CHICAGO — Upon first glance, the Chicago City Wire looks like any local newspaper. It’s printed on familiar, low-cost newsprint, and lays out a variety of articles, photographs and infographics, many with named bylines or wire service attributions. It’s folded like a traditional tabloid, and even has a high school sports section on the back.

“Real data. Real news,” its masthead reads. 

But a closer look at its content and funders tells a different story. 

The publication and ones like it, which have flooded thousands of mailboxes in the city and suburbs over the past month, is a product of Local Government Information Services, a Lake Forest-based LLC run by prominent conservative Brian Timpone and associated with conservative radio voice and Republican political strategist Dan Proft. The company is responsible for dozens of conservative news sites across Illinois, from Kankakee to Sangamon. 

In a 2017 editorial, Proft identified himself as a principal in the company which owns Chicago City Wire. 

The Chicago City Wire print publications include almost exclusively negative stories about Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s administration, with a sprinkling of positive coverage on the campaign of Pritzker’s republican opponent, Darren Bailey. An August issue hammers COVID-19 school lockdowns, describing “failure” in the Chicago Public Schools system and “plummeting” test scores. A later edition, released in September, focuses on transgender issues. 

“No more boys and girls?” one headline reads. “Pritzker family leads push to replace ‘myth’ of biology.”

Two other issues focus on violent crime in the city, including inaccurate information about the Safe-T Act, a criminal justice reform law passed in 2021 which, among other things, eliminates cash bail and has been the subject of a significant misinformation campaign. A particularly striking centerfold includes 36 mugshots of alleged criminals that the publication claims will be released upon the institution of the law. Most of the mugshots depict Black Americans, and all but three appear to be people of color. 

“It’s going to be literally the end of days,” the headline reads.

Credit: Noah Asimow/Block Club Chicago

All told, four print editions of the Chicago City Wire have hit mailboxes in the past month, confusing and angering unsuspecting residents who said they didn’t subscribe to the newspapers but assumed the publications were legitimate. The issues are all eight pages long, have color photos and bill themselves as “special editions” focused on schools, sex education and crime. 

Nancy Wade, who lives in Lincoln Square, said finding the unsolicited publication in her mailbox made her livid. 

“The tabloids aren’t as bad as this. It’s all misleading. If you don’t know much about any of these issues, and this is the first information you ever see, naturally I’d be worried, too,” Wade said. “They are like yelling at you from the page.”

While media law experts said that the publications were protected by the free speech provision of the First Amendment, they agreed that they were essentially political mailers, intentionally disguised as newspapers. 

“I don’t call them newspapers for a very good reason,” said Don Craven, president of the Springfield-based Illinois Press Association. “They’re not.”

Craven said that neither the Chicago City Wire, nor any of the other 34 Local Government Information Services publications across Illinois are members of the press association, or have applied for membership. 

The state actually has specific guidelines for what qualifies as a newspaper for the purpose of publishing legal notices, Craven said. State law states newspapers must print at regular intervals, for 50 weeks per year, for at least one year to qualify. Chicago City Wire does not print regularly, nor does it produce 50 issues per year. 

Alisa Kaplan, who works for the nonpartisan research and political advocacy nonprofit Reform For Illinois, said in an email that although there is a long tradition of politically partisan newspapers, and that the definition of “newspaper” is expanding with the proliferation of online media, Chicago City Wire and other similar publications are misleading readers.

“The mailers appeared during campaign season and will likely disappear after the election; the goal is clearly to get certain people elected or ousted,” Kaplan said. “And they’re designed to look like traditional newspapers for a reason. People associate newspapers with a measure of independence and journalistic standards, and the publishers of these mailers are clearly trying to take advantage of that to make their campaign message seem more credible. That’s deceptive, and it’s disturbing.”

A small box in the lower-right corner of the City Wire’s second page includes a lengthy note from the publisher that states in lofty platitudes the publication’s mission — “to provide news about state and policy matters,” “to foster dialogue” and “to offer quality local content to help you stay abreast of what’s happening in the community you call home.”

“This is a community forum where we speak with you rather than talking at you,” the note reads. 

The note also says that the publisher, listed as Local Government Information Services, welcomes editorial feedback via phone or email. But no phone or email is listed in the publication. 

“The other problem is transparency,” Kaplan said. “The fact that the publisher doesn’t have to say who their donors are makes matters worse and highlights weaknesses in our campaign finance laws. It’s important for people to know who’s trying to influence them.”

Credit: Noah Asimow/Block Club Chicago

The New York Times highlighted publications like Chicago City Wire in a 2020 article, saying most of the writing was done by freelance contributors across the country, asked to churn out right-leaning articles. 

Humboldt Park resident Julie Parizek, who received the mailer at her home, said she alerted everyone she could about the publication, but was still angry about the lack of information. 

“There’s no editorial page. There’s no way to contact them. There’s no phone number,” Parizek said. “It says, we welcome your feedback. And you read the fine print and see it’s this LGIS or whatever it is. I don’t know what’s to be done, but I think it’s really bad.”

The publications were mailed using the United States Postal Service permit number 1233. A spokesperson for the postal service, Tim Norman, said that the permit number is registered to Paddock Publications Inc. Public records show that Paddock is the parent company of the Daily Herald, a newspaper in suburban Chicago. 

Neither the Daily Herald nor Dan Proft responded to requests for comment, but the Herald announced Thursday that Paddock Publications will no longer print the papers.

Proft, who runs a political action committee called Play By The Rules, has been purchasing television ads in recent weeks to criticize Pritkzer and Democrats who supported the Safe-T Act. The PAC has received money from Republican mega-donor Richard Uihlein, Crain’s reported, although it is not officially affiliated with the Darren Bailey campaign for governor. Uihlein is the founder of industrial supply and shipping distributor Uline.

An eight-page newspaper can cost up to fifty cents per issue to print and distribute, according to Crain’s. It is not known how many issues Chicago City Wire has printed, nor how many subscribers it has. 

It is not unusual, nor is it illegal, for politicians on both sides of the aisle to disguise advertising to look like news or newsprint, experts said. In fact, the Pritzker campaign has also run a series of misleading ads on Facebook that present information as if it’s from a publication called “Illinois Daily.” But Kaplan said the difference is that the Pritzker ads boldly identified their funding source, unlike Chicago City Wire and other mailers.

“This use of faux-news is not entirely new,” Kaplan said. “At least those ads said ‘Paid for by JB for Governor’ on them, because they were paid for by his campaign account and were subject to campaign disclosure rules.”

Both Kaplan and Craven said because the publications are protected free speech, the onus falls on readers to educate themselves about the publication’s origins — particularly political mailings like Chicago City Wire, designed to appear like newspapers. 

Neither Kaplan nor Craven knew if more were coming. But that, too, is part of the point. 

“If you don’t know who it’s coming from, or where it’s coming from, go read something else,” Craven said. 

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CHICAGO — The Chicago South Asian Film Festival is showcasing dozens of short- and feature-length films by South Asian writers, filmmakers and actors this weekend.

The festival runs through Sunday, with screenings held primarily at DePaul University and Columbia College Chicago, according to its website. Screening times vary, and tickets start at $15 and can be bought online.

This year’s festival will see the world premieres of 27 films.

Since its founding in 2010, the festival has featured work from regions across South Asia, including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Tibet. In addition to screenings, the event hosts panel discussions, industry workshops and musical performances.

Click here for the full schedule and information about each film.

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ANDERSONVILLE — The former home of Polygon Cafe is up for lease after the Andersonville spot closed permanently following a failed health inspection.

Polygon Cafe, 5204 N. Clark St., had its business license suspended in late July after health inspections found numerous code violations, including live pests and raw fish not properly refrigerated.

The restaurant has since closed permanently, and the space is now available to rent.

A listing for the Clark Street storefront says the space has been available since August and can be used for restaurants, offices or retail. It has two bathrooms, 10-foot ceilings, a full basement and space for a rear patio.

Polygon opened on Clark Street in 2012, according to DNAinfo. It received a liquor license in 2014.

The restaurant was forced closed by the city this summer after a health inspector saw more than 25 live roaches in a reach-in cooler and other food preparation areas, plus more than 50 rat droppings in the basement, the city’s inspection report states.

Credit: Joe Ward/Block Club Chicago

Inspectors also found Polygon’s reach-in sushi cooler was at 58 degrees, above the mandated temperature of 41 degrees or below.

The restaurant was never re-inspected and therefore did not reopen after the mandated closure, city records show.

This is the fourth failed health inspection for Polygon since 2015. The business failed two prior inspections that were spurred by complaints. Last year, the restaurant was cited with numerous health code violations after inspectors found roaches, flies and rat droppings, among other infractions.

Representatives for the business could not be reached for comment.

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PULLMAN — Pullman: Laboring Together, a program aimed at celebrating art and history in Pullman throughout the year, is returning this weekend with a slew of events to mark the end of summer. 

The exhibitions focus on photos, sculptures and other work from local artists, while the performances focus on live music and dance. The events run throughout the weekend.

Attendance is free.

There will be exhibitions at the Pullman National Monument Clock Tower, Greenstone United Methodist Church, the Passion of Pullman Organic Garden and Block House Gallery, plus performances at the Pullman Exhibit Hall and the Pullman Artspace Lofts’ Residential Lounge, according to organizer Voice of the City’s website.

Festivities kick off Friday at 4 p.m. at the Pullman National Monument National Park Service, 610 E. 111th St.

Click here for the full schedule.

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LINCOLN PARK — Ald. Timmy Knudsen’s office (43rd) is collecting donations for the more than 750 migrants who have arrived to Chicago from Texas.

Knudsen, who was sworn in Wednesday, will accept donations and meet his new constituents noon-2 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Sunday at the 43rd Ward office, 2523 N. Halsted St.

Only new items can be accepted, and donations will also be collected in the coming weeks, Knudsen said. Items needed range from hygiene items such as toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodorant and soap to clothing, including cold-weather options.

A full list of accepted items is on the city’s website.

Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago

The items will be delivered to the hundreds of refugees who have been bused to Chicago from Texas in recent weeks.

State and local officials have repeatedly slammed Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for the move, saying he hasn’t communicated about the needs of the migrants and he has sown chaos and treated refugees inhumanely.

But Abbott continues to send asylum seekers here; as of Monday, more than 750 people have arrived since Aug. 31, according to a city news release.

“This is an immoral and inhumane treatment of humans,” said Knudsen, who has a legal background working with LGBTQ asylum seekers. “Seeing these migrants come bused from Texas in this way they’re being sent is really heartbreaking.”

Knudsen got his start working with immigrants while serving as clerk on Sen. Dick Durbins’s Senate Judiciary Committee in Washington, D.C., he said.

“I was there when we passed the last comprehensive immigration bill through the Senate, but it didn’t get through [the] House,” Knudsen said. “In that process, I got to meet with Dreamers, and it really started to stoke a flame about this issue to me.”

At Knudsen’s first law firm, Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP, he worked with asylum seekers pro bono, mostly through the National Immigration Justice Center that is headquartered Downtown, Knudsen said.

Knudsen continued working with asylum seekers during visits to the southern border and Tijuana, Mexico, he said. He’s helped more than 40 LGBTQ migrants seek asylum, he said.

“I’ve seen firsthand the turmoil these families are going through, … and I know that members of the 43rd Ward and across Chicago feel the same way that we’ve got to mobilize and support them,” Knudsen said.

Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago

The donation drive is one of two priorities Knudsen outlined on his first day of office. The other is looking at his aldermanic menu dollars — an annual budget of $1.5 million given to each ward to address local needs — to install security cameras throughout the 43rd Ward.

“I live in the Old Town Triangle and know public safety is the biggest concern among neighbors,” Knudsen said. “So the first thing we’re doing is looking at the menu dollars provided to each member of City Council to see where we can put them to ensure that families and children are safe.”

Knudsen fills a vacancy left by former Ald. Michele Smith, who retired in August.

Knudsen served as chair of the city’s Zoning Board of Appeals and worked on Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s campaign finance team when she was elected in 2019. She appointed him to replace Smith, saying he “has singled himself out as an exceptional leader in the 43rd Ward community.”

Knudsen’s a partner at Croke Fairchild Morgan & Beres law firm, where he’s counseled start-up companies, founders and their investors.

At 32, Knudsen is the youngest City Council member. He’s also the first openly gay representative of the 43rd Ward, making him the sixth member of the city’s LGBTQ Caucus.

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]]> Fri, 23 Sep 2022 15:34:03 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/DaBPq-jBJRYAUoUof4CoMrDXWBZfdr71 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/DaBPq-jBJRaUNwG4OAPU6Z8v71dCn6bG

ASHBURN — Arthur Agee didn’t expect to still be seeing his Marshall teammates almost 30 years after the cameras stopped rolling. 

But life rarely moves on in ways imagined, an essential theme of “Hoop Dreams,” a 1994 documentary that followed two Chicago high school basketball players — Agee and William Gates — as they pursued fleeting dreams of NBA stardom while navigating poverty, violence and a society stacked against them. 

Roger Ebert lauded the three-hour film as “the great American documentary,” and “Hoop Dreams” is now taught in schools and archived at the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry. 

The filmmakers collected more than 250 hours of footage, embedding themselves with Agee and his Marshall Commandos as they made a miraculous run from unranked to third-place state finisher in 1991. 

The bond forged that year and documented for the world to see led to a lifelong “brotherhood,” said Agee and his teammates, now in their late 40s.

Most of the Commandos have stayed in Chicago, started families and remained connected as the “Bedford Boys,” an ode to the man who brought them together: legendary Marshall coach Luther Bedford, who died in 2006. The Bedford Boys have supported each other through challenges, tragedy and everyday life.

On Sunday, the cast of “Hoop Dreams” reunited with no fanfare to watch the Bears game together and raise a toast to “Commandos For Life.” 

“We’ve survived because we’ve stuck together,” Agee said. “When we hang out, you forget you’re 49, 48, and feel like you’re a teenager in high school again, back in ‘Hoop Dreams.’” 

Credit: Arthur Agee

Credit: Arthur Agee

Gates moved his family to San Antonio, Texas, and coaches youth basketball. He’s stayed close with Agee, recently teaming up to start a podcast.

Agee went on to a modest college basketball career and turned his fame into a livelihood, producing a follow-up film and giving speeches at schools.

“It’s part of my real life, so I’ll always love to talk about it,” he said.

The NBA didn’t pan out — but the “ultimate payoff” of Agee’s hoop dreams is having his Marshall teammates to go through life with, he said. 

“There’s no movie without those guys. They bought in, and we’ve always celebrated each other’s success,” Agee said. “They gave me confidence because I wasn’t an All-American, I wasn’t ranked. We were all just the underdogs.” 

Cesare Christian was the leading scorer for the Commandos in 1991 and host of the get-together Sunday. The cameras back then were “seen but never intrusive,” and Christian said watching the movie “still brings you chills.” 

“It shows where we grew up, one of the hardest areas in the world at that time. We knew that, and it captures a time where, as young men, if we didn’t have each other, who knows what would have happened,” Christian said. “Coach Bedford gave us that foundation, and he’s smiling upon this right now.” 

Christian is an athletic director, and many of the Bedford Boys have followed their namesake into coaching, including Adonis Griffith, who spent the past three seasons as an assistant at Marshall. The movie has been a tool to teach young men “how to rise above their circumstances by being a team,” Griffith said. 

“The movie didn’t make us. It was us coming together that made the movie what it was,” Griffith said. “It was a special time in our lives, and we’re blessed to be able to press play and run it back.” 

Credit: Mack Liederman/Block Club Chicago

Former Commandos Mario Pittman and Andre Williams said Bedford was a “father figure” to the team and many of its players who did not have fathers at home. The strict disciplinarian had an underlying warmth, making sure grades were straight, players were in shape, everyone went off to college and “boys grew up to be men,” Williams said.

Bedford spent 40 years at Marshall and competed with Chicago’s top schools even though he never recruited, finding the practice to be exploitative. As the Commandos came together in 1991, the movie showed Bedford teaching “kids how to do what they’re supposed to do,” Pittman said. 

“That representation has inspired young minorities and given them the wisdom and knowledge to reach for more,” Pittman said. “Hoop Dreams could be basketball, football, tennis, anything, and the message will always be relevant.” 

On Sunday, former Commando point guard Shawn Harrington flipped through Marshall’s 1991 yearbook and said he “feels blessed to still be here laughing with my brothers.” 

The team rallied around Harrington during his most difficult chapter, he said. Harrington was driving his daughter, Naja, to school Jan. 30, 2014, when two people shot at them at a red light in Humboldt Park, mistaking their car for someone else’s. Harrington was shot twice as he shielded his daughter from the gunfire, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. The shooters were sentenced to 59 years in prison.

RELATED: Hoops Star Shawn Harrington Is Back Coaching Years After He Was Shot And Paralyzed

The Bedford Boys were all in Harrington’s hospital room that day, he said. 

“It made me realize how much love we had for each other. And that all started through the love we all had for basketball,” Harrington said. “I don’t use the word ‘brother’ lightly. I can sit here and talk to them with a smile on my face. They’re the ones that help me wake up the next day.” 

Credit: Mack Liederman/Block Club Chicago

Credit: Arthur Agee

Agee said he’s dealt with grief in the years following the movie. His father, Bo Agee, who was featured in the documentary, was shot and killed outside Chicago in 2004. Tragedy struck again in 2014, when Arthur’s youngest brother, Joe, died of heart failure at 33. One of his closest friends and teammates at Marshall, Courtney Hargrays, died in a car crash in 2017. 

“The whole team was at the funerals. They showed up for me,” Agee said. “We’ve been through a lot together.” 

Ontario Brown has often taken to organizing Bedford Boys meetups, which only just started happening again since the pandemic “kept us all a phone call away,” Brown said.

The violence and grief that still scars Chicago can sometimes feel inescapable, and when Brown lost his son, “my community was my lifeline,” he said. 

“We’re all too familiar with how short life can be,” Brown said. “So we’ll keep meeting for as long as we can.” 

Agee said he’ll rewatch parts of “Hoop Dreams” whenever it’s on TV. One of his favorite scenes takes him back to powerhouse private school St. Joseph, where he started playing before a tuition spike forced him out and led him to Marshall.

Agee couldn’t afford a Commando varsity jacket — so he wore Christian’s to the St. Joseph game. 

“I wanted to show them I became something,” Agee said. “I was there repping the whole squad.” 

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HYDE PARK — A local dance company is celebrating its 20th year with an exhibition and performances created with other Chicago artists, as the dancers express and define four “tools” that unite them with their collaborators.

The Seldoms‘ Toolbox @ Twenty exhibition opens this weekend at the Hyde Park Art Center, 5020 S. Cornell Ave., and runs through Nov. 13.

Four dancers with The Seldoms were paired with artists of different disciplines to explore how they each use a certain tool — “bowerbirding,” splicing, masking and knotting — in their respective works.

The exhibition debuts Saturday with performances of all four dances at 1:30 p.m. and again at 3 p.m.

Four more performances, followed by conversations between pairs of creators, will be held at the art center during the exhibition.

• Choreographer Carrie Hanson and multidisciplinary artist Edra Soto will talk about bowerbirding, named after the male bowerbird who decorates his nest with found materials to attract females, at 6 p.m. Oct. 6.
• Dancemaker Damon Green and multidisciplinary artist Sadie Woods will discuss splicing, or combining sources to layer or underscore their meaning, at 1 p.m. Oct. 15.
• Dancemaker Maggie Vannucci and visual artist Jackie Kazarian will chat about masking, or using a material to cover up part of a painting before removing the material, at 6 p.m. Oct. 20. Composer Sima Cunningham will perform live for this event.
• Dancemaker Sarah Gonsiorowski and fiber artist Jacqueline Surdell will reflect on knotting, or “repetitive patterning that tightens as similar loops accumulate over time,” at 6 p.m. Nov. 3.

“This year, The Seldoms celebrates 20 years, and one of the key features of our group is we’ve worked a lot with visual artists,” said Hanson, the company’s artistic director.

“[For Toolbox @ Twenty] the dance artist invited a visual or sound artist to talk about their practice — how they make and what things are important to them. We’re seeking a single word that feels essential to their practice and something we feel that we can translate physically.”

Credit: Andrew Glatt

This fall’s exhibition is the latest manifestation of the Seldoms’ Toolbox project, which since 2017 has explored “new and interesting ways of moving” while encouraging conversations between artists of different disciplines, Hanson said.

Toolbox @ Twenty “is the most public presentation of the Toolbox platform” so far, as it’s mainly been used in a classroom setting, she said.

Dance students in those classes have even taken the concept outside the art world to explore tools shared with elevator repair workers or Mongolian sheep herders, Hanson said.

“The idea is that dancemakers and artists in general can find something both intriguing and useful” in discussing techniques with others, Hanson said. “What do you do and how do you do it — that’s really what the base of this is.”

In painting, the painter Kazarian’s technique of masking leads to a “visual shift with surprising and clean edges, so you’re not sure what’s forward and what’s backward,” she said.

Vannucci developed her interpretation of this technique by spending time choreographing in Kazarian’s studio.

The collaboration with dancers — whose movement demands a viewer’s attention — pushed the visual and sound artists to bring equally “demanding” pieces to the exhibition, Kazarian said.

“Live music, live action and even text is really hard to compete with as a painter, but I think my paintings — and these paintings in particular — are able to hang and actually interrelate with the dances,” Kazarian said.

Credit: Provided

Woods — an artist, DJ and curator who explores “splicing” with Seldoms dancer Green — said the duo’s pairing of sound and dance is “a natural marriage of mediums.”

Two of Woods’ pieces are featured for the exhibition. Her mixtape “The People’s Radio” — which puts speeches by Fred Hampton, popular songs by Curtis Mayfield and the Supremes, Black oral histories and more in conversation each other — is featured in the Hyde Park Art Center’s gallery through November.

The latest version of Woods’ ongoing project “A Meditation on Civil Rights,” which uses audio from sources such as James Baldwin and the Last Poets, soundtracks Green’s original dance “DisKontinue” for the five live performances at the center.

“Concepts around the ’60s — and social movements specifically — is what brought us together,” Woods said. “Damon created everything on his own; it’s his creative expression. What I have is my creative expression, and we came together on similar tropes.”

The pair’s collaborative work for the exhibition splices together timeless music, words and movements. The concept of sharing tools across practices should resonate with viewers, even for those without a formal background in art, Woods said.

“I would hope that the work inspires conversations and dialogue” around civil rights, power and liberation, Woods said. “It’s been a long part of my artistic journey to explore social and historical subjects and seeing how that connects people through music, through art, through lived experiences.

“It’s about understanding that it’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon — it’s a lifetime of working through a lot of these issues. I’m just looking to move forward through the work.”

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]]> Fri, 23 Sep 2022 14:54:00 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/DaBPq-jBJRaUNwG4OAPU6Sxhxzpi7FpJ https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/DaBPq-jBJRbjt3JIxSI8l6JCIqJppjfU

CHICAGO — Fall is sweeping into Chicago this weekend, with cooler temperatures expected — though there will be a brief warmup Saturday.

Besides Saturday’s warm spell, chillier weather is expected through at least Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service. There is also a chance for sporadic rainfall this weekend.

Friday will be breezy, with a high of 64 degrees expected and a chance for light showers, according to the weather agency. 

Cooler conditions will continue into early next week except for a brief warm up on Saturday. Scattered showers are possible Friday night. While much of the rest of the period will remain dry, isolated light showers cannot be ruled out this weekend. pic.twitter.com/IHWDU5loAV

— NWS Chicago (@NWSChicago) September 22, 2022

Temperatures will rise Saturday, with a high of 73 degrees expected, according to the National Weather Service. There is a chance for showers Saturday afternoon and night.

Things will cool off again Sunday, with a high of 68 degrees expected. There is a chance for showers and thunderstorms Sunday night, according to the weather agency. 

Monday is expected to see similar weather, with a high of 66 degrees and mostly sunny skies, according to the weather agency. 

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]]> Fri, 23 Sep 2022 14:41:00 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/DaBPq-jBJRbjt3JIxSI8l6JCIqJppjfU https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/DaBPq-jBJRbjt3JIxSI8l8lTP0vptTFR

NORTH LAWNDALE — City Council voted Wednesday to rezone 16 city-owned vacant lots in North Lawndale that will eventually be redeveloped as affordable single-family homes.

The initiative is part of a larger city partnership with the Lawndale Christian Development Center and Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives to expand affordable homeownership options in the neighborhood.

Each house will be sold for about $250,000, Brian O’Donnell, a Chicago Department of Housing staffer, said at a Tuesday meeting of the City Council’s zoning committee.

The rezoning of the lots was necessary to allow ground-floor residential to be built at each property, O’Donnell said.

The lot conversion plan started under Ald. Michael Scott (24th), who resigned from City Council in May. He was replaced in June by his sister, Monique Scott.

The plan received an outpouring of support from alderpeople at Tuesday’s zoning meeting, including Ald. Pat Dowell (3rd), who said she hopes the program will be a model for affordable homeownership in her South Side ward and across Chicago.

“I think this will be the first community where we can actually demonstrate that we can bring a home to market that’s under $350,000,” Dowell said. “I need to have that kind of housing in my ward. … I’m really excited to see how these homes are received, how they fit into the context of the North Lawndale community.”

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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]]> Fri, 23 Sep 2022 14:33:00 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/DaBPq-jBJRbjt3JIxSI8l8lTP0vptTFR https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/DaBPq-jBJRbX51IyT2Nfzi1Ly282xAAw

WASHINGTON PARK — An anti-violence group that spent the summer hosting softball games to promote peace in Washington Park is now getting the boot — all because of a shooting organizers say had nothing to do with the game.

According to witnesses and police, a fight broke out the evening of Sept. 13 behind Dyett High School, 555 E. 51st St., and someone fired shots, leaving two people dead and eight others wounded.

Khalil Denny, 19, had gone to the park to watch the softball game when he was killed, his mother Linette Denny said. Lionel Coward, 43, was also killed in the incident. The game was organized by Acclivus, a community health organization with a focus on violence prevention.

As a result the shooting, Acclivus had its permit to play in the park yanked by the Chicago Park District.

Linette Denny and others gathered to mourn and honor the victims of the shooting Wednesday night, and Acclivus member Torrence Cooks said the group will appeal to get its permit back.

Credit: Jamie Nesbitt Golden/Block Club Chicago

Cooks said the group has been organizing softball tournaments all summer, recruiting residents from Douglas, Grand Boulevard and Washington Park to play. It gave residents a safe, fun thing to do and erased imaginary battle lines in the area. Sworn enemies became friends while playing, he said.

Witnesses agreed, saying the mass shooting had nothing to do with the game and that the gunman had chased someone into the field.

Cooks said the group has even tried to get police to show up to games in the past in case any issues arose.

“I let it be known [to police] that I’m doing this game at this location starting at five or six o’clock. ‘Can I get some police presence?’ I called before every game,” he said. “For them not to come, it’s like they wanted to see something go wrong with it because it makes no sense.”

Cooks said the only time police appeared was to enforce a 9 p.m. park curfew, forcing a game to be cut short.

Though Cooks said the shooting had nothing to do with the game, Park District spokesperson Michele Lemons said in a statement the decision was made “out of concern for the safety of neighborhood families and under the guidance of the Chicago Police Department.”

“This decision was based on park protocol and in response to the incident that occurred in the park last week,” Lemons said. “The District will continue to work with community stakeholders and public safety partners to keep the park activated with safety being our highest priority.”

Linette Denny said her son, who loved sneakers, died just 11 days before his 20th birthday. A couple of his friends bought him an outfit from Saks Fifth Avenue to mark the occasion, she said.

Instead, he’ll be wearing it at his homegoing.

“He had bought some new cologne and had sprayed it all over himself that night. … People were telling me ‘He just hugged me and told me he loved me’ and I said that’s because of that new Dior cologne,” said his grieving mother. She had been organizing a balloon release to remember Khalil’s brother Vincent, who died from an accident eight years ago this week when the shooting happened.

Now, Linette Denny wants to leave Chicago. Her friend and fellow Warrior Moms member Octavia Mitchell, believes the city or state should help grieving families with financial assistance — including relocation costs — after a violent loss.

“She lost two children and she doesn’t want to lose any more to Chicago streets. Let’s relocate her. Let’s pick her up and move her and her children somewhere else where they can live safely,” Mitchell said.

As of Thursday, no one was in custody for the mass shooting, police 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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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.

]]> Thu, 22 Sep 2022 21:40:00 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/DaBPq-jBJRbX51IyT2Nfzi1Ly282xAAw https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/DaBPq-jBJRYqqxB4cYsXIrDXWBZfdr71

WEST TOWN — West Town art lovers can enjoy public art tours, gallery exhibitions, parties and more this weekend. 

The West Town Art Walk returns Friday and Saturday from Division to Hubbard streets and Halsted Street to California Avenue. There will be visual, culinary, fashion and musical art from West Town shops, businesses, restaurants and galleries, according to a news release. Attendance is free.

The free event will also have a pop-up exhibition Saturday curated by Monderson Gallery. The exhibition, “Forgotten Fantasies,” will highlight the art and contributions of artist Vera Berdich, who founded the printmaking department at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1947 and whose work is “largely forgotten today,” according to the news release. 

Attendees can walk or catch free pedicabs through the neighborhood to peruse the evenings’ offerings. There will be buttons and maps of the event corridor at the West Town Chamber of Commerce, 1819 W. Chicago Ave., and at 1821 West Hubbard Lofts, 1821 W. Hubbard St. Maps will also be available at any of the Art Walk’s participating businesses.

A full lineup for the event is online. 

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.

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]]> Thu, 22 Sep 2022 18:26:32 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/DaBPq-jBJRYqqxB4cYsXIrDXWBZfdr71 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/DaBPq-jBJRYxDRswrnjanO-bbeigX9oC

LINCOLN PARK — Newly appointed Ald. Timmy Knudsen (43rd) said he will install new cameras throughout Lincoln Park, Old Town and the Gold Coast as one of his first initiatives.

Knudsen, who was sworn in Wednesday, told Block Club he’s looking into how other lakefront aldermen have used their aldermanic menu dollars to improve public safety. He’s also talking with Chicago Police community policing commanders to plan the new camera installations.

“I live in the Old Town Triangle and know public safety is the biggest concern among neighbors,” said Knudsen, who is a lawyer. “So the first thing we’re doing is looking at the menu dollars provided to each member of City Council to see where we can put them to ensure that families and children are safe.”

Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago

North Side neighborhoods like Lincoln Park have seen an uptick in armed robberies and carjackings, as previously reported by Block Club.

So far this year, the 43rd Ward has seen 70 robberies, compared to the 42 reported by this time last year, and 15 carjackings, up from the 11 reported by this time last year, according to Chicago Police data.

Knudsen plans to use his role on the City Council Finance Committee to leverage city money into short- and long-term investments that will reduce violence, he said.

“I think that will be huge because investment is everything in public safety, and everybody I’m talking to in the ward really agrees with that,” Knudsen said.

Frustrated by the increase in crime, some neighbors have taken it upon themselves to hire private security to patrol their streets.

Earlier this year, neighbors along Burling Street, Orchard Street, Arlington Place and Fullerton Avenue started raising money to hire P4, a private security firm, to deploy one officer in a marked vehicle to patrol their streets for eight hours a day, every day of the year.

Knudsen did not rule out using menu dollars to support private security efforts, but said he was only looking at safety issues more generally on his first day.

“As alderman, on my first day, my real focus is just public safety generally,” Knudsen said. “We’ve got to look into all the different techniques, but today I’m just focused on general public safety.”

Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago

Knudsen was confirmed as 43rd Ward alderman Wednesday. He fills a vacancy left by former Ald. Michele Smith, who retired in August.

Knudsen, served as chair of the city’s Zoning Board of Appeals, and worked on Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s campaign finance team when she was elected in 2019. She appointed him to replace Smith, saying he “has singled himself out as an exceptional leader in the 43rd Ward community.”

He’s a partner at Croke Fairchild Morgan & Beres law firm, where he’s counseled start-up companies, founders and their investors. He founded the firm’s pro-bono practice, which represents LGBTQ asylum seekers in Chicago and Tijuana, Mexico.

At 32, Knudsen is the youngest City Council member. He’s also the first openly gay representative of the 43rd Ward — making him the sixth member of the city’s LGBTQ Caucus.

With Knudsen’s appointment, most of the northern lakefront is now represented by LGBTQ-identifying aldermen, including Knudsen, Ald. Tom Tunney (44th), Ald. James Cappleman (46th) and Ald. Maria Hadden (49th).

Knudsen hopes he can use this connection to collaborate with the other aldermen on common issues among their wards.

“Even in my law practice, I’m a coalition consensus builder — that’s how I work,” Knudsen said. “The LGBTQ numbers in Council will potentially drop with a few retirements, but I think we can coalesce strongly, no matter who is part of the group going forward.”

In addition to public safety, Knudsen highlighted public schools and “giving back to the community” as his top priorities as a new alderman. He’s already been working with staff to launch a donation drive for the more than 750 migrants who arrived in Chicago from Texas, seeking asylum.

More details on the donation drive are expected later Thursday, said Knudsen, who’s used his practice as a lawyer to help more than 40 LGBTQ asylum seekers.

“I’ve seen first-hand the turmoil these families are going through, […] and I know that members of the 43rd Ward and across Chicago feel the same way that we’ve got to mobilize and support them,” Knudsen said.

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.

Listen to “It’s All Good: A Block Club Chicago Podcast”:

]]> Thu, 22 Sep 2022 18:14:00 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/DaBPq-jBJRYxDRswrnjanO-bbeigX9oC https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/DaBPq-jBJRYGadvd0Uhl_6rkJyTkC_2b

PILSEN — Pilsen’s alderman said he’s “disappointed” but “not surprised” by a newly released video that shows two Chicago police officers shoot an unarmed man in the neighborhood.

Sgt. Christopher Liakopoulos, 43, and officer Ruben Reynoso, 42, were charged last week with aggravated battery with a firearm, aggravated discharge of a firearm and official misconduct after the July 22 shooting in the 1000 block of West 18th Street.

State’s Attorney Kim Foxx said Friday the officers shot and wounded the 23-year-old man in an unprovoked act of violence, and another person was grazed by a bullet. The officers falsely told authorities they’d been shot at first, Foxx said. Supt. David Brown told the public the same shortly after the shooting.

But video of the shooting directly contradicts that, and neither of the wounded people fired shots at the officers, Foxx said.

The officers’ lawyers have disputed that, with attorney Brian Sexton, who represents Reynoso, saying at a hearing last week the officer only fired shots after someone walked up to the car with a gun and pointed it at the officers.

Video of the shooting was released Tuesday by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, a watchdog agency investigating the shooting.

A neighbor named Sean, who heard the shooting and saw the aftermath out his window, told Block Club he didn’t realize police officers were involved until the incident was over because the officers were not in uniform and were in an unmarked car. Their version of the shooting doesn’t “add up,” he said.

Sean, who asked that only his first name be used, rushed down to the street to check on the person who’d been shot, he said.

“You could hear him screaming, and I saw nobody doing anything,” Sean said. “After hearing that, there was no question I needed to act.”

In the video released this week, Sean can be seen running to the victim with his hands up, he said. He told officers he was bringing first aid to help the wounded man, he said.

Only after watching the video this week did Sean realize the officers reached for their guns when he came up, he said.

“That gives me pause,” Sean said. “I dream of a day we see massive and holistic police reform.”

RELATED: Video Shows Chicago Cop Shoot Unarmed Man From Unmarked Car In Pilsen

Credit: COPA

The video, which is silent, shows the officers stop their unmarked car in the middle of 18th Street as several people walk on the sidewalk nearby.

The officers then reverse to be closer to a man in a white sweatshirt and a person in a black T-shirt. The two people walk into the street, closer to the car. The person in the black T-shirt takes a step back and then turns around and runs away, while the man in the white sweatshirt holds up his hands.

Prosecutors said the man in the sweatshirt was holding a wine bottle and cellphone in one hand and nothing in the other, and he held up his hands to show officers what he had. The person in the black T-shirt was wearing a satchel with a gun, Foxx said.

The video shows the man in the sweatshirt fall to the ground after being shot, with one officer pointing his gun out the car window. The officers get out of the car and shoot down the street as the person in the black T-shirt runs away.

RELATED: 2 Officers Charged With Shooting Unarmed Man In Pilsen, But Defense Argues They Were Threatened

Tanya Lozano, a prominent community organizer in Pilsen, said she was “deeply disturbed” watching the video.

Lozano, who’s running for a seat on the city’s first civilian-led police oversight board, said it’s more important than ever to have comprehensive conversations about police accountability and investment in Black and Brown communities.

“That’s why this commission is going to be so important,” Lozano said. “The culture [inside the Police Department] has to change. We can’t even get them to follow their rules now.”

Lozano said it seems to her like officers in the department are “locked up” inside their own culture and don’t make lasting relationships with communities to foster mutual respect. This breeds fear toward the police, especially among youth, Lozano said.

Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago

Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th), who represents the area, said he was “deeply disappointed” but “not surprised” when he heard about what led up to the shooting.

Sigcho-Lopez has been a vocal advocate for police accountability and social justice, supporting calls for the city to invest in violence prevention and intervention programs to keep communities safe.

“The worst type of violence is a state violence,” Sigcho-Lopez said. “When an institution that is called to serve and protect our constituents is now involved in an incident, when they have not been honest, they have lied on record, when they have not been responsible with the duties that they are entrusted with, I think it is important we understand that we have a much larger issue here.”

A Pilsen resident and community activist who goes by the nickname The Kid From Pilsen said it was difficult for him to watch the video and see a 23-year-old get shot.

“It’s pretty upsetting that the badge is not with integrity,” The Kid said. “If the police officer stepped out of his vehicle and actually had a conversation with the guys, maybe this would have been a different thing. But no … just straight to the gun.”

Having police officers develop relationships with the community or, better yet, be from the community would help, The Kid said. He said just noting what the young man who shot was wearing — a white hoodie, black shorts and white sneakers — made him think of people in his life and worry about them.

“I’m looking at my brother, like, he wears those same type of things. I wear those same type of things,” The Kid said. “I don’t want to see this again. It gets numbing. But I don’t want to be a guy who gets shot in the end by a cop.”

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.

]]> Thu, 22 Sep 2022 16:51:00 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/DaBPq-jBJRYGadvd0Uhl_6rkJyTkC_2b https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/DaBPq-jBJRYGadvd0Uhl_3Mq2h3ehXEp

AUSTIN — The iconic “Pink House” on Chicago’s West Side is not being demolished, but it also won’t be pink for long, as its new owners have begun a full interior remodel to restore the dilapidated property — and give it a new paint job.

Debra Kelch, who bought the house at 556 N. Central Ave. in Austin about 18 months ago with her husband and daughter, said construction started last week on the extensive remodel, which will include a complete gutting of the house’s interior, an open floor plan, new roof, new siding and new windows. 

Social media posts claiming the house was being torn down circulated widely on Tuesday, saddening West Siders who described the property as an indelible part of their neighborhood. 

Kelch quashed those rumors Wednesday, saying the family was merely restoring the house in the hopes of putting it on the market, and that the classic Victorian exterior facade, gabled turret and double-deckered, wrap-around porch would remain largely the same. 

“Everything is going to be kept as original as possible,” Kelch said. “We’re going to try to keep it a beautiful Victorian. It’s too pretty of a design. That’s actually why we bought it.”

But Kelch said that the eponymous white-and-pink trim and picket fence would be getting a replacement, too.

“No, we’re not keeping it pink,” Kelch said. “There were pros and cons, but it would be harder to sell.”

Kelch said the house would likely be painted sage green, the same color as the new garage, which was built last year. 

Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago

Situated on a large corner parcel at the intersection of Central Avenue and Ohio Street in Austin, the stately, 2,600-square-foot, five-bedroom Victorian gingerbread house has a history that dates back to the late 1800s. In the 1980s, Isiah Anderson bought the rundown property, restoring it to its former glory and repainting the once murky-green building with its hallmark pink-and-white colors . 

The interior of the house also included plush pink furniture, pink carpet and ornate pink staircases and balustrades. Anderson’s daughter, Yolanda, said the home’s bright colors were inspired by her parents’ upbringing in the south, where it’s more common for homes to include conspicuous colors and artful trim. 

Credit: Pascal Sabino/Block Club Chicago

But by 2020, Anderson had died and the house had once again fallen into disrepair. Yolanda put the property on the market, looking to sell it to new owners who would preserve the building. 

RELATED: Austin’s Pink House — Inspired By Family’s Southern Roots — Is For Sale, With A Price Drop To $160,000

Kelch, who lives in Michigan, bought the property in March 2021 for $120,000, according to Cook County Assessor’s records. 

Kelch said she and her husband bought it with the intention of renovating the property so her daughter could live in it. But it took about 18 months for the city to issue the new owners a building permit, and her daughter recently got a job offer elsewhere, prompting their desire to sell, Kelch said. 

RELATED: Austin’s Iconic Pink House Will Be Sold And Saved, Longtime Owners Say

City records show that the owners obtained a building permit to do an interior remodel on Sept. 2, 2022. 

The city also filed a foreclosure complaint against the property on Aug. 25, 2022 arguing the property owners had left the home in a dilapidated state, with a rotted roof, damaged masonry and cracked joists, among other issues, according to a copy of the complaint obtained by Block Club. 

Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago

Kelch did not know the city had issued the foreclosure complaint. The city Building Department did not respond to a request for comment regarding the permit, and the city Law Department declined to comment on pending litigation. 

Meanwhile, Kelch said the remodel would include an open floor plan, as well as entirely new siding and structural repairs. On Wednesday, a crew of laborers were working on the roof, replacing shingles and rafters. 

“Everything will be brand new, inside and out,” Kelch said. “The house will be beautiful when it’s all done.”

Yolanda Anderson, the previous owner, said homes this old often need parts torn out in order to build it back up.

“I am positive that they will do an excellent job and bring it back to life better than ever,” 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.

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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]]> Thu, 22 Sep 2022 16:40:00 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/DaBPq-jBJRYGadvd0Uhl_3Mq2h3ehXEp