide-ranging program to complement the mural and encourage more people in South Shore to get vaccinated, with more specifics to be announced in the coming weeks, Sanders said.

For more information on getting a coronavirus vaccine, click here.

Block Club Chicago’s coronavirus coverage is free for all readers. Block Club is an independent, 501(c)(3), journalist-run newsroom.

Subscribe to Block Club Chicago, an independent, 501(c)(3), journalist-run newsroom. Every dime we make funds reporting from Chicago’s neighborhoods.

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]]> Wed, 26 Jan 2022 16:00:00 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/DaBPq-jBJRbQ8hWKpC8Frn1d0VB8z-7c https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/DaBPq-jBJRarXI00FWqzmwpx5_w21kha

LINCOLN PARK — Gepperth’s Meat Market in Lincoln Park is reopening next week after being temporarily closed all January, but the shop continues to struggle with rising meat prices and staffing shortages.

Gepperth’s, 1964 N. Halsted St., temporarily closes at the start of each year to give staff time off and the owners a chance to fix up the shop. The 111-year-old meat market is normally reopen by Jan. 15, but this year it won’t reopen until Feb. 1 due to ongoing challenges brought on by the pandemic, owner Vincent Colombet said.

“Basically, nothing is going the way we want right now,” Colombet said.

Like many businesses, Gepperth’s has experienced staffing shortages since the pandemic started, and one of the meat shop’s butchers retired at the end of 2021, Colombet said.

Credit: Jake Wittich/Block Club Chicago

Fortunately, Otto Demke, who sold the business to Colombet in 2020, has stuck around the butcher shop, working two days a week “because he likes it” and to mentor staff, Colombet said.

“It’s a big help and he’s there to teach everybody how to do things,” Colombet said. “Plus the old customers still get to see him, which is nice because he’s kind of like the soul of that place.”

But the shop has also struggled with supply chain issues that have caused meat prices to “skyrocket,” with some beef prices rising as much as 300 percent, Colombet said.

“It’s been very challenging with the supply crisis,” Colombet said. “We’re able to find everything, but the prices went up like crazy. Cheaper products like chicken or pork haven’t changed much, but we saw the price of beef skyrocket.”

In turn, Gepperth’s has had to raise its own prices — but not too high that it turns customers away, Colombet said.

“It’s gotten to the point where we’re barely making any money because we can only pass on so much of that price to the customers,” Colombet said.

Even Demke, who ran the shop with his wife, Dianna Demke, from 1981 to 2020, is shocked by the inflation of meat prices, Colombet said.

“Otto said he hasn’t seen prices go up like that ever in his life,” Colombet said. “He’s used to raised prices throughout the year, but not a jump of 30-40 percent like we’ve had to for certain items.”

Between the staffing and pricing issues, Gepperth’s has struggled to bring in the same amount of money the butcher shop once did, Colombet said.

“So with all that combined — January being a slow month, we don’t have the staff, prices are going up and we’re not making any money — we decided we might as well stay closed for now,” Colombet said. “But we’re probably going to reopen Tuesday because it’s the end of January and we’re hoping more people will be coming out.”

When Gepperth’s reopens, its hours will be 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday. The shop is closed Sunday and Monday.

Jake Wittich is a Report for America corps member covering Lakeview, Lincoln Park and LGBTQ communities across the city for Block Club Chicago.

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]]> Wed, 26 Jan 2022 15:44:00 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/DaBPq-jBJRarXI00FWqzmwpx5_w21kha https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/DaBPq-jBJRarXI00FWqzm4fjc6hd5eWF

CHICAGO — Chicago Public Schools will shorten its quarantine rules for students and staff from 10 days to five days starting Feb. 1.

District CEO Pedro Martinez said Tuesday the district would align its quarantine policy with updated guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which in December recommended isolation for five days, followed by strict mask-wearing for five days. 

The rules will apply to unvaccinated students who are a close contact with someone who tested positive for COVID or to any students and staff, regardless of vaccination status, who are instructed to quarantine or isolate after testing positive. Any student who tests positive after Feb. 1 will be able to return on the sixth day after symptoms have resolved or if they are asymptomatic, officials said.

Vaccinated students who have been in close contacts with someone who tested positive for COVID but who do not have symptoms do not have to quarantine.

Schools will take extra precautions with masking and social distancing when students return to campus during the subsequent five days, officials said. 

Dr. Alison Arwady, the city’s top health commissioner, said anyone who still exhibits symptoms cannot return to school. 

When students return, the district will pay extra attention to masking and possibly limit extracurriculars during days 6-10, Arwady said. 

Chicago Public Schools spokesperson said additional guidance would be shared with families before the policy is implemented.

Following changes to federal guidelines in December, school districts across the country have been wrestling with the question of how long to quarantine students. Other schools nationwide have already adopted a five-day quarantine.

The Illinois State Board of Education last week aligned its quarantine guidance for unvaccinated students with the CDC, shortening isolation from 10 to five days as of Jan. 11.

In October, Chicago schools previously shortened its quarantine rules from 14 to 10 days for unvaccinated students.

The district currently requires unvaccinated students to quarantine for 10 days after known exposure to someone who is positive for COVID, such as a teacher or classmate. Other situations can trigger quarantines, such as travel on Chicago’s travel advisory.

Last week, Chicago Public Schools recorded a total of 2,278 student cases and 670 staff cases. As of Jan. 24, 19,414 students and 809 staff members were in quarantine, data shows.

Across the district, 53 percent of 12- to 17-year-old students are fully vaccinated, compared with 33.52% of 5- to 11-year-old students who have received one dose, officials said.

About 115,582 students are fully vaccinated and 148,066 students have at least one dose, officials said.

The district is continuing to ramp up testing and gathering consent for school-based COVID-testing, with a focus on schools that have yet to reach a 10 percent threshold of unvaccinated students. CPS has received consent for more than 87,000 students to date, Martinez said.

District data shows a 2.5 percent positivity from the 53,407 tests administered between Jan. 16 and Jan. 22.

Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools.

]]> Wed, 26 Jan 2022 15:33:00 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/DaBPq-jBJRarXI00FWqzm4fjc6hd5eWF https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/DaBPq-jBJRZEdXh8_624mkZPHFZJLI3I

WOODLAWN — The Chicago Symphony Orchestra returns to Woodlawn Friday for the first time since 2016, performing selections by Vivaldi and Handel for free.

The “community concert” will be held 7 p.m. Friday at Apostolic Church of God, 6320 S. Dorchester Ave. Reservations are recommended, but not required for the 3,000-seat venue. To reserve a ticket, click here.

Attendees must show proof of vaccination against coronavirus, proof of a negative PCR test within 72 hours of the performance, or proof of a negative antigen test within six hours.

Friday’s performance will be held as the orchestra plays similar concerts Thursday and Saturday at the Symphony Center, 220 S. Michigan Ave. Tickets for the Downtown performances start at $29.

The Woodlawn concert “is important, because not everyone can find the time to squeeze in their busy schedules and come Downtown to hear the orchestra,” violinist and assistant concertmaster Yuan-Qing Yu said. “… You get a different energy [with community performances] than when you play in a concert hall.”

Friday’s program features two of the three Vivaldi concertos to be featured during the Symphony Center performances — “Concerto for Four Violins in B Minor” and “Flute Concerto in G Minor.”

The symphony orchestra will also perform Handel’s “Water Music Suite No. 1” for the first time in more than a decade this weekend.

Friday’s performance “highlights some of the orchestra’s principals as solo players,” said Yu, a featured soloist during the “Flute Concerto in G Minor.” It focuses “more on the baroque style of playing and repertoire,” she said.

Credit: Todd Rosenberg Photography

It’s “a more intimate program” than the orchestra’s last performance at Apostolic Church in 2016, when the musicians performed Beethoven’s “Symphony No. 5” — a “large-scale symphonic work,” Yu said.

The orchestra also performed works by Beethoven at a free community concert Jan. 14 at Morton East High School in Cicero.

Community performances like the ones in Cicero and at Apostolic can have a lasting impact on attendees, Yu said. The church’s youth orchestra saw a boost in participation after the 2016 concert, she said.

“People are inspired to go back to the instruments they played when they were younger, or it inspires the next generation to include music in part of their education,” Yu said. “Even if you’re not going to become a musician, having an appreciation of music and knowing an instrument is so important in one person’s complete education.”

The benefit of community concerts is mutual, Yu said, as Chicago Symphony Orchestra musicians felt energized after their last performance in Woodlawn.

“I remember how exciting it was to play in 2016 — how audience members just applauded right after we played a few notes,” she said. “That kind of applause from the audience, the public and the community is also invigorating for the musicians, to see that they are welcome.”

“I don’t think there’s a right way” to enjoy the symphony, Yu said. She encouraged neighbors who have never experienced the orchestra before to “just come and enjoy” the free concert.

“It’s lively, energetic and in general a more upbeat kind of music,” Yu said. “You don’t need any prior knowledge, just come and pass a little over an hour [with] great music.”

Subscribe to Block Club Chicago, an independent, 501(c)(3), journalist-run newsroom. Every dime we make funds reporting from Chicago’s neighborhoods.

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]]> Wed, 26 Jan 2022 05:19:00 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/DaBPq-jBJRZEdXh8_624mkZPHFZJLI3I https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/DaBPq-jBJRZNO_rdTxKFVFhGNgNo2_0q

CHICAGO — Alderpeople rebuked the CTA president Tuesday for skipping a meeting last week where they planned to approve a huge increase to the transit agency’s budget.

The City Council’s budget committee signed off on sending another $26.1 million of tax revenue to the CTA. In all, the transit agency will get $76 million stemming from real estate taxes this year, thanks to an increase in home sales and fees on property transfers.

The committee delayed their vote last week because no one from the CTA showed up to answer questions about how they would use the extra money. President Dorval Carter Jr. also did not attend Tuesday, with the CTA sending chief financial officer Jeremy Fine and vice president of legislative affairs Sam Smith to handle the fallout. 

When the committee reconvened Tuesday, it approved the tax transfer unanimously, but not before blasting the agency for a lack of communication with City Council, threatening to seek an amendment to the tax arrangement, complain about safety on trains, buses and CTA stops and vow to haul the agency’s president back for future hearings.

“My question, I think is real simple, where is Mr. Carter?” Ald. Jason Ervin (28th), who was recently added to the team of Lightfoot committee chairs. “I’ve heard from multiple people at CTA above and below him, but haven’t heard from him and that’s a bit troubling,” Ervin said. “…everyone continues to have trouble with the agency, but if the gentleman feels it’s beneath him to come talk to us, then that’s the message that’s being conveyed.”

The full City Council will vote on the tax transfer at its Wednesday meeting.

Smith apologized on behalf of Carter Jr., saying it was “not his intent” to dismiss the concerns and he will “make himself available to all of you, at any time.”

Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago

Many of those who laid into CTA leadership Tuesday are top Council allies of Mayor Lori Lightfoot.

“The next time something comes up on the CTA, I better not get a call from (intergovernmental affairs), I better not get a call from anybody except the (president) of CTA, talking about how management is structured and the accountability that must be had from that body,” said Lightfoot’s vice floor leader, Ald. George Cardenas (12th).

Ald. Scott Waguespack (32nd), who chairs the Finance Committee, said City Council was frustrated by last week’s “no show.”

“City Council shouldn’t have to go to the (CTA) board meeting when constituents are calling, asking us not only where all the money is going, but what is being done,” he said. “The CTA needs to step up to the plate and have better communications with the elected officials in the city.”

Fine said the money, received annually, will be spent towards paying down pension obligation bond debt the agency is on the hook for to the tune of $150 million through 2040. 

The tax arrangement was created by the state legislature in 2008 to shore up the agency’s pension plan, which currently includes 18,375 current and former employees. 

In addition to the debt service, CTA pays an additional $150 million into the plan for a total of $300 million, which represents “about 20 percent of our entire operating budget,” Smith said. 

Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago

Alderpeople also criticized the agency for not responding quickly enough to safety concerns and for unexplained long-delays on train and bus lines.

“There are a lot of issues surrounding public transit these days, not the least of which is safety, and it seems that this would have been a great opportunity for president Carter to get up here and explain to us what the plan is to improve safety on on our transit system, especially our trains,” said Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd).

“It seems like almost every single day the Blue Line is delayed,” said. Ald. Carlos Ramirez Rosa (35th). “I myself was on the platform last week and the train was delayed for a very long time, people were late to work, it was not providing the type of consistent service that Chicagoans need.” 

Smith responded that he would “circle back” with Ramirez Rosa on whether the delays were because of mechanical issues or a lack of staffing.

“Like many other businesses out there, we do also have our manpower issues from time to time in terms of staffing, I’m not saying that this is the cause of what’s happening on the Blue Line recently, I just want to put that out there,” Smith said. 

Repeating a claim from Lightfoot and CTA officials throughout the pandemic, Fine told the committee “we’ve run full service throughout the pandemic to ensure that essential workers and folks needing those essential services could access those throughout the pandemic.”

However, a Chicago Tribune analysis found the agency ran “far fewer of its scheduled train trips” on some lines during the pandemic than it did in the months prior. 

Budget Committee chair, Ald. Pat Dowell (3rd) said she’ll work with colleagues to haul CTA leadership back before City Council for a hearing to “address issues relating to the capital budget, your priorities, ridership, safety, how you’re coming out of this recovery…”

Subscribe to Block Club Chicago, an independent, 501(c)(3), journalist-run newsroom. Every dime we make funds reporting from Chicago’s neighborhoods.

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Thanks for subscribing to Block Club Chicago, an independent, 501(c)(3), journalist-run newsroom. Every dime we make funds reporting from Chicago’s neighborhoods. Click here to support Block Club with a tax-deductible donation.

]]> Wed, 26 Jan 2022 02:45:00 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/DaBPq-jBJRZNO_rdTxKFVFhGNgNo2_0q https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/DaBPq-jBJRaIF08A5woE_Yfjc6hd5eWF

CHICAGO — Chicago Public Schools officials are defending changes to their online COVID-19 tracker but denied trying to mislead the public about how positive cases are affecting individual schools.

The district switched how it reports school-level data after winter break. Instead of tracking all potential coronavirus cases at schools, the tracker now only shows “closed” cases, or those that have been confirmed by contact tracers.

But the district didn’t announce this change publicly, befuddling and angering parents who were notified about cases at their children’s schools but weren’t seeing that reflected on the dashboard.

RELATED: Is CPS Undercounting COVID-19 Cases In Schools? Alderpeople Demand Investigation As Allegations Spread

At a press conference Tuesday, CPS CEO Pedro Martinez said the district made the change to provide “the most accurate data” possible to parents, but acknowledged it caused confusion.

Martinez said the district is exploring sharing open COVID-19 cases at the school level again, but he didn’t give a timeline for when that would occur.

“The goal was to try to make sure we have accurate data. … The answer’s not: Let’s close so much of the information,” he said. “The team is going back and saying, let’s try to achieve these goals. For me, the number one question is: What does a parent need to know about their school and about the cases at their school?”

Since the change came to light, some have accused CPS officials of trying to intentionally undercount cases, particularly as city leaders battled with the Chicago Teachers Union about the safety of in-person learning during the Omicron surge. Martinez and Dr. Allison Arwady, commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health, denied any malfeasance.

“It wasn’t ill intent at all,” Martinez said.

Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago

CPS parent and software engineer Jakob Ondrey, who has followed COVID-19 cases schools since February 2021 through Chicago Public Schools COVID-19 Case Tracker, was first to publicly raise questions about the district’s data tracking system last week.

He discovered that cases reported to the district were no longer showing up on school dashboards. Dozens, or sometimes hundreds, of cases weren’t being attributed to specific schools.

CPS officials acknowledged Friday they’d changed their method of data collection. Martinez said Tuesday the district switched to only reporting closed cases in part because parents were self-reporting cases multiple times and clogging up the system.

“We constantly see these issues at the district level but we can manage that. At the school level, it gets very tricky,” he said.

Martinez said he didn’t “fully appreciate the complexities” of the district’s data reporting system before the uproar. Now, CPS officials are looking into adding open cases to school dashboards, but separating them by self-reported cases, isolated cases that came in over the weekend or cases when school wasn’t in session, he said.

The data snafu comes as CPS is coming down from record-high COVID-19 cases.

The school district saw 1,320 positive cases of coronavirus last week out of 53,353 tests completed, for a 2.5 percent positivity rate. The prior week saw a 5.5 percent positivity rate.

In Uptown, Goudy’s Elementary School switched to remote learning this week after more than 240 students and staff were forced to quarantine.

Martinez said the district appears to have reached its peak last week and he’s “optimistic” cases are trending downward.

Citywide, Arwady said Chicago is “well past” the Omicron variant-fueled peak and cases are continuing to decrease, but the city and state are still seeing high case rates, positivity rates, hospitalizations and deaths.

Arwady urged Chicagoans to get vaccinated as the pandemic rages on. Officials have said most of the people getting seriously ill and dying from COVID-19 are unvaccinated.

“I don’t want people thinking this is over,” Arwady said.

Vaccinations:

• In Illinois, about 7.8 million people — or 61.8 percent of the state’s 12.7 million people — are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to state data.

• Across the state, 41,692 vaccine doses are being administered per day, based on a seven-day rolling average.

• Illinois and Chicago have administered at least 20,305,739 vaccine doses of the 22,936,745 provided to them.

• City data shows more than 1.7 million Chicagoans — or 66.3 percent of all residents — are fully vaccinated, and 74.5 percent of all Chicagoans have gotten at least one shot.

Everyone 5 and older is eligible to get vaccinated in Chicago.

COVID-19 vaccinations are free and do not require insurance. Anyone can call the city’s coronavirus hotline at 312-746-4835 to get more information on how and where to get vaccinated in their community.

The numbers:

• Since Monday, 121 Illinoisans were reported dead from COVID-19.

• At least 30,276 people have died from COVID-19 in Illinois, and another 3,666 deaths are probably related to the virus, according to the state.

• The state reported 13,706 cases since Monday. That brings the total number of confirmed cases in Illinois up to 2,851,567.

• Since Monday, 125,097 tests were reported statewide. In all, 50,216,132 tests have been reported in Illinois.

• Illinois’ seven-day case positivity rate was at 11.5 percent. The figure represents the percentage of people testing positive among recent tests. It was at 11.6 percent Monday.

• Illinois’ seven-day test positivity rate, which measures the percentage of tests that were positive, was at 15 percent. It was at 15.2 percent Monday.

• As of Monday night, 907 people with COVID-19 were in the ICU and 542 people with COVID-19 were using ventilators in Illinois.

• In Chicago, 25 deaths were reported since Monday. There have been at least 6,815 deaths from COVID-19 in Chicago. The city is seeing an average of 19 people dying per day, down 22 percent from a week ago.

• Chicago has had 984 confirmed cases reported since Monday. It’s had a total of 537,070 confirmed cases. An average of 1,919 confirmed cases are being reported per day, down 48 percent from a week ago.

• Testing in Chicago is down 3 percent from a week ago.

• Chicago’s positivity rate was at 7.9 percent, down from 14.1 percent a week ago.

Block Club Chicago’s coronavirus coverage is free for all readers.

Subscribe to Block Club Chicago, an independent, 501(c)(3), journalist-run newsroom. Every dime we make funds reporting from Chicago’s neighborhoods.

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]]> Wed, 26 Jan 2022 01:10:00 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/DaBPq-jBJRaIF08A5woE_Yfjc6hd5eWF https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/DaBPq-jBJRbyc-97GhALA1RpWVnEcNkS

UPTOWN — Goudy Technology Academy moved to all-virtual classes this week after more than 240 students and staffers were put into quarantine at the Uptown school.

The school safety committee at Goudy, 5120 N. Winthrop Ave., voted to flip the school to virtual learning effective Monday, according to an email from school administrators.

All Goudy students were asked to stay home beginning Monday, but “direct” virtual instruction didn’t begin until Tuesday, according to the email. Goudy students and families were asked to pick up virtual learning equipment from the school Tuesday, school administers said in the email.

That effectively meant school was canceled Monday for some kids who did not already have a means to attend virtually, according to a parent at the school.

The virtual format will remain for the rest of the week, though CPS is not holding school Friday for a teacher development day.

Students are scheduled to return to the building Monday “unless case numbers show that it is not yet safe for them to do so,” Goudy Principal Pamela Susan Brandt and Assistant Principal Bill Yeh wrote in an email to school families. A follow-up email will be sent to confirm the return to classes, the administrators said.

Families were notified Friday of the school building closure. That same day, the number of people at Goudy in quarantine rose to 240, according to CPS’s covid tracker.

The number of quarantine cases at Goudy dipped to 224 on Sunday and 179 on Monday, the data shows. Goudy reported 15 “closed cases” of COVID-19 at the end of last week and has not reported any more such cases since.

Credit: Screenshot/CPS Covid Tracker

In late December, CPS switched its COVID tracker to only show closed cases of COVID versus open cases in order to “provide a more accurate number of closed positive and confirmed cases and to protect the privacy of our students and staff, especially in some of our school settings where the case count was very low and there was subsequent speculation about the health status of specific individuals,” a district spokesperson previously said.

The district may return to reporting closed and open cases in light of the omicron surge in the city, officials said last week.

Goudy has 563 students, including kindergarten and pre-kindergarten classes.

CPS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The school district saw 1,320 positive cases of coronavirus last week out of 53,353 tests completed for a positivity rate of 2.5 percent. The prior week saw a 5.5 percent positivity rate.

Subscribe to Block Club Chicago, an independent, 501(c)(3), journalist-run newsroom. Every dime we make funds reporting from Chicago’s neighborhoods.

Click here to support Block Club with a tax-deductible donation. 

Thanks for subscribing to Block Club Chicago, an independent, 501(c)(3), journalist-run newsroom. Every dime we make funds reporting from Chicago’s neighborhoods. Click here to support Block Club with a tax-deductible donation.

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]]> Wed, 26 Jan 2022 00:09:16 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/DaBPq-jBJRbyc-97GhALA1RpWVnEcNkS https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/DaBPq-jBJRbOfoyex6pI1-4sICfMfkNm

CHATHAM — JoLondon Jamerson slept in her living room for weeks, terrified the “bubbles” in her bedroom ceiling might collapse, she said.

But sleeping in her living room wasn’t much better, as her apartment at 7908 S. Prairie Ave. didn’t have heat for months, Jamerson said. On freezing nights, she used her gas stove and electric heater for warmth, she said.

“It’s horrible,” Jamerson said.

Residents of three Chatham apartment buildings say BSD Realty, a Chicago-based property management company, isn’t fixing shoddy living conditions in apartments they manage at 219 E. 79th St., 7908 S. Prairie Ave. and 319 E. 79th St.

Credit: Provided

Residents allege the apartments have mold, broken light fixtures, busted windows, rodents, bed bugs and asbestos. Sometimes they don’t have heat or clean running water. Ceilings have caved in, and wooden floors have buckled, they said. Sometimes the water is turned off without notice; when it comes back on, it’s yellow, one resident said.

Some also said they have been illegally locked out of their apartments and threatened by security guards.

Representatives of BSD Realty, who say they oversee the buildings on behalf of the owners, said problems at the Chatham apartments predate them. They began managing the buildings “approximately three and half months ago,” and any issues in the buildings before that date “had nothing to do” with the new owners.

The buildings are now owned by a New York-based company whose agent and manager is Eli Sieger, according to the Sun-Times.

BSD Realty said owners have spent abut $130,000 to address longstanding problems, like replacing old boilers and fixing a faulty heating system. Despite the ongoing repairs, property managers said heat in the buildings is functioning properly and they’ve worked with a tenants rights group to respond to complaints.

“These expenditures are to make sure that the tenants have the best and most reliable heating, and that there are no long-term problems,” the company said in a statement. “The owners have done and are planning to do a lot more, and they are committed to bring the buildings to the best possible conditions so that the tenants have a good and safe place to live.”

But residents say living conditions haven’t significantly improved since BSD Realty started managing the buildings. They want city officials to intervene and the company to meet with them directly to respond to their complaints.

Jamerson said the conditions aren’t fair “for us, our children and our community.”

“Where are the tenants’ rights for people to live like decent human beings in a community that we’ve been in all of our lives?” Jamerson said at the press conference organized by the Metropolitan Tenants Organization. “… You can’t own a building and then don’t want to take care of it.” 

Credit: Atavia Reed/Block Club Chicago

‘You Know What’s Going To Happen’

Marminta Dunnigan, a resident at one of BSD Realty’s buildings, said she came home Oct. 7 and couldn’t get inside her apartment. Her door was kicked in, items were removed from the apartment and the locks were changed, Dunnigan said.

Dunnigan believes the realty company illegally locked her out of her apartment. She needed to get back into the apartment to grab her son’s medicine, but she was being forced out, she said. 

“I called BSD. They told me they don’t know anything about it,” Dunnigan said. 

The next day, she called police and a locksmith, she said. Then, BSD representatives showed up with security, she said.

Carlos Banks, a Prairie Avenue tenant, said people he thought were representatives of the property manager threatened him.

“They’ll come by at 1 or 2 in the morning and say you have to move out, and if you’re not out by tomorrow or whenever, ‘You know what’s going to happen,’” Banks said. “What’s going to happen? Now, I’m being threatened. No one feels safe when someone tells you something like that and they’re in your building.”

Tenants said they don’t know who these people are.

During the news conference, a man went up to the group and shouted at them to leave. One of the tenant organizers said they’ve seen the man in the buildings, armed and yelling at people and blocking them from getting inside.

Dunnigan said her special needs son is afraid to stay with her most nights because of the armed security.

Credit: Atavia Reed/Block Club Chicago

When people are locked out of their homes, their furniture is usually stolen, Banks said. Tenants sometimes find their items thrown out in the alley, Banks said; other times, they might find a few pieces in vacant apartments throughout the building.

“It’s ridiculous,” Banks said. “They don’t want to be held accountable.”

In a statement to Block Club, a BSD spokesperson said the company has not illegally locked out tenants. The company did hire a watchman in response to tenants’ complaints about security.

It’s that watchman’s job to call the police if there is “any illicit activity at the building,” company officials said.

“… We don’t [employ] individuals who threaten our tenants with guns,” company officials said.

In response to tenants’ complaints about knocks on their doors in the early hours of the morning, the realty company said it’s “rare” that they visit tenants or knock on doors. When they do, it’s never in the early morning, company officials said. 

“We know that the sheriff or the process server serve court papers to tenants’ homes,” company officials said. “There were several tenants that refused to pay rent, and we exercised our legal right to file eviction on them. Serving papers is not handled by BSD and is outside our jurisdiction, these servers operate on their own.”

Credit: Google Maps

‘We Want Them To Come Out … And Get These Conditions Fixed’

It isn’t clear when BDS Realty began managing the buildings. Company officials said it was October 2021 but residents said they began hearing of their involvement as early as July.

City records show a litany of problems. For example, the building at 210 E. 79th St. failed an inspection in July because of defective light fixtures, inadequate hot water temperatures, broken doors, rotting floorboards, chipped walls and other problems cited by tenants. 

Credit: Provided

The Prairie Avenue building lists mice infestations, defective smoke detectors, leaking water, faulty plumbing and rotting walls in a failed inspection from May 2021.

A BSD Realty spokesperson said they worked to address all issues inherited from previous owners “in the most amicable way possible.” As of Thursday, “all claims have been indeed resolved,” the company said, crediting involvement from the Metropolitan Tenants Organization to help respond to the problems.  

The problems persist, however.

Samuel Clendenning, community organizer with Metropolitan Tenants Organization, said even after the realty company said it turned on the heat, photos from residents showed frigid indoor temperatures in the middle of winter.

“None of the commitments they’ve made to me have been followed through on,” Clendenning said. “I’ve checked in with the tenants after they tell me the heat is back on, and I get photos of thermometers at 52 degrees.” 

Residents also say the company rebuffs them when they complain. The company has met with tenants organizers and officials like Ald. Roderick Sawyer (6th), but balks when organizers ask the company to speak directly with residents, Clendenning said.

“The only person who they haven’t made commitments to [and] the only group that’s been involved since I got in were the tenants,” Clendenning said. “Those are the people who you should be making the commitments to first.”

Jamerson said Sawyer needs to help.

“… Roderick Sawyer, I voted you in,” Jamerson said. “Help us. Help us because we voted for you. I used my civil rights and I voted for you. Now make a stand, Roderick, and do something.”

Sawyer said his office will work with tenants to make sure they’re accommodated, but ultimately, it’s up to the city Buildings Department to sort out the situation.

“I think what’s happening with these buildings is totally unacceptable,” Sawyer said. “We expect landlords in our area to provide quality housing. Tenants need housing with heat and amenities. I support the tenants, and if they need additional support, they can reach out to our offices and we’d be glad to help them. We want to be kept in the loop.”

Credit: Google Maps

BSD Realty officials said they will meet “with the tenants rights organization and an agreed-upon tenant representative.”

Banks, the Prairie Avenue tenant, said they are ready.

“We want them to come out, speak to us and get these conditions fixed,” Banks said. “We’ll be tenants as long as they be a landlord.” 

If the property management company decides to ignore their concerns and move more people into the building, tenants will be front and center, ready to set the record straight, Banks said. 

“We need them to speak with us,” Banks said. “They are trying to evict us, but we’re not going to let nobody else come in the building and get treated the same way they treat us. We will be out in front of their building every day, and if they try to move somebody in, we’re going to tell them exactly what happened.”

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LITTLE VILLAGE — In a devastating interview, the mother of slain 8-year-old Melissa Ortega called for the person who killed her daughter last week in Little Village to be brought to justice.

“You took my entire life,” Araceli Leaños said in Spanish during an interview with Univision’s Despierta America Monday. “You took the most beautiful thing, you took my reason for living … You have taken dreams from a marvelous girl.”

“From my heart, I’m telling you I forgive you because I know that one day, with the help of God I will find peace. But I know that you will not live in peace for the rest of your days,” Leaños said. 

Melissa was shot and killed by a stray bullet Saturday afternoon near the intersection of West 26th Street and South Pulaski Road in Little Village. Police said she was not the intendeded target and the shooting was likely related to an ongoing gang conflict. 

Police said Monday they have “very strong leads” in the case. In response to the shooting, police are increasing patrols in the neighborhood to be “highly visible” and offering up to $15,000 for tips that lead to an arrest or conviction. 

Credit: Provided

Leaños said her daughter Melissa was beautiful, funny, quiet and social. She said she wants justice not only for Melissa, but for others who have lost their lives to gun violence.

“I’m only asking for justice, because this is a great pain,” Leaños said. “I’m asking that you catch the person responsible.” 

Leaños said she and her daughter came to Chicago with a dream. The two of them just moved to Little Village from Mexico in August. 

“But unfortunately, my daughter was taken from my arms,” she said.

Subscribe to Block Club Chicago, an independent, 501(c)(3), journalist-run newsroom. Every dime we make funds reporting from Chicago’s neighborhoods.

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WEST TOWN — Two popular street festivals are returning to West Town and Wicker Park this summer after being canceled two years in a row because of COVID-19.

Do Division Fest will run June 3-5 on Division Street between Damen Avenue and Leavitt Street, according to the West Town Chamber of Commerce’s website, which organizes the events.

West Fest Chicago will happen July 8-10 on Chicago Avenue between Damen Avenue and Wood Street.

Both festivals will feature live music, pop-up booths from local businesses, activities for kids and more. Entry for each is free with a $10 suggested donation.

Do Division and West Fest were canceled in 2020, instead offering live-streamed performances. They were canceled again in 2021. The city had cleared outdoor festivals to return during a dip of coronavirus cases but the green light came too late for Do Division to make necessary arrangements.

Kate Ziyad, director of programs and partnerships at the West Town Chamber, said announcements on event line-ups and program schedules will be made this spring.

“Every year, we look forward to hosting festivals that bring our community together, support our small business entrepreneurs, draw consumers to our commercial corridors, and have undoubtedly become staples to enjoying summer in Chicago,” Ziyad said in a statement. “We are looking forward to bringing these beloved events back and better than ever this year.”

Credit: Facebook / Provided

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AUSTIN — A program for single moms is testing what kinds of resources young mothers need to be successful in college.

Austin-based nonprofit New Moms developed the Academic Coaching pilot, which will give 25 mothers enrolled at the City Colleges of Chicago a monthly $500 stipend, technology and supplies for school, childcare, transportation assistance and support from an academic coach.

“It only takes one thing to set someone back. Things like this can help reduce stress and enhance the possibility for them to persist and pursue towards their degree,” said Gabrielle Caverl-McNeal, senior director for employment and academic coaching at New Moms.

Researchers at the Chapin Hall Center for Children are evaluating the program to examine how school success and graduation rates may improve when moms are adequately resourced and have fewer stressors to manage.

“We want to evaluate the program to learn whether the strategy works and why. We can then provide insights on what it takes for young mothers to succeed in community colleges nationwide,” said Elissa Gitlow, the principal investigator of the study.

New Moms created the program as a way to tackle the grimly low graduation rates of single moms, especially those already facing barriers to accessing quality education. Only 8 percent of single moms in Illinois complete their associate’s degree within six years, according to a study by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research.

The stipend can be used for anything a mom in school might need, which can “eliminate barriers that otherwise would get in your way of helping you pursue that degree,” Caveri-McNeal said.

“They have so many barriers around housing, food assistance, child care. Those things cost money,” she said. “Their environments are stressful. What makes it less stressful is more money.”

Moms will also participate in a professional development workshop series about parenting, goal-setting, financial skills and career preparation.

Academic coaches will help the moms navigate their school systems so they can reach all their higher education goals. New Moms will also cover transit costs, like gas, CTA and Metra fares; technology like laptops; and will coordinate with City Colleges to help the mothers stay on top of things like registration and fees.

The suite of resources are aimed at setting mothers on a path toward earning a solid income. Single moms in Illinois with an associate’s degree are 45 percent less likely to live in poverty than high school graduates, according to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research.

“The overall goal is to provide a pathway for careers for our moms to make family-sustaining wages. We want to see how they can get there,” Caveri-McNeal said.

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]]> Tue, 25 Jan 2022 17:00:00 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/DaBPq-jBJRbs1qsRJa1AvxhSCv31NykC https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/DaBPq-jBJRbs1qsRJa1AvxeIF_fEM9tn

ROGERS PARK — Jeff Kelley had just arrived in Rogers Park from California to visit his daughter when he became the first victim of a prolific armed robbery spree.

As he was pulling luggage out of his daughter’s car just after 10 p.m. Nov. 22, Kelley noticed a man walking up to him with a gun.

“A man stuck a gun in my face and said, ‘I don’t want to hurt you. Give me your money,” Kelley said. “It was very scary.”

Kelley reflexively asked the robber if he could only give up some of his cash, as he was from out of town and this was all the funds he had. Surprisingly, Kelley said the robber started to negotiate with him, though he did continue to threaten violence to Kelley and his daughter.

Kelley was robbed by a man dubbed a “polite robber” thanks to a police community alert that mentioned his friendly demeanor. The robber was responsible for at least 21 separate robberies in November and December, many on the Far North Side.

“He was very polite,” he said. “He was very professional, which made me confident I could ask if I can give him some of my money. It was almost like a business transaction. … I was definitely nervous and shaking the whole night.”

Such crimes grew more common last year across the Far North Side, which saw carjackings and robberies climb even as shootings and homicides dipped.

Robberies increased by nearly 30 percent in police districts 20 and 24, which cover the Far North Side communities north of Lawrence Avenue to the city’s northern border and west to the Chicago River. Carjackings rose five-fold in Edgewater last year and nearly doubled in West Ridge, city data shows.

The local statistics mirror citywide trends in escalating crime during the coronavirus. In an effort to halt the trend, local alderpeople are opening new offices, partnering with anti-violence groups and asking the city for more police and crime intervention resources.

“It’s first and foremost on a lot of people’s minds,” Ald. Maria Hadden (49th) said at a recent town hall meeting. “We’ve had a lot of robberies, whether they be of individuals or of stores. A lot of these seem to be crimes of desperation, quick cash grabs.

“In addition to working on kind of community safety programs … I think there is also a responsibility we’ve got on the economic development front,” Hadden said.

Credit: Provided

Carjackings A Concern

Shootings were down last year in two of the three police districts covering Far North Side lakefront neighborhoods, but other categories of crimes rose sharply.

The 20th District saw 121 robberies in 2021, up 26 percent from 2020, statistics show. District 24 saw 224 robberies last year, up 29 percent from the year prior. Theft increased by 26 percent year-over-year in the 20th District and by 29 percent in the 24th District.

Robberies in the district increased to 334 last year versus 307 in 2020, a nine percent jump. Criminal sexual assaults jumped to 100 in 2021 compared to 69 in 2020, while burglaries in the district fell 17 percent year-over-year, according to the district.

Carjackings also rose sharply in Uptown, Edgewater, Rogers Park and West Ridge.

The 24th District saw 47 carjackings last year compared to 21 in 2020 and 9 in 2019, crime stats show. The 20th District saw 24 carjackings in 2021 versus 12 in 2020 and 4 in 2019.

There were 53 carjackings in the 19th District last year compared to 39 in 2020 and 11 in 2019.

Of the community areas within those police districts, Lakeview had the most carjackings in 2021 with 30, a jump from 6 in 2019.

West Ridge saw 25 carjackings in 2021 versus 5 in 2019. Edgewater saw 20 carjackings in 2021 (compared to 2 in 2019), Uptown recorded 16 carjackings last year (5 in 2019) and Rogers Park saw 13 last year (4 in 2019) .

‘We Need To Explore Some Serious Interventions’

Jasmine Eisner, whose father was robbed in the alley behind her Rogers Park condo, said she and her husband have changed some of their habits in the wake of the crime.

They no longer take the trash out at night, Eisner said. Because of the carjackings, the CPS teacher makes sure to never be on her phone in her car and always looks around before getting out.

“For the first couple weeks after the robbery I was definitely on edge,” Eisner said. “We felt like it was a reminder of how tough times are right now and that we do live in a city and should be careful.”

Local officials are working to make sure their constituents feel safe in their neighborhoods.

Ald. Harry Osterman (48th) said his office on Monday will open a satellite office at 1040 W. Bryn Mawr Ave. with the aim of improving safety along the corridor. A new ward staffer will oversee issues of public safety, Osterman announced in an email to constituents.

Osterman said he talked with Police Supt. David Brown about the increase locally in crime and said the department will be increasing patrols in his ward, specifically along Bryn Mawr Avenue, Argyle Street and Red Line stations.

These measures come after a 60-year-old man was shot in Edgewater while coming to the aid of woman being robbed in early January. A juvenile has been arrested in this case, police said.

“These crimes are deeply traumatic to the victims, those close to them, and their neighbors, and it undercuts the level of safety we have worked hard together to achieve for our neighborhood,” Osterman said in an email to constituents. “Public safety remains my top priority and together, we will work to address these safety issues.”

Other alderpeople have sought increased police resources to help combat the uptick in some crimes. At a community meeting regarding public safety in early January, Alds. James Cappleman (46th) and Tom Tunney (44th) said more police are needed.

Tunney said there were 400 officers working in the 19th District at the start of Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s term in 2019. The number of officers in the district is now 300, Tunney said.

“We need more resources and we need it now,” Cappleman said at the meeting. “We do not want our neighbors to be afraid to walk around in their own community.”

A trend among the recent crime wave is an increase in juvenile offenders, officials said. To address the issue, the city needs a major plan to help kids choose paths other than crime, Cappleman said.

“We need to explore some serious interventions early on for these juveniles to get them back on the right track,” he said. “We’re not helping them, we’re not helping their families, we’re not helping this community when we ignore the plight of what’s happening with these young offenders.”

Hadden, in her own town hall, said more work programs and anti-violence efforts are needed “so people have ways to support themselves without criminal activity.”

Anti-violence and youth outreach groups agree. City officials can do more to make these anti-violence efforts work, said Ralph Edwards, the North Side director of Ex-Cons For Community and Social Change, a violence intervention group.

The uptick in crime corresponds with the coronavirus pandemic, which saw a wave of mass unemployment and the closure of school buildings and other programs. Stopping the violence means reversing the economic hardship and lack of opportunity brought on by the pandemic, Edwards said.

“The people we’re working with, they have to provide for their families,” Edwards said. “We’ve been saying, the violence prevention teams, these programs, there needs to be a bigger, more impactful investment.”

Subscribe to Block Club Chicago, an independent, 501(c)(3), journalist-run newsroom. Every dime we make funds reporting from Chicago’s neighborhoods.

Click here to support Block Club with a tax-deductible donation. 

Thanks for subscribing to Block Club Chicago, an independent, 501(c)(3), journalist-run newsroom. Every dime we make funds reporting from Chicago’s neighborhoods. Click here to support Block Club with a tax-deductible donation.

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LAKEVIEW — A professional ice sculptor is coming to Lakeview this weekend for a live ice sculpting event in which the audience suggests what to create.

The event, organized by Lakeview Special Service Area 27, will happen 4-6 p.m. Saturday and noon-2 p.m. Sunday outside of St. Alphonsus Church, 1429 W. Wellington St.

The special service area will provide food trucks on both days where attendees can get free beverages and pastries, according to a press release.

After the events, the ice sculptures will be on display at Southport Plaza, 3410 N. Southport Ave.

Jake Wittich is a Report for America corps member covering Lakeview, Lincoln Park and LGBTQ communities across the city for Block Club Chicago.

Subscribe to Block Club Chicago, an independent, 501(c)(3), journalist-run newsroom. Every dime we make funds reporting from Chicago’s neighborhoods.

Click here to support Block Club with a tax-deductible donation. 

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