ARCHIVE
HOME
In this section we have archived past messages from the Alderman.
HOMELAND SECURITY ADVISORY SYSTEM
Information provided on the Homeland Security Advisory System warns the threat to U.S. National Security as of January 8th is “Elevated” , or yellow on the five color scale. Translated on the scale it means the current risk of terrorist attack in this country is significant, as opposed to Low (green), General (blue), High (orange), or Severe (red). Homeland security is a subject you don't hear too much about any more, but I wasn't surprised when I discovered the threat level was right in the middle of the scale.
The reasoning as stated in the system is: “While there continues to be no credible information at this time warning of an imminent threat to the homeland, the department's strategic threat perspective is that we are in a period of increased risk.” It goes on to say they are mindful of recent arrests in Europe and an upward trend in propaganda tapes coming from terrorist organizations. The web site recognizes that raising the threat level has economic, physical, and psychological effects on the nation so they often alter the threat level by region in order to minimize unnecessary concern. In my own mind, the current threat to our security should be blue or General . In fact, I believe there should only be four levels of threat. I would label them: Don't worry. Be careful. We've got a problem, and Holy _______!!!
Information can be presented in different ways. In an election year, political candidates work to exhaustion in an attempt to get their message to voters. In local elections it is difficult, in county and state elections it is unlikely, and it is almost impossible on a national level. Media spin, lack of resources, and voter apathy are the biggest impediments in delivering a political message, but logistics are also difficult to overcome.
I am seeking my seventh term as 40 th Ward Democratic Committeeman. The position within the Democratic Party is unpaid yet extremely rewarding. The election process is the world's most recognizable symbol of a thriving democracy. Hundreds of thousands American Service Men and Women are deployed throughout the world to protect, defend, and insure this most precious symbol of freedom. Working with the men and women of the 40th Ward Democratic Organization, I will do my best to present our candidates' messages to you so you can make an informed decision on election day. Please take advantage of your ability to make that decision. VOTE ON FEBRUARY 5TH!
HEAT SEASON IN CHICAGO The following is a friendly reminder that heat season is here. Heat season in Chicago begins September 15 and lasts until June 1. During this period, landlords or building managers are responsible for maintaining the following minimum heat temperatures:
68 degrees from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.
66 degrees from 10:30 p.m. to 8:30 a.m.
COMMUNITY NEWS
CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOLS RECRUIT CANDIDATES FOR LOCAL SCHOOL COUNCILS The Chicago Public Schools is reaching out to the community, businesses, religious institutions and community groups to aggressively recruit candidates for the 2008 Local School Council elections.
In order to fill all available slots, 6,000 volunteers are needed to serve on the LSCs at the 600 Chicago public schools. The filing period for candidates ends March 12th and the elections will be held on April 17th for elementary schools and April 16th for high schools.
You may qualify to run for the council if you are (a) a parent or guardian of a child enrolled in the school, or (b) a person eighteen years of age or older, who resides in the attendance area or voting district of a school, or (c) a full time teacher who spends more then 50% of your time in a school, or (d) a student who attends high school full time.
Parents and community residents comprise the majority of the membership on the II member local school council, (12 - member council in high schools) with six parents and two community residents per school.
Local School Councils play a critical role in the operation of a school, including approving the school budget, monitoring the School Improvement Plan and selecting the school principal. They provide a unique connection among school, home and the community. The LSC sets policies designed to encourage and improve student achievement and encourages other parents and neighbors to get involved in the school. Even if you cannot run as a member of your local LSC - you can vote at your neighborhood elementary and high school and possibly at a magnet school in your community. Your vote is important – your participation is critical. You don't have to be a registered voter - you don't even have to be a citizen - all you have to do is care about the children in your community.
40TH WARD ACTIVITIES
A HOLIDAY TO REMEMBER Over 400 area children joined Alderman O'Connor in celebrating the holiday season at Northside College Prep on December 15th. Each year the Alderman hosts the event where children realize the magic of the holiday season. Musical entertainment and a sing along are provided by our own Pat Callaghan and Duane West, as the children await the arrival of the guest of honor. Santa Claus attends and provides each child with candy, cookies and toys.
For several lucky children the day was made especially memorable when they were presented Radio Flyer Wagons or brand new bicycles. Rosalva Vasquez, mother of the winning boy and ward resident, smiled widely when her son was announced as the winner of a new bicycle. The winning girl was Detana Zozan who was also awarded a bicycle.
Alderman O'Connor wants to thank all the event sponsors who generously donate candy, toys, and prizes to the event.
FOOD DRIVE SUPPLIES LOCAL PANTRY We are pleased to report nearly five tons of non-perishable food items were distributed to local pantries in December. The items were collected in November and early December for his 21st Annual Holiday Food Drive. Food pantries at St. Gregory Parish, Transfiguration Parish, Care for Real, and Little Brothers of the Poor accepted the donations. “It's a great program for the children involved and the overall community,” Alderman O'Connor stated.
The effort began over 20 years ago when 40th Ward children involved in the Alderman's Junior Guard Program approached him with the idea of a food drive as a way of showing appreciation for his support. Since that time, hundreds of kids from the ward have participated in a door to door food drive on a Saturday during the holiday season. The Chicago Park District Beaches and Pools Unit scaled back the junior guard program three years ago. Hundreds of participants at Leone Beach at the height of the program have dwindled to only a handful, but former Junior Guards from Alderman O'Connor's team remain active in the food drive.
O'Connor estimates the average collection at between four and five tons of food annually. Over the course of two decades that translates to nearly one hundred tons of food, and countless hours of community service rendered by kids from our community.
A TOAST TO THE 40th Friends of the 40th Ward Democratic Organization are once again invited to say goodbye to Winter at Alderman O'Connor's 25th Annual Luncheon and Fashion Show. The event will take place Sunday, February 24, 2008 at the Crystal Palace , 2648 W. Dempster in Park Ridge . Tickets are $50.
This year's theme, “A Toast to The 40th” is a salute to Alderman and Democratic Committeeman Patrick J. O'Connor on this silver anniversary of the event. The early primary election in Illinois this year insures politics will not be the focus of the afternoon. The latest fashions for the upcoming Spring and Summer Seasons are highlighted in a one hour runway show. The purse and jewelry sale that precedes the show will return along with raffles and prizes.
Event Chairman Meg Schaefer promises a memorable day for mothers and daughters, and friends and neighbors.
JULY 3, 2007
First and foremost, the new City Council has been sworn in and reorganized . I have chaired the Education Committee for the better part of the last 24 years. I have now become the chairman of the Traffic Committee. While I remain passionate about public education, and remain a member of the Committee, I've gotten a new focus from Committee Structure and that is Traffic. We will perhaps have fewer school additions and more street signs in the neighborhood. (Obviously, that's levity). But albeit, the focus is starkly different from what I have been doing in the Committee Structure for a long time.
Along the lines of schools, I want to remind everybody that we do have a couple of new additions coming into the neighborhood. An addition is being built that will increase the number of classrooms dramatically and help relieve the overcrowding that has taken place at Peterson School over the last several years and allow us to bring all of the students onto the one campus. Mather High School is going to have a facelift over the next year and a half to bring the school up to modern standards. We are looking forward to those things taking place.
Today, we finished the meeting with representatives of Chicago 's Law Department, Budget, Environment, Chicago Park District, Intergovernmental, and outside counsel. We focused on the nature preserve that we are trying to create at Rosehill Cemetery . We have been involved in litigation with the owners of Rosehill Cemetery for two years trying to carve out a mini-Morton Arboretum which would exist on the west end of the cemetery property along Western Avenue. We are making some progress. We have some trial dates in the offing in the near future. Those tend to make people try to negotiate a little more seriously. We are hoping that the City and the owners will get serious and arrive at some understanding that will allow us to begin to work. We are looking forward to seeing this project continue to move forward.
On another front, the City of Chicago has settled a law suit to acquire a motel property on Lincoln Avenue . It is west of the Ward Office on Lincoln Avenue on the 5900 block. The city will allow the Fire Department to practice putting out fires and climbing through the building prior to demolition and then demolition would take place and the property will be transferred (sold) to a developer to do phase 2 of the building that he previously built at Lincoln and Whipple . Phase 2 will then complete the development.
The median on Peterson by the new Target just got a new facelift. It was a welcomed one. It took a long time them to get planted. We ran into some problems with contractors and had some other problems, but it was finished in time for us to enjoy for the remainder of the summer.
With all that heavy rain we've experienced in last day or two I am sure that a lot of people in the community saw some flooding in their basement or took on water. It happened on my block, my house, as well. Streets and San has been authorized for overtime. They will be out collecting bulk while people are throwing away the things they can't salvage. We are committed to getting rid of the debris as quickly as possible.
There are some up-coming events for the balance of the summer. The last of our Town Hall meetings for this circuit takes place on July 9 th at Northside College Prep at 7:00 p.m. The Town Hall meetings are a great forum for me, personally, because they allow me to keep an eye on what is happening in the community from the perceptive of the people who attend. They give everyone a perceptive of how big the Ward is and how diverse. The meetings help residents to understand that we do our job the best we can. It is a big task and we try to spread the city resources and spread ourselves across the Ward in such a way as to try to accommodate the priority needs first and then focus on those things that are “extras” as we move on.
We have our Family Fest coming up in August. It combines the largest single day 16-inch softball tournament in the city with a lot of events for families and children. There will be a live band, pony rides, petting zoo, and other activities. It is interesting how the event evolved. It originally was just a softball tournament, but 16-inch softball players tend to play into their later years, and some people would say maybe into their dotage. But what we found, was that as we were getting older, we were all getting married and having children. Yet, on that Sunday every year, we were still coming together to play softball. So, we began to put things into the mix that would interest families and children. It has really evolved into a great day and a lot of fun for the neighborhood. One of the most keenly fought horseshoe tournaments that I have ever participated in, also takes place every year on that day. All of this takes place at Mather Park . Anyone interested should call the office for details. If anybody has a team that they want to play in the tournament, I encourage you to call quickly because the spots in the tournament tend to fill up very fast.
I hope you are all enjoying a great summer and I look forward to seeing you either at the Town Hall Meeting, Family Fest, or at the block parties that are going on throughout the neighborhood for the rest of the summer.
Take care.
THE 2007 GOLF OUTING
PICTURES
We want to thank everyone for making our 2007 Golf Outing the best yet. Hope not too many of you recieved a sunburn from the beautiful day we all had. Please take a look at the images and download them for yourself.
FEBRUARY 28, 2007
Let me start by just saying thank you to everybody. It's an honor to represent the community that cares and it is a real honor to be able to work with people that you genuinely like, day in and day out.
I know when people would ask me in this election cycle, how someone was going to do in the election: what do you think of this guy, how are his chances…I always try to divide the answer between what kind of job they did downtown and then in the neighborhood. And then, really finish by saying, but what you do downtown isn't nearly as important as what you do in your 
neighborhood. Ninety percent of the people that call our office don't talk to me, they talk to my staff. And When they get the feeling that you're trying to help them, if you're courteous and respectful, that's going to keep you in office for as long as you want to run. And when you have people that work in the ward, people that go to the precinct and they truly try and make things work in a positive way for our community, people will respond.
I'm happy that this is the beginning of the seventh term, but I don't in any way kid myself that it's because I'm a genius or because I make all the right moves. I do it because I'm surrounded by great people who work hard, who believe in the mission that I believe in and make this community a great community. And I thank you all for that.
I want to thank my family and obviously my folks, all my brothers, my sister. I especially want to thank my wife, Barb, and my kids, who take the brunt of a bad day or a bad time in government, and who always are supportive. I always say that Barbara works hard making it possible for me to do the thing I love, which is to represent this community. So, I want to say thanks, Barb, for putting up with it for all these years. Now, you got four more to put up with.
And, then, finally, I've been chatting with people throughout the evening and sneaking peeks at these pictures. A couple of folks remarked, “Jeez, you used to have more hair, it used to b
e darker.” I've either put on weight or lost weight, depending on which picture they're looking at. I'm actually more partial to the more recent pictures because they look more like me than the older ones. It's more comfortable seeing myself the way am today, as opposed to a full head of hair and with it all dark. If you asked me how long it was, it doesn't in any way seem like it's been 24 years. It's been a blink of an eye, and at the same time, the first time I ran, my daughter, Hillary, was just born, and she was just a tiny baby. The night that I got into a run-off election the first time, in 1983, was the day we announced that my son, Pat, was going to be born in September. And Patrick's sitting there drinking a legal beer right now, and he's 23 years old.
To all of you this evening, and to those that we've invited that couldn't come, and to those who actually can't come because they've gone to their Maker over the last 24 years—some great people that have been helpful throughout. I just want to say it's been a great experience and I really want to thank you for the opportunity to continue it.
I want to thank Albert for having us here this evening. They're great hosts. Enjoy tonight. It's certainly not over.
December 20 th, 2006
Get out and Vote Febuary 27, 2007 Other than that, obviously, we are close to a very important election—the Governor, the County Board , and others. We hope that everyone exercises their right to vote and given that this site is an aldermanic site and aldermanic offices are typically non-partisan, I would just encourage people to go to the polls and vote because a neighborhood that participates in the elections and votes, tends to be a neighborhood that is better-informed and oftentimes, then, is a neighborhood that gets significantly more attention from government when they know that we participate in the elections. So, I do hope that folks will come out and participate in November.
Here is a brief update about where some of the projects in the ward stand currently. Obviously, the holidays are upon us. We just finished our 23 rd annual children's holiday festival, which we held this year at Northside College Prep. There were over 500 children, (one of our largest gatherings ever), all of whom had an opportunity to see Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer on the big screen, an opportunity to visit with Santa Claus, if they so chose, and to leave with some gifts and some candy. We had some major raffles including a boy's bike, a girl's bike and a small Red Flier type wagon for smaller children. It was a great event.
A couple weeks ago, we began our food drive, which will be finished just shortly. We'll be giving out the holiday food to local individuals and food pantries. We're hoping that everyone has a safe and happy holiday going forward.
In the city council last week, we passed a billion dollar bond issue. The bond issue itself is for $850 million and the whole capital construction budget will be $1 billion for new schools. There will be 24 new schools built in the city and three will be rehabbed.
We're fortunate in our ward that Mather High School will undergo a major renovation between $30-$40 million will be expended to basically renew Mather High School, which is in need of the capital project. Also, we have an addition going on at Peterson School , which will help alleviate the need for the mobile classrooms that are on the campus and will provide a brand new state-of-the-art addition. Peterson School will install air conditioning throughout the building, so you'll get a major upgrade there, and a new roof, as well. We're really looking forward to seeing that project move forward.
On Lincoln Avenue , we have a couple of motels that are currently under contract: the O-Mi and the Guest House. We're working with the Department of Planning and the contract purchasers to determine if we can agree to a project size and scope. I look forward to that moving forward if their building plans meet with the approval of the neighborhood. We could see that corner improve vastly. That's directly across the street from Bud Long Library and a brand new building on the southwest corner of Lincoln and Bryn Mawr. We're working with Clear Channel, who owns the billboards on the southeast corner of that intersection, and they're going to plant that up and do some green space and a seating area to make the corner look nice; a nice gateway for our community.
Where we were going to put up a new Krispy Kreme, up near Lincoln and Peterson Avenue , we are working with developers to adjust that plan. The problems within the Krispy Kreme parent company have prevented them from expanding further into the Chicago area. Now, they've applied for a change in the plan development and it looks as if there is a new Starbucks that is committed to go on that corner along with potentially moving the Kentucky Fried Chicken that's on the apex of the corner back into the shopping center. We're hoping that that project will be finalized in the next couple months.
As mentioned before, the new senior housing building that is going in on Peterson Avenue near Ravenswood and they are still accepting applications for apartments in that building. They do anticipate being able to fill the building in late winter/early spring. Currently, they've applied to the city to take advantage of a new program that the city is utilizing through state funding to make an even larger subsidy to ensure that more people from our community have an opportunity to get into the building. I encourage anyone who feels that they might be interested in getting in while the subsidy is in place, to submit an application. It will also help a large number of people from our community if the second part of the subsidy program is accepted. Virtually everybody from our neighborhood that applies should have an opportunity to get into that brand new housing.
We also have the Schreiber Park planning process well underway. With a grant from the state of Illinois obtained by our state rep, Harry Osterman, we have been meeting with people in the community to determine what the new Schreiber Park will look like. This coming year, the Park District has once again put in additional money for new acquisitions, approximately $1 million, which will help us to continue to add space for Schreiber Park . Ultimately, the park will come out onto Devon Avenue . The current plan calls for a regulation size field house with an option of including a swimming pool, which would add about $8-$9 million to the project.
We've got a great deal of other things happening in the Ward, but I think we've spoken long enough, and hopefully, when you tune in here for your next visit, we'll have an update on some of the other things that are taking place in the Ward. Thanks for stopping by!
October 18 th, 2006
I'd like to continue discussing some of the recent developments that are occurring in the Ward, just to keep people updated, in no particular order of importance.
Edgewater Hospital I think people might be interested in knowing that Edgewater Hospital was the subject of a $64-million civil judgment the other day. Federal courts determined that the former management company had engaged in and knew about fraud that was going on, and essentially have hit them with a $64-million judgment. We have been waiting for the court cases to finish up so that the courts could properly determine who would be the eventual owner of all of the property. At that point, this will certainly begin to answer that question of whether or not the bank, which owns most of the property, will become owner of all of the property. We'll begin to develop a strategy for what will go onto that site. I know that up until this point, we really couldn't develop a comprehensive strategy because we didn't know who would ultimately end up being the owner of this whole property. Edgewater Hospital is comprised of several buildings, and now that we think they're much closer to having all those buildings go into one ownership, we're looking forward to the planning process. I know the community will be happy to see something being done with those buildings, or perhaps have those buildings knocked down and see some new development. We're closer to working towards that solution.
School Projects We have a couple of school projects on the horizon. If the mayor's new proposal for school development passes through the City Council, as we hope it will in the next couple of months, Mather High School will be in for a $40-million-plus facelift. Essentially, the whole school would not necessarily be rebuilt, but certainly would be refurbished. It would be a facelift that is overdue but clearly would be much appreciated. We are working with the Board of Education and the City of Chicago Department of Planning to determine if we are going to be able to do an addition over at Peterson school. We hope we'll have a definitive answer within the next couple of months.
Northside College Prep was the recipient of $100,000 grant from the State of Illinois for development of the soccer field, just behind the school building. Thanks to our state representatives, State Senator John D'Amico, and State Senator Ira Silverstein, and in great part also through the Speaker of the House Mike Madigan, this funding came directly to the school, ensuring it would go to that project and not get sidetracked through the bureaucracy through the Board of Education. We're pretty happy about that.
Development We are looking at some other developments in the neighborhood. The corner of Bryn Mawr and Lincoln Avenue has recently been designated by the City Council as a site for acquisition. Those of you familiar with the neighborhood know that it currently is the home of a triangulated billboard that sits on the corner. We've designated it for acquisition so that we can try and put some green space there. That green space would go immediately across the street from the new library and a new mixed-use development that's going in on the southwest corner. We continue to work with developers in the Department of Planning to see the potential for the development of the Oh-Mi Hotel, the Guest House and the gas station that lies between. So, if those things come to fruition, that whole intersection, which is a pretty significant area in the community, would get redeveloped.
Senior Housing The brand new senior housing building that is going in on Peterson and Ravenswood is being built much quicker than initially anticipated. We were originally looking for an end-of Spring, beginning of Summer move-in, and actually they're going to begin moving folks in there late Winter, early Spring. So, anyone who is interested in senior housing at that site should contact our office and we can put them in touch with the ownership and get them on the list to see if they would qualify for the subsidies that are available for seniors who move into housing at that location. It's 180-some units, just a beautiful building from the outside. We're looking forward to the time when we can walk through. But, anybody who really is interested in seeing what the building will end up looking like, the prototype for that building is actually in the 50 th Ward, on the corner of Granville and California . Our building is kind of the exact same building, just a couple stories higher.
Schreiber Park We are engaged in a planning process for the expansion of Schreiber Park . Through our State Representative Harry Osterman, and our state senator, Carol Ronen, we were able to receive a planning grant from the state of Illinois to work with the Park District to determine how we can best continue to expand Schreiber and work towards a full-sized field house with a full-sized gymnasium and perhaps a swimming pool. That process has actually begun in terms of the planning. The Park District has indicated that they are going to budget additional dollars in this coming 2007 budget for additional acquisitions to continue to amass the land that we need to go towards that new building. We're very pleased with the progress that we're making in terms of that.
Fine Arts Building Loyola University is working with a company to develop an idea for a mixed-use development on the site of their current Fine Arts Building. For those of us who know the neighborhood well enough, or who have been in it long enough, it's the old Denny's site that's over on Sheridan Road near the Loyola El. We met a couple of times with Loyola and the builder that they've chosen to work with. We tried to better define what the building would be and refine the project through a number of meetings, and when we get closer to where we think the project is somewhat acceptable from the standpoint of the city and from my office's standpoint, we will then begin the neighborhood process to discuss what it is they're trying to build, and determine what the neighborhood's thoughts are on it. That will be coming out in the not too distant future, as soon as we feel that they're at that point.
June 5th, 2006
Well, besides the fact I've got a cold, and my voice is a little bit hoarse, there's a great number of things that are happening in the Ward, that we're really looking forward to.
We have a new Target on Peterson Avenue that's going to have their grand opening on July 23rd , a Sunday. Also, prior to the grand opening, they're going to have a luncheon for community organization leadership, to talk about how the community organizations can tap into the charitable and the community activities that Target engages in, in areas where they build stores. They participate in local fundraisers and local events and they'll have a luncheon for community organization leadership to say, “This is how you participate with us.”
So, we're hoping that they're going to be a real good corporate citizen for the City, and a real good neighbor for people who live in our community. We'll have that luncheon, and then shortly thereafter , on the 23rd of July, we'll have the grand opening. It's a unique design to the City of Chicago , so we're really looking forward to seeing that open.
People that have driven by on Peterson Avenue have commented that it's a very different look for a Target and a very unique way of utilizing the vast majority of the shopping area. We probably added another fifty percent of shopping square footage with the design that they've done, with the parking underneath and the building above. We think It's going to help the City from the point of sales tax, and help people in our community from the point of having a good location to go to that right now, the closest one is in Evanston . So, we think it's a nice fit for our community.
We've got some great infrastructure things that are being planned this year that will be built next year on Devon Avenue . We're extending the streetscape that was previously built between Broadway and Clark Street , and we're going to extend that from Clark Street to Ravenswood. We have the funding design money in this year's budget and we'll be building it next year.
We're going to do a streetscape on Bryn Mawr Avenue , between Kedzie and roughly Bernard Avenue , which is just one block west of Kimball. We'll do the design this year, and the build-out next year.
Streetscapes a great program. It allows for new sidewalks, new curbs, new lighting, some planting opportunities, some state-of-the-art crosswalks, with a real good opportunity to mark the neighborhood. On Devon Avenue , we're able to come up with a unique logo that's imprinted in the concrete at every crosswalk, and we're hoping to do the same thing as we move west on Devon and certainly looking forward to developing a logo on Bryn Mawr Avenue, between Kedzie and Kimball.
We've also got a really good opportunity that the City is pursuing by way of condemnation. I know that condemnation has been a hot topic in recent months with regard to cities taking properties from private parties. In this instance, we think the purpose is a pretty noble one and we think the outcome will be great for our community.
Rosehill Cemetery has a large number of acres that are currently dedicated to open, green space, and lakes. The cemetery owners have always contemplated selling portions of that green space for development. The City has always resisted that, and clearly the neighborhood has always resisted that. About a year and a half ago, two years ago, we started coming up with the thought of purchasing the frontage of Rosehill Cemetery, along Western Avenue and starting from the north end at Peterson, and going all the way across to roughly Berwyn. We're looking at buying that frontage and creating a mini Morton Arboretum, a place that would become a nature preserve. Certainly around the Lake , I'm told by people that are involved in the Audubon Society, that it's a very important part of the local ecology for migratory patterns for birds, and this could be a really good thing for our community.
Congressman Rahm Emanuel came up big for us last year in the transportation bill, and secured four million dollars worth of funds to help with the purchase and development of walking paths and bike paths through the park. We basically were trying to negotiate a settlement with the property owners, but it became clear that a negotiated settlement was going to be difficult, and as part of the settlement, they wanted the City to give guarantees of allowing for a fairly large development on some of the other, unused portion of the cemetery. When it got to the point that we thought that part of the bargain was going to overshadow the good part of the bargain for the neighborhood, which is the nature center, we said, “Well, you know what? We'll just resort to the courts and see if we can condemn that portion of the property that we need and create this nature preserve.”
So, we're in court doing that now. We just received the court order that essentially tells the cemetery that they can't dump or in any way devalue the property that we're trying to purchase from them. And, that case goes on. But, that's going to be a really nice amenity for our community, long term. It's something that I'm very grateful to the Mayor's office and to our Corp Council's office for pursuing that.
We also have, as we talked a little bit last time, the Griffin Theater, which has been a long-time fixture on Clark Street, lost its' lease, basically due to the rising prices in rental that Clark Street is now demanding. We began looking for a home with them some time ago. We're fortunate now to find a new location for them on the site of the old 20th District Police Station.
They're currently working with the City on developing a re-development plan that would spell out the timetable within which they would take possession, do the rehab, open for business, and some stipulations as to how long they'd have to stay in business and some of the things that they would need to do to ensure that they got uninterrupted ownership forever, and some protections for the City, that if for some reason the theater group was not able to stay in business for a period of time, or not able to open, that the property would revert back to the City.
So, while we're building in a lot of protections for the taxpayer, we really think for purposes of people in our community, we're going to provide a really first-class venue for theater opportunities. I think, that when you couple that with what's happened over with the Raven Theater on Clark Street , you really can see the appreciation that folks in our neighborhood have for the finer arts. I'm really happy that we were able to find a place for them to stay in the neighborhood, and quite honestly, that when they came to the office, their intent was to stay in the neighborhood. It wasn't that they were looking to move. They liked the area, they considered this their home and now we're happy to know that it can continue to be their home.
May 22nd, 2006
I'd like to update you on a few of the things that are happening in our community, take you a little bit around the ward, and tell you some of the exciting developments that are taking place.
For those of us who have been watching the new fire station location over on Ridge and Clark, there's great news. The City now owns all of the property that's there, the diagrams for the new fire station are up, and the building should commence late spring, early summer. We hope to be under roof by the fall, early winter, and the construction for the entire site will be done by early next year. This is a state of the art, brand new fire station which will collapse the two stations, one which is on Ridge, one which is on Rosemont, into a brand new facility. It will help serve our community better and, more importantly, it will help house the firemen and women who have been working in rather old and dilapidated structures for many, many years.
The structure will include a parking lot, a new building, and at the north end, a training facility which will help not only those people that are housed in the new facility, but in houses throughout the north side. It's a vast improvement and we're very happy that the City's been able to accomplish this goal with a minimal amount of displacement.
Also, for people who live just west of the new site, we will be able, through the construction, to add an alley that will go from Peterson Avenue all the way north and it will allow folks to get access to the back of their homes, which was previously denied. So, it's a real nice feature that we're happy is included with this project.
We've got some great news for the old 20th district police station on Foster Avenue . For many months, we've been working with the Griffin Theatre and the City of Chicago in trying to make arrangements for the Griffin Theatre to take ownership of the building, build it out and relocate their theater, which was being moved off of Clark Street due to the significant increases in rents over on Clark. Clark is kind of a victim of its own success. It's very difficult to maintain a business whose income is not significant, and as we all know from community theaters, depending upon the production, depending upon the number of productions that can take place, the budget is often very tight. We all felt that the police station would provide a venue that would be good for the theater, good for the community in keeping it in the neighborhood. It comes with a parking lot, and it's my understanding now, in working with the City planning department and the Mayor's office, that we're going to be able to facilitate the Griffin theater taking over that property, doing a build-out, and becoming a theater in the neighborhood once again.
Griffin is one of the most successful neighborhood theatres in the entire city, over the past several years and it will join the Raven Theater's new facility over on Granville and Clark Street. It's always been my feeling that these types of amenities have a ton of residual effects that are beneficial to the neighborhood that you don't see immediately. It helps the community in terms of restaurants, in terms of stability, and all of these theaters do work within the schools to help theater programs in the public schools in the area. And this allows us to keep a significant art component that is otherwise often missing from the Chicago Public Schools.
On Peterson Avenue , just east of Rosedale cemetery and north of Rosedale cemetery's main property, we have a brand new Target that's being built. It's a new, what they call a Super Target. It takes up almost the entire site that was formerly parking lot and Kmart and prior to that, Venture. The parking is under the first floor and the entire parking lot previously and store use is now square footage for an entire store.
It's a wonderful opportunity for us to get some significant sales tax revenue that right now, many of us feel is going to the Target that's on Howard Street, and we think it's going be a great amenity for our community.
In April, the people at Target are going to have a job fair for our community before they open up their job opportunities to the rest of the city. So this is going to give us a great opportunity to find some part-time jobs or some full-time equivalencies for people that live in our community and we're very grateful that this site is going to be utilized and we think hopefully a successful utilization of a site that previously failed with the Venture and with K-mart.
We've got a lot of new developments in the area. We have a brand new senior housing building going up at Ravenswood and Peterson Avenue. It's 180-some units of building. If you want to see the prototype of the building, you could visit the structure that's on the southwest corner of Granville and California . The same developer and the same owner that developed that building is going to be developing the building on Peterson Avenue. We're looking to help seniors that are otherwise moving out of the neighborhood, have a place that they can transition to, if they sell their homes or move out of their condos. It will be a rent-controlled or subsidized opportunity, so we do feel that it's going to be housing that's going be available and affordable to people that live in the community now, and we're looking forward to it.
We had some bad news on Lincoln Avenue/Peterson Avenue site, where we opened up a brand-new Walgreens, as many of you know, we had all been looking forward to the coming of the new Krispy Kreme, and based on the poor performance of Krispy Kreme as a company and their stock devaluation, the company has ceased its expansion in the Chicago area until they either recover or go out of business. As a result, we are looking for other opportunities for that site.
In the meantime, we have the brand new Walgreens, it's open and running, and we're real pleased to have that taking place.
The bike path expansion, along Legion Park, between Foster Avenue and Peterson Avenue, as it runs through our ward is just about complete. Because of the underpass at Foster, underpass at Bryn Mawr, and now the new underpass at Peterson Avenue, joggers, bikers, rollerbladers or just walkers can walk through the park with having to come across some significantly dangerous arterial streets. It's a great opportunity for people to get some exercise and walk along the river. It's been accomplished through the City, the Park District, and the Army Corp of Engineers. It's a wonderful opportunity for us to improve our parks.
Another improvement to the parks took place a couple months ago at Gross Park on Lawrence Avenue . We dedicated a new park facility in terms of a playground. The Mayor was there, people from the Park District were there, and that was done through an expenditure of the Park District and the City of Chicago through what we call the Aldermanic Menu Money. Over the past several years, I've dedicated a portion of the money that the City awards to each ward of our ward's money to go to the Park renovations and that has been matched by the Chicago Park District and it has helped us do some expansions and improvements that otherwise would not be available through Park District funds alone.
Another place that we're working on for explanation is Schreiber Park , over on Schreiber Avenue, just off of Devon and Clark Street . That park has been expanded twice through acquisitions that the City has made and we're in the process of trying to acquire some property along Devon Avenue, which would expand the park, bring it out onto Devon Avenue, and help Rogers Park, which outside of the lakefront, is really in dire need of green space. And it would give us a significant amount of property to expand the park and perhaps get a full-size facility over there in the near future.
We've got a great deal of other things happening in the Ward, but I think we've spoken long enough, and hopefully, when you tune in here for your next visit, we'll have an update on some of the other things that are taking place in the Ward. Thanks for stopping by!
You will need the