July 27, 2012

Ward Update
Sheridan Rd. Walk with the Alderman As part of the 48th Ward Master Plan, I will walk with residents down Sheridan Road to review areas that need improvement. Of the two scheduled walks, one already occurred, and the next will take place:
Walk 2 – Tuesday July 31, 2012 – 5:30pm – meet at St. Andrew’s Greek Orthodox Church at 5649 N. Sheridan Rd., walk south on Sheridan to Foster (cover both sides of Sheridan), then circle back to the park area east of Sheridan – often referred to as “The Meadows”. If it rains, the walk will be rescheduled.
On July 24th, I joined about 30 neighborhood residents on a walk down Sheridan Road from Ardmore Ave. to Devon to hear their vision for the area and to point out various problems with the street, sidewalks, and parkways. The goal behind the walk was to gather as much information as possible so that capital funding allocations in 2013 can cover needed infrastructure improvements. We plan to resurface Sheridan Road from Hollywood north to Devon in 2013 and with that, attempt to address curbing and parkway changes.  The remaining stretch of Sheridan Road, from Hollywood south to Lawrence, will be resurfaced as part of this year’s capital plan. The walk was great, and we identified a number of concerns that next years’ street resurfacing will correct as well as some that can be dealt with this year. Hope to see you for our next walk on Tuesday!
Community Glue Workshop at Kitchen Sink Come out and celebrate the launch of a new community organization July 28! Community Glue Workshop is throwing a Fix-Up party at Kitchen Sink (1107 w. Berwyn Ave.) Saturday night from 6 to 9. Community Glue Workshop is a project rooted in sustainability — that of manufactured goods and of communities. Inspired by the “repair cafe” movement in Amsterdam, they offer opportunities for people to have their weathered or broken belongings rehabilitated by their neighbors at no cost. For more information on the party, click here to see the Facebook event page. For more information on the organization, visit communityglueworkshop.org. Click here for the flyer.
48th Ward Summer Film Fest Come out and enjoy a movie under the stars with your neighbors. This Tuesday night, July 31st, we will be showing Grease (Rated PG) as a joint effort with 40th Ward Alderman Patrick O’Connor. This week, Grease is sponsored by Alamo Shoes, Reza’s and Cheetah Gym and will be shown at Alamo Shoes Parking Lot across the street from their store at 5321 N Clark beginning at around 8 pm. Click here for the full list of 48th Ward films this summer.
Explore Edgewater – Berger Park Ice Cream Social Join us at Berger Park, 6205 N Sheridan Road, on July 28th from 2-5pm for an Ice Cream Social as a fundraiser for the Berger Park Advisory Council. Funds raised go toward park enhancements, programming and scholarships. Berger Park is a beautiful, historical asset with a bright future. Click here for the full list of Explore Edgewater events.
Care for Real: Putting Edgewater to Work Putting Edgewater to Work (PEW) is a new pilot program for Care for Real (CRF) that links neighborhood job seekers with prospective employers. The program, started just six months ago, is already producing results. The program currently provides a range of employee readiness and training services to some 280 clients and the numbers are increasing weekly. The education level of job seekers ranges from G.E.D. to Ph.D. Their work experience and interests includes a wide variety of fields such as accounting, health care, administration, customer service, sales and education. Click here for even more information on the program. They also want to shine some light on an upcoming career fair that may benefit our ward: A virtual career fair for veterans and military spouses, to be held on July 31st, from 1:00-4:00 p.m. EDT (12:00-3:00 p.m. CDT) at veteranscareerfair.com. Click here for more information on the virtual career fair.
City of Chicago Releases DRAFT Chicago Cultural Plan The Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) released the DRAFT 2012 Chicago Cultural Plan for public comment and will host four town hall style meetings to continue the conversation with Chicago residents and stakeholders across the city. The draft plan can be downloaded at www.chicagoculturalplan2012.com. The closest town hall meeting locations are:

• July 28 – 10 am to 12 pm at St. Augustine College-Essanay Studios (1345 W Argyle Street)
• July 31 – 6 to 8 pm at Chicago Cultural Center (78 East Washington Street)

Cook County Commissioner Bridget Gainer: 2nd Installment 2011 Property Tax Bills due August 1st
2nd Installment 2011 Property Tax Bills have arrived in the mail and many constituents have questions regarding their tax bill calculation and exemptions. Cook County Commissioner Bridget Gainer’s Office is happy to assist any constituent with their property tax bills questions. If you would like to review your exemptions or concerns with your property tax bill, please contact Commissioner Gainer’s office at 312-603-4210 or email Info@BridgetGainer.com. Also, Commissioner Gainer’s staff will be available (by appointment) every Thursday 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM at the 48th Ward Service Office. Please make sure you call 312-603-4210 to schedule an appointment. Beginning on July 16, all homeowners in all townships may file their appeals online at cookcountyboardofreview.com, regardless if their township is open. The Board will hold the complaint until the township is open and the complaint will be reviewed along with other complaints from the township. To be clear, the filing of an appeal may reduce the assessed value of a property for a future tax bill and does not remove the obligation to pay the current Second Installment Property Tax Bill in full and on time.

City Council Update
Earlier this week the City Council passed a number of ordinances which I supported. First was an initiative to strengthen the City Ethics Ordinance governing conduct of city employees and members of the City Council. Some of the provisions in the ordinance include: strengthening the gift ban act, increasing ethics training, and increasing regulation on former city employees working for companies doing business with the city. There will be additional revisions to the Ethics ordinance that are being worked on by the Mayor’s Ethics Task Force. The second measure was the Mobile Food Truck ordinance which will help regulate and expand the mobile food truck industry here in Chicago. The ordinance creates a framework for locations throughout the city where food trucks can locate. Lastly, we passed a revised handgun ordinance that strengthens the regulations for firearm ownership in Chicago. In the wake of the tragedy in Colorado last week and the ongoing violence we see in Chicago we must continue the fight to keep illegal guns off our streets.

Public Safety Update
Thorndale Beach Yesterday morning, at approximately 6:30 a.m., a body was discovered at the beach near Thorndale Ave. The body has yet to be identified, other than it is that of a male in his mid-forties. The Chicago Police are conducting a death investigation and I will provide more information once it becomes available. Though the cause of death is not yet know, it is important to remind residents of the caution needed when in or near our city’s lake and beach areas. Please only swim during permitted hours and when a lifeguard is near and on-duty. Make sure that you are comfortable swimming, regardless of depth, and never swim alone.

Education and Summer Programs Update
CPS and CTU Agreement CPS and CTU have reached an interim, binding agreement that students will have a longer school day on day one this year. That means – 7 hours for elementary students, 7.5 hours for high school students. As contract negotiations continue, you can check the Chicago Public School website and the Chicago Teachers Union website for the most up-to-date information. The children of Chicago deserve a high-quality education. I continue to work closely with the education leaders in our community to ensure a successful 2012-2013 school year. Thank you to the constituents who have shared their ideas and concerns throughout this transitional time. I invite you to continue the education conversation at an informational meeting on Tuesday, August 21st at Senn High School at 6:30 pm in Senn Auditorium. If you have any questions, please contact Karen Dreyfuss at karen@48thward.org.
Margate Park Family Fun Night On Friday, July 27th (today!) from 5-7pm, Chicago Park District will be sponsoring a free family-friendly event at Margate Park. There will be great activities for all, so come out and enjoy a summer evening with the family!
Back-to-School Volunteers Needed On Friday, September 7th from 3-5pm the 48th Ward will host its annual back-to-school welcome for students and families. There will be food, arts & crafts, a bouncy house, and much more. We need volunteers to help make this year’s event another huge success. If you want to help out, please contact Karen Dreyfuss at karen@48thward.org.