June 28 - July 4, 2021 Vol. 29 No. 25
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Arts & (Home) Entertainment
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SportsWise
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We are replacing our usual calendar with virtual events and recommendations from StreetWise vendors, readers and staff to keep you entertained at home! The Olympic Trials are making the SportsWise Team very excited for Tokyo!
Cover Story: CNDA
Known informally as the "Oscars of community development," the Chicago Neighborhood Development Awards (CNDAs) this year reflected work outside of downtown that helped during the COVID-19 pandemic. "Some developments were created just in time to aid their community in time of stress, some to correct inequities. All were born out of a community vision," Executive Director Meghan Harte said at the hybrid awards event.
INSIDE StreetWise
StreetWise customer shares a letter about his regular vendor, JT.
The Playground ON THE COVER: Willams Park Fieldhouse. THIS PAGE: Glass blowing at Firebird Community Arts with Project FIRE. (Both photos courtesy of LISC.)
Dave Hamilton, Creative Director/Publisher
dhamilton@streetwise.org
StreetWiseChicago @StreetWise_CHI
Suzanne Hanney, Editor-In-Chief
suzannestreetwise@yahoo.com
Amanda Jones, Director of programs
ajones@streetwise.org
Julie Youngquist, Executive director
jyoungquist@streetwise.org
Ph: 773-334-6600 Office: 2009 S. State St., Chicago, IL, 60616
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ARTS & (HOME) ENTERTAINMENT RECOMMENDATIONS Since being stuck inside, which shows have you been watching? Which movies? Have you read any good books lately? Any new music releases have you dancing in your living room? StreetWise vendors, readers and staff are sharing what is occupying their attention during this unprecedented time. To be featured in a future edition, send your recommendations of what to do at home and why you love them to Creative Director / Publisher Dave Hamilton at dhamilton@streetwise.org
Mod Masterpieces!
'A Designed Life: Contemporary American Textiles, Wallpapers, and Containers & Packaging, 1951–1954' The Design Museum is thrilled to bring the traveling exhibition, A Designed Life: Contemporary American Textiles, Wallpapers, and Containers & Packaging, 1951–1954, from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County’s Center for Art, Design and Visual Culture (CADVC) to Chicago. “A Designed Life” is an exhibition based on three historically significant traveling exhibitions of contemporary, mass-produced, American-designed consumer goods that were commissioned by the U.S. Department of State in the early 1950s. It recreates those early Cold War exhibitions — featuring American textiles, wallpapers, containers, and packaging — restating and interpreting part of each display as it might have appeared in the early 1950s. By this time, the United States and Soviet Union were engaged in the Cold War. Extensive propaganda campaigns were part of both countries’ strategy for extending their spheres of influence. As part of this strategy, the United States Department of State developed a series of elaborate traveling exhibits that created an attractive portrait of contemporary America. The three exhibits organized in 1951 by the Traveling Exhibition Service that are recreated in "A Designed Life" include: Contemporary American Textiles, designed by Florence Knoll; Contemporary American Wallpapers, designed by Tom Lee; Containers and Packaging, designed by Will Burtin. FREE through September 19 at Expo 72, 72 E. Randolph St.
Summer Staple!
(HOME) ENTERTAINMENT
Windy City Ribfest Finger lickin' slabs from some of the best local and national ribbers will be in the spotlight at this popular summer food/ street fest. Even better? A rockin' 3-day music stage lineup featuring some of the hottest local and national rock/pop and classic indie acts as well as local tribute bands! This "saucy" happening also features arts & crafts, a daytime play area for kids, plus beer and wine. Windy City Ribfest in Uptown takes place just steps away from three of Chicago's hippest music venues: the Riviera Theatre, the Green Mill, and the iconic Aragon Ballroom. July 2-4, 12 - 10 p.m. $5 suggested donation.
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Keep Dancing!
Chosen Few DJs Virtual Picnic & Festival Started in 1990 as a small gathering of friends behind the Museum of Science & Industry, the Chosen Few Picnic & House Music Festival is the world’s longest-running event dedicated to House Music. Nicknamed the “Woodstock of House Music” for its family-reunion vibe, the Picnic & Festival attracts more than 40,000 fans to Chicago’s Jackson Park each year, and counts among its supporters former United States President Barack Obama. The event is virtual once again this year from 12 - 9 p.m. July 3 at chosenfewdjs.com
Video Game Master!
Sketch Journals of Jordan Mechner Chicago Gamespace is proud to host the first major solo exhibition of work by video game icon Jordan Mechner. Mechner is among the most recognizable figures in video game history as the creator of the Prince of Persia franchise. In 2016, Mechner moved from the United States to France for a video game project and captured his impressions of the country in a series of largely monochromatic ink and paper drawings. These magnetic studies of quietly beautiful street life, cafés, airports, and live models offer a distinctly fresh view of a place that has been muse to so many throughout art history. This series was the focus of two books, “Year 2” and its prequel “Year 1” in France by Jordan Mechner, printed by Tomoe in Montpellier. The exhibition will run through August 22. It will be open to the public on Sundays 1-5 p.m. and by appointment. More information at chicagogamespace.com
Pride Month!
Panel Discussion: Pride in the time of COVID-19 The global pandemic has been a roadblock to traditions and celebrations for consecutive years. Since the 1970s, the last Sunday in June was an opportunity for thousands of LGBTQ+ people to celebrate their individuality, to be seen and heard – accepted. Before COVID-19, countries across the globe celebrated LGBTQ+ Pride Month with parades, marches, and celebrations. Although we must adjust and find a new normal due to the pandemic, this does not mean the celebrations will vanish. Join the Illinois Holocaust Museum for a thoughtful reflection and virtual celebration of LGBTQ+ Pride Month with a dynamic panel of thought leaders and advocates at 6:30 p.m. June 30. Columnist and Political Analyst Laura Washington of the Chicago Sun-Times and ABC-7 Chicago will be joined by State Sen. Mike Simmons (D-Chicago), CEO of Equality Illinois Brian C. Johnson, Director/Producer of “Art and Pep” Mercedes Kane, and Executive Director of GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders Janson Wu. $10 suggested donation at www.ilholocaustmuseum.org
Vroom Vroom!
Rush Hour Concerts: The Lincoln Trio The International Music Foundation presents Rush Hour Concerts, the best of Chicago-based classical artists in chamber music performances at St. James Cathedral, 65 E. Huron St., at 5:45 p.m. June 29. FREE, but reservations are required to attend. This week’s featured performers are The Lincoln Trio in music by Augusta Read Thomas and Ernest Bacon. Concerts will also be streamed from the IMF website. Visit imfchicago.org to register for in-person attendance or to stream the performance.
Arts & Anniversary
'DECAHEDRON' June 2021 marks the 10th anniversary of Artists on the Lam. It was on Monday, June 6, 2011, that Jenny Lam published her first post on what would later be voted “Best Arts Blog” in the Chicago Reader’s Best of Chicago issue. As part of the celebration, Jenny has curated an international exhibition called “DECAHEDRON.” Knowing from the start that this would be virtual, Jenny wanted to involve more artists than she would for any physical show, as a way to truly take advantage of having an online platform and to truly fit a milestone anniversary. She invited all artists from past shows, invited other artists she admired but hadn’t exhibited yet (likening the process to an episodic TV series where you wander the land embarking on different adventures and meeting different characters, and then in the end you go back and revisit all your old friends and ask them to be part of your heist), and—in keeping with the nature of Artists on the Lam group shows—put out an open call for artists too. Past, present, and future are all intertwined. The result? A show with 74 artists, with over 350 works of art. View for FREE at artistsonthelam.com/decahedron.
A Classical Lunch!
Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert: Caitlin Edwards & Daniel Schlosberg Join the International Music Foundation for the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert, its FREE lunch hour concert June 30 at 12:15 p.m. This week's concert features Caitlin Edwards (pictured), violin and Daniel Schlosberg, piano, in music by J. Rosamond Johnson, Irene Britton Smith, Jessie Montgomery and William Grant Still. Concerts can be streamed from imfchicago.org and 98.7 WFMT.
Comic Visionaries!
Chicago: Where Comics Came to Life (1880 - 1960) A significant but often overlooked contribution to American art and culture is Chicago’s role in the development of the early comic strip. Through its countless newspapers and its publishing industry, Chicago led the transformation of comics from daily fantasy and joke features into ongoing stories grounded in the textures and details of real life, its first real step towards legitimacy as an expressive language and semi-literary art form. The exhibition focuses on the origins of the comics in popular publishing, the immeasurable importance of African-American cartoonists and publishing, the first woman cartoonists and editors, the first daily comic strip, and finally the art and comics of undeservedly forgotten Frank King, who with “Gasoline Alley” captured not only the rhythms and tone of everyday existence in his characters that aged not only at the same daily rate as its newspaper readers, but were also fictionalized versions of real people. Curated by artist and author Chris Ware, and Chicago Cultural Historian Emeritus, Tim Samuelson, this exhibition is designed and planned as an intentional historical companion to the concurrently appearing survey of contemporary Chicago comics at the Museum of Contemporary Art, in which Ware’s work also appears. FREE through October 3 at the Chicago Cultural Center, Sidney Yates Gallery, 4th Floor North, 78 E. Washington St. -Compiled by Dave Hamilton
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SPORTSWISE
Patrick: All right, people, let’s talk Olympic Trials. It’s already ramping up to be a good year so far, plus with the whole pandemic—the extremity of it—appearing to be less of an issue now, this year’s Olympics could be really nation-building—for all countries involved. We have gymnastics, swimming, track & field, and diving. Don? Donald: Simone Biles. This young lady is rolling through the field, and is certainly headed to the Olympics—1 of 4 participants. She hasn’t lost an all-around competition since becoming a senior elite gymnast in 2013 and, earlier this June, she made history when she won her seventh national gymnastics championship. Russ: Wasn’t even close: She was five points ahead of the runner-up. Patrick: She’s no joke. Donald: She’s not only dang near unbeatable with her talents on the beam, vault, the floor, and everything else, she also is a willing participant at the World Champions Centre, owned by her parents. She trains there and, also, teaches other up-and-coming athletes, many who look up to her and want to be where she is.
Simone Biles (Laurence Griffiths photo).
Vendors Russ Adams, John Hagan and Donald Morris chat with Executive Assistant Patrick Edwards.
Patrick: She makes it look easy. The only battle I see Simone having is the battle with herself. To strive to outdo herself. I see her winning this one. John: Agreed. Now, in swimming, Ryan Lochte, attempting to make his fifth Olympic team, failed to make the cut in his first event, the 200-meter freestyle. He’s entered into six events, but according to experts, his only realistic shot of earning the trip to Tokyo is the 200 individual medley. Russ: With the pressure of erasing the stigma of an incident at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games, where he lied about being robbed at gunpoint, he could be pressing. Donald: Or he could just be at the end of his run. It’s possible. Patrick: Another up-andcoming swimmer in the field, Michael Andrew, made his first Olympic team. He’s the favorite in the 100 breaststroke, and the 200 individual
medley that looks good for Lochte is also another event in which Michael looks good. And let’s not fail to mention that he turned pro at 14 and has the financial means to continually pursue his athletic goals, which is a topic in regard to fair financial opportunity, but, nevertheless, he has put his all into creating—and maintaining—his brand. John: And winning only helps. Russ: So, in track and field, Allyson Felix. Felix is considered America’s greatest track and field athlete, and could solidify that argument by earning more medals this summer in Tokyo. This would be the 35-year-old’s fifth—and final—Olympics. Donald: I just read, too, that, due to health complications while giving birth in 2018, she’s become an advocate for several causes related to maternity. She also said she’s feeling better than ever. Patrick: Good. Because I
like her. She’s gorgeous, but her talent on the field is even more so—if that makes any sense! John: It doesn’t…but I get it. All: (Laugh) Russ: In men’s track, Noah Lyles, the world’s top-rated sprinter, is looking to replace Usain Bolt as the global face of the speed! He’s confident and ready to go with a goal of three gold medals in Tokyo. Patrick: The final sport in these Trials: diving. One of our most decorated divers, David Boudia, striving to make a record-tying fourth Olympic team, failed to secure one of the top two available positions. However, 17-year-old Tyler Downs did make the Olympics and is definitely someone to watch. Donald: Olympics 2021 in Tokyo: a must-see extravaganza! Send an e-mail with your thoughts to: pedwards@streetwise.org
COVERSTORY
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The Chicago Neighborhood Development Awards 2021 by Suzanne Hanney / photos provided by LISC
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HE CHICAGO NEIGHBORHOOD DEVELOPMENT AWARDS (CNDAs) of 2021 reflect the COVID-19 pandemic past and present, Executive Director Meghan Harte said at the June 2 event. “Some developments were created just in time to aid their community in time of stress, some to correct inequities. All were born out of a community vision.” This year’s theme, “Renewal,” is also significant, said Mayor Lori Lightfoot. ”I can’t think of a more perfect way to describe how each [winner] has impacted our community.” The CNDAs were established in 1985 to celebrate 77 of Chicago’s greatest assets – its neighborhoods – and the organizations that strengthen them, Lightfoot said. PostCOVID, this grassroots emphasis, “investing in residents through transformative projects so they can become agents of change in their own communities,” will be even more essential, she said. “The most important tool LISC brings is advocacy for the community that makes sure not only we as government are present, but listening. When we are listening to our people, we get closer to the essence of public service.”
Richard Driehaus
COVERSTO-
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Harte and the whole team at LISC, which sponsors the awards, had been partners with her team, Lightfoot said. “Your innovation and dedication has given us hope in our darkest days.”
The event also gave a tribute to Richard H. Driehaus, who died March 9 at age 78 and who in 1998 initiated the eponymous award for architectural excellence that has since honored 72 projects in neighborhoods – not downtown. Driehaus grew up on the Southwest Side, where at age 13 he began collecting coins and then investing in the stock market. He eventually became an investment manager and then started his own Driehaus Securities in 1979 and Driehaus Capital Management in 1982.
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“Richard’s vision and commitment to quality design for all Chicagoans has had an undeniable lasting impact on how community development real estate is considered and done in Chicago,” according to the program book. The CNDAs announced a yearlong celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Driehaus awards, with opportunities to tour the buildings and learning sessions with community partners and architects. Driehaus told the City Club of Chicago in 2016 that “In New York I’m just another successful guy,” according to The New York Times. “You can’t make an impact in New York. But in Chicago you can, because it’s big enough and it’s small enough and people actually get along enough.”
RICHARD H. DRIEHAUS FOUNDATION OUTSTANDING NON-PROFIT NEIGHBORHOOD REAL ESTATE PROJECT AWARD TO ESPERANZA HEALTH CENTERS Known informally as the BRIGHTON PARK (1)
“Oscars” of community development, the CNDAs annually attract more than 1,000 people for the presentations and networking afterward. Last year, Lightfoot said it was great to celebrate them virtually. This year, she said she was glad to come together online and in person for a hybrid event that included three COVID-safe watch parties at CNDA-winning venues. The in-person party was at the SALUD Center and virtual parties were at the North Side Lathrop Homes and the South Side 75th Street Boardwalk.
Accepting the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Outstanding Non-Profit Neighborhood Real Estate Project Award for the Esperanza Health Centers Brighton Park, Chief Operations Officer Carmen Vergara said that the building became “a hub for health care that not only became a medical home but allowed us to respond to the pandemic with testing, vaccinations and so much more.” Expected to serve 10,000 people, the building instead served 40,000 in its first year.
2 3 Founded in 2004, Esperanza has four centers that serve a predominantly Spanish-speaking population, many of whom were moving south of Interstate 55 and the Stevenson Expressway, CEO Dan Fulwiler said. Esperanza did a lot of listening to see what health meant to their Brighton Park community and included a teaching kitchen and a playground in the project because many people had to walk 20 minutes to reach one.
balconies that hide cooling systems. A complementary mural, “Community Diligence” by Miguel A. Del Real, begins at the corner entrance of the building and continues inside, to communicate the building’s connection with residents, community and nature.
Juan Moreno and his JGMA architecture firm took a longvacant corner at 47th and South California Avenue, and built a structure with a bright entrance, well-lit medical offices and exam rooms; a window-walled hallway leading to a community kitchen and large meeting room. There’s also space for social services provided by Mujeres Latinas en Accion.
Built in 1938, the Julia C. Lathrop Homes at 2000 W. Diversey were one of the first developments in the Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) and now one of the last in its Plan for Transformation that began in 2000. Over a seven-year planning process, owner Lathrop Community Partners and the joint venture between Related Midwest, Heartland Housing and Bickerdike Redevelopment Corporation combined public housing, subsidized affordable housing and market rate units on the site.
RICHARD H. DRIEHAUS AWARDS FOR ARCHITECTURAL EXCELLENCE IN COMMUNITY DESIGN THIRD PLACE TO CANOPY/ARCHITECTURE+DESIGN FOR OSO APARTMENTS (2) Jaime Torres Carmona, founding principal of Canopy/Architecture+ Design, said in his acceptance that the Driehaus Award is “one of the greatest architecture awards you can receive in Chicago.” He also credited the Chicago Housing Authority and Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35th ward) for the building that allowed neighborhood residents to remain near where their families have lived. The five-story Oso Apartments at 3435 W. Montrose Ave. are housing in Albany Park for both singles and families. Built of preformed concrete and steel beams, it features yellow Juliet
SECOND PLACE TO HED, JGMA AND BKL AND FARR ASSOCIATES FOR LATHROP HOMES (3)
The project capitalized on Lathrop assets such as its Jens Jensen-designed great lawn and its connection to the Chicago River, the latter not previously emphasized; on architectural elements, such as its original windows, stair rails, coping, limestone surrounds on exterior doors and paved central courtyard. The project began with 925 units of public housing, most of them vacant. The rehabbed Lathrop will have 494 market rate units (studios starting at roughly $1,000, plus one- and two-bedrooms); 222 affordable units and 400 public housing units. South of Diversey, bKL Architects built a six-story, 59unit building.
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FIRST PLACE STL ARCHITECTS FOR THE WILLIAMS PARK FIELDHOUSE (4) Located at 2820 S. Dearborn St., the fieldhouse reflects a desire of residents of the nearby CHA Dearborn Homes for architecture that would stand up to that at the nearby Illinois Institute of Technology designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. The Chicago Park District facility has outdoor play space that literally mirrors the community day and night with mosaic steel cladding. Inside the 11,200-square-foot structure is a 3,800-square foot wooden beamed gymnasium with spectator seating, two multi-purpose rooms and flexible spaces for exhibitions and events. Luis Collado, STL Architects principal, said in his acceptance that the firm fosters young and old architects as equals and measures its success not individually, but as a team.
THE CHICAGO COMMUNITY TRUST OUTSTANDING PLAN AWARD CLARETIAN ASSOCIATES FOR “WE’RE STEEL HERE!” (5) The U.S. Steel South Works plant employed 20,000 people until it closed in 1992, leaving behind vacant land, an underemployed workforce and robust infrastructure. “We’re Steel Here!” offers nine interlocking programs for affordable housing, arts, recreational space, workforce development, new commercial corridors connecting to Commercial Avenue and incorporation of its own waterfront. Claretian Associates joined with Preservation of Affordable Housing (POAH) to purchase and save the former South Chicago YMCA at 3039 E. 91st St. Now known as the SALUD Center, the building contains 100 units of affordable senior housing, as well as the offices for Claretian, which will pro-
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vide case management. The rehabbed building will include a fitness center; a swimming pool and a gymnasium that can be used as an auditorium, as it was for the CNDAs. A New Homes for South Chicago program will reconfigure larger single-family homes into two-flats, to reflect the changing needs of the neighborhood.
OUTSTANDING FOR-PROFIT REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT AWARD THE MICHAELS ORGANIZATION AND BRINSHORE DEVELOPMENT FOR 4400 GROVE (6) Over the past two decades of the CHA’s Plan for Transformation, The Michaels Organization and Brinshore Development “has unexpectedly but assuredly created mixed-income/ mixed-use developments that are handsome, well-built and welcomed by the neighborhood,” according to the CNDA program book.
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Built with input from the Quad Communities Development Corporation and former CHA residents, the $37 million, 84unit complex at 4400 S. Cottage Grove in Bronzeville will offer 25 market-rate units, 38 affordable units for people making 60 percent of the Area Median Income ($37,440 for a oneperson household, $42,780 for two-) and 21 public housing units, as well as a fitness center, a community room, on-site management and a central community courtyard. The buildings will also offer 18,000 square feet of ground floor retail. A goal of the project was to expand opportunity for minority and “mom and pop retailers” and to pay homage to Bronzeville’s history as a mecca for Black businesses. At its October 2020 opening, 4400 Grove had letters of intent for all 12 storefronts, including two restaurants, with eight separate owners. Bronzeville is one of 10 INVEST South/West neighborhoods, a City initiative to reactivate focal points for walking, shopping, transportation, services and other amenities. Cottage Grove is also a priority corridor in Bronzeville, especially adjacent blocks on 43rd and 47th Streets. The project received $7.2 million in Tax Increment Financing (TIF) from the City of Chicago, a $7 million loan from CHA, $1.9 million in Low Income Housing Tax Credits that generated $17.8 million in equity, and more.
BLUE CROSS AND BLUE SHIELD OF ILLINOIS HEALTHY COMMUNITY AWARD FIREBIRD COMMUNITY ARTS FOR PROJECT FIRE (FEARLESS INITIATIVE FOR RECOVERY AND EMPOWERMENT) (7) Firebird Community Arts brought ceramics training to the South and West Side youth since the 1990s. Moving into its current location in East Garfield Park, Executive Director Karen Benita Reyes, Ph.D. said that youth ages 15-24
7 showed signs of severe trauma, such as gunshot wounds. In response, Firebird collaborated with Cook County Hospital and Helping Hurt People Chicago to create Project FIRE to help them process it. One youthful participant said in a video during the awards event that he thought about his injury even when he was asleep but “when I make something, I can be that.” A young woman said that “glassblowing helps you keep your mind off whatever you had going on before. You have to focus on this piece.” Glass blowing requires communication, collaboration and trust, because 2,000-degree molten glass can be dangerous to work with, said Pearl Dick, artistic director of the 501(c)(3) Firebird Community Arts, in the StreetWise Holiday 2020 Gift Guide (Vol. 28, No.47). “You can’t be distracted.” Participants are paid minimum wage and spend their time either fulfilling orders for the product line or working on their own pieces. Their individual works are also for sale; the artisans receive 70 percent and the rest goes to the program. The Healing Hurt People curriculum focuses on SELF: safety, emotion, loss and future, the four things disrupted when someone experiences acute or chronic trauma, Dick said. Project FIRE’s participants learn what trauma is, its effects on the body and how to cope with it. The young artisans spend three hours working with glass and a final hour in group psychoeducation.
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9 POLK BROS. FOUNDATION AFFORDABLE RENTAL HOUSING PRESERVATION AWARD MERCY HOUSING LAKEFRONT FOR THE MIRIAM APARTMENTS (8) “When it comes to affordable housing, there is no more environmentally sound solution than housing preservation, but that’s not easy in rapidly changing neighborhoods,” said Polk Bros. Foundation Senior Program Officer Deborah E. Bennett. The Foundation started this award 12 years ago to reward nonprofits and for-profits that undertake this responsibility. Located at 4747 N. Malden St. in gentrifying Uptown, the Miriam Apartments had been purchased 30 years ago by Lakefront SRO, which is now part of Mercy Housing, a preeminent national supportive housing group. At the time the building offered shared kitchens and baths to 66 women, some of whom had previously been homeless. One woman said during the awards video that she came there from Deborah’s Place in 1995 and wanted to return to the Miriam after its renovation because, “living in a neighborhood like this, you’re just like everyone else.” Miriam residents participated in a design charette and have returned to new studio apartments, each with its own bathroom, kitchen, heating and air conditioning, and with a spacious lobby. Although the renovation cost $20 million, each resident will pay no more than $167 a month in rent because of federal subsidies that allow residents a choice.
WOODS FUND CHICAGO POWER OF COMMUNITY AWARD #Cops Out CPS (9) In presenting the award, Michelle Morales, president of the Woods Fund Chicago, noted that “determined young people brought a victory: the removal of police officers from Chicago Public Schools.” Their shared goal was to reallocate the $33 million used for police officers in schools toward young people’s development – whether for counselors or the arts – a campaign carried out on Zoom during the pandemic. The young people also demonstrated in front of the Chicago Board of Education headquarters during meetings and in front of board members’ homes. Among roughly 13 allies were the American Friends Service Committee, Raise Your Hand Illinois, Black Lives Matter-Chicago, Pilsen Alliance, Southside Together Organizing for Peace, Asian Americans Advancing Justice Kinetic Youth Group.
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“Having cops in schools is not about safety,” said leader Jen Nava in an awards video. “What safety really is, is community investment.” “Police officers in schools is a school-to-prison pipeline,” said Jayy Jayy, another leader. He added that the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor brought more people to their cause than they had ever seen. Accepting the award, Veronica Rodriguez of the Brighton Park Neighborhood Council youth organization said her favorite chant is, “We keep us safe. Showing up means having a conversation about police in schools. There is absolutely no reason why the Board of Education should be giving millions to banks, surveillance and police. We need fully elected school programs, social workers, arts.” In June 2020, the Chicago Board of Education narrowly voted down a proposal to take cops out of schools. Mayor Lori Lightfoot and district leaders then shifted the decision to Local School Councils (LSCs). By summer’s end, 54 schools had voted to retain police, 17 to remove them. WBEZ noted that of the 17 schools that eliminated police, only two had predominantly Black enrollment: Phillips High School in Bronzeville (where CPS made the decision because there was no LSC) and Uplift in Uptown. At Simeon Career Academy High, 8147 S. Vincennes, which voted to keep them, Principal Trista Harper cited “a war zone around the corner from the school” and said she didn’t want officers unfamiliar with the students coming to the school if she needed to call 911. Police costs to schools fell from $33 million in 2020 to $12 million this year, largely because there were neither students nor police in the buildings.
JOHN D. AND CATHERINE T. MACARTHUR FOUNDATION CREATIVE PLACEMAKING AWARD GREATER CHATHAM INITIATIVE FOR 75TH STREET BOARDWALK ON RESTAURANT ROW (10) Presenting the award that honors play spaces that use art to animate public spaces, MacArthur Foundation Senior Program Officer Tawa Mitchell called the literal boardwalk on two blocks of East 75th Street “a bold experiment that worked” during the pandemic.
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Famous East 75th Street restaurants include Five Loaves Bakery, Flammin Restaurant & Co., A&S Beverages, Harold’s Chicken #24, KMT Health Food, President’s Lounge, Lem’s Bar BQ, Original Soul Vegetarian, Brown Sugar Bakery, Frances Lounge, Mabe’s Deli, Dunkin Donuts and Margarita’s Pizza. COVID-19 stay-at-home restrictions were cutting into revenue until the Greater Chatham Initiative (GCI), assisted by Ernie Wong of Site Design Group and RaMona Westbrook of Brook Architecture, replaced parking spaces along 75th between Calumet and Indiana avenues (203-328 East) with green recycled plywood. Brightly painted, the enclosed spaces encouraged safe outdoor dining, playing and performances late last summer through fall.
After completing his MBA, Estremera became associate director of the Northeast Ohio Hispanic Center for Economic Development, where he helped people to start and grow their businesses. After seven years in 2020, he came to Chicago to head the Northwest Side CDC. During the pandemic, he and his colleagues have worked to help Latinx businesses apply for grants to survive, despite obstacles such as language, documentation and technology.
Stephanie Hart of Brown Sugar Bakery said that the pandemic was initially devastating but the first weekend of the boardwalk, her sales increased 30 percent.
RICHARD M. DALEY FRIEND OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD AWARD TO COOK COUNTY LAND BANK (12)
GCI also scheduled six activities between Labor Day and Halloween that attracted 1,000 new visitors to the strip.
The Cook County Land Bank Authority (CCLBA) is geographically the nation’s largest land bank, which works with municipalities and other partners to acquire properties through purchase, donation, forfeiture and other transfers; the CCLBA holds title and maintains them tax-free with the intent of conveying them “back to the market.”
Accepting the award, GCI Executive Director Nedra Sims Fears said that people come from 25 miles away to enjoy great dining on East 75th Street. The family-owned restaurants employ 200 people and attract 200,000 people a year, according to www.greaterchathaminitiative.org, where reservations can be made. The boardwalk is in operation again this summer because, as Fears said, “We Like to think of it as a placekeeping award. We took an asset – Restaurant Row – and made it better.”
CIBC EMERGING LEADERSHIP AWARD TO JASON ESTREMERA (11) Coming from a family of immigrant entrepreneurs in Cleveland, Ohio, Estremera became a banker because he felt that career would allow him to help people who used their own resources as his grandfather and uncles did. Instead, he found that the lending model meant “those who had, got more” and those who had not, got less – or nothing at all. “The stories I heard from these folks opened my eyes to the inequalities and systemic oppression holding back so many people from achieving their full potential,” he said.
He is committed to the task going forward. “For so many, myself included, COVID-19 has reinforced the idea that a nation will not survive morally or economically, when so few have so much while so many have so little.”
Cook County Commissioner Bridget Gainer, who is founder and chairman of CCLBA, said that “one of the most important battles is how to maintain our neighborhoods to make sure people have a shot at a middle-class life. I don’t think we can do it without housing.” The old system of tax and scavenger sales was too complex for homeowners and small developers, according to the CCLBA website. What that meant was that speculators swooped in and bought large swaths of property that remained vacant, and for which they remained unaccountable. “The scavenger sale was a new kind of redlining,” Gainer said at the awards ceremony. “By eliminating these barriers, we can make sure the work is done by people who live there.” Begun in 2013, the CCLBA has acquired 2000 properties, sold 1,000 and overseen or been involved in the restoration of nearly 1000 single family homes in Chicago and suburbs. Gainer said there are thousands of projects in the pipeline, by up to 600 developers, many of color.
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Customer appreciation for vendor JT My name is Scott Howard and my 8 year old daughter’s name is London Howard. We’ve had a morning routine at least 3 days each week where we drop London’s younger sister off at preschool and walk to Starbucks together for a little father-daughter time before school, to say hi to Jimmie and grab a hot chocolate (or croissant - London’s choice) and we sit and browse through StreetWise and look at the upcoming events, talk about some of the issues that are covered and what they mean (ie I explained Women’s suffrage this morning) and then we head to school. Jimmie’s a great guy. Always smiling, always saying hello to everyone, and so many people stop and chat with him. We always spend a good 5 minutes or so each day catching up with him on his day/ weekend/family and use Jimmie as an example of what it means to show up each day rain/shine/snow. London even made it a point to bring Jimmie homemade cookies that she made for the Holidays. He’s someone that has become part of our daily life and when he’s not there, she’ll ask “I wonder what Jimmie’s up to today.” We’ve enjoyed getting to know and support Jimmie. Thanks for the opportunity to share our story about him.
INSIDE STREETWISE 14
JT photographed by Kathleen Hinkel.
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Streetwise 6/13/16 Crossword
Sudoku
To solve the Sudoku puzzle, each row, column and box must contain the numbers 1 to 9. ©2021 PuzzleJunction.com
Grazing sites 39 New Jersey Riot spray five Obliquely 41 Mongolian Sound booster desert Chocolate 43 Type of hare substitute 46 Bar mitzvah, 12 Hiker’s path e.g. 3 13 Newspaper 50 Golf score section 4 52 Personal quirk 21 Paltry amount 53 Photos, e.g. 5 23 Baseball glove 54 Stoles 26 Stick-ons 6 55 Seating request 28 Bellyache 56 ___ New 29 Nessie’s Guinea own hangout 60 Classic art 30 Dollar rival 1 Thick slice subject 2 Spanish snack 31 OPEC member 61 Top banana 3 Fifty-fifty 32 Ancient Greek 63 Mascara site theaters 4 Precepts 64 Lab item 35 Consume 5 Carpenter’s 65 Appear Copyright framework 37 ©2021 TimberPuzzleJunction.com wolf 67 Retired flier 6 Go astray 38 Muscat’s land 69 Phi follower Justice symbols Nile reptiles Flemish dialect Box office take In addition Craters of the Moon locale Feudal worker Musical chairs goal Creepy Deception
7 8 9 10 11
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lastSudoku week's Puzzle Answers Solution
Solution
Sudoku Solution
Find your nearest StreetWise Vendor at
PuzzleJu
Crossword
Across 1 Blood fluids 5 Palm starch 9 Amazon or emmet, e.g. 12 Summits 13 Door opener 14 Roulette bet 16 Moves briskly 17 Spanish liqueur 18 The “O” in S.R.O. 19 Intercellular substance 21 Amusing account 23 Japanese entertainers 25 Withdrawn 26 Hadron’s place 27 In pieces 31 Kind of ©2016 PuzzleJunction.com hygiene 34 Fax button 60 Scored on serve 9 Pain reliever 36 Christopher of 10 Faux pas 62 Type of cow “Superman” 11 Knight fight 63 Supports 37 According to 64 Indian bread 12 20’s dispenser 38 Dockhand, e.g. 65 Tequila source 15 Kind of flour 40 Loser at 20 Bantu language 66 Permit Antietam closely related 67 Spanish lady 41 Draw forth to Zulu 68 Just say no 43 Mozart’s “Il 22 Bird’s vibrant mio tesoro,” sound Down e.g. 24 Marine or 1 Scrawny one 44 Skating venue 2 Chew the parasitic 45 Communist protozoa scenery buddy 27 Aimless 3 Convicted 47 Mrs., in 28 Pastrami one’s hope Germany 4 Sports stat purveyor 49 Bring into play 29 All square 5 Calypso 50 Turkish 30 Raise a stink offshoot dynasty 6 Actresses 31 Oil grp. 53 Medical fear 32 Change the Paquin and 57 Military decor Faris vehicle 33 Jack-in-the7 Enter 59 In alignment 8 Preoccupy pulpit, e.g.
35 Common conjunction 38 Renter’s paper 39 Home planet 42 Most primitive 44 Kind of sale 46 Call for, vehemently 48 Wild sheep of northern Africa 50 Bounding main 51 For the birds? 52 Brash 53 Mom-and-pop grp. 54 Seed covering 55 Hosiery shade 56 UN agency concerned with civil aviation 58 CBS symbol 61 Genetic stuff
www.streetwise.org
How StreetWise Works
Our Mission
Orientation Participants complete a monthlong orientation, focusing on customer service skills, financial literacy and time management to become a badged vendor.
Financial Literacy Vendors buy StreetWise for $0.90, and sell it for $2. The profit of $1.10 goes directly to the licensed vendor for them to earn a living.
Supportive Services StreetWise provides referrals, advocacy and other support to assist participants in meeting their basic needs and getting out of crisis.
S.T.E.P. Program StreetWise’s S.T.E.P. Program provides job readiness training and ongoing direct service support to ensure participants’ success in entering the traditional workforce.
THE PLAYGROUND
To empower the entrepreneurial spirit through the dignity of self-employment by providing Chicagoans facing homelessness with a combination of supportive social services, workforce development resources and immediate access to gainful employment.
Solution
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